Part 2

These, and other similar Examples, might perhaps have a lucky Influence on some _Europeans_, unless the Custom of using _Tobacco_ had become so prevalent and universal, that _James_ the Sixth said he believed "that a whole Wood in _England_ would hardly afford Trees enough for hanging the Dealers in _Tobacco_." _Hoffman_, in _Lib. 2. de Medicam Officinal. Cap. 3._ informs us, "that this Prince, in the University of _Oxford_, disputed publickly against the Use of _Tobacco_, giving Instances of Persons who used it, who were afflicted with incurable Disorders of the Breast, Deliriums, Watchings, and Convulsions; and after whose Death, the Lungs were found black and parched, just as if they had been indurated in Smoak." The same _Hoffman_ informs us, that he was told by some Soldiers who had resided in _Holland_, "that upon dissecting the Heads of some Snuff-takers, who had been executed, they observed, that the whole internal Part of what Anatomists call the _Patera_ of the Brain, was black with Snuff." He was also told by _Patricius Noræus_, "that in the last _Bohemian_ War, he saw all the Heads of the _English_ Soldiers, who were killed, in the same Condition." _Nardus Antonius Recchus_, in _Lib. 5. Rer. Medicar. Nov. Hisp._ observes, "that those who use _Tobacco_ too frequently, become ill coloured, have a squalid, sordid Tongue, a Palpitation of the Throat, and a preter-natural Heat of the Liver, and fall into Cachexies and Dropsies, by which they are at last cut off." Thus they suffer for their Folly in gratifying themselves in so preposterous a Manner.

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But without expatiating farther upon Things so obvious, let it suffice to have warned the Reader of his Danger, by the foregoing Observations. That Smoaking is more prejudicial and injurious than Snuffing, I think may be justly asserted, if we consider the Instances which Anatomists give us of the Effects produced by each, which we shall hereafter do: I must, however, here observe, that we cannot enough admire the Zeal of _James_ the Sixth of _England_, for the Good of his Subjects; since, in the last Words of his _Misocapnus_, he expostulates with them in the following pathetic and affectionate Manner: "At last, therefore, O Citizens, if you have any Sense of Shame, or Dread of Infamy, left in your Bosoms, lay aside the Use of _Tobacco_, a Custom attended with Ignominy, received through Error, and established by Stupidity. By its Means the Wrath of Heaven is excited against us, the Health of our Bodies impaired, our Substance wasted, and the Dignity of our Nation not only diminished at Home, but also despised Abroad; for _Tobacco_ is a Substance loathsome to the Sight, disagreeable to the Smell, noxious to the Brain, injurious to the Lungs, and, by its Clouds of black Smoak, nearly resembling the horrid Steams of Hell."

If any Champion for the Interests of _Tobacco_, deaf to my salutary Instructions, should ask me whether I would have the Pope, the Emperor, and all the Kings, Electors, Princes, and Dukes in _Europe_, prohibit and discharge the Use of _Tobacco_? I answer, that such a Revolution is really to be wished for, on Account of the Abuses of _Tobacco_ before enumerated. But, before I proceed to give a fuller Answer, I would have the Person who asks this Question, attentively listen to the following sublime and truly noble Sentiments of _Seneca_, in _Lib. de Vita Beata, Cap. 1._ "Nothing, _says he_, is more worthy in itself, nor more becoming the Dignity of a free-born Soul, than not, like the Cattle, implicitly to follow the Van of the Flock, going, not whither we ought to go, but whither they go before us. But nothing involves us in more terrible Misfortunes, than our judging of Things by Fame and Report, esteeming those Things best, which are most universally assented to, and approved, as we find in numberless Instances. We neither live agreeably to the Dictates of Reason, nor in a Manner that is uniform and consistent with itself: Hence it is, that such Numbers of Individuals fall, as it were, upon others. In a large and crowded Army, none falls without drawing another along with him, and the foremost prove fatal to those who succeed them. The like happens in every Part and Circumstance of human Life; for it is the universal Practice to impose upon our own Reasons, and, by that Means prove the Cause of Errors to others." It is therefore to be lamented, that we _Europeans_ should thus brutally follow the Custom of the _Barbarians_, without listening to Reason, in which we so far excel them, since, to use the Expressions of _Salust_, "They are addicted to Intemperance and Sleep, so rude and uncultivated, that they seem to lead the Life of Brutes, rather than that of Men, since they indulge themselves in Voluptuousness, whilst their Souls are a Burthen to them." In a word, they live in a no less brutal Manner, than the Inhabitants of the Main Land of _Africa_, who, according to _Hippocrates_, in _Lib. de Morbo sacra_, "lie upon Goat-Skins, and eat Goat's Flesh, without any Bed-Cloths, or Garments, or Shoes, except what are made of Goat-Skins." The _Americans_ are still worse, since they feed upon human Flesh, have nothing to cover them, and pass their Time in desart Places, and lurking Holes. Since, therefore, the Climate, Soil, and Non-Naturals of the _Americans_, are widely different from those of the _Europeans_, it is highly reasonable, that we should neither admit, nor tolerate, the continual and habitual Use of _Tobacco_ in _Europe_.

