Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/88

 LEP

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LET

by the Appointment of Nature, are to be eliminated thro' the Fores of the Skin, along with the recrementitious Se- tum, their proper Vehicle, are, in hot Countries, con- veyed in greater plenty to the Surface of the Body, than in thefe wortbern Regions they ordinarily are j and flick- ing in their Paffage in the thin dry Membrane of the Cuticle, the aqueous Parts, which are their Vehicle, flip away from them by infenfible Evaporation, and leave them there to corrode and fret it, till at length, thro' the Quantity fo gathered, the Membrane becomes dry, brittle, and white, which is the Caufe of that Difqua- mation, or falling away in white Scales : that Whitenefs as well as the Brittlenefs proceeding merely from the Quantity of thefe Salts, which ate themfelves white; and when the Moifture is drawn from them, being acu- leated, and having infinuated themfelves into the Pores of the Cuticle, diflolve the Continuity of it by their Points and Edges, which, fo dead and broken, is apt, on the leaft Friction, to fall off as above-mentioned. This is what they call the Lepra Gr^corum, from its Fre- quency among that People.

Lepra slrabum was another Species of the Diftemper, which tho' different in Appearance, as carrying a dry fcabby Cruft, yet feems only a different Degree of the fame Difeafc. For as in the former Cafe the Salts, being leftdellkute of their Humidity, are not fo active, and therefore affect only the Cuticle; in the latter Cafe thefe Salts, with their Vehicle, crowding farter than they can be evaporated thro' the Pores of the Skin (being Hill in fiwre, and fo morecaufticj corrode deeper, and cat not only the Cuticle, but the excretory Veffels, and Sur- face of the Skin itfelf, which thereby fpews out a Liquor fomewhat thicker than ufual; which, when the thinneft and moft aqueous Parts are evaporated, are condenfed in- to that Crult or Scab, which is the dittinguifiiing Charac- ter of this Difeafe.

Galen defines the Lepra to be an Effufion of thick dif- orderly Blood, that corrupts the whole Habitude of the Body. Atucenna calls it J?i U7iherfal Cancer. The Greeks give it the Name of iMfdvbict.atf, in regard the Patient has his Skin rough, wrinkled, and unequal, like that of an Elephant. The Lepra begins within-fide, a long time before it appears without-fide. It was frequent in Europe in the Xtn and Xlth Centuries, but feems at prefent quite extinct, unlefs we allow the Venereal Difeafe to be the fame with the Lepra 5 as it was the Opinion, a- mong many others, of the Great Pitcaim, and as has been lately endeavoured to be proved by Mr. Becket, in a Treatife exprefly on the Subject in the Philofophical Tranf- attions. The Symptoms of the antient Lepra, as laid down by Galen, Aretrnts, Pontajius, JEgineta, Cardan, Va~ randa, Gordon, Tarceus, and others, are as follow : The Patient's Voice is hoarfe, and comes rather thro' theNofe than the Mouth -, the Blood full of little white fhining Bodies, like Grains of Millet, that upon filtration fe- parate themfelves from it; the Serum is fcabious, and deftitute of its natural Humidity, infomuch that Salt ap- plied to it does not diffolve; it is fo dry, that Vinegar poured on it boils; and is fo ftrongly bound together by little imperceptible Threads, that calcined Lead thrown into itfwims. The Face refembles a Coal half extinct, unctuous, fhining, and bloated, with frequent hard Knobs, green at bottom, and white at top. The Hair is fhort, rtiff, and brinded, and not to be torn off without bringing away fome of the rotten Flefh to which it adheres; if it grows again, either on the Head or Chin, 'tis always white. Athwart the Forehead run large Wrinkles, or Furrows, from one Temple to the other j the Eyes red and inflamed, and fhine like thofeofa Cat 5 the Ears fwollen and red, eaten with Ulcers towards the bottom, and incompaffed with little Glands 5 theNofe funk, becaufe of the rotting of the Cartilage; the Tongue dry and black, fwollen, ulcerated, divided with Furrows, and fpotted with Grains of white 5 the Skin covered wirh Ulcers, that die and revive on each other, or with white Spots or Scales like a Fifh j it is rough and infenfible, and when cur, inftead of Blood, yields a fa- mous Liquor. It arrives in time to fuch a Degree of Infenfibility, that the Wrirt, Feet, or even the large Tendon may be pierced with a Needle, without the Pa- tient's feeling any Pain. At laft the Nofe, Fingers, Toes, and even Privy Members fall off entire, and by a Death peculiar to each of them anticipate that of the Patient. held on the Hand an Hour, will be dried and wrinkled, as if expofed to the Sun for a Week.
 * Tis added, that the Body is fo hot, that a frefh Apple,

Matthew Paris hys, that in Chri/iendom there were fifteen Thoufand Hofpitals for Lepers '■> but the Difeafe having been difcontinued for two Hundred Years, the Re- venues of thofe Hofpitals were abufed, and Perfons feigned themfelves leprous, to be entitled to the Provi- ■ fionj which occafioned their Regulation in fomc Coun-

tries, and their entire Supprefllon in others. In France they were united to the Order of the Religious of St. La- zarus and Mount Carmtt in 1664, and the Adminirtration of them given to the Knights of that Order; in England they have been converted to oiher Purpofes.

