down and in the Spring time neare by noone But I restraine no man to the houre so it bee done according to the rules aforesaid that is briefly to conclude Excrementis expulsis In aere salubri Ante comedendum Yet it is not sufficient in exercise to observe the time the place the things proceeding except wee keepe a measure therein which also is taught by Hippocrates in the word mediocria And although every man doth know as Cicero saith that In omnibus rebus mediocritas est optima that measure is a merry meane yet few can hit that meane as well in other things as in this unlesse they bee directed by a certaine rule Wherefore Galen who leaveth nothing unperfect setteth downe foure notes by the which wee may know how long wee should exercise and when wee should give over The first is to exercise untill the flesh doe swell The second is untill the flesh bee somewhat ruddie The third untill the body bee nimble active and ready to all motions The fourth is untill sweat and hot vapours burst forth For when any of these doe alter we must give over exercise First if the swelling of the flesh shall seeme to abate we must give over forthwith For if wee should proceed some of the good juyce also would bee brought forth and by that meanes the body should become more slender and drier and lesse able to increase Secondly if the lively colour stirred up by exercise shall vanish away wee must leave off for by continuance the body would wax colder Thirdly when agility of the limbs shall beginne to faile we must give over lest wearinesse and feeblenesse doe ensue Fourthly when the quality or quantity of the sweat is changed wee must cease lest by continuance the sweat be greater or hotter and so the body become colder and drier But of these foure notes sweat and swelling of the flesh are the chiefest to bee marked in exercise as Hippocrates sheweth In exercitationibus signum extenuationis est sudor guttatim emanans quâ—que tanquam à rivulis egreditur aut à tumore contractio As who should say sweat and abating of the flesh are two of the chiefest signes to know when wee should give over exercise This measure Pythagoras that was first named a Philosopher though no Physitian hath yet defined in his golden verses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus Latined by Vitâ—â— Amerlachius Corporis debes non intermittere curam Inquâ—cibo pâ—â—â—que modus sit gymnastisque Hoc â—ieâ— lassâ—â— si te non illa gravabunt The same in effect is uttered by the excellent Greek Oratour Isocrates in his Oration ad Demonicum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus Latined by Vâ—olâ—â—â— Eas corporis exercitationes amplâ—ctere quae valetudini potius quà mquae ad robâ—â— proâ—unt quod ita consequere sâ—laâ—orare deâ—inaâ— dum adhuc laborare queaâ— Now as I have shewed what time we should give over exercise so here I will end my treatise of exercise if first I shall declare what remedy is to bee used against wearinesse which commeth by immoderate labour either voluntary or necessary for wee cannot alwayes keepe the meane but wee must doe as cause requireth Wearinesse as all other infirmities of the body is cured by the contrary that is to say by rest According to the saying of Hipp. In omni corporis motu quum fatigari coeperit quies confestim lassitudinis est remedium For when the body is tired through over-much labour and the strength faileth and naturall moisture decayeth then rest for a time recovereth the strength reviveth the spirits and maketh the limmes able to endure labour whereas otherwise they would soone languish and pine away Which thing Ovid well perceived as appeareth where hee saith Quod carâ—â— alterna requie durabile non est Haec revocat vires fessaque membra levat Where the Poet hath worthily added the word Aâ—â—erna that is to say done by course for as it is not convenient alwayes to labor so is it not good alwayes to rest For that were idlenesse or slothfulnesse which corrupteth both the body and soule For in the body through immoderate rest iâ— ingendred cruditie and great store of noysome humors VVherfore Galen reckoneth Idlenes or immoderate rest among the causes of cold diseases And what inconvenience doth grow to the soule thereby Christ himselfe doth teach in his Gospell where he saith It is better for a man to rip his Coate and sow it againe than to be idle But moderate rest doth comfort both the body and minde as Ovid writeth 〈◊〉 corpus aluâ—â— animus quoque pascitur illis Immodicus contra carpit utrumque labor VVherefore I will conclude with that notable sentence of Galen as sluggish rest of the body is a very great discommoditie to the preserving of health so no doubt in moderate motion there is very great commoditie CHAP. 2. Of study or exercise of the minde in what order we may study without hinderance of our health AS man doth consist of two parts that is of body soule so exercise is of two sorts that is to say of the body and of the minde Hitherto I have spoken of exercise of the body now I will entreat of exercise of the minde which is Studie that is as Hugo de Sancto Victore defineth it Assidua â—â— sagax retractatio cogitationis aliquid involutum explicare â—iteâ—s vel scrutans penetrare occultum This kinde of exercise as Tullie writeth is the naturall nourishment of the minde and wit for so he saith Eâ—t animorum ingeniorumque nostrorum naturale quasi quoddam pabuluâ— considerati contemplatioque naturae doctoque homini â—rudito cogitare est vivere And likewise Tantus est innatus in nobis cognitionis amor scientiae ut â—â—mo dubitare possit quin ad eos res hominum natura 〈…〉 invitata raâ—iatur Which thing may well be perceived eveâ— in little children for as soone as they have gotten strength to goe of themselves they are as busie as flees and they devise a thousand toyes to be occupied in Which motions no doubt proceed from the minde For as Tullie saith Agitatio mentis nunquam acquiescit Idlenesse therefore is not onely against nature but also dulleth the minde as Ovid worthily writeth Adde quod ingenium longa rubigiâ—e laesum Torpet est multo quam fuit ante minus Fertilis assiduo si non renevetur aratro Nil nisi cum spinis gramen habebit ager Wherefore notable is that counsell of Isocrates ad Demonicum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus Latined by Volâ—ius Da operam ut corpore sis laboriosus animo studiosus Nam ut moderatis laboribus corpora sic honesta doctrina mentes augeri solent Which lesson Publius Scipio who first was named Apâ—ricanus well followed as Tullie alleageth by the witnesse of Cato whose saving because
