Therfore if that I should wryte the same agayne I shoulde both be ouer tedious to such as showld heare me also I showld breake my promyse because I haue promised to write a brefe and a shorte treatyse vpon Phisicke The .x. chapter of powers or faculties A Facultie or a power is the cause frō whence the action procedethe There be .iii. faculties or powers diuers ech to other which gouerneth the bodye and be called Animall vitall and naturall The animall power or facultie cummeth from the brayne by the senewes geueth both mouyng and felynge to eche part of the body and is author of the senses and all voluntary actions The vital power cummeth from the harte and is caryed in the pulse throughout the bodye wherto it geueth life wherof it is euident that the hart is the wel of lifely heat the natural power cōmeth from the liuer and is caried to euerye parte of the body by the vaynes and serueth to the norishynge of the same This power or facultie is deuided in .iiii. other powers the first is attractiue the second is retentiue the third concoctiue or alteratiue the fowerth expulsiue The attractiue power is the same by y e which euery part of y e body draweth to it such iuyce as is mete and conuenient to norishe it and that iuyce which is sooneste made like is most conuenient for nowrishment therfore this power seing that it prepareth matter to the norishment of euery part serueth to the power alteratiue or concoctiue The retentyue power holdeth y e same which is al redy drawen vntyl it be altered chaunged this power also serueth vnto the alteratiue or concoctiue power The alteratiue power hath name of hys action for it altereth the iuyce and at the length maketh it lyke to the part that is norished The expulsiue power or facultie separateth the euyll from y e good lest with long tariynge together the one shoulde marre the other this as the other serueth to the alteratiue power These .4 powers be in euery part of euery naturall body as Gallen witnesseth in hys bokes of powers or faculties ¶ The .xi. chapter of Actions AN action is an actuall mouyng procedinge from a facultie and therefore the facultie is alwayes the cause of the action wherfore whan the power perisheth ther foloweth no action at all That which the action hath made finished is the worke as bloud fleshe bone and as ye may call euery action a certayne worke of Nature so ye can not call euery worke an actiō as flesh is a work of nature not an action There is in y e body .ii. manner of actions One is called Anymall or voluntarie which procedeth from the synowes and muscules this is suche an actiō y t whan it is it may be seased whan it is not it may be raysed as a man listeth as in example The head armes and legges may be moued or holden styll as it shall plese the dody that hath them This action is parted in to thre The first is of feelynge which is deuided in .v. as in to the action of seinge hearinge felinge smellynge and tastyng The secōd is the action of voluntarye mouyng The third is the action of the cogitation memory and reason which of all the rest is most noble and excellent As for respiration is a voluntary action because it is in oure wyll to holde oure breth or to let it go which is euident of the seruaunt that Gallē speketh of which held his breth vntyl he dyed Wherfore it is euident that sūme voluntarye actions be free sum serue the affectiōs of the body For to walke any whither or to speake with any body or to take any thinge be fre actions but to ease the belly or to make water serue the necessitie of the bodye Yt is possible for a mā to holde hys peace yf he haue so constitute with hym selfe an hole yeare to gether but to hold his excrement or hys water .ii. monethes or .ii. weckes it is not possible For they prouoke so oft and greue a man so muche that oftentymes they wyll not abyde tyll they maye be conuenientlye let forth and lyke vnto these is respiration or the actiō of brething For whosoeuer hathe his brethe stopped but a very littell tyme it is a greate doubte yf he dye not fourth with all But the naturall action which is not voluntarye cummeth of the vaynes and pulses For let a man doe what he shall and yet they wyll doe theire office without any let Amongest the naturall actions be reckened generation Auction nutrition Formation Alteration appeticion attraction concoction retention distribution excretion such other But as for generation it is not one simple naturall action for in it is bothe alteration and formation The amplyfycation and increacement in length bredeth and depenesse of all the vttar partes of the bodye is called auction Nutrition is the assimilation or makyng lyke of the nurishment to that that is nurished to the whiche apposition and agglutination or adhesiō be necessary For after that the iuyce which afterward shall nurish euery part of the body is once fallen from y e vaynes it must first be put to and then ioyned or glued last of all made like It is very mete and expedient for euery Phisition entending his pacientes health diligently to consider all the actions as well the animall as naturall because of them the constitution of the body is easy to be knowen For what body so euer is in health the same hath all the actions parfit and sownde and what body is sicke and diseased it hath cleane otherwise Moreouer the action for the most part declareth the place affected For there can be no action hurt but that part or instrument wherin it is must be affected also ¶ The .xii. chapter of spirites A Spirit is a subtyl thynne and bright substance made of the finest partes of the blowd that the power may be caried from the principall partes of y e body to y e rest wherby eche maye doe hys dutie and office There be in number only .iii. spirites the animall vitall and naturall The animall spirit hath his place in y e brayne and being dispersed in the senewes geueth the power of mouinge and feling to eche part of the body It is made of the vitall spirite The vitall spirit is in the hart and is caried in the arteries throughout the body being the very cause of all naturall and lyuely heat It is made of the exhalations or the dryest and finest partes of the bloud Yf there be any naturall spirit it is in the liuer and vaynes and in dede to say the truthe there is no greate nede for any spirite to carry any power of nowrishing through the body seing y t euery part draweth hys nurishment euen as the adamante stone draweth yron besyde this the liuer hath no such matter as any spirit can be made of For if
