hot and drie in the third degree which Monardus saith hee and others haue affirmed to come neere to the third degree of excesse in either qualitie But it seemeth not so hot because it blistereth not nor yet exceedingly heateth and that deletery malignity which he adscribeth to it may be quintessentiall although not elementarie And with him I will not deny but that some malignitie out of question is in Tabacco yea I wil adde further that there is in it some poison also as there is in some other strong and vehement purgers but yet it may bee with cordiall and cephalical aromatikes alaied as wel as Scammony Elaterium Euphorbium Coloquintida turbith and some others Besides diuers medicines doe either retaine loose or change their force and power according to the diuers constitutions of those natures to whome they are giuen For it is a hard matter to finde any remedy that may doe absolute good without some slight touch of harme vnlesse by art it be refined Thus you see I haue beene a little bold to trump in my friend Philaretes way where I thought hee tripped esteeming him yet for no lesse then a louer of vertue and honestie as his name importeth and a man of good iudgement and learning But I will come into my path againe and acquaint you first with the diuersities of names titles giuen to this herbe and so will I passe to his vertues and properties This herbe with the Franks or frenchmen hath beene most commonly knowne by the name of Nicotiana because one Nicot a French Embassadour to the king of Portugall sent this hearb first into France and so gaue it his name Others againe that by tradition haue noted the meanes frō whence they receiued this herb haue called it Herba Reginae and Queene mother herbe for that when Monsieur Nicot had first knowledge thereof hee sent and commended it to Katherine de Medices the Queene mother of France who died before she had reeled vp her spindle and shee first caused it to bee planted in that kingdome Others there bee that do tearm it Hyoscyamus Peruuianus Henbane of Peru Herba Sancta or Sacra and Sana sancta Indorum but vpon what ground I know not vnlesse it be for the singular vertues and faculties that are found in this plant as by the same reason Lignum Indicum or Guiacum is called sanctum because it is so helpfull and restoreth to cure a great many sicknesses and griefes as the learned in Physicke doe very well finde Wee know indeed by practise that an infinite number of diseases are cured by Tabacco euen à capite ad imos vsque pedes from the crowne of the head to the verie feete so that in regard of his noble vertues it was thought necessarie that it should bee entituled with some glorious name as we also see done to others For Philon the Physitian called his Alexipharmacal medicines Deorum manus and at this day Physitians haue graced nobilitated some of their compositions with splendidous titles calling one Manus Christi another Benedicta Laxatiua Catholicon a third and some others by the strange and superstitious names of Puluis sanctus Gratia Dei Apostolicon vnguentū Paulinum and the like as Vlrichus de Hutten a Knight of Germany hath writ in his book De Morbo Gallico the 6. chap. It is also entituled Petū Lobelius Peter Pena do make it a kinde of Symphitum and other while a kinde of Hyoscyamus luteus but yet they stick somewhat at that So hauing discoursed of his seuerall names we will make a step to his description his secret and rare qualities and not forgetting by the way to tell besides of the hurt some receiue thereby with the true and right vse also And first you shall heare what Carolus Clusius saith Nicotian saith he so tearmed of the French of the Spaniards Tabacco of the Brasilians Petum hath beene long vsed of the Indians especially of the inhabitants of Hispania Noua for the curation of woundes It was brought but a few yeares since into Spaine rather for the decking vp of their gardens as being a strange plant and seld seen more then for the hidden vertues of the hearb but now it is much more famous by reason of his rare qualities then for his elegancie and beauty that it carrieth in a garden The common people of India vsually tearme it Picielt for the name of Tabacco first came from the Spaniards because there was such plentie of it grew in a certain Iland called Tabacco according to the name wherof they haue christned it Andrew Theuet saith that the Americans haue a secret herbe which they name in their language Petum the which most commonly they beare about them for that they esteeme it marueilous profitable for many things this herbe is like to our buglosse They gather this herbe very charily and drie it within their little cabanes or houses Their manner to vse it is this they wrap a quantitie of this herbe being drie in a leafe of a Palme-tree which is very great so they make rolles of the length of a candle and then they fire the one end and receiue the smoak thereof by their nose and by their mouth they say it is verie wholesome to cleanse and consume the superfluous humors of the braine Moreouer being