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THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 343

then, h\- an ingenious crossing of threads passing from the second mohir
on the one side to the second bicuspid on the other, very tightU tied, lie
formed, so to speak, one single block, and succeeded in bringing about
the consolidation of the shaking teeth and the complete cure of the
fracture, which was effected in less than a month.
The unfavorable judgments passed on I^unon by some writers result,
in a great measure, from the circumstance that one finds quoted in his
books certain modes of treatment that today appear positively ridiculous.
But those who, very wrongly and with deplorable levity, consider Bunon
as nothing more than a vulgar empiric, ought to reflect that even the greatest
men cannot altogether avoid the influence of the ideas and the prejudices
ot their time. Some tribute they are almost fatally bound to pay to these
prejudices. It is, therefore, not to be wondered at, if one finds in Bunon's
works, as well as in those of many other old writers, indications given
ot more or less strange remedies. Thus, as facilitating the eruption of
teeth, he recommends among other remedies the rubbing of the gums
with a mixture of honey, fresh butter, hare's brains, and oil of lilies, or
with the fat ot an old cock, dog's milk, and pig's brains. Against the
disorders and dangers of the teething period he also advises rubbing the
nape ot the infant's neck, the shoulders, the back, and the lower limbs,
always taking care, however, to rub from above downward, thus offering
opposition to the flow of humors toward the upper parts of the body.
These means and methods of treatment reflect, so to speak, the medical
ideas and the curative practices of that time, and come down, in part, from
remote ages, as evidently appears from what is said in different parts of
this book. But such small blemishes ought certainly not to be taken into
account in passing judgment on Bunon's works, the most substantial
part of which is made up of very original ideas and observations. The
high intrinsic value of Bunon's works gives him a just right to be con-
sidered one ot the most illustrious forerunners of modern scientific
dentistrv.
Bartolomf.o Ruspini, an Italian dentist, exercised his profession in
London with great success for more than thirty years. He was patronized
by all the greatest personages of the Kingdom and also b\ the Royal
family, from whom he received special marks of distinction. He attained
a very conspicuous position, and with the aid of the London Freemasons'
Lodge, of which he was an influential member, but chiefl\- b\- the results
of his professional work, he was able to found an orphanage that was
called by his name, being moved to do this by his great love for children,
whose dental maladies and disorders had always been an object of par-
ticular study for him. In 1768 he published A Treatise on the Teeth,
Their Structure and Various Diseases. This book was remarkably well
received and went through a number of editions, the last in the year