assign to it the first prize, because it was originally presented to them in a very imperfect state; and we learn in a note subjoined by the author, that the delay in the completion of it was owing to his having been at Paris during the coronation of the emperor. It is written by M. MURAT, physician at Montpelier. In the general view which he takes of the subject, he differs considerably from the writers of either of the preceding papers. He is not satisfied with pointing out the nature of the physical difference existing between night and day, and with examining the effect which this change will produce on the body, but he farther inquires whether, according to the laws of animal oeconomy, independently of any external circumstance, a periodic change does not take place in the functions and powers of the body. This he asserts is the case; and he endea vours to establish his. position by a reference to a numerous collection of facts, and a great weight of authority. The diurnal revolution in the state of the animal oeconomy was first observed by Hippocrates; and the author takes occasion not only to support his own opinion by this celebrated name, but enters into all the speculations which the father of physic connected with it. He speaks of the four temperaments of Hippocrates as depending on the different constitutions, warm, cold, moist, or dry; of their analogy to the four seasons of the year, the four ages of man, &c.; and he infers that, in like manner, the diurnal period must consist of four parts. In all this he appears to repose full confidence, and to dwell on it not as a mere ebullition of the fancy, but as a sober train of reasoning that ought to influence the judgment.

After having attempted to establish the division of the day into four periods, and assigned to each their characteristic disposition, the writer next shews that in the evening a feverish state is always induced; and by combining this circumstance with the phænomena of fever in general, he thinks that the four following varieties will be formed; simple nocturnal fever, remittent nocturnal fever, nocturnal fever with exacerbation, and remittent nocturnal fever with exacerbation. Each of these species then becomes the subject of distinct consideration; and the author afterward enumerates several other nocturnal diseases, which are not indeed attended with perceptible fever, and yet would seem to depend on the diurnal revolution which takes place in the system. This part of the discussion is treated with considerable minuteness, and with a great display of learning, but in a manner which, we may venture to assert, could afford little gratification or instruction to an English reader. It abounds with references to the old systematic writers; and on their dubious authority the most marvellous histories are

related,

related, without any intimation of the weak support on which
they rest.

At the same time, however, that M. MURAT seems to pos-
sess so intimate, an acquaintance with the writings of the an-
tients, he appears to be totally ignorant of many of the mo-
dern doctrines. The subject of hectic fever naturally falls un-
der his consideration, and he employs a number of pages in
proving that it does not depend on the absorption of pus into
the blood; a doctrine which he seems to consider as quite ori-
ginal, and which he does not venture to bring forwards until
he has apologized for his,temerity in starting so novel an opi-
nion. The whole work, indeed, has more the appearance of
being the production of a scholar who values himself on the
extent of his learning, than of a practitioner who is inti-
mately acquainted with the phænomena of disease. Its wri-
ter betrays a total want of judgment in the selection of his au-
thorities, and manifests that fondness for speculation which
strongly characterizes the medical tyro.-The style of his me-
moir is completely French, being highly flowery and rhetorical,
and filled with apostrophes and ejaculations. We present our
readers with a short specimen, taken from the commencement,
What various and painful sentiments, Gentlemen, must our
common parent have experienced, when he saw, for the first
time in his life, the beautiful day yield to night! Oh Adam!
return to earth, and tell us whether the astonishment which
you felt at the sight of darkness was as great as your affright!
What punishment did you undergo in one day! The anger of
a God freezes you with dread; and, at the same moment, this
night which surrounds you becomes for you, and for the deli-
cate Eve, the terror of terrors.'-Yet the secretary, in his pre-
liminary report, informs us that this memoir is written in a
pure and didactic style.'

Having now entered pretty fully into the merits of the dissertations to which the principal prizes were adjudged by the society, we consider it as unnecessary to protract this article by adding any account of the remaining papers. The abstract which we have given will, we think, be sufficient to afford our readers a tolerably accurate idea of the contents of the volume; and consequently, as far as we may be permitted to make the inference, of the state of medical opinions in the great empire.

Bos

A

ART.

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ART. VI. Asiatic Researches ; or Transactions of the Society insti tuted in Bengal, for inquiring into the History and Antiquities, the Arts, Sciences, and Literature, of Asia. Vol. the Eighth PP. 518. Printed at Calcutta. 1805. Imported by Cadell and Davies. London. Price l. 118. 6d.

4to.

IT

Talways gives us pleasure to receive the reports of a body of men whose objects are so commendable, so important, and so fertile as those of the Asiatic Society. We had our fears that the loss of the inestimable founder of this institution might even be fatal to its continuance but though it must ever be severely felt, we are happy in obtaining proofs that the mem bers are still zealous in the cause for which they are associated and active in their exertions to promote it.

The present volume, however, affords us no account of the internal state of the society; of the countenance which it still derives from " men in authority," nor of the aid which it ob taius from its existing president, by whom no Distcurses are here delivered. The evidence of the papers themselves, then, is cur only information respecting the proceedings of this learned body; and to them we must now apply for this purpose.

