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A11920 The vveapon-salves maladie: or, A declaration of its insufficiencie to performe what is attributed to it Wherein also is described, 1. The severall wayes of making the weapon-salve. 2. The manner of vsing it. 3. Reasons of confirmation to justifie it. 4. Arguments of confutation to overthrow it. By the learned and judicious physitian Daniell Sennertus, Doctor and publique professor at Wittenberg. Translated out of his 5th. booke, part. 4. chap. 10. Practicæ medicinæ.; Practicae medicinae. Booke 5. Part 4. English Sennerts, Daniel, 1572-1637. 1637 (1637) STC 22232; ESTC S105181 15,432 35

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that the wound it selfe is not to bee annoynted with this oyntment but the weapon or instrument whatsoever it be with which the wound was made or if that cannot be had another weapon or peece of wood but especially Sallow or any other thing dipp'd or smear'd in the blood of the wounded person Neyther think they it availes whether the Patient be present or many miles absent Neyther take they any care of the wounded person but of annointing the weapon yet some order that the wound be every day washed and cleansed with white Wine or Vrine But lest any man should doubt of the effect of this oyntment First of all they produce experience and Rudolphus Goclenius Iunior writeth that he is able to nominate Emperors Kings Princes Earles Nobles whose authority and truth is not to be doubted of which give testimony of the efficacie of this Oyntment Moreover the Patrons of this Oyntment doubt not but naturall causes may be given of this action and Crollius calls them ignorant fooles that doubt of its efficacie or referre the cure to Sorcery And to make it appeare that the cure may be done by a naturall way they prove at large that first there are actions which no corporall touch interceding are done by an hidden Sympathy or Magnetisme as they call it And so the Loadstone draweth Iron although it touch it not with its body and maketh it move toward the Pole the Starres also worke upon inferiour things which they touch not bodily The Cramp-fish affects his hand that toucheth it only with his Iavelin There be some that cannot endure to be where a Cat is though she bee lock'd up in a Chest that they see her not and unlesse the Cat be removed or they goe out of the place they fall into a swoone Dogs know the foot-steps of their Masters and of wilde Beasts too and follow them by their track The shade of the Ewe-tree is hurtfull to many And very many such things which are observed in nature they heape up as examples of hidden actions which because they are most evident in the Magnet or Loadstone are called Magneticall actions in generall Another thing which they presuppose is that there is a spirit of the world diffused over the whole Vniverse which is the conveyer or conveyance of all occult vertues and actions and conjoyneth all the parts of the World and effecteth a wonderfull harmonie between them But thirdly concerning the vertues of this Weapon-salve it self they determine a double operation to bee in it one in the Oyntment it self that is the healing and closing up of the wounds the other which is in the Weapon annointed and carryeth that vertue to the wound They deduce the former operation from those many things of which this Salve is composed from the influence of the Starres and a Syderiall and Elementary conjunction and therefore as hath been sayd some make this Oyntment at a certain time of the yeare and in a certaine position of the Starres The other operation they deduce from the naturall Balsam which with the bloud sticketh fast to the weapon or instrument thrust into the wound and stained with the blood of the wounded person For this Balsam by reason of a sympathy it hath with the part wounded doth communicate that vertue of the Salve to the wound the spirit of the world intervening and mediating betweene them And of this thing they bring other Examples also the Zenith as they call it or the first menstruous blood of young Maides being cast into the fire as they report is very offensive unto the Virgin from whom it flowed The Secundines or after births if they bee ill handled are very dangerous to the Women from whom they come although neyther in this doe they declare themselves plainly enough For Crollius writeth that this Cure is perfected by the attractive magneticall operation of this Salve which by the mediation of the Ayre is brought and conjoyned to the Wound And presently after hee sayth there be three things which by this Medicament doe cause so wonderfull an effect First Naturall Sympathy Second The influence of Celestiall bodyes perfecting their operations by the Elements Third A Balsome which hath a healing vertue and is in every man by nature Reasons against the Defenders of Weapon-Salve But to give our owne opinion of this Oyntment First this maketh it to bee suspected because one manner of composing it is not agreed on but there are many and in some those things are omitted from which others deduce all the vertue of this Salve as appeares plainly out of the fore-named Descriptions Thus Wittichius omits Mosse Fat and Blood which others account the foundation and chiefe part of this Salve and yet all of them promise the same effect and every one extols his owne oyntment for Curing all kindes of hurts done with what kinde of Weapon soever whether Stab or Cut with a blow or a fall although Goclenius and Crollius except those Wounds which are in the Nerves arteries or principall members as the Heart and Braine Whereas others object against the composition of this Salve that the Authors of this Oyntment doe use the Mosse of a man hang'd Mummy warme Blood and Fat of men and doe think the whole power and efficacie of this thing to be in Mans fat and blood and therefore think it superstitious I assent not to them since it is very well knowne that the Fat and sculls of men and Mummy and Mosse are used by other Physitians to cure Diseases without superstition Yet this I advise that forasmuch as Witches and Wizards as appeares out of Apuleius Metamorph lib. 2 3. And Nicolas Remigius lib. 1. cap. 16. Lib. 2. cap. 1. De demonolatria and out of others which have writ concerning Witches That they are wont to use the Blood and Flesh of a Man and other parts of mans body for their Sorceries that every one who will use such things should take heed that hee doe not superstitiously use a Salve for producing a naturall effect and so gratifie the Divell and unawares serve him who is the Enemy both of mans Body and soule which may bee done if wee use such things to those effects which are not in the Naturall power of the things And therefore if they finde event it is rather to bee imputed and ascribed to the Divell laying snares for men by such superstitious meanes than to the thing it selfe Now concerning the effect of this Salve Guilielmus Fabritius Observat 25. Cent. 3. sayth That it doth not alwayes answer their expectation and that it may bee that many have beene healed that have used this Salve and so many great men can testifie yet they can testifie no more then this that one was wounded and that this Weapon-Salve was applyed for the Cure and that hee grew well againe but they cannot testifie whether hee recovered by the efficacy of this Salve For many things may oftentimes bee conjoyned with the effect
