the black death and the dancing mania-第24部分

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her　times　from　other　extraordinary　customs；　a　peculiar　direction；　so　that；　whether　bitten　by　the　tarantula　or　not；　they　felt　compelled　to　participate　in　the　dances　of　those　affected；　and　to　make　their　appearance　at　this　popular　festival；　where　they　had　an　opportunity　of　triumphantly　exhibiting　their　sufferings。　　Let　us　here　pause　to　consider　the　kind　of　life　which　the　women　in　Italy　led。　　Lonely；　and　deprived　by　cruel　custom　of　social　intercourse；　that　fairest　of　all　enjoyments；　they　dragged　on　a　miserable　existence。　　Cheerfulness　and　an　inclination　to　sensual　pleasures　passed　into　compulsory　idleness；　and；　in　many；　into　black　despondency。　　Their　imaginations　became　disordereda　pallid　countenance　and　oppressed　respiration　bore　testimony　to　their　profound　sufferings。　　How　could　they　do　otherwise；　sunk　as　they　were　in　such　extreme　misery；　than　seize　the　occasion　to　burst　forth　from　their　prisons　and　alleviate　their　miseries　by　taking　part　in　the　delights　of　music？　　Nor　should　we　here　pass　unnoticed　a　circumstance　which　illustrates；　in　a　remarkable　degree；　the　psychological　nature　of　hysterical　sufferings；　namely；　that　many　chlorotic　females；　by　joining　the　dancers　at　the　Carnevaletto；　were　freed　from　their　spasms　and　oppression　of　breathing　for　the　whole　year；　although　the　corporeal　cause　of　their　malady　was　not　removed。　　After　such　a　result；　no　one　could　call　their　self…deception　a　mere　imposture；　and　unconditionally　condemn　it　as　such。

This　numerous　class　of　patients　certainly　contributed　not　a　little　to　the　maintenance　of　the　evil；　for　their　fantastic　sufferings；　in　which　dissimulation　and　reality　could　scarcely　be　distinguished　even　by　themselves；　much　less　by　their　physicians；　were　imitated　in　the　same　way　as　the　distortions　of　the　St。　Vitus's　dancers　by　the　impostors　of　that　period。　　It　was　certainly　by　these　persons　also　that　the　number　of　subordinate　symptoms　was　increased　to　an　endless　extent；　as　may　be　conceived　from　the　daily　observation　of　hysterical　patients　who；　from　a　morbid　desire　to　render　themselves　remarkable；　deviate　from　the　laws　of　moral　propriety。　　Powerful　sexual　excitement　had　often　the　most　decided　influence　over　their　condition。　　Many　of　them　exposed　themselves　in　the　most　indecent　manner；　tore　their　hair　out　by　the　roots；　with　howling　and　gnashing　of　their　teeth；　and　when；　as　was　sometimes　the　case；　their　unsatisfied　passion　hurried　them　on　to　a　state　of　frenzy；　they　closed　their　existence　by　self　destruction；　it　being　common　at　that　time　for　these　unfortunate　beings　to　precipitate　themselves　into　the　wells。

It　might　hence　seem　that；　owing　to　the　conduct　of　patients　of　this　description；　so　much　of　fraud　and　falsehood　would　be　mixed　up　with　the　original　disorder　that；　having　passed　into　another　complaint；　it　must　have　been　itself　destroyed。　　This；　however；　did　not　happen　in　the　first　half　of　the　seventeenth　century；　for；　as　a　clear　proof　that　tarantism　remained　substantially　the　same　and　quite　unaffected　by　hysteria；　there　were　in　many　places；　and　in　particular　at　Messapia；　fewer　women　affected　than　men；　who；　in　their　turn；　were　in　no　small　proportion　led　into　temptation　by　sexual　excitement。　　In　other　places；　as；　for　example；　at　Brindisi；　the　case　was　reversed；　which　may；　as　in　other　complaints；　be　in　some　measure　attributable　to　local　causes。　　Upon　the　whole　it　appears；　from　concurrent　accounts；　that　women　by　no　means　enjoyed　the　distinction　of　being　attacked　by　tarantism　more　frequently　than　men。

It　is　said　that　the　cicatrix　of　the　tarantula　bite；　on　the　yearly　or　half…yearly　return　of　the　fit；　became　discoloured；　but　on　this　point　the　distinct　testimony　of　good　observers　is　wanting　to　deprive　the　assertion　of　its　utter　improbability。

It　is　not　out　of　place　to　remark　here　that；　about　the　same　time　that　tarantism　attained　its　greatest　height　in　Italy；　the　bite　of　venomous　spiders　was　more　feared　in　distant　parts　of　Asia　likewise　than　it　had　ever　been　within　the　memory　of　man。　　There　was　this　difference；　howeverthat　the　symptoms　supervening　on　the　occurrence　of　this　accident　were　not　accompanied　by　the　Apulian　nervous　disorder；　which；　as　has　been　shown　in　the　foregoing　pages；　had　its　origin　rather　in　the　melancholic　temperament　of　the　inhabitants　of　the　south　of　Italy　than　in　the　nature　of　the　tarantula　poison　itself。　　This　poison　is　therefore；　doubtless；　to　be　considered　only　as　a　remote　cause　of　the　complaint；　which；　but　for　that　temperament；　would　be　inadequate　to　its　production。　　The　Persians　employed　a　very　rough　means　of　counteracting　the　bad　consequences　of　a　poison　of　this　sort。　　They　drenched　the　wounded　person　with　milk；　and　then；　by　a　violent　rotatory　motion　in　a　suspended　box；　compelled　him　to　vomit。