with vineger pepper They both are very cold and moist and do make ill juice in the body if they be not well digested but the Pepon much worse than the Melon They doe least hurt if they be eaten before meales Albeit if they do finde flegme in the stomacke they bee turned into flegme if they find choler they be turned into choler Notwithstanding there is in them the vertue to clense and provoke urine and if any bee troubled with heat of the stomacke or liver or reines with the Strangury they may take ripe Melons and shred them into small pieces and distill them and sunne the water for a moneth then drinke thereof every morning tempered with a little Sugar the quantitie of three or foure ounces for the space of a moneth for besides that this water cooleth all the inward parts it doth greatly helpe the stone provoketh urine and clenseth the kidnies CHAP. 99. Of Cucumbers CVcumbers bee likewise cold and moist in the second degree they are pared sliced thin and served to the table with vineger and pepper in the Summer season and eaten with Mutton and proved to be cooling and comfortable to such as labour with their bodies or have hoat and strong stomackes But for flegmaticke and delicate persons which do no labour they bee unwholesome and ingender a cold and thick humour in the veines which seldome or never is turned into good bloud and somtime bringeth in fevers They are good to abate carnall lust And the seeds as well of Cucumbers as of Melons and Gourds beeing dried and made cleane from the huskes are very medicinable against sicknesses proceeding of heat and the difficultie or let in pissing as Physitians prove daily in their practise CHAP. 100. Of Nettle AFter all garden herbes commonly used in kitchin I will speake somewhat of the Nettle that Gardeners may understand what wrong they doe in plucking it up for a weed seeing it is so profitable to many purposes Whether it be cold or hot may well be perceived by touching for who so handleth it without some defence for his hand shall feele that it is hot in the third degree and drie in the second according as Avicen affirmeth Cunning cookes at the spring of the yere when Nettles first bud forth can make good potage with them especially with red Nettles very wholesome to cleanse the breast of flegme to breake winde to provoke urine and to loose the belly All which properties with other moe are briefely comprehended in Scho. Sa. Aequis dat somnum vomitum quoque tollit usum Compescit tussim veterem Colicisque medetur Pellit Pulmonis frigus ventrisque tumorem Omnibus morbis sic subvenit articulorum CHAP. 101. Of Fruits NOw that I have spoken sufficiently of garden herbes it followeth that I intreat of fruits which is the second part of my division proposed before touching meats For such is the providence of God toward mankinde that hee hath not onely provided corne and herbes for our sustenance but also fruits flesh and fish Howbeit herbes and fruits were the first food that ever was appointed to man as appeareth by the commandement of God given to Adam And from the time of Adam untill after Noahs floud he use of flesh and wine was altogether unknown for before the floud they neither eat flesh nor dranke wine But now by the change of dyet of our progenitors there is caused in our bodies such alteration from the nature which was in man at the beginning that now al herbs and fruits generally are noyfull to man and doe engender ill humors and be oft-times the cause of putrified Fevers if they be much and continually 〈◊〉 Notwithstanding unto them which have abundance of choler they be sometime convenient to represse the flame which proceedeth of choler And some fruits which be stypticke or binding in taste eaten before meales do binde the belly but eaten after meales they be rather laxative Wherefore it shall be expedient to write particularly of such fruits as bee in common use declaring their noyfull qualities in appeyring of nature and how they may bee used with least hurt CHAP. 102. Of Apples OF all fruits Apples are most used amongst us in England and are cold and moist in the first degree as M. Eliot alleageth Howbeit there is great difference in apples as in forme so in taste for some be sweet some be soure some bitter some harrish or rough tasted Apples some be of a mixt temperature both sweet and soure c. The sweet and bitter Apples are inclining to heat the soure harrish are cooling and therefore good where the stomack is weake by distemperance of heat But all Apples generally are unwholesome in the regiment of health especially if they bee eaten raw or before they bee full ripe or soone after they bee gathered For as Avicen sayth they hurt the sinewes they breed winde in the second digestion they make ill and corrupt bloud Wherefore raw apples and Quodlings are by this rule rejected though unruly people through wanton appetite will not refraine them and chiefely in youth when as it were by a naturall affection they greedily covet them as I have knowne in my daies many a shrewd boy for the desire of apples to have broken into other folkes orchards But apples may be eaten with least detriment if they be gathered full ripe and well kept untill the next Winter or the yere following and be eaten rosted or baken or stewed For so they are right wholesome and do confirme the stomacke and make good digestion most properly in a cholericke stomacke yea raw apples if they bee old being eaten at night going to bed without drinking to them are found very commodious in such as have hot stomackes or bee distempered in heat and dryth by drinking much wine are thought to quench the flame of Venus according to that old English saying Hee that will not a wife wed must eat a cold apple when he goeth to bed though some turne it to a contrary purpose And this experiment I have knowne that a rosted apple suffered untill it were cold and then eaten last at night to bed-ward hath loosed the belly and is therefore good for such as bee commonly costive But what time is best to eat apples Galen declareth Caeterum post cibum statim dare ipsa conveniet nonnunquam autem cum pane ad ventriculum stomachum roborandum iis qui deiecta sunt appetentia tardeque concoquunt quique vomitu diarrhaea ac dysent eria infestantur Which saying is diligently to be noted for this is a confirmation of our use in England for the serving of Apples and other fruits last after meales Howbeit wee are woont to eat Carawayes or Biskets or some other kinde of Comfits or seedes together with Apples thereby to breake winde engendered by them and surely this is a verie good way
disobedience So ready is Sathan to turne Gods blessing into a curse But of the abuse afterward when I shall have declared the use Wine after Galen is hot in the second degree and if it bee very old it is hot in the third and must or new wine is hot in the first and it is dry according to the proportion of heat But this limitation of the temperature in my judgement cannot be generally applyed to all wines for who doth not know that sacke is hoter than white Wine or Claret and Malmsay or Muskadell hotter than Sacke and Wine of Madera or Canary to bee hottest of all Wherfore I thinke rather that Galen meaneth of some one sort of Wine and of one country for so he speaketh saying that white wine inflameth or heateth least of all wines Which saying is true if comparison be made betweene whiâ—e wine and wine of other colours of one Country and not otherwise as to say the white wine of France is not so hot as the Claret or Red of the same Country For otherwise the red wines of France are not so hot nor so strong as the white wines of some other countries France yeeldeth those wines that be most temperate as White Claret and Red Spaine bringeth forth wines of white colour but much hotter and stronger as Sacke Rumney and Bastard Italy giveth wines most sweet and pleasant as Muskadel and such like And in Galens time the chiefe praise was given to the wine of Italy as now it is by Mathiolus but especially to that wine which was named Vinum Falernum most