On the Magnetic Cure of Wounds

This page continues the discussion of natural remedies, referencing how wounds are treated with specific salves. It mentions common folk practices of healing puncture wounds caused by nails or thorns by applying fat to the removed objects.

...was inflicted, smeared with a specific ointment. It is a more well-known experiment of the common people: when they remove thorns or nails that have been driven into the soles of the feet and place them into boiled lard, they thereby consolidate the injured part, or wound, without inflammation or pain. The question is therefore: what cause does this admirable action have in nature? There is no lack of people, even among the learned, who plainly deny that this can happen naturally. Others assert that while the wound itself is indeed cured naturally, the ceremonies original: "a. magicas" are magical, mere impostures, ludicrous, and concocted for the sake of appearances. But since I know that this cure is also very frequently employed by those who are most religious in both deed and reputation, and who would not commit any offense against divine oracles either in word or deed, I do not yet see how superstition or any...