the pure Spirits and Radical Moisture be by any disorders hurt or wounded whether it be before they are killed or after the Salt cannot incorporate therewith as aforesaid nor purge out and destroy the humid gross parts in the Flesh whence all Putrifaction arises whereas when the strong powerful and sweet Spirits in Salt which are the inward Life thereof do joyn with and embrace the essential spirituous parts it does tye or hold the corruptive parts of the Flesh captive that they cannot proceed to Putrifaction and for a season it will remain as a fixed Body till by length of time those pure Essential spirituous parts both in the Flesh and Salt become either suffocated or evaporated through the great store of gross humidity which Flesh does contain tending always to Putrifaction and when any Flesh does begin to putrify or stink a second salting nor any other Art cannot recover it to its first state of Sweetness but if the second Salting be whilst the Putrifaction is but yet in the Bud and not too far gone then such Flesh may continue a little longer In a word If this sort of Flesh be free from the afore-mentioned Disorders and their natural Uncleannesses being seasonably seasoned with Salt not keept too long and well prepared by the House-wife and moderately eaten it is as sound and healthy Food for strong and working People as any Flesh whatsoever none excepted Of Sheep their Complexions and Nature and of their Flesh. Sheep are Creatures of great use and benefit to the Sons of men their Nature and Complexion is Sanguine Phlegmatick with a little mixture of Melancholy but the Sanguine Nature does predominate over all the other Qualities They are dignified with a meek humble Nature mild and friendly and wherein all the Properties and Elements do seem to stand in equal accord whence doth proceed those harmless innocent Inclinations hardly any Creature in the World to be compared to them they have as it were a glance of the divine Light shining in them for if Equality and Concord had not abounded in them our Saviour Iesus Christ would not so often have compared good and holy men unto them but it was no doubt to shew their Meekness Innocence and desires of doing good For this Creature is not only to be esteemed for their Natural Vertues but also for the manifold Benefits which they afford unto mankind both living and dead The Flesh of Sheep viz. Mutton is of a clean simple Nature of easier Concoction than the Flesh of Oxen it generates a good clean nourishment their Fat is the whitest of all Flesh which proceeds from the equal temperament of their Body and Spirits and the predominancy of the sweet Quality and because the Spirits are pure and undefiled For the white clear bright Gleam in every Creature be they what they will does arise and proceed from the divine Principle which made all things and is the essential Vertue and Power that does sustain and radically dwell in every Creature and all things in this World in each according to its Nature and also according to what degree it is in each Creature they become of a more friendly gentle Nature or the contrary For in what Creature soever this Vertue or Gleam of Light is predominant that Creature is of a most sweet Composition or Nature be it either Animal Vegetable or Mineral for of the pure white Colour in all things the Root is the divine Principle its Radix is clean Therefore in former Ages when any would declare their Innocency they cloathed themselve in white Garments because it proceeded from the innocency in Nature Also the Saints and Prophets in several places of the Scriptures by way of Simile compare Whiteness with the divine Power and Virtue being that the Saints and Angels are said to be cloathed in White which was not spoken without a divine understanding of the Nature of things which I shall forbear to speak further of in this place though to the intelligent Reader it would be no unuseful Digression But to return to the present subject The Flesh of Sheep is made better or worse according to the Accidents that do attend them no Flesh to be preferred before this if they are free from Surfeits and Diseases which this Creature is much subject to by reason of their tender Nature for all Creatures in whom the four Humours and Elements of their Bodies and Spirits stand nearest Equality are soonest wounded if any Violence be offered For this Creature cannot endure any violent motion without manifest prejudice and little over-driving will put them into such Heats as they cannot recover under a considerable time and at last they will break out with a Mainge or Scab if they are folded a little too close it will fret and corrupt their Blood give them the Scab and hinder them from growing over-wet Weather will corrupt them and cause them to Rot in moist low Grounds and in the best and highest Pasturage hinder them from proving so well as they would otherwise the very driving of Sheep and Lambs from the Market to the Slaughter-Houses especially in London where they are much hurried by their unmerciful drivers and other Accidents that they meet with in the Streets will give them the Mainge or the Scab were they to be turn'd back to their Pastures Therefore there is required the greatest understanding and care to preserve this Creature sound and free from these Disorders and Accidents which nothing can do but a tender gentle usage and government which suits their Tempers and hath unity with their Natures Their Flesh is far better and more healthy in the Winter season than in the Summer especially when the Summer proves Wet for as nothing more destroys and corrupts their Flesh more than wet Weather so in great Heats their tender Spirits on every Accident are apt to be Evaporated also they are apt to sweat much whence proceeds a fainty Indisposition especially when the Sun and Year declines the Grass being then more gross and full of Phlegmatick Juices therefore the Flesh of Sheep and Lambs ought to be sparingly eaten all the Summer especially the latter part thereof for this and indeed most other sorts of Flesh is best in the Winter and Spring viz. from December to Iune or thereabouts for cold Weather causeth the natural Heat to be much stronger and also more Central sharpens the Appetites of both Men and Beasts causeth a good Digestion because then Nature is able to make a perfect separation of the Food whence is generated good Blood and pure Spirits which renders the Flesh hard and firm besides the Food of most sorts of Cattel is then dry viz. Hay which does always breed a better and firmer nourishment than Grass or any green Food If Sheep be killed with any of the before-mentioned Inconveniences upon them then their flesh thereby loseth its pure sweetness and good Relish becomes of a gross dull heavy Nature and Operation generates abundance
desire it Likewise its true Colour is lost or in some degree destroyed as is most manifest by all Fry'd Flesh it does send forth a strong fulsom smell in comparison of either Boyled or Roasted its Taste is stronger and its natural Colour is chang'd by reason the pure Spirits and sweet Body are as it were suffocated by that fiery harsh heat the Pan does contain this Heat is more poysonous than the common heat of fire which is caused by the Metal whether it be Brass or Iron for the Fire does not only awaken the poysonous Nature that such Metal does contain but the present Quality or oily Body in the Fire whence it hath its bright shining friendly Quality is suffocated therefore all such Heat that proceeds from Pans is of a harsh fierce nature and operation The truth of this is further manifested by those that shall be Burned or scalded by such Pans which is more poysonous and the Flesh is harder to be Cured than what is burned by common Fire and often proves more dangerous the very same matter does cause any kind of Food to have such a strong smell for in all Preparations that cause the smell to become strong it is a sure sign that some Violence is done to the pure Spirits and Balsamick Body which doth awaken the Center of the dark wrathful Nature The very same is to be understood in all other things and that is the reason why Fryed Baked and Stewed Food does send forth a stronger and fulsomer scent than other Preparations and all such Food will sooner cloy and dull both Pallate and Stomach except in some few whose Natures and Stomachs have a Simile with such Food It is also to be noted that the Fat which is used in Frying that lies or runs between the thing Fryed and the Pan is by this sulpherous Heat and the want of the free Influences of Air and the benefit of a convenient quantity of Water turn'd into a stinking Oyl which does neither retain its Colour Smell nor Taste but is of a contrary Nature to what it was when it was put into the Pan. For these Reasons all Fryed Food is of a stronger fulsomer Nature than either Boyled Roasted or Broyled Meat harder of Concoction and does cloy the Stomach Therefore all House-Wives and others that do prepare Food if they regard the Health of the Body and true pleasure of the Pallate ought to understand the possibility of Nature in all Preparations that they may digest the raw gross Body of Food without offering any violence to the pure Spirits and balsamick Body and