had saued mony enough to redéeme his Church lands which his predicessour had layd to morgage But he answered that he was far more liberal then his predicessour for sayd he I haue payd his debts and mine owne also A Bishop in France promised Philip the French Kynge that the first Prebend that fell in his gift he would giue it to whome soeuer it pleased the Kynge And when many fell voyde and the kyng was pleasured with none he was sore offended To whom the Bishop sent this answer desiring his grace not to be offended for he had yet giuen neuer an one of them but sould them all The Bishop of Mentz coursed an Hart and after long ruÌ„nyng the beast leapt into a deepe ponde and a greate Pike caught him fast by the throat And when the Hart came out of the water hee brought the Pike with him hanginge by his throat and so hée tooke them bothe and sent pieces of them abread for present to his friends A certain Priest was accused vnto the bishop of the Diocesse for buriyng his dead Asse solemly with Dirige Masses of Requiem And béeing much rebuked for so doing he certified the Bishop that it was a very godly Asse had made a will had bequeaâ—hed his Lordship fiue pounde which he had now brought vnto him And when the Bishop had receiued the money he said let him then rest in peace so discharged the priest A noble younge Gentlemen that was a schollar in Paris sayd that all Bishops in France were blinde bicause they gaue not som good benefice to his maister beyng but poore and well learned Not long after being himself made a Bishop he was so blinded with his spirituall promotion that he neither gaue his poore maister any thing but on a time when he came to Paris his Maister went and met him bearyng a couple of Waxe candles burnyng in his hand And when the Bishop asked him why hée did so hée answered bycause your lordship should sée mée for you are blinde A certain Bishop had many yonge Nephewes and Kinsfolkes in his house which alwaies sat at meate at a low table before him and whensoeuer any preferment fell voyde he repulsed other and bestowed it vpon one of those Then a man of worship whom the Bishop had bid to dinner set himself downe at the childrens Table And béeing demaunded by the Bishop why hée did so hée answered that hée could not be preferred sittyng at any other Table neither knew he any other then those that sat there aduanced by him vnto any dignitie Chap. 28. Of Archdeacons AN Archdeacon being in visitatioÌ„ spent whole daies in feasting making good chéere when the people looked that he should haue preached vnto them the word of god And as hee was going from hearyng Masse vnto dinner an olde woman sayd vnto him that they looked for that which was his dutie to do meaning to shew them their duties out of the word of god Well quoth the Archdeacon I will not call thée to counsell what I had best to do But shée answered surely he had small care of our soules that put them in trust to thée An Archdeacon visited his parish Church from which hée was promoted vnto the Archdeaconrie And there came vnto him an husband man to aske counsell saying M. Archdeacon I married a poore wife and now I know where I may haue a ritch one is it lawful for mée to fâ—rsake the poore one and to take the ritche The Archdeacon answered by no meanes Then said the husbandmaÌ„ but you haue forsaken a poore church and keepe a ritch Archdeaconry Which he hearing gaue vp his Archdeaconry and returned to his owne Churche A certein Priest against his Archdeacon shoulde come in visitacion hauinge none other prouision killed a litle Asse which hee had and dressed him in the stead of Veale and wheÌ„ the Archdeacon fead hungerly theron at dinner and the Priest himselfe woulde eate none the Archdeacon demaunded the cause Then quod the Priest your Mastership saith that I haue wit and learning litle ynough already and therefore I neede to eate no asses fleash When the Archdeacon heard this he arose from the table in a rage and immediatly departed chap. 29. Of Canons and their mery Iests IVlius in his booke of Bees writeth an history of one Philip that was Chancellour of Paris who hauing many benefices was in his sicknes admonished by the Bysshop to resigne theÌ„ vp for feare of longer incurring Gods displeasure who answered that hee would try the truth of that béefore the greate iudge But shortly after hee was dead hee appeared vnto the Bysshop like a shadow and sayd I most miserable wretch am damned and that cheifly for thrée causes First for my fruites which I kept from the poore Secondly for my pluralitye of benefices And lastly for my detestable whoredome Moreouer hee sayd is the world yet at an end Then quod the Bysshop I marueill that thou hauinge in thy life time beene a great clarke and seeing mee and other liuing who must all die beefore that day come shouldest aske mee that question But hee sayd marueill not at all for in hell there is neither knowlegde nor reason Maister Albertus sayd vnto a Canon of Colein which came home from the Court with a dispensation to haue many benefices Before you might haue gone to Hell without licence and now you must néedes go thither by vertue of your dispensation There was a Canon which had two Canonries one in one Church another in another the dreamed one night the two staues were reatched vnto him and the same night the bishops of both Churches died Then some of his familiars expounding his dreame said that he should be chosen bishop in both places and riding out the next day morninge he fell from his horse and brake both his legges and was faine to go with two crutches to beare himselft vp withall Chap. 30. Of the Hault and Lame ON a time there came vnto a sanctes church so many hault and Lame people to be cured that the Priest could not driue them foorth Then said the priest giue me your staues I wil heale you all And when he had them he sent for fier beinge demaunded what he would do with it Burne him that is most lambe quoth he that you may all be healed with his Asshes And when they heard this they ran all away Cap. 31. Of Priests A Certain poore lecherous Priest had a concubine whom he loued well wherof the Archedeacon hearing commanded him either to forsake his Church or to leaue his concubin But being loth to depart from his Concubine he resigned his benefice and when the harlot saw that he had nothing now to liue withall she would tarie no lenger with him and so he lost both profit and pleasure together A certein Priest had two Concubines one yonge another olde The younge bicause
