praesertim qui tamet si medicinae artis sunt ignari cogitationem tamen habent exercitatam ne veluti vulgus ita ipsi quoque pecorum ritu victus ratione utantur quin potius usum explorent quinam ipsis cibus potusve sit noxius quae praetorea quantaque dimotio Pari modo de Venere observent num noxia sibi innoxiave sit tum ex quanto intervallo utentibus noxia innoxiave sit Nam sicut retuli non nulli immodice laeduntur alij citra noxam usui ejus ad senium usque suâ—ficiunt Verum haec ambo genera rara nempe eorum qui magnopere laeduntur qui nullum sentiunt incommodum Totum vero quod in medio est id cum majoris minorisque discrimine ad magnum hominum numerum se extendit quorum qui non rudes sunt sed ratione probe exercitata non enim quorum libet est haec noscere iis suadeo observent ex quibus laedi se iuvarique sentiant ita enim fiet vt in paucissimis medicorum opera indigeant quoad in sanitate sunt Hereunto I will adde that Physicke which I my selfe was wonâ— to use for preservation of my health Every yeare in the spring when the signe was in Pisces I tooke two mornings together Aloes Hepatike shaven with a knife into halfe a pinte of white wine or Beere or Ale with a little Cinamon grated fasting two houres after it and the third morning I tooke seven leaves of Assarabaccâ— a little punned and steeped all night in like quantity of white wine with a little Cinamon then strained and warmed A SHORT TREATISE OF the Plague and other like contagious diseases how they may bee avoyded CHAP. 243. AS I have declared according to my knowledge the whole order of dyeâ— contained in those five things which chiefely concerne mans life that is to say Labour Meate Drinke Sleepe and Venus so now also for the benefit of students whose health I tender most of all I shall briefely and plainely set forth by what wayes and meanes they may avoyd such diseases as bee contagious namely the pestilence which was twice in Oxford in my time within twelve yeares being brought from London both times once by clothes and another time by lodging of a stranger and after dispersed throughout the citty by receiving of bedding and other clothes from the places infected This disease of all other is common to all men of all complections as Aristotle teacheth because the ayre compasseth all men about and is drawne into all mens bodies alike which if it be corrupt must needs infect them also that receive it though sooner or later more or lesse according to the disposition or state of the body for as Galen writeth Magnam in generatione aegritudinum partem habet ejus qui passurus est habilitas corporis And againe Nulla causa sine patientis aptitudine agere potest The pestilence is defined of Marsilâ—us Ficinus Venenosus quidam vapor in aâ—re concretus vitali inimicâ—s spiritui Not that the ayre is venomous of it selfe but through corruption hath now gotten such a quality or property that being drawne into mans body it inflameth the humours especially where they bee superfluous and bringeth them to a venomous temperature And this is called febris Pestilentialis as Fuchsius defineth Quod a venenata qualitate adeo a Pestilentialis ac venenati aeris inspiratione oriatur Now the reason why the ayre is more corrupt at one time than at another or in one place rather than in another is diversly assigned by the Astronomers and Physicians and is imputed both to celestiall causes and terrestriall which be specially foure videlicet The influence of sundry starres great standing waters never refreshed Carraine lying long above ground much people in small roome living uncleanely and sluttishly But leaving those particular causes to such as write of this matter at large I make one principall or generall cause that is the wrath of God for sinne for so God threatneth That hee will send sicknesse and diseases unto those that will not heare his word and disobey his commandements Which came to passe evidently in the time of King David when 70 thousand perished with the Pestilence in one day Wherefore if Plague and sickenesse be Gods punishment as they bee indeed then first of all wee ought to have recourse unto God by prayer as Iesus Syrach counsaileth us My sonne faile not in thy sickenesse but pray unto the Lord and hee will make thee whole And next wee ought to use those meanes for recovery of health which God hath ordeined For as it is said in the same Chapter The Lord hath created Medicines of the earth and hee that is wise will not abhorre them Now the chiefe remedy for the Plague to preserve from infection is to avoid the infected aire For as much as the Plague doth come of corruption of the ayre as I have shewed before and if you may not or will not avoid it for some of necessity must still remaine in the place where the Plague is then the remedy standeth in correcting and purifying of the ayre and in taking such things into the body as may strengthen the