in the head be raueth at the fyrst assault of the sicknes hée is troubled with a cholericke distillation out of the head into the stomacke Lungues and nether partes he is eyther verye sléepie or aboundeth in ouer watching he hath swelling in his neck and about the eares the daysling of the head hyssing in the eares with readnesse of the face and beating of the temples This plague raygned in Auernia in the yéere of our Lorde 1546. Many are of opinion that the Pestilence is a thyrde kinde of the burning Feuer and iudge that it procéedeth of Melancholicke blood eyther putryfying or boyling by reason of the putryfying which they gather to bée so by the resemblaunce which it hath to a continual quartaine and the smellings which vse to appeare in such Feuers Howbeit vnlesse all the auncient wryters and this our learned age also haue bene verye much ouerseene the Feuer is not of the verye substaunce of the sicknesse For albe it for the more part shee ioyne her selfe vnto it as a most painfull companion and a whelpe of the same hayre notwithstanding the whole order of the cure sheweth that they differ euen by whole kinde And because the place of making blood and other humours is by nature appointed vnto the Lyuer I wyl shew the signes of euery one beginning first with the signes that declare the infection to bee in the blood which are these heat not byting but gentle and milde a stiffe and strouting weerinesse of the whole body stinking sieges large and liquide lying of the pacient vpon his back heauines of the head beating of the teÌ„ples rauing and idle speech after the fourth or seauenth day smal thyrst or none at all a filthie tongue vrine at the beginning almost white afterward growing redder and confused all the bodye ouer speciallye vpon the backe breast and armes litle red whelkes rysing not vnlike to fleabites If the infection be in Choler the diseased are vexed with that vnquietnes which the Grecians terme Lismos féeling such an extreame burning within them that thèy alwaye crye to bée remoued to some colder place although theyr outwarde partes are not hote at all theyr face is sometime pale and sometime red they thyrst much theyr tongue is verye drie they neuer sléepe their breath stinketh they breath hardlye for which cause and by reason of theyr immoderate heat they desire to drawe in freshe ayre continually theyr sieges are cholericke thinne stinking and fattie and sometime they make water verye yealowe watrishe and thinne When the infection hath taken hold on the rawer part of the blood then the pacient sléepeth continuallye the body is slouthfull and the partes thereof weerie the belching sower soft and flegmaticke swellinges do aryse with other signes moe declaring the dominion of fleame And therefore tender and moist natures are sooner infected then olde men and such as are geuen to labour or that are of a colde and moist temperament and brought vp with cold meates But when this pestilent corruption of the ayre hath inuaded the dregges of the blood called Melancholie the pacient wyll bee very carefull and heauy and much more sorrowful then he was woont he becummeth distract the pulse is small and déepe the vrine lyke the wine of Pomegranates blackishe and whatsoeuer sores or botches breake out in the body they represent the coulour and complexion of their humour The. 7. Chap. HEtherto we haue intreated of the signes it followeth now that we come to the cure which coÌ„sisteth in two pointes in preuenting and dryuing away the sicknes The pestilent ayre is auoided many wayes First if wee kéepe awaye all occasions of the bringing of it to the place where wee dwell as we reade that Marcus Varro did at Corcira for when he perceyued howe that there were some sicke in euerye house round about him he shut his windowes whiche opened to the South and he opened them that were to the North and so preserued all his familie in good health howbeit that which Varro did toward the South I thinke ought to be done also when the winde is East Northeast and West also for if the wise and dilligent Phisition do well marke it he shall perceiue that the plague incrâ—aâ—eth when those windes do blowe So lykewise it is necessarie to chaunge place as from lowe places to goe vnto higher when the plague is ingendred by corruption of the ayre but if the winde bring the plague out of one cuntreye into another then were it kest to descend from a high dwelling to a lower where the ground is watrishe and the ayre thick which wyll hardlye receyue the impression