rathe frutes and in al their life time were neuer sicke This mutch of frutes in generall Figges according to Rhasis clense the kidneis froÌ„ grauell béeing gréene they bréed winde in the belly and they loose the same and make indifferent good iuce If they bée drye they nourish mutch and do heaten the often vse whereof ingendreth the itch and lyse and loose the belly béeinge eaten béefore meate Of whom moreouer myne aucthour Isaac sayth in his second booke that if they méet with a stomacke well clensed from humours they are then good of digestion they ingender good blood clense the stomack lungues kidneis and bladder if they be eaten fasting Dates saith hée are hot and make grosse nutriment and if they be eaten oftentimes they ingender grosse blood in the inner partes they corrupt the teeth and make steame and blood to abound And in the secoÌ„d booke Isaac saith that Dates being hot and dry in the second degree are better of digistion then Figs more prouoking vrine But whoso accustometh himself vnto them shall feele an hard swelling in his Liuer Spleene Raisens as witnesseth Rhasis whiche are very sweete are hot but not so hot as Dates neither so stopping as they are they be windy and hurt mutch they franke vp the body suddeinly they also increase motion vnto venery and woorke to the erection of the yeard Those which haue the thinnest skin do soonest descend and bréede lesse windines and the contrary do contrariwise Those that are sower do not heaten but béeing washed in cold water and eaten before meate do as it were extinguish heat Sower grapes are colde they binde the belly and they represse blood and red choler Raisens are temperate in heat which causing good nutryment do bréed no oppilacion as Dates do although they nourishe stronger and in greater quantity Pomegranates whiche are swéete according to Rhasis doo not coole but puffe vp and cause thirstinesse but they lenifie the throat The sower ones make the breast and throat rough also they puffe vp the stomacke and Liuer but alwayes they moderate the heat of blood and red choler they quench Feuers and represse vomites And Isaac saith that Pomegranates are fitter for medicine then for meat for they yéelde but smal nourishment but it is good It is the property of tart Pomegranates to extinguish the rage of humours and to comforte the stomacke The iuce dropped into their eies that haue the yelow Jandies taketh away the yellow couler Quinces saith Rhasis bée they swéet or sower they strenghthen the stomack but principally the sower they prouoke also a good appetite and binde the bellye Béeinge eaten after meate they make the ordure to discende quickely and expell it out of the belly And béeinge eaten before meate they woorke the contrary effect The sower ones are strongest in bindinge the belly Peares after Galen béeyng eaten béefore meate do bynde but after meate they loose the belly Peares that are very swéet do not puffe vp but they all binde the belly vnlesse they bee eaten after meat For béeing eaten after meat they driue the ordure foorth and then they strengthen the stomacke Isaac also saith the sweet Peares are temperate and if they bee boyled with Musshroms they take away all theyr clensinge especially if they be wilde Peares by reason of theyr tartnes Appels after the iudgement of Isaac are colde and bicause of their sowernesse do binde the more And although they agrée well with the mouth of the stomacke yet they fill it full of slimy humoures Auicen saith that Apples do comfort especially those that smell sweete Baked in a Pie they help the appetite but the dayly eating of them causeth ouermutch heating of the sinewes Peaches accordynge to Auicen if they bée ripe are good for the stomacke causinge good concoction vnto meate but they may not bee eaten after other meate for they corrupte it but rather béefore meate If the Appels bee drye they bée harde of digestion and although they nourish mutch yet are they not good And Isaac saieth that the greater Peaches if they bee ripe they loose the belly but otherwise they binde it The lesse whiche are called in Latin Praecocia and in English as I thinke Africoes are holsome for the stomacke and take away lothsomnesse Medlers saith hée are cold and dry in the first degrée they comforte the stomacke and take away the fluxe of choler and represse vomitinge they prouoke vrine and beeinge taken beefore meate they comfort the stomack the more and hurt not the sinewnesse therof And Dioscorides writeth that some saye they helpe mutch the toothach if they bée eaten while the teeth ake The Pome Citron after the opinion of Auicen beeing pared and the rine eaten or chawed maketh the mouth smell pleasantly The sower iuce beeinge anointed killeth ringe-wormes the decoction drunken maketh a good couler and fatteth the body Mulberies which are ripe and swéete as saith Isaac loose the bâ—lly are soone cast forth out of the stomack and prouoke vrine Being eaten fastinge out of coulde water they are very cooling they quench thirst and vnnaturall heat Plummes likewise saith hée are of two sortes Some white which are harde of digestion and noisome to the stomake The blacke of the gardein béeinge ripe moisten the stomacke