are very comfortable and restorative for mans body these three would I wish to bee much used of students for they most need nourishing meats But touching the choise of egges first I say that henne egges as they be most used so are they best Yet egges of Fesants and Partriches be not unwholsome but egges of ducks geese turkeis and other foules should be eschewed And of henne egges the choise standeth in three poâ—nts that they be white long and new as it is in Sch. Sal. Filia presbyteri iubet pro lege teneri Quod bona sunt ova haec candida longa nova Which is approved in the Poet Horace Longa quibus facies ovis erit illa memento Vt succi melioris ut magis alba rotundis Ponere Now concerning the dressing of egs there is great difference For either they be sodden rosted or fryed And they be sodden two wayes either in the shels or else the shels being broken the egges are put into seething water the first is called seething of egges the second poching of egges Both waies are good but egges poched are best and most wholesome Yet egges sodden in their shels are better then rosted because the moystnesse of the water tempereth the heat of the fire which dryeth up the substance of the egges overmuch And fryed egges be worst of all for they engender ill humours annoy the stomacke cause corrupt fumes to rise to the head Wherefore collops and egges which is an usuall dish toward shrovetide can in no wise be wholsome meat yet it is the lesse unwholsome if the egs be not fried hard For in the regiment of health egges should in no wise be eaten hard But being in a meane between rere and hard which Galen calleth Ova tremula yet rere egges named Ova sorbilia that is to say little more than through hot are good to cleare the throte and brest and they do ease the griefs of the bladder and reines made with gravell so that they bee taken before any other meat And if a man would break his fast with a light and nourishing meat then I say there is nothing better then a couple of egges poched or the yolkes of two egges sodden rere and put into one shell seasoned with a little pepper butter and salt and supped off warme drinking after it a good draught of Claret wine This I know to bee very comfortable for weak stomacks and is often used of the wisest men in England And this rule is generally to be observed to drink a good draught of wine ale or beare after we have eaten an egge as it is taught in Schola Sal. Singula post ova pocula sume nova If hens be slack in laying of egges give them hempseed enough and they wil become fruitfull For as Mat. saith Canabis sativae semen in cibis sumptum plane contrarium efficit in gallinis in nobis Siquidem largius com manducatum nobis genituram extinguit gallinas vero oviferaciores reâ—dit There is great difference in the parts of an egge for the yolke is temperately hot the white is cold and clammy and hardly digested and the bloud thereof engendred is not good Yet it is of great use in bruises wounds and sores as skillful surgions doe know The chicken is ingendred of the white and nonrished with the yolke though some bee of a contrary opinion Alexander Aphrodissaeus hath a pretty saying of an egge Orbis vniversi quem inundum vocamus speciem in ovo dixeris dâ—mâ—nstrari nam exquatuor constat elementis in spherae faciâ—m conglobatur vitalem potentiam obtiâ—et The shell hee likeneth in qualities to the earth that is cold and dry the white to the water that is cold and moyste the some or froth of the white to the ayre that is hot and moyst the yolk to the fire that is hot and dry So he maketh the egge as it were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a little world CHAP. 194. Of Milke MIlke is made of bloud twise concocted or as Isaak Iudaeus defineth it Lac non est aliud nisi sanguis secundo coctus in uberibus For untill it come to the paps or udder it is plaine bloud but afterward by the proper nature of the paps it is turned into milke Diosco giveth this commendation to milke generally Lac generatim omne boni succi est corpus alit aluum emollit stomachum intestina inflatione vexat But this last inconvenience may bee holpen as he teacheth afterward minus inflat quodcunque semel fervefactum est And I was wont to helpe it by putting in a little pepper Cloves and Mace Milke notwithstanding that it seemeth to be wholly of one substance yet it is compact or made of three severall substances that is to say in effect of Creame Whey and Cruds Oâ— Creame is made Butter and of Cruds Cheese of which I shall entreat afterward But of milke there is great difference not onely concerning the kindes but also touching the time of the yeare For Cow milke is thickest and the milke of a Cammel is thinnest and the milke of a Goate is betweene both Wherefore in the governance of health Goats milke is best and Cow milke is next Yet the goodnesse of the pasture helpeth much to the goodnesse of the milke for ill pastures make ill mylke and good pastures make good milke for such as the food is such is the bloud and such as the bloud is such is the milke as Galen excellently proveth by example of Goats which fed on Spurge and Scammony whose milk was very laxative Also by example of a Nurse who having fed much of wilde herbs after she gave sucke to a childe infected the same with many sores and byles And touching the time of the yeare I say that in the spring time mylke is thinnest and at the fall of the leafe it is thickest and best according to that old saying when ferne waxeth red then is milke good with bread And how naturall and nourishing a meat Mylke is may be perceived not onely by children who live and like better with that than with any other thing but also men and women who being used from their childhood for the most part to Milk and to eat none or little other meat but milk and Butter appeare to be of good complection and fashion of body And no marvaile for where milke is well digested it engendreth good bloud and giveth great nourishment yea it is a restorative for them that bee wasted or in a consumption or be leane as appeareth in Scho. Sal. in these words Lac hecticis sanum caprinum post camelinum Ac nutritivum plus omnibus ast asininum Plus nutritivum vaccinum sic ovinum Ad sit si febris caput doleat fugiendum est Whereby it appeareth that Goats Milke is principall in
you may make a very sweet water thus Take Damaske Roses or red-Roses Spike Flowers Rosemary Gilo-Flowers Mynte Majerom Balme Bay-Leaves of each alike and distill them Also Spike Flowers distilled alone doe make a very sweet water These waters I counsell all Students that bee able to have at the least some one of them and to sprinkle themselves therewith sometimes and wash their temples Nostrels and Beards for the savour of sweet waters and perfumes doe greatly comfort the Braine and revive the senses but pure Red Rose water is not onely good to be drunk but it is good also to wash the eyes and if any Student be dimme of sight he may make an excellent water for the eyes in this manner Take three Spoonefuls of Red-Rose water one spoonefull of White Wine of Tutia a dramme of Aloes Epaticke of white Sugar-Candie of each the weight of two pence make all in Powder and mixe them together let them settle in a glasse for two or three dayes whereof drop as need requireth into the eyes for it doth clense dry and strengthen the sight and helpeth all exulceration and rednesse proceeding of heat And for such as have a care to preserve their sight as all good students have for it standeth them upon they may make a water after the prescription of Schol. Sal. as followeth Feniculus Verbena Rosa Chelidonia Ruta Ex istis â—it aqua quae lumina reddit acuta Take of each of these five alike gather them when they are dry cut those herbs short that be long distill them and Sunne the water as before is said and use now and then to wash your eyes therewith CHAP. 91. Of Purslane PUrslane is cold in the third degree and moist in the second The leaves are used to bee eaten in Sallets with Vinegar by themselves or with Lettuce in the Summer season And surely very good for such as have hot