taken after this sort it keepeth the parties from hunger and thirst for a time therefore they vse it ordinarily Also when they haue any secret talke or counsell among themselues they draw this smoake and then they speake The which they doe customably one after another in the warre whereas it is very needful The women vse it by no meanes If that they take too much of this perfume it will make them light in the head as the smell or taste of strong wine The Christiās that do inhabite there are becom verie desirous of this perfume although that the first vse thereof is not without danger before that one be accustomed thereto for this smoke causeth sweats and weakenes yea foaming at the mouth suddaine falling downe and conuulsions as I haue seene in some And this is no such strange thing as it seemeth for there are many other herbs and fruits that offend the braine though that the taste of them bee pleasant and good to eate Plinie sheweth that in Lyncest is there is a fountaine that maketh the people drunke that take thereof Likewise another of Paphlagonia which as Ouid saith in the 15 booke of his Metamorphosis will cause a man to bee no lesse drunke then if he had copiously quaffed a great deale of wine His words be these Quem quicunque parùm moderato gutture traxit Haud aliter titubat quà m si mera vina bibisset This I know will not be receiued of all men for truth and yet Philosophers doe witnesse that there is in Esclauonie by Apollonia a fountaine comming out of a rock wheras is seene to proceed a flame of fire whereby al
THE TRIALL OF TABACCO Wherein his worth is most worthily expressed as in the name nature and qualitie of the sayd hearb his speciall vse in all Physicke with the true and right vse of taking it aswell for the Seasons and times as also the Complexions Dispositions and Constitutions of such Bodies Persons as are fittest and to whom it is most profitable to take it By E. G. Gent. and Practicioner in PHYSICKE Imprinted at London by H. L. for Mathew Lownes and are to be solde at his shop in Paules Church-yard at the signe of the Bishops-head 1610 To the right Worshipfull Sir Edmond Carey Knight YOu may peraduenture wonder most worthy Sir or if not your selfe yet many others I am sure will why I being an old man and in my declining age long since would be so inconsiderate as to set pen to paper and write a discourse of Tabacco But I pray you giue me leaue to speak for my selfe and to answer both the one and the other Isocrates the famous Orator wrote the sweetest and most eloquent Oration of his called Panathenaica after hee was fourescore yeares of age and the same is reported of the diuine Plato who continually studied and wrote of diuers points in Philosophy when he likewise had passed the Eighty yeere of his age and so continued to his dying day as Iohn Pierius in Oloris Hieroglyphico saith The famous lawyer Baldus began to study the ciuil Law at three of the clocke in the afternoon at what time king Deiotarus began to build a Ciuity I mean when he was an old man and yet hauing an excellent prompt and praegnant wit and a natural inclination to that kind of study he became the most excellent man of his time And although you will grant old men to bee subiect to many imperfections and weaknesses yet on the other side you must confesse that yong men are much tainted with lightnesse inconstancy of mind and ouermuch folly Indeed old men are not so strong quick sprightfull and deliuer as The names of all those authors and learned men whose authorities are cited in this present Worke. ARistoteles Alciatus Andreas â—…heuetus Aegidius Eurartus Auicenna Augerius Ferrerius Alexander Trallianus Apianus Aetius Andreas Matthiolus Semensis Amatus Lusitanus Albertus Magnus Banisterus Carolus Clusius Cardinalis Cusanus Cornelius Celsus Carolus Stephanus Cornelius Tacitus Catullus Dion Diodorus Siculus Galenus Guido Pancirollus Garceas ab Horto Galfridus Chaucerus Dioscorides Gâ—…ilielmus Camdenus Fracastorius Hesiodus Homerus Hippocrates Hieronimus Cardanus Hercules Strozza Herodotus Guilielmus Clusius Vlâ—…ichus de Hutten Laurentius â—…oubertus Horatius Iohannes Langius Iohannes Leo Afer Iohannes Gerardus Anglus Iohannes Liâ—…baultius Iohannes Heurnius Iohannes Baptista Porta Iohannes Hollerius Iohannes Bruerinus Iuuenalis Lucretius Iosephus Quercetanus Ludouicus Vertomanus Petrus Bellonius Titus Liuius Terentius Ronssaeus Paulâ—…s Aegineta Iulius Palmâ—…rius Theodorus Zuingerus Stâ—…abo Publius Ouidius Martialis Paracâ—…lsus Suetonius Tranquillus Mercurius Britannicus Richardus Hackluit Nicolaus Monardus Petrus Pena Matthias de Lobell Seneca Vergilius Pliâ—…ius Theophrastus Philon. Philaretes Xenophon Tibullus In commendation of the Author AS farre as Boreas clappes his brasen wings So farre thy fame graue Gardinâ—…r shâ—…ll flie Pleasure and profit both thy rare Worke brings Who rightly reads will say as much as I That thou of all doest yet deserue the praise And to be crowned with a crowne of 〈◊〉 One with disgracefull and despightfull words This soueraigne Simple