then all such Food would be of a most pleasant Smell Colour and Taste for if the pure Spirits be kept free and not suffocated in the Preparation such Food becomes friendly to Nature affording good firm and wholsom Nourishment easie of Concoction the frequent eating of such Food makes a man Airy full of lively Spirits and of a good Complexion So on the contrary if they be suffocated then presently the sweet Oyl is turned sower or into a stinking Quality then such Food so Prepared will have as is mentioned before a strong Smell and Taste not retaining its natural Colour for in all sorts of Food in which the Spirituous Parts and Balsamick Body is strong their Smell Colour and Taste is Pleasant and Friendly Also it is to be noted that most Preparations of Food the quicker they are performed provided there be no violence done to the Spirit the better and more friendly such Food will prove for slow and intermitting Fires in either Boyling or other Preparations do flatten and dull the Spirituous Parts Therefore no Baker can preserve the pure white Colour in his fine small Bread if he be not quick about it for if any Preparation be continued too long the volatile Spirits become in a degree suffocated then Venus Sol and Iupiter grow weak and according to the length of time and degrees of heat so the natural Colours do alter and change for the Colours of all sorts of Food when Prepared do arise by degrees one after another gradually and when the gross Body is digested then the inward virtue which lay hid and captivated in the Body of Phlegm appears in its own friendly Form with a most lively and pleasant Colour Smell and Taste this is the point of Time all Preparers of Food ought to understand for if their Preparation be continued any longer the operation of Nature goes backward towards the center of the Original Fire then Saturn and Mars and their properties are presently awakened which do cause the Colour Smell and Taste of such Food to change The first degree the Colour alters to is a dusky Yellow and if the Preparation be continued by degrees it turns blackish till at last it will become Black or deep Red or of a mixed streaked Colour all according to the Property which does predominate in the Original or dark Fire also all such Food is of a gross and fulsom Smell and Taste unpleasant both to the Pallate and Stomach Preparing of Food is a greater Art and Mystery than many House-wives and others do think and if it be well and properly performed it adds much to the preservation of the Health both of Body and Mind for every thing has Power to awaken its Simile in the Body Therefore every one ought to use that care and understanding in the Preparations of all sorts of Food that the meek and most friendly Life be preserved from suffering violence Of Broyled Flesh. Broyled Flesh was much used in former Ages but now it is little in Fashion in comparison of the aforementioned Preparations Flesh dressed this way is much sweeter and fuller of Life and Spirit than Baked or Fry'd by reason it does not boyl in its own fat as the other two do also it is quickly Prepared and the gross Humidity in the flesh does freely purge and run into the Fire it has likewise the free Egress and Regress of the Air the Fire being full of lively brisk Spirits which in Ovens and Frying-Pans are destroyed by which means the heat becomes more gross and sulpherous like the heat of Charcoal which does suffocate the pure Spirits and then the Fat becomes of a heavy gross and Oily Quality with a strong Taste and Smell which gross matter in Boyled Flesh is destroyed therefore it does not only eat sweeter but breeds better Nourishment if the Fire be clear and done as it ought the Fire of Wood does prepare all sorts of Food sweeter and better than Cole and renders it much wholsomer for in all Preparations in which the Food does boyl in its own Fat or in Fat put to it if it hath not plenty of Water and the free influences of the Air the gross Humidity in the Fat does suffocate the pure Spirits and then the sweet Body which all Fat does afford great store of becomes gross and fulsom in Smell Taste and Operation which will quickly cloy the
Blood so let forth was to be buried in the ground or burned and so the bestial Spirits prevented from Evaporations or incorporating themselves with the Air and consequently from entring into and infecting the humane Nature with their wrathful Effluviums and dreadful Species that the Blood of all Creatures are full of when killed in their health and perfect strength The greatest Excellency and common Virtue of men's eating much Flesh and Fish is that it makes them surly robustick sordid and of cruel inhumane Dispositions and Inclinations it being the most proper for Soldiers Hunters Moss-Troopers and all such as would have the bestial savage Nature strengthened and encreased and have a mind to be Lions and Devils not only to their own kind but all other Creatures and so long as People give their Wills up unto the fierce proud wrathful poysonous Nature we may not expect any other Trade to be driven amongst us whence we sind that the meek friendly Principle is trodden under foot Compassion has little or no place in Man farther than it is a Custom and he seems wholly given up to Rapine Oppression and Wickedness Whereas on the contrary Herbs Fruits Grains and many other the like innocent sorts of Food are more pleasant to the Eye of a better Scent and Smell afford a more grateful Taste to the Palate Nourishment finer and of better Substance to the Stomach they are of an easier Concoction breed better Blood are much more readily procured the Creation groans not or sighs there 's no Pain Violence or Cruelty committed in the Use of them they generate purer Spirits and make the Body lightsome and pleasant free the Mind from Dulness Care and Heaviness quicken all the Senses make a good Understanding preserve Innocency increase Compassion Love Humility and Charity give the Spirit of distinction between Good and Evil Clean and Unclean and help us with many opportunities for the study of all true Wisdom both of God Nature and our selves In a word the Virtues both Divine and Natural that follow Abstinence and Cleanness are not to be numbred many of them I know by experience through the mercy and good favour of the Lord It makes a man hate all rude vain talkative Company and the many Inconveniences that attend such a course of Life it also makes the observers thereof capable at all Seasons to speak the Words of Wisdom either divine or humane being but like large Glass-Windows to an House it lets in the pleasant light Air by giving opportunities to all the noble Faculties of man's Soul to exercise their Functions it tunes the Properties of Nature whence proceeds most excellent Harmony and whoever shall try it shall certainly find much more satisfaction and advantages than is here related or indeed than can be expressed in Words 15. It is farther to be noted that all kind of Inventions and Arts that encourage Violence and Oppression have proceeded from the fierce harsh wrath of God and the uneven properties of Saturn and Mars as Gun-powder Guns Drums and all Warlike Instruments of Musick There is nothing that does more manifest this than Gun-powder where the pure spirituous Parts and balsamick Vertues in all the Ingredients are suffocated and destroyed so that it becomes a meer composition of Wrath and Fierceness for every Property of Nature becomes fierce and terrible or strong fulsome and poysonous if the virtue and light thereofbe destroyed or separated from it for every particular Creature or Substance both Vegetable Mineral and Animal does consist of Fire and Light Love and Anger Ioy and Sorrow Good and Evil These are the Radixes of each Subject throughout all the three Kingdoms of Nature and if in any thing you violate the lovely light part then the angry Properties appear in their own Forms an Instance whereof we have before mentioned in Charcoal which is one Ingredient towards Gun-powder and all the rest are alike being of a terrible rending tearing devilish fierce nature and in it is a true Figure of the Wrath of God in the outward nature So likewise the sound of Drums and all Weapons of War and Violence proceed from the same Root of Wrath and accordingly the use of all such things do much encourage and strengthen the wrathful Properties in Mankind who if they had not or did not suffer their Wills and Desires to enter into the Wrath and fierce Properties of Nature in themselves and were not acted and influenced by it there would never have been any of those Hellish Inventions as Swords Guns Powder Drums Bows Arrows and other murthering Engines nor any thoughts of Killing Oppressing and Destroying those of their own Kind nor any other Creatures but Man should have kept that Dominion over the Creatures wherewith the Creator invested him in the beginning and no Creature should have had power to have influenced him or imposed their Properties upon him Hence then touching all Fighting Oppressing and Killing let it be little or much and the pretence what it will we affirm from a true light and ground That the same do arise and proceed from the fierce wrath of God and from that devilish hellish nature in Man which