Selected quad for the lemma: woman_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
woman_n	hair_n	nature_n	wear_v	1,532	5	9.6915	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02758	Klinike, or The diet of the diseased· Divided into three bookes. VVherein is set downe at length the whole matter and nature of diet for those in health, but especially for the sicke; the aire, and other elements; meat and drinke, with divers other things; various controversies concerning this subject are discussed: besides many pleasant practicall and historicall relations, both of the authours owne and other mens, &c. as by the argument of each booke, the contents of the chapters, and a large table, may easily appeare. Colellected [sic] as well out of the writings of ancient philosophers, Greeke, Latine, and Arabian, and other moderne writers; as out of divers other authours. Newly published by Iames Hart, Doctor in Physicke.	Hart, James, of Northampton.	1633 (1633)	STC 12888; ESTC S119800	647,313	474

and the Sommer time when all tendeth to heat I see no necessity yea rather hurt than any good unlesse some cold constitutions or decrepit old age doe plead for a continuance of this custome and then I shall not bee against it But whether this be so convenient for such as live in health may with better reason be demanded I answer that for young people I wish they were not so daintily brought up and accustomed to this warming of their beds which maketh them afterwards the more unfit to undergoe any hardship But for the antienter sort tender women and such as have heretofore accustomed themselves thereunto I am not against the airing of their bed in cold Winter weather that so going to bed they may still finde the bed-clothes somewhat warme about them at their first downe-lying To this place also belongeth to say something concerning the haire of the head and whether in sickenesse it ought to bee cut or no My purpose is not here to insist upon the generation utility and proper use and the material cause differences of haire with many other things this onely know that haire is but an excrement and properly no part of the body in the esteeme of all our Physitians and yet appointed for a speciall use to cover and adorne that part wherunto it is appropriated In women it hath beene alwaies a comely ornament and cover of the head And to men saith the Apostle doth not even nature teach you that it is a shame for a man to weare long haire But I come to the question whether in the Diseased it bee safe to cut the haire of the head or no Long and thicke haire keepeth in fuliginous excrements of the head and suffereth them not so well to breath out of the pores from whence rheumes are ingendred the originall almost of all diseases Hence was it that the Aegyptians painted Aesculapius bald thereby signifying thus much that the haire was to be cut short yea if it were even shaven it were better for a mans health than to weare long haire It is therefore best in all diseases of the head especially in long continuing defluxions of sharpe rheumes to shave the head according to the opinion of antient and late Physitians In a word it is better both in sickenesse and in health to have the haire rather short than long howbeit the too often cutting of the haire is not so good and the often shaving of the beard and face is evill and not to be used I enter not here upon particulars in what diseases the haire is chiefely to be cut yea even shaven whereof something may perhaps more largely be spoken in any another place But this which hath already been said may easilie convince the more than mad effoeminate custome of our effoeminate age wherein men are not now contented with that portion of haire which their Maker in his wisedome thought fit for them but besides must have their head covered with a great bushie perwig both to the great dishonour of Almighty God and with no small prejudice to their health as by the premisses may easily appeare I deny not but some of them have scalded their haire in the fire of the Barber-surgeons purgatory and therefore have the more need to cover that deformitie but let others take warning by their harmes But as for women they being commonly of a colder constitution than men and their heads weaker their haire is not commoly so hurtfull for them besides that their haire was given them for a cover and ornament But as for their curles false sophisticate haire either not content with that colour which God gave them or else because they would not seeme to yeeld to old age as I do not much mervaile at such tricks in a stewes strumpet or a cōmon curtisan so I think they no waies beseeme a sober modest and grave Gentle-woman especially in the state of wedlocke and now attained to some competent number of yeeres I wish both sexes to call to mind that saying of a French writer speaking against the pride of women painted faces and many other particulars almost 80. yeeres agoe That when as they shall stand before the Tribunall of the great GOD of Heaven at that last and dreadfull day it is to be feared that the Judge of all the world will say unto them get you out my presence into everlasting damnation for I doe not acknowledge this colour haire to be of my making But as concerning the abuse of this excrement of haire both in men and women directly crossing the Apostles rule men wearing side and long haire and some wearing it longer on one side than the other by them now called a love-locke women againe quite contrary to womanly decency and modesty that I say nothing of Gods command cutting and clipping their haire and the great injury they heerein offer to Almighty God it being daily by our learned Divines preached against and a learned religious Gentleman having lately of purpose written a tractate concerning this same subject in both sexes where at great length he proves both the unseemelinesse and unlawfulnesse of this custome I will not insist upon it I will onely tell you of a monstrous and strange disease in the haire heard of but of late yeeres and not recorded by any antient author