stomacks for it doth mitigate the great heat of all the inward parts of the body likewise of the head and eyes Also it represseth the rage of Venus wherefore it is much to bee used of such students as will live honestly unmaried Being eaten it helpeth the teeth that be set on edge with sowre things Some use to preserve it in salt and brine but so it heateth and purgeth the stomacke CHAP. 92. Of Strawberrie STrawberrie is cold in the first degree and dry in the second The leaves and roots are used in Medicines but the fruit is used to be eaten And beside that it is very pleasant in taste it qualifieth the heat of the stomake and Liver In some places where they are plentifull they use to distill them and draw a very cooling water which is good to drinke for such as have cholericke stomacks or inflamed Livers and being dropped into the eyes helpeth the itch rednesse and inflammation of them as I my selfe have proved They may be made in a Conserva in like manner as I shall shew afterward of Berberies CHAP. 93. Of Poppie POppie whereof be three kinds white red and blacke The red is wilde and groweth among corne the white blacke are commonly in Gardens it is cold dry in the first degree The seeds of white Poppie and blacke are used to be eaten as appeareth by Diosc and Matth. yea the Countrey folks about Trident as saith Matth. take the leaves of wilde Poppie at their first budding forth and boile them as they doe other Herbs and eat them with butter and Cheese And one goodly experiment I learne out of Matth. in the same place that the red leaves of Poppy which grow among corne being dried and made in powder and given in drinke should marvellously helpe a Pleurisie and the women of Salerne give their children the powder of white Poppie seeds with milk to cause them to sleep it may also be given otherwise for the same purpose as in Posset-drinke in an Ale-berry or best of all in a Cawdale made of Almonds and Hemp-seed CHAP. 94. Of Orpine ORpine cooleth in the third degree It is proved good to heale a cut being pounded and laid to it It is wonderfull to see how long this herbe wil continue greene being hanged up in the house as I thinke through the abundant and firme moisture that is in it CHAP. 95. Of Burnet BUrnet is dry in the third degree and cold in the second It is very astringent and partly cooling and therefore good to put in Wine to confirme the stomacke And being used in pottage it bindeth the belly And as Matth. reporteth Muliebre profluvium efficacissime sistit dyssenteriam caeteros alvi fluxus cohibet biliosas vomitiones reprimit And as hee saith in the same place by the authority of Matthaeus Curtius it is also very good in the plague For which purpose I have knowne some to distill the Herbe and to keepe the water all the yeare Which thing may easily bee done for the Herbe is very plentifull and is commonly greene Winter and Summer CHAP. 96. Of Deysies DEysies are of nature cold and moist whether they be red or white double or single They be of like vertue they are used to be given in Potions in fractures of the head and deepe wounds of the breast And this experience I have of them that the juyce of the leaves and roots of Deysies being put into the nostrils purgeth the braine they are good to bee used in pottage for Matth. writeth Herba ipsa receâ—s in acetariis devorata alvum adstrictam leuit id quod etiam praestat ex jure pinguium carnium decocta CHAP. 97. Of Gourds Melons and Cucumbers which though they bee fruits yet because they are commonly set in Gardens be here specified GOurds are cold and moist in the second degree Being eaten raw they be unpleasant in taste and ill for the stomacke and almost never digested Therfore hee that will needs eat them must boyle them roast them or fry them Every way they be without savour or taste and of their proper nature they give to the body cold and moist nourishment and that very little but by reason of the slipperinesse of their substance and because all meats which be moist of nature be not binding they lightly passe forth by the belly and being well ordered they will bee meetly concoct if corruption in the stomacke doe not prevent them CHAP. 98. Of Melons and Pepons MElons and Pepons commonly called pompions be cold and moist in the second degree they bee almost of one kinde saving that the Melon is round like an Apple and the innermost part thereof where the seedes are contained is used to be eaten The Pepon is much greater and somewhat long and the inner part thereof is not to be eaten The vulgar people call both by the name of Melons and they use to boyle them and to eat them with fat Beefe or frie them with Butter and to eat them
with vineger pepper They both are very cold and moist and do make ill juice in the body if they be not well digested but the Pepon much worse than the Melon They doe least hurt if they be eaten before meales Albeit if they do finde flegme in the stomacke they bee turned into flegme if they find choler they be turned into choler Notwithstanding there is in them the vertue to clense and provoke urine and if any bee troubled with heat of the stomacke or liver or reines with the Strangury they may take ripe Melons and shred them into small pieces and distill them and sunne the water for a moneth then drinke thereof every morning tempered with a little Sugar the quantitie of three or foure ounces for the space of a moneth for besides that this water cooleth all the inward parts it doth greatly helpe the stone provoketh urine and clenseth the kidnies CHAP. 99. Of Cucumbers CVcumbers bee likewise cold and moist in the second degree they are pared sliced thin and served to the table with vineger and pepper in the Summer season and eaten with Mutton and proved to be cooling and comfortable to such as labour with their bodies or have hoat and strong stomackes But for flegmaticke and delicate persons which do no labour they bee unwholesome and ingender a cold and thick humour in the veines which seldome or never is turned into good bloud and somtime bringeth in fevers They are good to abate carnall lust And the seeds as well of Cucumbers as of Melons and Gourds beeing dried and made cleane from the huskes are very medicinable against sicknesses proceeding of heat and the difficultie or let in pissing as Physitians prove daily in their practise CHAP. 100. Of Nettle AFter all garden herbes commonly used in kitchin I will speake somewhat of the Nettle that Gardeners may understand what wrong they doe in plucking it up for a weed seeing it is so profitable to many purposes Whether it be cold or hot may well be perceived by touching for who so handleth it without some defence for his hand shall feele that it is hot in the third degree and drie in the second according as Avicen affirmeth Cunning cookes at the spring of the yere when Nettles first bud forth can make good potage with them especially with red Nettles very wholesome to cleanse the breast of flegme to breake winde to provoke urine and to loose the belly All which properties with other moe are briefely comprehended in Scho. Sa. Aequis dat somnum vomitum quoque tollit usum Compescit tussim veterem Colicisque medetur Pellit Pulmonis frigus ventrisque tumorem Omnibus morbis sic subvenit articulorum CHAP. 101. Of Fruits NOw that I have spoken sufficiently of garden herbes it followeth that I intreat of fruits which is the second part of my division proposed before touching meats For such is the providence of God toward mankinde that hee hath not onely provided corne and herbes for our sustenance but also fruits flesh and fish Howbeit herbes and fruits were the first food that ever was appointed to man as appeareth by the commandement of God given to Adam And from the time of Adam untill after Noahs floud he use of flesh and wine was altogether unknown for before the floud they neither eat flesh nor dranke wine But now by the change of dyet of our progenitors there is caused in our bodies such alteration from the nature which was in man at the beginning that now al herbs and fruits generally are noyfull to man and doe