is as contrary to the friendly Love and Light of God in Jesus Christ as the Night is to the Day for if in man or any other Creature the evil Property do predominate and is most manifest there the good Qualities and friendly Light is overcome and so on the contrary For every Property and Principle does manifest and bring forth its own fruit as our Saviour Christ says Every Tree is known by its Fruits a good Tree cannot bring forth evil Fruit nor an evil Tree good Fruit. According to what Property does rule in the Heart of any Man such are his Thoughts Words and Actions where the divine Principle of God's eternal Love and Light doth predominate such Persons bring forth those good and precious Fruits of Love Mercy Compassion courteous Speeches Works of Charity and doing unto all men as they would be done unto but those in whom the hellish Principle bears sway their Fruits are worse than Briars and Thorns such as Back-biting Hatred Oppression Killing not only inferiour Creatures but even those of their own Kind and working all sorts of Impiety with greediness Therefore 't is of unspeakable moment to be able to distinguish in our selves the Two Principles and their respective Fruits and to be careful to deny and root out the Evil and cherish and follow the Counsel of the holy Light which if obeyed is sufficient to destroy all the mischievous Works of Self-hood and the Devil for as the more men habituate themselves to Cruelty Oppression Unmercifulness Killing and the like the stronger the hellish Principle of Wrath does grow and the worse and more cruel they become So in the practice of Vertue every Property and Principle grows strong by Use and Exercise and he that enters into the narrow Path of Regeneration and Self-denial ought always
brisk and they do not only afford a greater quantity of Spirits when separated but much stronger and fiercer than any other Vegetables that are of a lean Hungry Nature Therefore People of this Complexion tho' they are strong and brisk yet if they commit Intemperances that are beyond the power of the natural heat to throw off then they are in far greater danger than those that are of a much weaker Nature and Complexion for the Reason before assigned which daily Examples do confirm as when such healthy People fall into Diseases what terrible sharp Fevers do attend most of them which destroy the Life in a few days Therefore the strongest natur'd People ought to be sober and not lay heavier Burthens than Nature can bear for he that hath the healthiest and strongest Constitution may easily oppress it neither is it safe to put too much Confidence in their strength nor to boast of it or commit such out-rages against their own Natures as many young People do in the way of Pride to out-do their Fellows and then glory in it For the strongest Castle will quickly yield by continual Batteries Of the Phlegmatick Complexion Those in whom this Complexion is predominant are not so quick and active either in the doing or apprehending of things as the Cholerick but more slow and of a fofter Nature their central Heats are but weak in comparison of the former and if they incline to inordinate living either in Meats or Drinks or Idleness they are apt to grow Fat and their Bodies swell with gross phlegmatick Humours because their natural heat is but weak and the digestive faculty of the Stomach cannot make so perfect a Concoction as the Cholerick Complexion so that great part of their Food is turned into gross Juices which fret the Body and make it heavy and dull All sorts of strong spirituous Drinks do agree better with this Complexion than with the Cholerick and if they do not exceed in quantity will not so soon precipitate them into Fevers but if they drink much it will swell their Bodies and Members to a wonderful bigness as we see some both Men and Women are which great drinking doth destroy the edge of the Appetite and increases their desire to drink for their natural Heats and Stomachs are not able to make any profitable Concoction nor separation of such quantities of Drink as they swallow down whence are generated abundance of raw Humors that do not only swell the Body as aforesaid but load the Joynts with windy and watry Diseases and also obstruct the passage of the Breast for all fat People have narrower passages than those that are lean and spare and fetch their Breath with more difficulty because the Vessels of the Stomach and Breast are contracted thro' the drinking of too much strong Drink and eating too little Food and what they do eat too rich in Quality Yet is it very easie for this Complexion and all others to prevent Fatness and heavy Dropsical Humors which many of this sort of People are subject to if Order and Temperance be but observed with regard to both quality and quantity of Meats and Drinks with proper exercise especially in the open Air and walking by River-sides and running Waters which do wonderfully open the Passages and beget and sharpen Appetite and cause good Digestion For tho' one Complexion is more apt to grow Fat than others yet Experience teaches that it is Idleness and Superfluity that is the grand cause thereof look amongst ordinary working-people in Country-Towns and you shall very rarely see any of the Husband-men or Field-workers very Fat though in such places are People of all Complexions but Cities and great Towns are the Nurseries of fat Punchinello's where there is good store of Strong Drink and Wine rich Food with ease and idleness I am not ignorant that fat People have an Apology for themselves viz. That they eat and drink less than many lean Folks This is true but lean spare rawbon'd People have for the most part great Heats which do digest and throw off all superfluous matter their Appetites are sharp and piercing also they are generally of active Spirits given to Labour and Action which destroys all matter for Fatness But most that are inclinable to the Phlegmatick Complexion are of contrary and colder Nature as aforesaid their Appetite not so sharp nor digestive faculty so strong and if discretion care and order with proper exercise be not observed great part of their Food and Drinks for want of heat is turned into gross raw Humours which cause an heaviness on the Spirit the Oyl from whence their Light of Life does shine becomes of a watrish Nature therefore such People ought to have understanding in the ordering of their Lives for want whereof many do by various sorts of Intemperances destroy their Healths Also many will take and follow the Paths and Examples of others which they ought not to do for what may be good Food for one may be the contrary for another therefore every one ought to learn the degrees and power of his own Nature For the differences of mens Constitutions are such and their Natures so contrary that 't is impossible to give any particular rule to fit every ones Conveniency so that there isa necessity for every one to see with his own Eyes and in this respect the Proverb is punctual truth Every man to himself is either a Fool or a Physician A man may speak somewhat that may be useful in a general way and helpful to many if minded but the power of doing is in a man's self and if one do but in any tolerable degree know his own composition and the power of his own nature he may very easily help himself for man's Will is free and if he be well informed and his Faith his own and he do not make the ways of the Multitude to be his Rule and their Faith his as many do then he may and hath power by wisdom to alter his Complexion for the better One of the chief causes why so many run themselves into Error and Diseases and Death it self is because they never look into themselves nor observe the operations of their own Nature but look what others do that do they and take the advice of every fool especially if he be a learned Fool without any examination whether it be proper or not Meats and Drinks good for this Complexion are all sorts of drying warming things as Bread eaten with Oyl let Butter be eaten sparingly Cheese is good not new but old also all Gruels and Pottage that are made with quick Fires and not too much boyled but thin brisk and lively for such things are easie to be concocted and quick on the Stomach likewise all spicy Herbs both boyled and raw in their Seasons that is betimes in the Spring and again after Michaelmas viz. in October and November but Flesh they ought to eat sparingly especially from Iune to the last of
