sayinge common almost in euery mans mouthe neuerthelesse for that moste parte vntrue which is this Wash thy hands often thy feete seldome but thy head neuer Vnto whom I do bréeifly make this aunswere that such persons ought namely to wash their heds which haue a moyst brayne or suche as loue to haue their heare grow longe because the inwarde superfluities whiche nature would expell cannot haue passage to euaporate and vente out but be retayned still by reason that the pores be stopped with filthe that lieth at the rootes of the heare next the head which filthe by conuenient and orderly wasshyng is taken away and clensed And for this cause Auicen affyrmeth that it is not good to suffre the heare of the bead and beard to grow longe because they gather and retayne muche grosse filthe and baggage stoppyng the pores about the rootes if they be not wasshed away To these namely and to all others generally that vse wasshynge Auenzoar géeueth in charge to be wasshed with warme water or Lie and if you put into the same water or Lie so it be not to stronge a small handfull of drie Roses and Lignū Aloes and a litle Camomile or Betony for such as he somwhat of a colde nature it is very wholesome He that hath a weake head colde and moyste and his memorie thereby empayred shall in my litle booke of the Arte of Memorie finde moste souerayne singuler and easie remedies to satisfie his desire As soone as the head is wasshed it muste diligently and spéedely be wiped and dried with warme drie linnen clothes and well looked vnto that it catche no harme through colde or wynde But better it is not to be wasshed at all especially in winter or often and namely for suche as vse to be shauen and notted but the Fricasies and combynges aforesayde must duely be vsed because beside the aforenamed helps that they bryng they merueilously preserue the sight The proper and peculier exercise of the sight is to beholde and looke vpon small letters and lightsome thinges foreséene that a measure therin be adhibited notwithstandynge Auicen supposeth that small and confuse figures subtile or litle letters are hurtfull to the sight and not to be looked on The exercise of the Hearyng is to heare pleasant sowndes yea and sometimes great clappes and hideous noyse but in any wise aswell in this as in all others too vehement and stronge obiects must be warely and circumspectly eschued Of Bathes BAynyng sometimes supplieth the office of Labour and standeth in stéede of exercise beyng either ayrie or watrie in swéete water for of Mineral waters whiche wée terme Bathes I will say nothing sithens they rather serue for curyng of diseases They must vse the ayrie Bayne fastyng that are corpulent and grosse or haue abundance of concocte superfluous humours and excrements but the watrie better accordeth with them that are slendre whose vse is diuers and manifolde accordynge as the degrée of heate is more or lesse whereof Galen writeth thus Swéete warme waters if they be temperate their vertu is hoate and moyste if they be well and hoate their vertue and force is moyst and cold but if they be hoater then they ought to be theyr strength is in déede hoate but not accordyngly moyst For they cause the body to shiuer and quake and purseth together the subtile pores thereof in so much that it can neither be humected outwardly with accesse of humour neither sende out any of the excrementall matter that is within Furthermore he saieth that Bayninge orderlye vsed mollifieth and soupleth harde and indurate fleshe and fetcheth out all the excrementes and liquide matter that cleaneth and adhereth after digestion to the exteriour parte of the bodie They that haue fat and corpulent bodies or else bée replete with aboundance of humours may soone take harme by vsing disorderlie and vnduelie this bayning but if they be first purged and ridde from them they may vse the benefit thereof because it doth humect and moisten the pores and passages and maketh the fumosities too bée dispelled and sent out But as in all other thinges moderate vse is alwaies to be preferred before immoderate euen so fareth it by bayning For a man may not be ouer hastie in aduenturinge to vse it especiallie if the partie that is minded to be bained be troubled with many humours gathered throughe continuall cruditie and vndigestion or haue not longe afore enfarced himselfe with plentie of meate vnboyled and vncocted in the stomake whiche crude humours being within the bodie by reason of the vehement force of heate cause obstructions In very colde seasons and in Sommer time they shoulde also be forborne For in winter the humours beinge stirred and disquieted and a cold sodeinlie succeding they are driuen to som necessarie part of the body there bréede diseases and great annoyaunce And aboute midsomer when heate chieflie raigneth and of itselfe resorteth to the exteriour partes Bayninge doth disperse so much of the same heate as is yet remaininng by that meanes much weakeneth the inward powers And vnlesse the age and place of man séeme otherwise to require they are at this time a great deale more to be eschewed In déede no man doubteth but baines vsed at due and seasonable times help the bodie verie much for nothinge doth so well concocte and driue away il humours corrupt iuyce as sleepe after bayning but I say that the vse therof is very hurtfull if they be vsed at inconuenient times and when they ought chieflie to be refrained Now as concerninge washing in colde water I do say that it is vtterly to be forborne of all such as are not therto accustomed as being more hurtfull then profitable vnlesse vrgent occasion of great heate and lustie youth do otherwise seeme to craue it But he that would vse it must be slender of bodie and somwhat of a colde constitucion for it is apter to pearce into suche colde within the bodie and inner partes It bringeth al the humours in a maner to one place of the bodie and maketh the sinewes and muscles stiffe and numme and not nimble or readie to mooue yea and sometimes it bringeth a man into distemperaunce and passions much worse then these if it be not verie aduisedly vsed And amonge all others a healthy and sound bodie so long as it is in growing and waxinge must not be washed in cold water least his groweth and waxing be thereby rebuked and hindered But when he is come to his full growthe then may he acquainte himself with colde bathes because the bodie is therby cooled and strengthened and the skinne made harder and thicker And the fittest time thereto is the beginninge of Sommer that ere winter come by frequent custome it may not turne to any hurtfull distemperaunce of the bodie and let it beginne in a verye hoate daye the place where it is vsed beinge likewise hoate Of Meates NOw let vs say somwhat of meate and drinke