engender ill humors and be oft-times the cause of putrified Fevers if they be much and continually 〈◊〉 Notwithstanding unto them which have abundance of choler they be sometime convenient to represse the flame which proceedeth of choler And some fruits which be stypticke or binding in taste eaten before meales do binde the belly but eaten after meales they be rather laxative Wherefore it shall be expedient to write particularly of such fruits as bee in common use declaring their noyfull qualities in appeyring of nature and how they may bee used with least hurt CHAP. 102. Of Apples OF all fruits Apples are most used amongst us in England and are cold and moist in the first degree as M. Eliot alleageth Howbeit there is great difference in apples as in forme so in taste for some be sweet some be soure some bitter some harrish or rough tasted Apples some be of a mixt temperature both sweet and soure c. The sweet and bitter Apples are inclining to heat the soure harrish are cooling and therefore good where the stomack is weake by distemperance of heat But all Apples generally are unwholesome in the regiment of health especially if they bee eaten raw or before they bee full ripe or soone after they bee gathered For as Avicen sayth they hurt the sinewes they breed winde in the second digestion they make ill and corrupt bloud Wherefore raw apples and Quodlings are by this rule rejected though unruly people through wanton appetite will not refraine them and chiefely in youth when as it were by a naturall affection they greedily covet them as I have knowne in my daies many a shrewd boy for the desire of apples to have broken into other folkes orchards But apples may be eaten with least detriment if they be gathered full ripe and well kept untill the next Winter or the yere following and be eaten rosted or baken or stewed For so they are right wholesome and do confirme the stomacke and make good digestion most properly in a cholericke stomacke yea raw apples if they bee old being eaten at night going to bed without drinking to them are found very commodious in such as have hot stomackes or bee distempered in heat and dryth by drinking much wine are thought to quench the flame of Venus according to that old English saying Hee that will not a wife wed must eat a cold apple when he goeth to bed though some turne it to a contrary purpose And this experiment I have knowne that a rosted apple suffered untill it were cold and then eaten last at night to bed-ward hath loosed the belly and is therefore good for such as bee commonly costive But what time is best to eat apples Galen declareth Caeterum post cibum statim dare ipsa conveniet nonnunquam autem cum pane ad ventriculum stomachum roborandum iis qui deiecta sunt appetentia tardeque concoquunt quique vomitu diarrhaea ac dysent eria infestantur Which saying is diligently to be noted for this is a confirmation of our use in England for the serving of Apples and other fruits last after meales Howbeit wee are woont to eat Carawayes or Biskets or some other kinde of Comfits or seedes together with Apples thereby to breake winde engendered by them and surely this is a verie good way
without all danger then may you preserve them after this manner Take a pynt of faire running water halfe a pinte of Rose-water halfe a pound of Sugar seeth all together upon a soft fire of coles till the one halfe be consumed then take it from the fire and when it leaveth boiling put therein your cherries or plummes if they be cherries cut off halfe the stalks and let your fruit bee the like weight as of the Sugar Set it againe on the fire and keepe it in the like heate till they be soft the space of an houre if need be Then put into it some Cloves bruised and when it is cold keepe it in a glasse or gallipot the stronger the syrrup is with sugar the better it will continue Some put to the syrrup Cinamon Sanders Nutmegs Cloves and a little Ginger Seeth them not hastily for feare of much breaking CHAP. 107. Of Quinces QVinces be cold in the first degree and dry in the beginning of the second They are not used to be eaten raw for so they are both unpleasant and unwholesome And in my judgement no better for a students stomacke than raw beefe but beeing rosted stewed or baked and eaten after meales they close and draw the stomacke together and helpe digestion and mollifie the belly if they be abundantly taken for this is Galen his rule Qui stomachum habent imbecillum ventrem iis dejici cum postrem is epulis astringentium quippiam sumpserint Wherefore students having commonly weake stomackes may if they be costive ease themselves by eating after meat something which doth binde and restraine the stomacke as Galen telleth of one Protas a Rhetoritian on whom the like practise was proved But Quinces may be otherwise used very wholesomly as being made in conserva or preserved in syrrup condite or made in Marmalade And because the making of Marmalade is a pretty conceit and may perhaps delight some painefull student that will bee his owne Apothecarie partly to spare cost and partly to be sure that it be rightly made I will here set it downe as plainly as I can Your Quinces beeing full ripe and very yellow as in Lent season or thereabout first pare them and take out the cores then seeth them untill they be tender and soft That done beat them small in a woodden mortar or marble with a pestill of wood then with some of the liquour wherein they were sodden draw them through a strainer as you would doe a tart then set it over the fire to seeth softly and in seething strew in by little little white Sugar made in powder the weight of the Quinces or more as your taste shall tell you stirre it continually and put therto some pure Rose-water or Damask-water let it seeth on height untill it bee wall standing Which thing ye may know by taking some of it upon a knife and letting it coole For if it be stiffe then take it off and box it while it is warm and set it in a warm and drie ayre And if you will not have your Marmalade so binding you may put some ripe Apples of good verdure among your Quinces when you boile them with Sugar The Apples must first be sodden or rosted and then drawne through a course boulter as a tart After the same manner you may make Marmalade of Wardens Peares Apples Medlars Cheries Strawberries yea of Prunes or Damasins or other plummes First to boyle them upon a soft fixe with a little faire water till they be soft then to draw them as yee doe a tart after to boyle them againe with sufficient sugar to dash them with sweet water and box them CHAP. 108. Of Grapes GRapes be divers in taste and so are they in qualitie for soure grapes are cold and moist and sweet grapes are hot and moist The like is to be said of other sorts All grapes if they be eaten newly gathered doe trouble the belly and fill the stomacke with winde But if they be kept two or three dayes after they bee gathered till the huske be somewhat asswaged they nourish the better and are lesse laxative neither doe they inflate so much as saith Arnoldus Ripe Grapes and sweet doe nourish much and make one fat as Galen proveth by experience of those which keepe vineyards who feeding two or three moneths upon grapes and figges onely become very grosse But the flesh so gotten soone weareth away againe because it is not firme and fast but loose and over-moist And Schola Salerni reckoneth grapes that be sweet for one of the twelve things that nourish and make fat And well I wote that who so eateth many of them they will make him fat with an R. you know what I mean Grapes are used to be eaten after meat as other fruits but Arnoldus saith upon the same chapter That if they be eaten upon a full stomacke they both bee corrupted in the stomacke and they corrupt other meat CHAP. 109. Of Raysons OF Grapes dried through the heat of the Sunne are made Raysons which bee therefore named in Latine uvae passae and they be hot in the first degree and moist in the second Among us in England they bee of two sorts that is to say great raysons and small raysons otherwise called Corans The greatest