of the Beane of Egypt with thrée ciathes of warme water that is about the measure of foure ounces and a half It is also good against the long during paines of the head disinesse of the head and hardnesse of hearing it mendeth the dulnesse of the eye-sight it helpeth the falling sicknesse and them that cast out bloud if a man will giue it with the broth of Comfrey It draweth out the wormes in the guttes it helpeth those that haue diseases of the liuer and milt it helpeth thorowlye the bloudie flixe and the common flixe that commeth of the slipperinesse of the guts and stomacke and the turning torments of the guts especially if the guttes haue no inflammation or great burning heate in them Besides this when as the body wasteth away with to much sweating and his strength is brought to weakenesse the nature of the disease will not suffer the vse of wine this triacle drūken stayeth or stoppeth the sweate and restoreth the strength that was weakened before It doth also prouoke downe to women their sickenesse that hath bene long stopped and it doth now and then open the stopping of the issue of the mother and of the Emrodes for séeing that it is endued with sundrye and mengled qualities or properties therfore it spreading abrode something making them thin draweth them togither that they maye be sifted out It vseth for to staye other things that flowe aboue measure by reason of the weaknesse of the strength of the body or the power retentiue or holding power and therefore restoreth the strength againe and also it helpeth all diseases of the ioyntes when as the time of increasing the disease is past and it is come to the highest for then thou shalte giue to drinke this triacle after thou hast made fometations vpō the aking place the which in déede shall driue awaye the flowing humors that are stuffed in and shall driue backe those that woulde fall in afterwarde This Triacle is good also for them that are of perfite health if they take it oft With the vse of this Triacle I haue oft times helped those that haue the disease called in Greeke Elephantiasis and now commonly called the lepre or leprosie which is not in déede the lepre of the olde Grecians neither it that the scripture maketh mention of It is not onely good for the bodie but also for the minde for if it be oft drunken it healeth melancholyke diseases and wasteth away blacke choler by reason whereof it is also good for the Feuer Quartaine which commeth of blacke choler But it may not be giuen in the beginning of a Quartaine otherwise called melancholy I haue deliuered many verie easily that haue bene sicke of the Quartaine with this remedie For I vse first to purge the sick person by vomiting which is done after meate and the next daye I giue hym to drinke the iuice of wormwood and then two houres before his 〈◊〉 I geue him this Triacle and oft times the pacient is by and by deliuered from his fit This medicine hath accustomably taken away the feare of water which of all diseases is the worst and vseth to come to a man after he is bitten of a mad dog They that haue this disease are afrayde of water and for the great drynesse that they haue within thē they are desirous of moysture but they forbeare or hold themselues from drink bicause that they are departed from their right minde and vnderstanding and consider not what woulde helpe them or doe them good And therefore it commeth to passe that they flying eschuing water wither and are drawen togither with a deadly crampe by the reason of a hote ague that they are inwardly burnt with and so at length die the wretchedst kinde of death that can be I haue vsed somtimes to put some portion of this triacle mengled with rose oyle into the wounde that the madde dog hath made that it might after the maner of a boxing glasse sucke and draw out from the bottome the vennome in so much that the Triacle is not onely good to be taken in but also to be layde outwardly vpon the wound which as soone as the dog hath made with his téeth must be launced and cut rounde about and kept open for the space of foure dayes that the venome may therby breth out that the wounde be not stopped or growen vp againe And for this purpose ye may make a cauterisation in the wound to kepe it long open but bicause the most part of men can better abide the akings than the burnings If the wounde can be kept open with only cutting it shall be better to let it abide so in tender and weake persons but if it wil néedes grow to then must it be kept open with burning or cauterisation A man cannot finde a better remedie than this triacle against the pestilence which being also as it were a wild beast bred of the corruption of the ayre leaping vpon men by the inbreathing of that ill breaths which destroyeth wasteth and maketh hauock not only of one man but of whole tounes and Cities And as Hipocrates draue away the pestilence out of Athens with great fires made of spice