many by vsing it became verye fatte and corpulent We in these our Regions thinke it best to eate that which is sower and bytinge in Sōmer swéete in the winter and Spring seasons because the one is colde and the other somewhat hoate Oyle of swéete Almondes is good for them that haue the Stitche and other grief in their breastes For it asswageth lenifieth the Iawes and rough arteries and maketh the humours that are in the Breast apte to be proiected and expelled and of the thicke Creame of Almondes beinge boyled there is made an excellent broath or suppinge good both to nourishe and purge the Reynes and also to scower cleanse the bowelles and bulke of man but it is not so good for the stomacke Honye and the water of it is very good for a cold and moyste stomacke for olde men and them that be of colde complexions and in the winter and Springe seasons But it is not good for them that be Cholerique or in the Sommer time In makinge of honie water that is to witte séethinge water and honie together with a softe fier the fome or froath must be scummed of cleane for if it be not it is prouoked to be windie and inflatiue It hath a vertue abstersiue openeth obstructions resolueth humours and educeth them beinge farre within the bodie and kéepeth the bodie from rottennesse and putrefaction But the best honie must be taken for suche purpose that is to say suche as hath a true and perfect swéetenes a good pleasant smell and a somewhat redde colour not thinne not subtile but clammie and viscious The best honie is gathered in the Springe the second in Sommer but that which is gathered in winter is worste and most hurtfull Also sharpe and sower honie is the worst of al others forasmuche as it is of some thought to be pestilent and venemous Sugar is heater and more subtile then honie for it is thought to be hoate and moyst in the end of the first degrée but by artificiall handlinge that is to witte by further and longer boyling whereby it is made white it becometh not so hoate yet more dry It hath in all poinctes as great vertue and power as honie hath both to lenifie mitigate and open obstructions and also to drye vp and wype away il humours and it is good for the stomacke if no yellow choler be therin for it is easelie conuerted and turned into choler Also it pur geth phlegme that is founde in the fromacke and comforteth the bealie This therfore is very good to be eaten at anye time of the yere but honie is best in winter to be eaten and in the second parte of Autumne Vinegre is said to be good for them that are melancholique but nought for them that be cholerique and therfore it agréeth best to a stomacke that is hoat and moyste it stirreth vp appetite helpeth concoction represseth choler and stoppeth humours from beinge diffused into the inward partes it maketh them subtile cutteth them a sunder and preserueth againste phlegme speciallie if it be mixed with Cinamome and Corraunts to take awaye and alay the ouermuche coldenes and egernesse of it Also beinge in this order and maner tempered it is good for a colde stomacke And this waye do we thinke best to be vsed when you would alay the sharpe and bytinge sowernesse of vinegre boyle it w very good Raisons or Corrantes and if néede be make it swéete with the odorifirous smell of good Cinamome For Cinamome ouer and beside the heate whiche it hath for it is sayde to be hoate toward the third degrée it is also verye good for the stomacke and Lieuer It openeth obstructions and comforteth them both and also it dryeth vp the humiditie or moysture of the stomacke and kepeth it from corruption and putrefaction it confirmeth and corborateth all the vertues and powers of the bodye and restoreth them that be appayred and decayed it cleanseth and mundefieth the head by educinge and fetchinge out the humours that be in it yea it lenifieth and helpeth the Coughe and Breast drawing out all that is naught and hurtfull And thus muche for Condimentes and Sauces Of Grayne Pulse Rotes Herbes NOw let vs speake somewhat of such graine and herbes as serue at the table to be eaten Rice is of muche nourishement enclininge to heat and drynesse and maye be best eaten in winter Ryce sodden in mylke causeth a good habite and plight of the body and encreaseth séede of generation Panick and Mill may be eaten in moyst Seasons either hoate or colde But in Autumne because it is a colde and drye time suche graine as is hoate and moyste is more expedient Barley is better to be eaten in Sommer because it is colde These graines must be sodden with fleshe potage or els in water puttinge afterward therinto swéete Almonde mylke or els let them be condite with oyle which done you may put therto some Sugar accordinge to your owne discretion Of small pulse Phisicions most commend Cich-pease and speciallie the potage or broath wherein it is sodden but they must sayeth Auicen be eaten at the middest of Meales and not at the beginninge nor ende They nourishe the bodie stronglie and purelie if they be eaten moderatelie for otherwise they be windy and require