came to destroy For he preached Peace Love and good Will unto all Men and therefore his Doctrine is called The Evangele or Gospel that is to say Ioyful News or Glad Tidings Some there are that do say That if they should not kill and eat the Flesh of the Creatures they could not subsist or live which in a bad sense is true For should they cease from Violence and Killing then that cruel wrathful fierce Life in them could not subsist in such vigour and strength as it does but must of necessity become weak and as it were die that is it would no longer domineer in the Heart over the friendly Principle of God's Love But as to the Health of the Body which is that which I mean Herbs and Fruits will sustain Nature in every respect far beyond the best of Flesh. 16. It is said in Gen. 4. That Adam knew his Wife Eve and she conceived and bore Cain and said I have gotten a Man from the Lord that is from the strong Powers of the Wrath in Nature from whence all Lordliness Pride and Oppression in Government ariseth And she conceived again and bore his Brother Abel and Abel was a Keeper of Sheep that is a Keeper of and Dweller in Innocency But Cain was a Tiller of the harsh Earth which must be broken and torn up by Violence and hard Labour both of Man and Beast which was the Curse that the Lord laid upon Adam And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the Fruits of the Ground an Offering unto the Lord And Abel he also brought of the Firstlings of his Flock and the Lord had respect unto Abel and unto his Offering but unto Cain and his Offering he had no respect And Cain was very wroth and his Countenance fell and the Lord said unto Cain Why art thou wroth If thou dost well shalt thou not be accepted and if not Sin lieth at thy Door and unto thee shall be his desire and thou shalt rule over him that is unto thee Cain shall be the Desire of my Kingdom of Love and Divine Light but if thou wilt not hearken unto its Counsel and be obedient to my Commandments then thou shalt rule over him that is over the Divine Power as it came to pass for Cain talked with Abel that is the Wrath contended with the Love and Divine Power and it came to pass when they were in the Field that is where the wild harsh Nature does predominate that Cain rose up against Abel his Brother and slew him Here the Wrath prevailed over the divine innocent Principle and destroyed it as it does at this day for those two Brothers did rightly and truly signifie the two grand Principles and the two Seeds that of the Woman and that of the Serpent And the Lord said unto Cain Where is thy Brother And he said I know not Am I my Brother's Keeper Here Cain viz. the Property of Wrath denied the Murther and pretended he had done him no Evil or knew nothing of him But the Lord answered and said What hast thou done The Voice of thy Brother's Blood crieth unto me from the ground and therefore the Lord cursed Cain and tells him he shall be a Fugitive and a Vagabond Then Cain bowed himself and said unto the Lord My Punishment is greater than I can bear Behold thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the Earth and from thy face shall I be hid and it shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall stay me This Confession and Submission did so pacifie the kindled Wrath that the Lord said Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain Vengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold and the Lord set a Mark on Cain lest any finding him should slay him This Mark was the Light of the Lord that enlightens every Man that cometh into the World and which does more or less mollifie and withstand the fierce wrathful Powers in Mankind for if this were not the Wrath of Cain would grow so powerful that the Children of Abel would not have any being in this World Then Cain went out from the Presence of the Lord and dwelt in the Land of Nod on the East-side of Eden that is he went into the outward Principle of this World and dwelt in the Land of Vanity at a distance from the divine Principle which is intimated by Eden in which Cain did not live but on one side of it viz. in the operation of both the good and evil Nature which most Men of this World do live in And it is also said That he built a City that is he became strong and powerful in the Property of this World and therefore Cain was an Oppressor and one that did domineer and Lord it over his Brethren and slay the divine Principle of God's Love and hence all Violences Contentions Killing and Works of Darkness for Cain does truly signifie the Fountain of God's Wrath and the original Properties of the Father's Nature and Abel does represent the eternal Principle of God's Love in the Son's Property Cain intimates the Fire and Abel the Light if the meek Spirit of Abel were not overcome and murthered by the fierce Wrath of Cain there would be Peace on Earth as in Heaven and as when Cain arose and contended with and slew Abel he made no resistance this was a true manifestation that the fierce Wrath had got the Victory but Abel's Blood cried unto the Lord. The very same is to be understood in all kind of Oppression both to Man and Beasts they all by a sweet sympathetical operation call for Vengeance for God is no respecter of Persons or Things but whensoever any Creature is