commended among all Nations Yet the wine of the Iland of Creta now called Candy which I suppose to be Malmsey is of greatest force in Phisicke for by a certaine naturall property it killeth wormes in children if they drinke it fasting As for wine of Madera and Canary they beare the name of the Ilands from whence they are brought likewise as Rhenish wine beareth the name of that famous river Rheine of Germany because the Vines whereof it is made grow thereabout But this our Country of England for the coldnesse of the Clime wherein it is situate bringeth no vines to make wine of though in other things more necessary it farre surmounteth all other Countries So God hath divided his blessings that one Nation might have need of another one Country might have entercourse with an other But although wine bee no necessary thing that is to say such as Englishmen cannot live without for there is and hath beene many a one in this our Realme that never tasted wine yet is it without doubt a speciall gift of God for as it is in Deuteronomy God giveth wine unto those that love him And those that obey not the commandements of God shall not drinke wine of their vineyards And as it is in Ecclesiast Wine soberly drunken is profitable for the life of man Wine measurably drunken and in time bringeth gladnesse and cheerefulnesse of the minde Of it selfe it is the most pleasant liquor of all other and a speciall benefit and comfort of mans life a great encreaser of the vitall spirits and a restorer of all powers and actions of the body and so cheereth and comforteth the heart So that vitis may seeme as it were vita quia vitam maxime tuetur And no marvaile considering that vita as Aristotle affirmeth standeth chiefly in calido humido Which two qualities are the very nature of wine So that life and wine for the likenesse of nature are most agreeable And this is the cause as I thinke why men by nature so greedily covet wine except some od Abstemius one among a thousand perchance degenerate and is of a doggish nature for dogges of nature doe abhorre wine Whereof hath growne that Latine proverb Caninum prandium a dogs dinner where is no wine at dinner or supper But the commodities of wine are briefly and pithily gathered by Avicen where hee reckoneth five benefits of wine moderately drunken First that it easily conveyeth the meat that it is mingled with to all the members of the body Secondly that it digesteth and resolveth flegme openeth the wayes and stirreth up nature to expell it Thirdly that it avoids red choler by urine and other insensible evacuations which is to bee understood of white wine or Claret and such like weaâ—e wines and not of strong wines for they inflame the liver and breed choler Fourthly it expelleth melancholy and through contrariety of nature amendeth the noysomenesse of that humour For wheras melancholy engendreth heavinesse faintnesse of heart and covetousnesse Wine ingendreth ioy boldnesse stoutnesse of stomacke and liberality Fiftly it resolveth and caseth all sorts of lassitude and wearinesse for it reviveth the resolute spirits againe abundantly and comforteth naturall vertue and taketh away or diminsheth such superfluous moysture as remaineth in the muskles finewes and joynts Also the commodities of wine are well set forth by the Poet Ovid as followeth Vina parant animos faciuntque caloribus aptos Cura fugit multo diluiturque â—â—ro Tunc veniunt risus tunc pauper corâ—â—a sumit Tunc dolor curae rugaqueâ—rontis abit Tunc aperit mentes aevo rarissima nostro Simplicitas artes excutiente Deo And now to turne my talke to students I think as it hath beene said of old that vinum moderate sumptum acuit ingenium The reason is alleadged by Arnâ—ldus upon Sch. Sal. Because of good Wine more than of any other drink are engendred and multiplied subtile spirits cleane and pure And this is the cause saith hee why the divines that imagine and study upon high and subtile matters love to drinke good wine wherein he erred not much in mine opinion from the custome of the old Clergie for they loved a good cup of wine as well as any men â—live But I advise all students such as bee students nomine re because they have commonly feeble braines if not by nature yet through study to refraine from strong wines because they distemper the braine and cause drunkennesse ere a man bee ware Besides that strong wines are hurtfull to them whose Liver and stomacke is hot because they inflame and burne their bodies inwardly wherfore they are utterly to be eschewed or not to be used except they be well allayed with water But such as have strong braines that is to say not lightly overcome by the vapours and fumes which ascend from the stomacke may boldly drinke any kinde of wine that they like so they keepe a measure for otherwise they fall into drunkennesse as well as they that have weake braines which vice as it is odious to God and without repentance disheriteth us from his heavenly kingdome so it is most hurtfull to our bodies and if it bee often used causeth chiefely six inconveniences as Avicen teacheth First it weakneth and corrupteth the Liver making it unable to change the
it is worthy and most fit for students I will recite verbatim Dicere solebat Scipio Nunquam se minus otiosum esse quam cum otiosus neâ— minus solum quam dum solus esset Of this saying Tullie speaketh as followeth Magnifiâ—â— veâ—o vâ—x ac magno viro ac sapiente digna quae declarat illum in oâ—â—o de negotiis cogitare in solâ—tudine secum loqui solitum vt neque cessaret unquam interdum colloquio alterius non egeret Itaque duae res quae languorem afferunt caeteris illum acuebant tium solitudo Leasure then and solitarinesse are two of the chiefest things appertaining to studiâ— which two who so hath obtained and is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Isocrates speaketh that is to say discendi cupidus let him him observe these rules following Mane cito lectum â—uge mollem discute somnum Templa petas supplex venerare Deum Those things presupposed which I have spoken of in the preparation of exercise of the body this golden lesson of Lillie is next to bee observed And if you goe not to the Church yet forget not venerare Deum And for this purpose no time is more convenient than the morning Which the Prophet David every where witnesseth in his Psalmes namely Psalme 5. saying Quoniam ad te orabo domine mane exauâ—ies vocem meam mane astabo tibi videbo quoniâ—m non Deuâ— volens iniquitatem es tu And for studie how much better the morning is than other times of the day the reasons following may declare First of all there be three Planets as the Astronomers teach most favourable to learning that is Sol Venus and Mercury these three in a manner meeting together when night approacheth depart from us but when day draweth neare they returne and visit us againe Wherefore the best time for studie is early in the morning when the Planets be favourable to our purpose Againe when the Sunne ariseth the aire is moved and made more cleare and subtill and the blood and spirits of our bodies doe naturally follow the motion and inclination of the Aire VVherefore the morning or sunne rising is most fit for study Aristotle therefore in his Oeconomikes not without great cause biddeth us to rise before day and saith that it prevaileth greatly both to the