Antipater

“ A new congress of generals was held, and a new distribution of power was made. By the new arrangement, Antipater was to retain his command in Macedon and Greece, and to have the custody of the kings. Accordingly, when every thing had thus been settled, Antipater set out on his return to Macedon, with Philip and Eurydice, and also Roxana and the infant Alexander, in his train. The venerable soldier—for he was now about eighty years of age—was received in Macedon, on his return, with universal honor and applause. ”

“ They had no regard, either to God or to the festival, whom Antipater yet is not ashamed to patronize, whether it be out of his indulgence of an enmity to Archelaus, or out of his hatred of virtue and justice. For as to those who begin such tumults, and first set about such unrighteous actions, they are the men who force those that punish them to betake themselves to arms even against their will. So that Antipater in effect ascribes the rest of what was done to all those who were of counsel to the accusers ”

“ And here he found a perfect and unexpected solitude, while ever body avoided him, and nobody durst come at him; for he was equally hated by all men; and now that hatred had liberty to show itself, and the dread men were in at the king's anger made men keep from him; for the whole city [of Jerusalem] was filled with the rumors about Antipater, and Antipater himself was the only person who was ignorant of them; for as no man was dismissed more magnificently when he began his voyage to Rome so was no man now received back with greater ignominy. ”

“ He also accused Hyrcanus and Antipater as governing the nation by violence, and offering injuries to himself. Antipater was present, and made his defense as to the accusations that were laid against him. He demonstrated that Antigonus and his party were given to innovation, and were seditious persons. He also put Cæsar in mind what difficult services he had undergone when he assisted him in his wars, and discoursed about what he was a witness of himself. ”

“ He seems to have shown some want of courage in the face of death, repeating often the words, "Nature which framed this whole will also destroy it." When he learnt that Antipater committed suicide by drinking a potion, he was greatly moved by the constancy with which he met his end, and exclaimed, "Give it then to me also." ”

“ The report went also, that Antipater had criminal conversation with Pheroras's wife, and that they were brought together by Antipater's mother.
2. But Antipater had now a suspicion of his father, and was afraid that the effects of his hatred to him might increase; so he wrote to his friends at Rome, and bid them to send to Herod, that he would immediately send Antipater to Cæsar; which when it was done, Herod sent Antipater thither, and sent most noble presents along with him; as also his testament, wherein Antipater was appointed to be his successor ”

“ Antipater, in a letter written upon the death of Aristotle the philosopher, observes, "Amongst his other gifts he had that of persuasiveness," and the absence of this in the character of Marcius made all his great actions and noble qualities unacceptable to those whom they benefited: pride, and self-will, the consort, as Plato calls it, of solitude, made him insufferable. With the skill which Alcibiades, on the contrary, professed to treat every one in the way most agreeable to him, we cannot wonder that all his successes were attended with the most exuberant favor and honor; ”

“ Fraser calls his immunised blood-serum, follows the poison into the system, even after the fatal symptoms have begun to show themselves, and arrests them at once. So the Anglo-Indian may throw away his ammonia phial and, arming himself with another of anti-venene and a hypodermic syringe, feel that he is safe against an accident which will never happen. As for the man who is not nervous, he will speak of the new antidote, and think of it as most interesting and valuable, and go on his way as before with no expectation of ever being bitten by a venomous snake. ”

“ I inquired of the savant.
"Surely," he replied. "It neutralizes one of the two elements in the venom, the nervous poison, thus enabling the individual to devote all his vitality to overcoming the irritant poison. It is the nervous poison that is the chief death-dealing agent, producing paralysis of the heart and respiration. We advise all travelers to carry the protective serum if they are likely to be exposed to snake bites."
Kennedy picked up the tube containing the solution made from the towel spots. "This antivenin was your product, doctor?" ”

“ There is another word, “antidote,” which has very materially changed its significance during the lapse of centuries. Galen, for example, employed this word as a synonym of pharmakon—a simple remedial agent, and medical writers continued using the term in this sense during the following thirteen or fourteen centuries. The word commonly employed, by mediaeval physicians, to signify “pharmacopoeia,” was “antidotarium.” In modern times the word “antidote” signifies only an agent which neutralizes a poison. ”

“ When a medical man is called upon to treat a serious case, and instead of boldly addressing himself to the task of combating the symptoms by injecting the antidote irrespective of the quantity he may require until it has conquered the snake-poison, becomes nervous and ceases to inject, when, after what in ordinary practice would be a dangerous dose, he sees but little effect, or if from the first he injects small doses at long intervals, the cause of failure surely lies with him and not with the antidote, which rarely fails where it is properly applied. ”

“ I have frequently administered much larger doses in cases of inflammation of the lungs without ill effect. Two grains is by no means an unusual dose when intended to act as an emetic; but the action of antimony varies greatly with different constitutions. Having certified ourselves of the presence of the suspected poison, the question was, as to the person by whom it had been administered. The Baron said he had no doubt that it was a trick on the part of the servant maid, between whom and her mistress there had been some dispute a few days since. ”

“ Detection of Antimony in Organic Matters.—In acute poisoning by tartar emetic it is not impossible to find a mere trace only in the stomach, the greater part having been expelled by vomiting, which nearly always occurs early, so that the most certain method is, where possible, to analyse the ejected matters. If it should be suspected that a living person is being slowly poisoned by antimony, it must be remembered that the poison is mainly excreted by the kidneys, and the urine should afford some indication. ”

“ Sir Joseph Fayrer, after long and elaborate experiments with the Indian thanatophidia, prescribes various remedies and modes of treatment, ‘but do not confuse these with antidotes!’ he urges. [142] ‘To conceive of an antidote to snake poison in the true sense of the term,’ he explains, ‘one must imagine a substance so subtle as to follow, overtake, and neutralize the venom in the blood, or that shall have the power of counteracting and neutralizing the deadly influence it has exerted on the vital forces. ”