a stronge stomacke and a good vertue digestiue but the broath made of them is preferred before anye other because it chaseth away il humours and prouoketh vryne Lintellès are misliked and discōmended because the annoy the stomack fill the Lieuer with obstructions engender melancholique humour cause a dazelinge dimnes of the sight and amonge al kinde of pulse are worste to be eaten for they bréede grosse terrestriall and melancholique bloud Beinge twise or thrise or oftener warmed and eaten the broath being cast away they binde the bealie but the best and surest way is altogether to abstaine from them as moste hurtefull and fitter rather for Laborers and Rurall people then Magistrates and Studentes Beanes are verye windie and tarie longe ere they be digested yea although they be decocted the full space of thrée dayes yet do they still retaine their windines and ventositie They make grosse iuyce in the bodie and send ill vapours to the brain which cause fearfull and strange dreames and they engender thicke grosse bloude Therefore vse them not in diet although otherwise they séeme to haue a certaine abstersiue and nutritiue power But if thou be so be sted that néedes thou must eate of them it were best to make potage or broath with them for so they haue more vertue to cleanse the Reynes of the backe and the bladder and loose much of their windinesse in the boyling And if thou be disposed to put any other grayne or seedes vnto them which haue semblable power to expell and driue away windenesse called of the Gréekes Aphusa put a litle Hony vnto them it shal be a meane to
humours to descend from the vpper partes to the lower whereby the head is eased and holpen But in drinkynge of Wine there must be no lesse consideration had of the countreys times and exercises then of the affections appetites and complexions of men that wée maye conserue them odâ—rate with that the is agréeable therto amende the immoderate by their contraries Therefore as before I haue noted to colde and drie complexions the claret and swéet Wine because it is verie hoate is best and the contrarie serueth best for hoate temperatures Furthermore those wines are to be forborne whiche be either very olde or very new because the one heateth vnmeasurably and the other neuer a whit so longe as thei be new which not onely helpeth nothing to digest the meate but is itselfe rather very slowly and with much a doe decocted Now I thinke I néede not to counsell men to refrayne drinkynge of Wyne when they be fastyng or before they haue eaten soÌ„what because I write to such men as be sobre and modest and not to tossepottes and drunkards For beyng drunken at any suche times commonlye bryngeth many inconueniences and diseases procéedyng of Fleame and namely the Apoplexie in suche case is much to be feared After meales also to drinke much is hurtefull because it maketh the meate in the stomacke to descend before it be sufficieÌ„tly boiled concocted For while the meate is in digesting in the stomack we ought to refrain much drinking But after that the meate is descended froÌ„ the mouth of the Stomack is sufficientlie concocted Auicen permitteth large and great drincking to washe and mundefie the stomacke and to make the meat the better to pearce and be diffused into the veines But till suche time he lessoneth vs to abstaine vnlesse great occasion of thirste otherwise require And to quenche a drye thirste it shall suffice eyther to drinke a litle at once or in the Sommer time rather to rinse and wash your mouth with cold water And it is very good to haue Pomgranards in store being of a middle relice for they are good to eate when throughe drinkinge of wine thereis any vpbraidinge and mordicatioÌ„ in the stomacke Also to drinke after such meat as encreaseth ill humour of which sort are Musheromes Auicen vtterlie forbiddeth semblably after such fruictes as Melons Pompons yealow Quinces and suche like For wyne being dronke after suche fruictes enforceth them to perce to the veines whereby their corrupt iuyce is mixed with the bloude and so is cause of the corruption thereof But men now a dayes do cleane contrarie for they loue to drinke with these and suche like fruictes the best wine they can gette as a remedie for so they say of fruictes yea and sometimes they haue the phisicions themselues compaignions with theÌ„ But if thou wouldest kéepe thy stomack from the harme that proceedeth by the coldnes and moystnes of these fruictes it were a great deale better to vse to take Aniseede or Cinnamome or ginger or Honie and suche like Héere as it were in the way of an addicion to the declaration of Wyne I wil speake a woord or twaine more to teache you to know whether your Wine bée pure or els mingled It is sometimes séene as now in many thinges there is muche legierdemayne and deceite vsed that Wyne is mingled with Hony to make it swéete and pleasant If it be thus abused and mixed it may be easely knowen by this meanes Take a few droppes of it and powre them vpon a hoate plate yron and the Wyne if it be pure being resolued because it is thinner and subtiler the Hony wil remayne and thicken because it is of a groser and thicker substance If you suspect that your Wine be mingled with water you may easely know whether it be so or no by putting a Peare into it for if the Peare swim a lofte and descende not to the bottome then is the wine pure vnmingled but if it sinke to the bottome it is an infallible token that it is mingled with water Many suche pretie conclusions might here be shewed but these for this matter are sufficient As concernyng the hower when to eate these aforesayde and such like fruictes shall hereafter be declared but first wée will shew of such meates as nourish best Of Fleash AFter Breade and Wyne two of the cheefest mainteiners of mans life fleashe is next in order to be spoken of For Auicen sayeth that fleash is a meate comfortynge the body