sort are called raysons of the Sunne the other are commonly to be had and be much used in meats and that for good cause for beside their pleasantnesse in taste they doe make the stomacke firme and strong and do provoke appetite and do comfort weak bodies being eaten before meales But some question is made of raisons whether they be binding or loosing which Galen himselfe doth answer where he saith that Raysons without kernels doe open the brest and liver but eaten with the stones they binde Whose opinion Matthiolus confirmeth in these words Vvae passae quae vinaciis carent vel quod ita natura producantur vel quod ii arte fuerint exempti si dulces sint adstringente facultate adeo privantur ut etiam mirifice leniant Quamobrem pectoris angustiae tussi exasperatis faucibus renum vesicaeque vitiis maxime conveniunt Beside this Raysons are Secundum totam substantiam visceri ipsi hoc est iocinori familiares ac propriae And they concoct raw humors and withstand putrifaction as Galen writeth and for this purpose they may well be eaten fasting the stones being first taken out And for cruditie or rawnesse of the stomacke master Eliot by his owne report never found any thing better than fine rubarbe chewed with raysons of Corans yet raysons of Corans by the judgement of Arnoldus doâ— cause opâ—ilations of the spleene though they be good for the brest and reins and so saith Schola Sal. Passula non spleni tussi valet bona reni But Rubarbe may be better eaten as I thinke with great raysons CHAP. 110. Of Figges FIgges if they be new are hot and moist
and surely this kinde of dyet is good in some diseases and I have knowne many that have driven away sickenesse by fasting That is to say by eating nothing for a time which is named in latine Inedia And for this cause as I thinke that ancient Physitian Thessalus mentioned of Galen first devised this Diatriton that is to say three dayes abstinence for his patients whom notwithstanding Galen refuteth in the same place because hee used it in long diseases and by that meanes brought his patients to utter weakenesse Wherefore hee concludeth that the Physitian in dyeting should regard chiefly two things That is to say the force of the sickenesse and the strength of the party that is sicke and thereafter to prescribe lesse or more to be received More shall bee said touching this point where I shall entreat of custome time and order Now if a man being in health take more than nature may well beare let him follow the counsaile of Iesus Sirach If thou feele that thou hast eaten too much arise goe thy way cast it out of thy stomacke and take thy rest and it shall ease thee so that thou shalt bring no sickenesse unto thy body CHAP. 204. Of Qualitie THe third thing that is to be considered in meats is the quality that is to say the temperature or state thereof As whether it bee hot or cold moyst or dry grosse or fine thicke or thinne which is greatly to be regarded both in health and sickenesse for in health such meates should be used as be like in temperature to the body As to them whose naturall complection is moist as is of children ought to bee given meates that be moist in vertue or power And to them whose naturall complection is dry ought to be given meates drie in vertue or power Contrariwise to bodies untemperate and in sicknesse such meates or drinks are to be given which bee in power contrary to the distemperance As to them which bee very cholericke or sicke of a fever should bee given moyst meates and cooling For true is that saying of Galen Augetur quidque ac nutritur a similibus perimitur aâ— corrâ—mpitur a contrariis Itaque etiam sanitatis tutelaper similia perficitur morborum sublatio per contraria Whereof springeth that common Maxima contraria contrariis curantur But here wee must take heed that the meates doe not much exceed the distemperature of the body As those doe which bee named Cibi medicamentosi as hot wines pepper garlicke onyons and such like For these being hot and dry farre above the meane if they be given to a cholericke person they be very noysome because they exceed the just temperature of mans bodie in that complexion But to them which be flegmaticke they be oftentimes wholesome Contrariwise cold water cold herbes and cold fruits moderately used be wholsome to cholericke bodies by putting away the heate exceeding the naturall temperature But to them which be flegmatike they bee unwholesome and doe bring into them distemperature of cold and moyst but what meates bee hot or cold moyst or dry grosse or fine thicke or thinne may he learned by perusing the treatise before concerning meates of all sorts CHAP. 205. Of Custome THe fourth thing that is to be considered in meates is custome Which is of such force in mans body both in sickenesse and in health that it countervaileth nature it selfe and is therefore called of Galen in sundry places Acquisititia siue altera natura Whereof he giveth anotable example where he sheweth that an old woman of Athens used a long time to eate hemlocke whch is a rancke poyson first a little quantity and afterward more till at length shee could eate so much without hurt as would presently poyson another The like story is told by Albertus magnus where hee declareth that a childe by long use and custome would eate spiders out of the wall without any harme Notwithstanding that spiders as all men doe know are a present poyson So that custome in processe of time may alter nature and make that harmelesse which is otherwise hurtfull And in meate and drinke every man feeleth in himselfe that whereunto hee hath been of long time accustomed though it bee not so good as other yet doth it lesse harme than that whereunto he is not used And this is approved also by Hippocrates Quae longo tempore assuet a sunt etiam si deâ—eriora sunt minuâ—iis quae insueta sunt molestare consueverunt Convenit igitur etiam ad insueta permutari Custome also bringeth liking and liking causeth good concoction For what the stomacke liketh it greedily desireth and having received it closely incloseth it about untill it bee duly concocted Which thing is the cause that meate and drinke wherein wee have great delight though it bee much worse than other yet it doth us more good Which Hip. also teacheth Paulo peior sed suavior cibus ac potus meliori quidem at ingrato preferendus Which is not so to bee taken as many Phisicians doe thinke as if it were lawfull for them to suffer their patients to have whatsoever they desire although it bee contrary to their disease But it is meant conditionally as Hipp. teacheth to wit Si parum noceâ—t noxa quae infertur reparari facile potest And of what force custome is in labour Hip. teacheth Quotidianis laboribus assueti etiamsi invalidi sint aut senes insuetis quamvis robustis iuvenibus facilius consueta ferunt exercitia And this is the cause that Crafâ—smen and Husbandmen although they bee old and weake can doe that which stronger and younger men being not so inured may not doe As a feeble old milner to lift a great weighty sack an old smith to wield and labour with a great hammer than a younger man not thereto accustomed Wherefore whosoever will be strong and endure labour must accustome himselfe to labour Custome likewise is of great force in sleeping and waking and other things called not naturall which I shall intreate of hereafter Good therefore is that counsaile in Sch. Sal. Omnibus assuetam jubeo servare dietam Approbo sic esse ni sit mutare necesse Where it is to be noted that sometime custome is to be changed if necessity so require Neither is it good for any man that is in perfect health to observe any custome in dyet precisely as Arnoldus teacheth upon the same verses in these words Quisque corpus suum sic disponere debet ut caloris frigoris patiens esse possit ad motiones cibaria sibi necessaria aptum reddat ut somni vigiliarum horas atque mansiones domos sine laesione perâ—â—utare possit Fortassiâ—enim ex necessitaâ—e hoc aliquando agere cogetur Quod quidem fieri poterit si consuetudo non observetur ad unguem sed interdum ad inconsueta transeamus which sentence of Arnoldus agreeth
