# Library Illustrative of Social Progress/The Use of Flogging in Venereal Affairs

Given date of 1761 in republication

## Tranſlator's Preface

THE BOOKS which treat upon ſubjeſts of this curious nature, being as liable to the cenſure of the injudicious, as to the praiſe and admiration of the truly knowing, it may not be amiſs to premiſe ſome obſervations to the reader in defence of this work.
The author himſelf was a man of great reputation, an eminent phyſician, and an excellent philologer ; and had Jte forefeen any ill ejf eft from a treatife of this fort, he would have hardly rijked his fame and practice by fnffering it to be publiſhed. A biſhop deſired him to write it, and took care to ſpread it into as many hands. as printing could ; and it was attended with the improvements of two eminent phyjicians in the lajl edition*
But it may be objected that it was wrote in a language only familiar to the learned, ſo that it could do no harm in that tongue, as if learning was a charm for human infirmities, and Latin and Greek could conjure down the vices and paſſions of mankind. Alas! we find neither learning nor learned ornaments are proof again/I humanity; and there is no more ſanſtifying quality in a coat of one colour than another. The Devil of the fleſh works in black as well as red.
In fact, it is true the fault is not in the ſubject matter, but the inclination of the reader, that makes theſe pieces offenſive. He who will deter people from vice, muſt make it odious by explaining its conſequences which is effectually done in this treatiſe. The chaſteſt ear in the world is not polluted by a relation of the prodigies in lewdnefs ; nor ought any man be offended at a natural-ifl who ſearches into the catifes of the diſtemper, and ſhews how they may proceed from the ſprings of nature
* Thorna Bartholini, Joan. Henrici Meibomii, Patris, Henrici
Meibomii, Filii, De ufu FLAGRORUN in K&Medica & Venerea, Lumborumque & Renum Officio. Francofurti, ex Bibliopolio Hafnienfi Danielis Paulli, Bibl. Reg. 1570.
PREFACE.
Jierfelf, without having recourfe to fancy, fiftion, and ridiculous diabolical encJianiments.
That the uſe of ſtrokes and ſtripes have an effect upon the languid organs after our author's manner of reaſoning, is no wonder at all to the learned, thiſ the ignorant perhaps may be ſtartled at the aſſertion. I crave leave to fortify our authors obſervations by a very common one uſed among ourſelves. It is the cuſtom, when a ſtallion will not readily cover a mare, to beat him with ſtaffs upon the back, and ſo quicken the circulation of the blood, and ſtimulate the parts of generation to a compliance with the purpoſe of nature. The effect is plain ; and the argument will hold in proportion with the human ſpecies.
1 am here tempted to ſay ſomething of a more dangerous and modern improvement on the art of lewdneſs, of which I know one or two remarkable hiſtories and t perhaps, when 2 aave finifhed the phyjical reafons of its effecJs, the world may fee them publiJJied. In the mean- time ', the hanging-lechers are dejired to obferve, that their J>rac~lice is no fecret ; and that it is known that fome of them have lately had very narrow efcapes in the experiment, and injlcad of contributing towards the propagation of their ſpecies have &ne near to have deſtroyed it.
A late unaccountable fecret of murdtr tends very much this way, andfome others*
Quos Ego fed motos praeflat componerc flu6lus
London, May 5, 1718.

## A Letter from Thomas Bartholin on the Medicinal Use of Rods to Henry Meibomius

YOUR ſather, John Henry Meibomius, deſerves to be reckoned among the principal ornaments oſ the age : but you, who are the heir and ſucceſſor oſ his virtues, take care to ſpread his ſame, and increaſe his reputation, by publiſhing his writings : he continually adorned the divine art he peculiarly proſeſled with a variety oſ learning ; nor do you take leſs pains than your ſather to obtain the name oſ a learned phyſician. The writings oſ your ſather already publiſhed upon the Oath oſ Hippocrates, and the Liſe oſ Mecaenas, prove how great a man he was. You give a promiſing earneſt to poſterity what a ſon you are, by publiſhing to the world your ſather's lucubrations now in your hands, and worthy the moſt curious eye, taking care to increaſe them with your own excellent additions. Among the vaſt compaſs oſ your ſather's learning, and his more ſerious ſtudies, he ſometimes deſcended to things oſ leſs moment, and wrote, at the inſtance oſ the great Chriſtianus Caſlius (whoſe memory will be alway grateſul to me), a ſhort diſſertation, collected ſrom antiquity, oſ the medicinal uſe oſ flogging. This treatiſe my bookſeller, excited by the uncommonneſs oſ the ſubjec~l, had a mind to reprint, and deſired ſome additions to it ſrom me. I reſerred him to you, the ſon oſ the author, Proſeſlbr oſ Phyſic in the Univerſity oſ Juliers, and, by the example oſ your ſather, converſant in all kind oſ literature and antiquity, as being more nearly concerned in the reputation oſ your ſather's writings, and it not being to be expected that a book which ſhines ſo much in the contents oſ its author ihould receive the leaſt ornament ſrom my hand. But, although you was not wanting to your ſather's ſame in ſending back the book, enlarged with many additions, together with an elegant epiſtle, yet Paullinus, my bookſeller, with a view oſ making an honed gain, has entreated me to add ſome ſew obſervations, which he ſancies I have always ready by me on all occaſions. That I might not baulk his hopes, nor ſail in the duty I owe to the Meibomius's and the Caſlius's, and to proſit the public too
Communis iſta piuribus cauſa eſt Deis,
That common care oſ ev'ry heav'nly power
I have, among my other ſtudies, which my ſriends know I am employed in, collected a ſew twigs to add to your bundle oſ rods, and dedicate them to yours and your ſather's honour. Few beſore you have taken notice oſ the uſe oſ rods in phyſic ; it is certain very ſew care ſor them, ſmce gentle and eaſy methods pleaſe our patients beſt, and they are ſtartled at ſeverer medicines, tho' the condition oſ mortality is ſuch, that even when we deſire to uſe them moſt gently, we very oſten neither can nor dare. Hippocrates's chains are now and then to be called in, and a ſeverer diſcipline is to be uſed to obſlinate diſtempers.
Strokes and ſtripes oſ rods moſt eſſetually cure thoſe who diſlemble diſeaſes. It has oſten happened that perſons who have ſhammed an epilepſy have grown well, 'and been cured beſore they have been ſick by this ſharp and wholeſome remedy. It has done good, too, as preventive phyſic, by hindering others ſrom impoſing diſlempers upon the world. I have known lazy ſervants, who have diſſembled ſome ſtrange diſlemper, return to their buſmeſs by this diſcipline. We can the leſs doubt that ſtrokes contribute to the cure oſ real bodily diſlempers, ſmce they cure thoſe oſ the ſoul. From hence it is, that you may ſee in Italy, in Lent-time, the order oſ floggers expiating the ſins oſ their paſt lives, by ſwinging ſtrokes and wounds upon their backs, like thoſe in the rites oſ Cybele oſ old, who, as Claudian (book I. in Etttrop.) ſays
peEluſqiie illidera pinu
Inguinis & reliquum Phrygiis abſcindere Cultris.
To wound their breaſts, their Phrygian knives diſplay, And cut the pounders and the nerve away.
Such, among the heathens, were the Syrian floggers, who puniſhed themſelves ſor their crimes, or were
hired
t '5 1
hired by others to do it, by ſtoutly flogging with a knotted whip, as Apuleius deſcribes them in the Vlllth book oſ his Metamorphoſis. Circe's rod was oſ another kind, that transſormed the human minds oſ" Ulyſſes's companions into beaſts, particularly hogs, according to Homer in the Xth Odyſſe. But this is all magical ſluſſyet the moral oſ it proves that ſome return to their ſenſes by blows, and others loſe them. The metamorphoſis is certain, but the ſorm is diſſerent, tho' neither the one nor the other can be done by en* chantment. I myſelf have ſeen ſeveral corrected with rods by the prieſls at Padua, who were thought to be poſſeſſed with an evil ſpirit ; but who, as the phyſicians rightly obſerve ſrom the ſimilitude oſ their ſymptoms, had really epileptical ſits, and to ſuch perſons flogging could do no harm, becauſe it raiſed the natural heat oſ their bodies. The man poſſeſſed with the unclean Spirit in St. Mark, Chap. V., cut himſelf with ſtones ; and St. Paul complains, in the ſecond epiſtle to the Corinthians, that he was buſſetted with ſiſts, or joints oſ the ſingers, as Martin ius in his etymologies explains the word ſrom Varinus, tho* Hayman, Biſhop oſ Halberſlad, thinks this buſſetting ſhould rather be ex- pounded by the ſire oſ luſt, kindled by the Devil, than
any
16
any pain in the head. That flogging was uſed in the cure oſ diſtempers ſormerly, Meibomius proves by various ancient authorities, and that when there was no room ſor more moderate remedies ; ſor whipping with rods among the Romans was uſed ſor ſlagrant crimes, and as the proper punimment oſ ſlaves, where- as only ſreemen, as an argument oſ lighter puniſhment, were corrected by blows oſ ſlicks, as Briſſonius largely proves in his antiquities. The paſſage in Ccelius Aure- lianus, concerning the cure oſ madneſs, is a very ele- gant one, and is but ſlightly cited by your ſather, the great Meibomius, and thereſore I (hall dwell upon it a little longer, in order to make it a more effectual remedy, although Ccelius ſpeaks it ſrom the judgment oſ others, not his own, and particularly oſ Titus, the ſcholar oſ Aſclepiaces, whoſe liſe we expect ſrom that deſirable work, The Lives oſ the Phyſicians, which you have promiſed us ſrom your ſather's papers. The words oſ Ccelius are theſe " Others order them to be diſciplined with rods, that their underſtanding, being as it were quite baniſhed, they may come again to their ſenſes: whereas the whipping oſ ſwelled parts only makes them the rougher; and when their ſit begins to ceaſe, and they recover their ſenſes, they are
ſtſſl
C '7 ]
ſlill vexed with the pain oſ whipping." So it (lands in Rouvillius's edition, which is that I make uſe oſ but your ſather reads it, "To baniſh their madneſs, and make them recover." Now Coelius, who was a methodiſt in phyſic, laughs at that manner oſ cure, partly becauſe the ſwelled parts would be made rougher by the ſlrokes and ſtripes, and the pain re- main even aſter the cure, and partly becauſe the cure does not reſpecl: the part aſſected ſor he ſays, " Iſ, as reaſon requires aſſiſtance to be given to the parts aſſected, and thoſe neareſt to them, they will be obliged to ſtrike the ſace and head." But diſtempers oſ the head are more increaſed by blows, that part being hurt by the lead external ſorce : and yet this medicine oſ Titus, although ſomewhat harſh, has its uſe ; ſor he is not aſraid oſ raiſmg the heat, becauſe madneſs is without a ſever or a ſmall pulſe, which diſ- tinguiſhes it ſrom a ſrenzy. So it is the ſear oſ pain which keeps the patient within the bounds oſ reaſon. Thus I knew a very honeſt man, who was oſten mad, ſorced by the threatenings and blows oſ a ſtronger perſon to lye as quiet as a lamb. But the method oſ
the relaxed parts is diſſerent, which are raiſed by being ſtruck with blows, and provoking the pain and
heat:
t IS ]
heat S and yet the ſame Coelius won't allow Themiſon^ that the parts aſſected in this caie are to be ſtruck with a ſerula, becauſe he thinks they may be cured better, and re-corporated by bathing in ſait water. But under the ſavour oſ this methodiſt, as ſait water may be properly ſubſlituted inſtead oſ the ſerula, ſo both kinds oſ remedies excite the ſenſe by their acri- mony, and re-corporation ſollows both : whatever the ſerula effects, the ſait water does which, as Diaſcorides ſays, is warm and acrid. And with Celſus all ſait things are acrid : ſrom whence Scribonius uſes the plaiſter Marine ſor the renewing old and callous ulcers ; ſor the relaxed parts are rather ſtupeſied than revived by gentle applications. Strong ſrictions, ſtrokes, and punctures are what muſt make them ſwell and riſe again ; and yet there is moderation to be uſed in this point, as Galen preſcribes, as ſinking -the macerated parts with ſmall ſerulas, lightly tinctured, till they are raiſed by degrees. By this method, a dealer in ſlaves in a ſliort time plumped the buttocks oſ a boy, who was almoſl conſumed with hunger, uſmg daily, or at leaſt every o\her day, a moderate percuſlion oſ the parts. Iſ Ccelius is terriſied by the pain oſ the rod, there are other remedies at hand in ^Egaeneta, Chap.