that ever we read of And this is nothing else but an agglutination or inviscation of the haire of the head and beard by which meanes it acquiteth sometimes the forme of some great adder or snake and sometimes of lesse serpents and these horrid and hideous serpent-like locks doe often occupy the whole superficies of the head and beard insomuch that who so beholds this strange serpent like sight may the easilier be induced to beleeve that monstrous Gergonean head the Poets attribute to Medusa And as the author affirmeth may it not seeme a strange thing that plaine and smooth haire in so cold a climat meaning Poland and a part of Germany should so curle and balter and contract such hideous and strange shapes besides that they should bee of so loathsome and putrid a smell And which hath never yet been heard of that these baltered locks being prickt with a pin should presently yeeld blood And it hath been observed that such as have cut off these locks have either suddenly become blind or else a great defluxion of humors hath falne downe upon some other parts of the body This disease hath of late yeeres runne thorow a great part of Poland and entered also into some parts of Germany If God should send it here over among us to punish this prodigious pride in the use of this same excrement were it not just with God to punish us in the same part wee offend in This Author affirmeth it is most frequent in women but another affirmeth it as often frequenteth men and that they let both these prodigious locks of haire and beard

no such strange effects produced by bare beholding of any If any children or weake natures received any such venomous impressions from such eyes it was but rare and seldome came to passe And as I said before so here againe why might not God sometimes suffer the divell to inflict some hurt upon children or other after some such particular persons intent fixing their eyes upon them which that arch-enemy of mankinde might afterwards make them beleeve came to passe by reason of their intent aspect as he does ordinarily make our deluded witches beleeve that by meanes of certaine words spells or other creatures such effects are produced howbeit most falsely as shall presently appeare And that which some relate that if a Wolfe see a man first it bereaveth him of his speech is but a mere fiction And so is that which Pliny writeth concerning that Serpent called Catoblepas and the Basil●●k● which hee beleeving others saith doe kill any man on whom they looke All this a late Writer confuteth as fabulous proving the varieties of opinions concerning this Serpent the last especially called by vs a Cocatrice which our vulgar erroneously beleeve to be hatched by a Toad sitting on a Cocks egge This as some say killeth by sight some againe affirme onely by the bite and some by the sound or hissing of it The history of it therefore is very doubtfull and divers waies related As for the other sort of bewitching by words there is as little if not lesse probability of producing such strange stupendious effects And if I should grant that sometimes there might proceed out at the mouth some virulent vapours which might annoy a tender infant especially by neere approaching yet tell mee I pray thee what so forcible vapours can come forth at the mouth of any mortall man to infect forrests of trees and whole come-fields It is then a cleare case that when any such accidents come to passe they are effected by Satan himselfe GOD in his hid and secret wisedome and for causes best knowne to himselfe suffering some persons themselves or their goods to be in this enemies power and many times such persons as are by the vulgar suspected of performing such ill offices are ignorant wicked people filled with envie and malice often wishing such harmes to their neighbours which Satan by his power from above putting presently in execution these wicked malicious people are often beleeved to be the actors and sometimes God in his justice suffereth such to be punished by the sword of the Magistrate although free from any compact with Satan God sometimes thus justly punishing their envie and malice and other sinnes And therefore it behooves those in authoritie to be carefull of the lives of such people where there is no evident and apparent proofe to convince them And it commeth often to passe that as old age is peevish and froward so sometimes some poore melancholicke woman in the countrie falling out with some of her neighbours useth froward speeches and perhaps some imprecations also and then if any hurt or harme suddenly befall this neighbour with whom this woman wrangled be it that any of the cattell miscarry or any of the family fall sicke especially if any thing by this poore woman imprecated come to passe this poore woman then is presently accused for a witch and if it lay in their power so ignorant envious and malicious are some of those people merely upon this pre-conceived opinion they would hang this accused party in which cases if the reverend Judges and the Justices of the countrie were not more judicious and mercifull than the accusers we should have many an innocent person condemned to death I have here a large field offered mee to expatiat upon but not willing to dwell too long upon it I must contract my matter The cure used against such fascination doth yet argue the truth of that which hath beene said as to hang some things about their neckes for the which corall is commended although I cannot see what vertue can proceed out of so sollid a body to encounter with so subtile and venomous a vapor as proceedeth either from the eyes or other part And what great vertue can proceed out of herbes hung up in the roofe of the house and what extraordinary vertue was there in a Wolfes head nailed upon the entry of great mens gates as is yet the custome in divers places of Germanie although now I thinke they have no such intention and in divers places in Switzerland they use Boares heads after the same manner It is farre more probable that Aristotle writeth concerning Rue which being eaten is good against