he has availed himself effectually of the strong hold, which contrast has on the attention of an audience, by tracing, in their cause and effects, the good and evil meanings of that pregnant expression.

"That energy then, and independence of thought, which the Apostle describes under the name of liberty, may be considered in two views; and in one or other of these views, is necessarily employed by every man who exercises it. It is either employed as a means, or as an end: it is either employed as a means for the purposes for which the Author of Nature bestowed it,. or as an end which man creates for himself, and independent of the purpose for which it was bestowed. It is in this simple distinction, I apprehend, that we shall find the answer to all our enquiries." P. 282.

He then sets forth the effects of Freedom of Thought, considered in this double view; and finishes with a thrilling appeal ao things past and future in support of his noble lesson of which we regret that we can only afford room for the last half.

"From this prospect of the past, turn your eyes, my young friends, to the prospect of the future. There is a voice at that altar, and there is a voice in the altar of your own hearts, which speaks to you of immortality. Listen then, I beseech you, to its prophetic declarations, and while you follow in dread pursuit the spirits of those who have gone before you, ask yourselves, in what mansions these different characters ought now to dwell? When you follow the path of the first, of those who have devoted here all the powers of understanding to the discovery or the support of those truths by which God is glorified, and man made wiser and better, your imagination assumes the confidence of faith, and you see them now the companions of the just whose spirits are made perfect, the associates of the wise and good of every age, the friends of the angels and archangels, who bear the errands of mercy amid unnumbered, worlds, and surrounding the throne of Him, whom, through the veil of mortality, they dared to seek, and whom now they see, not darkly, but as He is.'

"If you follow the path of the second, of those who have prostituted the noblest gifts of nature to the purposes of their own selfishness; and who, in raising themselves to the distinction of an hour, have trampled upon all the most sacred and generous truths of their being, where is it, my brethren, to which the conscience of your imagination leads, and who-are the fit companions of such spirits?" P. 293.

Another, and a peculiar excellence of this volume is, that it so frequently and zealously inculcates the duty of mixing piety with the observation of nature, and the workings of the imagina tion. This was no more than might be expected from the au

thor

thor of the Essays on Taste: from one who has shown, with such force and feeling, how close the connection is of poetry. with religion, and how little they understand material beauty, whose hearts are not touched by it with moral emulation, and hope, and joy. Accordingly, we find here a sermon on each of the seasons, in which this high doctrine is admirably and convincingly exemplified. It is thus declared in the opening of that on Summer.

"There are principles of our constitution, which lead us from the observation of the material world, to the contemplation of the mind that formed it, and which, from the spectacle of beauty, conduct us to Him, who has made every thing beautiful in his time.' There are uses too of no mean importance to happiness," to virtue, and to piety, which meditations of this kind are fitted to serve; and there is no way in which the young can better learn the sentiments of devotion, or the old preserve them, than in cultivating those habits of thought and of observation which convert nature into the temple of God, and render all its different scenes expressive of the various attributes of the Almighty mind.

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Every age, in this view, has felt the analogy which subsists between the seasons of the year, and the character and duties of men. There is, in the revolutions of time, a kind of warning voice which summons us to thought and reflection; and every season, as it arises, speaks to us of the analogous character which we ought to maintain. From the first openings of the spring, to the last desolation of winter, the days of the year are emblematic of the state and of the duties of man; and, whatever may be the period of our journey, we can scarcely look up into the Heavens, and mark the path of the sun, without feeling something either to animate us upon our course, or to reprove us for our delay." P. 191.

:

While we congratulate the public on the favourable reception which they have already given to sentiments and eloquence like these, we feel ourselves bound to repeat our conviction, that Mr. Alison's is a style dangerous to imitate in respect both of taste and of edification of taste, because at second-hand its smoothness would soon become monotony, its even march assume the appearance of stiffness and parade, and for its rich and. affecting imagery we should have the filagree and paper flowers of the French school: of edification, for who is there that could join such fervour with such colouring, or make such polished sentences so natural and glowing? and in the vain effort to do so, who would not think too much of his art, and too little of his duty?

ART.

ART. VIII. Lectures on Inflammation. By John Thomson, M.D.F.R.S.E. Professor of Surgery to the Royal College of Surgeons, and Regius Professor of Military Surgery in the University of Edinburgh. 8vo. 649 pp. 14s. Blackwood, Edinburgh. Cadell and Davies, London. 1813.

NO class of authors have been so generally affected by the bad taste of the present age, as those who have professionally written upon medicine and surgery. Instead of the concise description, and quaint dogmatism which distinguished the treatises of former days upon these subjects, we are now treated with long rigmarole sentences, incumbered with words and embarrassed in construction, which the author generally intends for elegance of expression and harmony of period. In addition to all this, the barbarous patois of unintelligible Greek, which has been engrafted upon our English vocabulary has the uniform effect of involving both the author, and his meaning in utter obscurity. Why the catalogue of human woes should be enveloped in a sort of technical jargon, professing itself to be of Greek derivation, we cannot possibly conceive, not certainly euphones gratia; the only motive which we can possibly assign, is to perserve the ancient mystery of the science, and to keep even from scholars themselves by bad spelling and worse pronunciation, the knowledge of their several maladies. For in all the terms of anatomy and physiology and the titles of disease, we conceive these latter gentlemen at a far greater distance from the meaning of the words, than the most ignorant pupil in a dissecting room. The one takes for granted the propriety of the term, and according to the general perversion of spelling or pronunciation, attaches by rote the idea to it, which he is taught that it signifies; while the former is puzzling his brain for its derivation, application, or similarity to some word which he ought to be acquainted with.