and make soft the bellye and pourge red choler But if they be eaten ouermutch they hurt the stomacke but they do lesse hurt eaten before meat Cheries also as the same aucthour writeth are soone conuerted they engender grosse fleam and slimy with in the hollownes of the Liuer and Splene And therfore ingender longe agues and are very éeuell euery way The best time to eate them is béefore meat for when they be eaten vpon a ful stomacke they flit aboue and turne to putrifaction Almondes accordinge to Rhasis are temperate in heate which although they make the throat smooth yet are they heauy in the stomack and tary long there they open oppylacions and aswage the burning of the vrine and béeing eaten with sugar augment seede of generacion The bitter Almondes according to Isaacks iudgment are hot and dry in the end of the second degrée they clense scoure and comfort they mooue vrine and dissolue grosse and clammye humours by meanes wherof they clense the breast and Lungues from fleagmatick humours and release the oppilacions of the Liuer and Splene Nuts likewise saieth the same aucthour in a cholericke person and one that hath a hot stomacke are soone turned into cholerick vapours ascending into the head causinge the payne and giddinesse thereof But if a man would correcte them and make them good hée must crack them and blanche them and lay them a stiepe a whole night in water that they may get some moysture Dioscorides sayeth that two Nuttes and two dry Figges and twentie leaues of Rue or Hearbe Grace and one grayne of Salt pounded together and beyng eaten fastyng keepeth a man from infection of
iudge In Policratus the fift booke and second chap. it is set down that when on a time there arose a certen controuersie béetweene King Alexander and certen of his souldiours and the kinge had the foyle in the field iudgment hée thankefully accepted the iudgment and gaue great thankes to the iudges whose faith hee had experimented in preferring iustice béefore the respect of any Potentate Chap. 23. Of Lawiers AVlus Gellius in his Nightes of Athens telleth an historie of a young man who cumming to Pithagoras to be instructed in eloquence promised him a great summe of mony for his paine to bee payd that day when hee first pleaded cause beefore the Judges and obtained it But when hee had well profited in the art and would take the handlinge of no causes vpon him Pithagoras conuented him beefore the iudges saying vnto him now will I haue my reward whether sentence go with thee or against thee For if sentence go on shy side then my rewarde is due and if it go againste thee then is it due also for haue I iudgment on my side Theâ— answered the schollar vnderstand this mutch Maister quod hee if sentence go on my side then owe I nothinge vnto you by vertue of the sentence and if it go against mee then by our bargaine I owe you nothing bicause I preueill not and am not well taught Which controuersie the iudges perceiuing to bee very litigious and doubtfull deferred the Matter vnto a very long day so that I iudge the case is not yet discussed Heylinandus in his second booke of the institucion of Princes telleth how on a time Demosthenes demaunded of Aristodius what reward hee had receiued to speake who answered a Talent and I quod Domosthenes had a more to hould my peace Thus a man may see that some Lawiers tungues may do hurt vnlesse they bée tied with a siluer chein and many times they sell aswel their silence as their words Valerius writeth in the seuenth booke and third chapter howe that two men which were geastes in a house brought certen mony and deliuered it vnto the goodwife with this promise that shee should deliuer it againe vnto them both togither And a good while after the one of them came and deceiued the woman requiringe the monie and sayinge that his fellowe was dead which she foorth with deliuered Not long after the other came also and demauÌ„ded the mony Wherat the poore woman beeing in distresse made the oratour Demosthenes of her counsel who made this answere in her behalf My friend quod hee this woman is redy to tender the mony but shee may not pay it to you vnlesse your fellow come with you for as you say this was the agreement beetweene you that it shuld not bee payd to the one of you without the other Cecilius Balbus in the place beefore recited telleth of an auncient souldiour of Rome who on a time being in some daunger beefore the iudges beesought Caesar to come avrode into the court to helpe him Vnto whom Caesar appointed a good lawier Then the souldiour said O Caesar quod hee when thou wast in danger in the Asiane warre I sought not a deputy but I fought myself for thee and there with all hee discouered vnto him the skarres of the woundes which hee had receiued there for him Immediatly Caesar sprang foorth and came to helpe him fearing lest he might seeme not so mutch proud as vnthankefull Chap. 24. Of great mens Bailiffes IOsephus in the thirtenth booke and twelueth chapter of Antiquities writeth how that the Emperour Tyberius was sumwhat hard and waiward in all his busines and affaires and looke what Receiuers hee had appointed in Prouinces hee seldome or neuer changed them And beinge demaunded why hee did so hee answered bicause hee spared the poore people For if the Receiuers knewe that they shoulde haue their office but short time then would they sucke vntill the blood folowed and how mutch the shorter time they shoulde bee in office so much the more intollerable they would deale and they that came new would destroy all that they founde Which saying of his hee confirmed by the example of a man that lay wounded by the way in the Summer season and would not haue the flies driuen away which were about the wounde And one which came vpon the way supposing that of weaknes hee had let them alone draue them away Ah sayd he you haue done ill for