and of néere transubstantiation and conuersion into bloud specially the fleash of those beastes and fowles that be of the best nourishyng sort And the wise Sages of our profession commend as moste profitable for the conseruacion of healthe amonge foure footed Beastes the Fleshe of younge Kiddes and suckyng Calues whiche be so muche the better if they be nourished with wholesome milke and in good pastures For this is to be noted the of al Beastes which be of sound complexion and qualitie the youngest are most wholesome as Kiddes Calues and such like but of them that be moyst the youngest are most harmefull And therefore Auicen sayth that Lambes should be a yeere olde before they be eaten Notwithstandyng in this poinct the disposicion and temperature of the Countrey must be respected where vpon Auicen sayde that in the East and South partes of the world Lambe and Mutten nught without daunger be eaten whiche in our moyst Countrey and in moyst bodies is not alway expedient Seldome therefore and warelie must Lambe be eaten and rather in the sommer and Autumne then at any other time of the yeere because drinesse then beareth sway And if wée eate therof in the Winter or in the beginning of the Springe it were much better rosted then boyled Younge Béeif bred vp in wholesome pasture and well exercised and chased is in the winter and Spryng not to be misliked for then Ventres be moste hoate of nature and sleape very longe as Hippocrates affyrmeth and therefore they may the better digest heauie meates but in sommer and Autumne meates of light digestion must be vsed because the internall and naturall heate is then weaker by reason of the heate of the Ayre As for grosse meates that are drie and harde as cowes Beeif and suche like I vtterly disalow because beside many other harmes that it bringeth by reason of the hardnesse of it and difficultie to be digested this namely is one that it inferreth harme to the reasonable parte of man whiche is the minde Porke or Hogges flesh nourisheth very much and is pleasant and toothsome in taste but if they be very younge there fleash is too moyste and heauie of digestion and therefore we must leaue it to ploughmen and labourers of stronger Stomackes But being of middle age as from sixe monthes to a yéere olde if they be not to fatte theyr fleash is restoratiue to them that neede meates of such operation haue
it is soone conuertible into Choler The thicke and curdie Milke whiche first commeth into the Dugges incontinently after the Cowe hath calued commonly called Biestings is very daungerous for it is slow of digestion and descendeth slowlye from the stomacke and is also grosse of substance causing grosse humours and consequently is thought to engender the stone Fresh and new Cheese sayth Dioscorides is beneficiall to the stomacke but Auicen doubteth therof But I thinke that in hoate seasons and aboute the beginnynge of Autumne it may without daunger be eaten But being olde and yet not rotten nor hard with age conueniently salted I iudge better to be eaten in colde seasons and at the latter ende of meales yet herein as in all other things Nature and Custome is of greate force and muche to be considered For there are some whiche do abhorre Chéese and cannot in any wise brooke it as some others do lothe Wyne and so forthe of others Auicen sayth that such indiuiduall proprieties as these are without the cōpasse of reason and that experience and triall herein is aboue reason The thinnest part of the mylke called whaye beinge vsed by way of medicine rather thē for meate and speciallye in Maye wyth Sugar is very good to scower clense and purefie the bloude and also to quenche choler and purge melancholie without any paine or greeuance For it washeth the breast prouoketh vrine maketh cleane the bladder and without any pain or excoriation draweth out ill humours and as Auicen sayeth rectifieth nourishment and openeth the partes of the bodie that are with obstructions stopped All which vertues and operatious make Auicen to thinke that it maketh men fat Into it may be put a conuenient quantitie of Roses or Sene accordinge as the pacient shal be opplete with humoures the space of a night with a little Anyse séede or Cinamome to make it woorke more strongelie But then were it good that the humours shoulde be concoct and prepared For the approued wise Hippocrates commaundeth vs to minister Phisicke to those thinges that be concoct and to mooue the vncrude Finally all those meates are discommended that are compounded and made of Milke Egges and Chéese or suche other like thinges For although they be all of easie digestiō being seuerally taken yet beyng mingled together they are hardly concocted muche endamage the stomack For sundrie meates of diuers substance and qualitie is a great enemie to health and by reason of the grossenes of some and the finenesse of other some there is required to be diuerse operations of nature and diuerse temperatures of the stomacke for it is greatly busied in the decoction of them all And because some tarie longer in the stomacke then some other doth it causeth fumes and vapours to ascende and strike vp into the head whereby health is much appayred Of Fishe FYshes for the moste parte are not holesome or they are of smale and illnourishement and leaue manye sufluities in the body and also are easlie corrupted And therefore Auicen counsaileth vs not to eate them after vehement and stronge exercise because they will soone be turned into corruption and do also corrupt the humours And in an other place which is also auouched by Galen he sayeth that fishe beinge new and fresh engendreth phlegme and mollifieth the ventricle and is not to be eaten but of them which haue very hoate stomackes because they be verye colde and moyste Beynge salted they are hoate and drye and therfore for them that be phlegmaticke it is better to eate them salted and in winter or at the