most proper for your Constitution and least prejudicial to your Health Of Oxen and Cows their Nature and Complexion Oxen and Cows are dignified with a Sanguine Melancholy Nature a little inclinable to the Phlegmatick therefore much moisture is an Enemy to these Creatures in whom the four Humours are pretty well mixt yet the Sanguine does predominate As they are of an indifferent equal Temâ—erature so they are indued with harmless Propertiâ—â— and innocent Inclinations They are clean in their Radixes and therefore refuse all filthy Food and the same is likewise manifest by their sweet breathings and the Dung that proceeds from them whereas on the contrary those Beasts and Creatures that are unclean in their Root do always desire and most rapinously feed on a proportionable unclean Food as Swine Bears Dogs c. which is further demonstrated by their Shapes Tones or Cries frightful and displeasing as also in the fierceness of their Spirits and cruel wrathful Natures all such Creatures are highly gratified with unclean Food viz. Flesh Blood and the like But Cows and Oxen do afford many excellent sorts of Food no Creature being more useful or profitable unto Mankind not only in labouring and dressing the Earth by which it becomes fruitful but how many sorts of most excellent Food are made of Milk And so natural and proper no Fruit that proceeds from any Creature is of so great use Milk in its own nature being so simple and innocent and having no manifest Quality that does too violently predominate but is indued with equality and concord easie of Concoction especially Raw as it comes from the Cow it gently cleanseth and frees the Passages from Obstructions which strong Fat Food does generate it has a sympathetical Union with the Stomach and natural Heat it silently and without making any disturbance insinuates its Vertues and Nourishment into all parts of the Body Milk also being mixt with Flour does make some of the most healthy and wholsomest Food that can be eaten for all sorts of People and Ages especially Children it being heretofore their almost only Food boiled with some Flour and a little Water without any other Ingredients which then in the Country was called Pap but of late Years in and about the City they call that Pap which is made of Bread and Water which is nothing near so good and since the frequent use of Spanish Fruits and Spices the aforesaid simple wholsom Food has much been laid aside which is one cause why our Children in this Age are so much troubled with Distempers in the Ioynts viz. Rickets and the like hardly known in former times Milk likewise altered and Manufactur'd if I may call it so by the good House-Wives Art and Industry yields many other sorts of good Food as Cheese and Butter and many more innocent as Milk-Pottage which I especially recommend there being such an agreement in the Ingredients viz. Milk Water and Oatmeal being boiled together briskly and not too long as it not only affords a good Nourishment but opens the Passages and is of a cleansing healing Nature and therefore those that do frequently use it do seldom want a good Appetite Cheese is a wholsom healthy Food a great strengthener of the Stomach affording a strong firm Nourishment and such People as eat much Bread and Cheese and do not want good Beer or Ale are generally the strongest of men abler to endure Labour and Travel than those that feed on Flesh there is as much difference between the one and the other as there is between Horses that are fed with Corn and Hay and those that are fed with Grass Most men being mistaken in Nature do believe that Flesh of all other sorts of Food affords the greatest and strongest Nourishment because 't is full of matter and Iuices the very same may be supposed of Grass compared with Hay But the Husbandman will tell you that those Cattel that feed on Grass are weak and faintish in comparison of those that are fed with Hay and Corn for the Grass contains too much gross Moisture which causeth the Nourishment to be unfirm whence doth proceed dull heavy Spirits the Flesh and Fat being soft and greazy which in case of Labour will waste and such Cattel are apt to tire But those that are fed with dry Food whereby the gross Humidity and Phlegm is dryed away or exhaled by the Sun and Elements are strong and lively of great Spirits quick and active little Bellies and clean Limbs The very same is to be understood of the Food of Men and if men could be as well satisfied as to their Minds with eating Bread Cheese Butter flour'd Milk Gruels Pottages Herbs in their Seasons and the like they would find by Experience how wonderfully such things support Nature beyond all the Flesh in the World for most of that matter which People suppose to be Nourishment in Flesh is a gross Iuice which turns to Putrifaction as the gross phlegmy part of Grass does in Cattel Butter does afford a good Nourishment but it ought not to be eaten in too great quantity for then it generates Choler oyls and furs the Passages dulls the edg of Appetite but moderately taken is of good use and healthy especially to such as are accustomed to it Of the Flesh of Oxen and Cows The Flesh of Oxen is to be preferred before that of Cows it being naturally clean and wholsom if such Cattel be free from Diseases and Surfeits it generates a strong firm Nourishment having a greater affinity with mans Nature than with any other and therefore more People love it and will be longer before they are cloy'd therewith than with any one particular sort whatsoever yet it is somewhat hard of Concoction therefore ought to be eaten sparingly except by strong working People it fills the Stomach and for the most part gives better satisfaction than any other It ought not to be eaten until it be well seasoned with Salt or if eaten fresh there ought to be good store of Salt eaten with it and boiled in plenty of Water which will sweeten and cleanse it from its grossness it likewise ought to be salted as soon as 't is throughly cold after 't is killed for the longer the Flesh is kept the harder 't is to take Salt because by keeping the pure spirituous parts evaporate and then the Salt cannot incorporate it self with the Flesh for 't is with the pure Spirits that it delights to joyn it self and thereby preserves them from Evaporation and consequently keeps the Meat sweet and sound and therefore Meat so salted will eat much sweeter and keep longer and generate better Blood and Nourishment and is easier of Concoction If Cattel of any kind receive damage by driving or any kind of Sickness attend them and they be killed before they have time to recover such Injuries all such Flesh is not only unwholsom but it will not take Salt to keep as others will the Reason is this because if
of unfirm Nourishment and bad Blood for it too hastily slips out of the Stomach into the Bowels and has many evil Consequences causing Gripings and grievous Pains in the Bowels Few do imagin the Mischiefs that do arise from the frequent eating of bad Flesh. The Marks to know whether Flesh be good after its killed are first That the Flesh look with a brisk white colour and the lean of it with a lively bright Red not with a fading fainty whiteness nor with a dull dusky red for these last colours shew that the Creature was hurt and the Spirits wounded before it was killed or the flesh kept too long after 't was killed Another Mark to know whether the Mutton be perfectly good in every degree is when it s prepared either boyled or roasted viz. if when prepared it doth retain its perfect brisk lively colour both White and Red being plump or swelled and of a pure sweet delightful Taste as also by its sending forth a fragrant and inviting scent or smell which of all Flesh good Mutton yields the best These are essential Rules to know the goodness or badness of Flesh if the House-wife do perform her part in observing such Order as is both natural and proper to be used in the preparation of Flesh which I have sufficiently declared from the Root in another place Mutton is also made better or worse by the goodness or badness of the Ground it feeds on the best and sweetest is that of the smaller Sheep that are fed on high Hills and Pastures where the Grass is sweeter and freer from gross Juices than lower grounds and as Sheep delight most in dry places as best suiting to their Natures so they are there forced to labour viz. to continue feeding longer which motion does free the Body and pure Spirits from that gross matter which such as feed in low Pastures where Grass is more plentiful are subject to and also they are the longer before they be fat For these and the like Reasons those small Sheep if free from other disorders which they are not so subject to as great fat Sheep are do always eat much sweeter and pleasanter than great Mutton bred on low rich Grounds And therefore there is no reason why Citizens and the rich People should so much desire large great Mutton but only for Pride and State counting it a kind of Dishonour to have small Meat seen at their Table though the same is not only sweeter to the Pallate but more wholsom as being easier digested and generating better Blood and is far more healthy to all sorts of People especially for Children and People that live soft lives which for the most part eat the fattest and largest Mutton and other rich Food and cordial Drinks and for that very cause are more unhealthy than the meaner sort of People Of LAMB The Flesh of Lamb is much of the same Nature with Mutton being an Excellent Food generating a wholsom clean Nourishment as being easie of Concoction friendly to all Constitutions and Ages and much better than Veal if they be not killed too young 1st Because they are clean in their own Natures 2dly They have the advantage of sucking and running with their Dams not being altogether fed with Milk but also on Grass and Hay according to the season of the year which Calves for the most part are hindred from which renders their Flesh the more unwholsom There is no flesh either more healthy or grateful than Lamb if free