these flies were now full of blood and troubled mee but litle and the freshe ones whiche come will sting mee more sharpely Euen so new appoynted officers do pinche the commons more eagerly Aristotle in the Secretes of Secrets writeth in this wise vnto Alexander Neuer set sutch a Bailiffe to rule in anye place which wil bee corrupted with mony for in so doinge thou shalt subuert thy realmes and beesides thou canst repose no assurance in sutch a one as gapeth after treasure and commodity For hee serueth thee for the golde and giueth vp his sences vnto mony and by pouling of others seeketh to fill vp vp his bottomlesse bagges And looke how mutch his mony increaseth so mutch the loue therof groweth and perhaps the loue of mony may induce him to the destruction of thy selfe and thy kingdome And shortly after in the same place hee setteth downe fiftéene conditions generally to bee required when wee would get or choose a Bailiffe The same Aucthour likewise in the second booke of his Rethorickes prouing that Procuratours Rent gatherers Bailiffes Receauers ought not vpon small occasion to be chaunged wher hee vseth for proofe Esops fable of the wounded Foxe goinge vpon the way and the flies which sate vpon him and sucked his blood Then the Vrcheon comming by mooued with compassion would haue driuen them away To whom said the Fox do not so I pray you for these are now full of blood and if new should come they would molest mee more as new Bailiffes and Stuewards doo Chap. 25. Of Frindes and Frindship VAlerius in the fourth booke and fourth chapter writeth of a paier of frindes called Damon and Pithias which were so faithfully linked in frindship that when Diâ—nisius the tyrant would haue put one of them to death and had giuen him respite before hée died to go home and dispose his goods in order the other of them doubted not to yéelde his life in pleadge for his frinde And when the day of his returne approched and hée was not yet came euery man condemned this foolish suerty of folly Howbeit hée sayd that hée doubted nothing of his frindes constancy But at the verie same houer and moment when his friend should haue died in his stéede hée came and offred himselfâ— to death Whose frindship and constancy the tyrant wondring at forgaue the punishment and moreouer requested them to let him bee the third frind and to receiue him into their constant band of amity Likewise the same Aucthour in
small the heat disperseth soone the meat ouer all the capacity therof and maketh a fantasticall fulnes so that litle meat sufficeth sutch Other some haue large stomackes and could and in that their stomackes are cold a litle meat filleth them but in that their stomackes are large they feede much and a long time Secondly which of the twayne those which haue a stronge heat or a weake are able longest to abide hunger Surely I suppose that they which haue the stronger may fast longest since for the more part sutch persons are of the stronger constitucion Howbeit this distinction is to be noted that there bée two poincts to bée considered in fasting to wit the resolution of natural heat the vtter quenching of the same the stroÌ„gest nature is able best to sustaine them both And secondly the discoÌ„modities ar to be weighed which ensue fasting of which the strongest nature sustayneth moe then dooth the weake Thirdly how chanceth it that those whose powers be small and narrowe can abide honger better then they which haue wider Bicause through wide and large pores the body is more aboundantly resolued lesse through the narrowe and small pores wherfore the remayneth which should prouoke appetite Fourthly doth choler nourish or not vnto this demaunde wee answere that although Galen and Isaac say that it nourisheth not bicause blood onely nourisheth yet Auicen holdeth opinion that choler nourisheth also which two opinions of singular learned men we must make to agrée after this maner Ther are two sortes of choler wherof the one which is conteined within the gall cannot nourish the other necessarely concurreth with the blood wherwith the partes of the bodye which are of a cholerick constitution are as well nourished as the sanguine partes are with the blood Fyfthly whether can the sicke or the whole best indure hunger Some hold opinion that the sicke can bicause naturall heat in a sicke person is busie in resoluing mo fumosities breathes and vapours rising from the humours then in an whole person Howbeit this reason is weake first bicause there can bée no partes nourished nor spirites engendred by corrupt humours and secondly if this were so then shoulde there bée moe spirites in a sicke body then in an whole and bicause the spirits are the carriers of the powers and streÌ„gth into althe parts the sicke should bée stronger then the whole which is euidently false But to growe to the purpose wée answere that whereas the sicke tollerateth hunger better then the whole person there are thrée causes to bée giuen the fist is bicause nature is occupied about the sicknes and the cause therof the second for that the partes of the body are infected and cheaked with the corrupt matter and therfore do not desire nutriment and the third is bicause the strength of the sicke party béeinge as it were layd a sléepe and weakned â—auseth them to haue no appetite vnto meat Sixtly whether in the force of a strong or weake stomacke best able to abide hunger The force of a strong stomack desireth most but it may best sustaine forbearing of meate and contrariwise the appetite of a weake stomack looketh lesse for meat is not so well able to abide delay from it Seuenthly which of the twayn is best able to indure hunger hee that is accustomed to eate much meat or litle It may bee answered that hée that vseth to eate much meat may best fast for by reason of his great rauening hee hath but small heate and therfore may