health of the body and to the study of Philosophy VVhose counsell that famous Oratour of Greece Demosthenes diligently followed as Tullie reporteth of him Dolere se â—iebat Demosthenes si quando opificum antelucana victus esset industria whose good example I wish all students to follow having alwaies in minde this short sentence Aurora Musis amica and not to imitate the practise of Bonacius a young man of whom Poggius the Florentine maketh mention This Bonacius was wont to lie long in bed and when he was rebuked of his fellowes of so doing he answered smiling that hee gave eare to certaine persons who contended and disputed before him For as soone as I awake said hee there appeareth in the shape of women Solicitudo and Pigritia Carefulnesse and slothfulnesse Carefulnesse biddeth mee to rise and fall to some work and not to spend the day in my bed Contrariwise slothfulnesse biddeth me lie stil and take mine ease and keepe me from cold in my warme Couch Thus while they vary wrangle I like an indifferent judge inclining to neither part lie harkening and looking when they will agree and by this meanes the day is overpassed or I beware This young mans practise I leave to loytering Lurdâ—ines and returne againe to diligent students who having used the preparation aforesaid must apply themselves earnestly to reading and meditation for the space of an houre then to remit a little their cogitation and in the meane time with an Ivory Combe to kembe their head from the forehead backwards about forty times and to rub their teeth with a coarse linnen cloth Then to returne againe to meditation for two houres or one at the least so continuing but alwayes with some intermission untill toward noone and sometimes two houres after noone though seldome except we be forced to eate in the meane season for the Sunne is of great power at the rising and likewise being in the middest of the heavens And in that part also which is next to the midst which the Astronomers call the ninth part and the house of wisedome the Sunne is of great vertue Now because the Poets doe account the Sunne as Captaine of the Muses and Sciences if any thing bee deeply to be considered wee must meditate thereon especially the houres aforesaid As for the residue of the day is convenient rather to revolve things reade before than to reade or muse of new Alwayes remembred that every houre once at the least wee remit a little while the earnest consideration of the minde neither should we meditate any longer than we have pleasure therin for all wearinesse is hurtfull to health wearinesse of the body is evill but wearinesse of the minde is worse and wearinesse of both worst of all For contrary motions draweth as it were a man in sunder and destroyeth life But nothing is more hurtfull than studying in the night for while the Sunne shineth over us through the power thereof the pores of the body are opened and the humours and spirits are drawen from the inner parts outward And contrariwise after the Sunne setteth the body is closed up and naturall heate fortified within Wherefore to watch and to be occupied in minde or bodie in the day tâ—me is agreeable to the motions of the humours and spirits but to watch and to study in the night is to strive against nature and by contrary motions to impaire both the body and minde Againe by continuall operation of the aire opening the Pores there followeth exhalation and consumption of the vitall spirits wherby the stomacke is greatly weakned and requireth a renewing and repairing of the Spirits which may best be done in the season when naturall heaâ— returneth from without to the inward parts Wherefore whosoever at that time shall begin long and difficult contemplation shall of force draw the spirits from the stomake to the head and so leave the stomack destitute whereby the head shall be filled with vapors and the meat in the stomacke for want of heate shall be undigested or corrupted VVell therefore saith Erasmus Nocturnae lucubrationes longe periculosisâ—imae habentur Notwithstanding I know that such as bee good Students indeed having alwayes in minde that notable saying of Plinius Omne perire tempus quod studio non impertias doe spare no time neither night nor day from their bookes VVhereof Plinie himselfe hath given a goodly example in that by his owne testimonie he wrote that most excellent work called the Historie of nature Noctibus et succisiâ—is temporibus Yea Galen in his old age as hee writeth was
For beside that it is hard of digestion as common experience proveth it must needs breed ill iuice in the body considering the want of motion and grosse feeding thereof for which cause wee use commonly to drinke strong wine with brawne to helpe digestion And we eat it before other meats that it may lye lowest in the stomacke where digestion is strongest and we eat it in the cold time of the yeare when wee are best able to digest grosse meats as Hip. saith Ventres hyeme ac vere natura calidissimi somni longissimi VVhich use of England is confirmed in Schol. Sal. on this wise Est caro porcina sine vino peior ovina Si tribuis vina tunc est cibus medicina Which is to be understood as Arnoldus affirmeth in his commentarie upon the same especially of rosting pigs and brawne For young pigs commonly called rosting pigges though they be commonly eaten and accounted light meat yet they are not very wholesome by reason of their overmuch moisture and they breed in our bodies much superfluous humors wherefore they need good wine as well as brawne the one because it is over hard and grosse the other because it is over moist and slimy But physicke teacheth the cooke that flesh which is inclined to drienesse should be sodden the flesh which is inclined to moisture should be wel rosted Wherefore porke pig veale and lambe is better rosted than boyled Yet if a man be costive and would saine be soluble let him make poâ—age with fresh porke and none other herbe but Mercurie and by eating thereof as I have often proved hee shall be easily loosed As for Bacon is in no wise commended as wholesome especially for students or such as have feeble stomackes But for laboring men it is convenient according to the Latine proverb Crassa crassis conveniunt For the country woman when her sicke husband would eat no fat bacon thought he was past all eating for when the Physitian advised her to dresse him a chicken What master Doctor sayd shee doe you thinke hee will eat of a chicken when as he will eat no bacon as yellow as the gold noble And indeed in such kinde of men it forceth not much how wholesome meat be so it fill the belly and keepe strength For as the Poet Virgil writeth Labor improbus vincit omnia Yet a gamond of bacon well dressed is a good shooing horn to pull down a cup of wine But all sorts of swines flesh were and are abhominable to the Iewes because it was forbidden by God to be eaten of them as being unclean In so much that seven brethren and their mother were most cruelly put to death because they would not eat swines flesh But it is lawfull for the faithfull to eat all kinde of meat And although swine be uncleane beasts yet their flesh maketh cleane nourishment as Galen thinketh CHAP. 133. Of Goats flesh GOates flesh either of male or female is dispraised of Galen Quia praeter succum vitiosum acrimoniam etiam habet