as well of the temperature of the body as of the meats ought to be equall and like as neare as may be For where the meats do much exceed in degree the temperature of the body they anoy the body in causing distemperance as I have shewed before where I have spoken of the quality of meats Wherfore in lusty youth we should eat meats more grosse of substance colder moister Also salads of cold herbs to drink seldome wine except it be allayed with water Old age is naturally cold and dry and therefore requireth a hot and moist diet And because naturall heat strength is decayed restorative meats are then most convenient and such as bee easie to digest often bathing hot wines and much sleepe is good for old men According to that verse wherein the diet of old age is prescribed Vt lavit sumpsitque cibum det membra sopori Aged men should not feed so largely as the younger sort but to eat often and but a little at every time As I have declared in the diet for Summer for the Summers diet is most fit and agreeable for old age For it fareth by them as it doth by a lampe the light whereof is almost extinct which by powring in of oyle by little and little is long kept burning and with much oyle powred in at once it is cleane put out But here I thinke it good to set downe some particular examples of diet of old men in time past which notwithstanding every man may follow as he thinketh good Terence in Andria setteth forth the Supper of old Chremes in this manner Olera pisciculos minutos oholo in caenam senis But such a supper were more meet for Ash-wednesday or good Friday than for Shrouetuesday And I would wish all loytering students to fare no better Antiochus a Physitian as Galen reporteth above 80. yeares of age used three meales a daâ— with frication bathing and exercise accordingly His breakfast commonly was Panis â—um Attico melle plerunque cocto rarius crudo His Dinner was Primum tis sumptis quae alvum dejiciâ—â—t post haec maxime piscibus vel quos saxaâ—iles vâ—cant vel qui in alto mari degunt rursus in caena a piscium esu abstinuit boni succi aliquid ac quod non facile putresceret sumpsit Vtique aut far mulso aut avem ex jure simplici Telephus the Grammarian as it is in the same Chapter who lived almost a hundred yeares used this diet following Is hyeme his mense lavabatur aestate quater mediis harum temporibus ter Quibus vero diebus non lavabatur iis circa tertiam horam unctus est cum exigua frictione mox mel optimum crudum alicae in aqua coctae permistum esitabat eoque solo contentus pro jentaculo fuit Prandebat septima hora paulo citius primum oleribus sumptis deinde piscibus gustatis aut avibus vespere autem tantum panem ex vino misto edebat In these two examples I note that these old men brake their fast commonly with honey And that for good cause for honey is very wholsome for old age and such as bee flegmaticke and unwholsome for youth such as be cholerick as Galen proveth where he telleth a story of an old man and a young man who contended about honey by experience of their owne bodies the one affiâ—ming that he had proved it wholsome in himselfe and the other avouching the contrary Which controversie Galen determineth in this manner Mel calidis sicciâ— est adversissimum frigidis vero ac humidis utilissimum But the benefit of honey in old mens diet may likewise bee perceived by the examples following Pollio Romulâ—s who was above an hundred yeares old as Plinie affirmeth being demanded of Augustus the Emperour by what meanes he lived so long and reteined still the vigour or livelinesse of body and minde hee answered that he did it inwardly with Meade which is a drinke made with honey and water and outwardly with oyle meaning friction and unction which were used in Greece and some other countries in old time as I shewed in my treatise of exercise Democritus also the great Philosopher being demanded how a man might live long in health he answered if hee wet him within with hony and without with oyle The same Philosopher when he was an hundred yeares old and nine prolonged his life certaine dayes with the evaporation of hony as Aristoxeâ—us writeth To these may bee added the example of Galen himselfe whose dyet principally should be followed of students Galen as hee saith of himselfe by meanes of his good order and dyet was never vexed with any sicknesse after he was 28 yeares old untill the time of his death except the grudge of a fever of one day and that happened only by too much labour He lived as Coelius Rhodiginus writeth 140 yeares and dyed only for feeblenesse of nature which as I have shewed before is called mors naturalis when a man dyeth as an apple that falleth from the tree when it is ripe The order of his life was thus He used such abstinence in meat and drink that he left off always before satiety or fulnes of belly which we commonly call to rise with an appetite and is indeed the principall point in preserving of health Againe he never eat any crude or raw thing as fruits herbs roots and such like Which may be a second caution for all men to observe Whereby he had alwayes a sweet breath Moreover as leysure would suffer he used bathing frication and exercise Yea sometimes in the winter season when he was in the country he refused not to cleave wood and to punne barly and to doe other country works only for the exercise of his body as himselfe witnesseth Whereof at length arose this Proverbe Galeni valetudo and is as much to say as a most perfect state of health which I wish to all good Students and the way to attaine it is to keepe Galeus diet And for a conclusion of this point I will here recite the diet for old and weake folks prescribed by master Securis in his Almanacke 1580. They must make saith he in Winter two or three meales a day according to their appetite and custome They should eat either a soft rosted eggs to their breakfast or a peece of a toste and butter or a messe of hot milke with crums of white bread and Sugar or a cawdale or Almond milke or such like thing that may bee soone digested before their dinner I have knowne saith hee some old men would eat in the morning a peece of a tâ—ste dipped in Muskadell in the Winter and in Claret Wine in the Summer drinking after it a draught of the same Wine whiâ—h thing his father a Doctor of Physicke was wont to doe many yeares in his old age who was above 80. yeares when he
heavinesse of minde sharpneth the understanding and the wit and increaseth memory other vertues it hath also which bee declared at large by Gesnerus in his Booke of distillations where hee teacheth to draw a water from this Herbe as followeth Take Baulme with the whole substance shred it small and braâ— it and lay it to steepe a whole night in good white Wine in an earthen vessell well covered and stopped on the morrow distill it This water hath the properties aforesaid and may be drunke of it selfe with Sugar or mingled with good Gascoigne Wine And if any liâ—t to make a perfect water and expert against melancholy let them take Buglosse Borage and Baulme and distill them together for this water is highly commended of Marsilius Ficinus in â—trae bilis remediis CHAP. 15. Of Hysop HYsop is hot and dry in the third degree whose vertues are briefly comprehended of Schola Salerni in these verses Hyssopusque herba est purgant è pectore phlegma Ad pulmonis opus cum mâ—lle coquenda jugata Vultibus eximium fertur praestare colorâ—uâ— Of Hysop is made a Wine named Hysop Wine which helpeth by drinking thereof diseases of the breast the sides the Lungs the shortnesse of wind and an old cough all which effects may be wrought by the use of the sirrup When I was much troubled with cough and cold I was wont to make Hysop Ale after the manner prescribed of Sage Ale saving that I put to an ounce or two of good Liquorice thin cut in slices whereby in that case I have beene much eased Also for the same purpose you may distill the Herbe and use the water distilled after the manner aforesaid CHAP. 16. Of Mint MInt is hot and dry in the third degree Whereof bee divers kinds both of the Garden and