XII.,
[ 19 ]
.XII., ſuch as ſheep-ſkin ſreſh drawn, and ſtill warm, applied to the parts; beſides others obſerved by ^Etius, Galen, and Avicenna. Apulcius tells us that the eſſeminate Syrians armed themſelves by a pre- iervative againſt the pains oſ whipping ; and Beroaldus gueſſes that this preſervative was holding their breath,* which he proves ſrom Pliny to be the contrivance oſ an animal called Meles ; theſe creatures uſing upon a ſright to ſlretch and ſvvell up their (kin, and ſo remain inſenſible to the bites oſ dogs, and ſlrokes oſ men.
This cure by whipping, altho' it may ſeem rough, yet ought not a phyſician to abſtain ſrom it, iſ it has -a good effect. St. Auſtin, in his 5Oth epiſlle, ſpeaks elegantly to this purpoſe, "A phyſician is uneaſy to a patient in a ſrenzy, and ſo is a ſather to an unruly ſon the one by tying him down, and the other by whip- ping, but both by loving them ; but iſ they ſhould neglect them, and ſuſſer them to periſh, that ſalſe clemency is rather a cruelty." Socrates, in his Gorgias oſ Plato, ſays " That a phyſician ſhould not indulge his patient in their appetites, or uſe many and high
* This is ſtill praſtiſed in moſt ſchools.
B 2
[ 20 I
meats." For, as Tertullian againſt the Gnoſticks ſays " That part oſ medicine in which lancet, cauteries^ burning (and we may add ſtripes) are concerned, is a kind oſ barbarity ; and yet to be cut, burnt, extended, bitten, are not, thereſore, evils, becauſe they bring uſeſul pains, nor are they to be ſorebore becauſe they make us uneaſy, but becauſe they neceſſarily make us uneaſy they are to be uſed." The good effects excuſe the horror oſ the application ; ſor things are not to be eſteemed good or evil by pain or pleaſure, but by their uſeſulneſs and unuſeſulneſs. All things, thereſore, ought to be borne with by the direction oſ a phyſician, according to that ancient ſorm or ſentence, Go, Lic~lor, or ſlave, bind his hands, beat him, cover his head, and (all but the laſt) hang him upon the tree. This is the reaſon that Martial, book II. ep. 17, among the in- ſtru&ions oſ the barbers reckons whips
Tonjlrix Suburrce ſoucibtis ſedet primis, Cruenta pendent qua flagella tortorum.
The ſuburb-barbers at the city's end,
Where flogging whips, in bloody whips depend.
For their whips were roughened and hardened, by
twiſting
C 21 ]
twiſting the wool in ſtrong knots, to mcreaſe the ſenſe oſ pain, and leave marks under the ſkin, as iſ impreſled by ſirings or bones oſ animals, or, as Apuleius expreſſes it, " Imprinted with the crooked hooſs oſ ſlieep : " ſo that it is no wonder that Catullus, in his XXVth epigram to Thallus, when he threatens the whip to liis hands and ſides, calls them burnt or branded.
Ne Laneum latuſculum, manuſq, mollicellas Inuſla turpiter tibi Flagella conſcribillent.
For ſear the ſcribbling whip ſhould brand Your tender ſide and lady-hand.
But let antiquaries look at this point. The phyſician is ſometimes ſorced to as rough a remedy; ſor, as Seneca rightly obſerves, "The medicine then begins to have an effect on inſenſible bodies, when they are ſo handled as to ſeel pain." In a torpor, or numbneſs oſ the limbs, inſtead oſ nettles, which, as Columella ſays, are ſo aſtringent, iſ made uſe oſ, as to kill young geeſe. Our countrymen here pick the ſeathers oſſ the breaſls oſ the Aſrican hens, and ſling them with nettles, to make them ſit upon their eggs the more readily. When the ſwallow is obſlruc"ted by a bone,
or
[ 22 1
or ſomething elſe ſlicking in the paſlage oſ the throaty we clap the patient luſtily upon the back, with a de- ſign to ſorce out that way the obſtru&ing matter. Iſ the bone oſ the lower jaw is either by immoderate laughter or yawning diſlocated, it is reduced by a hearty ſlap on the ſace, which very oſten cauſes mirth in company. Among the Inſubres, as I have proved in my Cento oſ Hiſtories, the dead ſoetus is extracted ſrom the mother by compreſling the belly ſtrongly, or ſtriking it with wooden or ſteel balls. I have ob- ſerved that boys, and men too, have been cured oſ piſſing in bed by whipping.
Your ſather has proved, by many examples, how much flogging prevails in venereal aſſairs, which 1 have no occaſion to repeat, or oſſend the ears by a ſecond reading, although I knew a perſon at Venice, who could not be ſolicited to a love encounter any way but by the blows oſ his miſtreſs's ſiſt, as Cupid, ſormerly in Anacreon, ſorced people to ſollow him by ſtriking them with a wand oſ Hyacinth. We may obſerve, ſor the illuſtration oſ this argument, that not only men are excited to unlawſul and unſeaſonable pleaſures by flogging, but women, too, are raiſed and
inſlamed
t 23 a
inſlamed by ſtrokes to a more eaſy conception. This was known to the Roman ladies, who oſſered their hands to be whipped by the Luperci to promote con- ception. Juvenal ſpeaks oſ this ceremony in his ſecond ſatire
ſteriles morhtntur, & illis
Turgida non prodeſt condita pyxide Lyde ; Nee prodeſt agili palmas prabere Luperco.
Barren they dye, a lovely Lyde mocks Their hopes, tho' pi&ur'd teeming in the box, In vain, beſore the quick Lupercal band, They wiſh conception ſrom the paſlive hand.
Now there is an eaſy reaſon why the ſtriking oſ the palm ſhould ſorward ſecundity in the Roman ladies, without having recourſe to ſuperſlition, to be drawn ſrom the circulation oſ the blood : ſor the blood growing warm in the hand ſrom the ſtrokes received, runs back to the heart, and ſrom thence, by the arteries, to the womb, which being thus inſlamed is excited to luſt, and diſpoſed ſor conception. As to the ſerula itſelf, which was made uſe oſ in the ſeaſt oſ the Luperci, Feſtus Pompeius deſcribes it thus The
Romans
t 24 3
Romans called the Luperci Crepi, ſrom the Crepitus or noiſe which they gave in the action oſ ſtriking ; ſor it was their cuſtom, at that ſeaſt, to run about naked, and ſtrike all the women they met with a ſerula. Now this ſerula was made, as Dempſter conjectures, oſ a cover oſ ſkin or hide, and that either oſ a dog or goat, either to increaſe the ſound or the pain. Plu- tarch calls that kind oſ ſtriking a purgation, and I remember I have read theſe verſes in Ovid
Exeipe ſ(gcund(Z patientur verier a dextra, Jam Pater optati nomcn tiabebit avi.
Oſ the right hand the ſruitſul laſhes bear, And glad your houſe and ſather with an heir.
Juvenal, in the paſſage beſore recited, ridicules theſe ſtrokes ; and Prudentius, in his Roman martyr, ſatyrizes it as a ſooliſh cuſtom.
Quid ilia turpis pompa ? nempe ignabiles Vos eſſe monſtrat, cum Luperci curritis, Quern ſervulorum non rear vilijjimum ?
A
Nudus plaieas ſi per omnes curjitans Pidſet Puellas verbere iſtas ludicro.
What
What means that ſooliſh pomp, that ſilthy ſhow, When thro' the ſtreets the mad Luperci go ? It Ihews you vile, and mean, as you behave, For who can think him other than a ſlave ? Who, dancing thro' the town, the dames provoke, To ſancy 'd pregnancy, by ſooliſh ſtroke.