from Surfeits and other disorders but their natures and spirits are so tender that they cannot endure driving or the like therefore Lambs that come from remote parts to great Cities are most of them in one degree or other surfeited or if they come thither free yet such is their bad usage between the Market and the Butchers Shop that 't is enough to spoil them and make their Flesh unwholsom Also when this sort of flesh is eaten the weather is for the most part Hot which does quickly wound their tender Spirits and cause a general faintness which renders their flesh soft and greasie generating a very unfirm Nourishment and filling the whole Body full of Venomous Juices that give a further occasion for Fluxes and Fevers to reign in August September and October in which time Lamb is much eaten But if these Creatures are killed off the Common without being prejudiced by driving or otherwise hurried it is not only the sweetest but may be eaten with as little danger as any Therefore there ought to be care and understanding used in managing them for if the Spirit in any thing be wounded or suffocated the Body presently becomes heavy dull flat and like a lump of Earth having neither its true natural sweetness smell nor taste but is dull on the Pallate heavy on the Stomach affording no proper Nourishment neither to the Body nor Spirits its venoms do by simile beget and awaken their Likenesses from whence proceeds Inequality and Discord which is the Root of most Diseases and even Death it self for every sort of Meat and Drink be it clean or unclean does by a natural and simpathetical operation incorporate its self with its likeness in the Body and powerfully strengthen it whence arise both concord and discord sickness and health as we see in Wine in which the Spirit is predominant does not the drinking of it presently awaken our Spirits and make them predominate over all other Qualities and changes the Inclinations Dispositions and Intentions during the time of its operation but afterwards it leaves a man with sowrer Spirits than it found him both because the Spirits of the Wine are not only evaporated but have caused the natural Spirits to evaporate also by its simpathetical awakening of them and as it were calling of them out of their several Centers the very same is to be understood in all sorts of Food of whatsoever Nature or Quality it is All which is worthy the consideration of all Understanding People Of the Flesh of Calves or Veal The Flesh of Veal is of a clean Nature easie of Concoction affording good Nourishment fit both for healthy and sick People if such may be allowed to eat flesh which to me seems somewhat improper especially when in their time of Health they made flesh their chief Food it being probable that the original of the Disease was occasioned by the eating of much flesh which is one reason why so many People in England when sick their Stomachs loath Flesh more than any other food for that food which a man does eat most of when in health that very same when sick he will loath especially when he feeds most on Flesh. But if this sort of flesh be eaten too young as too many do at twelve or eighteen days old then it is not so wholsom for it being of a soft slimy and phlegmatick Nature it generates an unfirm Nourishment and it quickly slips out of the Stomach into the Bowels and too
and Communication for they saw the inconveniences and dangers that all such things brought on man but in this Dark Gluttonous and Drunken Age there is no regard had to such things every man does imagin himself to have greater Understanding than the Ancients and Prophets so that there is little or no distinction made accounting all things as it were of a like nature and operation whence doth proceed innumerable Disorders and Diseases for the total Preservation of mans Health both of Body and Mind does consist in the Quantity and Qality of Meats Drinks Exercises Communications Customs and the good or ill Properties of Food all things have a secret Power in themselves to alter and change Nature either for better or worse or to Vertue or Vice according to the Natures and Degrees either of Evil or Good in each thing Of the Flesh of Fowls There are various sorts of Fowls most of which men eat some Wild others Tame of the two the Wild are the wholsomest for Food their Nature is more airy and cleaner and of a dryer substance affording a better and firmer Nourishment better Blood and purer Spirits than the Tame the cause of this is the Cleanness of their Food great Motion and their continual being in the open pure Air next in Goodness to these are those Fowls that have free Egress and Regress and are chiefly fed with Corn such do also afford a good clean Nourishment But all such Fowls that are kept up and fatted and crambed in Coops being hindred both from Action and Motion their Flesh is of a grosser substance than the former not so wholsom hard of Concoction of a stronger Taste and Smell generates a thick gross Nourishment as indeed all other Creatures that are fed or made fat after that manner are much the Unwholsomer not being so Healthy if frequently eaten as those Creatures that are at their own Liberty for Motion and Action are absolutely necessary for to preserve Nature from Diseases and other evils not only in Men but also in all other things for it Purges and cleanses the Body from all such superfluous matter which is contracted by Meats and Drinks and other Accidents that happen to most Creatures it causeth the Blood to have its free Circulation and generates pure brisk lively Spirits as daily Experience doth teach Therefore all such unnatural ways and inventions of fatting any Creature after such a manner ought not to be if People have regard to their Health For all sorts of Flesh is in its own nature not only more Unclean but it is of a grosser substance affording more matter for the generation of Diseases than either Herbs Fruits or Grains neither is there any Art found whereby to exhale or destroy the gross Phlegmatick part of Flesh as there is in Fruits and Grains Therefore Flesh will sooner fall into Putrifaction than other things whose Humidity is exhaled by the vertue and power of the Sun and Elements It being a general mistake for to imagine that those Fowls and other Creatures that are hastily fatted by being penned up close and having superfluity of Food should have the best and most Nourishment Indeed they are fuller of gross Juices and Matter but good Nonrishment and pure Spirits and Blood do not proceed from the gross Phlegmatick body in any Creature but from the lively spirituous Parts and the more gross and phlegmy any Body is the fewer and duller are the Spirits of that thing if this were not so then Horses fed with Grass would be stronger and livelier than those that are fed with Hay and Corn. Are not all Creatures when their Bodies are fraighted with much matter disabled thereby to go through with their Labour or Exercise their Spirits quickly evaporated or spent and soon out of Breath faint and weak Which comes to pass through the super-abounding phlegmy matter which suffocates the Spirits and stops the Passages weakening the natural Heat and Action of the Stomach Therefore both Men and all other Creatures that do feed on Food that is of a dry Nature and Substance the gross Phlegm being destroyed as in Corn Hay Fruits and many other things and are inclined rather to Leanness than fulness are not only stronger and abler to endure Labour but they have far greater and more Lively Spirits are of quicker Apprehensions and fitter for Exercises both of the Body and Mind which does also further appear in all such Flesh that is so fatted it is not so sweet nor will it so readily take Salt nor keep so long without falling into Putrifaction Likewise the fat of all such flesh when salted will in a little time waste and consume the phlegmy gross part which is so strong that the pure essential spirituous parts thereof are destroyed whereas the very same Creatures being fed with Corn or dry Food having their Egress and Regress in the open Air being killed in their season and Salted will continue much longer than the former being much wholsomer and more pleasant breeding good Nâ—urishment better Blood and Spirits CHAP. IV. The Proper and most Natural way of Boyling Roasting Frying Baking c. of Flesh and other Food THE proper and natural way to Boyl Flesh and other Food that the Spirits and Life of it may be preserved is fiirst To put your Flesh into a Pot or Vessel that is large and can hold good store of Water For this Element of Water being of it self sweet and pleasant does cleanse and sweeten all things especially Flesh which is full of gross matter but you are to note that your Flesh is not to be put into your Pot or Vessel unless it first Boyl for if it lie in the Water and receives Heat but Gradually it dulls and makes flat the spirituous part thereof Likewise when your Flesh is put into your Vessel let your fire be increased that it may not lie long in the Water before it boyl and as soon as it boyls you are to uncover your Vessel and to keep it boyling quick without intermission till it is ready for eating The Pot or Vessel is not to be Covered any time of the boyling for thereby the sweet and refreshing Influences of the Air are hindered that they cannot have their free Egress and Regress which does as it were suffocate and destroy the pure and Volatile Spirits in the food for the Air is the Life and preserver of the Spirit and the Spirit is also the Life and preserver of the Balsamick Body in every thing and in what thing soever the Spirits suffer violence the sweet Body and Oyl turneth Sower as is most manifest in all fermented Liquors if such Liquors be exposed to the open Air the Spirits will evaporate and then the sweet Body turneth Sower and becomes of a heavy dull Nature and Operation but in the preparation of all gross phlegmy Bodies the free Influences of the Air keep the Spirit Living till such Bodies are digested and the Spirits set at Liberty then if