woods and swéete floures chaunging the temperature of the aire that men by this meanes might draw in with their breath the purified or clensed aire for a remedye against the common euill that reigned there then Euē so this Triacle like a scouring or purging fire will not suffer them that take it in before they be infected to be infected at al and deliuereth them that are infected already if they take it in afterward chaunging the malicious poyson of the aire which they haue receyued by breath And suffereth not the disease to spread any further Wherfore I counsel thée euen whē as thou art in thy best helth to vse oft this Triacle But especially when thou makest thy iorney in the winter And this Triacle strengthneth also the wittes or senses It quickeneth the minde or vnderstanding and so defendeth the body by reason of the mixture that it suffereth not the bodye to be ouercome by anye poyson or venemous drink or potion As it is reported of king Mithridates who defended himselfe so not with the great triacle which at that time was not but with a preseruatiue of his owne making which after his owne name was called Mithridatium that he could not be ouercommed with any poyson a man must vse this Triacle after he hath perfitely digested Somtime in the quantity of a beane of Egypt with thrée ounces a halfe of water And somtime when he hath more time to digest the medicine he may take the quantitie of a Hasel nut with four ounces a halfe of water But I would counsell no body to take this triacle in the heate of Sommer Neyther ought it to be taken oft and much of them that are of flourishing or lusty age neither of thē that are of hote natures or complexions
seauen yeare olde and Plinie writeth not without an error of the scribe as I gesse that Falerno media aetas incipit ab anno decimo quinto But Valeriola a man otherwise wel learned Valeriola leaueth the authoritie of Galen leauing the authoritie of Galen calleth it newe Wine that kéepeth still his Mustish and sweete taste and as yet hath gotten no sharpenesse and he calleth that Wine of middle age that is no more swéete but is cleare and sayth that he and his countrimen take the most notable Wines of Fraunce for olde Wines before they bée fullye one yeare olde And this doth he holde enarrationum medicinalium lib. sexto enarratione septima In the same place he reproueth Aloisius Mundella for saying that wine sixe yeares olde was newe wine after Galen who although fayled in excéeding one yeare beyond Galens numbring of the yeares of new wine yet he went a great deale farther from Galens minde than Mundella did Must only hote in the first degree Must when it is made euen of ripe grapes is but hote in the first degrée for Galen in his boke of the powers of simple medicines hath these wordes following Vinum est ex fecundo ordine excalfacientrum Sed quod admodum vetus est ex tertio sicut quod mustum vocant ex primo caliditatis eius proportioni respondet siccitas that is Very olde wine hote in the third degree wine that is to say of midle age is hote in the seconde degrée but it that is verie olde is hote in the third degree as it that is called Must is hote in the first degrée By these words their errour is openly confuted Non omne vinum esse calidum in secundo gradu that holde that euery wine is hote in the second degrée Galen writeth truly that the Grapes that grow in verie colde places neuer come to ripenesse neither to swéetenesse but when other wines are made they are swéete pleasant but such Wines made of such grapes are very soure and therfore colde the words of Galen are these written in the second booke de alimentorū facultatibus In regionibus frigidis ne vuae quidem ipsae exquisite maturari queunt nedum passarū quaepiam ob id quòd resinam vinis immittant ne acescant celeriter That is In colde countries neither rasins come to anye perfite ripenesse neither the grapes Rosin preserueth small wine from souring and therefore men put rosin into the wines that they shoulde not shortly waxe soure And in the booke of good and ill iuice he sayth thus The Wines that are to olde or to newe are to be eschued For the olde doe heate to much and the new Wines as long as they are greene Verie grene and new wines heate nothing at all or very new heat nothing at all so farre are they frō helping of men to digest their meates that they are very hardly digested themselues and oft times they hang and abide still in a mans stomacke euen as water Dioscorides also who wrote before Galen sayth lib. 5. The sinewes are hurte with olde wine and other instruments of the senses yet for all that it is swéeter in taste than the other wines are Wherfore a man ought to beware of it that feeleth the weakenesse of anye inwarde part Yet when a man is in good helth a little being delayed with water it maye be taken without harme Newe Wine putteth a man vp New wine and filleth him with winde and is hard of