Note 171 — Second Part. (continued 2)

Alex. Traj. Petronius, De morbo Gallico, (On the French Disease—Syphilis), bk. II. chs. 24., and 26 (Aphrodisiacus pp. 1225, 1226.) in his time says: Et in regione calida, quoniam secundum naturae suae impetum ad cutem fertur, minus saevire, in frigida vero, quoniam contra suam naturam ad interna migrare cogitur, magis.—Neque nos non lateat, in ambiente (ut dicunt) calido, quoniam ad cutim attractio fit, morbum hunc et secundum naturae suae impetum creari, et simul ad exteriora prorumpere solere. In frigido autem, quia intro repellitur contra suae naturae motum retroverti et solidas corporis partes saepius depasci. Frequentius etiam in regione calida quam frigida apparere; hic enim circumfusus aer, ne morbus ad cutim extendatur, prohibet (nam intro pellit), illic vero et ad cutim trahit et eandem retinet. (Moreover in a hot region, inasmuch as in accordance with the impulse of its nature it is carried to the skin, it is there less virulent; whereas in a cold one, as it is compelled against its nature to travel to the inward parts, it is more so.—Again we should not let this escape our notice, that in a hot environment (as they say), inasmuch as an attraction takes place towards the skin, this disease also according to the impulse of its nature is there brought into being, and is wont to break out towards the external parts. On the other hand in a cold one, because it is drawn within, it is turned back contrary to the motion of its nature, and more often feeds upon the solid parts of the body. Again it appears more frequently in a hot region than in a cold one; for in the latter case the surrounding air (driving it within as it does) hinders the disease from extending to the skin, whereas in the former it draws it to the skin and keeps it there). But specially pertinent in this connection is p. 1211.—Puydebat, “Über den Einfluss des Climas auf den Menschen,” (Of the Influence of Climate on Man), in the “Bulletin méd. de Bordeaux, 1836. May 21. (Froriep Notiz. 1836. Vol. 49. p. 179.) writes: Die immer geöffneten Hautporen hauchen in den heissen Ländern einen reichlichen, mehr oder weniger stark riechenden Schweiss aus. Die Hautdrüsen sondern eine ölige Flüssigkeit in Menge ab, welche die Haut schlüpfrig macht und derselben jenes bei den Negern so auffallende Ansehn giebt. Dieser Zustand der Haut macht sie zu Exanthemen, z. B. Masern, Blattern, Syphilis, Lepra, Elephantiasis geneigt. (The ever open skin-pores expire in hot countries a rich and more or less strongly smelling sweat. The cutaneous glands secrete an oily fluid in quantities, which makes the skin slippery and gives it that appearance so striking in Negroes. This state of the skin makes it liable to exanthematic effections, e.g. Measles, Small-pox, Syphilis, Leprosy, Elephantiasis).—In cold countries the transpiration of the skin is very weak; in consequence the internal secretions are increased in quantity, while in hot countries they are lessened from a directly opposite cause.” Comp. J. von Röser, “Ueber einige Krankheiten des Orients,” (On some Diseases of the East). Augsburg 1837., pp. 67-71., to whose statements we shall have to return on several future occasions.