inflamed by any disease that it cannot be in greater torture the best thing we can use to take away this heat and pain is to eat Arsmart Those of ancient times when they used this herb they took away the biting of it by frying it with butter or oyl and so did eat it and being so eaten it cured those diseases for which it was intended And further this Herb by its benumming faculty is a Remedy for putrifaction it takes away the pains and diseases of the Lungs Cough pains of the belly and risings of the mother being outwardly applied it cureth that extreme inflammation called St. Anthonies fire and all other inflamed Ulcers but it must be wet in Rose-water before it be laid on It cureth likewise all pains which arise of corrosive humours or those subtil Salts which are dissolved in our bodies which do cause most tormenting pains Now where these corrosive or saltish humors are as in the teeth they cause the Tooth-ach in the finger they cause the Felon c. If you lay this herb upon the diseased part using it that way as hath been shewed before then it will certainly perform the Cure when all other Narcotick remedies cannot do it An Addition more fully explaining how this herb should be used for Wounds Vlcers c. THat you may be fully instructed concerning the nature of this Herb I have thought fit to add something concerning that first way of using it which I have before declared to you by the example of the Load-stone I told you before that this herb must be drawn through cold running water and the fresh herb being cold and wet must be laid upon the Ulcer Wound c. and then presently it must be taken off again and buryed Now the thing which I add here is this If the disease or other griefs accompanying the disease be so violent and strong that they will not easily yeeld to the Remedie then do thus Lay to the sore every morning a fresh herb after it hath been drawne through running water then take it and bury it and thus you must do three mornings and oftner if need be if you see the disease very hard to cure then you may do so twelve or fourteen mornings yea every morning till the cure be perfected If a man in his journey be hindred because his horse hath received some hurt or is extremely galled then lay this herb to the sore and do as I have now shewed you if he be not well after the first second fourth c. dressing yet you must continue this course till he be well Troublesome or violent diseases must have powerfull remedies and must be diligently look'd to And seeing in some diseases the aforesaid way of using this herb doth little good at first as one Purge or if the quantity of the purge be too little it doth little good in some diseases therefore I have thought good here to shew you how the first way of using this herb may be made so effectuall that there is not any sore whatsoever but it may be throughly cured by it Again you must remember to keep Wounds and Ulcers clean if you do it not you wil much hinder the Cure And likewise remember That it is good for the diseased person who uâ—seth this kind of Cure to be in motion and exercise so it be moderate for how much more he useth the part diseased so much sooner and better he shall be cured by the vertue of this Magnetick herb Again observe That other Medicaments may be joyned with this Herb such as are sutable to it and are by nature ordained to such Cures which being joyned with it may further the magnetick vertue of it Again there is one great secret in this herb which I will not hide from you viz. That the Cure which is performed by this Herb is a certain and lasting Cure You need not fear that an Ulcer c. cured by this Herb will break out again and it is such a Cure as Nature requires This magnetick Herb doth not close up that which Nature would have open nor will it leave that open which Nature would have closed As for example Where there is a passage for the effluxion of humours especially if there be a great deal of humour which purgeth out so as if such a passage should be stopd death would follow now this herb will not stop such a passage which should not be stop'd it only cures that which Nature would have cured it will not do any thing contrary or hurtfull to Nature Whereby it appears that this way of cure done by this herb is most natural If you would know how to use this herb for the Tooth-ach take some Arsmart and some of the bark of Henbane boil them together in Rose-vinegar when they are boiled enough take them out and bury them in the ground but the liquor you must take and wash your mouth with you must take it as hot as possibly you can and hold it in your mouth till it be cooled then put it out of your mouth and take some more of this liquor as hot as you did before and hold it in your mouth till it be cooled and thus if you do many times together you have a certain cure for the tooth-ach or you may take the herb it self not boyled and rub it upon the tooth and bury it and when it is putrified the pain of the tooth will cease The Correction of this Herb for those inward Diseases which I mentioned before is thus Let the Arsmart be boiled in the water of Night-shade or in the water of great Sengreen the decoction is to be drunk and the herb it self must be buried as hath been said before And you may do so likewise with it for outward diseases adding a little Camphire to it Besides all that we have yet spoken concerning Arsmart there is yet remaining a great and excellent secret But I conceive it better to be silent then to speak any more now concerning this noble Jewel TREATISE III. Of the Vertues and Preparations of CORALS CHAP. I. What kind of Coral is best The Vertue of it against Spirits Melancholy vain Phansies c. REd Corals are of two kinds one kinde of them is of a dark red colour or toward a purple colour another kind of them is of a bright shining red colour And as they differ in colours so they differ in properties There is another kind of a pale colour which hath very little vertue in it It is to be observed concerning the red Coral that how far short it is of a bright reddish it wants so much of its goodnesse and efficacy Experience teaches us that those Corals which are of a clear bright shining red colour full of boughs and no where broken are full of power and vertue But those Corals which have clefts or want any part which they should have are of lesse vertue As a tree which wants some of its boughs brings