“ In the well-known cases of deadly antipathy which have been recorded, the most frequent cause has been the disturbed and depressing influence of the centre of inhibition. Fainting at the sight of blood is one of the commonest examples of this influence. A single impression, in a very early period of atmospheric existence,—perhaps, indirectly, before that period, as was said to have happened in the case of James the First of England,—may establish a communication between this centre and the heart which will remain open ever afterwards. How does a footpath across a field establish itself? ”

“ Large doses of ammonia preparations cause burning pain in the throat and abdomen, vomiting, purging, and collapse.
Antipyrin.—This drug has about the same action and uses as acetanilid, and may be given in the same dose.
Antitoxin of Diphtheria.—This is obtained from healthy horses which have been rendered artificially immune to diphtheria from having received a prolonged course of treatment with diphtheria toxin in doses gradually increased. The immunity is due to the formation in the blood of a substance which in some way counteracts the poison or toxin of the disease. ”

“ The watery solution is not precipitated by metallic salts. On warming with dilute mineral acids, antiarin splits up into a resin and sugar. Concentrated sulphuric acid gives with antiarin a yellow-brown solution, hydrochloric and nitric acids strike no distinctive colours.
§ 549. Effects.—Antiarin is essentially a muscular and a heart poison. When given in a sufficient dose, it kills a frog in from half an hour to an hour. Its most marked effect is on the cardiac muscle, the heart beats more and more slowly, and at last stops, the ventricle being firmly contracted. ”

“ The shaking about of the contents of the stomach with the intestines in a jar would not prevent the discovery of strychnia if it had been administered. Even if the contents of the stomach were lost the mucous membrane would, in the ordinary course of things, exhibit traces of strychnia. I have studied the poison of antimony. If a quantity had been introduced into brandy and water, and swallowed at a gulp, the effect would not be to burn the throat. Antimony does not possess any such quality as that of immediate burning. I have turned my attention to the subject of poison for 17 or 18 years. ”

“ At the end of twenty days’ injections they found they could obtain such a large quantity of anti-rabic substance in the serum of an animal, that even 1 part of serum to 25,000 of the body weight would protect an animal. This process differs from that of Pasteur in so far as that in place of promoting the formation of the antidote within the body of the patient, by a process of vaccination with progressively stronger and stronger virus, this part of the process is carried on in an animal, Babes using the dog and Centanni the sheep, the blood serum of which is injected. ”

“ At any rate, Paolo was not disposed to make any further revelations. Una antipatia,—an antipathy,—that was all the doctor learned. He thought the matter over, and the more he reflected the more he was puzzled. What could an antipathy be that made a young man a recluse! Was it a dread of blue sky and open air, of the smell of flowers, or some electrical impression to which he was unnaturally sensitive?
Dr. Butts carried these questions home with him. His wife was a sensible, discreet woman, whom he could trust with many professional secrets. ”

“ This assumption has been proved to be correct, for it has been shown that antimony may be found in the stomach after the inhalation of antimoniuretted hydrogen.
Fatal Dose.—It is impossible to state with certainty the exact amount of antimony—tartar emetic—which may prove fatal, as recoveries have taken place even after an ounce had been taken. Large doses are uncertain in their effects, as the severe vomiting which they produce generally helps to get rid of the poison. In small doses, death may result from the depressing action which it exerts over the heart. ”

“ Yet I may mention that I have seen an example of it in a woman who was salivated to death, because her medical attendant, a firm believer in the powers of mercury as an antidote, forgot that the antidote is itself a poison, if not given in moderation. In general, when gangrene is the cause of death, it begins within the mouth or in the throat, and spreads from that till it even reaches the face. But sometimes it begins at once on the external surface, at a distance from the primary ulcers. An example of such a progress of the symptoms has been related by Dr. ”

“ I tried to make this one immune by injecting a dose of the serum twenty-four hours before, and again immediately after she was struck by the snake, but she did not do as well as the other one, and died in three hours and sixteen minutes. All these dogs seemed to die from inability to breathe. The poison apparently acts on the respiratory centres rather than directly on the heart. They all vomited just before they died."
"Have you never found out what the Indians use as an antidote?" ”

“ To dogs give from half to one tablespoonful every five or ten minutes. From eight to twenty grains of the antidote are required to each grain of arsenic swallowed (when it can be determined) . The stomach should first be emptied by the use of cathartics or stomach pump and then give the antidote, and follow with demulcents as oil, milk and mucilaginous drinks. Also administer diluents, as weak alkaline water. Iodide of potassium is valuable as a antidote of arsenical poisoning and should be administered to promote elimination of the poison. ”

“ Dr. Maclagan, professor of medical jurisprudence in the University of Edinburgh, was then called to give the result of the chemical examination of the various organs of the body of Mrs. Pritchard, which had been retained for analysis. Antimony, corresponding to one-fourth of a grain of tartar emetic, was found in the urine, in small quantities in the bile and blood, and as much as four grains in the whole liver. Evidence of the presence of antimony was also found in the spleen, kidney, muscular substance of the heart, coats of the stomach and rectum, the brain and uterus. ”

“ He knew too well that what is spoken lightly of as a “nervous disturbance” may imply that the whole machinery of life is in a deranged condition, and that every individual organ would groan aloud if it had any other language than the terrible inarticulate one of pain by which to communicate with the consciousness.
When, therefore, Dr. Butts heard the word antipatia he did not smile, and say to himself that this was an idle whim, a foolish fancy, which the young man had got into his head. ”