basely discommends A second loftie glorious tearmes affords And grace too great vnto this Simple lends Both are extreames The golden meane is best Which here thou keep'st thy Worke excels the rest Reioyce O Britaine that thou hast brought forth A Gardiner of such admired skill Thou showest the vertue the effect and worth Of this rare Simple the good vse and ill Then vse it well for Gardiners good sake And from his Garden a choise flower take Io Serle Edward Michaell In commendation of his learned friend Master Edmund Gardiner THe Author well deserues the Tipe of fame To be conioyned to his honest name For setting forth vnto his Countreys view Tabaccoes praise now in his brightest hue In lieu whereof the guerdon he doth craue Is but a kinde respect of him to haue For all his paines taken for your delight Is for to shew Tabaccoes vse aright Read then his worke with iudgements brightest eie And thank him kindly Thus with me replie Gardiner Adieu thy Work deserues such praise As few men giue in these our latter daies The triall of Tabacco MAny men haue many times sette foorth to the publike viewe of the world diuers books entreating specially of one subiect and those either in praise or dispraise of the matter they wrote of but yet amongst all writers or exscriptors there haue beene in my iudgement no treatises so often divulged so greatly discoursed of and presented to the eies of the world especially of late time as those that discourse of Indian Tabacco one liking another discommending and dispraising according to the seuerall whirles of their affections either in part or in whole this famous plant so that a man may not inaptly say of it as Virgill the Poet doth concerning the diuersitie of opinions for the admission of the Graecian deuised horse into the walles of Iroy Scinditur incertum studia in contraria vulgus The wauering multitude as each man findes Consists of many and contrary mindes And in respect of the Writers Patrons and defendants of this rare plant on both sides I may not vnfitly vse this saying of Horace Caedimur totidem plagis consumimus hostem We by our forces are beaten if not slaine We with as many stroakes waste them againe There is such hard hold and tough reasoning on both sides Now although I be Medicorum minimus yet you must remember it was said of old Scribimus indocti doctique poëmata passim seeing no other to vndergoe this taske I haue boldly aduentured to vnbuckle my selfe for you know who is so bold as blinde Bayard I haue I say not being thereto commanded or compelled as the answer to the booke called Worke for the chimney Sweeper was but of my owne forwardnesse and the desire I had to satisfie the world heerein in some sort protesting as in the inferiournes of the stile may well appeare that neither vanitie of glorie nor selfe presumption being of many the most vnworthy to haue enterprised this taske nor other priuate respect then duty to my good friends that haue requested this at my hands and zeale to my louing country men hath made me to publish this booke For I saw the discourses heerein in my poore vnderstanding to be faultie defectiue and halting considering that one side too much extolled the vertue of this plant and another side as much on the contrarie abased contened reiected it So to giue some satisfaction to both sides I haue made choice of the middle being as I take it the more secure way
though it be a very hard matter to keep right in the mid-path and to decline neither to the right nor to the left hand Iust a pari premitur veluticum pondere libra Prona nec haec plus parte sedet neâ—… surgit ab illa In English thus As when an euen scale with equall weight is peized Nor falles it downe this way or is it that way raised Wherefore to performe that precisely which I haue promised solemnly seeing this discourse must be sent abroad coÌ„mitted to the haÌ„ds the eies the noses the ears the mindes the iudgements of a great nuÌ„ber of all sorts I will first beginne with one that is furthest off it Monardus a Spaniard of Siuill who hath written verie largely of it in his treatise of the west Indian Simples but because he is already translated into English I wil lest I should seem actum agere referre that which he hath very large to his owne volume For that which hee hath gathered is likewise found in other Authors wherof heereafter you shall heare more when we come to discourse of the vertues of Tabacco Charles Stephen and Iohn Liebault Andrew Theuet all three Frenchmen haue writ of this plant and so hath Aegidius Eurartus Carolus Clusius likewise in his comment vpon Garcaeas Destirpibus et Aromaticis Indicis and Iohannes Baptista porta in his eight booke and eleuenth chapter of his Natural Magick doe highly commend this plant as a thing most excellent and diuine But amongst them all and from them all for his admirable knowledge in plants our owne Countrie-man Master Iohn Gerard Citizen and Chirurgion of London hath caried away the palme as best deseruing it to whome I may well apply that saying of Lucretius Qui genus humanum