necessary that we consider first what life is secondly which is the chief seat of life thirdly by what things life is shortned or lengthened Lâ—fe is not a body but a thing spiritual like hearing seeing smelling c. Now that which is a body we may easily finde it out by the course of Nature whence it is but we cannot finde out by the course of Nature what sight is or what is the cause of sight or how it is effected so neither can we finde out what life is or how it is produced for life comes not of natural seed according to the ordinary course of nature as the most part of natural things do but it comes from a natural beginning in a Spiritual and extraordinary maner As for example we strike fire with a steel and a flint and yet there is no fire either in the steel or flint neither are they of a fiery nature either by their predominant Element or their complexion they are bodies which will not yield to fire they are not easily consumed by fire they seem to râ—sist fire and yet we can bring fire from them After the same maner life comes from these things in which there is no life viz. seed root c. even as the fiery sparks comes from the flint in which there is no fire Now let us consider whether or not the life can be lengthned amended or strengthned seeing it is incorporal It is like fire which having more wood burns more vehemently So life the more it hath of the humor of life so much the more the Spirit of life abounds But that fire should come from that in which there is no fire the reason of this we cannot know Many do think that the hardness of the flint and steel is the cause of these fiery sparks which comes from them and so they rest satisfied But by this answer they do not yet satisfie our question viz. How any thing can come from that in which it never was The life as I said before is like a flame which feeding upon Wood or Oyl and fat substances c. as it were living in them visibly represents life to us and as a flame decaying is renewed again by adding more wood c. yea when the flame is gone and there is onely live coals yet by larger additions of suitable matter the flame shall become greater then it was before So the life is stronger or weaker according to the goodness or badness of that whereby the life is continued so that according to nature we may refresh and cherish life by supplying it with those things which are agreeable and delightsom to it whereby it is made stronger and of longer continuance We ought not then to think the time of mans life is so determined that every man must needs die such a day and such an hour nor is it suitable to Christianity to think this that the life cannot be prolonged by these Medicines which God hath created to this purpose God hath created these Medicines for our use and he hath granted us a liberty to use them the defect is onely in us that we do not know those Medicines Mans reason is very weak it fails in most things we are much short in discerning of things good or hurtful to us how few men know the largeness of that power which God hath granted to man Adam knew all those things perfectly he was the wisest of Mortal men and he had continued immortal if he had not been deprived of the Tree of Life the which Tree of Life hath its place in Medicine as well as in Divinity for howbeit it was the Tree of Life yet it was a natural Tree CHAP. IV. How the Life is prolonged by vertue of the place where we live by the four Elements by the Stars and by the vertues of Herbs THe third thing I promised to speak of is this viz. To shew you those things by which life in lengthned or shortned And first The Place where we live makes much for the prolonging or shortning of our life There is great difference in Countreys Climates Cities Mountains Valleys c. Some are far more agreeable to long life then others in some places there is better Air they yield more delight the vapors which rise out of the ground more wholesom c. then in other places Secondly the Elements viz. Earth Air Water and Fire work great changes in life sometimes to the better sometimes to the worse Out of the Earth groweth every thing which nourisheth our Bodies and that also which destroyeth our Bodies We have from the earth not onely that which is hurtful to us as poyson c. but we have also that which can cure us and keep us from the harm of such things as Gold Balm c. Do not think that we have Medicines created onely to cure diseases for if so then Medicines could have no operation in Bodies which are sound and whole but experience proves this to be false You must know this that the Earth brings forth not onely such things which can destroy us or take away our health but also gives us Medicines which not onely can cure our diseases but also can preserve our life and health Meat and drink if rightly used they are the means to preserve our life but if abused they destroy life as it appears oft-times by the effects of Drunkenness and gluttony for whatsoever we have from any of the Elements may be good or hurtful to us accordingly as it is used Again observe That what damage we receive by one Element it is recompenced by another Element Water doth resist fire and by this resistance it preserveth things that they are not destroyed by the consuming heat of fire and if there be any damage by fire or water the Air will make amends the Air will not forsake us nor leave life if we do not first forsake it Sometimes the Air is infected and by its infection