the black death and the dancing mania-第20节

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ed；　and　the　belief　in　the　dominion　of　spirits；　which　prevailed　in　the　middle　ages；　lost　for　ever　its　once　formidable　power。



CHAPTER　IITHE　DANCING　MANIA　IN　ITALY



SECT。　1TARANTISM


It　was　of　the　utmost　advantage　to　the　St。　Vitus's　dancers　that　they　made　choice　of　a　favourite　patron　saint；　for；　not　to　mention　that　people　were　inclined　to　compare　them　to　the　possessed　with　evil　spirits　described　in　the　Bible；　and　thence　to　consider　them　as　innocent　victims　to　the　power　of　Satan；　the　name　of　their　great　intercessor　recommended　them　to　general　commiseration；　and　a　magic　boundary　was　thus　set　to　every　harsh　feeling；　which　might　otherwise　have　proved　hostile　to　their　safety。　　Other　fanatics　were　not　so　fortunate；　being　often　treated　with　the　most　relentless　cruelty；　whenever　the　notions　of　the　middle　ages　either　excused　or　commanded　it　as　a　religious　duty。　　Thus；　passing　over　the　innumerable　instances　of　the　burning　of　witches；　who　were；　after　all；　only　labouring　under　a　delusion；　the　Teutonic　knights　in　Prussia　not　unfrequently　condemned　those　maniacs　to　the　stake　who　imagined　themselves　to　be　metamorphosed　into　wolvesan　extraordinary　species　of　insanity；　which；　having　existed　in　Greece　before　our　era；　spread；　in　process　of　time　over　Europe；　so　that　it　was　communicated　not　only　to　the　Romaic；　but　also　to　the　German　and　Sarmatian　nations；　and　descended　from　the　ancients　as　a　legacy　of　affliction　to　posterity。　　In　modern　times　Lycanthropysuch　was　the　name　given　to　this　infatuationhas　vanished　from　the　earth；　but　it　is　nevertheless　well　worthy　the　consideration　of　the　observer　of　human　aberrations；　and　a　history　of　it　by　some　writer　who　is　equally　well　acquainted　with　the　middle　ages　as　with　antiquity　is　still　a　desideratum。　　We　leave　it　for　the　present　without　further　notice；　and　turn　to　a　malady　most　extraordinary　in　all　its　phenomena；　having　a　close　connection　with　the　St。　Vitus's　dance；　and；　by　a　comparison　of　facts　which　are　altogether　similar；　affording　us　an　instructive　subject　for　contemplation。　　We　allude　to　the　disease　called　Tarantism；　which　made　its　first　appearance　in　Apulia；　and　thence　spread　over　the　other　provinces　of　Italy；　where；　during　some　centuries；　it　prevailed　as　a　great　epidemic。　In　the　present　times；　it　has　vanished；　or　at　least　has　lost　altogether　its　original　importance；　like　the　St。　Vitus's　dance；　lycanthropy；　and　witchcraft。


SECT。　2MOST　ANCIENT　TRACESCAUSES


The　learned　Nicholas　Perotti　gives　the　earliest　account　of　this　strange　disorder。　　Nobody　had　the　least　doubt　that　it　was　caused　by　the　bite　of　the　tarantula；　a　ground…spider　common　in　Apulia：　and　the　fear　of　this　insect　was　so　general　that　its　bite　was　in　all　probability　much　oftener　imagined；　or　the　sting　of　some　other　kind　of　insect　mistaken　for　it；　than　actually　received。　　The　word　tarantula　is　apparently　the　same　as　terrantola；　a　name　given　by　the　Italians　to　the　stellio　of　the　old　Romans；　which　was　a　kind　of　lizard；　said　to　be　poisonous；　and　invested　by　credulity　with　such　extraordinary　qualities；　that；　like　the　serpent　of　the　Mosaic　account　of　the　Creation；　it　personified；　in　the　imaginations　of　the　vulgar；　the　notion　of　cunning；　so　that　even　the　jurists　designated　a　cunning　fraud　by　the　appellation　of　a　〃stellionatus。〃　Perotti　expressly　assures　us　that　this　reptile　was　called　by　the　Romans　tarantula；　and　since　he　himself；　who　was　one　of　the　most　distinguished　authors　of　his　time；　strangely　confounds　spiders　and　lizards　together；　so　that　he　considers　the　Apulian　tarantula；　which　he　ranks　among　the　class　of　spiders；　to　have　the　same　meaning　as　the　kind　of　lizard　called　＇Greek　text＇；　it　is　the　less　extraordinary　that　the　unlearned　country　people　of　Apulia　should　confound　the　much…dreaded　ground…spider　with　the　fabulous　star…　lizard；　and　appropriate　to　the　one　the　name　of　the　other。　　The　derivation　of　the　word　tarantula；　from　the　city　of　Tarentum；　or　the　river　Thara；　in　Apulia；　on　the　banks　of　which　this　insect　is　said　to　have　been　most　frequently　found；　or；　at　least；　its　bite　to　have　had　the　most　venomous　effect；　seems　not　to　be　supported　by　authority。　　So　much　for　the　name　of　this　famous　spider；　which；　unless　we　are　greatly　mistaken；　throws　no　light　whatever　upon　the　nature　of　the　disease　in　question。　　Naturalists　who；　possessing　a　knowledge　of　the　past；　should　not　misapply　their　talents　by　employing　them　in　establishing　the　dry　distinction　of　forms；　would　find　here　much　that　calls　for　research；　and　their　efforts　would　clear　up　many　a　perplexing　obscurity。