_Cornelius Agrippa_, in _Lib. de Vanitat. Scient. Cap. 84._ seems, with a good deal of Reason, to think, "That it would greatly contribute, not only to the Health of Mankind, but also to the Interests of particular States, to prohibit the Importation of foreign and exotic Drugs, which are often counterfeited, or adulterated, by those who deal in them, to the great Detriment of the State." No less salutary and reasonable is that Law enacted at _Rome_ by _Nero_, which runs in the following Tenor: "Apothecaries are hereby injoined, to use no other Medicines, but those found in _Italy_, since these are not only better suited and adopted to the Constitutions of _Romans_, but may also be had far fresher, more genuine, and with less Difficulty, Expences, and Danger, than foreign Medicines, the most of which are justly to be suspected, as sophisticated, spurious, spoiled in the Ship, corrupted by Age, or not collected at due Seasons, or in proper Places." Since the Diseases described by the Antients, sometimes seize the _Europeans_, though with new and uncommon Symptoms; and since new Diseases also appear in _Europe_, I think it is not to be doubted, but the Meats, Fruits, and other Delicacies, sent from _Asia_, _Africa_, and _America_, into _Europe_, are, in some Measure, the Sources of our Calamities.

But, without any farther Digression, I shall confine myself to the Abuse of _Tobacco_. That _Tobacco_, when used with Prudence and Propriety, is a salutary Medicine, I do not deny; since I myself use it with great Advantage in the _Spring_ and _Autumn_, at which Seasons I am afflicted with catarrhous Defluxions. Most People, when only seized with a gentle Cough, are so cautious, as not to venture upon a small Dose of the Syrup of Violets, or Liquorice, without consulting their Physicians, Friends, and Nurses; but vast Numbers of the _Europeans_, without any Advice, greatly incommode and disturb the Brain, the Seat of their Reason, by using the highly penetrating Smoak of _Tobacco_, in the Morning and Evening, in the Night as well as the Day, and in all States and Constitutions of the Weather, calm and serene, as well as cloudy and over-cast. Let us therefore lay aside this barbarous Custom, so fatal and prejudicial to Health.

Besides, it is probable, that the crafty _Americans_, sensible of the vast Quantity of _Tobacco_ yearly imported into _Europe_, may, for the Sake of Gain, impose upon us; for it is certain, that our own Merchants, influenced by a base and sordid Principle of Avarice, have long ago found Methods of adulterating _Tobacco_ by Means of Brine, Lemons, Vinegar, Wine, and Euphorbium. But with respect to these Frauds, the Reader may consult _Neander_ in his _Tabacologia_. Besides, it is hardly credible, that the Roaps brought from _America_, under the Name of _Tobacco_, consist intirely of good and sound _Tobacco_ Leaves: For almost every one knows, that the Marks of the Goodness of _Tobacco_, whether drawn from the Colour, Smell, Taste, or Weight, vary very greatly among the _Europeans_, who, to their Disgrace be it said, have learned to hang their _Tobacco_, when corrupted, insipid, or light, in Houses of Office, or Vaults, in order to be rendered more acrid and ponderous by the volatile Salts of human Urine and Excrements, under a specious Pretence, that these Salts render it beneficial and salutary, by cleansing the Head; which, they say, is highly beneficial to Persons who drink much. But this is certainly an improper and prejudicial Method of treating the Head, and evacuating its Excrements; concerning the copious Production of which, by means of the corrupted Temperature of the Brain in Persons who daily smoak _Tobacco_, we shall afterwards treat.