beginninge of spring but for cholerique persons and in hoate seasons they are best when they be new and moyste but the surest and best way is altogether to abstaine from them The Gréeke poet Homer for his manifolde knoweledge in al faculties worthie to be called the perelesse Phenix of learninge most learnedly bringeth in that Vlisses when he had trauailed longe vpon the Seas and all his victualles were spent was by necessitie enforced and driuen to fishe Meaninge therby that so longe as we may liue without fishe we shoulde refraine it But for asmuche as euerie man may not alwayes eate egges nor fleshe nor at all seasons without any respect and difference and also appetite many times beareth swaye aboue reason Therefore I will declare describe such fishes as are lest hurtfull And first this is to be knowen that those fishes are best which be neither verye harde and drye neyther yet full of stimie and clammie toughnes nether opplete with much fattinesse for all fatte is ill but of fishes the fattenesse is worse then anye other neyther of ill sauoure and relice but pleasant swéete and toothsome in taste and which will not soone stinke after they be taken out of the water It is further also to be noted that of those which are soft and tender the greatest are best but of hard fishe take the smalest For that which among moyst thinges is found drye must be taken as moderate as that is whiche amonge drye thinges is founde moyste Yet let a conuenient measure aswell in the bignesse as in the smalenesse be obserued Also the fishes that liue about cleare Rockes and in stony places are as Galen sayeth better then any other And it is not without good cause that suche fishes be preferred and winne the commendaciō from others For they exercise and mooue themselues muche and often and lye in suche places where they are often tossed and beaten with the continuall surges and waues of the tempestuous Sea and neuer are embroyned with anye filth or diertie slimishnes Those fishes also are greatly commended that come swymminge out of the Sea into Riuers sith they come agaynst the streame and the farther of that they be from the Sea the holesomer and better they are Next vnto them are those that liue in sandie places and those that breede in cleare and freshe runninge water that is without much mudde Furthermore those fishes that féede vpon swéete herbes rootes and wéedes aboute the banke sides are better then those that liue by mudde and slime amonge which ill sorte are those fishes that are called Mugles or Lompes which are not holesome although they séeme to haue a pleasant taste and sauoure Therefore al such fishes as liue in filthye puddles fennes marshes dyches and standinge waters whiche mooue not are to be eschewed This generall warninge now premised briefly and namelye let vs touche suche sortes of fyshes as are best and most sufferable supposed to be of good nourishement and of lightest concoction Good and holesome is the Gilthead called Aurata and of the Gréeques Chrysophris because it hath in his forehead a thinge congelate which in the water shineth like golde as in the olde ones it is to be séene they géeue muche nourishement and therefore are difficultie digested So is the Rochet and Seapearches But Riuer pearches whiche are like in maner to the
other are of pleasaunt taste and good to be géeuen nowe and then to them that haue a feruent Ague when their appetite is quight gone through vehemencie of heat Carpes are pleasaunt and toothesome so are also Troutes and Gogions but those are best that are white and little for they be softe mollefiynge of good iuyce and concoction but those that are gréene and blackishe are worste Of good iuyce also are Mullets and Barbilles beinge meane betwéene harde and tender as Cornelius Celsus wryteth and Galen affirmeth the same They binde the bellie speciallie beinge broyled on the Coales but fried they are heauie and hard to digest Athenaeus writeth that if a liuinge Mullet be put into wine and choked or strangled therin whatsoeuer man drinketh of the same wyne shall not be able to do the acte of generatioÌ„ Dioscorides saieth that much and oftâ—n eatinge thereof dymmeth the eyesight Plinie writeth that the pouldre made of the head of a freshe Mullet hath great vertue against al venime and poyson speciallie if it happen throughe the stinging of any liuinge Creature And they be called Mullettes and Barbilles because they haue two barbes or wartes on their neither iawes Eeles are not holesome because they be moyste and slymie of whom I will here geeue a note or twaine not hitherto of anye almoste marked All alonge the backebone of an éele there goeth a blacke stringe like a small veine as it is in the tayle of a Crabbe in which blacke veine a certaine poyson is included whiche ought to be drawen out before the Eele be boyled and he requireth longer time of séething then any other fishe Beynge broyled it nourisheth better then when it is boyled because the fier taketh away his vicious and naughtie humours Phisicions do altogether reiecte the eatinge of them about Midsomer They that are moste firme solide and fatte are best and speciallie the femalles there snoute or nose is tourned vpwarde more then the males but if my counsell may be followed it were best for suche persons as in this treatise are ment to forbeare them altogether at all seasons in the yere for they be of harde concoctioÌ„ and engendre very grosse and flimie humour albeit to cormerauntes and Epicures they séeme to go down their throfe pleasauntlie I once read this of an Eele in a woorke of a certaine naturall Philosopher and haue taught the same to manye albeit I knowe no man that as yet hath put it in proofe neyther yet my self Now whether his conclusion be true or no let the Authoure himselfe shifte and aunswer it If you woulde make some notorious drunkard and common swil-bowle to loth and abhorre his beastlie