may kill us but we may easily know when it is infected and so we may preserve our selves from it if we leave it and go where there is a better Air. Here observe this difference in Air and the rest of the Elements there is a general Air and a particular Air a general water c. Now of particular Airs one may be good and another bad also one piece of earth is better then another and some water better then other water so also fire some is useful and some is hurtful as Lightning c. Thirdly the Stars have a great and powerful influence upon the life and health of Man they can make sick they can restore health they can preserve health they can bring death or prolong life There is no kinde of thing in the world but there are some good and some evil of that kinde Then here lyeth the main business how to get the good and eschew the evil we cannot have always that which we would as if we would appropriate the
we commonly see that after it hath rained the wayes may be dryed â—gain but thereafter it mâ—◠〈◊〉 rain again as to fill 〈◊〉 â—ennels and Rivers Thu◠〈◊〉 in the Gout therefore we must add to this Root of Hellebore some Correctives for the preventing of new defluxions and in this respect this addition is very necessary Unskilful Physicians do not consider this who use such correctives as do weaken the purging faculty of this herb they add to it Terra Sigillata and other things which are contrary to the nature of this Herb and take away the strength of it wheras it should not lose any of its natural Vertues but rather have them heightened But the true Correction of it which best agreeth with Physick Rules is thus After the humour is purged out you must do that which may prevent the collection of the humour again And that is done by two Roots Avens or herb Bennet and the Acorus of the shops as I have more fully shewed elsewhere in their particular Treatises It oft-times falls out that a great many other griefs do accompanie the Gout which were not known to the Ancients for daily they increase and grow more viâ—lent and therefore in these our times there must bâ—â—â—culiar Treatises concerning the Gout in wâ—â—â—h we must set down remedies for the several 〈…〉 which do accompany it What I speak of the Gout here is only how to take away the Cause or the root of it by the Hellebore which is the most considerable part of the cure Therfore the purging power of this Root is not to be lessened but rather augmented Then the best way of preparing it is as I have shewed before by the spirit of Wine But use it what way you will it is a profitable purge The patient must be often purged by the aforesaid root betwixt fits for in so doing those defluxions which are the cause of the Gout are purged out of the whole bodie so that in the time of the fit the patient shall have but little pain The ancient Philosophers by purging often cured every kind of Gout even an old setled Gout But the Humourists when they had thrust themselves into the number of Physicians they presumed to do more in an hour then nature can do in a year if they may be believed and so this Medicine was cast aside and forgot CHAP. IV. The Cure of the Palsie and Hydropsie and other Diseases with black Hellebore THis Root of black Hellebore cures likewise the Palsie and Hydropsie but not fully it only purges out the causes or root of those diseases there must be some addition proper to these diseases used with the Hellebore as hath been said before of the Falliâ—â— sicknesse and of the Gout And the Hellebore with those Additions becomes a perfect Cure of those Diseases There must be a great quantity of this purge given at a time to those who have the Palsie so much as the strength of the Patient can bear for this disease is not easily driven out we must deal with it violently The Addition to be used besides the Hellebore for this disease is set down in a peculiar Treatise concerning the Palsie They who are troubled with the Hydropsie must be purged slowly and gently taking once every week so much of this Root as a skilful Physician shall prescribe and so the humour shall be by degrees purged away first that which is upward which is gathered about the brest stomack lungs liver melt afterwards the humour which lyeth in the groins and hips is purged out then the swelling of the feet and legs doth evanish and lastly the swelling of the belly falls low The humour is purged away in some Patients by Vomit in some by Stool in others by Sweat in others by Urine When the Patient is sufficiently purged by the Hellebore then follows the Addition which takes away the relicks of the disease and makes up the full cure The Addition is the Tincture of Steel The Hellebore purgeth out the humour already gathered the Tincture of Steel hinders any such collection of humours to be afterwards Now to conclude this Treatise of Hellebore which is a purge so excellent that there is no other like it for it purgeth out whatsoever is in our bodies hurtful to us There is nothing better then this Root to bring down womens monthly Courses it purgeth the Mother and driveth out untimely Births false Conceptions Worms and every unnatural thing bred within the Womb. Every purgative doth not bring down womens monthly Courses and expell Worms and untimely Births c. But this is above all others a singular secret of nature and if it be rightly used it is so agreeable to the bodies of men and women that whatsoever it meets with contrary and hurtfull to us it will root it out That Doctor who knows the right use of this Herb and Root alone without addition shall by this one herb have more infallible knowledg and skill in curing diseases then all the Empericks or Doctors whosoever as experience makes it appear abundantly Those who knew the right use of this Herb and Root in ancient times lived to a great age very healthfully but when the Humorists began to be respected who contemn the secrets of Nature and judg of every thing