digestion and bréedeth heauie dreames and maketh a man to make water It that is of a meane age betwéene both is free from the harmes that maye come of both wherefore it is commonlye vsed both of hole and sicke men with their meate Aristotel in his fourth booke Meteorologicorum the .x. Newe wine hath much earthlynesse in it and therfore ill for them that are disposed to the stone Chapter writeth That new Wine hath more earth or earthlynesse in it than olde hath wherevpon a man maye gather plainlye that new Wine is verye ill for them that are disposed to the stone for it hauing so much thicke earthlinesse in it giueth matter whereof the stone may be made to hote kidneys that the heate of kidneis may so bake it into stones as the heate of the Bricke kill turneth the claye into Bricke or tile stones Wherefore I must néedes dispraise the maner of our delicate Englishmen and women that drinke the Rhennish wine only for pleasure whilst it is as yet as thicke as puddle or horsepisse For beside that it giueth matter to make the stone of I haue knowen thrée within the space of one yere in high Germany that toke the falling sicknesse by drinking much newe Rhenishe wine and they died all thrée and coulde not be holpen with phisicke one of them sodenly lost his spech and died within an houre after that he sickened and the other two liued but a day or two after and died miserably with great paine and had grieuous fittes of the falling sicknesse at sundry times I haue marked that within these dosen yeares there haue bene more sicke in the falling sicknesse than had wont to be before The cause wherof I iudge to be that mens wiues nurses The causes of the rifenesse of the falling sicknesse nowe in England and children drinke more Rhennishe Must and other swéete wines vnfined brought out also of other coūtries as wel as out of Germany thā they were wont to drinke before in times past Aetius a diligent follower of Galen and a faithfull gatherer of the writinges of olde Greke writers of phisick saith that wine meaning thereby wine of middle age that is neither verie new neither verye olde is hote in the second degrée The degrees of wines by their ages and that verye olde is hote in the thirde degrée as very new Must is hote in the first degrée Ye maye sée here once againe that they are more bolde than learned and wise Whether al kindes of newe wines ought to bee refused or no that holde that all Wines are hote in the second degrée Some peraduenture will aske whether there is any kinde of newe Wine that may serue for anye vses and may be dronken at any time or no ▪ To whom I make this aunswere by the authoritie of Galen in his booke of good and euill iuice Si vina tenuia alba aquosae tutò bibi possint errat Plinius qui vina tenuia austera magis caput tentare asseuerat lib. 23. cap. ◠that ex recentibus vinis genus illud dūtaxat tutò bibitur quod tenuis substantiae est sicuti ex Italicis Cauchanum Albanū c. quae sanc tenuia candida aquosa existunt c That is Amongst new wines only that kinde maye be safelye drunken that is of a thin substaunce as amongst Italian wines are Cauchanum Albanum c. which wines in dede are thin white and waterish
as Galen alloweth it for them that haue the falling sicknesse and sayth that it doth not hurt the stomach neyther trouble the head as hote wines do of which sortes they alow some for their patients for common table wine as diuerse kinds of Clared wine whereof euery one of them is hotter and more headie and fumish than the common Rhennishe and French wines are of the which matter we will talke hereafter more largelye if God will That the thin small and waterish wines do not hurt the head so that they haue a littell astriction Galen declareth plainly in his booke de euchymia cacochymia in these words And euē as firish red wines seeing that they are hote of nature by and by fill the head Fierish red wines fill the head by and by bicause they be hote euen so those wines that are thin and waterish and gently binding are not onlye vnhurtfull vnto the head but also sometime they take away those small head aches which come of humors gathered togither in the stomach Out of Aetius OF all wines Which wines hurte least the head and sinewes white wines are least hurt waterish wines neyther bréedeth the head ache neyther hurt the sinewes Wines that are white in color nourish least of all other Wines if they be thin in substaunce and after a maner like vnto water Aetius alloweth white wine for a preseruatiue against the stone Aetius also prescribing a diet for thē that are deliuered of the stone how that they maye be preserued from falling into the disease of the stone againe alloweth a small wine that prouoketh water and is not verie olde And the author of the booke of healing of the stone which is ascribed vnto Galen and iudged of manye to be his in expresse wordes fayth as followeth here Vinum sit tenue admodum album