vice and for euer after to hate the drinking of wine put an Eele alyue into some wyde mouthed potte with a couer hauing in it suche a quantitie of wine as maye suffice of itselfe to suffocate and strangle the Eele to death Which doone take out the dead Eele and let the partie whom you would haue reclaymed from his bibacitie not knowing hereof drinke of that wine onely euen as muche as he listeth The same vertue as som write hath the water that distilleth out of a vine when it is cutte and pruned if it be mixed with wine and geeuen to drinke twise or thrise to one that knoweth not of it But let vs againe retourn to fishes Crabbes for the most parte are to be eschewed for they be ill for the head and vnder Crabbes we also meane all Periwincles and Shrimpes All kindes of Shelfishes as Oysters Cockles Limpettes Muscles c. are seldome and sparingelie to be eaten The dressinge of theÌ„ must be such as the nature of the fishes themselues time season and custome requireth but those that be moyste and soft speciallie in moyste seasons are best rosted that is to say dressed onely with fyer without any water or any other licoure Notwithstandinge we maye vse Oyle and Vinegre to sauce and relice the same the better But harde and toughe fishes were better to be boyled 〈◊〉 wel sodden then either rosted or broyled Finallie this I say for a generall rule that al cold or moyst meates are holpen and qualified by drinkinge good wine and eatinge good Spices withall Of Sauces But now let vs say a litle of those thiÌ„gs that serue for seasonyng and powderyng of meate and first of Salt and afwardes of others And as for salt there is no man that doubteth but it is moste necessarie and conuenient almoste in all kindes of meates because it maketh them more concoctible and pleasant in taste Also it hath a vertue abstersiue and resolutiue and by reason of a siccatiue or drying power whiche it hath it kéepeth them from putrefaction and corruption and comforteth the body with a bynding or stipticke power Further more it maketh the meate to descende from the ventricle easily and expediently expelleth superfluities subtileth phlegme and helpeth digestion in them that haue colde stomackes But it must with measure and moderation be vsed for with his sharpenesse it hurteth the Ventricle and Bowels causeth vomite induceth lothsomenes and fretteth the guttes greatly yea if the weight of one dramme therof bée eaten in the morninge with a fasting stomacke it maketh the bealie soluble and disposed too the stoole Now followeth Oyle verie good also and requisite to sauce manie sundrie meates but in the perticular recital of al sorts of Oyles I wil not now stand sithens I only studie for breuitie Al Oyles saith Auicen do louse the veÌ„tricles vnlesse it bee the Oyle of nuts of y kinde that are called Pistacea and the oyle of Oliues The oyle of Pistacea is better then any other but wee haue neuer seene it made in any place the oyle of Nuttes is not good for the breast and tongue and therefore it remayneth for vs to entreate of the oyle of Oliues The sharpe and sower licoure that is made of vnripe Oliues for those that are healthfull and haue hoate bodies Auicen doth greatly commende as very fit and congruent for them and not with out cause For it is not greatly vnctuous nor hoate and by it the ventricle obteyneth a conuenient bindyng and oportune stipticitie And therefore if you make oyle of these Oliues before they come to their full ripenesse truely in hoate seasons you shall finde the eatynge thereof very wholesom For it greatly helpeth the bodie without anye harme and stoppeth ouer much thinnessé and fluxibilitie of bloude in cholericke and sanguine persons Auerroys giueth much praise to the oyle of rype Oliues beinge newe and swéete because the nature of it is in a maner temperate hauing in it but small heate And also he thinketh it to be verye agréeable to mans temperature accordinge to the whole nature of substance of it and to fatten the Lieuer and augment the substance therof and therefore he reporteth howe that in his Countrey they vsed to season and sauce their fleshe therewith and that
the vse of reason transforme him from that state and ordre that is accordinge to nature For moderate mirthe helpeth muche to accomplishe all the offices and functions of the minde speciallie to furder and make excellent concoction as contrariwise heauines and sorrowe is the greatest hinderaunce and obstacle to let it Beware therefore in any wise of heauines or desparation for a heauie and sorrowfull spirite saieth Solomon drieth vp the bones and géeue thy selfe to honest mirthe and Christianlike ioye For as Auicen sayeth The often vse of mirthe disposeth a man to be mery and thereof come twoo no smale commodities One is that naturall vertue is corroborated and strengthened and continual regeneration of the spirites is caused and verye small or rather no dissolution of them at al ensueth The other is that the same spirits thereby are dilated and consequently lyfe prolonged Moreouer it is expedient temperately to recreate the senses as for example the sight with viewinge and beholding faire shewes and beautifull things the hearing with harmonicall and melodious Musicke the smellinge with soote sauours and fragaraunt odours such as in somer the smell of Rose water is I do not say Roses themselues or violettes because throughe their moystnes they stuffe and fill the head with vapours and fumosities But in winter with the smell of Lignum Aloes whiche comforteth and cheereth vp the Hart Braine Entrailes and all the senses of Man wōderfullye But beware of too hoate and sharpe sauours for they send vapours to the braine The tastinge with a meane relice and tast as that which is confectionate of Sugar and the Iuyce of Pomegranades or Quinces thickened by decoction or som other of like temperature being not harmefull neither excéeding in the excesse of any