of the supernall bodies And when we haue chosen an house then the pestilent ayre is to be corrected by burning of such thinges as eyther by secrete or manifest qualitie are contrarye to the infection as are the Trochisces which followe Take Styrax calamite Benioin of eche one dram red Roses Lauender Cypres of eche halfe a dram with Rosewater TragagaÌ„t make Trochisces burne theÌ„ in a chafingdishe of coales or else burne with them of the composition called Gallia or Alipta moscata and such lyke It were verye good also for this purpose to burne such woods and hearbes as yéeld a sweet sauour as Rosemary Sage Lauender Baies Ciprus wood Juniper the wood the barries the wood Aloes Cinnamon Cloues Likewise the sprincling of sweete waters about the chamber amendeth the euill disposition of the ayre as the water of Lauender and Maierom but these are most to be vsed when the ayre is moist cloudye and colde For the warme ayre more spéedely and redelye perceth into our bodies and is soonest infected with the qualitye of some other thing as Auicen hath noted in his first booke in the Chapter of varietye of seasons Wherefore prouision must bee made that it waxe not verye hote by sprincling of fayre water and vineger rose-vineger by setting vp Wyllowe boughes and by strawing the Chamber with water lyllies flagges and such like The. 8. Chap. BUt nowe it is not inough in this maner to haue amended the ayre but also the principal parts must bee strengthened both with thinges receyued inward and applied outwarde to thintent they maye the more valiauntlye withstande the pestilent ayre And among those thinges to which the Grecians giue name for that they be hanged about vs I lyke especiallye of twaine the one is if a hole be made in a hasyll nut and the kernel bâ—e pulled forth with a pin and the place fylled vp againe with common quicksiluer and hanged about the neck it preserueth a man wonderfully from the pestilence This Medicine I learned aboue twelue yéeres agoe of the Phisition to the Right honourable the Lord Vidam that nowe dead is For at what time Henrie the secoÌ„d King of FrauÌ„ce lead his armie into Germanie and at the siedge of the Citie of Mentâ— hee preserued not onelye him selfe but also his Surgeon which went to them that
of the partes the vrine is lyke the vrine of one that is whole which shal be proued to be true by this that hereafter followeth The. 5. Chap. BUT for asmuch as we concluded before that this infection is in the ayâ—â— which wée drawe in by breathing 〈…〉 s receiued into the inner partes of thâ— body through the pores of the skin by the motion of the arteyres how chauÌ„ceth it then that the heart is not alwayes infected for asmuch as in our large breathing the ayre which is drawen in by the Lungues imparteth the contagioÌ„ sooner vnto the heart because of theyr néerenes then vnto partes be farther of as the Liuer and the Braine Note this common reason sayth Galen that a corrupt humour which is engendred in all by one constitucion doth not affect the same places for that in respect of al theyr natures the body was not in the same coÌ„stitution at that present but one part was weaker then another For those partes which be stronger in qualitie or quantitie vse to expulse and driue awaye the offending bumour into another that is of lesse resistaunce Wherfore if the heart eyther of it selfe or by helpe of Phisick be strong then wyll it driue the venimous ayre eyther to the Liuer or to the Brain Moreouer the proportion of the putrifaction maye be in cause thereof for whatsoeuer hath the force to do any thing doth not immediatly execute the same vpon what euer it méeteth withall but necessarye it is that there be some naturall likenesse betwéene the thing Agent and the Pacient and after this maner we affirme that Purgations drawe this or that humour by reason of the lykenesse vnto them of nature or substauÌ„ce And therefore the olde writers sayde verye well that euery thing cannot worke vppon euerye thing but onely whatsoeuer hath some agréement with the Agent in matter or in maner of applying them together lyke as the Ephemerum Colchicum a venimous herbe so called the Uiper beare enmitie against the Liuer as may easilye be perceiued by the bloody flixe dropsie and other accidents which both of them do cause and as the byting of certaine Beasts breedeth the iaundice corrupting conuerting the blood into choler Besides this Henbaine the Aspe molest that part of the Braine wherein the Animall facultie resteth the last