Balsamics, a term used in an indefinite manner, but literally signifying mitigating substance and often applied to medicines of very different qualities, such as emmollients, detergents, restoratives, It appears to be a general character of balsamics, that they are hot and pungent, like the na-tural balsams and gums while tiieir internal use tends to increase the vital heat of the system.— Hence they are commonly administered in those complaints which originate from a diseased action, or a defective state of the interior organs ; and as they can only be in-troduced to those parts by the sto-mach and the circulation of the fluids, it will be easily understood that these slowly operating me-dicines cannot be productive of great effects, unless continued for a considerable time.