Yet kid is commended of him next unto porke But Avicen and the sect of the Arabians prefer kid flesh before all other flesh because it is more temperate and breedeth purer bloud as being in a meane betweene hot and cold subtill and grosse So that it can cause none inflammation nor repletion And is therefore a good meat for those that have weake stomackes and use meane exercise But it is not convenient for labourers because great labors would soone resolve the iuice engendered thereof Isaak Iudaeus maketh foure differences in age as well of goats as of other kindes of beasts That is to say Lactens adolescens Iuvenis decrepitus And hee most commendeth sucking Kids For this rule is generall that flesh of a drie complexion is better neere calving time than farder from it Wherefore Kids and calves be better than Goats and Oxen because their drinesse is abated with the moisture of their youngnesse But flesh of beasts of moist complexion is better and more wholesome in age than in youth for a great part of their over much moysture is dried away as they doe increase increase in age wherefore weathers of a yere old are lesse clammy and more wholesom than sucking lambs And likewise porkes of a yeare or two old are better than young pigs But generally all beasts and birds that be in the fourth age before mentioned that is decrepiti are tough and unwholesome For most true is that English proverb yong flesh and old fish doth men best feed Againe generally Castrati sunt meliores CHAP. 134. Of Hare HAre flesh beside that it is hard of digestion maketh grosse and melancholy bloud and is one of the foure kindes of flesh which breed melancholy mentioned before in the chapter of biefe wherefore it is not for the goodnesse of the flesh that this silly beast is so often chased with hounds and hunters but for pastime Yet thus much I will say to the commendation of hares for the defence of the hunters toile that no one beast be it never so great is profitable to so many so divers uses in Physicke as the hare parts therof as Math. sheweth For the liver of the hare dried and made in powder is good for those that be liver sick and the whole hare skin and all put in an earthen pot close stopped and baked in an oven so drie that it may be made into powder beeing given in white wine is wonderfull good for the stone as well in the raines as in the bladder The gaule of the hare mingled with sugar doth take away Flewmes of the eyes and helpeth dimnesse of sight The kidnies of the hare eaten raw especially while they are hot doe marvellously helpe those that have the stone and beeing boyled they are of like force The stones of the Hare are wholesome to bee eaten of them that have griefes of the bladder The bloud of the Hare while it is warme boyled with barly meale and eaten helpeth the flixe presently The dung of the Hare is good for the same purpose The haires of the Hare burned and applyed doe stanch bloud but chiefly the haires that grow under the belly pulled off while the Hare is alive and put into the nostrilles doe stop bleeding at the nose The ancle bone of the foot of an Hare is good against the crampe This much touching medicine Now concerning diet Rasis that famous Arabian saith that Hares flesh being rosted is wholesome for them that have any kinde of fâ—ix But our use is to rost the hinder parts and to boyle the fore parts or to bake the whole But howsoever it be used Galen saith that Caro leporum sanguinem quidem gignit crassiorem sed melioris succi quam bubula ovilla The opinion which some hold that every hare should bee of both kindes that is male
and salt And the marrow of Biefe is best to bee eaten If it bee of a Deere it is good to annoint any place where ach is This also is one of the twelve things that maketh fat as appeareth in the verses aforesaid The Marrow that commeth downe the backe bone is of like nature to the braine CHAP. 153. Of the Fat. THe fat of flesh alone without leane is unwholesome and cloyeth the stomack and causeth lothsomenes better is leane without fat than fat without leane Yet have I known a countryman that would feed onely of the fat of Bacon Beefe or Pork without leâ—â—e but that is not to bee marvelled at considering that many of them have stomackes like the bird that is called an Ostridge which can digest hard Iron CHAP. 154. Of the Feet THe feet being well boyled and tender in a whole stomacke digest well and doe make good iuice and passe forth easily Galen commendeth the feet of Swine But I have proved saith M. Eliot that the feet of a young Bullocke tenderly sodden and laid in souce two dayes or three eaten cold in the evening have brought a cholericke stomacke into a good digestion and sleep and therwith hath also expulsed salt flegme and choler And this I have found in my selfe by often experience alway foreseene that it be eaten before other meat without drinking immediately after it All this I have taken out of M. Eliot because hee hath written most pithily of this part Yet one thing will I note of mine owne experience that the fat which is left upon the water of the seething of Netes feet called commonly foot seame is passing good for the stiffenesse or starkenesse of the Synewes or joynts for the Crampe and such like And if you mix a little Aqua vitae withall it is a very good oyntment for any ache for the Sciatica or cold goute as I have often proved CHAP. 155. The Preface to Foule HItherto I have spoken of the flesh of Beastes and their parts usually eaten Now I will intreat of Birds and their parts concerning dyet And if comparison bee made between both generally whether is lighter of digestion I say that the flesh of birds is much lighter than the flesh of beasts And again that the flesh of those foules which trust most to their wings and doe breed in high countries is lighter then the flesh of such as seldome or never flye and be bred at home Yet the tame birds as Isaack saith do nourish more than the wylde and be more temperate CHAP. 156. Of Capons Hennes and Chickins THe Capon being fat and young is praised above all other foules because as it is easily digested so it maketh little ordure and much good nourishment The flesh will bee more tender if it be killed a day or two before it bee eaten it is commodious to the brest and stomacke Hens in winter are almost equall to the Capon but they doe not make so strong nourishment The flesh of them is without superfluity as Haly and Mesues write and is soone turned into bloud And they have a marveilous property to temper mans complection and humours and their broth is the best medicine that can bee for Leapers And Avicen affirmeth that the flesh of young Hens augmenteth understanding and cleareth the voice and encreaseth the seed of generation That hen is best which as yet never layed egge And a fat hen ful of egges is not the worst The Poet Horace in the person of the Epicure setteth forth a way to make a hen tender upon the sodaine in this wise Si vespertinus subito te oppresserit hospes Ne gallina minus responset dura palato Doctus eris vivam misto mersare Falerno Hoc teneram faciet If guestes come to thee at unwares In water mixt with wine Souce thou thy henne she will become short tender nesh and fine Chickins in Sommer especially if they be cocktels are very convenient for a weake stomacke and nourish