ingenâ—…o superauit omnes Praesâ—…rinxit stellas exortus vti aetheriussol Who from all mankinde bare for wit the prize And dimm'd the sâ—…arres as when skies sunne doth rise Another likewise of our countriemen calling himself Philaretes hath lately writ a booke against Tabacco entituled Worke for Chimney-sweepers which booke another hath friendly and modestly answered In the beginning of Philaretes booke onâ—… â—… H. hath made these discommendatorie verses against Tabacco Pitie it is such smoaking vanitie Is Englands most esteemed curtesie Oft haue I heard it as an old said saw The strong digesting hungry Camels maw Brookes stinging nettles and the vilest weedes That stinking dunghils in ranke plentie feedes But 〈◊〉 a toâ—… to mocke an Ape indeede That English men should loue a stranger weede To whome E. G. maketh answer Fie fume at fumigation And fret at thy owne nation It wants not approbation That drugs should worke purgation Oft times more worth in vilest weede Then in manured Garden seede It is no toy but truth indeed That one soile should another need Philaretes seemeth to inferre in his second reason and some other places of his book that by the frequent vse of Tabacco wee ought iustly to suspect and feare the same to bee a mightie drier decaier and witherer of our radical and vnctuous moisture and in respect thereof breedeth consumptions But yet it seemeth by his leaue not so much to breede hecâ—…ike feuers and consumptions as appoplectike and cephalical passions because many abusers thereof haue died sodenly and wee see that the braine doth suffer from it by protopaâ—…hie rather then by deuteropaâ—…hy he organ whereby it is receiued being so neere a neighbour 〈◊〉 the braine I wonder it is not discussed how it pâ—…ffeth vp plumpeth some when he concludeth that it wasteth and dissipateth the vnctuous moisture substantiall nourishment by dissipation of naturall heat and decay of spirits in our bodies The same Author likewise though a man of excellent learning exact iudgement and reading seemeth to vrge too farre when in his seauenth reason against Tabacco he sticketh not to affirme that this hearb seemed to bee first found out and inuented by the diuell and first vsed and practised by the dâ—…uels priests and therefore not to bee vsed of vs Christians But I will both answer him and the Spaniard Monardus from whome hee hath fetchâ—… his ground at one word thus that it is certaine that the diuell did not finde it but Nature gaue it and Nature doth nothing in vaine according to that protrite axiome in Philosophy Natura nihil fecit frustrà If the diuell did finde it yet we may esteeme it as well as hidden treasures descried by spirits at the request of wicked meÌ„ But in my opinion we ought to iudge of the infinite power of Nature with more reuerence and with more acknowledgement of our owne ignorance and weakenes For that it was a plant created by God when first euen by the word of his mouth all things were framed I iudge it not amisse for any man to say and thinke and there is no scholler so meanely learned but will by reason conuince them both and read a lecture of contradiction against them vpon the progresse of Natures workes hauing his vertues and faculties infused into it from aboue whereby many finde great ease and comfort as well as by other other plants Simples For vnlesse God himself had bene the author of it why should it be endued with such noble and excellent properties for Ni Deus affuerit viresque infuderit herbis Quid rogo dictamnus quid panacea iuvent If God helpe not and into herbes infuse A workingpower in vaine we medicines vse Aristotle the monarch of our moderne learning seemeth not to speake awry when he saith Multa sciri posse quae nondum scita sunt Many things may be heereafter knowne which as yet lie hidden in the deepe dungeon of obscuritie not manifested as the quadrature of the circle and the manie vertues both of this and other herbes not yet knowne to the world which hidden and secret vertues though at this present they are not reuealed to Natures interpretors yet hereafter they may so that we may rightly conclude Maximam partem corum quae nescimus minimam partem eorum quae scimus aut scire possumus to which purpose Cardinall Cusanus hath writ a booke De docta ignorantia Wherfore I suppose none will bee so mad to imagine that such a noble plant could come by chance or bee inuented by the diuell whose excellent vertues the profoundest can scarse perfectly vnderstand By this wee may see the wonderfull workes of God how that he can make things strange great and incomprehensible and wonderfull to mans indgement Therefore it is a thing impertinent to seeke out the causes and reasons of some things as many men doe and daily goe about to doe for there are many secrets in Nature the knowledge whereof is reserued and kept to the onely creator also of many other that might bee heere alleadged but for that it is not my argument I omit it to come to the rest Philaretes my good friend saith that Tabacco is hurtfull because it is