heart and vitall spirits thereby to make them able to withstand the poysoâ— And in those three points shall this treatise bee absolved As for the cure of such as bee infected with the Plague or visited with any other sort of sickenesse I refer it to the discretion and knowledge of the learned Physicians and expert Chirurgians The first way then of preservation from the Plague is with speed to goe farre from the place infected and there to remaine until all the infection be past This remedy is merily termed of Iordanus a late writer Electuarium etribus adverbâ—is which in Latine verse hee reporteth thus Haec tria tabificam pellunt adverbia pestem Mox longe tarde cede recede redi In prose as much to say as Fuge cito Procul ac tarde revertaris Fly quickely from the place infected abide farre off and returne not soone againe Cito fugere is expounded by Marsilius Ficinus to depart away as soone as any certaine signes of the Plague doe appeare Now the signes of the Plague to come as hee saith are where the ayre of that place varieth from his naturall temperature declining to heat and moysture when it seemeth clowdy and dusty When the Windes are grosse and hot when the Waters and fields smoke and smell and the fishes are ill both in savour and taste When many Wormes breed of putrefaction of the earth Toadestooles and rotten herbs abound The fruits and beasts of the earth are unsavoury The windes become muddy Many birds and beasts fly from that place strange Agues arise raging continuall burning phrantike when the small Pocks and Measels are rife and wormes abound in children and old folkes when many women
if we marke them well as they be placed in order not onely the time most convenient for every thing to bee used but also the measure in using is plainely signified in the word Mediocriâ— according to that saying of Terence Id apprime in vita esse vtile ut ni quid nimis Every man therefore that hath a care of his health as much as hee may must not onely use a measure in those five things that is to say in labour meate drinke sleepe and venus but also must use them in such order as Hippocrates hath proposed them that is to beginne the preservation of health with labour after labour to take meat after meat drinke after both sleepe and venus last of all And not contrariwise using Hysteron Proteron to begin with venus and to end in labour like as I have heard say of a gentleman who had beene a traveller in forraine countryes and at his returne that he might seeme singular as it were despising the old order of England would not begin his meale with pottage but instead of cheese would eate pottage last But wise English men I trust will use the old English fashion still and follow the râ—le of Hippocrates approved by Galen and by common experience in mens bodies found most wholesome Such as have written of the preservation of health before mee for the most part have followed the division of Galen of things not naturall which be six in number Ayre Meat and Drinke Sleepe and watch Labour and rest Emptinesse and repletion and affections of the minde Which bee called things not naturall because they bee no portion of a naturall body as they bee which bee called naturall things but yet by the temperance of them the body being in health so continueth by the distemperance of them sickenesse is induced and the body dissolved This division Sir Thomas Eliot knight no lesse learned than worshipfull in his Castle of Health hath precisely followed and hath set forth every part right according to Galen as plaine as may bee in the English tongue Yet in my iudgement this Aphorisme of Hippocrates which I purpose God willing to declare is more evident for the common capacity of men and more convenient for the dyet of our English Nation For who is so dull of understanding that cannot remember these five words Labor Cibus Potio Somnus Venus and in using them apply Omnia Mediocria Yet I know that the division aforesaid being well scanned may be found in a manner wholly comprehended in this short sentence For exercise is to be used in an wholesome ayre and affections of the mind do commonly follow the temperature of the body which is chiefely preserved by the moderate use of those five things Then whether we follow in dyet Galens division into six things not naturall or this rule of Hippocrates comprehended in five words there is no great difference saving that in writing for the instruction of others that Methode is to used which is most briefe and manifest And this is the cause gentle Reader why I have taken another order than such as have written of this matter before me even that order as I thinke which of all other is the best Herein to give a watch word as it were or occasion to others that be better learned and more at leasure to handle these points more perfectly And in the meane time I trust every well disposed person