: the water, in confequence of that, fell altogether upon the pinnace; which thereby became fo much crowded, that the crew were, in a great measure, prevented from ufing their fire-arms, or giving what affiftance they otherwife might have done to Captain Cook; fo that he feems, at the moft critical point of time, to have wanted the affiftance of both boats, owing to the removal of the launch. For, notwithstanding that they kept up a fire on the crowd from the fituation to which they removed in that boat, the fatal confufion which enfued on her being withdrawn, to say the leaft of it, must have prevented the full effect, that the prompt co-operation of the two boats, according to Captain Cook's orders, muft have had, towards the prefervation of himself and his people. At that time, it was to the boats alone, that Capt. Cook had to look for his fafety; for when the marines had fired, the Indians rushed among them, and forced them into the water, where four of them were killed: their lieutenant was wounded, but fortunately efcaped, and was taken up by the pinnace. Capt. Cook was then the only one remaining on the rock he was obferved making for the pinnace, holding his left hand against the back of his head, to guard it from the ftones, and carrying his musket under the other arm. An Indian was feen following him with caution and timidity; for he ftopped once or twice as if undetermined to proceed. At laft he advanced upon him unawares, and with a large club, or common flake, gave him a blow on the back of the head, and then precipitately retreated. The ftroke feemed to have stunned Capt. Cook: he ftaggered a few paces, then fell on his hand and one knee, and dropped his musket. As he was rifing, and before he could recover his feet, another Indian stabbed him in the back of his neck with an iron dagger. He then fell into a bite of water, about knee deep, where others crowded upon him, and endeavoured to keep him under: but struggling very ftrongly with them, he got his head up, and cafting his look toward the pinnace, feemed to folicit affiftance. Though the boat was not above five or fix yards diftant from him, yet from the crowded and confufed ftate of the crew, it feems it was not in their power to fave him. The Indians got him under again, but in deeper water: he was, however, able to get his head up once more, and being almoft spent in the ftruggle, he naturally turned to the rock, and was endeavouring to fupport himself by it, when a favage gave him a blow with a club, and he was feen alive no more. They hauled him up lifeless on the rocks, where they feemed to take a favage pleasure in ufing every barbarity to his dead body, fnatching the * I have heard one of the gentlemen who were prefent fay, that the first injury he received was from a dagger, as it is reprefented in the voyage; but, from the account of many others, who were alfo eye-witneffes, I am confident in saying that he was firft ftruck with a club. I was afterwards confirmed in this by Kaireekea, the priest, who particularly mentioned the name of the man who gave him the blow, as well as that of the Chief who afterwards ftruck him with the dagger. This is a point not worth difputing about: I mention it as being folicitous to be accurate in this account, even in circumftances of themselves not very material.' H 2 daggers daggers out of each others hands, to have the horrid fatisfaction of piercing the fallen victim of their barbarous rage.. 'I need make no reflection on the great lofs we fuffered on this occafion, or attempt to defcribe what we felt. It is enough to fay, that no man was ever more beloved or admired: and it is truly painful to reflect, that he feems to have fallen a facrifice merely for want of being properly fupported; a fate, fingularly to be lamented, as having fallen to his lot, who had ever been confpicuous for his care of thofe under his command, and who feemed, to the laft, to pay as much attention to their preservation, as to that of his own life. If any thing could have added to the fhame and indignation univerfally felt upon the occafion, it was to find, that his remains had been deferted, and left expofed on the beach, although they might have been brought off. It appears, from the information of four or five midshipmen, who arrived on the fpot at the conclufion of the fatal bulinefs, that the beach was then almost entirely deferted by the Indians, who had at length given way to the fire of the boats and difperfed through the town; fo that there feemed no great obftacle to prevent the recovery of Capt. Cook's body; but the lieutenant returned on board without making the attempt. It is unneceffary to dwell longer on this painful fubject, and to relate the complaints and cenfures that fell on the conduct of the lieutenant. It will be fufficient to obferve, that they were fo loud as to oblige Capt. Clerke publicly to notice them, and to take the depofitions of his accufers down in writing. The