We have ſtiewn how this cuſtom might be warranted ſrom a natural reaſon, tho' the Luperci might have a trick at the bottom, who ſtruck the women with other kind oſ weapons than the Ferula, as Cardan imagines. Among ſome nations, ſuch as the Perſians and Ruſſians, the married women take it as a token oi love ſrom their huſbands to be ſoundly beaten. Bar- clay ſays oſ the Ruſſian wives, That they eſtimate the kindneſs oſ their huſbands ſrom the ſtrokes they give them, and are never more happy, in their opinion, than when they have met with a man oſ a barbarous temper. Olearius, that great traveller, denies that he met any ſuch thing ; but Barclay conſirms it by a very ſmgular inſlance, which I ſhall take the liberty oſ repeating. " A certain vulgar ſellow, and iſ his name is oſ any moment in ſuch a triſle, he was called Jordanes, had travelled ſrom Germany to Muſcovy ;
there
[ 26 >
there he ſettled, and, liking the place, married a wiſe in the country. The woman he very much loved, and deſiring by all means a mutual aſſection ſrom her, obſerved her ſtill melancholy, with down-caſt eyes, oſten ſighing, and betraying other ſigns oſ a diſcon- tented mind. But when her huſband enquired the cauſe oſ her aſſliclon, aſſirming that he was not wanting in any inſtance oſ love and reſpect, Yes, replies the woman, are not you a notable diſſembler oſ love ?" D'ye think I don't know how deſpicable I am to you > and immediately ſell into a ſit oſ ſighing and crying. The man, quite aſtoniſhed, began to embrace her, and perſiſt in aſking her iſ he had oſſended in anything ;; that perhaps he might, but would make her amends ſor the ſuture? In anſwer to this, me ſaid, Where are your blows and beatings, the prooſs oſ your love ? Sure it is, that in this country they are the only in- ſiances oſ the care and aſſection oſ huſbands. When Jordanes heard this, his amazement at ſirſt hindered his laughter, but ſoon aſter, when both were over, he thought it ſor his intereſt to uſe her as ſhe had pre- ſcribed, and not long aſter took an occaſion to beat her ; and me growing into good humour, by the in- ſluence oſ the cudgel, ſrom that time ſirſb began to*
love
love and eſteem her huſband in carncſt." Petrus Petrasus, in his chronicle oſ Muſcovy, tells us the ſame ſtory, with this addition, that huſbands uſually provided whips aſter their wedding ſor the ſame pur- poſe, and reckon them among the houſehold gods oſ the ſamily. Perhaps we may draw a reaſon ſrom what has been ſaid oſ this bitter ſweet love, ſor theſe beatings are not uſed by way oſ correction or amend- ment : ſor bad women (iſ there are any ſuch) arc neither to be reſtrained by threatenings or paſlion, no, nor iſ they were to beat out their teeth with a ſlint, as Simonides expreſſes it in his ſragment preſerved by Stobaeus ; but a good huſband is ſo ſar ſrom torment- ing the dear boſom oſ his wiſe with ſtrokes, that he had rather do as the man in Seneca did, aſſlict him- ſelf, and make his wiſe ſuſſer by proxy.
I have determined, as well as your ſather, Mei- bomius, has, that by flogging oſ the loins, and heating the reins, the matter oſ the ſeed is either quickened or increaſed, and how that ſhould be perſormed by the circulation oſ the blood in the reins I have long ſmce ſhewn in my Anatomy Reſormed, ſrom Sen- nertus, Othaſms, and Wormius; all which, iſ it will
not
[ 28 ]
not satisſy the learned, I have nothing to do but to have recourſe with you to the common cauſe, the heat oſ the blood, inſlamed by flogging oſ the loins, to in- creaſe the warmth oſ the reins, and provoke a venereal a^joCii'te. From hence the ſupine ſituation oſ the body contributes to emiſſions in ſleep, by irritating the heat oſ the loins ; ſrom hence the ſame parts are pro- voked to venery by violent ſriclion, a pleaſure which coſt a certain gentleman his liſe at Paris ; laſtly, ſrom hence, we apply cooling medicines to the loins in a troubleſome gonorrhoea. Acluarius applies plaiſlers to the reins, which ſtrengthen and yet do not at all heat. But Oribaſius applies plates oſ lead to the loins, and in this caſe diſtinguiſhes the loins ſrom the reins : ſor, in his ſragment Oſ proper Diet ſor all Seaſons oſ the Year, which was ſirſt publiſhed at Baſil, by Albanus Torinus, 1528, he ſeriouſly adviſes againſt cooling the loins too much, ſor ſear oſ cooling the reins by that means. I ſhall ſay no more oſ the oſſice oſ the reins towards the generating oſ the ſeed, becauſe the ſamous Wallaeus has called it in queſtion ſrom the principles oſ circulation, and he was a perſon whoſe ſcholar I (hall be always proud to own myſelf. That was a hereſy oſ thoſe times, which had many ſollowers, and
many
I 29 ]
many matters, and beginning with great heat, was ſenſibly extinguiſhed. Now the curioſity oſ the in- genious is turned another way, and new employments ſucceed the old, ſmce the learned phyſicians have be- gun to ſearch with more eagerneſs into the hidden ſecrets oſ the human ſyſtem, and not to reſt contented with diſcoveries which were hitherto rather believed than demonſtrated. Farewell.
From my Seat
atHageſtadt, J. BARTHOLIN.
Oſt. 24, 1669.

## Of the Use of Flogging

RECEIVE, at laſt, my dear ſriend Caſlius, the eſſay I promiſed you over a bottle, upon the uncommon ſubject oſ the uſe oſ rods, and the conſequence oſ that ſubject, a diſcourſe oſ the. principal oſſices oſ the loins and reins. You may remember I engaged to ſend it you, when we ſupped together with our intimate ſriend, Martin Gerdeſius, counſellor to your moſt excellent prince, and your colleague. I can't well recolle6l the ſirſt occaſion oſ it, any ſarther than that I aſſirmed that ſtripes and ſtrokes were oſ uſe in the cure oſ ſome diſtempers^ which both oſ you looked upon as a paradox : upon which I began to- aſlert the truth oſ my obſervations ſrom experience, and appeal to the phyſicians, who, in many oſ their writings, aſſirm the ſame. For inſlance : It is long ſmce Titus, a diſciple oſ Aſclepiades (who ſlouriſlied in Auguſtus's time, as I have ſhewn in the Lives oſ the Phyſicians), directs us, in his book on the ſoul, that Madmen are to be managed by ſtripes and blows, and their ſenſes to be recovered by that diſcipline. Coelias Aurelianus, in his ſirſt book, and ſiſth chapter, on the regulation oſ the paſlions, inſorms us, That it was no uncommon thing to order perſons grown melancholy, or mad ſor love, to be beaten and corrected ; and that the method very oſten anſwered, and brought the patients to a right uſe oſ their reaſon. Rhaſes, in his ſirſt book, and ſourth chapter, on Continence, ſrequently cites an eminent Jewiſh phyſician who, when all other means were unſucceſsſul, directs thoſe mad ſor love to be bound and beaten ſtoutly with a luſty riſt ; nay, and to repeat the experiment oſten, iſ a good effect: did not immediately ſollow ſmce (as he merrily applies the proverb) it is not one ſwallow that makes the ſummer. Ant. Guainerius, in his Praſtical Treatiſes, chap. 109, agrees with the opinion oſ Rhaſea, Valeſcus de Taranta is oſ the ſame ſide oſ the queſtion, chap. II, and I ſhali cite his words Iſ the patient be young, let him be flogged on the poſteriors with rods ; and iſ the madneſs is not ſo cured, let him be put into a dark hole, and dieted with bread and water 'till he returns to his ſenſes ; and let this diſcipline be continued. II we believe Seneca, in his ſixth chap., v. 1 1, oſ Beneſits Some quartans have been cured by blows, perhaps ſrom the ſlrokes warming the viſcid bilious humour, and diſli- pating them by motion, as Lipſius rightly conjectures in his commentaries. Hieronymus Mercurialis, in his ſourth book, chap. 9, On the art oſ exerciſe, tells us Other phyſicians adviſed lean perſons to be whipped, in order to plump th b dies; and Galen, in his twelſth book, chap. 6, Oſ the method oſ phyſic, proves the truth oſ the experiment a long time ſmce, ſrom the example oſ thoſe who deal in the ſale oſ ſlaves : ſor it is certain that the ſleſh is raiſed by that practice, and ſo the ſood is more ſorcibly attracted to it ; be ſides, it is a vulgar obſervation and experiment to cui e relaxed limbs, by the whipping them with rods oſ nettles, and ſo ſorcing the heat and blood into the cold and deaden parts oſ the body; beſides which,
Themiſon
t 36 ]
But I am to give you an account oſ a rougher and ſtronger Flagellation, and the ſirſt I ſhall cite upon this head is Johannes Picus, Count oſ Mirandola, who ſlouriſhed about a century and a-halſ ago. He, in his third book against the aſlrologers, chap. 27, relates this oſ an acquaintance oſ his : " There is now alive," ſays he, "a man oſ a prodigious and almoſt unheard " oſ kind oſ lechery ſor he is never inſlamed to plea- " ſure but when he is whipt ; and yot he is ſo intent " on the act, and longs ſor the ſtrokes with ſuch an " earneſtneſs, that he blames the flogger that uſes him " gently, and is never throughly matter oſ his wiſhes " unleſs the blood ſtarts, and the whip rages ſmartly " o'er the wicked limbs oſ the monſter. This creature " begs the ſavour oſ the woman whom he is to enjoy, " brings her a rod himſelf, ſoaked and hardened in " vinegar a day beſore ſor the ſame purpoſe, and en- " treates the bleſſing oſ a whipping ſrom the harlot on " his knees ; and the more ſmartly he is whipt, he rages. " the more eagerly, and goes the ſame pace both to " pleaſure and pain a ſmgular inſtance oſ one who " ſinds a delight in the midſt oſ torment ; and as he is " not a man very vicious in other reſpects, he acknow- " ledges his diſtemper, and abhors it." So ſar Picus,
ſrom
[ 37 J
ſrom whom Nevizanus in his Marriage Rites, and Campanelle in the place beſore cited, quotes it. Iſ I am not miſtaken, there is another perſon much like Picus's acquaintance mentioned by Ccelius Rho- diginus in his Ancient Readings, book the nth, chap. 15. From him Andreas Tiraquellus cites in his Laws oſ Wedlock, the i$th, and number the 5th. Ccelius relates the ſtory in this manner : " It is certain, upon " the oath oſ credible perſons, that not many years
* ' ſince, there lived a man, not oſ a ſalaciouſneſs re-
" ſembling that oſ cocks, but oſ a more wonderſul and " almoſt incredible ſort oſ lechery who, the more "" ſtripes he received, was the more hurried to coition. " The case wa? prodigious, ſmce it was a queſtion " which he deſired moſt the blows, or the act itſelf, 4t unleſs the pleaſure oſ the laſt was meaſured by the " number oſ the ſormer ; beſides, it was his manner to "" heighten the ſmartneſs oſ the rod with vinegar the " day beſore it was to be uſed, and then to requeſt the " discipline with violent entreaties. But iſ the flogger " ſeemed to work ſlowly, he ſlew into a paſlion, and " abuſed her. He was never contented unleſs the blood " ſprung out, and ſollowed the laſhes a rare inſtance " oſ a man who went an equal pace to pleaſure and to
* pain,
I 33 J
" pain, and who, m the midſt oſ torture, either ſatis* " ſied or excited a pleating titillation, and a ſurious " itch oſ luſt." We may add another oſ the ſame nature to theſe, ſrom Otho Brunſelfius, a ſamous phyſician, who, in his Phyſical Dictionary, under the word Coition, ſays " That at Munich, the ſeat oſ the " Duke oſ Bavaria, there lived a man who never could " enjoy his wiſe iſ he was not ſoundly flogged to it " beſore he made the attempts." I ſubjoin a new and late inſtance, which happened in this city oſ Lubeck^ where I now reſide. A citizen oſ Lubeck, a cheeſe- monger by trade, lived in the Millers-ſtreet, was cited beſore the magiſtrates, among other crimes, ſor adul- tery, and the ſa<5l being proved, he was baniſhed. A courteſan, with whom this ſellow had oſten an aſſair, coriteſled beſore the Deputies oſ the State, that he could never have a ſorcible erection, and perſorm the duty oſ a man, till ſhe had whipped him on the back with rods ; and that when the buſmeſs was over, that he could not be brought to a repetition unleis ex- cited by a ſecond flogging. The adulterer at ſirſl denied the charge, but being ſeriouſly preſſea about the ſubjeſt, he conſeſſed the ſaſt.