non ita vetus dulcia verò nigra vina calculosis sunt inepta That is let your wines be verye small and white Red that is Clared wine is not good for the stone and not so olde but swéete wines and blackish red wines are verye vnméete for them that haue the stone And the author sayeth in the same booke a littell after Vinum tibi conuenit tenue album quod misturam non ita patitur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nam eiusmodi facile descendit succos qui sunt in nobis attenuat secernit per vrinas virtutemque roborat That is white and small wine is good and méete for you which being small cannot abide to be menged with much water for such wine doth easilye go downe and maketh subtill or fine the iuices or humors that are in vs and sifteth them out by the water and strengthneth the power of man Of the natures of white and diuers other wynes taken out of Actuarius the last of the noble Greeke writers of phisicke GRosse and thicke wines nourysh much Grosse or thick wines Thin or subtill wines and are cause of grosse bloud and of the stopping of inward partes but thin or subtill wines which driue out water are of a contrarye nature Redish yellow wines are hotest of all Wines in color red are next in heat to readish yellow Least hote of all are waterish and small wines and they trouble the head least A small white wine is best for a common table wine for they engender fine or thin bloud Some wines that haue a little astriction are better for the stomach but nourish lesse but swéete wines are of the contrarie nature but white wines are lesse hote thā other wines Of wines are hotest of all redish yellow and next vnto them are hotest Wines of red color they are least hote that are waterish which are called in Greke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bicause they wil not suffer to be delayed which much water such wines as these do trouble the head least But strong and wel colored wine are more fit for them that labor for to be of a good plite and to looke well But for thée that carest only for thy simple health and for thy liuely spirite it maye séeme that a weake wine which is white and thin should he sufficient for thee and thou ought therewith to be content except thou be compelled to flie for néedes sake to vse hoter wines when as thou art to much cooled in thy body Of the nature of red wine which here in England is commonly called Clared wyne and of the nature of blacke wine which is called commonlye in England red wine out of Galen in his thirde booke de alimentis Red wine and thicke wine IF that whatsoeuer doth norish be meat thē is wine to be placed among the number of meates that is of things that doe féede and encrease the bodie No color of any wine is liker to bloud than it that we call Clared wine for the blacke wine that we call red wine is blacker thā it may be compared vnto bloud Rufa atque crassa vina Deinceps nigra Rufa aut nigra crassa adstringentia Of all wines red and thicke wines are most méete to make bloud as such as néede little chaunging to be turned into bloud after these folow in order blacke wines grosse and swéete and also those which in color is red and blacke and in substance or composition are thick ioyned with a binding quality The same sentence hath Aetius in these words following Rufa itaque crassa ex omnibus ad sanguinem generandum commodissima sunt vt quae parua egeant in sanguinem transmutatione Deinceps nigra simul dulcia ac crassa Deinde colore quidem rufa aut nigra compage vero crassa habentia simul adstringentem qualitatem Out of the fourth booke of Galen de sauitate tuenda REfuse and flie thicke and blacke wines bicause they make an euill iuice and enter thorow and go very slowly down and in the fift booke he sayth Such wines as tarie long in the bellie are none of them fit for an olde man and that blacke wines that are grosse and thicke and are binding tarie and abide long in the bellie and stir vp flowinges in it But they that are blacke and thick and haue no astriction in déede they tarie shorter while in the bellie But yet they stirre not a man to make water some take them before meat but they are not good for olde men neyther any other which make a thick iuice for these stop the liuer milt and kidneys whereby it commeth to passe that some olde men vsing these more largelye fall into the dropsey and other fall into the stone Of the nature of wynes of diuers and sundry colors out of Galen de methodo medendi sexto .12 IN the sixt booke Whatsoeuer Wines be swéete and also of a readish yelow color all such are sharpe or biting and hote aboue measure Wines good for them that swounde In the .xij. booke To them that swoune