will thankfully accept this my good intent considering that none other cause hath moved mee hereto but onely the good will I beare first to the learned sort who have most need of wholesome counsayles and consequently to all those that loue to live in health And as the words are placed in order so shall in order prosecute them Yet one thing I desire of all them that shall reade this booke If they finde whole sentences taken out of Master Eliot his Castle of Health or out of Schola Salerni or any other author whatsoever that they will not condemne me of vaine glory by the old Proverbe Calvus Comatus as if I meant to set forth for mine owne workes that which other men have devised for I confesse that I have taken Verbatim out of others wher it served for my purpose and especially out of Schola Salerni but I have so enterlaced it with mine owne that as I think it may be the better perceived And therefore seeing all my travaile tendeth to common commodity I trust every man man will interpret all to the best Candide lector etiam atque etiam vale THE HAVEN OF HEALTH CHAP. 1. What labour is the commoditie thereof the difference of labours the preparation to labour the time the measure of labour THE first word in order of that golden sentence proposed by Hippocrates is labour which in this place signifieth exercise For so is the word Labour coÌ„monly taken of Hippocrates as Galen witnesseth saying Hoc nomen labor saepius consuevit Hipp. pro exercitatione accipere Labor then or exercise is a vehement moving the end whereof is alteration of the breath or winde of man Of exercise doe proceed many commodities but especially three The first is hardnesse and strength of the members whereby labour shall the lesse grieve and the body be more strong to labor And that exercise or labour doth strengthen the body beside the witnes of Galen where he saith Exercitationibus etiam firmitas quaedam membris accidit cum naturalis ipse 〈◊〉 accenditur ex partium inter se attritu duritia quaedam indolentiaque comparatur it is proved by experience in labourers who for the more part be stronger than learned men and can endure greater toyle Whereof we have a notable example in Milo Crotoniates who by the use of carrying a Calfe everyday certaine furlongs was able to carrie the same being a Bull. The second commodity of labor is increase of heat Whereby happeneth the more alteration of things to be digested also more quick alteration and better nourishing The third is more violence of the breath or winde whereby the Pores are cleansed and the filth of the body naturally expelled These things are so necessary to the preservation of health that without them no man may bee long without sicknesse For as the flowing water doth not lightly corrupt but that which standeth still Even so bodies exercised are for the more part more healthfull and such as bee idle more subject to sicknesse According to that saying of the Poet Ovid Câ—rnis ut ignavum corrum pantotia corpus Vt â—apiant vitium ni moveantur aquae Which also is affirmed by Cornelius Celsus saying Ignavia corpus hebetat labor firmat Illa maturam senectutem hic longam adolescentiam reddit Yea Galen himselfe is of the same minde for thus he saith Siculi quies corporis deses prorsus maximum est ad tuendam sanitatem incommodum sic plane maximus fuerit in medioâ—ri
a consumption Quia mediae est consistentiae as Galen saith because it is not so thinne as Camels milke or Asses milke nor so fat and thicke as Cow milke or Sheepes milke yet common experience proveth that womens milke sucked from the breast is without comparison best of all in a consumption Wherof a notable example was shewed of late yeares in the old Earle of Cumberland who being brought to utter weakenesse by a consuming Fever by meanes of a Womans sucke together with the good counsaile of learned Physitians so recovered his strength that before being destitute of heires male of his owne body he gate that most worthy gentleman that now is inheritour both of his fathers vertues and honour But in the last verse it is said that milke hurteth them that have the ague or the head ach the reason is because in bodies that bee distempered it is lightly corrupted in the stomacke and is turned into cholerick fumes which both inflame the body and grieve the head Also milke is hurtfull to them that have the Cholicke or stone or obstructions of the Liver or Splene But it is especially good for them which be oppressed with melancholy which is a common calamity of students And for this purpose it should be drunke in the morning fasting abundantly new milked warme from the udder But who so would use it should cause the beast to be milked into a vessell wherein are first put a few leaves of Speare Mynt a little Sugar or pure Hony For by this meanes it shall neither rise in the stomacke afterward nor yet turne into cruds and after it should