Our attention is first directed to a communication intided Observations on the Remarkable Effects of So! lunar Influence in the Fevers of India; with the Scheme of an Astronomical Ephemeris for the Purposes of Medicine and Meteorology. By FRANCIS BALFOUR, ESQ. M. D.-Dr. BALFOUR here calls the attention of the society to a subject on which he has before given his sentiments to the public; viz. the effects which planetary attraction exercises on the human body, more particularly when under the influence of fever. In the healthy state, these effects are not sufficiently powerful to become manifest: but when, from any circumstance, debility is induced, the sol-lunar ac tion is supposed to be capable of producing a febrile paroxysm, These paroxysms, originating from the same cause with the tides, have a tendency to take place at the same times; and on this principle the author explains the periodical accessions, which constitute all the different types that fevers assume. The following are the fundamental positions of his doctrine, and the general theorem which he deduces from them:

1st. That the paroxyms of fevers are produced by the action of sol-lunar influence.

2dly. That there is, however, a certain state of the human constitution, denominated the paroxysmal disposition, required to concur with the exacerbations of sol-lunar power in exciting and reiterating paroxysms, in such a manner as to form fevers.

For Vols. vi. and vii. see M. R. Vols. xlv. and xlvi. N. S.

3dly. That

3dly. That in the course of the disease there takes place in the constitution a certain state, denominated the critical disposition, which tending gradually to maturity, at length concurs with certain remis. sions of sol-lunar power in producing a crisis; by which salutary change the tendency to paroxysm is diminished or removed, so as to bring fevers to an end after certain intervals of time.

Theorem. The fluctuating force of sol-lunar influence coinciding and co-operating in all its various stages and degrees, with the various modifications of the paroxysmal disposition, excites febrile paroxysms to attack on all the days of the neaps and springs, and supports and reiterates them, according to various types, until the commencement of different neaps; at which junctures the maturity of the critical disposition happening to concur with the periodical decline of sol lunar influence, these paroxysms then subside and come to a termination or crisis: and thus form different successions of paroxysms constituting fevers of various length or duration.'

According to Dr. B., not only the general character of the disease but even its particular symptoms are materially affected by this sol-lunar attraction: for he observes that a regular fluctuation occurs in the color and consistence of the urine in fever, corresponding to the positions of the sun and moon; and that the appearance of eruptions, sores, and ulcers, undergoes similar changes.

Proceeding on this principle, Dr. BALFOUR has found that fevers are most frequent about the equinoxes; at which periods, the influence of the sun and moon is more powerfully excited, and the tides rise to greater heights. In support of his doctrine, and to shew that the same effects are produced in other quarters of the globe, he refers to some remarks made by Dr. Currie on the fevers in Liverpool; from which it appears that in that town, during a period of 17 years, the disease prevails more frequently at the equinoxes than at the solstices. From Dr. Currie's statement, Dr. BALFOUR deduces these propositions :

1st. That whilst the temperature of the season in the spring was passing from cold to hot, the number of typhus fevers rose about above the common standard.

2dly. That whilst the temperature of the season in the autumn was passing from hot to cold, the number of typhus fevers rose in like manner about above the common standard."

3dly. That during the months of summer, when the heat of the season is greatest, the number of typhus fevers fell beneath the common standard about ;-and

6

4thly. That during the months of winter, when the heat of the season is least, the number of typhus fevers fell in like manner below the common standard in the same proportion, about

'

As may be conceived, Dr. B. regards this as a striking illustration of his doctrine; but we confess that we are more dis

i4

posed

posed to consider it only as an example of the greater effect produced by a variable temperature, than by the extreme of heat or cold which occurs in England.

The existence of this sol-lunar influence is a mere question of fact; and although we believe it is not to be discovered in this country more shaninIndia, where all meteorological phænomena are much more uncertain and are affected by many incidental circumstances, we must acknowlege that a powerful body of evidence exists in favor of its agency in tropical regions. Its effect on the ocean is most evident, and perhaps we may add on the atmosphere; and therefore we see nothing repugnant to the principles of philosophy in supposing that it may affect the human body. Farther experience and observation alone can decide the inquiry.

Extract from a Journal, during the Late Campaign in Egypt. By Captain C. B. BURR.-We are here presented with accounts of the temple of Dendera, or Tentyris, similar to those which have been recently published by the French. Speaking of the figures on the walls, Captain B. observes,

، The dresses, the utensils, canoes, and many of the articles of the domestic economy of the ancient Egyptians, are herein represented in the most minute and pleasing manner; and the entire state of these figures, not only in shape, but colouring, conveys the most perfect idea of the habits of the times. A vast resemblance exists in the dresses with those at present worn in India; the cholie of the woman, the moond, and many others, claiming a direct comparison. It has often struck me, and never more forcibly than in contemplating this temple and its sculptures, that there must have existed a much greater affinity in the customs of, and of course a more friendly intercourse amongst, the nations of the East formerly, when they pursued one system of worship, than since the introduction of Christianity, and

Mabometanism.

Some natives of Eastern Asia having accompanied our troops, Captain BURR had an opportunity of witnessing the impression which these relics of Egyptian idolatry, having perhaps the same origin with that of the Hindus, produced on their

minds:

Our Indian followers, who had attended us, beheld the scene before them with a degree of admiration, bordering on veneration; arising not only from the affinity they traced in several of the figures to their own deities, but from their conviction of its being the work of some Rácshas, who they conceived had visited the earth, to transmit to an admiring posterity a testimony of supernatural talents.'

Of the Crigin of the Hindu Religion. By J. D. PATTERSON Es-That" more was meant than met the ear," or the eye, in the religious institutions of the Heathens, is very certain;