there were any matter wherof the naturall spirit might be made that muste nedes be the vitall spirit of whome the animall spirite also is made but seing that the vitall spirit is engēdred in the hart and by the pulses carryed through the body it had ben necessary that there shold haue ben great pulses from the hart to to the lyuer whiche might haue broughte so much vitall spirit as shoulde haue suffised to haue made naturall spirite Howbeit it is euident y t there cummeth no arteries to the lyuer but such as be with the smallest for such a pourpose and then ther is no such cauitie in the liuer as is in the brayne or hart where any generation of the naturall spirit may be Moreouer there is no vesselles prepared of nature for the cariage of it excepte a man shoulde say that it is caryed with the grosse bloude in y e vaynes whych is not lyke seinge the vaynes haue but one cote and that of no great thickenes nether yf that were true the vaynes shoulde beat as y e arteries doe Also there is no waye or enterance for ayer wherof it might be nowrished as the animall vitall be And agayne the bloud of the lyuer is so grosse and mixt with other humors that it is not mete to make any spirites of Therfore seinge that there is nether any ende wherfore it showlde be made nor matter wherof it could be made nor nourishment to preserue it nor a conuenient place to make it in nor finally any way or conduite wherby it might be brought in to euery part of the bodye I may iustly and not with out a cause doubt of it although it be a common opinion amongest y e phistions that there is a naturall spirite The ende of the firste boke The seconde boke ¶ The .i. chapter Of the number of thinges not naturall THinges not natural be .vi. in number 1 Ayer 2 Meat and drinke or any thing īwardlye taken 3 Exercise and reste both of the body and partes 4 Slepe and watche 5 Excretion and retention or fulnes and emptines 6 Affectes or perturbations of the mynde These be called thinges not naturall because they alter oure bodies and if they be not discretly taken vtterlye abolish health on the other parte yf they be wisely and soberly vsed they doe not only defende health but also strengthen nature in all her workes and actions Therfore they be in y t parte of phisicke which defēdeth health And to the ende that no man be ignorant in y e vse of them I pourposse brefely in as fewe wordes as I cā to declare shew the vses of eche of them alone by himselfe ¶ The .ii. chapter of Ayer QF thinges not natural Ayer is most necessarye to be considered because y e naturall heat can not be kept in temper without it and because we muste nedes receyue it into our bodies be the weather neuer so foule and finallye there can neyther health be defended nor disease cured or remedied without it Therfore it lyeth vs in hand to take especiall heed and diligent watche that we minister it in due tyme and season that it may be as it shoulde be a cause of health which no doubte it shall if first we marke wel the substaunce of it whether it be pure and clene or grosse and thicke or cloudie That is y e best and most holsume which is purest not infected with no standinge pooles nor no marrishe groundes nor with the carren of bestes nor with the putryfactiō of herbes fruite or grayne and such lyke Whan we haue well considered the substance of the ayer then we must marke well the qualitie For as to temperat bodies the moste temperat ayer is holsumest so to bodies distempered ayer distempered in a cōtrary qualitie is most holsum as to suche as be cowlde ayer that is hote and to suche as be hote cowlde and to them that be dry moyste and to suche as be moyste dry But yf it happen so y t the ayer be not contrary of qualitie then it must be prepared and made for oure pourpose by art as yf the disease or sicknes be hote dry then we must by sprinklynge of cowlde water on the pauement or floore by strawyng of herbes be settyng vp of suche boughes as be colde moyst prepare y e ayer make it coulde moyst On y e othersyde yf the disease be cowlde and moyst then the house must be perfumed with such thinges as be hote and dry vntyll the ayer also be made hote and dry In long diseases ther is none so good a remedy as to change the ayer and therof it came that so many going to saynte Cornelis were healed cured of the falling euyl by changyng of the ayer and not by myracle as we poore fooles thought kneling creping to saynt Cornelis horne but thankes be to the omnipotent and euer lyuing god and to oure noble kynge such most vyle abhominable ydolatry is nowe well lefte here in this realme ¶ Of meate and drinke The .iii. chapter I Woulde counsel euery man as well the hole as y e sicke to take good hede what they eat and drinke For bothe the goodnes mesure qualitie custome delectation order tyme houre and age must be considered Therfore he that purposeth not to be sicke nor to haue a sickly body let his firste care be to eat suche meates as make good iuice For there is nothyng so apt to breede sicknes as is the euyl habit of y e body which is gotten by feadyng of meates that make euyll and noughtye iuyce That is alwayes good meate which is light in digestyng and thynne of substaunce and the which also bredeth good iuyce and that is euill which is contrary vnto it His next care ought to be that he eate no more at one tyme then is sufficient to serue Nature so he shall bryng to passe that eyther he shall neuer or elles very seldome fall in to any perilous disease Howbeit y e Phisition shoulde geue great diligēce in dieting of the sicke For a litell to much sumtyme though the meat be neuer so good maketh a fault incorrigible a quicke or sharpe sicknesse a sicknes that is long slow may not be measured bothe a like For a sharpe a short disease must haue a thinne and a slendar diet and a longe disease a more fullar Therfore the Phisiciō in prescribing of diet must marke well the strength of hys pacient first according vnto hys strength then according to the nature of the sicknes prescribe y e measure of hys meates and drinkes After the measure the Phisition ought immediatly to marke well the qualitie of the meates For such as be hole to the ende that they may kepe theyr health muste be fed with meates of lyke not of contrary qualitie and suche as be sicke ought to be fed w t meates of contrary qualitie As they that be sycke for hete
to say y e springe summar autumne and winter be For euery one of these by hym selfe and without comparison maye be called hote cold drye or moyst of this fashion the spring is withoute all excesse because there is not as is in wynter more colde then heat nor as in summar more heat thē cold lykewyse there is a mediocritie of drynesse and moysture and therfore Hippocrates sayeth that it is the most holsumest tyme of all the yere and a tyme in the which there chaūseth no deadly sicknes For y e moste part of the diseases of the springe happen by reson that all the euyll humors be driuen from the innar partes in to the skynne Wherefore the diseases be rather to be imputed to the body then to y e tyme of y e yeare For what body so euer hath good homours that bodye remayneth styll in healthe so long as the spryng lasteth paraduenture it doeth not so in summar autumne or wynter because these tymes brede or encrese euyll humors as summar encreaseth chollar autumne melancholy wynter fleme watrish humors It is possible that sum man wyll reprehend my sayinges obiecting the begynnyng of the springe to