Captain's bad ftate of health and approaching diffolution, it is fuppofed, induced him to deftroy thefe papers a fhort time before his death. It is a painful task, to be obliged to notice circumftances, which feem to reflect on the character of any man. A ftrict regard to truth, however, compelled me to the infertion of thefe facts, which I have offered merely as facts, without prefuming to connect with them any comment of my own: efteeming it the part of a faithful hiftorian, 66 to extenuate nothing, nor fet down aught in malice." Thefe circumstances are of too ferious, a nature to admit of any comment from us. No man, we conclude, can poffibly fit down filently under fo direct a charge without being deemed guilty; but it would ill become us to judge in fuch a case, before we have heard the accufed party. Mr. S.'s anecdotes relating to Capt. Cook's life and fervices are more numerous than those which are inferted by Captain King, in the account of the voyage; and the Author concurs entirely in the opinion which we hazarded, in our account of that publication, concerning the introduction of the venereal difeafe into the Sandwich-iflands: See Review, for October 1784, p. 298. He does not attempt to decide, abfolutely, that it was not left there by our people, but he endeavours fully to refute the arguments of those who have contended for the contrary opinion. ART. ART. FI. Aretaus; confifting of Eight Books, on the Caufes, Symptoms, and Cure of acute and chronic Difeafes. Tranflated from the original Greek. By John Mof, M. D. 8vo. 6s. Boards. Richardfon. O many are the requifites for a good translation of a valuable author, that we confider a judicious and elegant tranflator, as entitled to a very eminent place in the ranks of literary merit. A competent knowledge of the two languages is but a small part of the many accomplishments that form fuch a character. He ought, in the first place, to be thoroughly, acquainted with the fubject, especially if it be fcientific, that he may be the better enabled to underftand his author, and gain a clear and accurate idea of his thoughts. A good tranflator ought to convey the sense of the original in fuch terms, and in fuch a manner, as the author himself would have done had he written in the fame language; whence it appears, that a genius, or a manner of thinking, fimilar to that of the original writer, is a neceffary qualification of a tranflator, in order that the turn of their thoughts may not only be alike, but even be expreffed in the fame ftyle. * Aretaus is an author much admired by every phyfician who has attentively confidered him; and the more he is examined, and ftudied, the more brilliant he appears. His ftyle is, perhaps, the most concife that can be, yet, at the fame time, extremely perfpicuous: he conveys as much real knowledge in a fingle line as many other writers have done in feveral pages. His energy of expreffion commands attention, while his fimple and unadorned, though forcible, arguments compel the aff nt of his readers. The defcriptive part of his writings is so admirably executed, that no fymptom, however trivial, is paffed over in filence; and yet nothing appears redundant or tirefome. In the therapeutic part he is fcarce equalled by any of his fucceffors, for method or elegance, and his inftructions are delivered in plain and comprehenfible terms. Aretæus is one of those efcaped the ravages of time. mitted to us. Dr. Moffat, authors whofe writings have not We have only part of them tranfin his Preface, obferves, that our 6 * He was a phyfician of the fect of Pneumatifts, but in what age he lived is not a matter easy to be determined. From an attentive perufal of his writings, we may be enabled to difcover what other writers preceded him; for instance, he mentions the antidote for the poifon of vipers, difcovered by Andromachus, Nero's phyfician, which evidently places him after Nero. Diofcorides, the author of the Euporifta, who lived a little before the time of Galen, quotes Aretaus: whence we may infer that he flourished fome time between the reigns of Vefpafian and Adrian.. H 3 Author Author writes eight books in Greek; the four firft, on the caufes and fymptoms of acute and chronic difeafes, and the other four, on the cure, or therapeutics. It is matter of regret [he adds] that the five chapters of the first book, on the caufes and fymp-toms of acute difefes have been loft. I have therefore purpofely avoided to give the cure of thefe, as it in fome measure appeared contradictory to common fenfe to obviate causes and symptoms, which were not in the original, or did not exist. I must likewife abferve, that the fifth chapter holds the place of the first, in order that it might better pleafe the eye, and have more the appearance of a whole: befides thefe mentioned, there are a few chapters wanting in the cure of chronic difeafes, which I have taken care to point out in the course of the work, and to mark with