From all these objections however, we consider the volume before us as generally excepted: the style is clear and simple, the language unaffected, and the distribution of the subject, and the order of its parts masterly and judicious. It contains the introductory part of a course of lectures upon the principles and practice of surgery, and may be considered as establishing the ground work of future operations.

In his introduction, Dr. Thomson considers the division of medicine into physic and surgery, and gives an entertaining and sufficiently accurate history of its origin. The definition and symptoms of inflammation are next given in their proper order r; with the causes predisposing the subject for its attack. He then proceeds to consider the direct causes; which he divides under

7

two

two heads, mechanical and chemical. Under the first, are enumerated pressure, friction, bruise, cutting or division; under the second, heat and cold, the active concentrated acids, alkalies. and other chemical agents and productions. To the class of causes indirectly producing inflammation, are referred all those sub, stances, which taken into the stomach, produce inflammatory eruptions, &c. and all those animal secretions and effluvia capable of producing upon the individual, or of communicating to others, a peculiar train of disease, such as the syphilis, itch, &c. From this review of causes, Dr. Thomson proceeds to trace the effect upon the human frame; and he first considers the state of the blood vessels in inflammation. Upon this dark and intricate subject, he speaks with much modesty and caution; at the same time he gives as full and as clear an account of the various hypotheses of those who have gone before him, as the confusion of terms, and the wrangling of controversy will allow. To this part he subjoins some interesting experiments of his own, to as certain the effect of stimuli applied to blood vessels.

He now enters upon the more practical part of the subject, and gives a very satisfactory account of the constitutional or febrile symptoms which attend a state of inflammation; and of its various terminations in resolution, effusion, adhesion, suppuration, &c. Its progress and varieties next attract his attention, its distinctions into acute and chronic; of duration, and all its different modifications arising from the state of system, or the diversities of texture. The different terminations which he had noticed above, are now treated one by one in regular order. The first point of his consideration are the general and local means of procuring resolution. From this part of the work we shall exuact the following passage for the information of our readers.

"In endeavouring to procure the resolution of scrophulous. swellings, we must attend to the character of the inflammation by which they are produced, or may be accompanied. This, though usually chronic, may in particular instances possess more or less of an acute character, and in this case will require the same antiphlogistic regimen to be followed, for a time at least, which is proper in simple inflammation. But if, as usually happens, the inflammation from the first appears to be of an indolent or chronic character, some difference may be required in the kind and manner of employing external applications. Instead of the cold solution of acetite of lead, we may use a solution tepid or warm, to which an additional quantity of vinegar has been added. In cases where this solution does not appear to be sufficiently stimulating, the acetite or muriate of ammonia is added to the water in place of the lead, and this solution is applied cold, tepid, or warm, according to the degree of heat which exists in the part to which it is applied, and also according to the relief which these differences

of

of temperature respectively seem to produce. Sea water and solutions of muriate of soda have been used for the same purpose. A very popular application for the discussion of an indolent Scrophulous swelling, is the brine of salt beef. This has been supposed to possess specific virtues, though it seems very questionable whether it possesses any which do not arise from the muriate of soda which it contains. In many instances warm applications are found to answer better than cold; and these may be in the form of vapour, fomentations, or poultice. In the intervals of these applications, the part ought to be kept warm with soft flannel. Indeed, warmth by clothing is often one of the best means of procuring the resolution of scrophulous swellings which we can employ, and one, when the patient is obliged to subject himself to the vicissitudes of the weather, without which all other means of procuring resolution will very frequently fail. A cataplasm of fresh cow dung is a very common and popular applica tion among the poor of this country. I have not seen, however, any more remarkable effects produced in the resolution of scrophulous swellings by its application than from common poultices, into the composition of which a little of the muriates of soda or ammonia had been introduced. But it would be difficult to persuade those to believe this, who are prejudiced in favour of a composition which it certainly is not in our power to imitate by art.

"Friction is often recommended as a remedy for the discussion of scrophulous swellings. If managed so as to press chiefly or only upon the skin, perhaps the friction may prove serviceable; but in a great proportion of the cases in which I have seen it employed, it occasioned an increase of heat, pain, and swelling in the subjacent parts, and not unfrequently seemed to induce suppuration. Friction, when used as a remedy for the discussion of scrophulous inflammations, seems to answer best in those which are deep seated, as in the scrophulous affections of the joints. It may be applied with the hand alone, with a piece of flannel, or with the flesh-brush. When the hand is employed, it is necessary to use some substance to lubricate the part that is rubbed. Warm stimulating oils are often used for this purpose with excellent effect. Friction with common flour is now the fashionable remedy in this country for the cure of chronic inflammations, or, as they are usually termed, white swellings of the joints. This mode of applying friction has undoubtedly, in many instances, produced the most beneficial effects, though I cannot help thinking that it may be doubted whether it will be found ultimately more useful in practice than caustics, repeated blisters, and the judicious use of the common class of rubefacients.

"Local sea-bathing, both cold and warm, has often appeared to be of use in procuring the resolution of scrophulous swellings. The temperature of the bath must always be varied according to circumstances, according to the season of the year, the strength and habits of the patient, and the particular effects which the bath seems to produce. It is at all times difficult to distinguish between

the