according to their own ill-grounded theory being without the true knowledg of the properties of Nature they found out their new way of Purgations Clysters and Syrups c. whereby they rashly thought to do as much in one day as this Herb can do in twenty or thirty years and so they brought this Herb to be contemned and forgotten bringing their own Purgations and Clysters in the place of of it I remember in my time I have known many who have been much troubled with Itch Catarrhs c. who using this Root after the way of the Ancients were perfectly restored to health their nature being thereby throughly renewed I have known such diseases thus cured which the Humorists could never cure neither know they how to cure them they can talk much but cannot perform any thing They took every morning half a drachm till they were three score years of age afterwards once in two daies half an ounce till they were seventy years of age then afterwards every sixth day to the end of their lives one drachm Titulary Doctors need not admire that Nature can do more then Art can do He hath little Art who knows not what Nature can do There is more to be found in this one herb then is to be found in all the writings of University Doctors for the prolonging of life And I do delight in this Medicine of the Ancients more then in any other Herb or Vegetable whatsoever for the preservation of long life TREATISE II. Of the strange Vertues of Arsmart CHAP. I. How the Arsmart should be used for any Wound or Ulcer ARsmart cureth all Sores both in man and in beasts also Wounds which being badly cured are
the very moment of her imagination You must also know the cause of her imagination why she touched any part of her body at that time but because it is seldom that the mother can fully enform you of every particular therfore you must have recourse to Astronomy and by it you may have a ful information according to which you must proceed If the mark be in the likenes of a worm then you must take a worm such a one with which the mark agreeth best according to the information and if that worm was alive when the mother saw it then you must lay the worm alive upon the mark and so keep it at the mark till it dieth and no longer But if it was dead before she saw it then you must lay a dead worm upon the mark which you must keep at the mark till it be putrified You must also observe the time when the mothers Imagination was moved by the sight of this worme and in the same time you must binde the worme upon the mark if it was in the Summer c. then you must binde the worme upon the mark in the Summer time If the Mothers Imagination was moved by a strong desire after any thing then her child which hath such a marke must be satiated and filled with the thing desired but if the mothers Imagination was from feare of a worm then the party who hath the mark must be put in fear when the worm is laid to the marke So the marke shall be rooted out howbeit it is not yet quite brought out of the skinne But to doe this you must take Aqua fortis and wash the skin with it and so in the space of eight or fourteene dayes the old skin shall fall off and a new fair skin shall come in its place after the same manner All marks not only of beasts or Vermine but also of fruits or of any thing else in our bodies may be taken away and cured by these things which caused those marks being used in that manner as hath been now said of worms This is a most secret cure which never any revealed before me and I am not ashamed to reveal it for I am the first who by experience have found the truth of it TREATISE VIII Concerning Common Salt and Brimstone their Medicinal Vertues and Preparations CHAP. I. GOD hath created every thing needful for the use of man and it is easily gotten that which is less useful is not so plentiful so God hath appointed Now Medicine is a thing very useful to man which he needs not fetch from beyond seas seeing he may have it at hand Nor yet they who live beyond sea need these medicines which grow here and so I may say of Salt that as it is of great use to man so there is great quantity of it sufficient to all mens uses There be two uses of Salt of which we will here especially take notice viz. it seasoneth meates and cureth diseases That meate which a man eates without Salt is never well and perfectly digested for it is the nature of Salt to correct every thing in the digestion of it it is the true Corrector of all meates usual to be eaten And whatsoever meat is not seasoned by Salt is unwholesome Let your meate bee moderately Salted not too much nor too little this will helpe digestion but when meate is not Salted or slightly Salted it turns to a thin waterish or slimy blood and the flesh which is bred of such meate is subject to corruption and to all diseases those who cannot endure any saltishness in any thing but whatsoever they eat is very fresh most commonly they are weaker then others their complexion is worse and they are easily infected with any disease Our Nature would have nothing but what is corrected and seasoned by Salt and boyled or otherwise prepared by the fire unless we give way to appetire to eat somethings raw and unprepared as onions Rhadishes c. Salt is the earthly balsome of man and of all things else And where no Salt is there is the beginning of putrefaction It is Salt only which preserveth both dead things and living from putrefaction In things living their Salt which is in them preserveth them there is Salt in the blood of every living creature which preserveth them that they doe not putrifie while they are alive There is a Salt not only in living creatures but also in herbs mettals stones and all Vegetables there is not any thing but it hath in it a Salt proper to it as appeares by those several kinds of Salts which are extracted out of several things As Balsome preserveth from putrefaction so doth Salt in this it is like balsome nay it is of a higher