For
t 39 I
For the trutn oſ this narration, I appeal to the judges appointed by the Senate, Thomas Storningius and Adrian Mollerus, my ſriends, who, as you know, are ſtill living. Beſides, it is not many years ſmce that a perſon oſ a ſmall poſb in a noted town in Holland, very much addicted to venery, was catched in the very act with a woman, whom he could never effectually enjoy without being ſtimulated by flogging. The poor man, upon an inſormation to the magiſtrates, paid ſeverely ſor his luſt by the loſs oſ his oſſice.*
Hcscſuit in toto notijſiina ſabula vulgo.
O'er the whole town the noted ſlory roll'd, By merry cits at every meeting told.
Now, ſmce, I believe, you neither would, nor can
* Perhaps the oddeſt whim among whipping anecdotes is
that oſ a certain nobleman, who ſlouriſhed in the reign oſ George II. This ſingular character rented a houie in St. James's- place, and made an elderly good-looking woman houſekeeper. It was his woman's buſmeſs one day oſ each week to provide every article ſor ſcrubbing out a room, and to engage two pretty women to meet him there on the day one to repreſent a houſekeeper, and the other a chamber-maid. While he was ſcrubbing the room, he ſancied himlelſ a parſ/h -ſirl, and he did his work to very bad, that one or the other ot the women, or both, whipped him in the lame unmerciſul manner thole poor girls are whipped by cruel miſtrcLwa.
you
t 40 J
you deny the truth oſ theſe inſtances, let us next con-
ſider what reaſon can be given ſor an aſtion ſo odd
and uncommon. Iſ you have recourſe to the aſtrolo- gers, they will impute the whole oſ the buſmeſs to the ſtars, and accuſe heaven that ſometimes provokes ſuch an appetite in man by a peculiar and hidden inſluence. They will ſay, as Picus expreſſes it, That the man's propenſity to Venus was cauſed in his geniture, and deſtined to flogging by oppoſite and threatening rays oſ the ſtars on which ſubject Franciſcus Junc*linus takes a great deal oſ pains to inſtruct us in the cal- culation oſ nativities, chap. 6. But ſmce the heavens and the ſtars are univerſal cauſes, and ſo cannot occa- ſion ſuch particular effects in one or two individuals, Ficus, ſor good reaſon, rejects their inſluence, and en- quires aſter a nearer and more immediate reaſon. He thinks it was occaſioned in his acquaintance by cuſtom : ſor ſo he proceeds in his narration " When I ſeriouſly " enquired oſ him the cauſe oſ this uncommon plague, " his reply was, I have uſed myſelf to it ſrom a boy. " And upon repeating the queſtion to him, he added, " that he was educated with a number oſ wicked boys, " who ſet up this trade oſ whipping among themſelves, " and purchaſed oſ each other theſe inſamous ſlripes
"at
[ 41 ]
at me cxpcnce oſ their modeſty." Oſ the ſame opinion is Coelius, who has tranſcribed both Picus's hiſtory and opinion. His words are Now, it is leſs wonderſul that this uncommon vice ſhould be known "' by the perſon, and that he ſhould hate and condemn
* ' himſelf ſor it ; but by the ſorce oſ a vicious habit
gaining ground upon him, he praſtiſed a vice he diſapproved. But it grew more obſtinate and rooted -" in his nature, ſrom his uſmg it ſrom a child, when a reciprocal ſridion among his ſchool-ſellows uſed to " be provoked by the titillation oſ ſtripes a ſtrange inſtance what a power the ſorce oſ education has in " graſting inveterate ill habits on our morals." So ſar they: ſor my part, I don't deny the great inſluence oſ cuſtom, and Ariſtotle has long ſmce inſormed us, both in his treatiſe on Memory and his Ethics, that it is a ſort oſ ſecond nature which Ennius obſerves in theſe lines
Uſus longus mos eſt, ac meditatio crebra . Hunc tandem aſſero naturam mortalibus ejſe
Long uſe, and ſrequent thinking, cuſtom makes, And this with man, at laſt, grows into nature.
and
1 42 }
And Galen, in his book oſ Habits, elegantly ſliews; the great ſorce and inſluence oſ cuſtom, and calls it Second Nature. I allow, in the inſtance given by Picus and Ccelius, that cuſtom in a tract oſ time might contribute ſomething to the cauſe; but in the caſe produced by Brunſelfius and mine, that cauſe will not anſwer. And again, as Thomas Campanella ſays, in the place beſore cited, Why did not the reſt oſ this youthſul ſraternity go on in the larqe, as well as this acquaintance ot Picus ? ſor cuſtom only effects ſome- thing particular in one or two individuals. Neither is it probable that all thoſe boys we mentioned began their youth with expoſmg their chaſtity to ſale with this reciprocal communication oſ vice, and uſed rods at the ſirſt to provoke lechery. I congratulate our Germany, that theſe vices oſ perverſe luſt, theſe diſ- graces oſ children, and mutual pollutions oſ males,,, are almoſt unknown among us, and iſ by accident ſuch a caſe happens, the oſſenders are ſeverely puniſhed, by being burnt ſor their crimes. "The " Germans know no luch thing, and men live with " more regard to morality near the ocean, as Quintilian <l ſaith oſ our anceſtors, in his declamation ſor the " ſoldier Marianus, whoſe chaſtity had been attempted
"by
t 43 1
by a Tribune, on which I have dilated more in my
* commentary upon the Death oſ Hippocrates."
Since, then, neither the (lars nor cuſtom are the cauſe why ſlripes excite venery, we muſt ſee iſ there be any other reaſon in the ſearch aſter which, we muſt trace the matter a little higher beſore we can explain it
We are to underſtand, then, that this flogging and whipping with rods was practiſed on no part oſ the body but the back, which the Lubeck ſtrumpet con-
ſeſſed, and is maniſeſt oſ all the reſt; ſor it is im- poſſible that the penis can bear the ſtrokes oſ rods, undoubtedly not to an eruption oſ the blood and we all know the back is ſrequently uſed ſo. Now, ^he loins compoſe the chieſ part oſ the back: ſor that part oſ the body that takes its riſe ſrom the ſive vertebra, which are placed behind the vertebra oſ the tlwrax, is continued quite to the os ſacmm. Theſe parts, the muſcles, (kin, and ſat, cover outwardly ; inwardly, they are ſurrounded and braced by the muſcles. The reins adjoin to theſe, the leſt and right, one on each ſide, and take up about the ſpace oſ lour
vertebra*
I 44 ]
'vertebra, and are annexed to the vena cava and the large artery: but the reins receive as well ſrom the vena cava as the arteria magna large and notable veſſels which are called emulgents ; each receives, oſ each ſide, one veſſel, a vein, and an artery, which by many ramiſications are variouſly diſperſed into the ſubſtance oſ the reins themſelves. On the right oſ the vena cava y juſt under the emulgent, ariſes the right Jeminal vein ; and in the ſame place, ſrom the arteria magna, ariſes ſatſeminal artery, both deſcending into the right teſticle. On the leſt, the Jeminal artery ariſing ſrom the trunk oſ the arteria magna, and the Jeminal vein ſrom the leſt vein oſ the emulgent, are both inſerted into the leſt teſticle. Beſides theſe, there are nerves coming ſrom the part oſ ſt&ſpinal marrow, contained in the vertebra, that reach to the reins, and not only pierce their coats, but penetrate their very ſubſtance. Laſtly, the ureters, produced ſrom the cavity oſ the reins themſelves, are inſerted into the bladder. As we may call all theſe by a ſmgle appellation oſ the loins, ſo we may very properly aſlign one and the ſame common uſe to them all, as Marſilinus Cagnatus rightly determines in his Various Readings, lib. IV. chap. 7. Authors, indeed,
have
r 45 i
have been very inquiſitive into the uſc oſ the ſingle parts, oſ the bones, muſcles, reins, and veſlels, but have not ſo well conſidered what they altogether con- tribute to one common uſe.