Weather hot the making of fire in their houses is troublesom therefore baking saves them the labour Now at these seasons of the year flesh is unwholesom and very apt to burden Nature and to bring Diseases as I have discoursed in another place the frequent use of baked flesh in this season with other evil circumstances which do then concur does beget divers Obstructions and generates an unfirm Nourishment because most sorts of flesh at this time are more subject to Putrifaction than any other whence so many Fevers Fluxes Gripings of the Bowels and other Diseases do very frequently reign for Flesh in its best Condition is full of gross Juices and matter for Putrifaction by reason of the great store of Phlegm and Humidity therefore it ought to be helpt as much as can be in the Preparation which never can be well done except there be plenty of the Element of Water and the free egress and regress of the Air for those Elements have a living Power in them by which they do qualifie and mix with it purging and cleanfing that raw phlegmy Juice or matter which all Flesh does afford Also where these two Elements have their free operation in the preparation of all sorts of Food they preserve not only the pure Spirits but also the sweet Balsamick Body from being suffocated or destroyed maintaining the natural Colour with the Smell and Taste which makes all such Food lively and brisk easie of Concoction generating a far better Nourishment than any kind of baked Meat Of Stewing of Flesh. This kind of Preparation of Flesh is much of the same nature with the former for it has neither benefit of the Air nor a convenient quantity of Water in this and all other Preparations of Food where these two Elements are hindered from having their free influences and operation as is mentioned before neither Fesh nor any other Food can be well prepared for the radical and pure Spirits where these two Elements are pen'd up from having their influences cannot subsist neither will the fire burn but presently the pure Spirits and Oyl in the Wood or other things becomes suffocated for the Water and Air are the true Life and Power of every Being whence it comes to pass in all Preparations both of Food and Physick where these two Elements have not their free influences and operations the pure Spirits become suffocated and the sweet Oyl is turned sower and becomes of a stinking Quality which is the cause all sorts of Food so prepared become strong in scent and also in Taste and it loseth its natural Colour if as I have said the pure Spirits and Balsamick Body be hurt then there follows presently an alteration and the original Quality of the dark Brimstone Spirit of Saturn and Mars gets the dominion which was as it were hid before but so soon as the true Life is wounded this Crude Fire becomes many degrees stronger than before as is seen in Charcoal and in many other things for these pure Spirits and Oily Body whence the true Light hath its bright shining Quality are the Qualifiers or Moderators of this dark fierce fire as I have elsewhere largely discoursed of touching the Nature of Brandy of this all House-Wives ought to take notice for if the pure Spirits and sweet Body be not preserved in the Preparations of Food such Food is rather a Death to the Body and also to the Spirits than Life The greatest Wisdom in all Preparations is to preserve the pure Spirits and sweet Body from being either suffocated or evaporated and yet at the same time to digest and open the Body for the Crude matter in all Food must be digested or else the pure Spirits cannot be set at Liberty or freed from the phlegmy matter which pure Spirits and sweet Body does tincture the Food as we see when any Food is properly prepared which comes to pass through the Preparation it digests the gross Crude parts and then presently the true Spirits appear in their friendly forms which before the Preparation were captivated or hid by the gross Phlegmy Body the same is done in Malt but in a higher degree Most certain it is that the pure Spirits and Balsamick Body cannot be supported and continued without the help of the Air and Water therefore it is a gross Mistake and Error amongst most House-Wives to think that by Covering the Vessels wherein Food is prepared to preserve the Spirituous parts thereby imagining that if such Vessels be open that the Spirits will evaporate which never happens till the gross Body in the Food be digested and the Food be sufficiently Prepared which does as is said before set the Spirituous parts at Liberty that they become Volatile and then if the Preparation be continued they will evaporate but not before for in the Preparation the Elements of Air and Water having their free Influences keep the Spirits and Oily Body living and if these two Elements be Prevented then the fiery sulpherous Fumes become so Raging that they seek out their Center and incorporate themseves with the gross humid part of the Food so that they greedily devour and suffocate the pure Life and sweet Oyl the very same is to be understood in all Physical Preparations The Observation and true Knowledg of these things are very material as to the preserving of Health but first they must be understood in a mans self for before a man can essentially know any thing the Cognoscible and the knowledg thereof must be manifested in himself or else it is impossible for any one to know any thing Truly Whatsoever may be known or understood of God and Nature is essentially in man or else he could not be called the Image of his Creator Therefore every one ought to turn the Eye of their Understanding inward and diligently search themselves which Study is Preferrable to all other things Of Fryed Flesh. The Frying of Flesh and other Food in Pans is a Preparation much in use in England but not so good or wholsom as either Boyling Roasting or Broyling The goodness of all Food does arise and proceed from the Essential Spirits and Balsamick Body which is the true Life and Vertue of every thing and if these essential Vertues do not suffer violence in the Preparation then such Food will have a most pleasant Smell a brisk lively Taste very delightful to the Palate also it retaineth its natural Colour according to that colour that was predominant in the Radix of that thing be it either White Green or whatsoever else which can no way be maintained in the Food but by the benefit and help of the Water and the pure influences of the Air Where the operation and influences of these two Elements are hindered the pure Spirits do suffer Violence which alters and changes both the colour smell and taste then it has a strong and odious scent and its taste is also more unpleasing than the former and the Stomach does not so eagerly
Stomach and generates burdensom Humours in the Body because the pure Vertue and Friendly Quality in Food so Prepared is in part destroyed if this was understood People would not be in love with such Preparations for through frequent Use and continual Custom of eating Food badly prepared the Pallate is adulterated and altho such be strong and fulsom which always comes'to pass when the pure Spirits are wounded in the Preparation nevertheless the Pallate is not capable to distinguish Tastes for the senses are easily made friendly by use and custom to the greatest part of things Do not all stinking Trades which at first are unpleasant to the sense of Smeling become after a little use and custom easie to be endured and such cannot well distinguish the Air of Tallow-Chandlers and Butchers Shops from sweet pleasant Airs If this were not so it would be impossible for Nature to endure those Adulterations and unnatural Preparations of Food Therefore we see what a wonderful Power there is in every thing to awaken and strengthen its Likeness in the human Nature for this very cause the most illuminated Prophet Moses commanded the People of Israel that they should not only abstain from eating Unclean Creatures but that they should also separate themselves from every unclean thing for he was sensible that Man was capable to be wrought on by all things because he has a Simile with all There is more in this than many imagin which every one ought to consider not only in Preparations of Food but in all other things CHAP. V. The Seasons of the Year in which all sorts of Flesh are most unclean and aptest to contract and breed Diseases and also the danger of eating much green Food And the Reasons why so many are sick and die