oppressed the same doth from the awakened Wrath curse the Oppressor and send up Cries and terrible Complaints to Heaven which moves the Principle of God's Wrath whence so many Judgments fall upon the People nor is it possible it should be otherwise as long as the Spirit of Cain predominates in their Hearts tearing and destroying the Peace and Well-being of one another and of all the inferiour Creatures far worse than the wild Savages of the Desart for when their Bellies are full they do rest satisfied until they are hungry again but Men are become such Belly-gods and Slaves to their Lusts and Passions that they are never satisfied either full or fasting but always contriving Mischief and how they may betray not only those of their own kind but also all other Creatures insomuch that all the Elements mourn and are filled with the Cries Groans and mournful Complaints of their miserable Inhabitants True Religion doth consist in this as our Lord Jesus Christ taught both by Precept and Example that Mankind do no Violence but live in the power and operation of the Spirit of the humble meek Spirit of Abel for every violent Action and Oppression let it be little or much or offered unto whatsoever Creatures does as naturally and spiritually awaken
the Root of its Life Now this bitter Quality in Hops is of a harsh astringent Nature and very hot as the original Spirit in all things is For this cause all Beer that is boyled much and hath store of Hops in 't will keep a long time but then it heats the body and causes the Stone if it find matter to work upon and several other Infirmities so that 't is no ways to be accounted so good as Ale For Ale is a very excellent sort of Drink if well ordered and as the predominant Quality in Beer is Martial and Saturnine Hot and Fierce so on the contrary that in Ale is Solar and Venerial viz. Sweet and Balsamick indued with a mild soft friendly Nature and gentle operation it sweetens the blood opens the body and purges by Urine Hops are very wholsome to be put into Ale in a small Quantity but they ought not to be boyled but thus you may do it fill your Copper or Vessel you use for that purpose with your Wort make it boyling hot then take what Quantity of Hops you please and infuse them about half an hour and then strain them out not letting it boyl at all and then for certain you have all the Vertues of the Hops that are proper for the body for the Wort will extract and receive the pure spirituous Parts and balsamick Vertues of the Hops in as little or less time than the hot Liquor did the sweet Quality of the Malt in the Mash-Tub There is the very same cause and reason for the one as for the other Likewise the Ale ought to be throughly wrought or fermented that thereby it may be cleansed from its Yeasty substance which most Ale in London is clogged with which makes it grow sour in a few days and besides before 't is sour it fouls the body and sends dull dark Fumes into the Head palls and flattens the edge of Appetite and disorders the Stomach But none of these Inconveniences happen when Ale is well brewed and has wrought as it should do wherein special care is to be taken that it be not set to working whilst the Wort is too hot for that causes too violent a motion which weakens the original Heat suffocates and wounds the pure Spirit which some call fretting and this does in some degree destroy the balsamick or sweet Body and whenever it happens or that your Drink works too much or too furiously be it Ale or Beer it will not keep but turn sour or eager sooner than the other that is put to work in such a degree of heat as it will but just move or ferment gently and mildly for if your Wort be put a working before the fiery heat or sulphurous Vapours be extinguish'd which are of a contrary Nature to the genuine natural Heat of the Wort as containing the fierce Spirits of the Fire then presently the balsamick body is wounded and turns sour sooner or later according to the degree of the motion for this fierce motion or working wastes the pure spirituous Balsam and awakens the original Qualities of Saturn and Mars viz. an astringent Eagerness or sour hard Quality that would not have been manifested if this irregular Motion had not excited it On the other side the Wort ought not to be cold for then the spirituous Quality becomes as it were flat for the Heat that proceeds from Fire and remains in such Liquor is a great Quickener and Awakner of all the Properties and of good use in this respect provided it be not too fierce And further note That all stale hard Beer whether strong or small is more or less injurious to most mens Health especially those whose Natures are subject to breed the Stone and Gravel Of Small-Beer There are generally great Errors committed in brewing Small-Beer viz. most House-Wives and some Brewers let their first Liquor stand too long in the Mash-Tub with the Malt that is to say an hour and a half or two hours which stirs up and awakens a fulsom sour and keen Quality which would be prevented if it stood but one hour And this is not only injurious to the Ale or best drink but hurts and spoils the Small-Beer that comes afterwards for if once the original gross keen Qualities be awakened there is no Charm to lay them again no Remedy or Art can help