best indure hunger so likewise contrariwise bicause of the contrary cause Eighthly whether doth fasting more grieue men in hoate or cold seasons of the yeere It is more noysome in Summer then in winter bicause the body is more resolued in Summer then it is in winter and therfore ought then to bée fead more aboundantly and very often and in winter it sufficeth to eate once in a day Ninthely why are those that feede griediestly soonest filled Hereunto wée must answere as it is writteÌ„ in the Saturnalia that they which feede griedely eate in mutch aier with their meat by reasen of their wide gapinge and often fetchinge of their breath And therfore when the veines are filled with aier the appetite is fully satisfied Tenthly wherfore are wee able to abide hoat meates and drinkes in our mouth which wee cannot for heat suffer in our handes wée answere as appeareth in the place béefore alleaged for that the naturall heat which is conteined with in the inner partes of the body is very sharpe and vehement and therfore it ouercommeth weakneth whatsoeuer other hoat substance cummeth within the mouth wherfore then when thou puttest eny extreme hot thing into thy mouth gape not wide nor fetch not thy breath in ofteÌ„ thinking therby to coole it but rather shut thy lips almost close togither to the intent that the greater heat which cuÌ„meth out of the belly may help the mouth and that greater heat ouercome the lesser as for the hand that can abide no hot thing bicause it is holpen by no other heat then is in it self The. 4. chap. conteining 7. questions SOme man may haply moue this question what is the cause that when a man which is hungry drinketh thereby he asswageth his hunger but if hee bee a thirst and eate his thirst is not therby slaked Vnto this demaund there is answere made in the Saturn â–ª that there is no impediment but that liquor may passe into euery part of the body and replenishe the veines therof But the substance of meat is more grosser and it cannot passe into the veines vntil it bee digested by litle and litle so that it cannot slake the thirst which it findeth yea rather it soketh vp the moisture which it findeth wherby thirst which is the want of moisture is more increased Secondly Such as are fasting whether bee they more an hungred then a thirst By the same place I answere that they thirst most forasmuch as naturall heat worketh continually vpon the foode and nutriment which wée receiue consuming it away Which also appeareth in children whiles they be infaÌ„ts which consume and concoct great stoare of nutriment by reason of their vehement heate But contrariwise wée perceiue how easely old men can sustaine fasting by reason of the defaute of naturall heat in them But in the middle age if naturall heat bée stirred vp with exercise it procureth a stroÌ„ger appetite vnto meat for want of naturall heat Wherfore if there bée alwaies heate in appetite moisture bée the peculiar substance wheron heat worketh if when a man is hungry hée desireth meate surely heat especiallye requireth his own nutriment which being receiued the whole body is therw t refreshed caÌ„ that lenger tary for more souÌ„der susâ—enaÌ„ce Thirdly why is it that wee conceiue more delight in drinking when wee are a thirst then in eating when wee be hungry Drinke as a substance more liquid theÌ„ meat soner perceath into the stomack
that none could finde any fault with her behauior For sayd shée if I laugh it is good fellowship if I wéepe it is deuotion if I speake it is Philosophie if I holde my peace it is religion if I sléepe it is quietnesse if I ryse it is a vision and so of many thinges more But thée forgat one thing that the more shee gloryed the more foole shée was counted A mery fellow that would faine set out the ydle occupations wherin the systers busyed them selues He made a â—yrle wherin hée painted how thrée systers were stealing of one goose one helde him by the legge another layde a knife vppon his necke and the the third strake the knife with an hammar and round about the cyrcle it was thus written Looke how these thrée holye systers are occupied about stealing of a goose so are all the rest also Certaine systers conferred togyther on a tyme by what deathes they would wyshe to dye One sayd I would desyre to bée hanged in the coard of contemplacion according to the saying of Iob. The other sayd I would choose to bée buryed in the graue of humilitie The thyrde coueted to bée burnt in the fyre of charitye And the fowrth to bée drowned in the teares of compunction But howe farre theyr inwarde thoughtes were differing from theyr outward hipocrisy theyr holie and chast liues dyd well declare A syster being in the monasterie bare headed and in her peticote onely two Friars knocked at the gate and shée ran to the gate and opened it And being ashamed bicause shée was bare headed shée tooke vp the tayle of her peticoate to cast ouer her head and vncouered her naked buttockes and ran away as fast as shée could Then one of the Fryars calling vnto her wylled her to couer her naked partes saying it is better to sée a womans bare top then her bare tayle It fortuned that in a Priorye one night there was a Priest founde a bed with one of the systers vnto whose chamber many other of the systers flocked to sée the syght And when another of the systers in whose bed a lso at that present there laye a Priest heard this styrre making hast to goe see the other thinking to couer her head with her accustomed vayle threw the Priests breaches vpon her head and came vnto that mery or rather lameÌ„table spectable to bewayle that case among y other as though shée had bene gyltie of no such matter But when one of the systers saw the breach O syster sayd shée and dearely beloued fellowe what thing is this or what meaneth this strange sight who then beholding her owne naughtinesse was much