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  • Aug. 1, 1797
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The Freemasons' Magazine, Aug. 1, 1797: Page 45

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    Article REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. ← Page 4 of 8 →
Page 45

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Review Of New Publications.

the constitution of the consumer , a speedy or lingering death , violent colics , obstructions and other maladies ; so that one may justl y doubt , whether , at present , Msrs , Venus , or Saturn is most destructive to the human race . ' The ancients , in my opinion , knew that lead rendered harsh wine milder , and preserved itfrom acidity , without being aware that it was poisonous . It ¦ was , therefore , long used with confidence ; and when its effects were discovered they were not ascribed to the metal , but to some other cause . When

more accurate observation , in modern times , fully established the noxious quality of lead , and when it began to be dreaded in wine , unprincipled dealers invented an artful method of employing it , which the law , by the severest punishment , has not been able wholly to prevent . ' The Greeks and the Romans were accustomed to boil their wine over a slow fire , till only a half , third , or fourth part remained , and to mix it with bad wine in order to render it better . When , by this operation , it had lost

part of its watery particles , and had been mixed with honey and spices , it acr quired several names , such as miulmn , mulsitm , sapa , caremcin , or caresnum defrutum , & c . Even at present the same method is pursued with sack , Spanish , Hungarian , and Italian wines . In Italy new wine , which has been thus boiled , is put into flasks , and used for sallad and sauces . In Naples it is called mttsto colto ; but in Florence it still retains the name of sapa . Most of those authors who have described this method of boiling wine expressly

sy that leaden or tin vessels must be employed ; because the wine , by these , is rendered more delicious and durable , as well a ; clearer . It is , however , certain that must and sour wine by slow boiling , for according to their directions it should not be boiled quickly , must dissolve part of these dangeT rous metals , otherwise the desired effect could not be produced . Some also

were accustomed to arid to their wine , before it was boiled , a certain quantity of sea water , which b y its saline particles must necessarily accelerate the dissolution . ' That the acid of wine has the power of dissolving lead was not unknown to the ancients ; for when the Greek and Roman wine-merchants wished to try whether their wine was spoilt , they immersed in it a plate of lead . If the colour of the lead was changed , which undoubtedly would be the case when

its surface was corroded and converted into calx , they concluded that their wine was spoilt . It cannot , however , be said that they were altogether ignorant of the dangerous effects of solutions of that metal ; for Galen and other physicians often give cautions respecting white lead . Notwithstanding this , men fell upon the invention of conveying water for culinary purposes in leaden pipes ; and even at present at Amsterdam , Paris , and other places water is conveyed through lead , and collected in leaden cisterns , though that

practice has , on several occasions , been attended with alarming consequences . This negligence in modern times makes us not be surprised when we read that the ancients employed leaden vessels . It appears , however , that it was not merely through negligence that this practice prevailed . They were acquainted , and particularly in Pliny ' s time , with various processes used in regard to wine ; and among these was that of boiling it with lime or gypsum ; and the ancient physicians , who had not the assistance of modern chemistry , thought

it more probable that their wine was rendered noxious by the addition of these earths , than by the vessels in which it was boiled ; and the ) ' were the more inclined to this opinion , as they had instances of the fatal effects produced by the use of them . They decried them , therefore , so much , that laws were afterwards made by which they were forbidden to be used , as poisonous , and destructive to the human body . '