bringing vnwakeable sléepe the first distracting the mind which it doth not by reason of cold as late writers affyrme For Brionie which is hot worketh also the same effect howbeit the extreeme colde that is in Houselike in Lettice or Poppie troubleth not the wittes The Basiliske slayeth a maÌ„ sodainly consuming the spirites which he doth they say by sight and hyssing The Taxus which seme suppose to be the Ewtrée kylleth with his shaddowe specially in hot cuntreys those that sleepe vnder it â–ª strangling them presently lyke as the Hemlock with his passing cold qualitie extinguisheth naturall heat These causeth of so sudde in death procéedeth froÌ„ no other thing then the peculiar kind of poison which at the first assault inuadeth the castle of life For euery thing hath his peculiar mixtion froÌ„ whence spring forth those properties of substaunce And these thinges are no lesse proper vnto the ayre also then they are common vnto plants brute beastes so that the diuerse kinde of putrifaction which is in the ayre infecteth or affecteth the diuers partes of our bodies after a diuerse kinde of maner For loke what the ayre is such must needes our humours and spirites bee wherein the soundnesse or infirmitie of the partes consisteth And this was the cause that Hippocrates wrote how that the sundry mutacioÌ„ of tymes procureth many diseases as namely if the Summer be drie and the wind North the Haruest verie rainy and the wind South the winter following are lyke to ensue payne in the head coughes horsenes rewmes and stuffing in the head and many shal fall into consumptions lykewise some other disposition of the Summer and Haruest ingendreth other kindes of diseases so that sometime they procéede froÌ„ the braine sometime depend vpon other partes according to the diuerse temperature of the ayre and Hippocrates very learnedly hath set downe in the thyrd boke of his Aphorismes in his booke of Epidemies and of the ayre places and waters But the auctoritye of D. Ambrosius Pareus whome posterity acknowledgeth for the thyrd sun of Aesculapius doeth much lighten and confyrme this opinion who opening the bed wherein one laye sicke of the Plague felt a most filthye and pestilent sauour rysing from the plaguie botch and carbuncle which so strooke his Braine that presentlie he fell in a sowne to the ground without feeling any paine at the heart or other accident that might declare that the heart or stomacke or any other part of the body were affected at length recouering strength he arose and his braine began to expulse that contagious ayre with so forcible sneesing that the blood therewith gusshed out of his nose and vnlesse sayde hée the expulsiue facultie of my braine had bene strong doubtlesse I had died for the Animall or lyuing facultie had bene therewith vtterlye oppressed Thus you sée louing Reader by the example and iudgement of so notable a man that this poyson may first infect the braine no other part being hurt For there is a perpetuall drawing of ayre into the braine in euerye breathing creature in at the nostrels through the bones called Istmoidea into the foremoste ventricle or sell of the braine where the smelling vertue remaineth whereby it commeth that it imparteth most readelye vnto the braine that infection which it receyueth before that it conuey it vnto the heart For it cannot come vnto the heart vntyl such tyme as it bee well laboured in the Lungues wheras by the tareing there it looseth some parte of the venimous qualitie â–ª or else infecteth the hollownesse of the Lungues or the thin skins and rimes within the breast or the Midriffe whereby many times in the Pestilence commeth spetting of blood as Guido de Cauliaco hath noted in the same plague which beginning first at Auenion was dispersed ouer all Europe Lykewise the painfull Cathar with shortnesse of breath which the FrenchmeÌ„ termed Coqueluche which awhile agoe raged ouer all Europe was caused by the ayre declaring it selfe to bée pestilent euen by the verye force thereof and going from man to man which was the kinde of that infection do to and notwithstanding all the accidents and tokens declared that by similitude of passion the braine was likewise affected as were heauines and paine in the head with desyre to sléepe the mur stuffing in the head and distillacion into the Lungues stomacke The lyke vnto this is to bée founde in Hippocrates in the thyrd booke of Epedemies where he describeth a pestilent state For many were diseased in the Iawes had impedimentes in theyr speache theyr bellyes were troubled with laskes many wared rotten and fell into
