Now it is very plain, That if the time, in which either the Peccant Humour is prepar'd for Secretion, or the Fermentation of the Blood is come to its height, falls in with those Changes in the Atmosphere which diminish its pressure; the Crisis will then be more compleat and large. And also, that this Work may be forwarded or delay'd a day, upon the account of such an Alteration in the Air; the Distention of the Vessels upon which it depends, being hereby made more easie, and a weak Habit of Body in some Cases standing in need of this outward Assistance. Thus a Fever which requires about a Week to its Period, may sometimes, as Hippocrates observed, have a good Crisis on the sixth, and sometimes not till the eighth day.
In Order therefore to make true Observations of this kind, the time of Invasion is to be considered, The genuine course of the Distemper must first be watched, which is not to be interrupted by any violent Methods: The strength of Nature in the Patient is to be considered, and by
what Secretions the Crisis is most likely to be performed; and it will then be found, that not only the New and Full Moons, but even the Southings, whether visible or latent, of the Planet, are here of considerable Moment.
For Confirmation of which, we need only to reflect on what Mr. Paschal has remark'd, concerning the Motions of Diseases and Births and Deaths[51]. Dividing the Νυχθήμερον into Four Senaries of Hours, the first consists of three hours before the Southing of the Moon, and three after; the second of the six hours following, and the third and fourth of the