qualitie Of Venery or the Acte of Generation THe delectation and pleasure that cometh by touchinge muste be well measured by mediocritie for if it excéede and be vsed intemperatlie it resolueth the spirites and naturall heate aboue measure and dryeth vp the radicall moysture whereby naturall heate is preserued and nourished and so daungerous diseases I will not saye death happeneth vnto man sooner then otherwise by nature they would Therfore sithens in the act of Generacion there is so great resolution of the spirites excesse thereof specially of them that be Studients and leane of bodie is to be eschewed Albeit as hath ben before often shewed great regarde and accompte muste be made of custom We must saieth Hippocrates goe from one thinge to another by litle and litle and not change vpon a sodaine Therfore Galen and before hs daies Aristotle in his Problemes affirmeth that sodaine alteracions and changes are verie noysome to nature and concludeth how that the Tiranne Dionisius being expulsed and driuen out of his Kingdome fell into a gréeuous maladie and disease by forbearing his former lasciuiousnes and wanton order because contrari to his custome which he had before vsed he sodainelie gaue himselfe to continencie and of a monstrous whoremonger became a verye chaste liuer Therefore let vs conclude with Galen that the vse of carnall copulation doth litle or no harme so that so muche space and time in the vse thereof be adhibited that neyther any resolution of the spirites be felt and also that a man may thereby after a sorte séeme to be lighter then he was before and to fetche his breath the better and with more facilitie But this I will further aduouche which both reason and experience prooueth to be true that it is much better to vse it seldome then often because among many other harmes and daungers which much Coiture and carnalitie bringeth this is not the lest that it weakeneth the heart debilitateth the braine and dryeth vp all the bodie because it wasteth the substance of the last alimēt For Sperm or Séede of generation is as Aristotle sayeth the last substance of profitable aliment And also as we haue before declared because through the great pleasure that is in it the spirits and naturall heate are to muche resolued and the stomacke principallie endamaged as contrarywise by conuenient continencie and oportune forbearing therof it is cherished and preserued It was not without good cause that Auicen thought if neuer so litle Sperme or Seede ouer and aboue the measure and stinte of nature do passe from a man in doing this acte of generation it harmeth him more then if he should bléede fortie tymes so muche For the Sperme is a thing more conforme to natural heate and moysture and more spiritual then bloude is Moreouer carnall apetite is a deadlie enemie to dry complexions likewise to colde but vnhurtfull beinge moderately vsed onely to them that are hoate and moyste and whiche haue naturally great aboundance of Sperme Galen sayeth that the state of those bodies is worst which haue abundaunce of hoate Séede because it doth prorite and tickle them to expell it sithens both the mouth of their ventres is resolued and all their bodie is not onely relaxed and made weak but also they be drye slender pale and holow eyed vnto whome he in that same place prescribeth store of remedies But if a man woulde abstaine from very hoate meats and wyndie and muche drinkynge of headie wyne and refrayne venerous imaginations and suche like pleasures he shall not lightly be muche assailed and tempted with desire of any carnall appetite Likewise if he ernestly addicte himselfe to the studie of Morall Philosophie and of the sacred Scriptures banishinge Idlenes and forbearinge the companye so farre as he conuenientlye maye of beawtifull damselles and amorous women Or if a man vse the Séede of Agnos Castus which is also called Viter he shall sée and féele a merueilous effecte to represse his fleshlie concupiscence If thy loynes be to hoate annointe them with the Oyle of Henbane or Popie and do likewise to thy Genitories and do not vse to lye in a softe feather bedde Some there be whiche coole there Priuities in colde water and finde thereby a present remedie They that drinke the iuyce of water Lillie called of the Apothecaries Nenuphar the space of xij dayes together shall haue no maner of desire to carnalitie And therefore it is good for wiuelesse Bachelers and husbandlesse maydens to drinke to driue away theire vncleane dreaminge of venerie and the filthy pollutions that they haue by night But in fine bidde daintie fare a dieu and vse not to pamper thy selfe with muche gurmandize but onely so muche as nature requireth to kéepe thy bodye in perfecte health and soundnes For there is an olde Prouerbe and a true sayinge From frequent Venus muche cheere and sleepe Eche Studient ought himselfe to keepe I remember that I haue read in sainct Chrisostome that our Sauiour Christe when he dwelled héere amonge vs on earth vsed to eate and drinke so litle and so seldome that he encresed not this superfluous Seed But as in this poinct so in many other