field but one most fragrant in savour which is called Spere Mint and is used to be put in puddings and is found by experience to comfort the stomacke and helpe digestion beside that it giveth a pleasant verdure in eating and one passing property it hath and that very profitable for Students Quod animum olfactu excitat as Matthiolus writeth Therefore of it may bee made a good posie for Students to smell to oftentimes and if any be troubled with ill savour of the mouth and rottennesse of the gummes they may boyle of these Mints in white Wine with a little Vinegar and when it is cold wash their mouth and gummes therewith and after rub them with powder of dry Mints The same powder also is very sweet and an approved Medicine for the Wormes in children or old folkes Si detur in lacte tepid sorbeâ—dum jejuno Which thing also is confirmed by Schola Salerni Mentitur Menta si sit depellere leâ—ta Ventris lumbrecos stomachi vermesque nocivos CHAP. 17. Of Time TIme is hot and dry in the third degree the use whereof in the Chollicke Stone is well known to the Physitians and the use of it in Kitchin is well knowne to all men Beside that as Aetius reporteth it may bee dried and made in powder and used for sundry good purposes but one way especially it serveth our turne That is three drammes of this powder mixed with a draught of Oximell doth purge melancholy humours and dulnesse of the senses proceeding of melancholy the same potion also giveth clearnesse of sight and helpeth the paine of the eyes if it be taken fasting or before supper The same powder is good also for the Gowt for swelling of the belly and stomacke for paine of the bowels and loynes and for want of Oximell it may be taken in a draught of white Wine CHAP. 18. Of Saverie SAvery after Master Eliot purgeth flegme helpeth digestion maketh quicke sight provoketh urine and stirreth up carnall appetite It is hot and dry in the third degree and one good property it hath whereby it is good for students in that it doth quicken the braine by smelling thereto Et lethargicos olfactu excitat as saith Fernelius Beside that it doth strengthen the stomacke that is prone to vomit it may bee taken as I have said of Time being dried and made in powder and supped off in a reare egge or else boyled in wine CAP. 19. Of Penyroyall PEnyroyall is hot and dry in the third degree and doth extenuate heat and decoct it reformeth the stomacke oppressed with flegme it doth recover the faint spirit and expelleth melancholy by siege it may be taken as I have said of Time and Savery CHAP. 20. Of Towne Cressis TOwne Cressis or Garden Cressis is hot and dry in the third degree It may not be eaten alone but with cooling Herbs as Lettuce Sorrell or Purslane For so is the heat qualified and that is the best way to make Sallets to mingle hot herbs and cold together except a man doe it of purpose to coole or heat The often eating of this Herb in Sallets doth give a sharpnesse and readinesse of wit And one medicine I will write which I have read in an old written Booke of this Herbe that if any have an extreame Laske if he drinke but a dramme of the seeds thereof in powder in a draught of red Wine or cold water six or seven mornings together not receiving any thing in two houres after he shall be holpen if it be curable CHAP. 21. Rue RUe or Herbe Grace is hot and drie in the third degree the vertues whereof are pithily set forth in Schola Salerni Ruta facit castum dat lumen ingerit astum Cocta facit Ruta de pulicibus loca tuta Which verses containe foure properties of Rue The first is that it sharpneth the sight which effect is wrought either by eating of it greene as it is there mentioned Ruta comesta receus oculos caligiâ—e purgat Or else the juyce of Rue together with the juyce of Fennell and Honey being clarified and made up into an ointment and used to be put into the eyes The second propertie is that Rue abateth carnall lust which is also confirmed by Galen where he writeth of Rue Quiâ— teâ—â—ium est partium â—â—atusque extinguit quare ad inflationes competit ac Veneris appetitum cohibet digeritque atque exiceat sane strenue Yet Schola Salerni in this point maketh a difference betweene men and women for they say Ruta viris coitum minuit mulieribus aâ—geâ— Because the nature of women is waterish and cold and Rue heateth and drieth therefore say they it stirreth them more to carnall lust but it diminisheth the nature of men which is of temperature like unto the aire that is hot and moist The third propertie is that Rue maketh a man quicke subtill and inventive by reason that by heating and drying it maketh a mans spirits subtill and so cleareth the wit The fourth is that the water that Rue is sodden in being cast and sprinkled about the
if they be old they be hot in the first degree and drie in the second if they bee ripe they doe least harme of any fruits or almost none Yet beeing much eaten they make ill bloud whereof lice are ingendred By reason of their sweetnesse they anoy the liver and spleen inflamed and they fill the belly with winde but by their quicke passage the winde is soone dissolved In Sch. Sal. are set forth two operations of figges as followeth Vermiculos veneremque facit sed culibet obstat After Avicen figges are best eaten fasting with nuts or almonds for so they breed better juice in the body and open and prepare the way for meat And he more commendeth the eating of them with nuts than with almonds But our use is to eat figges and almonds together which in my judgement is better For so they may better clense the brest and lungs which is a speciall vertue that figges have And though wee eat them commonly after other meats or upon fasting daies for want of other meats yet as it appeareth by Galen Physitians were wont to give them longe ante cibum with ginger or pepper or powder of Time or peniroyall to such as had oppilations of the liver or spleene or had any hard congealed matter in the inward parts of the body or any distillations or rheums falling into the breast and stomacke for in all these cases figges doe profit much beside that they make the belly soluble and do clense the reins of the back And one easie medicine I wil set downe for the comfort of such students as be short winded taken out of Math. Caricas du â— aut tres nocte una in aqua vitae maceratas asth maticos juvare qui mane eas devoraverint Also in Sch. Sal. it is shewed that a plaster made of figges first sodden in water and a little vineger and after beaten smal in a morâ—ar are good for the swines evill for kernels for swellings as appeareth in the verses following Scrofa tumor glandes ficus cataplasmate cedunt CHAP. 111. Of Almonds ALmonds be hot and moist in the first degree they doe extenuat and clense without binding Wherfore they purge the brest and lungs and bee good to be eaten with figges of such as be short winded As for bitter Almonds I omit because they are not used to be eaten though in medicines they be of great vertue Of sweet Almonds is made by skill of Cookes Almond milke a very temperate meat in hot diseases Also cawdales of Almonds both comfortable to the principall parts of the body and procuring sleepe also almond Butter very delicate and good for a stuffed breast The making of which things I referre to cunning cookes or to the learned Physitian who is oâ— ought to be a perfect cooke in many points Yet because all students be not of habilitie to have a cooke or a Physitian at their pleasure I will set downe an easie way which I was wont to use my selfe in making of almond milke Take a pottle of faire water boile in it two handfuls of violet leaves or if you list one handfull of violet and another of strawberrie leaves or the like quantitie of Endive and Succorie or other cooling herbes take also an ounce of good Liquorice cut in thin slices if you would make it for flegme let the herbs and Liquorice boyle in the water leasurely untill halfe be wasted then straine it and let the liquor coole Then take a quarter of a pound of almonds and blanch them that is to say put them into water boyling hot and let them steepe