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A Treatise on the Plague and Yellow Fever / With an Appendix, containing histories of the plague at Athens in the time of the Peloponnesian War; at Constantinople in the time of Justinian; at London in 1665; at Marseilles in 1720 cover

A Treatise on the Plague and Yellow Fever / With an Appendix, containing histories of the plague at Athens in the time of the Peloponnesian War; at Constantinople in the time of Justinian; at London in 1665; at Marseilles in 1720

Chapter 17: No IV.
By James Tytler
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About This Book

The work surveys historical outbreaks of the true plague, tracing recorded devastations and examining theories about origins, climatic and moral influences, and the nature of contagion. It analyzes symptoms and medical histories, considers evidence and debate over transmissibility, and reviews recommended measures for prevention and clinical management. A second part addresses yellow fever with a comparative account of symptoms and causes, contested views on contagion, recommended preventive practices and treatments, and a selection of notable case reports. An appendix gathers classical and later plague narratives and practitioners’ responses to queries, illustrating social effects and public-health responses.

No IV.

Account of the Plague at Marseilles in 1720:—From the Periodical Publications of the time.

SO much hath been said concerning this plague, in the first part of this treatise, that no particular detail is requisite here. In its symptoms it differed little if any thing from the plague of London, described in the former number. Many died without any previous sickness, and, while the distemper continued severe, few outlived the third day; and so infectious was its nature, that one person in a family was seldom attacked without its successively attacking all the rest. The bodies were said to putrefy in 24 hours. Very considerable sums of money were collected here, as well as in London. The conduct of the bishop on this melancholy occasion has been greatly celebrated by many; among others by Dr. Darwin, in his Botanic Garden, in the following lines:

“So when Contagion, with mephitic breath,
And wither’d Famine, urg’d the work of death;217
Marseilles’ good Bishop, London’s gen’rous Mayor,
With food and faith, with med’cine and with prayer,
Rais’d the weak head, and stay’d the parting sigh,
Or with new life relum’d the swimming eye.