Friday 14 December 1660

Annotations

• N David Quidnunc on Mon 15 Dec 2003, 01:53am

  The birds — and the bees

  There was a theory still current (and dating back to Pliny and Aristotle) that insects were generated from putrefaction, sweat or dust. Several 17th-century scientists established that insect eggs were needed to generate still more of the little critters.
  —L&M (Volume 1) note for this diary entry

• N David Quidnunc on Mon 15 Dec 2003, 02:14am

  James Harrington VINDICATED!

  This insect topic brought to mind the so-called “madness” of political philosopher James Harrington during his days in the Tower of London, which I mentioned in a note at the 9 January 1660 page.

  John Aubrey thought Harrington’s belief that his sweat was creating bees and flies was madness (perhaps out of Aubrey’s own ignorance of the theory?). Here’s what Aubrey said (I think “procatractique” means “practical”):

  “Anno Domini 1660, he was committed prisoner to the Tower; then to Portsey castle. His durance in these Prisons(he being a Gentleman of a high spirit and a hot head) was the procatractique cause of his deliration or madnesse; which was not outragious, for he would discourse rationally enough and be very facetious company, but he grew to have a phancy that his Perspiration turned to Flies, and sometimes to Bees; and he had a versitile timber house built in Mr. Hart’s garden (opposite to St. James’s parke) to try the experiment. He would turne it to the sun, and sit towards it; then he had his foxtayles there to chase away and massacre all the Flies and Bees that were to be found there, and then shut his *Chassees* [window]. Now this Experiment was only to be tried in Warme weather, and some flies would lye so close in the cranies and cloath (with which it was hung) that they would not presently shew themselves. A quarter of an hower perhaps, a fly or two, or more, might be drawen-out of the lurking holes by the warmeth; and then he would crye out, Doe not you see it apparently that these come from me? ‘Twas the strangest sort of madnes that ever I found in anyone: talke of any thing els, his discourse would be very ingeniose and pleasant.”
  — Aubrey’s Brief Lives, edited by Oliver Lawson Dick. “[window]”, above, is in Dick’s edition.

  It’s unclear to me when Harrington was actually doing this experiment — after his imprisonment?

  More on Harrington here:
  http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1660/01/09/index.php#c360
  

• N vincent on Mon 15 Dec 2003, 02:18am

  “…and at night step a little with him to the Coffee House where we light upon very good company …”
  Such a wonderful description of London December at 5.0 of an evening. From gloom and chill[no doubt a bit Foggy too, being near the ‘tems ‘(‘twas in the 1950’s)] to well lit and nice company all of a buzz.

• N Jenny Doughty on Mon 15 Dec 2003, 03:37am

  Vincent, I think the famous London ‘pea-soupers’ of the fifties were to do with air pollution and the use of coal fires. I’m not sure they would have been experienced to anything like that extent in 1660.

• N vincent on Mon 15 Dec 2003, 04:12am

  JD: I beg to differ: see http://www.bedoyere.freeserve.co.uk/FUMIFUGIUM.DOC * - John Evelyn

• N vincent on Mon 15 Dec 2003, 04:46am

  Wooden Rivet on Thu 9 Jan 2003, 1:26 pm | Link
  RE:Coals from Newcastle
  In 1661, John Evelyn, a noted diarist of the day, wrote his anticoal treatise FUMIFUNGIUM: or the Inconvenience of the Aer and Smoake of London
  book was Fumigugium: or the the inconveiniencie of the aer and smoak of London dissipated
  vincent on Wed 7 May 2003, 4:59 am | Link
  

• N vincent on Mon 15 Dec 2003, 04:57am

  for the full text seefull text: at
  http://astext.com/history/fumifug.html
  sample “…It was one day, as I was Walking in Your MAJESTIES Palace, at WHITE-HALL (where I have sometimes the honour to refresh my self with the Sight of Your Illustrious Presence, which is the Joy of Your Peoples hearts) that a presumptuous Smoake issuing from one or two Tunnels neer Northumberland-House1, and not far from Scotland-yard,2 did so invade
  the Court; that all the Rooms, Galleries, and Places about it were fill’d and infested with it; and that to such a degree, as Men could hardly discern one another for the Clowd, and none could support, without manifest Inconveniency…”

  
  

• N Mary on Mon 15 Dec 2003, 08:07am

  ” I was not a little proud”

  Presumably Pepys hopes that he, too, may receive a knighthood as Clerk of the Acts. However, L&M footnote makes it clear that Buck’s knighthood was exceptional and that no other Clerk was knighted in the whole course of the 17th Century.