abstaine both from other meats and exercise for three or foure houres for so doing it may purge the belly which is one good property that milke hath for because it is buttery it washeth and cleanseth the intrailes and is good against pricking paynes of the Lungs guts reynes and bladder But otherwise if the Whey bee consumed by any meanes Milke rather bindeth the belly than looseth and may be used as a medicine for a laske in this manner Take Milke warme from the Cow or else new milked and heate a gad of Steele or Iron glowing hot in the fire and quench it therein so doing nine or tenne times together then drinke it fasting and it will helpe Yet some I have knowne almost growne to a flix that by drinking of milke well boyled without salt and well spiced with cinamome or with chalke shaven into it have beene eased in short time But so long as the Whey is in it it is rather laxative for Whey of it selfe is very laxative and may well be used of such as be costive because it looseth the belly gently And for this cause as Galen writeth Veteres ad alvum subducendam hoc potu plurimo uti videntur And this I can say of experience that if it be commonly drunke at the spring of the yeare and especialâ—y in May it bringeth the body to good temper and is good against itch skabs Morphew and other impediments without the skinne and maketh a good colour in the face as I suppose for that it purgeth Choler and Melancholy and qualifieth the heat of the stomacke and liver all which properties are briefely set forth in Scho. Sal. in one verse Inciditque lavat penetrat mundat quoque Serum Some use to boyle Fumitory Hartstong Endive or Succory Scabiouse Violet leaves Sorell and such like cooling herbes in the Whey and so it is made more effectuall for the foresaid purposes and who so needeth may use this decoction for it is of great force CHAP. 195. Of Creame CReame is one part or substance of milke and is indeed the very head or heart of Milke and is of two sorts that is to say raw Creame which is gathered of the milke without fire after it hath stood a time and clouted Creame which is made by setting the milke ouer an easie fire untill it come to a thicke head Both these kinds are used as a delicate dish in the summer season either with Sugar or with Strawberries But how wholesome a dish it is Matth. teacheth upon Dios saying Ob pinguedinis copiam praeterquam quod ventriculum relaxat cuncto suâ—ernatat cibo nutrimentum eijcit crassum generat succum Wherefore they that go from Oxford to Botley or from London to Islington to eare Creame make but a sleevelesse errand yet raw Creame well boyled with a little Sugar is a good nourishing meate and good for a weake student so it be used according to the conditions aforesaid in the treatise of Milke CHAP. 196. Of Butter OF both sorts of creame is made Butter which if it be fresh and new made is very wholesome especially if it be eaten in the morning but afterward it is not so good according to the old English proverb butter is Gold in the morning and Silver at noone and lead at night The meaning whereof because it is so common I will here omit The chiefe properties of Butter are reckoned to bee three in Schola Salerni as followeth Lenit humectat soluit sine febre butyrum Butter mollyfieth and moysteneth and looseth the belly which effects are wrought chiefely by reason that it is oyly and slippery Wherefore it is good for such as be commonly costive and this experience I have of it that some which have beene wonted to a fine dyet and to eat no bread but manchet by the eating of browne bread and butter in a morning fasting which is a Country mans breakfast have beene made as soluble as if they had taken some purgation Also Paracelsus writeth in his booke named Paramirum that the Flemmings are little troubled with the collicke because they use to eat much Butter But in one respect they are reproved by Arnoldus upon Scho. Sal. in the Chapter aforesaid for that they eat it last after other meates for Butter saith hee should in no wise as meat bee eaten in great quantity and especially it should not bee eaten after other meate But to use it with other meat it is very wholesome Beside this it profiteth them much that be stuffed in the brest or lungs with superfluous humours and bee short winded especially if it bee eaten with Sugar or Hony Yet it is not good for them that have any fever or hot livers for the fatnesse thereof doth augment the heat of the fever or Liver The necessity of Butter in dressing of meates in making of salves and oyntments I overpasse yet would I wish that such as have children to bring up would not bee without May Butter in their houses It is to bee made chiefly in May or in the heat of the yeare by setting Butter new made without salt so much as you list in a platter open to the Sunne in faire weather for certaine daies untill it bee sufficiently clarified and altered in colour which will be in