well neither is there any flesh lighter of digestistion than a chicken or more agreeable with all natures as well in sicknesse as in health yet would I wish those that bee in good health not to use themselves much to such fine meats but rather accustome to feed on grosser meates til need require As for chickens upon sops they are no meat for poore schollers unlesse they can get them CHAP. 157. Of Cocke THe flesh of a Cock especially if it be old is hard of digestion but the broth wherein it is boyled looseth the belly and if you boyle therewith Polipodium or Cartamus it purgeth ill humours Galen saith Galliâ—arumius simplex retinendivim possidet vti gallorum veterum subducenilâ— If you list to still a Cocke for a weak body that is in a consumption through long sicknesse or other causes you may doe it well in this manner Take a red cocke that is not old dresse him and cut him in quarters and bruse all the bones then take the rootes of Fennell Darcely and Succory Violet leaves and Borage put the Cocke into an earthen pot which is good to stew meates in and betweene every quarter lay of the rootes and herbes Corans whole Mace Annise seeds liquorise being scraped and slyced and so fill up your pot Then put in halfe a pint of Rose water a quart of white Wine or more two or three Dates made cleane and cut in peices a few prunes and raysons of the Sunne and if you put in certaine peeces of Gold it will be the better and they never the worse and so cover it close and stop it with dough and set the pot in seething water let it seeth gently for the space of twelve houres with a good fire kept still under the brasse pot that it standeth in and the pot kept with liquor so long When it hath stilled so many houres then take out the earthen pot open it streine out the broth into some cleane vessell and give thereof unto the weake person morning and evening warmed and spiced as pleaseth the patient In like manner you may make a coleyse of a capon which some men like better CHAP. 158. Of Fesaunt FEsaunt exceedeth all foules in sweetnes and wholsomenesse and is equall to a Capon in nourishing but is somewhat dryer and is of some men put in a meane betweene a henne and a partrich It is a meate for Princes and great estates and for poore schollers when they can get it CHAP. 159. Of Partrich PArtrich of all foules is most soonest digested and hath in him much nourishment It driveth away the dropsie it comforteth the stomacke it maketh seed of generation and encreaseth carnall lust and it is said that customable eating of this flesh comforteth the memory Wherefore it were a convenient meat for students such as be weak and I would that every good student twise in a weake instead of his commons might have a
hardly may a man withhold his hands untill his belly be full yet I advise all men as much as they may to follow it and to beare well in minde these two latine verses following Pone gulae metas ut sit tibi longior aetas Esse cupis sanus sit tibi parca manus But the greatest occasion why men passe the measure in eating is variety of meats at one meale Which fault is most common among us in England farre above all other Nations For such is our custome by reason of plenty as I thinke that they which bee of hability are served with sundry sorts of meat at one meale Yea the more we would welcome our friends the more dishes we prepare And when wee are well satisfied with one dish or two then come other more delicate and procureth us by that meanes to eate more than nature doth require Thus variety bringeth us to excesse and sometimes to surfet also But physicke teacheth us to feed moderately upon one kinde of meat onely at one meale or at the least wise not upon many of contrary natures Which the Poet Horace notably declareth in this manner Accipe â—unc victus tenuis quae quantaque secum Afferat inprimis valeas bene nam variae res Vt noceant homini credas memor illius escae Quae siâ—plex olim tibi sederit at simul assis Miscueris elixa simul conchilia turdis Dulcia se in bilem vertent stomachoque tumultum Lenta feret pituita And thus much I can testifie of mine owne experience that a man who was before very grosse and fat by feeding upon one dish onely at one meale and drinking thereto but small drinke within a yeare or two became slender Also another I knew that by eating one meale only in one day though divers sorts of meates was made thereby much smaller But hereof wee have no better a proofe than is in the Vniversities of Oxford and Cambridge where the Students have commonly but one kinde of meate at a meale and doe live and like very well therewith and befor the most part as cleane men of personage as lightly may be seene Yet I condemne not variety of meates especially with us in England that bee daily accustomed thereto so that there be no great contrariety betweene them as there is betweene fish and flesh betweene Martlemas biefe and chickens and so that we exceed not the meane in eating for excesse bringeth surfet and surfet bringeth sodaine death oftentimes as Galen sheweth The reason is alledged in the same place Quum vasa cibo ac potu fuerint supra modum replâ—ta periculum est ne aut ipsa rumpaniur aut calor ipse nativus suffocetur atque extinguatur This disease I meane surfet is very common For common is that saying and most true Plures mori crapula quam gladio And as Georgius Pictorius saith Omnis repletio mala sed panis pessima And if nature bee so strong in many that they bee not sicke upon a full gorge yet they are drousie and heavy and more desirous to loyter than to labour according to that old meeter Distenâ—â—s venter vellet dâ—rmire libenter Yea the minde and wit is so oppressed and overwhelmed with excesse that it lyeth as it were drowned for a time and unable to use his force Which thing the Poet Horace worthily setteth forth in the foresaid Satyre as followeth Vides ut pallidus omnis Caena desurgat dubia quin corpus onustum Hesternis vitijs animum quoque praegravat una Atqueâ—fâ—igit humo divinae particulam aurae Alter vbi dicto citius curata sopori Memb a dedit vegetus praescripta ad munia surgit Wherefore I counsaile all students to follow the advise of the Poet Osellus mentioned by Horace in the said Satyre in these words Discite non inter lances mensasque nitentes Dum stupet insanis acies fulgoribus cum Acclivis falsis animus meliora recusat Verum hic impransi mecum disquirite cur hoc Dicam si potero male verum examinat omnis Corruptus iâ—dex And Tully himselfe is of the same minde where hee saith Mente recte vti non possumus multo cibo potione completi And in Cato maior he saith Tantum cibi potionis adhibendum est ut reficiantur vires non opprimantur But that the quantity of meat may be fully declared it is necessary that I propose three sorts of diet prescribed by Physitians as well in health as in sickenesse Which bee Plena moderata tennis a full dyet a meane dyet a slender dyet Or if you will apply it to meates much enough enough in a meane and little enough The full dyet doth not onely susteine the strength of the body but also encrease it The meane dyet doth onely preserve the strength and maintaine it The slender dyet abate and diminish it The full dyet for example sake may bee such as is used at Oxford upon gaudy dayes The meane dyet such as is used commonly The slender dyet