Cagnatus is oſ opinion, that all oſ them, but each in a diſſerent manner, are appropriated as well ſor the elaborating the ſeed as perſorming the work oſ gene- ration, which the philoſopher calls the mod natural. Hieronymus Montuus and Tiraquellus ſeem to counte- nance this opinion, and that with good reaſon and judgment
For it is evident ſrom the unanimous conſent oſ all writers, whether ſacred or prophane, that antiquity attributes ſome ſuch oſſice to the loins, reins, and ſides. As ſor the Scriptures, they ſrequently appropriate the work oſ generation to the loins, as in the thirty-ſiſth chapter oſ Geneſis, verſe I., Kings ſhall proceed ſrom thy loins. And in the epiſtle to the Hebrews, chap, VII. ver. 15, The ſons oſ Abraham are ſaid to have come ſrom his loins ; and vcr. 16, Levi is ſaid to have been in his loins. From whence Baſil the Great, in
kis
[ 46 ] i
his commentary on Iſaiah, remarks thus : In many- places oſ the Scripture, the loins are put ſor the organs oſ generation. And Origen, in homily the ſirſt, on the 36th pſalm, ver. the 8th, upon theſe words, My loins are ſilled with a ſore diſeaſe, comments thus : The loins are ſaid to be the receptacle oſ the human ſeed, ſrom whence that kind oſ ſin is here inſmuated, which is the effect oſ luſt. It is a proverb among the Hebrews, To gird the loins, ſigniſying to preſerve their chaſtity, and ſorbear lewdneſs. In this ſenſe GOD ſpeaks to Job. in the ſourth chapter, ver. 2, Gird up thy loins like a man : that is, reſtrain like a brave man thy appetite, as Iſidorus ſays, In theſe veſſels that they may be prepared to reſiſt, ſince in them is the ſeat oſ lewdneſs. We may compare Suidas with this paſſage. St. Jerome interprets that oſ the prophet Nahum, Look upon thy way, ſtrengthen thy loins, .and ſecure thy virtue. So that oſ John the Baptiſt, Matth. III. ver, 4, Who had a leathern girdle about his loins ; and whom, upon that account, Gregory Nazianzen and Nicetus would have us imitate. Neither is Jeremiah, chap. I. ver. 16; nor Iſaiah, chap. XXXII. ver. n ; nor St. Paul to the Epheſians,
* chap. IV. ver. 14, to be otherwiſe underſtood; nor
Solomon,
I 47 ]
Solomon, when he ſpeaks oſ a virtuous woman, Pro- verbs XVI. She girt her loins with courage. In St. Peter's epiſtle, too, chap. I. ver, 19, To be girt on the loins oſ the mind, ſigniſies as Montuus, in the place beſore cited, obſerves to drive luxurious thoughts ſrom the ſoul. I am miſtaken, too, iſ the Romans had not this meaning in view, when they accounted a per- ſon girt as an inſtance oſ modeſty, regularity, and a good mind ; and ungirt, as a token oſ diſſolute morals upon which head I have ſaid more in my liſe oſ Mecaenas. At this very day it is the cuſtom in France to preſent thoſe who carry the prize oſ poetry with a ſilken girdle, as a trophy to gird their loins with. To this purpoſe Ranchinus, in his commentary upon Hippocrates's oath, remarks the neceſſity oſ a phyſician being chaſte ; becauſe a girdle ſigniſies a binding oſ the reins, and an abſtinence ſrom an immoderate uſe oſ the loins. From hence the ancients thought Diana, the goddeſs oſ chaſlity, always wore a girdle; and ſrom hence the words to unlooſe the girdle, in the conjugal ceremony, denotes the loſs oſ virginity : and ^Etius rightly obſerves, That the uſe oſ venery is pre- judicial to ſuch who have weak reins and loins, and ſuch perions are thereſore called broken-loined.
Euſtathius,
I 48 ]
Euſtathius, in the catalogue oſ the ſhips, recites a. proverb on theſe perſons
Lumbos ſolutus, tanquam aſcellus Myjlus. Weak in the loins, as Myſius the aſs,
Which Junius explains, as ſpoken oſ ſoſt, eſſeminate,, and un-loined men. Upon the ſame ſcore is Petronius's Satire : thoſe oſ looſe loins are thoſe who were ener- vated by venery, ſuch as Catullus ſpeaks oſ, epig., XVI.
Qui duros nequeunt movere lumbos. Poor weakly things, who cannot move their loins*. To theſe Martial oppoſes, book V. Laſcivo* docili tremore lumbos. Salacious loins ſor ſrequent motion apt. And the author oſ a ſree poem ſays, verſe 18
Ecquando Ttteletuſa circulatrix, Crijſabit tibi ſluſtuante lumbo.
When will the claſping Theletuſa riſe
To my embrace with waving loins and thighs ?
Fotr
t 49
For to ſluctuate, is to move oſten, and toſs up and down in the manner oſ a wave. The Latins call it Criſſare : ſor that ſigniſies an immodeſt kind oſ dance, which we now term it Bargamaſco, and which is never danced but by people in maſks. Juvenal ſpeaks oſ them thus
plauſuqu*
Ad terram tremulo deſcendunt dune Puellce.
The dancing girls in wanton motions bend, Shake as they riſe, and with a clap deſcend.
Arnobius ſays oſ theſe representations, lib. 2, " Tht " laſcivious multitude would run into the moſt extra- " vagant poſtures oſ body, and caper, and ſmg, and " turn themſelves round in a circle, and at lad, by the " activity oſ their loins, raiſe their poſteriors and " thighs into a ſwimming elegancy oſ motion." You may conſult, iſ you pleaſe, on this occaſion, the epiſlle oſ Megara to Bacchis, concerning Thryallis. Perſius has this in view when, ſpeaking oſ laſcivious verſes that raiſe a pruriency in the audience, he ſays
cum carmina lumbum
Intrant, & tremulo ſcalpuntur ubi intima verſa.
Such
[ 50 ]
Such luſcious ſongs as pierce the ſecret chine, Tickle the loins, and work the luſtſul ſpine.
And Juvenal, ſpeaking oſ the pipes at the bona Dea
Nota Bonaſecreta Decs, cum tibia lumbos Excitat, & cornupariter vinoq ; ſeruntur.
When muſic and when wine to luſl conſpire, Provoke the blood, and ſet the loins on ſire.
Upon this account, Iſidorus, in the paſſage beſore recited, derives the word loins ſrom the laſciviouſneſs oſ luſt, becauſe both the cauſe and ſeat oſ corporeal pleaſure lies in them. Nicolaus, Perotius, in his Cor- nucopia, derives it more plainly ſrom the word lubido : that lumbi comes ſrom lubendo, by inſerting the letter m, as is ſrequent in derivations. So Martinius, in his Lexicon, derives cumbo ſrom cubo, pango ſrom pago> ſrango ſrom ſrago.
Again, as this oſſice is attributed to the loins, ſo it is to the reins, which are a part oſ the loins and, in regard oſ the ſormation ot the body, a very principal one. That theſe adminiſter to generation is hinted
2 Kings
I 5i ]
2 Kings, chap. VIII. verſe 12, The Ton who conies out oſ thy reins. From whence Tertullian, in his book On the reſurreſtion oſ the ſleſh, calls the reins con- ſcious oſ ſeed. Heſychius, the preſbyter, in his com- mentaries on Leviticus, lib, i, ſays The reins are the ſervants oſ the ſeed in coition ; and ſoon aſter, The ſeeds oſ coition are in the reins. St. Auguſtin, on the eighth pſalm, writes, That the pleaſures oſ venery are ſigniſied by the word reins. And St. Jerome, in his commentary on the prophet Nahum, aſſirms, That all the parts that contribute to coition come under the appellation oſ the reins; and he repeats almoſt the ſame word oſten in his commentary on Ezekiel. Farther, Nicolas Lyra explains theſe words oſ Jere- miah ; and the ſame in the Revelations, Searching the reins and heart, thus examining and puniſhing libidinous and evil thoughts. For, in the Scripture language, by the heart is meant the thoughts ; and by the reins is underſtood concupiſcence. Thereſore the Pſalmiſt, in the twenty-ſixth pſalm, deſires GOD to puriſy his heart and reins ; and the church, ſrom him, uſes it in the lame ſenſe in this hymn, Puriſy our reins xind heart by the ſire oſ thy Holy Spirit, that we may Xerve thee with a chaſte body, and be accepted by
thee D 2
52 ]
thee with a clean heart. The divines, too, in general,. underſtand by the precept in Exodus, to thoſe who eat the Paſchal Lamb, to bind up their reins, an ab- ſlinence ſrom luſt. Auſonius has expreſlſed the in- dulgence oſ luſt by the uſe oſ the reins
Utere rene tuo. Epig- XII L
Go, exerciſe thy reins.
And it is a common jeſt among the vulgar to ſay,. That thoſe who ſacriſice to Venus purge their reins, which is the reaſon that Hippocrates, Ariſtotle, Galen, ^tius, Avicenna, and abundance oſ other phyſicians aſlert, that an intemperate uſe oſ venery is prejudicial to the reins. Hence it is that the reins were dedicated to Venus by the ancients : ſor Fulgentius, in his mythology, in the ſable oſ Peleus and Thetis, cites Democritus's phyſiology to prove that the Heathens thought that every part oſ the human body was under the inſluence oſ a peculiar deity ; ſo they aſſigned the head to Jupiter, the arms to Juno, the eyes to Minerva, the breaſt to Neptune, the waiſt to Mars, the reins to Venus, and the ſeet to Mercury. But laſtly, iſ we enquire into the etymology and derivation oſ the
word
ſ 53 J
word varro, whom Qt*intilian ſtyles, the moſt learned oſ the Romans derives renes, as iſ the canals oſ the obſcene humours that is, the ſeed aroſe ſrom them, iſ we believe Ladtantius and Iſidorus. <or is there any reaſon that we ſhould, as ſome have done, under- ſtand the urine by the obſcene humour : ſor Iſidorus, explaining varro, lays " The veins and marrow diſtil "' a thin ſluid into the reins, which liquor, being re- " diſlblved, runs ſrom the reins in the heat oſ the " venereal aſt, which no man in his ſenſes can think " ſpoken oſ the urine." The Hebrews, too, derive the reins ſrom a word that imports concupiſcence.
And now, becauſe the reins are ſituated in the loins near the ſide, they, too, were believed to contribute to venery and the work oſ generation. Thus, the modeſteſt oſ women (according to ſame), Penelope, when ſhe was to make a trial oi the ſtrength and robuſt ſides oſ her ſuitors, brings them to the bow, and bids them ſtretch the ſtring.
Penelope vires juvenum tentabat in A rcu : Qni latus argueret, corneus Arcus erat.
Her
l 54 ;
Her ſuitors by the bow the matron tried : This was the teſl oſ ev'ry manly ſide.
As Ovid, in the eighth elegy, ſays, and Penelope does not deny it in the ſollowing ſixty-mnth epigram
Nemo meo melins ncrvnm tendebat Ulyſſe : Sivt illi laterum, ſeu ſuit artis opus. 2ui quoniam periit modo i>os intendite : qualem Eſſe virumſciero, vix ſit nt ille mues.
The bow-ſiring none like my Ulyſſes drew, Whether by Height or ſtrength his arrow ſlew ; Since he is dead, by that your pow'rs be tried, Who proves his manly ſorce and luſty ſide Beſt by the bow, ſucceeds him in his bride.
From whence, To try the ſide in Martial, ſigniſies to give a trial oſ your ſtrength in venereal aſſairs, book VII., epig. LVII. And in Ovid, book II., eleg. x., Ta give ſtrength to the ſides is to excite luſt.
Et lateri dabit in vires alimeata taoluptas.
Pleaſure is thus with nutriment ſupplied, And gives a luſty vigour to the ſide.