more at one time than another THE Seasons of the Year which are most dangerous to contract Diseases in are from the middle of Iune to the last of October For 1st This season is hot which openeth the Pores causeth Sweating and as it were a continual Evaporation of the Spirits which causeth a kind of fainty Indisposition to possess the whole Body for all heat which exceeds the Medium whether it proceeds from Seasons Meats Drinks or Exercises doth gradually waste and consume the Spirits and natural Heat and dulls the edge of the Attractive Digestive and Retentive Faculties of the Stomach therefore in all hot Countries and Seasons mens Appetites are not so vigorous and quick as in cold Countries For this reason all Superfluity and Intemperance are far more dangerous and men are apter to contract Distempers in the one than in the other as experience manifests we see that the Natives in all hot Climates are more temperate in Meats Drinks and Exercises than they are in cold which is one main cause why English People and others that travel into the East and West-Indies are so unhealthy and so many have died Experience hath taught them that the grand cause has been Intemperance not only continuing the same Disorders there which they had been addicted to in their own Country but rather increasing them saying The hotter the Weather the stronger and hotter the Drink ought to be this Custom hath been practised by some idle sottish People that understood Nature no more than Swine Whereas if such who travel did take right measures in Meats Drinks and Exercises they would be as healthy as in their own Countries 2dly In this Season People make use of variety of green Food as Beans Pease Cabages Colly-flowers Artichoaks c. All which things do contain great store of Phlegmy matter especially in cold Countries where the Sun which is the central Life of all things has not that Power to prepare such food as in hot Also the Bodies of most People being accustom'd all the remaining part of the year to strong hot Food and Drinks and then on a sudden without gradual Progression beginning such a kind of Diet as does beget Crudities and Obstructions is very prejudicial to them for Experience does shew that all such things are full of Phlegm and have but few Spirits and they very impure comparatively to what they were in the Spring Therefore they ought to be eaten moderately or else all such things do swell the Body and fill it with gross Phlegmatick Humours whence doth arise those heavy dull Indispositions which do generally attend People in this Season 3dly It is likewise to be observed that a great part of that green Food before-mentioned does often lie a considerable time before they are eaten viz. two or three days or more after such things are cut or gathered especially in great Cities and Towns some of them lie heating together a day or two before they are spent as Beans and Pease c. by which means they lose their pure brisk lively Taste and Smell their natural Colour is changed into a dull Green mixed with a dusky Black they are dull on the Pallate lie heavy on the Stomach nothing so quick of Concoction as those that are boyled Fresh these things presently lose their fresh lively Spirits and Tinctures whence doth proceed the pleasant Taste with the most fragrant Smell and natural Colour if your Pallate be not too much adulterated it will easily distinguish the one from the other 4thly At this time of the year the Air which is the Life of the Spirit in all Cities and great Towns is thick and sulpherous full of gross Humidity which has its source from many Uncleannesses such places do plentifully afford more especially in this season which is inamicable to the pure Spirits of all such Food for all green Food is naturally subject to Putrifaction by reason of their Phlegmatick Body this makes them more unhealthful and dangerous than otherwise they would be if fresh and lively These Summer Fruits when they have been gathered long and exposed to the corrupt Air of the Cities and Towns the pure spirituous Vertues and digestive Faculty is in a manner destroyed these Fruits viz. Gooseberries Currains Plums Cherries Pears Apples c. are endued with a very tender Spirit and Life and being full of Phlegm and gross matter they quickly corrupt and turn to Putrifaction which all the eaters thereof ought to consider Likewise it may be noted that many of these Fruits are eaten on a full Stomach both at Meals and immediately after which must needs be very pernicious to Health because they obstruct the Stomach and Passages generating many crude Windy Humours whereby they suffocate the pure Spirits and turn the sweet Oyl of Life sower whence doth proceed griping Pains in the Bowels Fluxes Fevers besides Pains in the Ioynts causing Trembling Distempers like Agues according to the Constitution of each Man and the matter which is awakened in the Root But on the contrary if such Fruits are ripe and fresh gathered and eaten in order when the Stomach is clean and free from being cloyed with other Food then they are very Profitable being
but they are never the better satisfied nor eased but rather increase the Pain thereby I am confident abundance of People can witness this to be true from their own Experience and yet will not consider or regard the true Reason or Causes of it For it is a gross Mistake when any shall feel their Stomachs gnaw or gripe in this manner to run presently to the Cupbord and think thereby to cure that defect which for the most part does but increase it and no longer gives ease than the Food or Drink is in the Mouth for this evil habit of the Stomach does not proceed from want of Food or Nourishment but through sharp crude superfluous Matter which dulls and disables the Natural Heat that it cannot perform its due Office of Digestion for where Food is thus too frequently cramm'd in the digestive Faculty has not power to make separation which does as it were suffocate the pure Spirits and then presently the sweet Oyl or Juices of such Food turns either of a keen sowr or bitter Quality according to the disorder or nature of each man's Stomach and Constitution which depraved Juices disperse themselves into several parts of the Body enfeebling the Joynts and Members wounding the Spirits and making room for outward Colds and the like Accidents to take place for Colds do rarely seize any part of the Body provided the Accident be not too extream except first there be some inward defect or weakness as may appear by those that are troubled with stoppages of the Breast whom every petty Accident nay even the alteration of the Air shall sensibly afflict But as Nature abhors all Extreams so on the other side over-long Fasting does help to generate windy Diseases especially in infirm People whose natural Heats are weak and Spirits few for they will soon grow fainty and Fumes and Vapors will be apt to fly up into their Heads and when they come to eat a small matter makes them sick for too long fasting does spend and evaporate the Spirits and waste the Radical Moisture and hurt the digestive Faculty so that after eating and drinking the Senses seem to be stupified and the whole Body sleepy and indisposed and besides after such long Fasting People are apt to strain Nature by taking more Meat and Drink than she can bear Therefore a Mean is safest in all things for if any refrain from Food too long the Action of the Stomach is so vigorous and its attractive Faculty so powerful that it preys on the natural Spirits and radical Moisture so that you shall then find a very imperfect Appetite whence comes that common Saying I have out-fasted my self or My Stomach is gone For the strength and perfection of the Palate and Stomach consists in the strength and vigor of the Spirits and radical Moisture therefore both superfluous eating and drinking and also immoderate fasting do generate Diseases and cause Indispositions both in the Body and Mind Therefore it is not so commendable nor so healthy to make but one Meal in twenty four hours as to make two moderate Meals in that space for otherwise there is apt to be too great an Emptiness and too eager an Hunger which makes People give themselves such a freedom of eating as thereby the Vessels aâ—e stretched by the great quantities of Food which makes such have great Bellies and prove fat and gross But though they will eat but once a day yet many of them that are able to come by it do give themselves the liberty of drinking lusty Evening-draughts which do so stupifie the Senses and heat the Blood and furr the Passages so that it is no wonder that they are not prepared for a Breakfast In a word there is nothing so safe nothing so pleafant as Temperance and to observe proper times and feasons for eating and drinking and keeping within the bounds of what is necessary both in quantity and quality And this we must aver That as the world goes few there are that hurt their Health with Fasting in comparison of those Multitudes that destroy themselves by Superfluities nor is it so dangerous a consequence if any competent care be taken It is also to be observed That all kinds of Food ill prepared is hurtful and apt to forward those Windy Distempers for any Food that is too much or too little drest or under