be coulde accordyng to wynter the latter ende hot as in summar In dede I confesse no lesse then y e begynnynge of the springe to be a lytell coulde and the latter ende a lytell hote but not in excesse as it is eyther in summar or wynter Wherfore it can not be called hote and moyest as sūme doe suppose because it can not be hot and temperat both at one tyme. As for summar by the consent as well of the Philosophers as of phisitions is hot and dry because there is in it more heat then could more drinesse then moysture Autumne simply and without exception can not be called colde and dry as sūme holde opinion for it is not coulde because there is as muche heate as coulde seing the middle of the day is much hotter then the mornynge and euenynge Therefore it is founde to be distemperat in heat and coulde and so mixt of bothe that it can nether be called hote nether coulde Therefore it is full of perilouse diseases because it is distempered both in heate and coulde and because it hath more drynesse then moysture therefore it is called dry As for wynter it is moyst could not because it is more moyst coulde then y e other times of the yere but because there is more moysture then drines more could then heate Nowe that I haue so brefelye as I coulde declared the temperamentes of the tymes of the yere it is mete cōuenient to shewe in as fewe wordes as I can the temperamentes of the iiii ages which are chyldehode youth mannes state and olde age Chyldehode is from the chyldyng the space of .xv. yere next folowyng and it is hote and moyst and that is easie to be perceyued hereof that the first constitution of the chylde is of seede and bloude the whiche both be hote and moyst Youthe beginneth where chyldehod endeth continueth .x. yeres in this age ther is more firye heat lesse natural heat thē is in childehode as Gallen witnesseth in hys second boke of temperamentes Mannes state begynneth at .xxv. and continueth to .xxxv. the which tyme is hote and dry Olde age beginneth at .xxxv. and continueth the rest of the lyfe though summe doe recken it but to .ix. and fortie yere and it is colde dry Ye shall fynde in other places mo differences of ages howbeit I thinke these sufficient for suche as be not to deynty and exquisite Whoso thinketh hym selfe not satisfyed with this brefe exposition of temperamentes let hym reade diligently Galenes .iii. bokes of temperamentes and I dout not but he shall be satisfyed For I makyng haste to better and more profitable knowledge cānot finde in my harte to tary any lenger in this disputation yet whoso euer shall dilygently examine in hys mynde that that is wryttē before may easely yf he be not halfe folishe gather y e rest which wanteth without a techer or an instructar ¶ The .viii. chapter of humors HVmours be fower in number that is to say bloude chollar flewme and melancholy of the which bloude is hote moyst and swete Flewme is coulde moyst and vnsauery lyke vnto the pure water yelowe chollar hote dry and bittar blacke chollar or melancholy coulde drye sowre and stipticke These humours be called hot could dry and moyst because they be so in power and not in acte and ther is great difference betwixte thinges that be hot of power and thinges hot in acte For that thing is hot in acte which is hot alredy and that is hot in power which is not hot alredy but may and is apt to be hot afterward so we call bryne or vinegar drye though they appere to the eye to be moyst yet experience hath proued them drye because they consume the superfluous humours bothe of flesh also other thinges Whan these .iiii. humours reserue theyr forsayde qualities then the body wherein they be is hole and without disease and the before named humours be called of the Phisitions naturall The receptacles of bloud be the vaynes and pulses but the bloud that is contayned in the pulses as Gallen sayeth in his first boke and first chapter of affected places differeth from the blowde of the vaynes in that that the blowde of the pulses is both hotter thynnar yelower The well of the blowde is the liuer not onely that but also the first instrument of mannes bodye and the naturall and true cullour of the blowd is red which Galen affirmeth in many places Where blowde redoundeth the body is feat fayer mery plesantly disposed Flewme of cullour is white which at the length by y e meanes of naturall heat may be tourned in to bloude and therefore seinge it is a nowrishment but halfe boyled nature hath prouided no propre or peculier receptacle for the pourgynge of it For flewme engendred in the stomake or mawe be cause it is carryed together w t the iuice that came of the meate drinke vp in to y e liuer is at length by much alteration tourned into bloude and that which is caryed together with the bloud in the vaynes may skant be spared because it mittigateth the greate feruent and outragious heat of y e bloud therfore it hath morenede to tarry styll be altered then to be pourged caryed away but y t that remayneth behynde in the guttes is pourged caryed quite oute at the fundament by reason of the chollar cūmynge fro the lyuer as Gallen sayeth in the .v. of his bokes of the vse of the partes of mannes body The excrement which falleth frō y e brayne in to y e mouth can not properly be called flewme but rather muck or sniuil flewmatick bodyes be slothfull slepy fleshye soone horeheared Yelowe chollar hath his name of his culour nature hathe prouided a proper
chapter of slepe and watche SLepe is the rest of y e animal power or as Aristotell sayeth the priuation takynge away of the senses whiche cummeth of a profitable humor fallyng from the brayne in to the senewes Of slepe the body receyueth many profitable commodities For whiles the animall power resteth the naturall power laboreth most strōgly by reasō wherof the meat is well digested and y e bodie luckely nurisshed There be .iiii. thinges whiche in slepe wolde by earnestlye loked vpon The firste is the sleping tyme as the night which for slepe of all other tymes is moste conuenient both because the night is coulde moyste and because that then all thinges is quiet w tout any noyse I wolde counsell no man to slepe on the daye except he feele ether a great wearinesse in al his body or haue not slept y e night before and yet then it wolde not be taken vpon a full stomake neyther but rather fasting and emptie The second is the quantitie for slepe yf it continue to long beside other incōmodities it letteth the pourginge of excrementes The thirde is the lyinge a bed for therby the disgestion maye be eyther furthered or hyndered Wherfore first it is best to lye vpon the right side and then vpon y e lift that the meat and drinke may go lowe ynough and the mouth of the mawe shet the better As for lying vpon the backe it is vtterly condemned of all men for it is the cause of many perilous diseases as the apoplexie such lyke The fowerth thing which must be considered in slepe is the nature of the dreames for by them the Phisition shall haue a great