Possibly the most satisfactory divisions under which to group the
material on this subject collected from literature are into
examples of idiosyncrasies in which, although the effect is a
mystery, the sense is perceptible and the cause distinctly
defined and known, and those in which sensibility is latent. The
former class includes all the peculiar antipathies which are
brought about through the special senses, while the latter groups
all those strange instances in which, without the slightest
antipathy on the part of the subject, a certain food or drug,
after ingestion, produces an untoward effect.
The first examples of idiosyncrasies to be noticed will be those
manifested through the sense of smell. On the authority of
Spigelius, whose name still survives in the nomenclature of the
anatomy of the liver, Mackeuzie quotes an extraordinary case in a
Roman Cardinal, Oliver Caraffa, who could not endure the smell of
a rose. This is confirmed from personal observation by another
writer, Pierius, who adds that the Cardinal was obliged every
year to shut himself up during the rose season, and guards were
stationed at the gates of his palace to stop any visitors who
might be wearing the dreadful flower.
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