Nature and more subtle then balsome Whatsoever wants Salt it cannot continue bu it decayeth and putrifieth man beast and every thing else must have this preserving power of Salt in it we see by experience many things as flesh and fish c. preserved by Salt yea there is not any thing but it may be preserved by Salt which is to be done not by a sprinkling only or mixing of the Salt with the thing to be preserved but the Salt must be prepared and if the Salt be made a breeding or engendring Salt it will preserve any thing a very long time if wood or clay be laid in it they will become hard like stones Whatsoever is sprinkled with this breeding Salt it doth not decay or alter but in time it grows to be of a stony nature This breeding Salt howbeit it drieth and at last decayeth and perisheth yet it so congealeth and becomes so firm and hard that it can endure in the air water or earth alike Moreover Salt is wonderfully good for the preservation of health it is of great worth to us not only in seasoning of meat but it is also a singular remedy for wounds for if wounds be washed with water in which this salt is dissolved they shall thereby be preserved a whole year from corruption so that if a wound in the Summer time especially in the beginning of the dog-dayes incline to corruption the way to hinder it is by this washing this will likewise hinder the breeding of worms in wounds and if there be any worms in the wounds it will bring them out This is a great secret in Chirurgery and let not Surgeons c be ashamed to use such a water They do indeed use other remedies whereby corruption and worms are bred in wounds which they can no way afterwards help and thus by their remedies they oft-times undoe their patients But let the true and faithful Physician use this washing in the cure of wounds for wounds being kept clean by this nature it self will do the rest of the cure This washing cureth wounds after the same manner as a dog by licking cureth his soars or cuts Where Salt is made there is a kind of liquor like oyl so thick that an
of Camphire two drams of the juice of Poppy and the juice of Henbane of each one ounce mix them and lay them to the Ulcer to take away the heat of it Then take of the Apostolorum Plaister and the Diaquilon Plaister of each half an ounce of Mummy three ounces of Cerusse or white Lead two drams of Camphire one dram Mix them over the fire and make them into a Plaister which must be applyed to the soar until the Cure be done LIII For Corns in Feet or Hands Caution You must not cut Corns so deep as to cut the quick flesh and you must not use Corrosive Waters to them for in so doing you may cause a dangerous Ulcer to follow Cure Take the Oyl of Juniper Berries and Agarick of each one dram of Ox Gall two drams mix them and lay them to the Corn until the Corn groweth dry and black and begins to moulder away then apply to it the Plaister Oppodeltoch some four or five weeks until the cure be done Another Take Realgare one scruple of the Oyl of the yolks of Eggs half a dram of slacked Lime half a dram mix them and lay them to the Corn and they will make the Corn black and consume it The Oppodeltoch Plaister Take of Colophony two ounces the powder of Celendine and the powder of Orange skins of each half an ounce of the best Turpentine so much as to make them into a plaister LIV. When in any part of the body there is a hard immovable tumor or Excrescency of flesh growing to the Muscles which groweth still bigger and at last makes the member crooked where it is it also weakens the guts causing great windiness in them Caution You must not use the Chyrurgions Instruments to this nor any such Medicines which are used for Aposthumes Cure You must do no more to such tumors or Excrescencies but to hinder their increasing which is done by this Oyntment Take of the Oyl of Myrtles two ounces of the oyl of Nutmeg half an ounce of the marrow of an Ox two drams of Petroleum two ounces and a half Mix them Herewith you shall annoint those places where the Spermatick vessels lie most outwardly the back and thighs once a moneth LV. When there are spots in the skin of the face or elsewhere of a yellow or clay colour c. If they stay constantly in the place or if sometimes they evanish and return again Cure Take of Turnsole and Germander of each three ounces of the best Manna half an ounce of Parmacity and Bay-berries of each ten drams the water of Baulm the water of Vervain the water of Valerian of each five ounces Put your Herbs into the Waters and let them lie in the waters two or three days and when the spots begin to come out upon the skin take three or four ounces of those Waters at a time Observe That Turnsole is a singular good Herb it wonderfully reneweth the blood and flesh A Treatise concerning long Life CHAP. I. All Medicines divided into three sorts according to the threefold Age of Man shewing that each Age must have its own Medicines proper for it SEeing there are Medicines which can preserve the Body of Man for many Ages from Diseases Corruptions and Superfluities or if there be any infirmity or corruption in the Body they can cure it It ought to be the care of every Physician to know them and to know them throughly for there are very many tedious Diseases and many Maladies incident to the Body of Man which are rooted out by these Medicines which prolong life In this discourse of long Life I will first give you the Theory of it and then the practice that you may fully know all that concerns long Life I would not have any to doubt of this that life may be prolonged for these two Reasons 1. Because it doth not appear that there is any certain day or hour of any mans death 2 Because we have Medicine prepared for us by him who hath created us both to preserve us from Diseases and to drive out Diseases Hence we may conclude that neither Diseases bring Death neither is Death the cause of Diseases nay Death and Diseases