“The Freemasons' Magazine: 1797-08-01, Page 45” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 28 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fmm/issues/fmm_01081797/page/45/.
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Title Category Page
Untitled Article 1
Untitled Article 2
LONDON: Article 2
TO CORRESPONDENTS, &c. Article 3
MEMOIR OF MR. HULL. Article 4
AN APOLOGY FOR THE CHARACTER AND CONDUCT OF SHYLOCK. Article 5
OBSERVATIONS ON THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB'S ARMY. Article 9
HISTORY OF THE THE ARTS AND SCIENCES FOR 1797. Article 12
THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES or PETER PORCUPINE; Article 14
MEMOIRS OF CHARLES MACKLIN, Article 18
A BRIEF SYSTEM OF CONCHOLOGY. Article 26
THE COLLECTOR. Article 30
HUMOROUS ACCOUNT OF VENICE. Article 33
THE FREEMASONS' REPOSITORY. Article 34
WHAT IS THE ORDER OF FREEMASONRY? Article 38
REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. Article 42
POETRY. Article 50
PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. Article 54
REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH PARLLAMENT. Article 56
HOUSE OF COMMONS. Article 59
MONTHLY CHRONICLE. Article 62
INTELLIGENCE FRONT THE LONDON GAZETTES . Article 67
OBIUARY. Article 70
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Page 45

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Review Of New Publications.

the constitution of the consumer , a speedy or lingering death , violent colics , obstructions and other maladies ; so that one may justl y doubt , whether , at present , Msrs , Venus , or Saturn is most destructive to the human race . ' The ancients , in my opinion , knew that lead rendered harsh wine milder , and preserved itfrom acidity , without being aware that it was poisonous . It ¦ was , therefore , long used with confidence ; and when its effects were discovered they were not ascribed to the metal , but to some other cause . When

more accurate observation , in modern times , fully established the noxious quality of lead , and when it began to be dreaded in wine , unprincipled dealers invented an artful method of employing it , which the law , by the severest punishment , has not been able wholly to prevent . ' The Greeks and the Romans were accustomed to boil their wine over a slow fire , till only a half , third , or fourth part remained , and to mix it with bad wine in order to render it better . When , by this operation , it had lost

part of its watery particles , and had been mixed with honey and spices , it acr quired several names , such as miulmn , mulsitm , sapa , caremcin , or caresnum defrutum , & c . Even at present the same method is pursued with sack , Spanish , Hungarian , and Italian wines . In Italy new wine , which has been thus boiled , is put into flasks , and used for sallad and sauces . In Naples it is called mttsto colto ; but in Florence it still retains the name of sapa . Most of those authors who have described this method of boiling wine expressly

sy that leaden or tin vessels must be employed ; because the wine , by these , is rendered more delicious and durable , as well a ; clearer . It is , however , certain that must and sour wine by slow boiling , for according to their directions it should not be boiled quickly , must dissolve part of these dangeT rous metals , otherwise the desired effect could not be produced . Some also

were accustomed to arid to their wine , before it was boiled , a certain quantity of sea water , which b y its saline particles must necessarily accelerate the dissolution . ' That the acid of wine has the power of dissolving lead was not unknown to the ancients ; for when the Greek and Roman wine-merchants wished to try whether their wine was spoilt , they immersed in it a plate of lead . If the colour of the lead was changed , which undoubtedly would be the case when

its surface was corroded and converted into calx , they concluded that their wine was spoilt . It cannot , however , be said that they were altogether ignorant of the dangerous effects of solutions of that metal ; for Galen and other physicians often give cautions respecting white lead . Notwithstanding this , men fell upon the invention of conveying water for culinary purposes in leaden pipes ; and even at present at Amsterdam , Paris , and other places water is conveyed through lead , and collected in leaden cisterns , though that

practice has , on several occasions , been attended with alarming consequences . This negligence in modern times makes us not be surprised when we read that the ancients employed leaden vessels . It appears , however , that it was not merely through negligence that this practice prevailed . They were acquainted , and particularly in Pliny ' s time , with various processes used in regard to wine ; and among these was that of boiling it with lime or gypsum ; and the ancient physicians , who had not the assistance of modern chemistry , thought

it more probable that their wine was rendered noxious by the addition of these earths , than by the vessels in which it was boiled ; and the ) ' were the more inclined to this opinion , as they had instances of the fatal effects produced by the use of them . They decried them , therefore , so much , that laws were afterwards made by which they were forbidden to be used , as poisonous , and destructive to the human body . '

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