And in Apuleius, book VIII., The induſtry oſ the ſide
[ 55 ]
is a potency in luſt. " They brought," ſays he, " a " luſty countryman well ſurniſhed with an induſlry oſ ſides, and a length oſ label." So, in Juvenal and Ovid, to ſpare the ſides is to abſtain ſrom venery. Thus the ſormer, on the Catamite, ſat. 6
Nee queritur, qttod
Aut later i parcas, nee quantum jujſus anheks.
Nor is the caſe how much you ſpare your ſides, Or at what coſt oſ breath the matter rides.
And, in the Art oſ Love, book II.
Et lateri ne parce tuo ; pax omnis in illo eſt. Spare not your ſides, ſor all your hopes are there.
On the other hand, to brake the ſides, in Martial, is to indulge pleaſure too much, book XL, epig. cv.
Etjuvat admijſa rumpere hice latus.
He lets the ſun behold his play, And brakes his ſides in open day.
And again, book XII., epigram XCVIII.
Rwnpis Bajſe latns.ſedin comatis.
You.
t 56 1
You, Baſſus, take a ſilly pride,
But 'tis with boys to burſt your ſide.
So in Tibullus, or whoever is the author oſ the lamoics to Priapus
Et inquietus inguina arrigat tumor, Neque incitare ceſſet, n/que dum mibi Venus jocojt* motU mperit latus.
Unruly tumours, panting ſor delight, Erect their nerve, and ſlimulate the ſight, Nor ceaſe to glow, till Venus oſten tried In mirthſul pleasure ſirſl my languid ſide
Petronius, in his ſatire, mentions the convulſions oſ the ſide. "I am aſraid," ſays he, "I ſhould have " raiſed convulſions in my ſide." In other places, the ſides are ſaid to be weak, worn out, enervated, drained, languid, wearied ; which phraſe amounts to be ex- hauſted by venery. Ovid, in the tenth elegy oſ the third book
yidi ego cum ſoribus laſſus prodiret amator Invalidum reſerens, emeritumque latus.
t 57 ]
I have beheld the wearied lover go From the ſair dame ridiculouſly ſlow, His ſides all ſaint, exhauſted all below.
Catullus, in epigram vn.
Quur non tarn latera exſututa pendas ſ Why not diſplay thy dry, thy iapleſs ſides ?
Priapus, in the libertine verſes, epigram XV.
Ipſi cernitis exſututus utjim, Conſecluſque, marcerque, >i?/iduſque t &c. Deſecit latus, & periciUoſam Cum tuſli mijer expuo ſalivam.
You ſee how dryly drained I ſail, All waſted, meagre, thin, and pale ; My ſides are ſpent, a mort drawn breath, And bloody cough portend my death.
Suetonius, in the liſe oſ Caligula, chap. 26, has this remarkable paſſage "Valerius Catullus, a youth oſ " a conſular ſamily, ſaid publicly, that Caligula was ' endorſed by him, and that his ſides were quite tired " with the uſe oſ his bedſellow." Apuleius, book VIII., recites this manner oſ ſalutation "May you
" live
C 58 ]
" live long and pleaſc your matters, and ſpare my now " decayed ſides.'* From all which the point is as plain, to uſe the words oſ Plautus
Quam Soils radii olim, quamſudum eſt,ſolent. Clear as the noonday-ſun's tranſpiercing rays.
And that this is no new or modern opinion, but ſounded on the unanimous conſent oſ all antiquity, is evident ſrom the teſtimony oſ the Scripture, wherein the loins, and its adjacent parts, and the reins, are ſaid to contribute to the work oſ generation. Now, a general judgment or opinion oſ the learned, as your civilians, my ſriend Caſſius, expreſs themſelves, cannot be totally ſalſe. And Ariſtotle, in his Topicks, ſays " Such things are probable, as appears ſo to all, or " moſt, or, at leaſt, to the wiſe, and them either all, or " moſt, or such whoſe wiſdom is moſt acknowleged or " experienced, and who have got ſame and reputation " on that account."
In the next place, it is worth our while to enquire ſurther into the reaſons upon which this opinion is ſounded ; ſor by this means we shall, at the same
time,.
[ 59 ]
time, diſcover the cauſe why ſtrokes and ſtripes, inſlicted on the loins, are incentives to luſt. Cagnatus, ſor his part, and Montuus, who inclines to his opinion, attribute the whole buſmeſs to the loins, as conſiſling oſ thoſe parts we were juſt now reciting that is, the vertebras, muſcles, reins, veins, arteries, and nerves. However, he makes the ſeminal veins and arteries the chieſ agents as being the part that aſſords the materials ſor the ſeed, and contain in themſelves, and ſend down to the teſticles, that whitiſh ſluid, which either actually is, or will ſoon be, worked into ſeed ; and he aſſirms, that the deſire oſ ejecting the ſeed is excited by the ſwelling oſ this ſluid in the veins and arteries, and ſrom whence nocturnal pollutions are cauſed, eſpeci- ally in luch perſons whoſe veſſels are extraordinarily heated by lying upon their backs. Bartholomaeus Montagnana, and Nemeſius, the philosopher, aſlign the whole operation to the reins, a part oſ the loins, which is agreed to by Matthseus and Garyopontus, a Latin phyſician among the moderns. And very lately the ſamous Sennertius, once my preceptor (and who, while he lived, my much reſpected ſriend), Petrus Laurenbergius, and Caſper Hoſſman are oſ the ſame opinion, and yet they do not all explain the matter
aſter
I 60 1
aſter the ſame manner. Earth olomaeus Montagnana, in his examination oſ the paſſage oſ Avicenna, ſays We mull diligently obſerve why Avicenna declares, That the imbecility oſ the reins may be ſaid to be the cauſe oſ the deſect oſ coition; and aſter he has aſſirmed that the ſeminal matter has acquired an adequate perſection ſrom the diſpoſition and tempera- ment oſ the teſticles, he subjoins That 'tis neceſſary that the ſame matter ihould be prediſpoſed in the ſuperior member, where the digeſtive ſaculty is more powerſul, as in the liver and reins, in the one more remotely, in the other more nearly ; and ſrom whence, he concludes, it is impoſlible that a genuine ſeed ſhould be ſormed, unleſs thoſe parts, the liver and the reins, are duly organized and complexioned in all its properties. But Nereſius is oſ opinion that there is only a kind oſ ſaltneſs tranſmitted ſrom the reins to the teſticles, which excites a deſire, or rather a titilla- tion, in the genitals, and ſo in the ſame manner con- tributes to venery. His words are The reins are the purgers oſ the blood, and the cauſe oſ the appetite to coition : ſor the veins, which, deſcending to the teſticles, paſs through the reins, and there imbibe a ſait humour and an irritating ſaculty, aſter the ſame
manner
61 I
manner as a (harp puncture under the (kin makes an itching, ana in the ſame degree as the conſiſtence oſ the teſticle is ſoſter than the (kin itſelf, they ſo much the more, when ſtimulated by that ſait pungency, raiſe a ſurious deſire oſ emitting the ſeed. The words oſ Iſidorus, beſore cited, make ſor the ſame purpoſe. Matthaeus's opinion is much the ſame, only he attri- butes more to the leſt rein than to the right : ſor, ſays he, the leſt ſeminal vein, ſituated in the emulgent, near the leſt rein, ſurniſhes a blood diluted with a good deal oſ ſerous ſait, to raiſe and ſtimulate the parts to the act oſ generation. Laurenbergius aſſirms that the reins in general contribute to generation : but in the diſputation, beſore cited, he explains him- ſelf much aſter the ſame manner as Garyopontus does, when he ſays, The reins are by nature muſcular, and have nerves planted in their cavities, which contain the generative ſeed. So that he attributes the ſorma- tive power oſ the ſeed to the reins, and in ſuch a manner as to believe that it is elaborated and con- tained in them. Sennertius is oſ the ſame opinion, though he ſounds it on other reaſons, and explains himſelf more clearly, and with better evidence ſrom anatomical inſpection than Garyopontus, who does
not
I 62
not ſeem to have been very ſkilſul in that ſcience* Sennertius thinks that there is not only a ſtimulus communicated ſrom the reins to the genitals, but that the ſeed itſelf is worked in them, and tranſmitted ſrom them which opinion Hoſſman ſollows and Sennertius collected this principally ſrom hence, becauſe the reins have a peculiar parenchyma, as it appears not much diſſerent ſrom the ſubſtance oſ the heart, or, as Aritaeus will have it, reſembling the liver. Now Galen, in the ſeventh book oſ The Decrees ot Hippo- crates and Plato, attributes a great and peculiar ſorce to a peculiar parenchyma in the ſorming and working the blood, which is evident oſ all the parenchymas oſ the other viſcera, as Beverovicius has amply proved. Again, ſmce the emulgent vein is the greateſt oſ all the veins that proceed ſrom the vena cava, and carries more blood into the veins than is requiſite ſor their nutriment, the artery, too, is larger than only to ſerve to depurate the ſerous humour, and thereſore he thinks it probable that nature, which makes nothing in vain, would not have ſormed thoſe veſſels ſo very large unleſs with a view to ſome particular end ; and this end he concludes to be no other than carrying the arterial blood to the reins, ſo that, it being there
mixed
I 63 J
with, and altered by, the venous blood, it ſhould ſup- ply materials ſor ſorming the ſeed, which is aſterwards to be tranſmitted to the teſticles. What conſirms this opinion oſ Sennertius, is, that according to the diſſerent ſormation oſ the reins and renal veſſels (in which nature in other caſes oſten ſports), ſome men are more prone to luſt than others, and ſar more notable per- ſormers. We have inſtances oſ this in Albertus's ob- ſe nations, and in Riolanus's anatomy. Each oſ theſe diſſered the body oſ a maleſactor, and ſay they ſound Three Emulgents deſcending into the right rein, and the ſpermatick veins on each ſide proceeding ſrom the emulgent. Albertus rightly concludes ſrom hence, that the perſon muſt have a more plentiſul ſlood oſ ſeed, and an inexhauſted and almoſt inſatiable ſalacity ; and which, indeed, the ſellow complained oſ a little beſore he was executed. Riolanus ſays, that his man was wholly devoted to luſt, and was hanged ſor having three wives all living at the ſame time. Beſides theſe, Salmuth ſays that he diſſered two men that were ſamous ſor venery, the latter oſ which had reins oſ a prodigious ſize, ſo as to equal three, nay, ſour oſ thoſe in common men. Sennertius goes on, and enquires, unleſs this opinion be admitted, whence proceeds that
rank
L 4 ]
rank taſte and odour which is diſniſed all over the body moſt uncaſtrated animals, but is moil per- ceptible in the reins, especially ic adult bodies, but is not perceived in the reins oſ young and tender perſons beſore they have converted with ſemales ? He adds,, beſides, ſrom Oribaſius, that the reins are diſordered by a retention oſ the ſeed, that the phyſicians, in re- counting the ſigns oſ warm reins, mention a propenſity to venery, luſtſul dreams, and nocturnal pollutions in the ſleep ; and that the practitioners conſlantly deduce tke quality oſ the ieed ſrom the conſtitution oi the reins : thus, as a ready ſalacity indicates warm reins, ib a diſappetite and want o) inclination that way de- notes cold reins. And laſtly, cnat 'ii i gonorrhoea, he proves, ſrom Aretaeus and Alexander Trallianus, that remedies are applied ſor the diminution or alteration oſ the ſeed to the loins near the region ot the reins. To ſupport this opinion oi Sennertius, we may add what Pliny ſays in his thirty-ſirſt book, chap. 16, That plates oſ lead tied to the loins and reins, by their cold quality, obſtructed the inclination to venery. And he adds an inſtance oſ Calvas the orator, who, upon the ſight oſ a woman, uſed to have a natural emiſlion, which grew upon him to a kind oſ diſtemper, and was
cured
cured by theſe leaden plates. Galen, in his chapter upon Health, and in many other places, ſays, That he uſed theſe leaden plates to tame the luſtſul ſallies, and reſtrain the nocturnal pollutions oſ ſome wreſtlers ; and in a priapiſm he applies a plaiſter to the loins, made oſ Roſe cakes and cold water. Ccelius Aure- lianus, beſides the leaden plates, adviſes the uſe oſ ſponges dipped in cold water: beſides theſe, ^Etius not only applies the leaden plates to the loins, and other coolers, but condemns the lying upon the back, ſor ſear the parts oſ the loins ſtiould be over- heated, and the diſtemper by that means increaſed. To theſe we may add Oribaſius and Paulus ^Egineta, both oſ whom agree in the ſame point ; the latter oſ whom ſorbids even diureticks in a gonorrhoea, ſor ſear oſ prejudicing the reins, ſeated in the region oſ the loins. Nor was Avicenna ignorant oſ it, who places the deſects oſ coition among the ſigns oſ extenuated and worn-out reins ; and, among other things, he makes ſrequent copulation the cauſe oſ imbecility oſ the reins, and adviſes abſtinence ſrom it as the means oſ cure. Aaron, a ſamous phyſician, mentioned by Rhaſes, knew this, who ſays Iſ the erectior* oſ the penis be .languid, the cauſe is in the liver and reins.