agree no better then fire and water A natural Disease hates Death as every part of the living Body hates Death I intend in this discourse to speak to those of my own way who by great skill and daily experience have searched into and do know the propertieâ— and natures of things which are hid and unknown to presumptuous and titular Doctors And I do affirm this as a most certain truth That the Body may be restored changed to the better yea wholly renewed As it is to be plainly seen in Metals which may be so purified that they shall be afterwards free from any rust so likewise dead Bodâ—es if they be embalmed do not putrifie afterwards Some perhaps may dislike my Writings because they are short and because of those Examples which I use but my Writings are not therefore to be slighted seeing I use onely the examples of such things which are or may be done by Nature as in this comparison of Mettals with the Body of Man I know that there is great difference betwixt these two yet they are both preserved one way as experience teacheth If a dead Body can be preserved by Balsom from putrefaction or decay how much more may a living Body be so preserved Now there are three parts of Mans Age viz. yong Age middle Age and old Age and each of these must have such Medicines for prolonging life as are proper and suitable to them therefore there must be also three kindes of Medicines for the conservation of Life according to these three Ages We may likewise say that there are three parts in long life according to those three parts of mans Age for many might die in their Infancy many in their middle age c. if their life were not prolonged by the help of Medicines We cannot have any certainty that an Infant or a strong yong man shall outlive a weak old man No part of mans age hath any certain time of death appointed to it the Infant in the Mothers Womb may have many things befal it which may be the cause of great weakness in the childe or incline the childe to diseases and that Infant which is very weak when it is born the strength of Nature is abated and lessened in it as it is in old age And therefore those Medicines which are the helps of long life must be given to this Infant anointing the Nurses breast therewith which the childe doth suck c. as you shall hear more at large afterwards in the practice of long life For by these Medicines of long life the strength of Nature is increased and life prolonged after the same maner in an Infant as it is in old age Or if a yong man runs into so great excess of Drinking or Venery c. that thereby
influence of Jupiter to our selves or if we would turn away from us the influence of Mars or if we would draw to our selves the influences of such other Stars which are good Now this we cannot do as we can choose one herb and leave another I say we cannot do thus with the stars to keep off the influence of one and choose the influence of another as we please But thus much we may do if we observe the Sar before it put out its influence what is the most likely way of that influence viz. to what work business c. it enclines most and if it enclines to a business c. of that nature as ours is then we may by certain helps as those Images Rings c. which are made for the Planets draw the influence of that Star to work with us and assist us but these things I declare more fully elsewhere Fourthly many Herbs have somewhat lurking in them which can keep the life of man vigorous and flourishing for many ages for Herbs have an incorruptible essence the which when the Body of the Herb perisheth it entreth into some other Herb of the same kâ—nde or it remains incorruptible in the earth If we receive the essence of an Herb into our Bodies it stayeth with us till our Bodies perish and be putrified and then it enters into the earth So likewâ—se â—he essence and properties of Mans body leaves the body when it putrifieth Here we must remember the difference which is betwixt the property of the Herb and the essence of the Herb as for example the property of Hellebore makes Hellebore to be such an Herb differing from all other Herbs to have such and such vertues as Laxative c. So that the property of Hellebore can be in no other thing then Hellebore and when we receive the Hellebore or essâ—nce of the Hellebore into our body yet we do not receive the property of Hellebore The essence of Hellebore is the purest material substance of it containing the life all the vertues of the Hellibore in the highest degree Now when we take this essence inwardly it mixeth it self inseparably with that humor which is the chief seat of our life and preserveth this humor from destructive alterations and so long as this essence lasteth in us it doth us good it is of it self durable yet by the infection of our corruptible humors wherewith it is mixed it grows weaker and wasteth in time as Talce which cannot be consumed by fire yet it may be consumed otherwise in length of time I will here adde one thing further concerning the vertue of the place where we live viz. That there are some places which do so agree with the humor of life and do so preserve it that those who live there enjoy a wonderful long life and there are some other places which makes them immortal who live there The World may be divided into two parts the one part is the place of Mortality where we Mortals live in hope of Immortality by Grace the other part of the World is Paradise where death cannot be for whatsoever is there it is incorruptible naturally and not by a Miracle As our Phylosophick gold preserveth from Leprosie c. so it is the nature of Paradise to preserve from death that whatsoever hath its first being there it is thorowly undecayable in all its substance But we who live in this place of Mortality we have an incorruptible essence and we have a corruptible Body which can both be preserved without decaying in Paradise I will not write much of this because I have but little