gesse of what quality the humor is which redoundeth and is superfluous The Phisition ought to be as diligent in the ministration of slepe to them that be sicke as to them y t be hole For as all other thinges so slepe yf it be not well ordred taken in hys tyme may hurt very muche It hurteth them moste whiche haue any of theyre innar partes inflamed wherfore such must be kept from slepe lest the inflammation be encresed withall and moreouer in shakynge feuers the sicke ought to be kept waking whyles the colde shakynge endureth lest the natural heat bloud be drawen in to muche by reason whereof the feuer wyll be much y e more stubberne to be cured Such as be hole and without sicknesse muste beware of ouer much slepe lest y e good temper of theyr braine be quite marred theyr strength also cleane resolued and of the other syde yf they watche to much theyre bodies shall be filled with rawe humors therfore it must be vsed nether to much nor to lytell but moderatlye in a meane Of slepe watche much more might be written howbeit this maye suffise well ynough at this time ¶ The .vi. chapter of fulnesse and emptinesse GAllen sayeth y t there is .ii. kyndes of fulnesse The tone is whan the qualytie alone excedeth and the other whan the humors be growen to much in quantitie Ther is also yet an other kynde of fulnesse which is called repletion and that is properly of meat and drincke Howbeit Gallē maketh .ii. kindes of repletion the tone is whan the veselles be so ful that they can not receyue easylye any more as whā a man hath eaten so muche that his bellye seemeth to be extended withall and the other is whan y e power is loded to muche though the veselles be not halfe full as whan a man eateth more meate then nature or the power that gouerneth hys body can digest Yet the abundaunce of humors is deuided in to mo kindes for whan all the humors doo abound to gether it is called of y e grekes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and of the latines plenitudo and in englishe it maye very wel be named fulnesse So whan the bloud only redoundeth it maye be called fulnesse because it is not so pure but that there is bothe chollar flewme melancholy water in it and this fulnesse is mente .ii. maner of wayes as whan the holowenesse of the vaynes is filled so that the vaynes swell withall or elles whan the power that maketh blud is not sufficient to alter or digeste that that is contayned with in Whan the bodye is filled eyther with yelowe chollar melancholy flewme or watrish humors then it is called Cacochimia whiche in Englishe is as muche to saye as euyl and naughty iuyce I coulde neuer nether in Gallen nor in any other notable author find any mo differencis of fulnes then is afore rehersed therefore seinge that I haue brefely sayed all that I can concernyng the differences of fulnesse or repletion it remayneth behynde to shewe my mynde concernyng the differences of emptinesse or euacuatiō which may cum many wayes as by lettyng of bloud pourgyng of y e belly by medicyne by the settyng to boxing glasses by fastinge by slepynge after hungar by vryne by drawyng out of the spettill by bledynge at the nose by bryngynge downe of wemens flowers by the Hemorrhoides by carnall copulation by insensible euaporation Of the which I entend to speke of eche in hys ordar The body hath most nede of bloud lettinge whan the vaynes be so full that they be extended withall For than it is a present remedy and howe muche the more a man fealeth hym selfe heuyer then he was wont to be so much that kynd of fulnesse which is referred to the strength is encreased but then the vesselles are thought to be full whan the body is much extended with prickynge paynes then the Phisition may be bolde to open y e vaynes so that y e pacient haue cōpetent strength but the other kynde of repletion may not alwayes be remedied w t bloud letting but sumtimes other wayes as by fastynge pourging and such lyke it is as necessary to opē the vaine whan by meanes of sūme stroke or for sūme greate payne grefe or by the debylitie of sūme part the bloude is inflamed as it is in the kyndes of fulnesse or repletion before named to be brefe whan so euer the disease is outragiouse yf y e strength serue ther is nothyng so necessary as to let bloud Amongest al other thinges in lettyng of bloude the age must be considered for childrē before .xiiii. yeares be ful complete ended old mē after they be past lxx yeres ought not but vpō great considerations be let any bloude Howbeit if in this age they be ful of bloud and haue good strength and yf the tyme of the yeare also serue and the disease be such that it requireth bloude lettynge the Phisicion maye boldlye open the vayne a lyttell Therfore the number of the yeares are not onely to be considered but the complexion or the habyt of the sicke mannes body also For sūme at .lx. yeares may abyde more then other sūme at .l. wherfore whan the strength serueth the sickenesse requireth the
takynge awaye of bloud the phisitiō may boldly at one time take away as much as shal be cōueniente to the curyng of the disease but in case the strength of the paciente be feble and weake then the bloude wolde not be taken awaye al at one tyme but rather at twise or thrise as the sicke maye departe withall In extreme burninge feuers if the strength serue the best remedy is as Gallen sayeth to let bloude vntyll the bodye waxeth faynte and swoune with all for the coolynge of the body wyll extinguishe the feuer and in manye bothe lose the bellye and also prouoke sweate In letting of bloude the naturall constitution of the body must be wel loked vpon for they that haue great vaynes be nether to leane nor to whyte may spare more bloude then they y t be very leane white haue but small and litell vaines The region may not be forgotten nether for such as doe dwell in regions which be very muche distēpered ether w t heate or colde may not abyde the takynge awaye of much bloude because that theyre bodies whiche dwell in the colde region or contrye losing much naturall heat w t theyr bloud waxe afterward to colde the strength of theyre bodyes whiche dwell in y e hote contrey is afterwarde dissolued or dissipate w t ouermuche heate and by this reason nether summar nor wynter be conuenient to let bloude in but the springe only because that it is temperate As cōcerning what time or houre of the daye Gallenes counsell is that theye that be hole in the morninge within an houre after that they be risen they that be sicke at all houres both of the day and nyght so that theyr strength and sicknesse do so require The Phisitiō ought before he let any vaine be opened to inquire diligently of hys formar life and diet For yf he haue liued ydellye and haue bene fed with such meates as nurrishe much he may take boldly w tout feare y e greater quantitie of blud howbeit yf he haue bene a greate riottour a common drunkarde then Gallen sayeth that it is mere foolishenesse to do any thynge at all for such by theyr intemperat