fettered with gowts racked with fevers pierced thorow with plurifies strangled with Squinances and finally cruelly put to death many times in youth or in the flower of their age when they would most gladly live But herein I speake against mine owne profit and the commodity of all them that professe Physicke Nam intemperantia medicorum nutrix But for my part I had rather be without sucke than that any man through his intemperate feeding should have cause to fee mee or feed me and to that end I have with my great travell written this whole booke Wherefore I advise all men not to linger the time long in eating and drinking superfluously but to have alwayes in minde that golden verse Esse decet vivas vivere non ut edas Man feeds to live and liveth not to feed Yet a reasonable time to eat in is necessary for to eat over-greedily and to snatch up our meat hastily is hurtfull and hindereth concoction and to chew our meat well and to swallow it downe leasurely is a great furtherance to the well digesting of the same And indeed it is the very end and purpose why the teeth were ordained For as there be three concoctions the first in the Stomacke the second in the Liver the third in every part of the body So there bee three places of preparation the mouth to prepare the meat for the stomacke the veines called Miseraicae to prepare for the Liver and the uttermost veines of every member to prepare for nourishment of the parts themselves Wherefore a dinner while must needs be had And to sit a while after dinner is not unwholsome according to that old English saying After dinner sit a while and after supper walke a mile Yet in Schol. Sa. it is counted wholsome Surgere post epulas that is to stirre or walke a little after meat that thereby the meat may descend to the bottome of the stomacke Both may be done conveniently for it is no good manner to rise up from the table eating or to rise up by and by after meat is out of the mouth CHAP. 212. Of Supper ABout foure houres or six after that we have dyned the time is convenient for Supper which in the Vniversities is about five of the clock in the afternoon But in the country abroad they use to sup at six and in poore mens houses when leisure will serve The dyet most wholsome to be used at Supper is set down in Schola Salerni Coenato parum and againe in this manner Ex magna caena stomacho fit maxima paena Vt sis nocte levis sit tibi caena brevis So that in both places wee are counsailed to make a light Supper because much meat eaten at night grieveth the stomack and letteth naturall rest wherefore of good policy as I thinke was it provided at Oxford that upon festivall dayes when as they fared sumptuously at dinner yet at supper they should have little more than ordinary commons But here riseth a great question whether a man should eate more at dinner or at supper Conciliator a famous Physitian is of that minde that more meate should bee eaten at dinner than at supper because the heat of rhe day joyned to the naturall heate of the body may digest more and for that nature in the night season hath enough to do to digest the superfluities of meat eaten before and should not therefore be letted with much meat taken in the evening Leonhartus Fuchsius contrariwise proveth that the Supper for the most part should bee greater than the dinner because the coldnesse of the night and sleepe doe greatly helpe concoction and the time from Supper to Breakfast or Dinner is much longer than betweene dinner and supper But this question may easily bee determined and these great Clerks reconciled after this manner They that be lusty and strong of nature and travell much may eat more at Supper than at Dinner because in them there is no need of digestion of superfluities but onely to strengthen their bodies which may best bee done in the night time when the senses are at rest But they that be diseased or aged or troubled with rheumes as the most part of students bee and others also Qui sedentariam vitam agâ—â—t these I say should eat little at Supper because nature in the night following should not bee hindered in the concoction of raw and superfluous humours Quos somnus maxime conficit benigâ—â—s reddit And to these men the verses aforesaid oâ— Scho. Sal. must bee applyed And for as much as the whole booke of Scho. Sal. was written specially for English men as appeareth by the Preface it shall be hurtfull for none to follow the said precepts considering that there is not any one more annoyance to the health of mens bodies in this Realme of England than distillations from the head commonly called rheumes the occasion whereof some impute to much drinking of Beere but I thinke that the great moisture of the aire of thâ—s Realme for wee have pluviâ—m neâ—ulosum coelum as Iulius Agricola saith and the continuall gouâ—mandize and daily feeding on sundry