experience of it for the essence of Earth is the center of our experience and Paradise is far beyond our Travels so that what I speak of it I speak spiritually as in a dream rather then waking signifying to you that life is there perpetual continuing to the end of the world or if longer that is unknown to us But that you may more fully know how health and long life may be preserved you must consider the causes of health and the causes of diseases now health and all diseases are either from the minde or from the body The minde is the cause of such diseases which come by Witchcraft or our own imagination or the imagination of another or the influence of the Stars For when Imagination or Inchantment take hold of the minde and make an impression upon it so as the minde is disturbed and thoughts multiply and grow so strong that they overcome reason then at last by the power of that Imagination or Inchantment Reason is quite overthrown and so the evil operation of the Inchantment or Imagination prevails and thereby diseases are bred Thus also the influence of the Stars may overcome the minde and command it howbeit it be not bred in the minde nor depend of the minde as the former viz. Inchantment and Imagination yet it may powerfully encline the minde to good and bad operations as the Sun which pierceth through the glass and changeth that which is in the glass according to its own nature The other cause of health and diseases is the Body viz. The humors or complexions of the Body or some predominant quality or some principal member of the Body the Complexions are from the Body and are seated in those humors whereby the Body is sustained I will not here describe those diseases I conceive it not necessary neither will I here stay to discover to you the nature and causes of the minde and body or to tell you what choler is or what blood is or what Phlegm is or what Melancholy is but I will onely give you a hint of those things in general CHAP. V. The Life prolonging Medicine described how it should be used to what use it is chiefly intended and to whom it is most effectual I Now come to the Practice and first I will speak of natural remedies which are for those diseases whereof the Body is the cause and afterwards I will shew you how these diseases which come from the minde are to be cured which are not to be cured by natural remedies but they must be cured in such a way as is proper to them First then to preserve us from bodily diseases we must have respect chiefly to the humor of life which upholds the body governs the complexions of the body c. if it be kept in good case the Body is thereby preserved We need not be careful how we may renew the Complexions and Qualities of the Body or how to purge out hurtful or superfluous humors or how to cure the diseases of the Liver or Milt c. for these preservative Medicines which we use for long Life can do all this yea whatsoever defect or disease is in the Body they can throughly cure it and this they do not by that great vertue they have which is proper to the preservation of the humor of life and prolonging of life
that the Stars have a prevailing power upon the minde of Man and their operations are so strong that they overturn the minde oppress it c. We cannot hinder the motions of the Stars nor can we hinder them to put forth their Influence yet we may preserve our selves from that influence As those who are in a Town besieged howbeit they cannot hinder the Enemy to fire his Guns upon them yet they may preserve themselves from the harm of the shot by keeping themselves within the Walls So we may keep off the evil influences of the Stars by those preservatives which may be prepared for that purpose Now you must remember that there are two kindes of Influences there is one kinde of influence which is good and necessary to us that as the body is sustained by nourishment even so we are sustained strengthned and preserved by this good influence there is another kinde of influence which is hurtful to us this hinders the former good influence that it cannot have any operation upon us to do us good and against those hurtful influences we must provide defensives to preserve us from their harm Those defensives are the Rings and Images of the Planets which are made according to the influence i. e. they are made in the time of a good influence I do not deny but that the Rings of the Planets as I have shewed elsewhere treating of Imagination have a power to preserve us and are helpful to the prolonging of life yet I do not approve of them for many reasons which I will not mention now The best way how we may preserve our selves from the evil influences of the Stars I conceive it is this To turn off the influence from our selves to another thing which will easily yield to the Influence as for example If some evil Star as Mars c. be enclined to ruine me and this inclination hath made some Impression upon my minde and begins to infect it whereby I may fall into some disease of the minde then I must make an Image like a man upon which the evil influence may have its operation and so I my self may be saved from the harm of that influence For a Star being enclined to ruine me and finding some agreement betwixt me and this Image and that it hath a readier way to fall upon this Image and hath less resistance in this Image then it should have in me therefore it leaves me who am more difficult to work upon and chooseth the Image which is more easie where it fulfils its operation with delight There may be many other reasons given why the influence removes thus from the person against whom it was intended to the Image but I will not now express them for they are not pertinent to the purpose in hand The second thing of which I am to speak is to shew you how we may be preserved from the harm of Witch-craft that our life be not shortned by it I have in many other of my writings shewed remedies for Witch-craft