And E
[ 66 ]
And Ariſtotle may be quoted to tnis purpole, who thought that other animals were not aſſected with a gonorrhoea as well as men, becauſe they did not lye upon their backs Prob. X. On the contrary, high- mettled horſes, when their loins and reins are heated by the motion oſ their riders, run with a ſurious heat to venery. The Athenian matrons ſeem to have known this, who, when in their ſamous ſeaſts, they lay ſrom their huſbands and, as Ovid ſays in his Meta- morphoſis, book XL, Fab. XI.
Peſq ; novem Noſles Venerem taſtuſq ; virileis In Vetitis numerabant y &c.
Held it a ſin to ſollow Venus's rites,
Or touch a man the ſpace oſ nine long nights
made their beds oſ what the Latins call Vitrix or Agnus Caſtus. This is a kind oſ ſhrub appropriated to extinguiih luſt: ſor this purpoſe they Ihrewed the leaves oſ it under their backs, with an intent oſ restraining the generative power oſ the ſeed, and the appetite to venery in the reins and adjoining parts. Oſ this there are ſrequent inſtances in hiſtory in Dioſcorides, in Pliny, Galen, and ^Slian : nor is there
any
any other reaſon ſor recommending the reins oſ animals, eſpecially thoſe oſ the he-goat, as provoca- tives to copulation, or that JEtms should preſcribe the parts above the reins as a charm and incentive to luſt, "but becauſe they have ſome analogy and ſimilitude with human reins, ſor which reaſon they are ſuppoſed to aſliſt them, and excite them to perſorm the oſſice oſ generation .* For this reaſon warm unguents, among other medicines, are uſually preſcribed to such perſons, who are leſs ready in venereal aſſairs, and thoſe to be applied not only to the privities, but to the region oſ the reins ; as alſo ſtrong diureticks, as cantharides, and the poſture oſ lying upon the back, that by theſe methods the loins may be warmed, and the ſeed quickened in its motion to the teſticles, and ſo cold conſtitutions become ſired and raiſed to venery. From whence Rhaſes, in his twelſth book, ſays As oſten as the loins are chaſed with warm medicime', the penis will ſwell, and be extended in erection. And Maſib the Arabian, in the ſame author, ſays That the heat oſ the back aſliſts luxury (that it excites luſt), and as
* This depends upon the old exploded maxim oſ the philoſo-
phers and naturaliſls, Similis ſtmili gaudet.
he
E 2
[ 68 ]
the cooling oſ the back and ſleeping upon cold leaves diminiſties that appetite, ſo heat and warmth wonder- ſully increaſe it.
From all which I draw this conſequence, that the loins in general, and the parts they conſiſt oſ, contri- bute chieſly to venery, and principally their veins and arteries, as being the canals oſ thoſe ſluid ſpirits, which is the opinion oſ Cagnatus. But that the grand inſtru- ment oſ all this is the parenchyma oſ the reins, by which the ſeed ſirſt begins to be elaborated ; and that it is perſected, and acquires an equable conſiſlence, in its deſcent through the other ſeminal veſſels ; which, as it was Sennertius's opinion, ſo it is mine. And yet what Nemiſius, Iſidorus, Matthaeus, and Laurenbergius have obſerved, is to the purpoſe, that there is a kind oſ ſaltneſs and ſerous matter communicated together with the ſeed, ſrom the reins to the teſticles, to pro- voke the titillation, and ſill up the dunghill (adim- plauſtrari), which very word Papius, the grammarian, uſes in his vocabulary.
I ſurther conclude, that ſtripes upon the back and loins, as parts appropriated ſor the generating oſ the
ſeed.
t 9 1
ſeed, and carrying it to the genitals, warm and inſlame thoſe parts, and contribute very much to the irritation oſ lechery. From all which, it is no wonde*- that ſuch ſhameleſs wretches, victims oſ a deteſted appetite, ſuch as we have mentioned, or others exhauſted by too ſre- quent a repetition, their loins and their veſlels being drained, have ſought ſor a remedy by flogging. For it is very probable that the reſrigerated parts grow warm by such ſtripes, and excite a heat in the ſeminal matter, and that more particularly ſrom the pain oſ the flogged parts, which is the reaſon that the blood and ſpirits are attracted in a greater quantity, till the heat is communicated to the organs oſ generation, and the perverſe and ſrenzical appetite is ſatisſied, and nature, though unwilling, drawn beyond the ſtretch oſ her common power to the commiſEon .oſ ſuch an abominable crime.
This, dear CaſTius, is my opinion. But you will object, that the perſons I treat oſ are ſuch as, being exhauſted by a licentious venery, made uſe oſ this remedy ſor the continuation oſ their ungovernable luſt, and a repetition oſ the ſame ſilthy enjoyment. But then you aſk, ſince the caſe is ſo, whether a perſon
who
[ 70 j
wno nas practiſed lawſul love, and yet perceives his loins and ſides languid (the ſubject oſ this treatiſe), may not, without the imputation oſ any crime, make uſe oſ the ſame method, in order to diſcharge a debt which I won't ſay is due, but to pleaſe the creditor ? More plainly, the perſon that I would deſcribe is ſuch as Virgil does in the third book oſ his Georgicks :-
Frigidus in Venerem ſertus ſrujlraque labor em, Jucundum trabit % & ſi quando ad pr alia ventnm^ Ut quando inſtipvlis vanus ſine viribus igitis Incaſſum ſurit, &c.
Languid and cold, he moves to work with pain,. And dribbles at the lovely ſport in vain ; When at the beſt, 'tis like a ſtubble ſir d, Flaſlies in hade, and is in haſte expired.
Well, ſriend Caſlius, why may not the remedy be made uſe oſ in the circumſtances ſuppoſed ? That you have no occaſion ſor it I am ready to take a thouſand oaths. l ſ who am a phyſician, and ſrom my own proſelTion either know or ought to know, and give a Ihrewd judgment that way, long ſince preſumed I was no ſalſe gueſſer on your ſide. Your young wiſe's
great
great belly is an evidence to be depended upon beyond all exceptions, and to whom I wish a happy minute in due ſeaſon : however, I won't ſlbrbid you communicat- ing this remedy to others who may have occaſion ſor a flogging.
Qui valide intorto verbere terga ſeces.
Who with a knotted whip may laſh their backs.
The gates oſ the Muſes, as the Greek proverb ſays (that is, oſ all proſeſſors oſ ſcience), ought always to be open, and eſpecially oſ phyſicians ; ſor, as Scribonius Largus, in his epiſtle to Julius Caliſtus, ſays The imputation oſ a niggardly envy ought to be abominated by all people, eſpecially phyſicians, who, iſ they are not according to the intent oſ their proſeſſion, ſull oſ pity and humanity, are objects oſ deteſlation both oſ GOD and man.
Thus, my dear ſriend, to ſatisfy your curioſity, I have explained my opinion to you with a little more freedom than ordinary. Do you take it all, ſuch as it is, in good part: love me ſtill as your ſriend, and pardon as you do the innocent raillery, which yet has its conſequences oſ ſeriouſneſs, and ſo ſarewell
bept. 7, j. H. MEIBOMIUS,
1659.