meats at one meale is the very cause why English men be so rheumaticke above other nations for repletion breedeth crudity and of crudity proceed rheumes and of rheumes Gowts Dropsies Palsies and other innumerable maladies Wherefore it behoveth every man that would live in health to feed moderatly whether it bee at Dinner or Supper and moderate feeding is according to the strength of the stomacke to take more or lesse so it be without griefe For as Hippocrates writeth where meat is received much above measure that maketh sicknesse Yet because it is hard alwayes to hold the meane and divers occasions may make a man to forget himselfe at meat if he misse the marke and shoot over at Dinner yet let him withdraw his hand and hit the marke at Supper Wherefore let Students avoid that Epicurisme which is too too much used in England and especially of Merchants to make great Suppers and to sit eating and talking for the space of three or foure houres Yea and after Supper for feare lest they bee not full gorged to have a delicate banquet with abundance of Wine not leaving nor scant rising excepts it bee for necessities untill it bee time to goe to bedâ—â— no noâ— then neither oftentimes but so continuing in â—arowsing and quaffing untill mid-night or after except they happen to fall a sleepe at the boord or to fall downe under the boord But 〈◊〉 Students remember that summum bonum is in virtute non in voluptate 〈…〉 remaineth in Schola Salerni concerning Supper which is this Vt vites paenam de potibus incipe caenâ—m Which is not so to bee taken as the words doe seeme to import that one ought to beginne his Supper or meale with drinke though I have knowne some to use that order drinking a draught of
nourishment into bloud whereof ensueth commonly either Droâ—sie or Leprie Secondly it marreth the braine and killeth the memory whereof commeth madnesse or forgetfulnesse therefore it is said Vinum memoriae morâ— est Thirdly it weakneth the sinewes which is the cause that drunkards tremble both with head and hands as well in youth as in age Fourthly it breedeth diseases of the sinewes as the Crampe and Palsey Fiftly it engendreth Apoplexies and the falling evill through overmuch moysture of the braine stopping the wayes of the spirits to the inferiour members Sixthly it bringeth oftentimes sudden death Propter nimiam vasorum repletionem Notable therefore is that counsaile of Isocrates in his Oration ad Demonicum diligently to be followed of al students 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus latined by Antonius Schorus Maxime fugias comptâ—â—tiones Si tamen interesse te aliquando contingat ante ebrietatem surgas abeas Quum enim menâ— vino opprimitur idem prorsus facit quod currus qui suis agitatoribus dejectis nullo ordine vltro citroque feruntur propâ—erea quod rectoribus destituantur according to that saying of the Antient Poet Theognis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus translated by Iacobus Schegkius Immodico cuicunque mero praecordia servent Haud linguam mentem continet ille suam Turpia quae loquitur recidunt sine pondere verba Ebrius ac nullo cuncta pudore facit Diceret haud quae sobrius haec effert bene potus Si sapis a nimio disce cavere mero So that the excesse of wine is to be avoided and not the Wine for so he writeth in another place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pocula quae cavere modo mihi crede nocebunt Vina tamen modice sumpta iuvare solent And the excesse of Wine is the cause as Leonhartus Fuchsius writeth why few young men that bee students come to profound knowledge and ripenesse in these dayes for first immoderate drinking of Wine maketh them disordered and unruly next it weakneth and dulleth the strength force of the wit and mind Wherefore he adviseth all students to have those golden verses of Eâ—banus Hessus not onely imprinted in their minds but also ingraved in some table in their chambers or closets to the intent that they may have them alwayes before their eyes Ita enim crebra horum lectione inspectione forte fieret ut ebrietatem tanquam immanissimam bestiam certum illis exitium afferentem evitarent The verses be these Immodici sensus perturbat copia Bacchi Inde quis enumeret quot mala proveniant Corporis exchaurit succos animique vigorem Opprimit ingenium strangulat atque necat Wherefore Plato that divine Philosopher utterly forbiddeth Wine in youth untill they be past two and twenty yeares of age because saith hee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Non oportet ignom igni addere And Galen noâ— onely forbiddeth children wine because they being of hot and moyst temperature should thereby become over hot and their heads filled with vapours whereof sometimes ensueth the falling sicknesse as Aristotle affirms but also he forbids young men wine untill they bee 35. yeares of age Quod videlicet ad iram libidiâ—em