but you shall use the same way here for Witch-craft and Inchantment as you have been taught before for the evil influences of the Stars for Witch-craft or Inchantment hath the same way of working upon our minde or Body as the evil influence of the Stars But here we must use another kinde of Object upon which the operatâ—on of Witch-craft must be turned then that which is used for the influences of the Stars Thus I do I make an Image of Wax like a Man which I set in its own place and whatsoever evil is intended against me by Witch-craft it shall be removed from me to that Image and there it will be accomplished for the Inchantment proceeding from the minde of the Witch against me my minde keeps it strongly off and turns it upon the Image whereby there can be no harm done on either side The third thing is how we may save our selves from the harm of the Imaginations of others I may be killed by an others Imagination if it be accomplished in me if it be not turned some other way from me I will explain this to you by an example Suppose I have an enemy who hath an extream hatred against me so that he exceedingly desires my death daily he is no Witch but onely a violent enemy and this I do not know that he hath any such malice against me Now what must I do that this imagination wrong me not Certainly the best course that I can take for this is thus to settle my minde and to keep it in quiet free from all passions or disturbance as much as possibly I can not desiring any revenge or to do any wrong to any and by this good temper of my minde the others malicious imagination against me shall be thus overcome that it cannot do any harm to me Fourthly whereas our own thoughts do oft-times wrong us as when I think my judgement too weak for such a thing c. by this thought my reason is quite overcome and I lose my reason with it as I have shewed more largely elsewhere Now the best help for such thoughts is this Not to put more upon our reason then it can easily perform and so we shall not be troubled with such thoughts Another way to help these thoughts is thus If we conceive any thing to be much without the reach of our Judgement c. for this we may use the same Image which we use for the influences of the Stars and the Image standing in our stead and is as it were the same with us then those thoughts which would have wronged us will vanish and they will pass from us to the Image for the Image cannot make any resistance against these thoughts and there they may be fulfilled without any harm Fifthly By the thoughts and imaginations many Superstitions are made effectual which differ much from Inchantment or imagination As for example When I hear a Raven upon the top of my house then I have a Superstitious thought that this must be a sign of death in my house now this Superstitious thought growing strong may either cause sickness or the death of one who is sick in my house the truth of this appears oft-times by experience and I have given the reasons of this in my Treatise of Superstitions The way to prevent the harm of such Superstitions is thus I must perswade my judgement that such superstitious thoughts are vain and foolish and what I esteem to be a certain sign of such or such a thing to come to pass that this is my error I must endeavor to convince my Judgement of it and I must be always careful to exalt my Reason above groundless conceits and not to entertain thoughts upon the report or phansies of others nor to conform my thoughts to vulgar opinions as when I hear the croaking of a Raven upon my house I must think no otherwise of this but that it is onely the natural act of the Raven which signifieth no more to me upon my house then in any other place and thus this superstitious thought is overcome and made ineffectual A strong conceit of the truth and certainty of superstitious thoughts is the cause which oft-times makes them have their effect but if I examine these thoughts by reason and so come to see their groundlesness vanity and folly this will quite destroy them and prevent that evil which they might effect This I conceive is enough for those cures of the diseases of the minde If any do not understand these things which I have written here concerning long Life it is because they can neither perceive what I say nor what Nature doth I do not intend to make those things plainer to them for what I have written here I have written it onely for those who are grounded in the knowledge of such things and it is my desire that they may fully understand me If you would know what Dyet is best for long life observe these rules following 1. Let your meats and drinks be prepared with the preservative Medicine and this will drive out all superfluous humors which lurk in the Body 2. If you have any inward diseases then you must speedily use fit Medicines as Quintessences c. to ripen them Concerning the causes of diseases and their proper remedies I will not write any thing here for that I have done in many other of my Physical Treatises 3. The best Dyet for long life is a moderate dyet which I need not describe here seeing it is so well known to every Physician 4. Let your meats and drinks be rightly prepared that is They must be purged from all superfluities impurities and whatsoever is hurtful in them and this is to be done the same way which is used in the separation of the Elements as I have described in my Book concerning Restauration and Renovation Such purified meats and drinks with a moderate dyet are wonderfully helpful to the prolonging of life they nourish well and they never cause any disease in the Body this cannot be said of other meats and drinks To conclude Observe That those purified meats and drinks yield better nourishment to our Bodies then any other they do encrease flesh and good blood very much this is their use and the use of their preservative Medicine is to preserve the spirit of Life and the humor of life FINIS