which are not the cause of it so that as it followeth not While this man was walking it Lightened therefore his walking is the cause of the Lightening so it followes not This wounded man is healed and hath used the Weapon-Salve therefore the Weapon-Salve is the cause of his healing Vnlesse it may appeare that this effect hath necessarily followed from this Weapon-Salve Nor is the * When that is taken to be the Cause which is not the Cause fallacie of the Cause more frequent any where then in Physicke where oft-times the Cure of a disease is attributed to a Medicine when it proceeds not from it but from nature or some other salve eyther used before or together with it And indeed the reason of Physique is farre different from that of other Arts. For in other Arts the effect altogether wholly dependeth upon the Artificer and if any thing bee done eyther well or ill by him unlesse perhaps by reason of the unfitnesse of the matter and subject for Ex quolibet ligno non fit mercurius or by reason of the Instrument some fault may happen all is to bee imputed and ascribed to the Artificer seeing as I have shewed Instit lib. 1. cap. 1. the subjects of other Arts worke nothing but onely submit themselves to be wrought on but the subject of Physique hath a certaine inbred power whereby assisted by the Physitians help it doth for the most part of its owne accord tend to health whence it is that HIPPOCRATES sayth 6. Epid. Com. 5. Text. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Natures are the Physitians of diseases The point therefore is this that here the state of the controversie is not whether in the Cure of the wounded person now recovered the Weapon-Salve was applyed but whether the Weapon-Salve was the cause of the healing of which now wee are to make enquirie But seeing as it is sayd before Nature may be the cause of closing up a wound and not the vertue of any Medicine by what name soever it be called yea oftentimes wounds are cured with Lard or some other small thing layd to without the help of a Physitian or any other Medicaments Therefore in the cure which is thought to be done by the Weapon salve the closing of the wound is to be attributed onely to Nature as the next and principall cause Which since it is so and it can by no meanes bee denyed now the Question is whether in that cure the healing of the wound be ascribed to Nature onely or whether some efficacie of this Weapon salve doth concurre together with it The former seemeth to me to bee the more probable because it is certaine as was said even now that wounds are very often healed by Nature without the helpe of any Medicament This the inward wounds to which no Medicaments can bee applyed doe testifie and hither tendeth all that discourse of Caesar Magatus concerning the course of curing wounds of which is spoken in the precedent Chapter that the businesse be committed to Nature the heate and temper of the part which is an instrument be kept sound and not be troubled with Medicaments where there is no necessity and sometime such dangerous wounds are healed chiefly by the helpe of Nature and by none at all or else but slender Medicaments applyed so that it may seeme to be ascribed rather to a Miracle then medicaments The observations and examples whereof are every where well knowne Neither are the Patrons of this Oyntment so bold as to extend its power to all wounds seeing as was said Crollius and Groclenius except the wounds of the Principall members and also of the Nerves and Arteries and no man was ever yet found who durst use this Oyntment about such as have beene wounded by Gun shot And who is there that dareth deny that other smaller wounds may be healed onely by Nature yet if any thing fall out in the cure by the Weapon salve which may exceed the power of Nature take heed it bee not done by the helpe of the Divell drawne thereto by some implicite or explicite compact Seeing then Nature onely and immediately closeth up Wounds Salves as hath been shewed before serve for no other use then to conserve native heat and naturall temper of the part or to remove those impediments which hinder nature in its worke we are now to consider whether this Weapon salve can doe those things Where the first difficulty is this whether or no there is any salve at all that can doe any good not being annointed on the wound it self but on the weapon or some other thing stained with the blood out of the wound chiefly if the wounded person be absent and be distant from the weapon that is annointed the space of some certaine miles To prove it they use two reasons as is said before The first is that there is some actions from the occult qualities called Magneticall which worke at a distance and againe that the power of this Oyntment is conveyed to the wound by the Spirit of the world as the Sympathy and Antipathy of many things But neyther Argument proveth the thing they should For first of all though wee grant that there are such actions which mutually do worke upon and suffer one from another though they bee not alwayes united by corporall contact Notwithstanding wh●●her this happen in the Weapon salve or whether any vertue or force be brought to the wound from the annointed weapon through a great distance of place that is not yet proved Neyther doth it follow that because there are miraculous actions of other things therefore this Weapon salve should have such a vertue And that this is not so he who shall enquire into other the like actions of Nature which are done at a distance shall easily perceive Seeing that Operation doth follow the beeing of a thing It is necessary there must bee a certaine Conjunction and mutuall Contact betweene the Agent and the Patient And againe seeing that things betweene which there is action touch not one another with their bodies it is necessary they should touch some other way and that may be two wayes For eyther the thing which is sayd to work at distance sends out somewhat from its body and substance which the Ancients call effluvium seu 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Over-flowing or Flux the Physitians where they speake of Contagion call it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 See our Lib. 4. de Febribus cap. 4. Institut Lib. 2. Part. 2. cap. 12. To wit where the smallest parts or atomes flow out of the bodie and the ayre or some other body mediating are transferr'd to another body and doe worke upon it by the vertue which they have common with the intire body from which they flow But such like little bodies and effluxes have no regular motion but are disorderly moved hither and thither according to the motion of the ayre and by any breath are variously dispersed as wee may see