the waters adiacent are as boyling They haue in diuers places of Hisp. Noua many hot springs of water as aboue all other I haue seen in the Prouince of Mec◅uacan In a plain field without any mountaine there is a spring which hath much water and it is so hot that if a whole quarter of beefe be cast into it within one halfe houre it will bee as well sodden as it will bee ouer a fire in halfe a day I haue seen half a sheep cast in immediatly it hath been soddē I haue eaten part of it this hath the learned Hackcluit set down in his booke discoursing of the voiages of the English nation by the relation of Henrie Hawkes a marchant who liued three yeares in Noua Hispania I will proceede a little further in relating strange things in nature In Bactria in the Citie of Boghar there is a litle riuer running through the midst of it but the water is vnholesome for it breedeth sometimes in men that drinke thereof and specially in them that are there borne a worme of an elle long which lieth commonly in the legge betwixt the flesh and the skinne and is pluckt out aboue the ankle with great art and cunning Diodorus Siculus reporteth that in Egypt there was a poole the colour of whose water was vermilion which being drunke would reueale secrets Strabo speaketh of a fountaine in the Citie Leuc◅ of a most horrible smell Besides this is verie strange that there is a fountaine besides Haslea which neuer riseth but early in the morning at high noone and at the shutting of the euening And if therein any euill thing bee cast that may corrupt the same Theodorus Zuingerus mentioneth that for certaine daies after it will not rise at all There is a fountaine in Salmac in the countrey of Caria which as Strabo writeth maketh men effeminate and lither That of Aphrodosium in Pyrrhea causeth barrennesse as Plinie noteth and such like a man man may easily finde if any will take paines to read ouer the booke entituled Britannia written by that most learned and famous gentleman master Wil. Camden the best antiquary of our age he shal there I say haue plenty wherat to admire peraduēture to giue satisfaction to that which here I haue set down for truth Some I doubt not but will imagine this not to bee true but altogether false the which I haue spoken touching the natures and strange qualities of these waters and of this herbe Tabacco as though Nature could not giue such power to things yes truely and farre greater as shee hath also giuen to beasts according to the diuersities of countries and regions Wherefore then should it leaue this countrey of America wherein God included the greatest gulfe of mankind void of such a benefite being naturally proper to it and being temperate without comparison more then others As in generalitie Africke yeeldeth the best Mules Europe the best Lions as Herodotus and Plinie make report onely to be found between the riuers Nestus and Achelous the one coasting Abdera a citie of Thracia the other being a floud of Epyrus separateth Acarnania from Aetolia So in particular we find England yeeldeth the greatest store of good sheepe wooll tinne and lead Muscouia the best Bees yeelding honie and waxe in plentie and the best furres Wherefore a learned Physician is to obserue what store of vegetables either of woods trees for fruite or plants the countrie yeeldeth for euerie country hath his commodities and singularitie of them fitted by the prouidence of the eternall God As we read of in Asia and Virginia singular Cedars and Pine trees So we haue experience that for firre and Deale trees Denmarke Bohemia Pomerania Russia Norway and the New-found land are notorious For Vines France for apples peares plums and such ordinarie fruit the realme of England For oranges lymons pomgranates and such like Spaine and other hot countries for Oyle and Oliues Candia c. As for the second concerning things hid in the veines and wombe of the earth for what shall we neede to enlarge this discourse with the huge woods to bee found in Germanie Bohemia Muscouia and Ireland or with the notorious vegetables of other nations namely the mines of mettals and fossiles wherof there are such sundry species as it may seeme impertinent of vs to be further touched considering so soone as they are discouered they be committed to writing Some besides will not grant this to be true but altogether false that Andreas Theuetus writeth that Tabacco keepeth the Indians from hunger and thirst for a certain time although that our Epicureall Tabbacconists will sufficiently refute the contrarie for they will say and for a need sweare to it that they can liue a whole weeke together neither eating nor drinking any other sustenance And if they wil not be cōtented with this our witnessing and affirmation let them read Herodotus which in his second booke maketh mention of a people in Africa liuing onely with hearbes Apian rehearseth that the Parthians being banished and driuen out of their countrey by Marcus Anthonius liued with a certaine herbe that tooke away their memorie neuerthelesse they had opinion that it did nourish them though