such as is used upon fasting nights as a little bread and drinke and a few raysons or figges Now as the meane is best in all things so in dyet as Hippocrates teacheth Non satietas non fâ—mes neque aliud quicquam quod naturae modum excedat bonum Nam omne nimium naturae est inimicam Yet if a man shall decline from the meane toward either of the extreames for it is very hard alwayes to hold the meane it is better in health to decline to a full dyet than to a slender so it bee not a plaine surfet For so teacheth Hippocrates Quoduis peccatum grauius in tenui quam in paulo pleniore victu esse solet Eadem de causa sanis etiam valdetenuis stataque exquisita victus ratio parum tuta quia errata gravius ferunt So that in health wee should keepe no precise diet but alwayes seeke to augment the strength of the body by a full dyet or at the least wise to maintaine it by a meane dyet and in no wise to diminish it by a slender dyet And this is the cause in my iudgement why some men observing no dyet at all bee more healthfull and stronger than those who tie themselves continually to certaine rules in dyet Quia videlicet natura in illis fortior nulli non morbo resistere valet materiam morbi mire expellendâ— But yet in sickenesse sometimes a slender dyet is necessary especially in morbiâ— acutis as Hippocrates teacheth And in long sickenesse the meane dyet is to bee used as well as in health For otherwise the strength of the patient were not able to endure till the end of the sickenesse But in a sicknesse that will end within three or foure dayes wee should use a dyet which Galen calleth in his commentary upon the aforesaid Aphorisme Summe tenuis victus that is to eat nothing at all or else but a little melicrate
flesh as I thinke if it bee rightly used and the right use is this Vt non nisi id quod convenit quantum ad virium conservationem â—atis est ingeratur They therefore that fill their bellies with bread and drinke or with fish or with white meates or with other things being nor flesh yet perchance more delicate doe not fast but breake their fast according to that saying of S. Augustine Qui sic se à carnibus temperant ut alias escas difficilioris praeparationis pretii majoris inquirant multumerrant non enim est hoc suscipere abstinentiam sed imitari luxuriam Hee therefore that will fast indeed let him fast after the manner that Gregory hath described Abstinentia est quae edendi horam non praevenit ut fecit â—onat has in favo mellis non lautiora quaerit edere ut Israelitae in deserto non accuratius paâ—are ut filiâ— Eli in Silo noâ— ad superfluitatem ut Sodomitae non vile quodlibet ut Esau edulium in fame concupit This kinde of fast may be well called Parsimonia and is in a family Magnum vectigal and must be observed aswell in drinke as in meat For he that doth abstaine from the one and not from the other doeth fast no more than a swine that leaveth not drinking untill the belly be ready to breaâ—â— Wherefore this fast is well defined by Fernelius in this manner Parsimonia non cibi duntaxat sed potus qui magis promptiusque quam cibus tum viscera tum venas implet iisque negotium facessit But in the foresaid Aphorisme as I suppose Hip. meaneth that abstinence which the Latines call Inediam or Famem which is a forbearing to receive any meate or drinke at all which sometime is necessary aswell in sickenesse as in health and is named of Hip. Summe tenuissimus victus and is to bee used in morbis peracutis and not onely preventeth but helpeth many maladies For if it be moderately used and according to age time of the yere and custome it is next in force to bloud letting and worketh like effect in processe of time as Fernelius declareth at large for it abateth the bloud it concocteth raw humours it expelleth all manner of excrements and is especially good for them which have very moist bodies Quia inedia siccat And for that cause is reckoned in Schola Sal. for one of those seven things that cure the rhume Iejuna vigila caleas dape tuque labora Inspira calidum modicum bibe comprimeflatum Haec bene tu serva si vis depellere rhuma Beside all this Inedia is a present remedy for repletion or satiety when more meate is received than the nature of the body may beare for it is one kinde of evacuation as Galen sheweth upon Hip. yet it avoydeth ex accidente and not per se For nature by this meanes being disburdened as it were from all other actions and set at full liberty useth all her power in digesting and expelling whereby sometimes it commeth to passe that the belly is loosed of it selfe and vomit breaketh forth and the urine is more abundant and the superfluities of the braine fall dâ—wne and such excrements as bee farre off from the usuall wayes of evacuation be dispatched per insensiles corporis meatus All these benefits aforesaid wee may receive by moderate abstinence but if it bee above measure the moysture of the body is thereby withdrawne and consequently the body dryeth and waxeth leane and naturall heate by withdrawing of moysture is too much incended and not finding humor to worke in turnes his violence to the radicall or substantiall moysture of the body and exhausting that humour bringeth the body into a consumption Notable therefore is that saying of Hip. Non satietas non fames neque aliud quicquam quod naturae mo lum excedat bonum And so I end touching fasting and breakfast CHAP. 211. Of Dinner WHen foure houres bee past after breakefast a man may safely take his dinner and the most convenient time for dinner is about eleven of the clocke before noone Yet Diogenes the philosopher when hee was asked the question what time was best for a man to dine he answered for a rich man when he will but for a poore man when he may But the usuall time for dinner in the universities is at eleaven or else where about noone At Oxford in my time they used commonly at dinner boyled beefe with pottage bread and beere and no more The quantity of beefe was in value an halfe penny for one man and sometimes if hunger constrained they would double their commons This dyet to eate but one kinde of meate at a meale and that lesse than fullnesse of belly though it seeme very slender yet it is very wholsome and good students like well therewith and indeed it is the dyet that Physicke most alloweth For as Pliny writeth Homini cibus utilissimus simplex acervatio saporum pestifera condimenta pernitiosiora And reason may perswade a man that sundry meates being divers in substance and quality that is to say some grosse and hard to digest some fine and easie to digest some hot some cold some moyst some dry must needes worke great trouble to the stomacke Neither may they bee well digested at one time for as much as they require divers operations of nature and divers temperatures of the stomacke Notable therefore is that saying of Avicen Nihil deterius est quam si multa simul ac varia ciborum genera conjungantur atque justo longius in comedendo tempus protrahatur quum enim postremum accedit nutrimentum primum jam aliquo modo consectum est partes ergo in coquendo non assimilantur atque inde sane morborum scaturigo qui ex repugnantium sibi humorum discordia nascuntur Hereby we may understand that it is not onely hurtfull to feed on sundry meats at one meale but also to prolong the time in eating two or three houres with talking and telling of tales as our manner is here in England at great feasts But an houres space by the judgement of Arnol. is a sufficient time for one meale And in the Universities commonly lesse time will serve for as it is in the old Proverbe A short horse is soone curried But the Archbishop of Yorke of whom D. Wilson speaketh in his Rhetoricke farre exceeded this time for as the Italian merrily construed it this great Prelate sate three yeares at Dinner And in time past when Prelates were as Princes I meane before the suppression of Abbeys as their fare was great so they sate a great while at meat And at this day such as be of great estate Ecclesiasticall or Temporall they may by authority sit so long in the glorious chariot of Intemperantia untill they be carried as prisoners into the dungeon of Crapula where they shall be