consumptions so that the next wynter following wee were much troubled with contagious squincies in these quarters which came to passe with chaunging of the winde from the South to the North as it is to be learned out of the twentye fowrth Aphorisme of the first booke of Hippocrates Aphorisines And afterward Hippocrates addeth and the diseases sayth he which the pestilent ayre doth bring if it once offend the Lyuer are burning feuers dropsies putrifaction of the lower part of the bellye and priuities and when sayth hee the rottennes had taken déeper rootes many lost theyr armes and from some the whole cubite from the elbowe foreward fell awaye The lyke kinde of Pestilence was that which Galen citeth out of Thucidides to haue raigned in Athens But if all these proofes can not sufficientlye perswade thee rememember that the Leprosie is a contagious disease the contagion whereof proceedeth of the ayre corrupt and infected by leprous persons which beeing drawne in by breathing infecteth others the contagion taking hold on the Liuer which is the seat of the Leprosie éeuen so one that is sicke of the plague disperseth the infection abrode in the ayre which infecteth those that are about him with the same sicknesse wherby it hapneth that the same disease and hauing the verye same accidentes many times continueth a yéere or twoo togeather as I remember it chaunced once in England Measelles by consent of all auncient wryters take theyr originall of an infection sent downe from the celestiall bodyes into the ayre and are of the kinde of Epedimious diseases and the forerunners of some gréeuous mortall pestilence the cause whereof is the heat and boyling of blood and are to bée numbred among diseases of the lyuer And that there is in these a most manifest infection to be taken one of another euery simple woman can tell and Rases maketh them one kinde of the Pestilence Thus all that we haue hetherto sayd do prooue ▪ that the Pestilent ayre sumtyme infecteth the Braine sumtyme the Lyuer and sumtime the heart according to the diuersitye of the putryfaction ▪ and the diuerse disposition of the body For as fire is sooner kyndled in drye strawe then in gréene wood so lykewise the infected ayre béeing dispersed abroade and breathed in sooner ouerthroweth suche bodyes as are stuffed with euyll humours then those that are cleane and pure from any such and for this cause you shall see among a great many that were about one which was sicke of the plague one onely many times to escape the sicknesse and euen so all that looke vpon sore eyes become not sore eyed but such onelye in whome the infection had lyke matter to worke vpon And this is the cause why for the most part sorenesse blearenesse of the eyes vseth to come before a plague as Aphrodiseus wryteth Because sayth hée the plague is a disease of the spirites and when this troubled and corrupted spirite is caryed vp to the head it molesteth the eyes and hurteth them before any other thing for being subtile and moueable it goeth first vnto the eyes Not vnlike vnto this is that which Aristotle verie fitlye demaundeth howe it chaunceth that when euell tydinges or sorowfull newes are told vs wee suddeinly shake quiuer and the beholding of affections in other before our eyes bréede the like affections in vs also for when we sée another eate some sower thing our téeth waxe in an edge and if wee heare a sawe filed or a Pumice stone cut we tremble quake for cold The cause of al these as saith Aristotle is the spirite which entring within our senses moueth vs altering and many times extinguishing the spyrites which are within our bodyes howbeit then by lykelyhood proportion they should more easily chaunge the spirites which remaine in she heart Braine and Lyuer then in the vttermost part of the teeth But a man shall not easily perswade the common people ▪ or the newe wryters in this point as that the filthy stynking Kennels and durty places of the Citye doo onely hurt the Braine The Colicke whereof next after Hippocrates Paulus Aegineta maketh mencion in the yéere 1572 ▪ reygned generallye and dyd very much harme kylling many For all that were sicke of it fell into the Paulsie or falling sicknesse and many dyed thereof either in the fyt or not long after as I obserued it in the house of my good Lord and exhibitour and in the Monasterye of Casa dei or Gods house néere vnto our dwelling called Rugla for the Nūnes which dwelt there could