that in a short time after they died Master Stephen Burrough did see some Lappians eat rocke weedes as hungerly as a cowe doth grasse when she is hungry I saw them also saith hee eate fowles egges raw and the young birds also that were in the egges The Indians will liue seuen or eight moneths in the warre with meale made of certaine hard and drie rootes in the which some would iudge that there were no nourishment or sustenance at all And they will tell strangers who arriue in their coasts that they haue heard say of their fathers that before they had the knowledge of the best rootes they liued but with hearbs and wilde weeds roots like brute beasts There was they say in their country a great Charaiba that is to say a Prophet the which came to one of their young maidens and gaue her certaine great roots named Hetich shewing her that she should cut them in peeces and then plant them in the earth the which she did and since they haue alwaies continued from father to sonne the which roots haue so well prospered that now they haue so great aboundance that they eat little other food and it is as common with them as bread is with vs. The old Poets and ancient people of the world did conceit that the Gods themselues did feede vpon nothing but Nectar and Ambrosia yea and that some of them had worse cōmons meaner meats as they write of Romulus who being a God as they say liued vpon turneps But I thinke that they rather alluded vnto the pouertie and simplicitie of feeding that was vsed in former ages wherewith Romulus was so well acquainted The Poet Martialis seemeth couertly to insinuate that they eat the same meats in heauen wherwith in
as I said euen now Hippocrates himselfe expresly auerreth writing that a moist diet is best fitting for those persons that haue any Feuer adding yet further Especially saith he to children such as haue been long vsed and acquainted themselues by custom to such a diet and consequently we must yeeld somewhat to custome for he saith that bad meats and drinkes being accustomably taken are farre safer than others if a man should sodainely alter old custom and take others farre holesomer Fâ—… if one diâ—… which haâ—…h not vâ—…ed himselfe to it hee is by by made weaker heauy dul lumpish lazie sickish and if besides this he take his supper hee shall soone feele windinesse sowre belchings and loosenesse of the belly for the stomacke being repleat and ouercharged with such an vnusuall burthen which before was wont to bee drie and emptie now swelleth distendeth and with paine stretcheth it selfe out So yet againe there be some laboring men which hauing stomacks like Estriches will disgest yron and fall to their victuals thrice in a day without any bones at all for Ieiunus stomachus rarò vâ—…lgaria temnit Hungry dogges will eat thirtie puddings â—…s the Irish man said There be others found which will make a good large dinner but take no suppers at all and contrariwise so that if contrarieto custome they doâ—…suppe they shall finde themselues to be troubled with heauinesse in the belly so that they cannot sleep without much tumbling and tossing So then my conclusion is that if one haue but accustomed himselfe to take Tabacco hee must not sodainely leaue it but by degrees So that it is no maruell if any not acquainted with taking the fume of this hearbe if it cause a vertiginie or giddinesse in the braine epilepticall accessions inclinations to fainting and sounding head-ach dimnesse of sight and other different effects as I haue often seene We may say the like of wine ale beere and the like to which diuers men are not inured but by long custome How great the force power of this cruell tyrant Custome is that creepeth in by little little insinuating and coÌ„ueighing himself slily into our natures so that at length he will be so malepart as to vendicate the whole rule and gouernment of our bodies prescribing and limiting new lawes euen such as it selfe pleaseth and abrogating olde ancient orders constitutions and fashions Theophrastus in his 9. booke de Histor. Plantar Cap. 18. plainly sheweth by the example of one Thrasias who durst venture to eat whole handfuls of Helleborus albus and of Eudemus Chius who sitting one day in the open mercate tooke two and twentie potions of the same Helleborus and after that went to supper and dispatcht his other ordinarie affaires busines without any vomiting or perturbation of stomacke or bodie Hee had by degrees accustomed his bodie to it by first taking a little at once afterwards he encreased the quantitie by little and little vntill at length he durst take so much thereof as was incredible and neuer felt hurt Sithence therefore that neither reason nor Philosophie can bridle or ouer-rule the power and force of custome it is no maruell though mans bodie be ouer-mastred therwith which in my conceit ought to be a good lesson to many Physicians to regard and marke well the proper constitution and state of euerie mans bodie to what he hath bin most inclined or accustomed being withall very diligent and carefull to administer