Having premised these Things, we now come to decide a Question lately begun to be agitated, namely, Whether Snuffing or Smoaking is the more innocent and safe Custom? I affirm, then, that both are generally pernicious, and none of them to be recommended to any one without great Caution and Deliberation: Though I remember I was formerly a Smoaker of _Tobacco_, yet, I am of Opinion, that Snuffing is a less injurious and hurtful Practice. Some are of Opinion, that by the constant Use of Snuff, the Sight is rendered more clear and penetrating; but with how great Danger this Practice is accompanied, is sufficiently confirmed by _Adrianus Spigelius_, in _Corp. human. Fabr. Lib. 7. Cap. 2._ where he proposes a Problem, together with its Answer, in the following Words: "What is the Cause, why many Persons, by often repeated Sternutations, especially when industriously excited, suddenly become blind? This happens, either because the Ramifications of the caroted Arteries, which are so near the Optic Nerves as to touch them, are so filled, as to compress them; or, because a large Quantity of pituitous Humours is conveyed from the Brain to the Optic Nerves, which are thereby obstructed. When the Disorder arose from the former of these Causes, I have seen the Patients cured by a _Seton_; but, when it proceeded from the latter, I never remember to have seen it cured." _Joh. Chrysostomus Magnenus,_ in _Exercitat. 8. de Tabaco. §. 1._ affirms, "that by violent Sternutation, some Persons have died; since by it the Head has been so strongly agitated, as by the Effort to burst the _Meninges_, and relax the _Compages_ of the Brain." And this Opinion he confirms by the Example of a certain Baker, mentioned by _Famianus Strada_, "who, when he had twenty-four Sternutations immediately succeeding each other, died of the twenty-fifth, by the violent Shock, of which the Arteries of the Brain, and Membranes surrounding it, were broken." The same Author, in _Sect. 4._ of the last-cited Chapter, affirms, "That he saw a certain Man, who by the excessive Use of Snuff, had the chrystaline Humours of his Eyes corrugated, so that all Objects seemed to be in a Kind of fluctuating Motion before him."

If it should be objected, that such Accidents are rare; I answer, that though they are rare, yet they are not impossible; and, what has happened to some, may also be the Fate of others. Though, therefore, the _Falx_ of the _Dura Mater_, and the _Torcular_ of _Herophilus_, the fatal Seat of an _Apoplexy_, are not forthwith so disordered as to yawn by Snuffing, yet the Interests of the Five Senses are but ill consulted, by often drawing from the Brain with Snuff, what we call _Snot_ or _Mucus_, which is evacuated through the Nose; or rather, according to _Galen_, and other Anatomists, through the _Os Ethmoides_, which is the Organ of Smell, but not at all destined for eliminating the Excretions of the Brain. Thus Persons who use Snuff to Excess, instead of bettering, rather impair their Sight, and for their Pains generally lose the Sense of Smelling.

As the Person who, for his Crimes, has lost his Ears, is looked upon with Infamy; what better Treatment does he deserve, who, either through a Contempt of Medicine, or an obstinate Fondness to gratify his own Inclinations, either impairs or destroys those Senses, which indulgent Heaven has bestowed upon him for so noble Purposes! With respect to Instances of this Misfortune, and the Reasons why it happens, _Magnenus_ in _Tr. de Abusu Tabaci, Exercitat. 6. Sect. 15._ speaks in the following Manner: "The Sense of Smelling, as I have been told by many, who have either snuffed or smoaked to Excess, is abolished by the Abuse of _Tobacco_, because the mamillary Processes are thereby dried, so that when they are rendered drier than the Effluvia exciting the Perception of any Smell, they cannot be duly acted upon by such Effluvia; for Smell, according to _Aristotle_, in _Lib. 3. de Animal._ consists in the dry Effluvia surpassing the Moisture of these Processes; so that the common Sensory may have a Change produced in it by proper and adequate Objects." _Magnenus_ also, in _Exercitat. 28. Sect. 1._ tells us, "That he knew a Man, who, in one Day, snuffed four Ounces." After which, he proceeds to enquire into the Advantages and Injuries attending the Use of Snuff; and to consider why it excites Sternutation in those who are not accustomed to it, but not in those who are. This accurate Author also, among other Reasons against the excessive Use of Snuff, advances this, that it may enter the Passages of the _Os Ethmoides_, form itself into _Concretions_, and there lodge for a great while. Hence, it is sufficiently obvious, that when the Passages and Perforations of this Bone are obstructed by Snuff, the Air can neither have Access to the Brain for its Ventilation, nor can the Effluvia of odorous Bodies be conveyed to it; in Consequence of which, the Sense of Smelling must necessarily be lost. Though this should, perhaps, be looked upon as a trifling and inconsiderable Loss; yet Snuff, by its highly narcotic, heating, drying, penetrating, and unctuous Qualities, has such an unlucky Influence on the eighth Pair of Nerves of _Spigellius_, or the first of _Bartholin_, which are appropriated to Smelling, that it gradually impairs, and, in process of Time, totally destroys that Sense; because this Pair of Nerves is conveyed to the mamillary Processes, which are situated in the interior Part of the Brain, near the _Os Ethmoides_, which is covered with the _Dura Mater_. Since, therefore, a large Quantity of Snuff is violently attracted towards the Root of the Nose; and since, according to the Doctrine of _Hippocrates_, Nature is never one Moment idle in a living Body, all whose Parts are pervious and transparable, it must necessarily happen, that the Parts subservient to the Sense of Smelling must be greatly injured by the narcotic Quality of Snuff. Having said thus much of the Misfortunes produced by excessive Snuffing, we now come to consider those attending the Abuse of Smoaking; in doing which, we shall confine ourselves to Examples, which have a better Effect on the Vulgar, than the nice and fine-spun Deductions of a Philosopher's Reason.