  At this point, Pepys is the only one of the five resident members of the board who is not a knight.

• N Mary on Mon 15 Dec 2003, 08:19am

  Coal fires and pollution

  In addition to the smoke from domestic fires, there were also all those cookshops and taverns firing-up their ranges and plenty of blacksmiths around who would have been making their contribution to the atmosphere, not to mention breweries, whitsters and other commercial undertakings.

  There was also the nature of the coal itself to consider. Many folk burned the very dirty but cheaper ‘brown coal’ which gave off even more noxious smoke than efficient types such as anthracite.

• N J A Gioia on Mon 15 Dec 2003, 01:00pm

  Also all this day looking upon my workmen.

  one is reminded of the old plumbers’ joke: ‘my fee is $10 an hour. if you are going to watch me, it’s $15.’

• N Ruben on Mon 15 Dec 2003, 02:12pm

  The birds

• N Nix on Mon 15 Dec 2003, 03:59pm

  “Procatractique”?

  Probably “procatarctic” —

  OED:

  Obs.

  [= F. procatarctique (16th c. in ittr

• N john lauer on Tue 16 Dec 2003, 04:16am

  “procatarctic”:
  the ‘proximal’ cause, as opposed to the ‘root’ cause, is a distinction still confused today (as it is above), even in its general (not medical or legal) usage. At least we don’t use that ugly word anymore.

• N Jenny Doughty on Tue 16 Dec 2003, 04:41am

  Vincent and Mary - I stand corrected - thank you :-)

• N Orrin on Tue 16 Dec 2003, 12:58pm

  “… of which to myself I was not a little proud.”

  Ummm … Anyone know why the knowledge that a Sir Peter Buck, Clerk of the Acts, sat on the Navy Board would so chuff up our Sam?

• N Pauline on Tue 16 Dec 2003, 02:28pm

  why the knowledge that a Sir Peter Buck was Clerk of the Acts chuffs up our Sam
  He is proud to have risen to a position that a “sir” has held.

  See Mary above at 8:07 am
  

• N David Duff on Tue 16 Dec 2003, 06:07pm

  Mary,
  What are “whitsters”?
  

• N dirk on Tue 16 Dec 2003, 07:16pm

  “Whitsters”

  WHITSTER: A bleacher of cloth.

  From:
  http://www.gendocs.demon.co.uk/trades.html
  By the way this is an excellent guide to some of the more obscure professions throughout recent history.
  

• N Mary on Tue 16 Dec 2003, 10:25pm

  Whitsters

  As Dirk says, bleachers of cloth and hence, by extension, laundries and laundry-workers in general.

• N Terry F on Wed 7 Dec 2005, 02:33am

  R.I.P the FUMIFUGIUM link vincent supplied; available now are this work and others by Evylyn at an FTP site at the Pennsylvania State University:
  ftp://ftp.cac.psu.edu/pub/humanities/John_Evelyn/#Evelyn

  (copy and paste this address into your browser)

• N Pedro on Wed 23 Jan 2008, 10:06pm

  On the 14th December Allin reaches Smyrna…

  Allin left on the 6th of January 60/61 after the party had hunted for wild boar and hare, and generally enjoyed the hospitality of the merchants.

  “I took both my boats and waited upon my Lord to carry him and the merchants to Saneto Venerando, the burying place, and from thence up the hill by a fountain of excellent water and so to Polycarp’s tomb and then to the castle, whereupon the top there is a little chapel and a fair prospect into the valley where there is a double-sided aquaduct. We then descended into a green place where was a hole full of rubbish stones. We went down into a cave or cellar which was arched 4 arches one way and 5 arches another, very large and strong. We took a walk about the castle and descended to see the ruins of an old decayed theatre where the story reports Polycarp was torn by wild beasts.

  (Journals of Sir Thomas Allin edited by RC Anderson)