nothing rashly and at aduenture as many blinde medicine-giuers and receitmen doe neither yet any desperate or vnknowne thing vnto any for such are no better than murtherers before God if their Patients prooue not well vnder them Neither let couetousnesse ouer-rule them as those Physicians and Surgeons that dally with mens bodies to get much money but let euery one account it his dutie to doe good to all And in so doing they shall finde God their Phisician not onely of their bodies but of their soules whereas otherwise the saying of our nation may be applied fitly vnto them Physicians cure your selues The leaues of Tabacco at this day bee onely in vse although for want of them some doe make vse of the seeds and because they would haue them in a readinesse they thrust them thorow with a needle and thread and so haue them to drie in the shadow and afterwards at their pleasure vse them either whole or being brought into powder Because of his heat and drinesse it must needs make hot resolue mundifie a little adstringe as one may easily iudge by his vertues that hereafter follow The drie leaues of Tabacco are good to be vsed taken in a pipe set on fire and suckt into the stomacke and thrust forth againe at the nostrels against the paines of the head rheumes aches in any part of the body whencesoeuer the originall doth proceede whether from France Italie Spaine Naples India being all pockie hot countreys or from our familiar and best knowne diseases Those leaues doe palliate and ease for a time but neuer performe any cure absolutely for although they emptie the bodies of humours yet the cause of the griefe cannot be so taken away But some haue learned this principle that repletion requireth euacuation that is fulnesse craueth emptinesse and by euacuation assure themselues of health but this doth not take away so much with it this day but the next bringeth with it more as for example a Well doth neuer yeeld such store of water as when it is most drawne and emptied My selfe speake by proofe who haue cured of that infectious disease a great many diuers of which had couered or kept vnder the sicknesse by the helpe of Tabacco as they thought yet in the end haue been constrained to haue vnto such a hard knot a crabbed wedge or else had vtterly perished Fleagme in mans bodie as it is diuers so diuersly it must be altered for being by nature cold and moist it easily is conuerted into thicknesse or hard tough sliminess and in regard of his tenacious qualitie it is verie difficult to be remooued for it doth not very easily giue place either to the vertue expulsiue or yeeld to an attractiue medicine And to cause it to be pliable and yeelding there be fiue things required namely heat siccitie attenuation abstersion and cutting or diuiding which wee call incision all which properties Tabacco is furnished withall and adiudged fit to be vsed in all tough and viscous humours wherewith the bodie is ouer-charged Mercurius Fritannicus in his third booke De terra Australi anâ—…hac semper incognita in the description of a certaine countrey tearmed Morouia where none but fooles dwell I suppose that it lyeth nere Portugall for that countrey is reported to abound with fooles as England is said to sauour of vanitie he wondered I say at one thing and mused aboue the rest and that not without iust cause that many of the Inhabitants there do liâ—…e neither vpon bread nor
vsages humours and passions Tabacconists and Tabacco-companie keepers haue in my opinion but slightly harpt vpon this string no more than they haue vpon others of the like or greater consequence so that by their varietie of conceits and instabilitie of their humours and opinions they do as it were lead vs closely by the hand to this resolution of their irresolution Some there are also who to speak like a Chymist doe destill oyle of Tabacco per descensum which oyle these authors agreeing with the Paracelsians preferre before all other applications eithers of leaues iuyce or powder because the quintessences quintessence is no other thing but a qualitie wherof we cannot with our reason find out the cause and extractions drawne out of the simples are the subtile spirit and haue the purest vertue and facultie of the substance from the which they are drawne This oyle is much commended against the tooth-ache the coughs and the rawnesse or coldnesse of the stomack and the disease called the Mare Many of the Africans are tormented with the tooth-ache which as some thinke they are the more subiect vnto because immediatly after hot pottage they drinke colde water as Iohn Leo in his first booke saith In Africa likewise those which are of a sanguine complexion are greatly troubled with the cough because that in the Spring time they sit too much vpon the ground And vpon Fridaies I had no small sport and recreation saith the same Iohannes Leo to goe and see them For vpon this day the people flocke to Church in great numbers to heare their Mahumetan sermons Now if any one in the sermon fals a coughing or a neezing all the whole multitude will