drousie Wine is ill also for them that are of a hote burning complexion and haue any inflammation within them in their bodies or haue any burning agues It is also generallye ill for them that haue a great reume and the goute or eyther an halfe or hole palsey The wine that is menged with Gipso or with Alibaster as Sacke is hurteth the sinewes and maketh the head heauy setteth it on fier and is very ill for the bladder Wine that is menged with cute as our Malmsey is fill a mans head and make hym drunken breath out more hardlye and trouble the stomache which wordes I iudge ought to be vnderstanded of such a wine as hath very much cute put into it To whome and for what purposes wine is good THe holy scripture sayeth that wine maketh the hart of man merie and that it is good to be taken of them that haue a weake and a féeble stomach and the .xxxj. chapter of the Prouerbes hath this saying O Lamuell giue not vnto kings I say vnto kings wine to drinke of it or to princes strong drinke least they after they haue drunken forget the law that is appointed or ouerthrow the causes of all poore mens children Giue strong drinke vnto them that are condemned to die and Wine to them that haue a sorowfull hart that after they haue drunken they maye forget their pouertie and remember no more their misfortune Galen in his first booke de sanitate tuenda sayeth that wine molsteneth and nourisheth whatsoeuer is before made drie out of measure and also swageth and ouercommeth the sharpenesse of bitter gall and furthermore emptieth out by sweate and driueth forth by water Out of Dioscorides .xj. chapter of the fift booke GEnerally euery wine not mixed and is only simple of himselfe and is of nature in taste soure and binding maketh hote is easily conueyed into the bodie it is good for the stomache it maketh a man haue an appetite it norisheth and maketh a man sléepe strengthneth and maketh a good color and if it be plenteouslye drunken Wines good against diuers poysons helpeth them that haue taken Hemlocke or Coriander or the poison called Pharicum or that poison called Iria or Opium which is the iuice of Poppy or Litharge or Eugh or Wolfes bayne or choking mushromes or todestooles It is also good against al the bitings and stingings of all créeping beastes which after they haue stinged or bitten kill a man with colde or ouerthrowe the stomach It is good for the long continuaunce of windinesse of the midrife and against the bitings of the stomach and hitchcocke or yesking and against bending or stretching out of the stomach and against the flowing of the guttes and bellye Wine is also good to them that sweate much Wine good for them that sweate to much and are made faint with to much sweating and especiallie such as is white olde and well smelling Hitherto Dioscotides Whose words when as he speaketh of the holesoninesse of wines against poisons and the bitings and stingings of venemous beastes must be vnderstanded of Muscadine Sack Maâ—â—â—sey and Bastarde and such hote 〈…〉 which by reason of their heate enter farther into the body and more spéedily and are better against cold poisons thaÌ„ colder wines be Simeon Sethi of the nature of Wines SOme vse wine for profit some to make them merie withall and some for pleasure and some for all these purposes Wyne doth not only nourishe but also maketh the meates to go wel downe and stirreth vp the naturall heate and encreaseth it And the most part of them that vse it soberlye when as their bodie is withered before they come into a good plight and looke well Wine hath this propertie that it carieth and leadeth the meat vnto euerye small part and through streyte wayes by the proper thinnesse or subtilnesse of his partes it heateth the members and small parts and maketh a good digestion driueth forth water Wherfore it fifteth forth the most part of superfluities but the greater power and working of wine may be spied more plainly in colde and withered bodies and wherein is lesse naturall heat as in olde men and in such as are amended of their sicknesse But wine worketh not only these things which we haue spoken of before in mens bodies but also sheweth certain chaungings wonderfully in a mans minde For it maketh men merie and to haue a good hope to be manly and liberal and many that we sée before cowardes after the drinking of wine to be made bolde chearefull of a good courage and a good hope and some that were niggards and filthy pinchers to be made liberall and frée giuers But wine if it be vsed out of measure ouerthroweth and drowneth the liuely soundnesse and strength and the naturall color and it bringeth the hole palsie the halfe palsie the falling sicknesse and the trembling of the members it noyeth also the godlye and principall part of the soule bicause they that gull in wine so haue mistie and darke senses and their minde is not cleare Hitherto Simeon Sethi Whyte small wines that haue no great smell are good for the sinewes that are wounded Wine is good to washe the moyst fleshe that is in olde sores Some wines to be giuen in some agues at some times Waterish wine is necessarie for them that haue the ague and haue thin iuices