astonished and because of this accident the other escaped vnpunished for that shée was founde not to bée in that faulte alone Chap. 41. Of many merye Dreames VAlerius in the first booke and seuenth Chapter writeth that Alexander the king of Macedonie was warned of the hand that should slay him in his dreame before that he felt it to be true in effect for he thought that he sawe him in his sléepe that should kyll him And shortly after when he saw the partie and knew that he was Antipaters sonne he declared the vanitie of his dreame and he cast out of his minde the suspicion which hée had conceyued of the poyson whereof he dyed at Cassanders handes Lykewise he telleth that whylst Amilcar that was captaine of the Carthagians lay in siege about the Cittie of Syracuse he thought that in his dreame he hearde a voyce which sayd that the night following he should suppe within the City Then Amilcar being carelesse or rather thinking himself sure of the victorie was somewhat negligent in not loking carefullye to his Armie vpon whome the Syracusians issuing forth the next daye possessed his tentes tooke him prisoner and led him into the Citie where the same night he supped not as a conquerour but as a captiue Fryer Iohn of Duren dreamed one nyght that hée rode vpon a snayle hauing two long hornes that his armes touched the grounde and how the boyes in the strâ—etes seeing him laughed and shouted at him after which dreame as he sayd he had verye good fortune but wherein he would not tell A countrey man dwelling neere Ratisbona dreamed that vpon the bridge at Ratisbona he should find great treasure And comming thyther in the morning verye earlye for that purpose he met with a rytch man which asked him what he sought and he told him the cause of his comming and how and whereof he had dreamed the night before Then the rytch man vp with his fyst gaue him a boxe on the eare saying Ah foole wylt thou beleeue dreames I my selfe dreamed this night how that in the vyllage of Regendolf in such a place naming a certaine farme place I shoulde finde a great summe of money but I meane not to be so much a foole as to goe séeke it But when the countrey man heard this and perceyuing that it was his owne farme where he dwelt thought within himself it is happie for mee that I came hyther this day to haue a boxe on the eare going home immediatlye dygged in the place which the other named and found a ritch treasure A certaine Cannon in VVerda nigh to the Rhine which neuer could make verse in all his lyfe dreamed of these two verses in his sléepe which he remembred well when he awaked to this effect The wordes of reuenge a bytter doome hath giuen on thee Though thou ne knowest how that thy life shall shortly ended bee And when he had openly told it at the table one of his familyars said vnto him what euer it should signify if I were in your case I would take order with my goodes dispose them as I thought best whatsoeuer should befall but others sayd it was but a tryfle that dreames were not to be accoumpted of But he being stroken into a dumpe gat him vpon his horse tooke his hawke vpon his fyst roade abroade into the fieldes for pleasure to digest the melancholy And comming homeward at night where he must ryde ouer a bridge that lay ouer an arme of the Rhine his horse began to striue and plunge and threwe them both headlong into the Rhine and there were drowned Chap. 42. Of diuers and sundrie Artificers MAcrobius in the second booke of the Saturnalia wryteth that when Seruilius of Rome beheld the children of Mallius an excelleÌ„t painter how mishapen euyl fauored they were sayd vnto him Mallius why doest thou not paint likewise aswel for thy selfe as thou doest for other men To whome Mallius answered I deuise in the night time but I paynt in the day One Gallatricus a keruer made Pismares of yuorie of so small quantitie that they were no bygger neyther coulde be discerned from those Pismares that lyued in déede A certaine Shoemaker dwelling in a Cittie of Lumbardie was made a Judge
them that sleepe then do wake In sléeping the meate discendeth not downe foorthwith vnto the bottome of the stomack where the digestion is wrought but remaineth in the mouth of the stomack fléeting there about ingendring windynes But for the more part while men be awake they be stirringe about or walkinge whereby the meat is driuen downe and enforced into the bottome of the stomack whiche is the most effectuall place of digestion and repugnant to the cause of sowernes Fourthly Why saith Auicen do swete things soonest wax sower in the stomack as milk and sutch like Milke and sweete blood are soone altered and when the stomack assaieth to digest them and cannot then turne they to be sower Fiftly Why will wine wax sower quickly in the stomack Wine and Milke of their owne nature are very soone conuerted into sowernesse the stomack vseth to bring thinges from power into acte and so maketh them sower Sixtly since all Wines be hote How chanceth it that they ingender colde diseases and not hoat Wine of it selfe bréedeth no disease but by filling the sinewes and braine and sutch repletions insue indigestion and indigestion nourisheth colde sicknesses and by this meanes Wine bréedeth none but colde infirmities Seuenthly Wherof commeth wringing and griping in the bellie Wringing and gripinge chanceth in all partes of the body and it is of diuers sorts One cummeth of grosse windinesse and this happeneth in the bottome of the stomack anoof grosse tough humours and another of cholerick superfluities And this last kinde of gripinge in whatsoeuer it beginneth for the most part it endeth in the stomack the bottom therof being a place of great sensibilitie notwithstandinge that this griping also may paine any other place of the guts whersoeuer Eightly May a sick Man eate as much meat as he was won◠to do when he was in good