or over-prepared is prejudicial to the Health but over-prepared is the more hurtful of the two unless where it is very much too little done for over-preparation be it of what you will does in a great measure destroy the brisk lively Spirits which renders such Food of a heavy dull gross Nature and Operation so that it cannot administer such proper Nourishment nor can the natural heat of the Stomach draw such pure Spirits from it as otherwise it would yield for it cannot give what it has not 'T is therefore a great Error as to Health to overprepare Food as the custom of some is viz. to boil Flesh so long till 't is ready to fall to pieces which many do because the Broth should draw forth all the strength and vertue also they boil it in but small quantity of Water with the Pot or Vessel covered by which means the Broth loseth its proper and natural Complexion and becomes of a dull reddish Colour mixt with black which is very pernicious both to those that are in health and such as are already sickly but especially for weak consumptive people whom Physicians generally order to eat of such Pottages for their natural Heats being weak and Spirits low these unnatural Preparations gross Foods do further the growth of their Distempers for all such Pottages have lost their pure spirituous parts and volatile vertues in the preparation and are loathsom to Nature especially to weak people because by the small quantity of Water long boiling and the grosness of such Flesh the lively Vertues and Tiuctures are destroyed and therefore such Goods lose their natural Colour and fragrant Sent and become strong and fulsome for no preparation ought to be continued any longer than the crude body be opened and the gross matter digested for if it be continued longer then the pure spirituous parts will evaporate The Intention of kinds of Preparation is to digest the phlegmatick gross Parts that thereby the spiritual Vertues may he set at liberty but then if the Preparation be continued your Fire will serve you as the Celestial Fire viz. the Sun and Elements do the Husband-man when he makes his Hay or the Malster his Malt for first the Sun exhales the gross Body and phlegmatick Parts of the Grass or Herbs and sets the Spirit at liberty which perfumes the whole Field with most delectable Odors but if this Hay be continued too long in the Sun and open Air its spirituous Quality will also be exhaled and then it will become like Salt that hath lost its savour good for little but the Dunghil The very same is to be
And if we may descend to grosser Pleasures have not the meanest of Men as great content and satisfaction with his poor Russet-Coated Wife as the greatest Prince with his Gayest Bride Whence the Poets always feign LOVE the noblest of the Passions to be bred amongst the Villagers and a Companion of Rusticks and Shepherdesses Nay to go higher has not the great All Wise Creator given the most friendly Element the Air in Gavil-kind to all the Sons of Men every one enjoying an equal Portion And are not the greatest of Men subject to all the Injuries of the Elements and Necessities and Accidents of Natural Life viz. Heat Cold Hunger Thirst Diseases and even Death it self as much and as frequently and as certainly as the Poor And yet still men are so foolish and so vain as to vaunt of their Great Birth and their Noble Blood Can any thing be mote extravagantly ridiculous True it is all that are Governors Magistrates and Officers of the People ought to be honoured and respected in their Places according to their respective Dignities and so much the more if they govern according to the Law of God and Nature doing every man Justice and Right and being a Terror unto evil doers and a Praise unto them that do well But this real Honour contracted on Political Considerations of Office and Vertue is nothing to that Fantastick Glory derived meerly from Ancestors and the brave Feats done by our Great-Grandsires Grand-Fathers so much boasted of by those who please themselves in being Great rather by their Mother's Labours than their own 14. It is to be noted that most sorts of Flesh and Fish as to their operations on the Body and Senses are not so innocent brisk aery and lively as Herbs Seeds Grains Fruits and various sorts of excellent Food made of them though many of our English Belly-Gods suppose Flesh to be most mighty in its operation but they are grosly mistaken and no wonder since their Brains Wits and Understandings are through Intemperance Superfluity and Gluttony sunk into their Bellies for Flesh is of a gross substance dull and heavy in its operation fills the Body with abundance of slimy corrupt Juices bad Blood and in many Constitutions too great a quantity and causeth the Animal Spirits to be very impure whence arise Boils Scabs King's-Evils Leprosies and sometimes clotted Blood like pieces of Flesh which lie in some of the Vessels of the Stomach till being gathered into hard Lumps they sorely oppress Nature and cause Distempers which are the Death of Multitudes Flesh and Blood is too near of kin to the Animal Life in Man to be a proper Food for him 't is like the Marrying of Brothers and Sisters Therefore the Ancients were curious in forbidding especially the eating of the Flesh of any of those Beasts that would naturally eat the Flesh of their Fellow-Creatures and we need go no farther than every Man's experience to know that all such Flesh and also Fish have a rank strong fulsome Taste and affords a like Nourishment Nor has Flesh and Blood grown into great reputation from the excellency of its Taste or Nourishment but chiefly as we have elsewhere observed from the near affinity it has with the awaken'd Wrath and bestial Nature which in most men predominates Hence when once Men have tasted Flesh with the Blood the Bestial Qualities are presently irritated and so pleased that nothing else will afford them such satisfaction because of its great affinity with the Bestial and Animal Life the hunger grows so strong in many that they will eat Flesh or Fish that stinks and is half putrified if they cannot have other rather than feed upon Bread Butter Cheese or the like which is an bundred-fold beyond it both as to Taste Nourishment and Vertue The same is to be understood of all sorts of unclean Birds and Beastss of Prey As for example If a Dog chance to suck the Blood and eat the raw Flesh of any Creature it does so violently open the gate of the fierce Quality that the Hunger grows so great that he becomes ten-fold more eager revenous and fierce than before This every one almost doth know and if they consider it well shall find the very same Effects in Bodies humane as each man may feel in himself if he be a diligent observer of his own Nature If this had not been so Moses and many wise men in most Ages had never made such strict Laws against eating of Flesh without distinction and that such Flesh as was allowed to be eaten should be throughly cleansed from the Blood c. Which rendered such Flesh far wholsomer and to afford a better nourishment but not so much as our way of Killing and Dressing which in truth in most Creatures as Cows Oxen c. is next door to strangling whereby the natural Spirits are suffocated and causes the Blood and fierce wrathful Spirits to centre and lodge themselves in all parts of the Body and hinders them that they pass not so freely away where the wound is made This the Apostles understood very well We have no other Commandment to lay on you but that you abstain from Blood Fornications things offered to Idols and things strangled there being more Evil in all sorts of Flesh and Fish that is so killed than most do imagine for when there is no Wound made the animal bestial wrathful fierce original poysonous Spirits become suffocated and Death's stroke brings the whole Nature into such amazing frightful Agonies as few Men or Killers of Beasts are sensible of or endued with so much humanity to consider for if they did suffer Compassion to arise in them their leud Trade of killing would not be so easie to them I say the central Poysons being awakened by the stroke of Death and finding no Passage they seize the pure Spirits whose Habitation is the Blood and then presently the sweet Oyl or Balsamick Property turns sower strong and fulsome as is manifest every where both in Animals and Vegetables whensoever the pure spirituous parts are by any improper preparation or other Accidents wounded suffocated or evaporated then in a moment's time the sweet balsamick Property is depraved and turns eager and unwholesome Hence it is that the Flesh of those Creatures that are strangled does neither look so well nor eat so sweet nor is so healthy as other Flesh for when any Creature perceives its Life in danger there is such a strugling and horror within as none can imagine but such only as have been near dead by the like means it being the very same in a Beast as in Men. This being better understood by the Ancients than now-a-days it was therefore amongst them not lawful to kill any Creature that was to be eaten without making a Wound by which means the Blood did pass freely away and with it the fierce and wrathful Spirits and Poysons and so the Flesh was purged and freed from many sorts of Uncleanness and even this