lyfe wil fil as fast as they be emptyed In bloud lettyng the especiall care ought to be of the vayne For seinge that ther is .iii. vaynes in the arme y e innar vayne which is called of the Surgiens basilica and is the lyuer vayne shoulde be opened for all swellynges or payne vnder the necke But the vtter vayne which is called cephalica in englishe the head vayne owghte to be smitten whan the partes aboute the necke be troubled as y e head and face The middell vayne which is called Mediana wolde not be medled with but there as the other vaynes appere not There be vaynes also at the knees and anclees which whan y e disease liethe lowe is most meet to be opened The last care and charge showlde be of the stintyng of the bloud For how much the better it runneth so muche the soonar it wolde be stinted or stayed but after that y e vaine is ones smitten it shoulde not be stayed vntyl ether that the bloud or pulse were chaunged The seconde way of emptiynge the body is by medicyne receyued in to the stomake which should not be vsed but whā the body is replete with euyll and corrupt humors wherfore such as be in healthe and haue good and swete humors Hippocrates wold in no case to be purged by any medicine for feare of dissoluing theyr power But such as haue nede of pourgynge must first make them selfes apt meete for the same by bathes eatyng of moyst meates for so they shall delyuer theyre guttes from obstructions Howbeit yf the humors be thicke clammy then they must be made thinne subtell and apt to runne by suche decoctions syrupes as doe incyde grosse matter But yf y e humors be thinne and subtell thē they haue no nede of any preparatyue and the Phisition ought alwayes to obserue that he pourge no humors whiche be crude and rawe except for theyr multitude they swell the bodye then withoute any more delyberation they muste forthwithal be taken away with a pourginge medicyne leste the strength of the body be dissolued or the fyerye heat of the feuer encresed or finally the humors be dryuen to sū principall part wherby Nature shalbe lesse able to deliuer the body For yf nature be not holpen before that tyme she shall be in suche a rage that nothynge can be done well or orderlye in the bodye The next care is what humor should be pourged Therefore the Phisition shoulde take heede that he pourge no moo humors thē be hurtfull to the bodye As yf fleume do redounde hurt y e body it only is to be pourged yf chollar ether yelowe or blacke offende the bodye then he should vtterly abstaine frō fleume and likewise whan water aboundeth it only shoulde be taken awaye for as Hippocrates sayeth if such humors be pourged as ought to be it profiteth the bodye and is donne withoute gryefe or payne but elles it is cleane cōtrary Besyde this the time of y e yeare woulde be considered as well in pourging as in lettyng of bloud For there be summe tymes of the yere in the whiche it is very madnesse to lewse y e bellie For in winter whan it is frost or snowe or in summar when the heat is outragious whosoeuer is pourged shal be much the worse for it and yet of both times the lesse mete for pourgyng is the summar For then the body is so adust with heate of the wether that it is not well able to beare the sharpnesse of the medicyne and nature also beinge made weake with the heate of the summar is more weakned of the medicyne insomuch that many being pourged then fall sicke of feuers be quite destitute of their strength Therefore the springe tyme of all other tymes of the yere is moste holsome bothe to powrge the body and to let bloude In pourgynge the body the region also must be considered For yf it be very hot it letteth the workinge of the medicyne because it draweth the humors in to y e skin and the aboundaunce of heate healpeth to dissolue the strength The age may not be forgottē For chyldren because they be not yet at their groweth be nothing mete for pourgations lykewyse olde mē whē they waxe weake shoulde not be troubled w t any medicines And as in all euacuations so in pourging of the belly the strength of the sicke must be earnestly loked vpon For so longe as the sicke maye abyde easilye the taking away of his humors he may safely be pourged no longer though all be not gone In leusyng the belly vehement stronge laxes be vtterly to be abhorred for besydes that they weaken the strength they hurt maruelously the stomacke Laste of all in pourgyng of the bellye the
bothe meate and drinke or elles to take so much as is sufficient to kepe the soule and the body together and no more Ther is nothyng that so muche profiteth ether the sicke or the hole as doth abstinence yf it be taken in due tyme and orderly and therfore Plinie none of the worst wryters of Physycke commendeth sobrietie in meates and drinkes sayinge that it is verye profitable for all men to be temperate in their diet And the very father of Phisicke Hyppocrates affirmeth moderate eatynge and drinking to be the castel of health and many tymes such as be diseased and sicke be cured onlye by abstinence In prescribynge of abstinēce the Phisitiō shoulde discretly consider who may best beare it for as Gallen sayeth in his .2 boke of temperamentes They y t haue small vaynes haue but lytell bloude wherfore they can not faste without hurtyng theyre bodies they that haue great vaynes haue plentye of bloude wherefore they maye the better away with abstinence without any decay of theyr bodelye health or strength of such as be sicke they y t be full of crude rawe humors be least hurte w t fastyng yea the best remedye to all such is abstinēce but to be brefe none shoulde be cōmaunded to fast of the Phisicion but suche as be stronge or elles be sicke of suche diseases as cū of cruditie As abstinence if it be geuen in seasō to suche as hath nede of it profiteth very muche so if it be taken out of time or be geuen to such as nede it not it hurteth twise as much It is taken out of time whā y e bodye is weake the disease easy to be ouer cumme or elles whan it is prescribed vnto such as be of nature cholericke for in such it bredeth chollar causeth feuers with many frettes and pinchinges both in the belly also in the mouth of the mawe Slepe hathe the .ix. place of those thinges which healpe euacuation howbeit all slepe dothe not extenuat nor at all tymes but that only which is taken the body being hungery or elles by and by after exercise and labor for the naturall heate in slepe is called in to the innar partes whych whan it findeth no nurrishment nor meate to be altered and digested it doth waste and consume the profitable humors of all the body and so of necessitie it both drieth the body lessenneth it also the which thing Hyppocrates witnesseth sayinge Much slepe drieth his body which before hath bene to muche pourged any manner of way Also in hys .ii. boke that he writ of good ordar of diet he affirmeth y t slepe extenuateth the body which fasteth or kepeth abstinence and maketh it coulde consumynge all the humiditye wythin it Of all other