health Custome is a second nature and hée that is accustomed to eate mutch when hée is whole cannot fast when hee is sicke and therfore must bée more often refreshed with meat euen as often as hee vsed to bée béeing in good health and more abundantly then hée that eateth litle Ninthly whether doth bread or fleash more hurt vnto sutch as are recouering out of sicknes Rhasis saith that fleash is lesse hurtful then bread vnto them and among all fleash Swines fleash nourisheth most and béeing light of digestion it is most agréeable vnto them Tenthly whether is bread or fleash most meetest for thē that haue an Ague Concerning fleash ther bée two poincts to bée considered in the dieting of Agues The one is light digestiō and herein fleash excelleth the other is easie conuersion into nutriment and herein bread is better then fleash for that fleash by reason of the oylines therof is soone inflamed Eleuenthly whether is it good to permit sutch as recouer out of sicknes to drinke wine immediatly after their fleash or afore In this poinct the common people is deceiued for the fleash should first bée eaten and afterward the wine drunken bicause aboue all things wine is soonest conuerted into blood and spirits augmenteth natural heat and therefore ought to bee giuen later then fleash Tweluethly whether ought one that is recouering out of sicknes to be dieted gouerned two daies like as when he was sicke verely hée ought so and that for thrée causes First for the debility of naturall power Secondly bicause of custome Thirdly bicause of some distemperature remaining yet with in the body since the sicknes This also may be a reason that it is not good to change suddenly from that whereto a man is accustomed but by litle and litle and therfore the recouerer ought for a while to reteine the same diet Thirtenthly Is grosse meat good for such as recouer out of sicknes According vnto the iudgment of Hyppocrates it is not for saith hée it is conuenient that they bée nourished two or thrée daies with the same diet which they vsed béefore For otherwise they would soone bee altered by feeding on grosse meates which were not good for them to do Fourtéenthly which of these two alterations hurteth a man most from emptines to repletiō or from repletion to emptines The sudden change from emptines to fulnes is more hurtfull then from fulnes to emptines according to the opinions of Hyppocrates and Auicen The reason is for that through the emptines which went before the strength of the body is ouerthrowen the naturall heat and spirites beeing resolued so that hee cannot beare a great quantity of meat nor a sudden change vnto fulnes Fiftenthly how chanceth it that some meates of euell iuce as Eeles fresh Beefe and sutch like do many times free many men of the Ague It fortuneth the sundry many times are deliuered by such contraries in their féeding both by the prouocation of nature who after the receiuing of sutch meates is much lightned and therby assaying to disburden her self doth often cast herself headlong sumtime to better sumtime to worse and also for the comforting of nature as taking greate strength by the receiuing of customable meats so the powers beeing strong the pacient is eased and freed by such meates but béeing weake are ouerthrowen and quite extinguished The. 7. Chap. of Bread conteining 8. quest BRead is in diuerse places made of diuers sundrie sortes of corne and therfore it may bée demaunded why bread which is made of wheat nourish more then that which is made of Barly vnto which Aristotle answereth in his problemes bicause it hath more moderate clammines which it béehooueth all good nutriment to haue whereby it may be ioyned and cleaue vnto the body also it sticketh fast togither in the moulding and is therfore the more commendable Secondly why doth stale bread seeme whiter and fairer thē new Moisture is the cause of the blacknes which is more abounding in new bread then in stale for in the new bread it yet remaineth but in the stale it is exalted away and departed togither with the heat Thirdly why is vnsalted bread heauier then salted Salt drieth by it things are preserued from putrifaction so that by salt the moisture is consumed is expelled away by exhalatiō which maketh stale bread to be lighter then new and again in new bread the moisture yet remaineth and maketh it heauy Fourthly why is not bread made of wheat hard whē it is cold wheat naturally cōteineth in it a swéet slimy humour which is as it were the soule therof will not permit it to bee hard Fiftly why doth wheaten past rise and barly past fall both in woorking and baking Barly meale when the water cummeth vnto it shrinketh down bicause it lieth houer and thin and is full of huskes And wheaten meale riseth vp bicause beefore it lay very neere togither but when once it cummeth to heat thē dooth it puffe vp and rise vp into a greater heap Sixtly Why looketh the dough which is of wheat white when it is
wrought and barly dough blacke For two causes first for that that which is in the vppermost of the wheaten bread is sooner altered by the heate of the ouen as béeinge a thing hot and is conuerted into whitenes And secondly bycause the husky part of the barly reteineth in it more moysture then doth wheat which causeth the blacknes Seuenthly Since hony is a more clammye substance then water how chanceth it that paste which is made vp with hony is more brittle in the baking Water is ioyned glewed togither by heat of the fire But hony glueth togither drieth with al and therfore is more brittle for brittlenes cōmeth of drinesse Eightly why is bread which is made of new corne worse thē that which is made of olde In new corne there yet remayneth much watrish and slimy clamminesse wherby it is lesse commendable then that which is made of old grain The. 8. chap. Of Wine conteining 13. Quest COnsequently I thinke