Formerly the Caufes of Lepers were committed to the Ecclefiaitkal Tribunals, and it was prohibited to profc- cute a Leper before a Lay-Judge, in regard they were un- der the Protectionof the Church, which feparated them from the reft of thePeopleby a Ceremony ifill to be feeu in the Rituals.

The Lepra appeared differently in different Nations, ac- cording to the Climate and the Manner of Living 5 whence it was diitinguifhed into feveral kinds, as the Lepra Arabitm, Lepra Grxcorv.m, &.c. As to the Cure, that which proved effectual in thofe Southern Countries, fails among us, where the llrongeft Medicaments, and the moft power- ful Mercurials are neceffary. Bathing is judged to be of good Ufe in the Lepra. Dogs and Hares are faid to be fubject to this Difeafe. Among the Indians a white Man is defpifed, this paffing with themfor the Mark of a Le- per. The word Lepra is derived from the Greek a=wi? , Scale, in regard this Difeafe forms a kind of Scales on the Skin.

LEPUS, the Hare, is a Southern Conftellation. See Star and Conjiellation.

LESSOR and LESSEE, arc Terms of the Common Law. The Leffbr is he that leafeth out Lands or Tene- ments to another for Term of Life, for Years, or at Will > and the Perfon to whom fuch a Leafe is made, is called the LeJJee.

LETHARGY, in Medicine, a Difeafe confiding in a profound Drov-finefs or Sleepinefs, wherein the Patient can fcarce be awaked; or, if awaked, remains ftupid, with- out Senfe or Memory, and prefently finks again into his former Sleep. The Lethargy is ufually accompanied with a Fever and Delirium. The Lethargy, Boerhnave makes a gentle Apoplexy, arifing from the fame Caufes, and to be known and cured in the fame manner. Some Authors diilingui/h the Lethargy from the Cams, in that this lat- ter is without a Fever, or at moft is preceded with a vio- lent one, whereas the Lethargy is attended with a flow one. Celfus ranks the Lethargy in the Number of acute Difea- {cs, the Patient ufually dying on the 7th Day. A Lethar- gy frequently fucceeds a Frenzy. The Word comes from the Greek ah^m, Oblhion, and dp-jia., Numbnefs, Lazinefs.

LETHE, or LATHE, a Meafure or Portion of Lands, making one of the antient Divifions in England. King Elfred divided England into Counties, as it {lands at pre- fent, thofe Countries he divided into Hundreds or Ti- things. TheHundred was a Divifion, wherein were an hundred Officers to fecure the Peace 5 the Lethe or Laths comprehended three or four of thefe Hundreds. Lethe was alfo the Jurifdiction of a Vicount, or a kind of Aflize, held once a ¥car in each Village about Michaelmas. Whe- ther this was inilituted by Elfred, or no, isa Queftion.

LETTER, a Sign or Character either in Print or in Writing, by which any People have agreed to exprefs the feveral Sounds, uled in conveying their Thoughts to each other in Speech : Or a letter may be defined, A fimple uncompounded Sound of the Voice, that cannot be fub- divided into any more fimple, and generally marked with a particular Character. It mull be owned however ftn'ctly fpeaking, a Letter is not the Sound itfelf, but ra- ther the Sign ot a Sound, for the yzy.uy.'$A of the Greeks comes from writing, and the Litera of the Latins from lineando, or linen do, each fignifying fomething marked on Paper. Where a Sign or Character does not exprefs a Sound entirely fimple, but one refolvible into feveral it is not fo properly a Leneras an Abbreviation, containing in itfelf as many Letters as its Power does fimple Sounds. This is evident in the Latin ££, x, and the Oee£ |,4,r, 4jfc. which are compofed of et, cs, n c, ■■& 5. 0- t, t£c. On the contrary, a fimple Sound, tho expreffed by feveral Characters, is yet to be efteemed one Letter, for th, ph % are fingle Letters, as much as (p., 9, and f.

.Letters make the fir ft part or Elements of Grammar; an Affemblageof thefe make Syllables, of thofe Words, and of thefe Sentences. The Alphabet of every Lan- guage confifts of a certain Number of thefe Letters, which ought each to have a different Sound, Figure, and Signification. As the Difference of articulate Sounds was to exprefs thedifferent Ideas of the Mind, fo one Letter was originally intended tofignify only one Sound, and not, as at. prefent, to exprefs fometimes one Sound, and fome- times another; which Practice has brought a great deal of Confufion into the Languages, and render'd the learn- ing of the modern Tongues infinitely more difficult than it would otherwife have been. This Confederation, toge- ther with the Poverty of all the known Alphabets, and their want of fome Letters to exprefs certain Sounds by, hasoccaiioned feveral Attempts towards an univerfal Al- phabet, to contain an Enumeration of all fuch fingle

Sounds