but all such Small Beer will prove not only ungrateful to the Palate and Stomach but breeds bad Blood causing sharp salt Humors which help to increase that general Disease called The Scurvy And except Beer and Ale be every way well prepared Water is a far better Drink and more wholsom for all Small Beer made after the vertue of the Malt is washed out is of a weak fainty sour Quality and very injurious for the first and second Liquors having drained and carried away all the sweet friendly vertues what remains is a meer loathing to Nature only many are used to such Drinks so that they cannot well distinguish the evil Natures and Tastes thereof To mend the defect of this gross fulsom small Wort many will boyl it a long time with those Dregs of Hops that have been once or twice boyled before in the Ale or strong Beer whereby there is not the least wholsom vertue left in them but only the strong gross astringent bitter Quality so that in such Small Beer as if People studied to do their Bodies a mischief there is a concurrence of evil Juices which if you set Custom aside are an Abomination to Nature It is therefore to be noted That those that will boyl Hops in Beer or Ale ought not to boyl them more than once that is in one Furnace of Liquor or Wort but infusing of Hops in boyling-hot Wort but not actually boyling half an hour or an hour at most is far the better way except you brew Beer for a long Voyage at Sea But as for those that have no such necessity but may brew when they please there is no reason if Health and the true natural vertues of Drinks be consulted that Been should be kept purposely till 't is stale and then drunk for since the Custom of brewing Beer in England which is not much more than two hundred years and keeping it till it be stale Experience shews us that many Diseases have thereby been occasioned which hardly had any being before For no Drinks or Liquors that are prepared by fire can be made to keep a long time without hurt to the balsamick and sweet Body Therefore all stale hard Beer be it strong or small is neither so good to preserve Nature nor yet so pleasant except custom to a depraved Pallat render it so as mild Beer especially as mild Ale well brewed and wrought that it become and is free from that yeasty Quality so loathsom that even Nature spues it out which the Ale in London and many other places in England is subject to I say when mild Ale is thus well qualified there is
in the Belly These and many other Diseases are the direful Effects of their Intemperance in eating drinking c. But still 't is certain none would be more Healthy than Sea-faring men if they keep within the bounds of Moderation and would be but content with the more simple and mean sorts of Food and Drink as Bread Cheese Butter Gruels various Grains and Fruits which are both mild and friendly and would with little use and custom sufficiently supply Nature with a Nourishment both dry and moist and that much better than the various sorts of Food which is generally allotted for Sea-men salt Flesh and Fish may do well between whiles if it be sparingly and seldom eaten but I would advise such People not to eat too freely of the various Fruits such Countries afford and to eat sparingly also of Flesh Fish c. For all sudden Alterations and Extreams prove very noxious and dangerous to Nature especially to such who have in their long Voyages accustomed themselves to the forementioned things CHAP. VII Of Wheat and other Grains Beans Pease Herbs Colworts and Colly-Flowers and that the Fruits Herbs and Grains of our own Country are better and more agreeable to our Bodies than any brought from abroad To which is added some Remarks on Fish OF all sorts of Bread that made of Wheat is the finest and best some Astrologers think that this sort of Grain is under the Dominion of the Planets Iupiter and Venus As there are several kinds of Wheat the best is that which is hard thick and heavy clear smooth and of the colour of Gold and which grows in fat and Limy Ground and afterwards has heat in the Mow three or four Months by which that raw kind of Quality that is in all Grains may be fully digested the like usuage in Hay c. will not be inconvenient This Grain is not only the strongest but of all sorts of Bread the Qualities and Properties of its Nature stand in the best Equality only the sweet and Balsamick Quality does a little predominate which gives it that pleasant Relish and kindly Operation far beyond all other sorts of Bread there is scarcely to be found any Grain Herb or Fruit in the whole Creation so highly graduated in Nature as Wheat or where the Forms and Qualities of Nature stand in more exact and perfect Equality therefore it does justly challenge the first place and preheminence of all sorts of Bread or Food it is the Foundation of all good Nourishment called by the wise Man The Staff of Life and our Saviour Christ compares the Heavenly and Spiritual Food of the Soul to Bread which does not a little Illustrate the excellency thereof Wheat ought not to be ground at Mill above a day or two before it be made into Bread for when the Body is broken the pure Volatile Spirituous Parts and oily Balsamick Body will more or less evaporate according to the time it has lain ground unless the Flour be packed up