It is therefore certain that _Tobacco_ is possessed of an highly penetrating Quality. Thus the celebrated _Heurnius_, in _Lib. 1. Method. ad Prax._ speaks of it in the following Manner: "_Tobacco_, when smoaked, produces very singular Effects, since it draws a surprizing Quantity of Phlegm from the Mouth and Nostrils: The Smoak arising from its dry Leaves laid upon live Coals, when received into the Mouth by a Funnel, pervades the whole Brain, and is also conveyed to the Ears, and _Uterus_. But I can affirm, that this Herb is, in a peculiar Manner, appropriated to the Brain; easily conveys its Virtues thither, and evacuates all its _Sordes_: For, about a Year ago, when I was afflicted with the Tooth-ach, I made a Decoction of _Tobacco_ with Water, adding some _Camomile_ Flowers: A Spoonful of this Decoction, when tepid, I put in my Mouth, and spit it out some Time after; and this I did for two Hours; by which Means my Pain was considerably alleviated. Next Day, when I went to my Garden, and stooped to pull up a Weed, a large Quantity of a Saffron-coloured Liquor, which smelled like _Tobacco_, flowed from my Nose, upon which my Tooth-ach was immediately removed. During the whole of my Life, neither Blood, nor any other Liquor, except a ferous Phlegm, had flowed from my Nose, but upon this Occasion I never saw any Liquor of a deeper yellow Colour." Other similar Accounts of the penetrating Quality of _Tobacco_, I have had from my old Master, _Henningus Arnesæus_, Physician to _Christianus_, the fourth King of _Denmark_, who affirmed, "That not only the Smoak of _Tobacco_, but also that of every other Substance received by the Mouth, was penetrating on Account of its Acrimony; in Consequence of which, it must pervade and alter the whole Substance of the Brain, both _Meninges_, and all the Vessels, and Contents of them." Besides, as the Smoak of _Tobacco_ is hot, proceeding immediately from kindled _Tobacco_; and as, according to _Aristotle_, it is the Property of Heat to collect homogeneous, and separate heterogeneous Substances, it must necessarily happen, in the very Nature of Things, that this Smoak should fuse and colliquate the Phlegm, the Receptacle of which is the Brain, which, according to _Hippocrates_, is the largest of all the Glands. I do not in the least doubt of the Truth of _Arnesæus_'s Opinion; for I think that all the Fore-runners of Catarrhs, such as Sternutations, Spittings, and Discharges of Saliva, are produced by Heat, which is the necessary Cause of Catarrhs, though not the productive Cause of the morbific Matter. Thus the celebrated _Hoffman_, in _Lib. 3. Institut. Medic. Cap. 193._ informs us, "That Heat alone, and, for the most part, of the external Kind, such as that of the Sun, or that procured by Exercise, Wine, and Aromatics, among which are _Cinnamon_ and _Saffron_, with which we so plentifully season our Aliments, is sufficient to fuse and colliquate the Phlegm, or acrid Serum." Thus a Pipe filled with the burned Wicks of Candles, gathered out of Snuffers, or with a Piece of Match used in discharging Cannons, or with a Piece of bituminous, fossile Earth, especially that of _Holland_, will procure as copious a Spitting, as a Pipe of the best _Virginian_ Tobacco. Soldiers also, and Sailors, produce the same Pleasure and Effects in themselves by smoaking kindled Paper, as are produced by smoaking _Tobacco_. Since, therefore, acrid Smoak and Heat of every Kind, conveyed to the Brain, fuse the Phlegm, and eliminate it by the _Os Ethmoides_ and _Sphœnoides_, the Nose and the Palate of the Mouth, I see no Reason why _Heurnius_ should affirm, "That it has a surprizing Faculty of drawing the Phlegm from the Mouth and Nostrils; that it is peculiarly adapted to the Brain, easily conveys its Virtues thither, and eliminates all its Sordes."