Christ hath but very few Imitatours and folowers wheras notwithstandinge there be many whiche haue still this saying in there mouthes how that euery action of Christe is our instruction But let vs draw towarde an ende of our purpose When nature is desirous of carnall coniunction and is neither prouoked therevnto by imagination and thought nor any other outwarde cause but with multitude and abundance of Sperme it must be vsed in a fit and conuenient time And that is when the meat is throughlie concocted and yet no hunger nor desire to eate approcheth that Sleepe or rest immediatlie after it may take away the lasitude gotten and caused through the action there of or at the least mitigate and lenifie the same But if we should erre in either parte it were much better as Galene sayth to offend being replete and armed with a full Stomack then when it is emptie and pynched with ouermuch defect and want of foode For it is better that is to say it doth lesse harme to vse when the bodie is warme and calefied then when it is cold and infrigidate and full infarced rather then when it is emptie and when it is humected rather then when it is drye But he the same Galene taught before that measure and temperatenesse therein ought to be chosen and obserued that the bodie neither should be too hoate nor too cold too moyst nor too drie too much replete nor to much emptied Neither do I heere allow the Law and ordinance of Solon whereby the enacted that a man shoulde carnally know his wyfe at least thrise in a moneth For often vse thereof to many men is harmefull yea to some once is to muche Againe this acte is not a thinge necessarie to conserue the partie that vseth it but onely to repaire and encrease the Spece or kinde whiche otherwise in short time woulde decaye Therfore let Solon beinge an heathen Eathnique take his lawe to himselfe Studientes many tymes are troubled with a phlegmaticke humour descending from their heades into their stomackes being of them selues colde whiche inconuenience may easely be remedied if they take in the morning a dragme or twaine of the confection named Diatrion Piperion Or else they may drinke Pepper alone specially that whiche is white beinge brayed and put into water or let them take betime in the morning a litle Ginger condite or else a Chebule condite which is a kinde of mirobolanes Of Ayre Holsome and vnholsome AYre althoughe we describe it last in order and what qualitie therof is best for bodily health yet is it a principall poinct and no lesse to be regarded then the other preceding For néedes must it inspiâ—â—â—â—d breath into vs continuallye that the heart and lunges may therby be competentlye and conuenablie cooled This among all other is so néedefull and necessarie vnto man that he is vneth able to liue one moment of an houre vnlesse new fresh Ayre comming in and out coole and refrigerate his hart Therfore vnto all men without any exception it is hole some and expedient to drawe into lunges the best that is to wit the purest Ayre For corrupte and vnpure Ayre is vnto all age a great backefriende and enemie Now the diuersitie of Ayres procedinge of heate colde drought or moystnes accordeth not to euerie mans nature alike For vnto those bodies that are of the best temperature the most temperate Ayre is holesomest But in whom anye excellinge qualitie beareth domination vnto such that Ayre is moste holesome whiche in like degrée resisteth and oppugneth that qualitie For temperature is altered with contrarious diete and order and is conserued with his like Thou shalt therefore as farreforth as may be 〈…〉 thy selfe to liue neither in a troubled and contagions ayre nor in that which is very cold or too hoate or too moyst or whiche is open to vaporous blastes and pestilent windes such as blowe out of the South In winter it is best to liue in a warme and open Sunnye place lyinge open to the Cast but we must alwayes tourne our heads from the Rayes and Beames of the Sunne speciallye about noone because beside calefaction and heate whiche they bring to the head they do also draw vnto it humours and matters wherfore manye times they cause headache and bléedinge at the nose But the Rayes or Beames of the Moone are a great deale more to be eschewed and taken héede vnto that they shine not vpon vs speciallye when we sléepe for they cause ill diseases For asmuche as the Moone is Ladie of moysture and mooueth humours Also the night aire is not holesome because the Sunne géeuer of life is gone out of our Hemisphere In winter if the Ayre be troubled and darke which as Auicen saieth maketh the soule sorrowful it must in part if it may not in all be qualified and by some artificiall meanes bettered Whiche is done either by remaining in a house or in some couert place shrowded from the sturdie stormes of dismall Boreas certaine houres of the daye and also by purifinge the Ayre with a good fyer in our Chamber made with good woodde or else by makinge in it a perfume with Iuniper or Lignum Aloes In Somer it is best to dwell in suche a temperate place that the windowes of our house may open towarde the North or if we will we may sprincle our ChaÌ„ber with Rose water and vineigre specially when the Ayre is corrupt with anye stinkinge fauour or anye other fulsome exhalacion Auicen praiseth the Aire of Mountaines and Downes for the Somer time and thinketh it best for a man in the night to lye in the vpper parte or Garettes of his house but in the daye time he sayeth the lower roomes are fittest and holesomest Aristotle choose him a dwellinge place that stoode highe and laye open with prospectes towarde the South and the East in a subtile Ayre neither moyst nor colde Plato found verye olde and aged persons dwelinge in high and temperate regions And this is to be noted and knowen that the Ayre in highe places which by repercussion and reflection of the Sunne Beames are not warmed be cold and the higher the place is the colder is the Ayre Therfore the middle loftes of the house are fittest for winter and the highest for Somer You muste also beware that when yow be hoate yow stand not longe in the winde or colde Ayre because euerye sodaine alteration and chaunge hurteth nature very muche and colde stoppinge the pores and passages of the humours hindereth conuenient refrigeration and difflation of vapours and also is a great Enemie to naturall heate but chieflie to the brain and sinewes To be shorte the sentence and opinion of Hippocrates is alwayes to be sette before our eyes whose woords I haue here recited For he sayeth that to euacuate muche and sodainelie or to be filled with repletion to warme to coole or by anye other meanes to mooue the bodie more then naturall course tolerateth