hard and close in Casks as Sea-men and Merchants do when they carry it to Sea by which means the Spirituous and Oily Quality will be some-what longer preserved but still when it comes to be used they 'l find it to be much drier and the Bread made of that Flour is not to be compared in goodness to that made of Wheat newly ground it is neither so sweet nor so moist as the other This Grain is so sound and firm in its Nature that if it be not ground it will endure to be kept for several Years but if once broken the Volatile Spirit which is the preserver of all things will evaporate and then the sweet friendly oily Quality is quickly destroyed and it loses its natural Smell Colour and Taste and generates Worms but when the other lively and pleasant Qualities are preserved no Vermin will breed in it I confess it is very hard to hit the proper Season of Reaping this and other Grains the Medium between the time of standing too long and cutting too soon is to be regarded but of these Evils or Extremities the lesser which is the later is to be chosen for if it be cut down three or four days before it comes to its full Ripeness it will gain what was wanting by lying in the Sheaf and heating in the Mow by which means you shall not only preserve it in its natural Colour but it will also be heavier and fuller yielding more and better Flour If you let it stand too long until it be over-ripe then it will scarce recover its self for when this or any other Grain comes to its full strength and ripeness and it be not then cut down the pure Volatile Spirit and oily Body begins to evaporate as the gross phlegmy matter in any Body is exhaled and digested by the Influences of the Sun so also the Spirituous Parts and Oily Body will be exhaled and evaporated by vertue of the same Influences after the drying up of the former gross matter by which the Balsamick Body is as it were captivated for the Sun works first in the phlegmy and gross Body which when it is exhaled the pure Essential Spirits and Balsamick Vertues being set at liberty the Sun also will immediately work on them too and dry them up to that degree as 't will be beyond the Power and Efficacy both of Nature and Art to retrive an example we have often of this in Hay c. Your Wheat by too long standing grows as I have already said not only lighter and loses its natural Colour and will not afford so good nor so much Bread but it also is harder of Concoction and creates Obstructions in the Stomach the wise Man says there is a proper Season for all things under the Sun which without doubt is to be principally regarded in Reaping and Gathering of the Fruits of the Earth If you set any value on Health and have a mind to preserve Nature you must not separate the Finest from the Coursest Flour because that which is Fine is naturally of an obstructive and stopping Quality But on the contrary the other which is Course is of a Cleansing and Opening Nature therefore that Bread is best which is made of both together for in the inward Bran and Skin of the Wheat is contained an oily Quality which is of a sweet friendly Nature by reason whereof the Bread which is made of fine and course together will not only be sweeter and keep longer Moist but is also more wholsom easier of Concoction and does gently loosen the Belly and if plentifully eaten it will cleanse and free the Passages from gross phlegmy Matter it will strengthen also more than the other Bread made of the finest Flour it will be harder and appear staler at three days old than the other will be at six or seven It must be confessed that the Nutrimentive Quality is continued in the fine Flour yet in the branny part is contained the opening and
Temperature and procures quieter Rest and makes People more lively and brisk preventing many Diseases and burthensom Inconveniencies But here I must be silent lest the Ladies be offended However if good Council may procure my Pardon I doubt not but to recover their good Opinion as soon as they shall have read over the following Chapter CHAP. XI Of WOMEN their Natures Complexions and Intemperatures as also of their Children Together with an account of the Generation of all Windy Diseases THe Nature and Complexion of Women doth differ and vary even as Mens some being more Sanguin others more Cholerick c. But generally they are more Sanguin than Men of weaker Heats and fewer Spirits therefore cannot endure any Inequality or Intemperances without great danger to their Health whether it be in Meats Drinks Exercises or Passions of the Mind Their predominant Quality doth stand in and proceed from the Element of Water therefore are of a finer softer yielding Temper than Men and their Love doth exceed that of the other Sex and indeed all kind of Passions do both sooner and deeper wound their Spirits Therefore all sudden surprizes of Love or Hate Ioy or Sorrow are apter to destroy the Health of Women and suffocate their Spirits stopping the Circulation of the Blood and causing the Body to swell and then abundance of Wind is generated which stops all the Passages so that People in this condition can hardly breathe Now the Original of all such Diseases which are called Vapours or Wind come thro' the weakness of the natural Heat and because the Spirits of most Women are so Volatile that