praecipites facit partem animi rationalem hebetem turbidamque reddit But to old men wine is as sucke to young children and is therefore called of some Lac senum and the strongest wines for them are best except they be cholerick for old folks are cold and good wine heateth they are heavy and full of melancholy and wine maketh them merry and represseth melancholinesse they commonly sleep ill and wine maketh them to sleepe well they are disposed to oppilations and Wine openeth So that Wine to old folks is most commodious although to youth it be hurtfull unlesse it bee temperately taken Yet I read in Arnoldus upon Schola Sal. that surfetting and drunkennesse is sometime expedient because thereby wee fall to vomit whereof ensueth cleansing of the stomacke and preventing of many ill diseases of long continuance and this opinion is fathered upon Hip. for so saith Arnoldus Consulit Hip. semel in mense inebriari ut ex ebrietate provocetur vomitus But I will not say that Hip. counsaileth us to be drunken once in a moneth that thereby may come vomit for I rather think it the counsaile of some Arabian Physitian but this I know to be true that Hip. biddeth one to vomit every moneth two dayes one after another that the second day may avoid that which the first could not and this is approved by Galen and Scho. Sal. is of the same judgement where it is said Quolibet in mense confert vomitus quoque purgat Humores nâ—câ—os stomacho anfractâ—s levat omnes But to procure vomit through excesse and drunkennesse as it is ungodly so it is beastly and doth more hurt the stomacke the braine the brest and all parts of the body than it doth profit by evacuation of â—â—egm and choller wherefore if any be desirous to vomit let them rather goe to the Sea or drinke Salet oyle as I have shewed before in the chapter of Olives or use Assarabaâ—â—a or Helleborus by the advise of some discreet Physitian and let Wine bee used according to the first institution that is to make men merry and not to make men drunke And if any bee disposed to drinke Wine after this manner they may learne to choose good Wine by five properties First by the colour as white red claret Secondly by the taâ—â—e as sweet soure rough lyth Thirdly by the savour or smell as fragrant or otherwise Fourthly by the substance as thick thin cleare or muddy Fifthly by the age as new or old All these properties saving the last are set forth in Scho. Sal. as followeth Vina probantur odore sapore nitore colore Si bona vina cupis quinque haec laudantur in illis Fortia formosa fragrantia frigida frisca So that three senses are the chiefe iudges of wine The eye for the colour and consistence the tongue for the taste the nose for the savour And all these must be applyed to wine in it kinde as for example if Claret wine have a right claret colour if it bee in savour in taste in thinnesse or thickenesse in age accordingly then may you be bold to call it good Claret And so of all other sorts in suo genere But it shall bee necessary that I speak somewhat more of these properties And first touching the colour I have this lesson in Galen Ex vinis albis nullum valenter calfacere potest quod enim summe calidum est id continuo flavum existit veluti quod ab ipso est fulvunt moâ— ab his rubrum deinde dulce album
you aske me the question whether ale or beere bee more wholesome I say that ale generally is better namely the small ale which is used as well in sickenesse as in health and that for good cause considering that barley whereof it is made is commended and used in medicine in all parts of the world and accounted to bee of a singular efficacy in reducing the body to good temper specially which is in a distemperance of heat And for this purpose that kinde of ale which at Oxford is called sixteenes is principall as by common experience is proved both in hot seasons of the yeare and in hot diseases But beare for the heat thereof by reason of the hops is not so commendable in sickenesse and therefore generally not so wholsome Howbeit in health it is a very profitable drinke so it be not strong for such as bee chollericke and have hot stomacks For beside the vertue of nourishing which it hath of the corne whereof it is made it hath also a medicinable property of the hoppes whereby it provoketh urine and expelleth some choller by siege Wherefore in them that use it moderately it increaseth strength as appeareth plainely by the view of those nations that use it most for they be strongest and fairest Beside that it doth not so soone hurt the sinewes nor cause ake of the joynts as wine doth But Schola Salerni reckoneth eight properties which may bee indifferently applyed to ale or beere as followeth but chiefly to beere Crassos humores nutrit cerevisia vires Praestat augmentat carnem generatque cruorem Provocat urinam ventrem quoque mellit inflat Frigidat modicum Of which eight in my judgement