Perotti　states　that　the　tarantulathat　is；　the　spider　so　called　was　not　met　with　in　Italy　in　former　times；　but　that　in　his　day　it　had　become　common；　especially　in　Apulia；　as　well　as　in　some　other　districts。　　He　deserves；　however；　no　great　confidence　as　a　naturalist；　notwithstanding　his　having　delivered　lectures　in　Bologna　on　medicine　and　other　sciences。　　He　at　least　has　neglected　to　prove　his　assertion；　which　is　not　borne　out　by　any　analogous　phenomenon　observed　in　modern　times　with　regard　to　the　history　of　the　spider　species。　　It　is　by　no　means　to　be　admitted　that　the　tarantula　did　not　make　its　appearance　in　Italy　before　the　disease　ascribed　to　its　bite　became　remarkable；　even　though　tempests　more　violent　than　those　unexampled　storms　which　arose　at　the　time　of　the　Black　Death　in　the　middle　of　the　fourteenth　century　had　set　the　insect　world　in　motion；　for　the　spider　is　little　if　at　all　susceptible　of　those　cosmical　influences　which　at　times　multiply　locusts　and　other　winged　insects　to　a　wonderful　extent；　and　compel　them　to　migrate。

The　symptoms　which　Perotti　enumerates　as　consequent　on　the　bite　of　the　tarantula　agree　very　exactly　with　those　described　by　later　writers。　　Those　who　were　bitten；　generally　fell　into　a　state　of　melancholy；　and　appeared　to　be　stupefied；　and　scarcely　in　possession　of　their　senses。　　This　condition　was；　in　many　cases；　united　with　so　great　a　sensibility　to　music；　that　at　the　very　first　tones　of　their　favourite　melodies　they　sprang　up；　shouting　for　joy；　and　danced　on　without　intermission；　until　they　sank　to　the　ground　exhausted　and　almost　lifeless。　　In　others；　the　disease　did　not　take　this　cheerful　turn。　　They　wept　constantly；　and　as　if　pining　away　with　some　unsatisfied　desire；　spent　their　days　in　the　greatest　misery　and　anxiety。　　Others；　again；　in　morbid　fits　of　love；　cast　their　longing　looks　on　women；　and　instances　of　death　are　recorded；　which　are　said　to　have　occurred　under　a　paroxysm　of　either　laughing　or　weeping。

From　this　description；　incomplete　as　it　is；　we　may　easily　gather　that　tarantism；　the　essential　symptoms　of　which　are　mentioned　in　it；　could　not　have　originated　in　the　fifteenth　century；　to　which　Perotti's　account　refers；　for　that　author　speaks　of　it　as　a　well…　known　malady；　and　states　that　the　omission　to　notice　it　by　older　writers　was　to　be　ascribed　solely　to　the　want　of　education　in　Apulia；　the　only　province　probably　where　the　disease　at　that　time　prevailed。　　A　nervous　disorder　that　had　arrived　at　so　high　a　degree　of　development　must　have　been　long　in　existence；　and　doubtless　had　required　an　elaborate　preparation　by　the　concurrence　of　general　causes。

The　symptoms　which　followed　the　bite　of　venomous　spiders　were　well　known　to　the　ancients；　and　had　excited　the　attention　of　their　best　observers；　who　agree　in　their　descriptions　of　them。　　It　is　probable　that　among　the　numerous　species　of　their　phalangium；　the　Apulian　tarantula　is　included；　but　it　is　difficult　to　determine　this　point　with　certainty；　more　especially　because　in　Italy　the　tarantula　was　not　the　only　insect　which　caused　this　nervous　affection；　similar　results　being　likewise　attributed　to　the　bite　of　the　scorpion。　　Lividity　of　the　whole　body；　as　well　as　of　the　countenance；　difficulty　of　speech；　tremor　of　the　limbs；　icy　coldness；　pale　urine；　depression　of　spirits；　headache；　a　flow　of　tears；　nausea；　vomiting；　sexual　excitement；　flatulence；　syncope；　dysuria；　watchfulness；　lethargy；　even　death　itself；　were　cited　by　them　as　the　consequences　of　being　bitten　by　venomous　spiders；　and　they　made　little　distinction　as　to　their　kinds。　　To　these　symptoms　we　may　add　the　strange　rumour；　repeated　throughout　the　middle　ages；　that　persons　who　were　bitten；　ejected　by　the　bowels　and　kidneys；　and　even　by　vomiting；　substances　resembling　a　spider's　web。

Nowhere；　however；　do　we　find　any　mention　made　that　those　affected　felt　an　irresistible　propensity　to　dancing；　or　that　they　were　accidentally　cured　by　it。　　Even　Constantine　of　Africa；　who　lived　500　years　after　Aetius；　and；　as　the　most　learned　physician　of　the　school　of　Salerno；　would　certainly　not　have　passed　over　so　acceptable　a　subject　of　remark；　knows　nothing　of　such　a　memorable　course　of　this　disease　arising　from　poison；　and　merely　repeats　the　observations　of　his　Greek　predecessors。　　Gariopontus；　a　Salernian　physician　of　the　eleventh　century；　was　the　first　to　describe　a　kind　of　insanity；　the　remote　affinity　of　which　to　the　tarantula　disease　is　rendered　apparent　by　a　very　striking　symptom。　　The　patients　in　their　sudden　attacks　behaved　like　maniacs；　sprang　up；　throwing　their　arms　about　with　wild　movements；　and；　if　perchance　a　sword　was　at　hand；　they　wounded　themselves　and　others；　so　that　it　became　necessary　carefully　to　secure　them。　　They　imagined