you aske me the question whether ale or beere bee more wholesome I say that ale generally is better namely the small ale which is used as well in sickenesse as in health and that for good cause considering that barley whereof it is made is commended and used in medicine in all parts of the world and accounted to bee of a singular efficacy in reducing the body to good temper specially which is in a distemperance of heat And for this purpose that kinde of ale which at Oxford is called sixteenes is principall as by common experience is proved both in hot seasons of the yeare and in hot diseases But beare for the heat thereof by reason of the hops is not so commendable in sickenesse and therefore generally not so wholsome Howbeit in health it is a very profitable drinke so it be not strong for such as bee chollericke and have hot stomacks For beside the vertue of nourishing which it hath of the corne whereof it is made it hath also a medicinable property of the hoppes whereby it provoketh urine and expelleth some choller by siege Wherefore in them that use it moderately it increaseth strength as appeareth plainely by the view of those nations that use it most for they be strongest and fairest Beside that it doth not so soone hurt the sinewes nor cause ake of the joynts as wine doth But Schola Salerni reckoneth eight properties which may bee indifferently applyed to ale or beere as followeth but chiefly to beere Crassos humores nutrit cerevisia vires Praestat augmentat carnem generatque cruorem Provocat urinam ventrem quoque mellit inflat Frigidat modicum Of which eight in my judgement the first foure belong chiefly to ale and the latter foure to beere For beere doth more provoke urine and more mollifie and inflate the belly and coole more then ale Yet it cooleth more or lesse as it is stronger or smaller and according to the malt whereof it is made For beere or ale being made of wheate malt enclineth more to heat for wheate is hot If it bee made of barly malt It enclineth more to cold for barly is cold And if it bee made of Barly and Otes together it is yet more temperate and of lesse nourishment Yet if a man would exactly scanne the temperature of beere Euchsius saith Cum magna ex parte in cerevisâ—s non levis fentiatur amaritudo non dubium est has omnes esse temperamento calidas Et quo quaevis amarior eo quoque calidior existit But notwithstanding I thinke that hoppes in beere maketh it colder in operation because as I said before it purgeth choler And to mee verily it is much colder than ale of like strength having a cholericke stomacke and liver inflamed Neither doe I thinke that beere more ingendereth rheumes and distillations than ale although I know many to bee of a contrary opinion But by experience of mine owne body I can testifie that after I left Oxford and dwelled in the country where ale is the more common drinke I was no lesse troubled with a rheume but rather more than when I continued at Oxford and dranke nothing else but beere Wherefore I thinke rather that the chiefest cause why wee are now more disquieted with rheumes than our forefathers were is our excesse and surfetting and delicate feeding whereof commeth crudity and crudity breedeth rhumes and rhumes are the occasion of the most part of diseases that happen to men Wherefore the Greeke Poet Theognis most truly hath written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is to say surfet hath destroyed mo than famin Yea I dare say that moe dye through surfet than by the sword Wherefore I thinke that of rheumes as Galen writing upon Hip. thinketh of gout Hip. saith Eunuchipodagra non labarant nec cale fiunt Whom Galen expoundeth in this manner Hippocratis quidem temporibus pauci omni no laborabâ—nt pâ—dagraipropter vitae temperantiam moderationem summom vâ—stra vero etate in tantumauctis delitiis luxu voluptatibus vt nihil supra addi posse videatur infiâ—ita est podagra laborantium multitudo nonnallis nunquam se exercitantibus nulloque praesumpto câ—bo fortia vina potantibus Venere immoderata utentibus aliis vero et si non in omnibus in uno tamen aut alteroex iis quae retulimuâ— delinquentibus Even so I say of rheumes that in time past when men used more frugality and temperance than now they doe they were not so much troubled with distillations But now by reason of too much idlenesse and intemperance rheumes doe more abound and the gout also For the goute is the daughter of a rheume And those things that breed rheumes doe likewise breed the goute in such as bee given thereunto as Desidia Crapula Venus immodica multa potentia vina potata maximeque si quis ante praesampium cibum ipsis utatur He therefore that will be free from rewmes and gout must avoid idlenesse surfet Lechery much wine and strong especially fasting and not condemn Beere as hurtfull in this respect which was so profitably invented by that worthy Prince Gambriviâ—â— anno 1786. yeares before the incarnation of our Lord Iesus Christ as Lanquette writeth in his Chronicle CHAP. 219. Of Cyder THe fifth kinde of drinke usuall here in England is Cyder Howbeit Cider is not in so common use any where within this land as in Worcester shire and Glocester shire where fruits doe most abound And marvaile it is to see how plentifull apples and peares are in those countries in so much that every hedge almost in the common fields and by high way sides are full of good fruites And if a man travaile through that country when they be ripe hee shall see as many lie under his horse feet as would in some places of England bee gladly gathered up and layed in store under locke and key Cyder is for the more part cold in operation and is better or worse according to the fruit whereof it is made in respect of the coldnesse it is good for them that have hot stomackes or hot livers Yet if it bee used for a common drinke as master Eliote reporteth it maketh even in youth the colour of the face pale and the skinne riveled It cannot bee very wholesome in any condition considering that fruites doe ingender ill humours Yet it is best after Christmas and about Lent I remember when I was a student at Oxford one mistris G. sold Pery insteed of Rhenish wine and so beguiled many a poore Scholler And indeed that Cyder which is made of pure peares being drunke after winter is like in taste to a small white or Rhenish Wine but yet differeth much in operation Sed caveat emptor CHAP. 220. Of Whey THe sixt sort of drinke usuall is whey the nature whereof I have declared before in