not prouide for theyr health by any other meanes then by flight and chaunge of place And more then fiftéene yéere since this gréeuous disease much afflicted our cuntreymen and Citizens also and euen this last winter it wandred here amōg our next neighbours as it reygned at Abbeuille in the yeere of our Lorde 1554. of the cure whereof I meane Godwylling to intreate in my booke of diseases which came by inheritaunce And this much thou hast alreadye Louing Reader cōcerning the cause and place of the Pestilence and now harken farther to the signes and tokens thereof The. 6. Chap. IF the putrifaction of the corrupted ayre do take holde on the spirites the heat is not sharpe nor pricking the patiēts féele a greater heat in their breast then in any other part of the bodye the pulse is nothing weake but sumtime more quicke then it is woont but yet not to swift as when the imperfection is in the humours the vrine is lyke vnto the naturall there issueth no sweat but some moisture appeareth on the forehead and in the necke the tongue is drye and rough they thyrst not much nor tosse them selues hether thether because the naturall strength is whollye ouerthrowen they sowne often there appeareth vpon them neyther botche nor blaine nor Gods markes neyther haue they the laske but dye suddeinlie vnlesse they be well looked vnto at the fyrst assault of the sicknesse But when the putrifaction hath inuaded the sound substaunce of the heart then it bringeth a feuer as I haue sayd like to an Hecticke or a consuming feuer in which there is no great heate but that which is lurketh within consuming and putrefiing the substaunce of the heart burning it and all that is therein the pacients féele not themselues to be in an ague or to be sicke at all so sone as they haue eaten meate ▪ they fall into a colde sweat their pulse is indifferent almost naturall but sumdeale quicker and weaker theyr vrine is lyke ones in good health they raue not they are not troubled with the laske nor gréeued with any other accident The lyke plague vnto this raigned at Lions and Vienna in the yeere of our Lord. 1525. as Montuus reporteth If the pestilent ayre being drawne in at the nose or otherwyse haue possessed the braine the signes thereof are tremblinges and sadnesse the partye féeleth great paine
into the sirupe Of this sirupe you may minister twoo or thrée sponefuls vnto children of twoo or thrée yéere olde and to them that are elder you maye geue one slice of the Rhabarb with the sirupe With this Medicine you shall not onelye preserue them from the plague but also slaie and driue foorth the Wormes that bée in the guts Or else when you haue thus sliced your Rhabarb mingle it with the sirupe of Uiolets Succorie or roses and while the substance of the Rhabarb is somwhat soft séeth the sirupe againe when it is cold put thereto Rhabarb againe with Cinamom cloues and minister foure or fiue slices with two sponfuls of sirupe And vnto those that are elder but delicate wée vse to prescribe in Winter pilles of Rhabarb Aloës Agarike Sene and Mirobalanes according to the custome of theyr lyfe diuersity of natures and in Summer we geue Potious made of the same or the lyke The maner of making whereof is this Také Rhabarb an ounce and a halfe Agarike one ounce Sene clensed foure ounces Cinamom one dram Ginger halfe a scruple Anise and Fenell seedes of eche twoo drams beate them into a grosse pouder and sprincle it with Aqua vitae afterwarde stéepe it in Borage water or fayre common water and when it is sufficientlye couloured then straine it then powre the like water vpon the dregges and let it stéepe as before then straine it and wring it and boyle the strayned lycour ouer a soft fyre vntyll it come to the consisteÌ„ce of Honie then put Sugar thereto and kéepe it to your vse geue of this three pilles for halfe a dram more or lesse according to the age strength and temperament I knewe one in England Baptista Agnelli who had spent all his life in the art of Distilling hee vsed this Opiate in the time of Pestilence with verye good successe whose description followeth Take Agrimonie Wormwood romane of eche twoo handfuls Anise halfe an ounce Sene twoo ounces boyle them in common water the space of foure houres then straine theÌ„ all stronglye and vnto the strayned licour put an ounce of Sugar of clensed Cassia twoo ounces make it after the maner of an Opiate whereof you may geue half an ounce at a time for it purgeth gentlye without troubling the humours Some put Manna to the sirupe of Roses