tymes that slepe whiche is taken in the morninge after exercise dryeth the body most the same also doth slepe taken after bathes For the bathe opening the poores maketh euacuation of all the excrementes which lurked in y e skynne and slepe immediatly folowinge the bathe calleth in the naturall heat agayne and wasteth the profitable humidity of y e innar partes The .xii. kynde of euacuatiō is the prouoking of vrine which should be vsed whan ther is any obstruction or any great abundaunce of humors about that part of the liuer which in latten is called gibba or els in the raynes or bladder for if the obstruction be in cauo hepatis which as gibba is the plumppest parte and the toppe of the liuer so cauum is the holowest parte the lowest of y e same thē it is better to lewse the bellye then to prouoke vryne For Gallen sayeth as the toppe of the liuer which before is called gibba is clensed by prouokinge of vrine so the holowe part of the liuer which I called cauum is pourged by lewsyng of the belly The which sayinge he repeteth in the .vii. chapter of his .ii. boke that he write to hys frynde Glauco and in many other diuers and sundry places In the prouokynge of vrine y e Phisicion must beware that there be no fluxe of bloude nor exulceration in the raynes or bladder for thē it is better to pluck from thence in to other partes of the body thē to drawe from other places thyther The .xi. kynde of euacuation is the drawinge downe of the spettell or the excrement of the braine by the mouthe whose vse is whā the breste and the instrumentes of brethynge shoulde be pourged wherfore whan the spettell is equall bothe in quantitie and collour then it declareth the brest the instrumentes of brethynge to be in perfit health but whan it is otherwyse that is to saye of diuers cullours not equall it declareth the instrumentes of brethynge and the hole brest so farre to be distempered as it differethe from hys owne naturall cullour and quantitie Wherfore the Phisicion shoulde diligently consider what Hyppocrates hathe writ in the .ii. boke prog and Aphor .43 also in sūme of the other folowing The .xii. kinde of euacuation is by holdyng medicynes in the roofe of y e mouthe which is called gargelyng vnder the which kynde is cōtayned the puttyng of medicines in to the nose called nisynge and these if they be vsed in theyr time profiteth and healpeth the braine very much The .xiii. kynde is the bledyng at the nose which amendeth the obstructions of y e brayne the distillations from the heade in to all partes of the body wherfore the Phisitiō shoulde diligently attende that in bledyng at the nose he knowe whan to stynt it whan not For sūme tyme whan it hathe bled but a verye litell it must be staied incontinent Sumtyme it is not stayed w tout greate daunger as yf it chaunce by the abundaunce of nawghtye bloude for then it is better to healpe nature to expell the nawghtie bloud thē to stay it wherfore euery Phisicion shoulde wel remember this sayinge of Hyppocrates whan so euer the bledynge at the nose quieteth not the body it must be stopped w t a dry medicyne The .xiiii. kynde of euacuation is wemens flowres which chaunce to wemē at times appoynted of nature that by the meanes of them y e hole bodye may be pourged and so health defended wherfore if the flowres be suppressed at any tyme excepte that tyme that the woman goethe with childe or geueth sucke it decayeth health vtterly and marreth the good constitution of the body as well as whan they runne to muche which Hyppocrates witnesseth saying as foloweth Of to many flowres cūmeth diseases but of to fewe or not at all foloweth diseases of the wombe Yet in stopping of the flowres the Phisicion shoulde behaue hym selfe wiselye lest he stop them to sone or to late For sū wemen hath them naturally longer then other haue which Hyppocrates witnesseth saying to such womē as haue moyst bodies their flowres continueth long if they cū not downe quickly they swell with all The xv kynde of euacuation is done
the pleuresie is knowen by the prickyng payne of the syde y e difficultie of brething by the fieuer whiche alwayes is annexed to it by y e coughe hardnesse of the pulse but y e greatnesse of it may be learned by the quantitie vehemency of the forsayde accidentes and the manner of it by the accidentes which folow it as yf they be many in number yf they be longe mightye and euyll or such as to these be cleane contrary the mouynge of it by the tyme of the partes of the fit To these .iiii. the consideration of the cūtry the tyme of the yere the nature cōstitutiō of the sickmanes body with other such as is in this same chapter before rehersed is necessary also Of these that Phisition which is an artificer shall easily iudge life or deth in his pacient he y t is not let hym speake no farther thē he knoweth so he shall sustaine no blame nor shame ¶ Of the vryne The .ii. chapter SEing that the vryne is the alonly marke of y e liuer vaynes in what error thinke you that the Phisitions are now a dayes which take vpon them to iudge all diseases by the vryne which is as absurde impossible as of the spettell to declare the gryefe of the bladder and raynes wherfore seinge that agaynste all knowlege and good lernynge they do so shamefully abuse the lookynge of the water deceyue the poore ignorant and simple people so craftily I thinke them worthy to be called as Aristophanes calleth them couetouse and vnlerned Phisitions sithens that they esteme more theyr filthy lucre then the truthe But nowe to my pourpose The vryne is the excrement and watry substance of the blood which after y e concoction doone in the vaynes is drawen thense by the kidneyes or raynes in to the bladder where it is reserued tyl it may cōueniently be let out in the beholding of the which ther is .4 thinges to be cōsidered which be these folowing y e substance cullar quantitie cōtentes of y e which no man can wel iudge which knoweth not parfitly y e holsummest of all other the best vrine wherto he may cōpare the rest The best water or vryne and the which is of a temperate man in substance is nether to thicke nor thinne but moderate in quantitie as much no more then he dronk in cullar sumwhat inclinynge towardes yealowe hauynge a white light and equall sediment such a water as this of a yonge Phisition shoulde often be loked vpon to the entent that whan he seethe any other differ neuer so litell from it he may forthwith cōiecture the same man whose water he hath sene so much to differ from parfit health how much hys water differeth from the other Now after I haue showed which is the best water ther remayneth behynde the declaration of such thinges as is in y e vryne especially to be cōsidered which I pourpose to declare orderly The substance of the vryne is ether thicke thynne or moderat and equall betwixt both That which is moderat is of all other the best and yf it be to thinne or thick it declareth vnparfit concoction Of the thyn vryne there is .ii. differences For the one is