SECT。　6DECREASE


The　Dancing　Mania；　arising　from　the　tarantula　bite；　continued　with　all　those　additions　of　self…deception　and　of　the　dissimulation　which　is　such　a　constant　attendant　on　nervous　disorders　of　this　kind；　through　the　whole　course　of　the　seventeenth　century。　　It　was　indeed；　gradually　on　the　decline；　but　up　to　the　termination　of　this　period　showed　such　extraordinary　symptoms　that　Baglivi；　one　of　the　best　physicians　of　that　time；　thought　he　did　a　service　to　science　by　making　them　the　subject　of　a　dissertation。　　He　repeats　all　the　observations　of　Ferdinando；　and　supports　his　own　assertions　by　the　experience　of　his　father；　a　physician　at　Lecce；　whose　testimony；　as　an　eye…witness；　may　be　admitted　as　unexceptionable。

The　immediate　consequences　of　the　tarantula　bite；　the　supervening　nervous　disorder；　and　the　aberrations　and　fits　of　those　who　suffered　from　hysteria；　he　describes　in　a　masterly　style；　not　does　he　ever　suffer　his　credulity　to　diminish　the　authenticity　of　his　account；　of　which　he　has　been　unjustly　accused　by　later　writers。

Finally；　tarantism　has　declined　more　and　more　in　modern　times；　and　is　now　limited　to　single　cases。　　How　could　it　possibly　have　maintained　itself　unchanged　in　the　eighteenth　century；　when　all　the　links　which　connected　it　with　the　Middle　Ages　had　long　since　been　snapped　asunder？　　Imposture　grew　more　frequent；　and　wherever　the　disease　still　appeared　in　its　genuine　form；　its　chief　cause；　namely；　a　peculiar　cast　of　melancholy；　which　formerly　had　been　the　temperament　of　thousands；　was　now　possessed　only　occasionally　by　unfortunate　individuals。　　It　might；　therefore；　not　unreasonably　be　maintained　that　the　tarantism　of　modern　times　bears　nearly　the　same　relation　to　the　original　malady　as　the　St。　Vitus's　dance　which　still　exists；　and　certainly　has　all　along　existed；　bears；　in　certain　cases；　to　the　original　dancing　mania　of　the　dancers　of　St。　John。

To　conclude。　　Tarantism；　as　a　real　disease；　has　been　denied　in　toto；　and　stigmatised　as　an　imposition　by　most　physicians　and　naturalists；　who　in　this　controversy　have　shown　the　narrowness　of　their　views　and　their　utter　ignorance　of　history。　　In　order　to　support　their　opinion　they　have　instituted　some　experiments　apparently　favourable　to　it；　but　under　circumstances　altogether　inapplicable；　since；　for　the　most　part；　they　selected　as　the　subjects　of　them　none　but　healthy　men；　who　were　totally　uninfluenced　by　a　belief　in　this　once　so　dreaded　disease。　　From　individual　instances　of　fraud　and　dissimulation；　such　as　are　found　in　connection　with　most　nervous　affections　without　rendering　their　reality　a　matter　of　any　doubt；　they　drew　a　too　hasty　conclusion　respecting　the　general　phenomenon；　of　which　they　appeared　not　to　know　that　it　had　continued　for　nearly　four　hundred　years；　having　originated　in　the　remotest　periods　of　the　Middle　Ages。　　The　most　learned　and　the　most　acute　among　these　sceptics　is　Serao　the　Neapolitan。　　His　reasonings　amount　to　this；　that　he　considers　the　disease　to　be　a　very　marked　form　of　melancholia；　and　compares　the　effect　of　the　tarantula　bite　upon　it　to　stimulating　with　spurs　a　horse　which　is　already　running。　　The　reality　of　that　effect　he　thus　admits；　and；　therefore；　directly　confirms　what　in　appearance　only　he　denies。　　By　shaking　the　already　vacillating　belief　in　this　disorder　he　is　said　to　have　actually　succeeded　in　rendering　it　less　frequent；　and　in　setting　bounds　to　imposture；　but　this　no　more　disproves　the　reality　of　its　existence　than　the　oft　repeated　detection　of　imposition　has　been　able　in　modern　times　to　banish　magnetic　sleep　from　the　circle　of　natural　phenomena；　though　such　detection　has；　on　its　side；　rendered　more　rare　the　incontestable　effects　of　animal　magnetism。　　Other　physicians　and　naturalists　have　delivered　their　sentiments　on　tarantism；　but　as　they　have　not　possessed　an　enlarged　knowledge　of　its　history　their　views　do　not　merit　particular　exposition。　　It　is　sufficient　for　the　comprehension　of　everyone　that　we　have　presented　the　facts　from　all　extraneous　speculation。



CHAPTER　IIITHE　DANCING　MANIA　IN　ABYSSINIA



SECT。　1TIGRETIER


Both　the　St。　Vitus's　dance　and　tarantism　belonged　to　the　ages　in　which　they　appeared。　　They　could　not　have　existed　under　the　same　latitude　at　any　other　epoch；　for　at　no　other　period　were　the　circumstances　which　prepared　the　way　for　them　combined　in　a　similar　relation　to　each　other；　and　the　mental　as　well　as　corporeal　temperaments　of　nations；　which　depend　on　causes　such　as　have　been　stated；　are　as　little　capable　of　renewal　as　the　differen