therein a while then get off the huskes as you shale nuts that done punne them small in a morter of Marble if you have it until they waxe moist then put the Almonds into the liquor and stir and blend both together with a spoone after that draw the liquor and all through a streiner pressing the Almonds well with the back of a spoone And of that which is strained when you will occupie more or lesse you may put in sugar and set it over the fire untill it boyle then take it off and use it as please you Some draw their almonds after they be blanched and strained with faire water onely making it neither too thick nor too thinne which way also is good or to draw them with any distilled water as rose-water Endive or Succory water As for Almond Cawdales are made with ale strained with almonds blanched and brayed as before then lightly boiled and spiced with Nutmeg Sugar as before is said or otherwise as pleaseth the party CHAP. 112. Of Dates DAtes new gathered are hot and moist in the first degree but if they be old they be hot and drie in the first degree Dates being much eaten and not well digested annoy the head and cause gnawing in the stomack and make grosse iuice and somtime cause obstructions or stoppings in the liver and spleene wherefore they are not wholesome for students Yet they are commonly used at delicate feasts to set forth other meats and are counted restorative But their chiefe vertue is that if they be well digested and temperatly used they nourish and make the flesh firme and binde the belly And for this last property they are much used in medicines when it is requisite to binde or restraine and so saith Diosc Decoctum Palmarum per se potu gargarizatione magnopere astringâ—t cohibet Good therefore in any laske or waste in man or woman And for that purpose they may be used sodden in milke or in Muskadine Yea the very stones of Dates beeing beaten to powder and used together with sanguis Draconis in Raspis or red wine is passing good in the sayd cases as by experience I have often proved CHAP. 113. Of Pomegranates POmegranates be of good juice and profitable to the stomack especially they which are sweet But in hot fevers they that are soure bee more expedient and wholesome for then the sweet doe incend heat and puffe up the stomacke They are found by experience to be very comfortable and restorative in long sicknesse and specially they are good in any consumption or flixe Because as Galen saith Malum granatum omâ—e adstringentem qualitatem obtinet Insomuch that the very pill of a Pomegranate being made into powder and druâ—ke in red wine or Raspis together with a little Cinnamom is a singular remedie for any laske or flixe as I have often proved Yet Matthiolus prescribeth the whole Pomegranate to be used as followeth Punicum malum â—ictili vase inclusum cooperculo argilla circumlito in fuâ—no combustum dysentericos â—orminosos praesentaneâ— remedio juvat ubi ipsius sesquidrachmamâ— in pulverem contritâ— ex vino potandum propinabis And as for the kernels of soure pomegranates hee writeth in the same place that Ossiculi punicorum malorum acidorum uncia una cum thuâ—is drâ—chmâ—
iuice and nourisheth excellently CHAP. 176. The Preface to Fish THus much of flesh Now concerning fish which is no small part of our sustenance in this Realme of England And that flesh might be more plentifull and better cheap two dayes in the weeke that is Friday and Saturday are specially appointed to fish and now of late yeares by the providence of our prudent princesse Elizabeth the Wednesday also is in a manner restrained to the same order not for any religion or holinesse supposed to be in the eating of fish rather then of flesh but only for a civill policy as I have said That as God hath created both for mans use so both being used or refrained at certaine seasons might by that entercourse be more abundant And no doubt if all daies appointed for that purpose were duely observed but that flesh and fish would be much more plentifull and beare lesse price then they doe For accounting the Lent season and all fasting dayes in the yeare together with Wednesday Friday and Saturday you shal see that one halfe of the yeare is ordeyned to eat fish in But here I must crave a pardon of the divines that they will give mee leave to utter mine opinion touching abstinence from meates I confesse that meat maketh us not acceptable to God and that there is nothing uncleane of it selfe and that every creature of God is good and nothing ought to be refused if it bee received with thanksgiving yet this much I will say that if a man would refraine from such meats as do most nourish and cherish his body which indeed is the exercise of fasting he should rather forgoe the eating of flesh than fish because as Cornelius Celsus saith Plus alimenti est in carne quam in ullo alio cibo which thing peradventure was the occasion why people were prohibited in time past to eat flesh or any thing els having affinity with flesh upon the fasting daies Which order as it is thought being first established by Gregory the great bishop of Rome was afterwâ—â—d superstitiously abused But now that superstition is abandoned among us and all men doe know that whatsoever goeth into the mouth defileth not the man but that which commeth forth me thinke for orders sake all people should be obedient to good lawes and bee aswell contented to forbeare flesh upon the dayes appointed as to use it at their pleasure at other seasons But such is the selfewill of some and voluptuousnesse of many in this our owne licentious time that without any reasonable cause or sufficient authority onely to satisfie their fleshly lust they will eat flesh at all times and seasons yea some in contempt of all good order and as it were despising all kinds of fish as though God had not created fish for our food as well as flesh wilfully misorder themselves in this behalfe But this kind of people had need to saile to the Island Antycyra according to the old proverbe to have their melancholy strongly purged least in processe of time they become starke mad But the reformation hereof I referre to the godly magistrates and returne to my purpose And this generally I say of fish that if it bee compared to flesh it is of lesse nourishment than flesh and the nourishment thereof is full of flegmatike superfluities cold and moyst And of fish generally I say that sea fish is of better nourishment then fresh water fish of the same sort because it is not so superfluously moist by reason of the saltwater which dryeth and purifieth Yet I grant that fresh water fish is sooner digested than sea fish and therfore better for sicke folks because of their feeble digestion And again of sea fish that is best which swimmeth in a pure sea and is tossed and hoysed with windes and surges And therfore the fish that is taken in the North sea which is more surging and tempestuous and swift in ebbing and flowing is better than the fish that is taken in the dead or south sea Wherefore the fish that is taken about this our country of Britaine must needes bee very wholesome And true it is as Doctor Boord witnesseth in his Dietary who was a great traveller that no nation under the sunne is better served with all manner of fish both of the sea and the fresh water than Britaine And as I have said of sea fish so I say of fresh water fish that to bee best which is bred in the deepe waters running swiftly toward the north stonie in the bottome cleane from weeds whereunto runneth no filth nor ordure comming from townes or cities For that which is taken in muddy waters in standing pooles in fennes motes and ditches maketh much flegme and ordure And here occasion is offered to speake somewhat of the old English proverbe touching the choise of fish which is That yong flesh and old fish doth men best feed How it is verified in flesh I have declared before Now concerning fish I say that old fish is not alwayes the best for if fish be of a firme and hard substance then it is better yong than old as a young Pike or a young Perch is better than an old But if it be of a soft and