pissed thynne and clere and so remayneth styll and the other is pissed thinne and clere and after becummeth thycke and troubled but they be both crude rawe and doe lacke concoction thus they differ The tone signifieth extreme cruditie declarynge nature as yet not to haue begūne any concoction The tother showeth that nature hath begun concoctiō but very lately The troublesumnes signifieth great plenty of wyndie spirites to be mixt with the watry substance of the vryne Of thycke and troubled waters there is also .ii. differencis yf it be thick whan it is pissed then afterward it waxeth clere hauing a residence in the bothome which proficieth of sum inequall turbulent matter remayning behynde in the vaynes And on the other side sum other water whiche after it is made is thicke and remayneth so stil which signifieth great trouble and agitation as yet to remayne in the bloode Hitherto I haue declared the substance of the vryne wherfore now foloweth the cullar of the which ther be .vi. differencys in especiall which is white pale tawny yealow red blacke For all the rest be contayned vnder these Vndar white is contayned the cullar of cristall snowe water the which all signifie great cruditie Not so whyte as these is milke horne white the hearres of a chammell And as the vrynes of these cullars differ from very white so they declare better concoction After whyte they be next that be sum deale pale the which because they be a littell tincte they ar not extreme crude A pale cullar is made by the mixture of chollar and water together so that in the mixture there goeth but a litell chollar to a great dele of water of pale by meanes of concoction sūtime is made a light tawny which Actuarius taketh to be the cullar of gilt After a tawny followeth a light yelow which is a cullar like the floures of cartamus which is commonly called the gardyn saffaron after the which commeth yealowe whiche is the cullar of saffaron and a light red whiche is y e cullar of a certayne drug called bolum is next then red it selfe which is the cullar of a cherry after these is a darke red whiche is the cullar of a mulberry and yet there is a darcker which is made of whyte and red egally myxte together and of the latyns it is called Venetus grene is the cullar of beetes whiche the gardiners call the whyte beetes or elles the cullar of y e precious Emmoroyde Besyde these there is yet other cullars as the cullar of oyle the cullar of lead and all cole blacke cullars which is knowen almost of euery chylde Yf I haue here in the discripsions of cullars misse or wronge named any cullar I praye the paynters to accept my good wyll and pardon my ignorancye in the iudgyng of cullars y e Phisiciō shoulde be prouident because that oftentymes with euery light occation the cullar of the vrine dothe alter and change not only in them that besicke but also in thē y t be hole of this mutatiō or chaunge there is .3 special causes The first is meate not wel altered or disgested which is not apt to make bloude wherfore it changeth the cullar of the vryne to y e same cullar that it selfe is of which is wont to happen to them that is sicke and diseased yea and sumtyme to such also as is hole moreouer sum medicine will alter the cullar of the vrine The second cause of y e altering of y e cullar in y e water is the drinke for the vryne cōmonly kepeth the cullar of those thinges which is receyued in the drinke The .iii. cause is the collyquation of such thynges as consume and melt in the body
as the fat which whan it wasteth for the most part cullereth vryne Besyde these there be other causes also whiche do the same as exercise hungar slepe watche w t a great many other such like which in the beholdynge of the vryne eche one by hym selfe shoulde be diligently considered of the Phisition Now I entende to declare what may be coniectured in the vrine of the substance cullar A thinne vrine signifieth the lacke of natural heat not without the obstructions of y ◠liuer raynes splene by meanes of cruditie A thicke declareth excesse of matter humors fillinge the belly guttes and the holowe partes of the liuer which yf it be sene in a feuer thynne goinge before it signifieth the dissoluing of y e feuer But if after y t the feuer is alredie cū y e vryne appere thick nor in continuance of time waxeth no thinnar thē it signifieth plenty of humors Concernyng y e cullars what white pale yelowe read signifie partly is alredy declared more may be gathered of these y e folow The darke red which is the cullar of the mulberry showeth y t the bloode burneth in the vaynes The grene signifieth the worste kind of chollar to be encresed both in quātitie qualitie That vryne which hath y e cullar of oyle showeth y e colliquatiō of y e hole body or elles of y e raynes only The blacke water sumtyme declareth healthe as in the pourginge of melācholy but if grene went before thē it is a very argumēt of death it is more to be feared in men then wemen Now we be cū vnto the quantitie which in them that be hole should be so much as was dronken The water excedeth in quantitie for y e most part by meanes of these causes folowynge first whan a man eateth and drinketh to much the meat being to moyst or the drinke being watrishe wine The second whan he hath taken medicynes which prouoke vryne The thirde whan the raynes is distempered with ouer much heat The forth whan the belly is drier then it ought to be naturally The fyfte whā ther procedeth no euacuatiō of y e belly nor other wayes which Hyppocrates witnesseth sayinge Water much in quantity made in the night prophecieth of a small siege Litel water hapneth of cōtrary causes First of littell drinkynge drinesse of meates muche exercise and other lyke vnto these which be wont to dry the body Secondarily for meates medicyns whiche for their grosnesse make obstruction in the liuer and splene and other places Thirdly for the grosnesse and clammynesse of humors Forthly for the plentifull pourgynge of the belly Fyftly for the vehement heat and drinesse in a feuer Sixtly for the weaknesse of the excretiue power both in the raynes other partes seruynge to the avoydynge of the water or vryne The .iiii. thynge which in the vryne is to be considered be the contentes so called I thynke because they consist in euerye parte of the altitude of the body of the water And as the heyght of the body of the water is deuided in to .iii. as in to the bothome of the vryne the brinke or highest region in to the middell of these extremities so of the contentes sum swymmeth in the top and other hangeth in the middell and sum goeth to the bothom In y e contentes ther be .iii. thinges to be considered y e substance cullar and quantitie The substance because sūme be thicke and other sum thynne and sūme in a meane betwixt bothe The contentes of healthy waters be moderat of substance light egall They be called light which be continuall of of one pece not rough nor broken in any part suche as is to these contrary may be called rough Cōtentes