therwith it may be giueÌ„ in diuers agues as Galen saith in his booke de methodo medendi when as the rage of the ague is not great Wine good for the gout occupied without And althoughe wine when it is taken inwardly hurteth both the sinewes and ioyntes bicause it fumeth vp into the heade and bréedeth rheumes which fall downe vnto them yet for all that if it be layde outwardlye vpon the ioyntes it strengthneth them and maketh them fast when as they are loose by melting awaye or resoluing the moysture that is in them and for that purpose serueth best of all other blacke wine for the more that it is binding the more it strengthneth Out of the boke of Galen which teacheth that the maners of the soule and the complexion of the body follow one another WIne driueth away sadnesse and pensiuenesse but it is ill if it be to largely taken But if a man wil vse it wisely it will digest and distribute or conuey the nourishmeÌ„t increase bloud norish it wil also make the minde both gentler and bolder Plato in the .ij. Plato de legibus booke de legibus forbiddeth all children wine that are vnder .xij. houres old for that inteÌ„t that they should not be driuen therwith into madnesse he suffreth them that are full growen in age to vse it bicause it is a remedie against the grieuousnesse of age and driueth away sorowes swageth the hardnesse of maners the age of springoldes or of growing children is hote and full of muche bloude contrarywise the olde age is colde and wanteth bloud
therefore the drinking of wine is profitable for olde men but to them that are in growing it is excéeding hurtfull moreouer Plato did not suffer that the souldiers shoulde drinke any wine in the campe neither bondmen in the citie neyther princes nor gouernors in the cōmonwelth neither iudges neither any other that should enter in the counsell about any matter bicause that wine as a certain tyrant doth rule ouercome the powers of the soule Hitherto Galen But bicause it hath bene diuerse times sayd that wine is good for olde men and it is not as yet fullye shewed what maner of wine that should be it shal be best to teache men by Galen what wines are best for old men Galen lib. 5. de sanitate tuenda sayth All your counsell must goe to this ende in chosing of wine fit for old men that it may be very thin or subtil in color redish yellow or yellow or pale yellow which is of a middle color betwéene bright yellow and white The warming of all the members in olde mens bodies There are two profites that come to old men by the vse of wine one is that it warmeth all the members of their bodies and the other is that it scoureth out by the water all the whayishnesse or thin waterishnes of the bloud and bicause it doth so effectuallye The scouring awaye of the whaiish waterynesse of the bloud it is best for olde men But such wine is it that is thin in substance driueth forth water and is yellow in color for that is the proper color of hote wines and so also which haue bene from the beginning verye white and haue gotten a certaine yellownesse when they haue waxed old wherevpon they begin first to be a little yellowishe pale and afterwarde to be plainly yellow pale But such wines as are eyther pale yellow or bright yellow and a fat substaunce increase the bloud nourish the bodie by reason wherof they are now then good for old men to wete at such times whē as they haue not much wheyish moisture would be more plenteously norished but for all that aged mē had more nede for the most part such wines as make a man pisse much bicause they haue such plenty of waterish excrements Now good reader séeing that almighty God our heauenly father hath giuen thée this noble creature of wine so manye wayes profitable for our bodies and mindes thanke him with all thy heart not onely for it but also for that he hath sent learned Phisitions to tell thée how in what measure and in what time thou should vse them and not vse them and for what complexions and ages they are good and for what complexions and ages they are euill If thou take any harm by misusing this noble creature of God blame not him but thine owne selfe that hast abused it contrary to his will and to the learning of his officers seruants that taught thee the right vse of it Honor be giuen to God for euer Amen FINIS This Booke sheweth at large the powers commodities vertues and properties of the three most renouned and famous Preseruatiues or Triacles to weete of the great Triacle called in Latine Theriaca Andromachi of the Triacle Salt and of it that is called by the name of the first finder out and maker Mithridatium Gathered out of Galen and Aëtius by the labours and paines of William Turner Doctor of Phisicke Newly corrected and amended Mellis si nimia est copia bilis erit William Turner to the gentle Reader FORASMVCH AS both Christian charity and the common ciuil loue that euerye man oweth to his countrye woulde and doth require