and so make an Opiate But all wryters commende the pilles called Ruffi or Common or of Aloes Saffron and Mirrhe not onely because they purge euyll humours but because they resist putrifaction strengthning the heart Lyuer and other partes and consume superfluous moistures which brâ—â—de great occasion of this disease as Auicen wryteth But they which can not take purgations they must often haue theyr bellies mooued with a Glyster or they in whome blood alone or ioyned with other humours is found much abounding would haue some taken from them after these aboue rehearsed euacuations speciallye if they haue bene accustomed to lettyng of blood and haue large veynes and bée much geuen to drynking of Wine and eating of fleshe The â–ª 10. Chap. THus when at sundrye times the body hath bene gentlie purged let the Pacient take betimes in the morning fasting a dram of this Opiate following Lake olde Triacle one dram conserue of the flowers of Tunica and rosemaryâ— of eche thrée drams with the iuce of a Citron make them vp in the forme of an Opiate Or thus Take the rootes of Angelica Zedoarie Tormentill of eche one ounce Cinamom twoo drams the rinde of a Citron a dram bring these into pouder and boyle them in rose water an hower and a halfe then straine it hard and boyle the strayned licour with Sugar sufficient vnto the consistence of Hony and make it an Opiate or make it an Clectuarye in lozenges After the same order you maye make a very good Opiate of the iuce of gréene Juniper berries with Sugar to coale the stomacke to expell the grauell out of the reynes and to fortifye the principal partes Or thus Bruse the berryes and boyle them in common water to the thyrd part then boyle the strayned licour againe as I haue shewed before Of Bole Zedoarie Gentian and Angelica maye bée made trochiskes with the iuce of Borage Scabious Pimpernell But those that insue I vse more commonlye and they are more pleasaunt to bée taken Take ten Citrons and cut them into many péeces the tops of Borage an handfull good white wine thrée pintes styll them in an earthen vessell and there wyll drop forth very cleare water soote pleasauÌ„t to taste take of this water twoo ounces euerye morning fasting Another Take Aqua vitae thrée ounces rose-water an ounce and an halfeâ— wherein laye a stiepe of Cinamom thrée drams yealowe Saunders one dram straine it through an hairen strainer swéeten it with conserue of roses take one ounce thereof euery morning eyther in a spone or vpon a tost of bread Another Take Tormentill Bistort Zedoary EnelacaÌ„pane of eche one ounce Diuels bit Scordium Saucealone wilde Sorrell Pimpernell of eche halfe an handfull Borage and violet flowers Taxus Barbatus the tops of Rue one gripefull Citron séedes and Carduus benedictus ofech twoo drams Juniper berries thrée drams Cloues Nutmegs of eche a dram and an halfe plde Triacle an ounce and an halfe good white wine a pint and an halfe distyll them all in Balneo and minister twoo ounces of this distylled water The most wicked and desperate varlets whome the Magistrates of Lions put to death for carreing about and increasing the plague when they were led to execution confessed that they preserued themselues from the Pestilence with none other thing then a walnut which they tosted or scorched a lytle against the fyre before they eate it Leonhardus Fuchsius tolde me once in his owne house that there was nothing more holsome against the plague then an Electuarie of Egges and that it was a coÌ„mon thing among the Germanes both to preuent and to cure the plague and hee sayde as much also of Angelica The. 11. Chap. FOr as much as at the beginning of this disease there is great plentye of euyll humours gathered into the stomack and other common passedges of the bodye which may easilye bee discerned by the burning and byting of the stomacke vnquencheable thyrst lothing vomyting of fleame choler or some other humour then must the cure bee begun by clensing the bellye with a suppositour or common Olyster Afterward the pacient maye take a dram of mine Electuarye whose discription is to bee founde in the â—yght Chapter and twoo or three howers after that you must prouoke vomite with Antimonie whose preparation you shall finde discribed in the ende of this treatise But to the intent that the pacient maye vomite with more ease and lesse trouble vnto him it were good for him to sup the broath of a Chick an hower or twaine after hee haue receyued the vomite and to doo so as often as hée perceiueth him selfe mooued to