doe the same for companie and so they make such a noise that they neuer leaue till the sermon be quite done so that a man shall reape but little knowedge at any of their sermons I should thinke it good that these kinde of people would take either the fume powder or destilled oyle of Tabacco for their vntimely and vnreasonable coughing and neezing and since they are so much subiect to the tooth-ache as I saide before there is no man but will deeme it farre better for them than for vs who are vexed with none of these maladies and yet take it excessiuely The powder of Tabacco is an excellent dentifrice or cleanser of fowle and rustie teeth making them to looke verie white by scowring away all that sordes clammie stinking matter that sticketh vnto them There be nations who indeuour to make their teeth as blacke as jeate and scorne to haue them white and in other places they die them redde and these sorts of people neede not any Tabacco for this intent For stinking and rotten gums in the disease called the scorbie and in sore mouthes there is nothing better than Nicotiana being taken in a gargarisme which is published by Iulius Palmarius and it is also set forth not many yeares since by Maister â—…anister in a booke which he calleth his Antidotarie Chirurgicall Rec. Hordei integri p. ij Sanae sanct a Indorum Morsus gallinae Eupatorij Plantaginis Rosarum rabrarum ana m. j. Boyle all these together in aquae lib. iiij till the one part be consumed then adde thereto Mellis rosacei Serapij rosarum siccarum ana â„¥ iij. Aluminis vsti Calchanti â—…sti ana â„¥ ss Boyle all these with a walme or two and so let it coole and then keepe it to your vse Because I haue made mention of a strange disease called in English the Mare of the Grecians Ephialtes and of the Latines Incubus which as I said the extracted oyle of Tabacco cureth I will declare briefely what is meant thereby Ephialtes then or the Mare so called of Physicians is a disease of the stomack concerning which read Paulus Aegineta lib. 3. cap. â—…6 Many which are taken with this disease imagine that a man of monstrous stature sitteth on them which with his hand violently stoppeth their mouth that they can by no meanes crie out and they striue with their arms and hands to driue him away but all in vaine Some ledde with vaine fantasie thinke him who oppresseth them to creepe vp by little and little on the bed as it were to deceiue them and anone to runne downe againe They seeme also to themselues to heare him This disease of the night-Mare is also called by another name Puigalion or Puigamon It commeth by meanes of certaine grosse and thicke vapours which doe partly intercept and hinder the free passage of the spirits animall by which meane difficultie of speaking and breathing doe proceede with a perturbation of the sense and motion of the whole bodie Now this dreadfull griefe which some being much deceiued thinking that it must onely proceede of witchcraft is chiefely remedied with the extracted oile of Tabacco a fewe drops taken in sacke or maluesie after the stomacke bee first accordingly by the rules of art expurged from those superfluous humours which are the true cause of the disease The oyle of Tabacco for a colde and moist stomacke is farre better than oyle of pepper oyle of Anniseeds the extracted oyles of Fennell Commin Masticke Cloaues or Calamint and if an Electuarie were made for this disease called the Mare I suppose this to be excellent An Electuarie for an ouer-cold and moist stomacke Rec. Puluer is aromat ros maioris ex descriptione Gabrielis Ê’ij Puluer is electuar diacalaminthes Ê’j Diatrion piperij ℈ ij Conseruae anthos rosarum Damascenarum ana â„¥ ss Sacchari optimi vnc j. ss Serapij de mentha quod sufficit vt fiat elect liquidum Adde Olei tabaci chymici guttas aliquot Dosis vnc ss per horam vnam aut alteram ante pastum I haue discoursed sufficiently as I iudge of the vertues of Tabacco for inward diseases of mans bodie now will I proceede to his effects in curing those that happen outwardly and first there is prescribed vnto vs this Vnguent Rec. Of the choysest and most substantiall leaues of Tabacco lib. j. Beat them in a mortar of marble and after that take of Axungia porcina lib. ss Let it be refined and clarified and without falt so this being melted adde to it the Tabacco and set it ouer a soft fire to seeth deliberately and leasurely vntill such time as you finde the waterish humiditie of the Tabacco to be vapoured away and that the mingled substances retaine the force of a perfect Vnguent Reserue this for a singular and medicinable good Vnguent for sores vlcers carbuncles tetters and likewise to dissolue tumours There is also another in vse which is this that followeth Rec. Terebinthinae Resinae Cerae nouae ana vnc iij. Melt them together and then adde to them of Tabacco prepared as before lib. j. mixe them together and after with a slow fire set them to incorporat seething together fiue or sixe houres vntill the waterish humour of the Tabacco be cleane euapourated After this is done straine it