that all Christians and men liuing ciuilly togither in one common countrye shoulde one helpe another with such giftes either of the minde as learning knowledge wisedome and cunning or with bodily giftes as riches strength and all kinde of mans helpe if they be more richly replenished therwith than their neighbors be Methinke we that professe the science of Phisick and can shewe great helpe and comfort vnto our brethren and countrymen as wel as men of other countries to wete Italians Germanes and Spaniards haue done might iustlye be accused of vnkindnesse if none of vs being so many would take in hand to declare in the English tong the manifolde and worthie vertues of the great Triacle made by Andromachus and of the Triacle Salt which is called in Latine Saltheriacalis Wherefore seeing that hitherto I haue not perceiued any man to haue taken that labour in hand for the loue that I owe vnto almightie God and his people my countrymen of England I will aduenture as well as I can to declare the nature vertue propertie and operations of the forenamed Triacle and also of the Triacle Salt And bicause I am not minded to bring out any new thing of mine owne inuention I entend for to gather the summe of this whole matter out of an olde Graecian named Galen the most famous writer of Phisicke that wrote this .xiiij. hundred yeare in all Europa Asia or Africa and out of another famous Graecian named Aëtius a man of great learning who gathered into a booke that is now abrode in Latin all the most notable compositions that his predecessor noble Galen lest behind him and a great number of compositions of medicines written before Galens time by noble Phisitions wherof Galen made no mention and also of no small number of excellent compositions of medicines inuented by learned Phisitions after Galens time If this my paine taken in this matter shall be perceiued to be thankefull vnto thee and to be well taken if God sende me longer life and health I will set something more forth to the profite of all my country men both my friendes and foes also The maner of making of the great Triacle and Triacle Sale and Mithridatium maye be had both in Galen to Piso and also in Aetius Wherefore if there be any Apothecaries of Lōdon that dare take in hande to make these noble compositions they may know now where to haue thē or if that for lacke of some simple medicines not easilye to he had in England they dare not aduenture vppon the making thereof they maye haue them made alreadye from Venice as faithfully compounded at this time as euer any Triacles haue bene made there these .xl. yeres But now let vs reherse the vertues and properties of these excellent medicines And first of the great Triacle ¶ Galen writeth to Piso this THE TRIACLE DEuised by Andromachus the elder is verye good against the biting of all wilde beastes and Serpentes against poysoned medicines against diseases of the stomach shortnesse of winde against the Colicke against the iaundise the dropsey the consumption of the lunges all kinde of crampes or drawings togither the pleurisie sores of the bladder stopping of water paines of the kidneyes pestilent diseases and also the biting of a mad dog if it be taken in the weight
eaten it helpeth those that go in colde ayre that they take no harme therby It stayeth continuall quiuerings or shaking that come to one by courses and drieth vp moyst horce and coughes This Salt spinkled vppon the meate bringeth them that were consumed with a consumption to their right state again and maketh them that are losed by weaknesse to amende agayne For I knowe manye that haue had all their members losed that is to saye stricken with a palsey restored to their perfite helth againe This etable Salt a man woulde thinke that it were onely made for them that beginne to haue the goute and for all them that haue anye disease of the ioyntes it helpeth them so spedilye A man can not well expresse howe much this Salt will staye and hinder olde quarteyns and dotings or madnesse that ryse of melancholye if it be taken before the fittes or in the space betwene the fittes it killeth also all kinde of wormes it is also verye good to rub the téeth speciallye the great téeth for it doth make the téeth not onely the whiter but also strengthneth them so that no tooth shal mooue or be losed after nor eaten thorow nor set on edge It draweth also out of the head the great plenty of humors purgeth it and maketh the eies lighter The phisition must occupie this triacle Salt after diuers maners and wayes as for an example If he will giue this Salt to one that spitteth bloud let him put the sixt part of Comfrey brused and sifted to one proportion or quantitie of this Salt as to fiue spoonefuls of the Salt one of Comfrey In the curing of them that are sick in the consumption of the lungs called the ptisick and them that haue matter running out of their breasts the phisition must put