every sudden Accident or Inequality doth either evaporate or suffocate them during which time the whole Operation and Circulation both of the Blood and Spirits is hindered and so the Life seems to be in danger which causeth a Commotion of the inward parts as if they did arise out of their natural places which is nothing else but certain Stoppages and Swellings of the Vessels that the Breath or Air cannot pass and then the Body is in a kind of Agony and trembles during the Fit which is never long for if it were the Life could not continue But thro' this agonous condition and strugling strife of the Properties of Nature the Element of Fire is awakned which is of a quick powerful active Quality and doth penetrate all parts of the Body and breaks open all the Passages which sets Nature into a great Heat throughout all the Body like a Fever and then this taciturn Contraction and suffocation of the Spirits does begin to cease but great dry Ardors do remain a considerable time after and by their violence do awaken the Element of Water which causes a breathing Sweat to succeed that is very beneficial to Nature and gives ease and so the worst seems to be over for the present Now all those Diseases that cause Nature to shake and tremble as Agues Vapours and the like are caused thro' the suffocation of the Spirits which does first awaken the Original Quality viz. the astringent taciturn twitching Property that does forcibly draw and contract all the inward parts and particularly the Vessels of the Stomach and in a moment stops all the Passages which Nature cannot endure and live and therefore uses her utmost efforts to get rid of those Chains by which contention the bitter Quality is awakned for that Quality above all others cannot brook Confinement but breaks open all the barricado'd Passages with its fiery and rapid Motion and awakens the hot Property which presently sets Nature into such a Flame as should it continue would soon consume her but these Heats do so violently hunger after and draw the Airy Quality as its true Life that it rouzes the Watry Element and thereby quenches that Combustion whereby Nature receives Relief and Refreshment But the Original Cause of all at the first is the wounding the Volatile Spirit which in Women is quickly done but Men are very rarely troubled with this Distemper of Vapours and the like because their Nature stands in and proceeds from the Root of the Fire and the Properties of Saturn and Mars are more predominant in them and therefore their natural or central Heats are greater and stronger than Womens and consequently are of better Judgments and Abilities both for the doing and the governing of all things For Man was made first and hath in himself the strong might and tincture of the Fire which is furious and forth driving very desirous to manifest it self But the Tincture of the Female is from the Water viz. from Venus Therefore the Males of all sorts of Creatures are far hotter and of stronger and greater Spirits and more desirous of Copulation or more unchast than the Females not subject to those Uncleannesses but fit for Generation at all Times and Seasons which Women are not And hence it is and always was accounted a greater Sin and Shame for a Woman to be unchaste than for a Man though it is not excusable in either And for the same Reason Women were never allowed those Priviledges of Polygamy as Men among the Ancients For the unchastity of Women destroys the Generation of Mankind in the Root and brings Confusion and Desolation to Families so that Wantonness in Women is a Sin against God and against Nature For the Creator in the beginning hath implanted Modesty and given the Bridg of Chastity unto Women and indeed unto the Females of all Creatures by enduing them with a cold meek Temper derived from the Element of Water which doth allay and cool them and therefore they are naturally more moderate and not so hot and desirous of Copulation as Men and when once they have Conceived are satisfied till such time as they have brought forth setting aside the Consequences proceeding from a debauched Imagination or the wanton Provocations that happen between Men and Women which force and strain Nature but as for pure natural Inclinations they cease and are as free from them as Sheep or the Females of any other Creatures These are the wonderful Works of the great Creator for if it were not so all Generation would be destroyed and corrupted even in the very Root as sometimes it comes to pass among Lascivious and Petulent Men and Women through various sorts of Uncleannesses which are against God's Law and the Right of Nature Do not all the Beasts of the Field observe their Times and Seasons And after Conception do they not strictly withstand their Males and not suffer them to touch them till after they have brought forth and also brought up their young Ones and made them capable to shift for themselves All which time they remain without Inclination because the end of Nature is answered and this is according to the first Law of God which all Creatures have kept especially the Females unviolated EXCEPT WOMEN But though I said that Womans natural Inclinations to the Sports of Venus do cease after Conception yet it
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