y t be grosse signifie copie plenty of crude raw humors in the vaynes sumtime y e strength of the excretiue facultie in pourginge superfluous humors Contentes y t be thinne signifie weaknesse of nature in y e secōd cōcoctiō ▪ declareth also grosse humors to be subtyled made thynne Concernyng the cullar of contentes sū be very whyte summe pale sūme yealowe sūme red sūme bluddy sūme blacke sūme of diuers cullars Contentes very whyte be ether peces of slymye humors or els matter to much baked whiche commeth from sūme of the innar partes pale contentes be euill because they decline from the naturall cullar yealowe be euyl also in that y t they declare the ouer muche encreasinge of chollar red signifie lacke of concoction and the contynuynge of the disease Blodie declare y t the blood is not throughly labored of nature blacke signifieth ether y e mortifiyng of naturall heat or elles the pourgynge of melancholy Nowe since that I haue brefely declared the cullar and substance of the contentes ther remayneth behynde the quantitie which if it be much as it showeth the nurisshynge of the body so it dothe the fortifiynge of the excretiue facultie For while nature laboreth much in alteryng the nurrishemente she must nedes make many excrementes The scarcity lacke of cōtentes happeneth ether of fastyng or exercise or obstruction in y e vaynes or finally of ouer slowe concoction Sumtime there is an euill sauor in the vrin which signifieth ether rottennesse of sum part of the body or elles the mortifyinge of the hole body specially yf y e substance cōtentes be euill ¶ Of the excrementes of the belly The .iii. chapter THat siege or excrement is best moste naturall whiche is soft and lieth together hole and well compact made at the accustomed tyme in health and in quantitie correspondent to that y t is eaten of the contrarye part that is an euill and an vnnaturall siege or excrement which is hard thynne or rough not made in y e accustomed howre of healthe If the siege be very much cullared it is euyll and signifieth ouer muche chollar in the guttes and if it be not tincte at all but like vnto the meat whiche was eaten it signifieth cruditie no chollar at all to resorte to the guttes but if y e siege be yealowe in y e declination of the sicknesse thē it declareth the body to be pourged of chollar very well If the siege be grene it showeth that there is great plentie of rustie chollar and yf it be blacke it signifieth ether the abundance of melancholy or elles the adustion of blood in the stomacke Yf it be of the cullar of leade then it betokeneth the mortifiynge of the innar partes or at the leaste an extreme colde in the same If it be ether fatty or clammye no like meat hath be eaten immediatly before it signifieth the hole body to consume If it be verye muche stinkyng it is a sure token of putryfaction In these thinges the nature and qualitie of the meates be as well to be cōsidered as the imbecillitie an weakenesse of the guttes in suffering fluxes and reumes from the head whan the excrement in cummynge
forth maketh any noyse it declarethe winde to be mixte w t thynne moysture and the fundement to be drawen nere together Whan any wyndye spirit striueth with moysture then commonly there remayneth sum fome in the siege The siege being diuers in cullar showeth y e body to be diuersly affected wherfore for the most part it is a signe of long sicknesse ¶ Of the spettell The .4 chapter THe spettell is to be considered in all diseases but especially in the diseases or griefes of the brest and lunges in the which diseases yf the pacient spet nothing at all it is a tokē of extreme cruditie but if he spet though it be moyst crude it signifieth the first part of the disease which is the beginning to be newly ended after that it is more baked cummeth vp first a littell then more more thē the sicknesse is almost in y e state at the worst whan it is well baked cūmeth a great pase then the disease is alredy in the state which is to say at the heyght because thē it cā grow no hygher after cummyng lesse w t more ease lesse grefe in coughyng and takyng of breth beinge also well cōcoct not crude it signifieth y e sicknesse to decline depart Yf the spettel be sumthynge nigh vnto yelowe w t a light fome vpon it it is a token of cruditie only without any furthar euill But if it be very yelow tawny grene or blacke or clammy w t much fome it is not to be beliked at all if it be blody it is nothynge so euyll as blacke and yealow but the manner of excretion must also be well marked For if it cum vp easily thē it is to be accounted good and yf not but w t difficultie of brethyng thē it is euel The absolute note marke of concoction is whan the spettel is light white and egal of substance nether thynne nor thicke yf the spettell be thynne not blacke it signifieth nothynge but the lacke of naturall heat but yf it be the cullar of leade or rustinesse or blacke it is extreme euyll ¶ The .v. chapter of the pulses THe pulse is a sensible mouynge of the hart and Arteries that is to say vaynes hauing two coates growing of the hart carriynge both blod and spirit by the which they be lifted vp and let done againe This mouynge hath ii vses For in the dilatynge of the arteries colde Ayer is drawen in which doeth not only stirre vp but also refresheth the vitall power wherof the Animall spirites be made and in the submission or cōtraction of the forenamed Arteries the smoky excrement whiche came of burnte humors aduste is expelled Parauenture summe will loke that here in this place I shoulde haue declared the differencys of the pulses because that w tout the knowlege therof there can be no diuinatiō by the pulses Howbeit I willingly at this time omyt them because Gallen and Archigines with other mo auncient writers are not as yet agreed of them Cornelius Celsus non of the worst Phisitions semeth to doubt much whether any thynge may certaynly be coniectured by them or no. But this I am assured of that though I should haue set them furth so playnly as I coulde for my lyfe yet they shoulde not haue bene throughly knowen but of such as alredy be well entred practised not only in the workes of Phisicke but also in Arithmaticke and Mathamaticke and as for such let them serche what Gallen and other olde phisitions haue wrytten For to them this littel rude boke is not written but only to suche as are ignorant in the lattyn tong y t they may by healp of this my boke not only lerne sūthyng for theyr bodely health but also saue theire money which they dayly wast in feeding such Phisitions as be not lernyd wherfore gentyll readers accept my good wyll though I haue not satisfied youre expectation remembrynge the olde poetes sayinge Rebus et in magnis est voluisse satis which is to say that in matters of weyght to haue ben wyllynge it is sufficient Finis ¶ Imprinted at London in Fletestrete at the signe of the Sunne ouer agaynst the condyte by Edvvard VVhitchurche the .x. day of April Cum priuilegio ad imprimendum solum