afterisks in the contents.' Every edition* of Aretæus, which we have feen, contains a very large portion of the fifth chapter of the firft book, in all probability the greatest part of it. The difeafe described in it is evidently the epilepfy, whofe various fymptons are most accurately enumerated, and admirably delineated. We can fee no reafon why it fhould be omitted in a tranflation, or why the five first chapters of the cure of difeafes fhould be neglected: they contain many curious obfervations, and are certainly as valuable as any of the reft. Tranflators, as editors, ought not to withhold any part of their author. The reafon Dr. M. affigns for numbering his chapters as he has done, making the fifth (which we find to be the fixth) of Aretæus the first of the tranflation, is a trifling one, and the change is attended with a very great inconvenience, especially to thofe, who like us, wish to compare the tranflation with the original. As a fpecimen, we have felected the 11th chapter of the third. book, because we think it neither the best nor worst part of the performance, and on that account, properly adapted to give our Readers a general idea of the whole: 1 If a difficulty of breathing is produced either from running, exceffive exercife, or any other caufe +, it is denominated Afth-. ma: that disease likewife ‡ known by the name Orthopnoea,. is There are few editions of this valuable author.-A Latin tranflation by Junius Paulus Craffus, Profeffor at Padua; printed at Venice, 1552, 4to.-A Greek edition by Jacobus Goupylus, Paris, 1554, 8vo. This edition was reprinted by H. Stephens.-A Greek and Latin edition, by Henifchius, 1603, fol.-A Greek and Latin elegant edition, by Dr. Wigan, Oxford, 1723, fol.Another by Boerhaave, at Leyden, 1731. + Any other caufe. The original rays would certainly have been better rendered by any kind of labour. I Likewife known.] The adverb likewife belongs to the verb called, ή νούσος δε ορθοπνοια κι εδε κεκλήσεται ασθμα ; read therefore, the difeafe Orthopnea is likewife called Afthma. called called Afthma, because the patients, during the paroxyfms, are affected with a difficulty of breathing: it obtains the appellation Orthopnoea from the patient's not being able to breathe eafily, unless in an erect pofture of body; in a reclining state †, there is danger of fuffocation taking place. In this difeafe the lungs are affected, and the parts fubfervient to refpiration fympathize, fuch as the diaphragm and thorax; but should the heart fuffer, death muft inevitably be the confequence, as both refpiration and life originate from this vifcus 1. The caufe is coldnefs of breath with moisture: the matter confifts of thick glutinous humours lurking internally. Women are more subject to the disease than men, because their habit is naturally moift and cold; boys likewife, but they more frequently recover than women, from their daily increase of ftrength, and their nature very powerful in producing heat §: men are by no means fo liable to the affection, but to them it fooner proves mortal. Death attacks thofe flowly whofe lungs are warmed from any fort of workmanship, fuch as the manufacturing of wool, the working in calx, brafs, iron, or the fomenting of bath fires ||. The marks of this difeafe approaching are, a heavinefs at the breaft, a flowness to perform ufual bufinefs, and every thing elfe ¶, a difficulty of respiration, both in running and walking; the patients are troubled with hoarfeness and coughing, flatulency in the præcordia, eructations without being able to affign any reason, watchfulness and a small obfcure nocturnal * Are affected with a difficulty of breathing.] How much more concife the original, acuanovo ide, are asthmatic. In a reclining state there is danger of a fuffocation taking place] Dr. M. thus tranflates πνιξ γαρ κατακλισι. είνεκεν τε τονε, το επι τῷ πνευμαλι, ὀρθοπνοια τενομα, όρθια γαρ ανατεταται εἰς αναπνοην, την ὑπλιΘ. κατακλινό θῆ ἄνθρωπο, κινδυν© πνιγηναι. where we obferve a too great degree of concifenefs; viz. the leaving out a whole fentence. As both refpiration and life originate from this vifcus.] in de yag ʼn της αναπνοής και της ζωής αρχη. Though the above is evidently the fenfe of the Author, yet we think, in it is the fource of breath and of life, more in the manner of Aretæus, and more agreeable to the ori ginal. § From their daily increase of firength, and their nature very powerful in producing heat.] Making two members of a fentence where the original confifts only of one, which Dr. M. frequently does, is a liberty we cannot think juftifiable, as the beautiful concifeness of the Author is thereby totally loft. The original isyage Quois ev auśnot Cequnvai duvatwraτn, for nature in their growth is very powerful in producing heat. The fomenting bath fires.] This is an affected expreffion for beating of baths, λείρων πυρσεύτηρι. f Every thing elle,] απασαν πληξιν might have been rendered every kind of work. H4 heat: |