17. She was sick in body, and dangerously ill of
an extraordinary and malignant disease, her whole frame was incessantly
fevered, her blood at one time agitated and boiling, then curdling with
coma, incredible pallor, and paralysis of mind and limbs: and
this not at long intervals, but sometimes very frequently. Its
virulence seemed beyond human aid; the skill of physicians, who
carefully examined the case, both singly and in consultation, was of no
avail; nor the tears of her parents, which often have great power, nor
public supplications and intercessions, in which all the people joined
as earnestly as if for their own preservation: for her safety was
the safety of all, as, on the contrary, her suffering and sickness was
a common misfortune.