also to one part of the Salt sixe parts of Oris pouder or Dittamy of Candy To thē that are diseased in the liuer Ground pine to them that are diseased in the milt the roote of Swines bread called Cyclamem or the barkes of Capers or put vnto the sixt part of pepper If thou wilt dresse it for them that haue the gout take awaye the halfe of the prescribed weight of Satirion taking good héede that thou stirrest not vp furious pleasures such as lose the ioynts in them But the Salt will breake the stone in the kidneys most of all if it haue mixed with it the fruit of Balsamum or Grūmell sede If thou wilt make a stronger power against poisons thou shalt double the quantity of Scordiū otherwise called Water Germaunder and Horehound in the making of the Salt and beside that thou shalt adde dried Duckes bloud It will be better for them that are bitten of a mad dog if they put vnto it the rootes of Piony or burnt Crabbes The Salt wil be good for them that haue their neckes growen backwarde by reason of drawing togither of the sinewes if they can abide to haue a litle Castoreum and Opopanax mixed with it It cleareth and maketh sharp the eye sight if thou put in thy Salt the leaues of Malabathrum in double quantitie It helpeth the digestions of meate if there be put in it a sufficient quantitie of Cassia and Costus for the swelling that commeth of winde Put Commin to it it will prouoke brine or water in greater plentie if thou put of the séede of Dancus to it It will deliuer a man sooner from the quartein if right vp growing Veruin and Agrimonie and the iuice of Cireneik or Laser it selfe be mixed with it But to tell the summe of the matter shortlye Whatsoeuer thou knowest to be holesome and good for the diseased member mixe that with the Salt either in the making of it or in the quantitie that thou entendest to giue in But we must not giue it to them that are with childe nor to sucking children neither to other little children neyther to them that are of a hoter complexion and especially not in Summer neyther to them that haue a sharpe and a drie ague in any case Hitherto haue I written of the great Triacle and the Triacle Salt but bicause there are manye excellent vertues helpes and remedies that may be had also of the noble preseruatiue medicine called Mithridatium bearing the name of Mithridates the king who inuented it I thinke I shall doe well also to declare to such as vnderstande no Latine the vertues properties remedies and helpes that maye be had of that preseruatiue which maye be taken with much lesse ieoperdie then the great Triacle can be taken Yea maye take at the most the quantitie of a hasell nut of this medicine They that are come to full age may take the quātitie of a beane of Graecia which is called Lotos This quantitie may be encreased or diminished in the middle ages and they that haue no ague maye take it with wine or with honied wine or sugared wine or with spiced wine if that they haue a stopped liuer But they that are agewish muste take it with water or Mede It is verie good for old reumes that flow downe into the stomach and brest and for all impostumes and deepe old exulcerations or wearing of the skin that are far and depe in the bodye It is good for them that are in a consumption and them that haue great plentie of winde in their bellies and it helpeth the common flix it mendeth the dull appetite and bringeth a freshe appetite againe And maketh a mans body haue a good color it breaketh the stone it helpeth them that cannot but with great paine make water and suffereth not melancholy to be gathered togither It sharpeneth their sight that receiue it if it be taken afore hande it hath a great power to hinder or let that a man be not hurt with any kinde of deadlye poyson for the which cause it was first ordeyned and inuented of King Mithridates AN ADMONITION OF William Turner to the Reader ALthough both Galen and Aëtius hath giuen sufficient warning vnto all mē women at what times in what ages complexions and in what diseases these medicines maye be hurtfull or holesome to the receyuers of it yet marking the great dull grossenesse of many English men that cannot vnderstand it that is plainly spoken and the foolish hardynesse of other some that care not for sufficient warning but will boldlye become murtherers of themselues by misusing of Gods creatures not vsing them by the aduise of almightie Gods seruauntes and officers the learned Phisitions but out of time and out of measure take them in without al discretion folowing onelye their owne aduise or els the counsell of some doting olde Gooddame or some craking Cremer or prating runnagate Pedlar I cānot think my self sufficiētly discharged except I giue warning to all men and women that wil vse these medicines that they take thē not in rashly and vnaduisedly without the aduise and counsell of a learned phisition who may tell them whether they be agréeing