open substance theâ— the elder is the better as an old Eele is wholsomer than a young as some say which my interpretation is approved in Sco Sal. Si pisces molles sunt magno corpore tâ—lles Si pisces duri pâ—rvi sunt plus valitâ—ri But now what sorts of fishes bee most wholesome for mans body may well appeare by the verses following where are reckoned ten sorts as principall in the preservation of health Lucius perca saxanlis albiâ—a â—encha Sonus plagitia cum carpa galbio truta CHAP. 177. Of the Pike OF which tenne sorts the first is a Pyke which is called the king and Tyrant of other fishes because he not only devoureth fishes of other kinds but also of his owne kinde as it is in the verse following Lucius est piscis rex atque tyrannus aquarum The Pickerell or Pyke is of firme and hard substance yet giveth cleane and pure nourishment The dressing as well of this fish as of all others I referre to the art of Cookery The second is a Perch so called by the figure Antiphrasis quia nulli piscium parcit but woundeth other fishes with his sharpe sinnes The Perch is likewise of hard and fast substance and therefore is of more pure nourishment The third is a sea fish called a Sole whose commendation Arnoldus uttereth in these words Est inter pisceâ— marinos saluberrimus The fourth is a Whiting which for wholesomenesse is well entertained in the court of England and is now become an old Courtier The fifth is a Tench which is commonly called the Physitian of other fishes because when they are hurt they are healed by touching of the Tench and as he is medicinable to
praesertim qui tamet si medicinae artis sunt ignari cogitationem tamen habent exercitatam ne veluti vulgus ita ipsi quoque pecorum ritu victus ratione utantur quin potius usum explorent quinam ipsis cibus potusve sit noxius quae praetorea quantaque dimotio Pari modo de Venere observent num noxia sibi innoxiave sit tum ex quanto intervallo utentibus noxia innoxiave sit Nam sicut retuli non nulli immodice laeduntur alij citra noxam usui ejus ad senium usque suâ—ficiunt Verum haec ambo genera rara nempe eorum qui magnopere laeduntur qui nullum sentiunt incommodum Totum vero quod in medio est id cum majoris minorisque discrimine ad magnum hominum numerum se extendit quorum qui non rudes sunt sed ratione probe exercitata non enim quorum libet est haec noscere iis suadeo observent ex quibus laedi se iuvarique sentiant ita enim fiet vt in paucissimis medicorum opera indigeant quoad in sanitate sunt Hereunto I will adde that Physicke which I my selfe was wonâ— to use for preservation of my health Every yeare in the spring when the signe was in Pisces I tooke two mornings together Aloes Hepatike shaven with a knife into halfe a pinte of white wine or Beere or Ale with a little Cinamon grated fasting two houres after it and the third morning I tooke seven leaves of Assarabaccâ— a little punned and steeped all night in like quantity of white wine with a little Cinamon then strained and warmed A SHORT TREATISE OF the Plague and other like contagious diseases how they may bee avoyded CHAP. 243. AS I have declared according to my knowledge the whole order of dyeâ— contained in those five things which chiefely concerne mans life that is to say Labour Meate Drinke Sleepe and Venus so now also for the benefit of students whose health I tender most of all I shall briefely and plainely set forth by what wayes and meanes they may avoyd such diseases as bee contagious namely the pestilence which was twice in Oxford in my time within twelve yeares being brought from London both times once by clothes and another time by lodging of a stranger and after dispersed throughout the citty by receiving of bedding and other clothes from the places infected This disease of all other is common to all men of all complections as Aristotle teacheth because the ayre compasseth all men about and is drawne into all mens bodies alike which if it be corrupt must needs infect them also that receive it though sooner or later more or lesse according to the disposition or state of the body for as Galen writeth Magnam in generatione aegritudinum partem habet ejus qui passurus est habilitas corporis And againe Nulla causa sine patientis aptitudine agere potest The pestilence is defined of Marsilâ—us Ficinus Venenosus quidam vapor in aâ—re concretus vitali inimicâ—s spiritui Not that the ayre is venomous of it selfe but through corruption hath now gotten such a quality or property that being drawne into mans body it inflameth the humours especially where they bee superfluous and bringeth them to a venomous temperature And this is called febris Pestilentialis as Fuchsius defineth Quod a venenata qualitate adeo a Pestilentialis ac venenati aeris inspiratione oriatur Now the reason why the ayre is more corrupt at one time than at another or in one place rather than in another is diversly assigned by the Astronomers and Physicians and is imputed both to celestiall causes and terrestriall which be specially foure videlicet The influence of sundry starres great standing waters never refreshed Carraine lying long above ground much people in small roome living uncleanely and sluttishly But leaving those particular causes to such as write of this matter at large I make one principall or generall cause that is the wrath of God for sinne for so God threatneth That hee will send sicknesse and diseases unto those that will not heare his word and disobey his commandements Which came to passe evidently in the time of King David when 70 thousand perished with the Pestilence in one day Wherefore if Plague and sickenesse be Gods punishment as they bee indeed then first of all wee ought to have recourse unto God by prayer as Iesus Syrach counsaileth us My sonne faile not in thy sickenesse but pray unto the Lord and hee will make thee whole And next wee ought to use those meanes for recovery of health which God hath ordeined For as it is said in the same Chapter The Lord hath created Medicines of the earth and hee that is wise will not abhorre them Now the chiefe remedy for the Plague to preserve from infection is to avoid the infected aire For as much as the Plague doth come of corruption of the ayre as I have shewed before and if you may not or will not avoid it for some of necessity must still remaine in the place where the Plague is then the remedy standeth in correcting and purifying of the ayre and in taking such things into the body as may strengthen the heart and vitall spirits thereby to make them able to withstand the poysoâ— And in those three points shall this treatise bee absolved As for the cure of such as bee infected with the Plague or visited with any other sort of sickenesse I refer it to the discretion and knowledge of the learned Physicians and expert Chirurgians The first way then of preservation from the Plague is with speed to goe farre from the place infected and there to remaine until all the infection be past This remedy is merily termed of Iordanus a late writer Electuarium etribus adverbâ—is which in Latine verse hee reporteth thus Haec tria tabificam pellunt adverbia pestem Mox longe tarde cede recede redi In prose as much to say as Fuge cito Procul ac tarde revertaris Fly quickely from the place infected abide farre off and returne not soone againe Cito fugere is expounded by Marsilius Ficinus to depart away as soone as any certaine signes of the Plague doe appeare Now the signes of the Plague to come as hee saith are where the ayre of that place varieth from his naturall temperature declining to heat and moysture when it seemeth clowdy and dusty When the Windes are grosse and hot when the Waters and fields smoke and smell and the fishes are ill both in savour and taste When many Wormes breed of putrefaction of the earth Toadestooles and rotten herbs abound The fruits and beasts of the earth are unsavoury The windes become muddy Many birds and beasts fly from that place strange Agues arise raging continuall burning phrantike when the small Pocks and Measels are rife and wormes abound in children and old folkes when many women