difficulty of a juft tranflation of that work; for there are many words in the Spanish language that cannot be reduced into any other, nor is there any one tongue, ancient or modern, that abounds with so many compound words as the Spanish, excepting the Greek only, and if to this be added the many Arabic or Moorish words, engrafted on it, as alfo fome of the ancient original Spanish ftill remaining, you will eafily conceive the difficulty, though indeed the chief part of the compofition confifts of corrupted Latin. The word "fe"nectude," which you enquire after, is derived from fenex, fenectus, and cannot be otherwise translated, fo as to carry any proper idea along with it, than by calling it "fenectude;" for if, instead of this, we were to fay the "old age of the world," it would not answer the purpose of the two difcourfes, one of which is to fhew that

" of innocence; other arts arofe after the world had been polluted by fin-Men were the inventors "of all other arts: Go himself invented agri"culture."

the

the world has not suffered any vifible decay in its fubftance" fince the creation; the other, that it has not degenerated in its "morals," but is much more virtuous now than it was two, three, or four thousand years ago. The word "faluters" does not answer in this place to the intent of the original. I take it to be derived from the Latin falus, falutator; for thefe " faluters" here spoken of, were and are a set of impoftors in Spain, who pretend to cure infection in man and beaft, particularly the bite of mad dogs, by blowing on the patients, as I remember here in England there were, fome time fince, a parcel of fellows called "ftrokers," who made a fhew of the fame thing in a different man"Zahories" is abfolutely Arabic, and the perfons under this denomination pretend to a fort of fecond-fight, fo as to perceive mines, and fprings, under ground. "The Batuëcas" is a parcel of land, so called, which among the Spaniards is conceived to exift in their country, and to be inacceffible and unapproachable. H 2

ner.

As tọ

"the

"the exterminating aphorifm," I will here cite the literal tranflation from the author, who begins that difcourfe thus; “I give "this infamous epithet to the 52d aphorifm "of the iid book of Hippocrates, of which, "if I were to fay, that it has taken away "the lives of more than an hundred thou"fand perfons, I fhould yet fall fhort of "the truth. It is but just therefore that "fuch a notorious homicide as this fhould "be brought on the ftage of criticism, that "thus the whole world fhould fee its ex"ecution. The aphorifm, or to speak more

properly, the fentence of death, of which "we are speaking, is the following: Om“nia fecundum rationem facienti fi non fuccedat

fecundum rationem, non eft tranfeundum ad "aliud, fuppetente quod ab initio probaveris.*” Our author from hence takes occafion to decry the mischievous effects of this maxim, and alfo very learnedly and very wittily to

Παντα κατά λόγον ποιέοντι, και μη γινομένων των κατα

λόγον, μη μεταβαίνειν εφ' έτερον, μενοντος το δόξαντος εξ

*/*$*

expofe the ignorance of those physicians that adhere too closely to it.

I have often thought, as you do, in the affair of these Spanish discourses, that if a tranflation was ever to be printed, it might be beft to do it by felecting fome of the most entertaining, and printing them in one volume; but this cannot well be done, as in many of them there are references from one to the others, which makes a fort of connection between them, though they are on different fubjects; and as to the idio fyncratic part, fome curious perfons might be better pleased with it than the others more common, it being a foible natural to mankind to laugh at the follies of other people, and to neglect their own. I should therefore think, if these things were to be published at all, they would do best in numbers, like our monthly magazines, and might come out one in each fortnight, and in this manner there would

be

be time to revise and correct them for the prefs*.

Pray, in this difmal time of earthquakes, had you ever the curiofity to read the account of that of Lima, publifhed four or five years ago by Osborne, which was a handy-work of mine, though my name was never used in it? The fubject is proper enough for the melancholy season at prefent.

I am, dear Sir,

Your most obliged and moft

obedient humble fervant,

HEN. JOHNSON.

Some of these pieces were thus printed in the

Lady's Magazine in 1760.

* LETTER