HENRY

## Henry Meibomius, the son, to the Most Excellent Thomas Bartholin

I UNDERSTAND, with a great deal oſ pleaſure, ſrom Chriſtianus Paullus, the excellent ſon oſ the great Simon Paullus, that my letter in anſwer to yours came ſaſe to your hands. The ſame perſon ſigniſied to me, in your name, that you deſigned to reprint my ſather, John Henry Meibomius's epiſtle concerning the uſe oſ Flogging in Venereal Aſſairs, iid the Oſſice oſ the Reins and Loins. Nothing could be more acceptable to me than this your intention. As to the epiſtle itſelf, it was occaſioned by a ſree jocoſe converſation at an entertainment ; ana art edition oſ it was procured at Leyden by that great perſon to whom it is inſcribed. However, it pleaſed many excellent perſons all over Europe, and has been quoted by ſome in public prints. But there being at ſirſt only a ſew copies printed, to be given to ſriends,, it began to be deſired by the learned, and impatiently enquired aſter by the curious the ſubject being, I don't know how, very entertaining and alluring. I have oſten been ſorry that I could not oblige my ſriends, at their requeſt, with the ſavour oſ a book ; however, I was unwilling to put it to the preſs again, partly becauſe I do not approve oſ everything in it, and partly becauſe I am unwilling, on my ſirſt entrance on the ſtage oſ Fame, to incur the cenſure oſ ſuch to whom theſe papers, tinctured with a tickling ſait, might ſeem too ludicrous and libertine. However, in the meantime, it happened that it was reprinted a ſew years ſince, either at Leyden, or ſomewhere elſe, tlio' I know not who was the editor, which I was not displeaſed with ; but had I been pre-inſormed oſ it, that edition had come out much more correct. But now I am very much ſatisſied, and give myſelf joy that it has pleaſed you to ſuch a degree (whom Europe reckons among her ſirſt ornaments) as to think it worthy oſ a new impreſlion, enlarged by additions oſ your own. You are now in no danger ſrom the aſſe&edly ſour, nor need you ſear
    Riigato Cato tetricus labello
    Naſum Thinoceroticum minetur.
    Left rugged Cato ſhould to you oppoſe
    His wrinkled lips, and beaſtly length oſ noſe
But theſe myſteries cannot otherwiſe be preſerved, nor are we writing to Veſtals, or uncultivated Sabines, but to phyſicians ; however, the argument deſerves to be examined, nor do I queſtion but you, who are a perſon oſ great wit and inſinite reading, have cited all the paſſages that can adorn that ſubjecl:; yet, ſince my ſather, aſter the laſt edition oſ his epiſtle, has added ſome marginal notes to his copy, I tranſmit them to you to be inſerted in their proper place, ſor the enriching your new edition. Laſtly, there are ſome things in this letter which reliſh oſ the Anti-Harveian times, in which I would rather own the error oſ my excellent ſather than deſend it ; eſpecially ſmce it is ſuch a one, as was not only common to ſome learned men as well as himſelf, but even to ſome ages too. You know that ſaying oſ your Celſus Light wits, becauſe they have nothing, detract nothing ſrom themſelves ; a ſingle conſeſlion oſ error agrees with a great wit, who yet will retain, ſor all that miſtake, many valuable things : and why ſhould not an error deſerve pardon, which the perſon does not incur by his own obſtinacy, but by the inſelicity oſ the age he lives in ?
As ſor what he relates in the beginning oſ the epiſtle, oſ the cure oſ diſtempers by flogging, that depends upon the authority oſ others, and is beyond all exceptions. The moderns, however, ſeem to account theſe remedies, iſ not worſe than the diſeaſe, yet very ungrateſul ones. Yet, as to the cure oſ madneſs by ſtrokes, which he quotes ſrom Ccelius Aurelius, Rhaſes, and others, although phyſicians have not taken notice oſ it lately, yet I learn ſrom Bodin that it was practiſed but in this laſt age in England. The paſſage ſtands thus in the ſiſth book oſ his commonwealth : Madneſs ſometimes is heightened into ſrenzy, which kind oſ ſrenzy grows milder by ſtrokes and whipping ; ſor a company oſ madmen in London, conſined in the ſame houſe, are ſeverely chaſtiſed with rods at the lad quarter oſ the moon, at which time their ſrenzy is more powerſul ſrom the inſlammation oſ their brain. When I began to pity their caſe, I underſtood ſrom thoſe that looked aſter them, that it was the moſt certain cure oſ this ſrenzy. The palms oſ the Roman women were ſtruck, and that was thought to ſacilitate parturition in the pregnant, and give ſecundity to the barren. That cuſlom was ſuperilitious enough ; and the Luperci were the only operators in it, who were clad in the veſt oſ Juno, or a goat-lkin, as Feſtus inſorms us ; and the Romans themſelves ridiculed it, as is plain ſrom the ſecond ſatire oſ Juvenal. Some think that ſleep-walkers that riſe in the night ought to be ſoundly whipp'd ; which experiment I myſelf know ſucceeded in a certain inſtance, the diſtemper being happily carried oſſ, without a return, by a ſevere flogging.
Aſter theſe, my ſather cites the hiſtories oſ flogging ſor the inciting oſ venery, and begins to enquire into the cauſe oſ it. He ſirſt rejects the ſtars and cuſtom, and, iſ I am not miſtaken, has made it plain, that the cauſe oſ it cannot be derived ſrom theſe only. He next remarks, that this flogging was only pradtiſed upon the back and loins, and thinks to deduce the. cauſe ſrom thence. To this purpoſe he mews, that the Scripture, as well as all antiquity, unanimouſly attribute to the loins, reins, and ſides their particular oſſices in the generation oſ the ſeed and the eſſecl: oſ venereal pleaſure. And he has indeed quoted a great many paſſages ſrom diſſerent writers, and many more might be brought to the ſame purpoſe, eſpecially ſrom the poets, unleſs the caſe was already evident. I do ſor the ſame reaſon conclude, that the loins contribute much to venereal pleaſure: but what he aſterwards undertakes to prove, that the ſeed is firſt elaborated by the reins, ſituated in the loins, although he has a great many famous men, both beſore and ſince his time, oſ the ſame opinion ; yet, in my judgment, he has not proved that point. For it is granted at preſent, by the ſearchers into truth, that the blood is carried by the emulgent arteries to the reins, and ſrom the reins, by the emulgent veins, into the vena cava, and ſrom thence returns to the heart ; as alſo that the ſpermatick arteries received the blood ſrom the great artery, and that the ſpermatick veins bring back the ſame ſrom the ſeminal parts, partly into the vena cava, and partly into the emulgent vein which motion oſ the blood is plainly proved by the conſtru&ion oſ the valves in the veins. Now, ſrom hence it is evident that nothing deſcends ſrom the reins to the teſticles through the veſTels. In the meantime it remains true that warm loins contribute to the work oſ Venus, and cold ones obſtrucl it; and that the phyſicians rightly apply warm things to the loins ſor the exciting oſ luſt, and cold things ſor the ſuppreſiing it : ſor, as my ſather has rightly obſerved ſrom Cagnatus and Montuus, there are larger veſſels placed in the loins/ in which, iſ the blood grows warm, it muſt neceſſarily ſlow warmer down thro' the ſpermatick artery, and diſpoſe the ſeminal matter, eaſily irritable, into a Hate oſ heat and ſervency. Next, as to the reins, this is my opinion Iſ they are more than ordinarily heated, a greater degree oſ heat will be com- municated to the blood in its return through the emulgent veins; and ſmce the blood is continually ſlowing to the reins, and back again, a greater heat may be communicated ſrom the reins to the whole rnaſs oſ blood, ſrom whence the blood will deſcend warmer through the ſpermatick arteries. From hence it may be explained why they who have hot veins are inclinable to venery, as well as the other phenomena which my ſather has brought to prove his opinion. Perhaps, too, it may ſometimes happen to thoſe who have a hot ſtate oſ blood, and are conſequently more prone to luſt, that the reins may grow warm by the continual acceſiion oi the blood, as is noted by phyſicians. When by an error in diet the blood is inſlamed, the reins generally ſuſſer ſor it, becauſe a greater quantity oſ blood is continually ſlowing there than to any other part : ſo then, luſt does not depend ſo much upon the heat oſ the reins as ſrom the common cauſe, the heat oſ the blood, and ſrom thence pro- ceeds luſt, and the heat oſ the reins. Farther, I ex- plain the matter thus: By the ſtrokes oſ rods, the blood, as well in the great as ſmall veſſels in the loins,, grows warm, and then in the reins themſelves ; and laſtly, ſrom thence the whole maſs oſ blood and thereſore it ſlows more hot and in a greater quantity through the ſeminal arteries, till by the wicked thoughts oſ theſe wretches, preparing themſelves ſor a, venereal congreſs, it is turned with a greater degree towards the ſpermatick veſſels, aſter the ſame manner a proſluvium oſ the ſeed is accelerated by a ſoſt bed, or a ſupine poſture. Tis well known that people who ride on horſe-back are prone to venery ; and the ſame was long ago obſerved in the Cento oſ problems that are publil hed under the name oſ Ariſtotle. The author gives this reaſon ſor it, problem X.That they are aſſeſted by the heat and agitation in the ſame manner as in coition : which is exa6lly to my meaning ; ſor the blood in the veſſels oſ the loins grows warm by theſe motions and jolting oſ the rider ; and its motion is quickened through the deſcending trunk oſ the aorta, and ſo on to the ſeminal veſſels. Hippocrates, indeed, in his book oſ Air, Water, and Situation, ſeems to teſtiſy the contrary, where he ſays That thoſe who ride much are rendered too unapt ſor venery : but that is to be underſtood oſ the continual riding oſ the Scythians, which proceeds even to wearineſs, and ſo debilitates and relaxes the body, and oſ conſequence ſuppreſies the irritation to venery: but that riding which we mention ſrom Ariſtotle, which only gently heats the loins, is to be underſlood moderate. I have no inclination now to go on and ex- amine diſtinſtly every point which my ſather has produced upon the ſubje6l, eſpecially ſince all that Sennertius has, and what is related by him, Dr. Highmore has already happily diſcuſſed in his Anatomy.
In the meantime, many oſ my ſather's propoſitions. ſtand upon a good ſoundation, only rejecting that generating power oſ the ſeed lodged in the reins. The reſt oſ his arguments are very evident Some oſ the moderns may perhaps endeavour to explain theſe phenomena otherwiſe ſrom their own hypotheſis, as a certain ingenius perſon did, who was ſirmly perſuaded that the matter oſ the ſeed was made oſ the chyle and not oſ the blood ; and that by ſtrokes upon the loins the ſwelling alveus was heated, and then that the matter oſ the ſeed deſcended with a ſwiſter motion to the genital parts. Reaſons very diſſerent ſrom theſe might be brought by ſuch who are pleaſed with the ſanciſul hypotheſis Saccus Nervoſus, or nervous juice, which they think, too, aſtbrds matter ſor the ſeed ; but it is not my buſmeſs to enquire at preſent into the truth oſ their hypotheſis. I perceive now that the obſervation is true in this inſtance, which Grcecinus, in Columella, ſormerly ſaid oſ all kinds oſ inventions, That moſl people began new works with more boldneſs than they could maintain theſe that were beſore perſect. However, I think that the opinion I have propoſed oſ the heat oſ the blood in the loins does not depend upon bare hypotheſis but certain experiment. Iſ, excellent Sir, you are pleaſed to approve oſ it, I ſhall be much more conſirmed in my opinion Farewell.
       Written at Helmſtadt, Aug. 19, 1669.