the first foure belong chiefly to ale and the latter foure to beere For beere doth more provoke urine and more mollifie and inflate the belly and coole more then ale Yet it cooleth more or lesse as it is stronger or smaller and according to the malt whereof it is made For beere or ale being made of wheate malt enclineth more to heat for wheate is hot If it bee made of barly malt It enclineth more to cold for barly is cold And if it bee made of Barly and Otes together it is yet more temperate and of lesse nourishment Yet if a man would exactly scanne the temperature of beere Euchsius saith Cum magna ex parte in cerevisâ—s non levis fentiatur amaritudo non dubium est has omnes esse temperamento calidas Et quo quaevis amarior eo quoque calidior existit But notwithstanding I thinke that hoppes in beere maketh it colder in operation because as I said before it purgeth choler And to mee verily it is much colder than ale of like strength having a cholericke stomacke and liver inflamed Neither doe I thinke that beere more ingendereth rheumes and distillations than ale although I know many to bee of a contrary opinion But by experience of mine owne body I can testifie that after I left Oxford and dwelled in the country where ale is the more common drinke I was no lesse troubled with a rheume but rather more than when I continued at Oxford and dranke nothing else but beere Wherefore I thinke rather that the chiefest cause why wee are now more disquieted with rheumes than our forefathers were is our excesse and surfetting and delicate feeding whereof commeth crudity and crudity breedeth rhumes and rhumes are the occasion of the most part of diseases that happen to men Wherefore the Greeke Poet Theognis most truly hath written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is to say surfet hath destroyed mo than famin Yea I dare say that moe dye through surfet than by the sword Wherefore I thinke that of rheumes as Galen writing upon Hip. thinketh of gout Hip. saith Eunuchipodagra non labarant nec cale fiunt Whom Galen expoundeth in this manner Hippocratis quidem temporibus pauci omni no laborabâ—nt pâ—dagraipropter vitae temperantiam moderationem summom vâ—stra vero etate in tantumauctis delitiis luxu voluptatibus vt nihil supra addi posse videatur infiâ—ita est podagra laborantium multitudo nonnallis nunquam se exercitantibus nulloque praesumpto câ—bo fortia vina potantibus Venere immoderata utentibus aliis vero et si non in omnibus in uno tamen aut alteroex iis quae retulimuâ— delinquentibus Even so I say of rheumes that in time past when men used more frugality and temperance than now they doe they were not so much troubled with distillations But now by reason of too much idlenesse and intemperance rheumes doe more abound and the gout also For the goute is the daughter of a rheume And those things that breed rheumes doe likewise breed the goute in such as bee given thereunto as Desidia Crapula Venus immodica multa potentia vina potata maximeque si quis ante praesampium cibum ipsis utatur He therefore that will be free from rewmes and gout must avoid idlenesse surfet Lechery much wine and strong especially fasting and not condemn Beere as hurtfull in this respect which was so profitably invented by that worthy Prince Gambriviâ—â— anno 1786. yeares before the incarnation of our Lord Iesus Christ as Lanquette writeth in his Chronicle CHAP. 219. Of Cyder THe fifth kinde of drinke usuall here in England is Cyder Howbeit Cider is not in so common use any where within this land as in Worcester shire and Glocester shire where fruits doe most abound And marvaile it is to see how plentifull apples and peares are in those countries in so much that every hedge almost in the common fields and by high way sides are full of good fruites And if a man travaile through that country when they be ripe hee shall see as many lie under his horse feet as would in some places of England bee gladly gathered up and layed in store under locke and key Cyder is for the more part cold in operation and is better or worse according to the fruit whereof it is made in respect of the coldnesse it is good for them that have hot stomackes or hot livers Yet if it bee used for a common drinke as master Eliote reporteth it maketh even in youth the colour of the face pale and the skinne riveled It cannot bee very wholesome in any condition considering that fruites doe ingender ill humours Yet it is best after Christmas and about Lent I remember when I was a student at Oxford one mistris G. sold Pery insteed of Rhenish wine and so beguiled many a poore Scholler And indeed that Cyder which is made of pure peares being drunke after winter is like in taste to a small white or Rhenish Wine but yet differeth much in operation Sed caveat emptor CHAP. 220. Of Whey THe sixt sort of drinke usuall is whey the nature whereof I have declared before in