it méete to intreat of wine concerning which ther may be many profitable questions mooued likewise resolued not with out delite as first if according vnto the assertiō of Auicen in his cātickles Rhasis in Almansor it be good once in a month to be drunken with wine Vnto this answereth Auerois in his cōmentarie vpon the Canticles of Auicen that this opinion of drunknes is but a drunken opinion erroneus For although accordinge vnto the iudgement of Galen Wine is as agréeable to the mayntenance of naturall heate as Oyle in the Lampe to preserue the burnynge light notwithstanding like as to mutch oyle rather hindreth the light and extinguish the candle so doth ouermutch Wine quench natural heat altogether Howbeit if it be delayd with water it is more conuenient but it hurteth the animal heate and the sensible organes therof both the brain and sinews Secondly why surfet they sooner that drink delaid Wine thē they which drink it pure Concerning pure Wine generally Galen saith that for sutch as naturally haue weake veynes it is better to drinke water then Wine And to come nearer to the purpose Aristotle in the third part of his Problemes giueth a thréefolde cause vnto this demaunde the first bicause that which is tempered or mingled by reason of the subtilitie thereof entreth into more narrow passages then doeth that which is not tempered secondly bycause men drinke lesse of that which is mingled as liking not so well of it as of that which is not tempered and thirdly that which is impermixt and without minglyng is hoater and digesteth the residue of the meat which is in the stomack sooner then the delayd Wyne is able to do Thyrdly Why doth Wyne which is vnmingled with water sooner cause a mans head to ake then that which is mingled The vnmingled Wine is thick and sticketh in the passages sendyng vp the vapours and fumes with heat into the head and the mingled Wine beeing thinner and also delayd bothe perceth sooner and fumeth lesse Fourthly what is the cause that mingled wine moueth a man more to vomite then the cleane wine doth The swimminge of the watrishnes of it about the stomacke procureth lothesomnesse and maketh apt to vomit Fifthly why do not children which are hoat of complexion loue wyne which aged persons and men of perfit strength beeing hoat also do greedely desire Men are hoat and drie and children hoat and moyst and the desire vnto Wine is the appetite vnto moysture which moysture abundyng in children kéepeth them from drinkyng and the drieth which is in aged men stronge persons prouoketh them to a desire of drinke Sixtly when wine is clensed from the Lees why is it stronger and not durable Macrobius in his Saturnalia the fourth booke writeth that hauing no strength nor matter to cleaue vnto it is on euery side exposed vnto dangers for the Lees is as it were the roote wherby the Wine is strengthned preserued Seuenthly why doth wine immoderatly taken ingendre both hoat and cold diseases It is to be noted that there be two qualities in Wine the first is to heaten and in this respect it rather procureth hoat then colde sicknesses the second is to stuf the brayne and to fill the sinews Thus when cold vapours arise from the Wyne they cause vnlustinesse fulnesse and vndigestion and consequently procure cold diseases Eightly Whether doth Wyne ingender most of Fleame or Blood Séeing as wée haue béefore concluded Wine bréedeth colde humours doubtlesse it breedeth also more Fleame then any other humour The reason is that when wine is quaffed in great abundance it is not perfectly digested causeth likewise the residue of the meat to fayle in concoction thereby ingendring abundance of Fleame But indéede if it bee moderatly drunken it increaseth blood aboue other humours Ninethly Doth Wine hurt the brayne Isaac saith yea And Galen also affirmeth that it hurteth the brayne and helpeth the stomack And albeit that at the first drinkyng wyne doth properly warme yet bicause it fumeth mutch it anoyeth the brayne fillyng it with vapours and stoppyng the sinews Tenthly Why doth strong Wine hurt the braine and comfort the stomacke and weake wyne worketh the contrary effect Bicause Wine heateth the stomacke whereon consisteth digestion stronge Wine is of greater effect in this case then is the weake But agayn how mutch stronger the Wine is so mutch the more it sendeth vapours vp into the head so that the strength therof bréedeth inconuenience Eleuenthly Why doth the vse of Wine ingender the sower gulpyng or belchyng in the stomacke more then water The sower belchyng neuer hapneth in the stomacke but when digestion is beegun and Wyne stirreth vp naturall heate and is as soone digested as Milke Wherfore like as when they bée out of the stomack they soone waxe sower so do they likewise in the stomack Tweluethly Whether doth wine or meate comfort naturall caliditie Isaac saith that wine doth and the reason is bicause it is very swiftly conuerted into natural heat comfortinge it mutch more then any meat doth But meate when it is conuerted into nutriment doeth more restore that which is lost and comforteth and preserueth the body longer Thirtenthly and lastly If wyne must needes be giuen vnto the sicke whether were it most expedient to giue them new wine or olde Although the common people do contrary and mutch amisse yet new wine is far more holsom for them then olde The reason is for that how mutch the newer the wine is so mutch the lesse it is inflatiue or windy and for that cause is more conuenient for them then are the old wines The 9. chap. Of Fleash conteinyng 4. quest HEnceforward now let vs sée what may bée sayd of Fleash And first it may demaunded why strong Fleash is soonest digested It is answered in the Saturn that naturall heate is strong in a man which stoutly inuadeth the matter and substance which resisteth it consuming dissoluing the same and that