As _Tobacco_ is hot, dry, unctuous, and penetrating; it must, on account of these Qualities, soon take Flame: And, as it is possessed of an highly narcotic Quality, it, by its narcotic Sulphur, stupifies those who use it, corrupts the Temperature of the Brain, and destroys its Tone; whereas, the moderate Smoaking of _Marjoram_, _Betony_, _Rosemary_, _Amber_, and other Substances of a like Nature, would eliminate the Phlegm more safely, and without producing any of these ill Consequences. This narcotic Quality of _Tobacco_, is the Reason why great Smoakers are, during the whole of their Lives, afflicted with a continual Spitting, as I have observed in _Histor. Pompinellæ Class. secund. Quadripartit._ Though by the frequent Use of _Tobacco_, a large Quantity of Phlegm is eliminated from the Brain; this Plant is not, therefore, a peculiar Specific, adapted to that Organ: For, on the contrary, since it manifestly abounds with a narcotic Sulphur, it is highly injurious, not only to the Nerves, but also to the whole Substance of the Brain. Hence, as I observed before, many Users of _Tobacco_, not only have their olfactory Nerves so injured by its narcotic Sulphur, as to lose the Sense of Smelling, but are also observed not to have a very exquisite Taste, the fourth and seventh Pairs of Nerves being affected. Persons of this Kind are also observed to be fond of Malt Liquors, and to complain of a languid Appetite; because the sixth Pair of Nerves, which descends into the Stomach, is stupified by the narcotic Sulphur of the _Tobacco_: It is, therefore, absurd to maintain, that _Tobacco_ is of a cephalic Quality, and peculiarly adapted to the Disorders of the Head, since it is so unfriendly to the Nerves as to produce a Stupor in them. It is more reasonable to argue thus: _Tobacco_ is hot, consists of very subtle Parts, and is highly penetrating; therefore, being at the same Time narcotic, it will prove the more hurtful, the more penetrating it is; because the narcotic Quality of _Tobacco_, which is otherwise slow, like that of _Opium_, or _Hemlock_, is, by its other Qualities, exalted, and put in Action; or, to speak my Sentiments more freely, by means of the Acrimony ascribed to its Salt, whether fixed or volatile, the narcotic Sulphur is conveyed in its full Strength to the Nerves of the Head. That this Sulphur remains pretty long intire, even in a living Person, is sufficiently evinced, by that Saffron-coloured Liquor, smelling like _Tobacco_, which was discharged from the Nostrils of _Heurnius_, next Day after the Abuse of a Decoction of _Tobacco_ and _Camomile_ Flowers. I would not have any one imagine, that as soon as he lays by his Pipe, his Brain is no longer heated by the Smoak, which, for two or three Days after, he smells, or expires, when he sneezes. Thus, this narcotic, unctuous, and strong-smelled Sulphur, adhering to the Membranes, Ventricles, Gyrations, or other latent Passages of the Brain, and being left alone without either Smoak or Heat, gradually and insensibly corrupts the whole Mass of the Brain, by which Means _Tobacco_-Smoakers are obliged to spit and expectorate continually. When the Brain is thus weakened by the copious Spitting excited by the narcotic Sulphur, neither the _Tonsils_ nor the _Thymus_, which are destined for imbibing the natural excrementitious Humours of the Brain, are any longer fit for that Purpose. When such an Accident happens, the _Tobacco_-Smoaker begins to yawn, to have a hoarse and shrill Voice, and a stinking Breath, like those labouring under a _Lues Venerea_.

I think I have now sufficiently proved, that as _Tobacco_ is of a narcotic Quality, and its Fumes penetrate intimately into the Brain, so, of course, Smoaking must be more prejudicial than Snuffing. But, if People will still obstinately indulge themselves in the Use of this noxious Plant, all I can do farther, is to warn them of their Danger.

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