fascination for being good against poisons it might also resist maligne and venomous vapours proceeding from any part of the body Now that both ordinary spells barbarous words and many other such trash used by Satan and his imps have no such power not efficacy in them either to bewitch or yet to cure the bewitched I could makes it by evident arguments appeare but that I may not now too long insist howbeit I will relate a story our of a late Writer who hath of set purpose confuted this foolerie where he prooveth the force of a strong confidence A Knave upon a time saith hee went to visit a woman much vexed with a paine in her eyes whom this fellow promised to cure onely by hanging a billet about her necke wherein were written some few words which shee was to weare constantly and never to open or one looke what was within it This foolish woman accustomed continually to weepe and cry the chiefe cause of all her misery conceiving now such a confidence in this cure gave over her weeping and became now as cheerefull as ever before and so her eyes mended After a pretty while her eyes being now reasonable well shee was somewhat carelesse of her billet so that at length shee quite lost it But bethinking her selfe what shee had lost and fearing lest shee should be againe troubled with her former infirmity fell a weeping and crying as before shee had beene accustomed and so fell as ill in her eyes as ever before This note or billet was found by a stranger who opening it found written in it these words in high dutch Der teuffel kat zedir die augen auff vnd scheisse dir in die loocher that is in English The Divell scratch out thy eyes and fill up the holes with his ordure Now if there had beene any vertue in these words this good woman had lost her eyes for they had beene pulled out and filled with the divells ordure It behooveth then all honest carefull and conscionable Physitians to shunne all such unwarranted and suspected waies of curing the sicke And I advise sicke people to seeke for remedy by lawfull and allowed meanes and not to Wizards Witches Spell-mongers and the like forbidden crash What in the time of the Gospell must wee needes goe

to Beelzebub Is there never a God in Israel No balme in Gilead If this be scandalous for common Christians what shall it be for one of the tribe of Levi anointed with sacred oile It is not unknowne to the country how that some of that profession besides their lawlesse intrusion upon another profession if they doe no evill yet I am sure doe that which is evill like I speake nothing here of their practising of Iudiciall Astrology calculating nativities and the like but I heare by relation round about the countrie that some remedies they use which have beene by the most judicious accounted to savour of superstition And although I have heard much yet will I instance but in one particular and of mine owne knowledge and related to mee by a Clergie man and therefore I hope the credit of the story lesse liable to exception This sa●●e last yeere there came to mee a Minister desiring to know mine opinion concerning a doubt whereof hee was desirous to be satisfied A maide saith hee being obnoxious to Epilepticall fits craved the counsell of a Minister-Physitian He gave her a silver ring to hang about her necke wherein were written certaine barbarous words such as are commonly used by those who use unlawfull arts This the young woman for a while continued and was so long as shee wore the amulet free from her former sits afterward being by some put in doubt of the lawfulnesse of this manner of medicine she left it off and still after that was haunted with her old fits as before But being againe by some perswaded if I remember right shee made againe tryall of the same medicine with a like effect following as before But after a while being without the use of this ring whether it was lost or whether shee left it off of purpose I re●emember not well but shee was seized with her fits as before Now this Minister demanded of me whether I thought this to be a regular cure and warranted by the rules of our art and by us ordinarily practised my reply was that cures were all either supernaturall or naturall the former proper to almighty God and practised both in the old and new Testament As for natural means the Physitian makes use of them as medicus est naturae minister the Physitian being an assistant and helper of nature in time of neede And thus Physitians make use of severall sorts of simples of all sorts variously prepared and exhibited often inwardly sometimes applied but outwardly according to severall circumstances and such simples as the Physitian knowes to be indued with such vertues and qualities or else he meddleth not with them at all As for this ring made of a solid metall although our Chymists attribute some antepilepticall quality to silver yet neither use they this not gold it selfe of the medicines whereof they tell us such wonders without a laborious and artificiall preparation and then exhibit it inwardly most commonly in a potable forme and yet are many times yea for the most part frustrat of her expected effects And as I said then so I say now that I see no naturall cause of this cure the silver being so solid a substance can send out no such forcible vapors as might produce so strange an effect Now then it resteth it must either be effected by vertue of these barbarous words of the ring or force of the imaginating faculty and her strong conceit of the excellency of the medicine the former of the which I have already proved to be false and that words have no vertue either to hurt or heale It resteth then if by any meanes it was by vertue of her strong imagination by reason of the high conceit shee had of this medicinall ring But this is false for howsover shee might at first have some high conceit hereof yet afterwards her minde was quite altered and what shee then did it was rather against her judgement and with feare as not being perswaded of the lawfulnesse thereof But now I appeale to the ingenuous and judicious unpartiall reader whether this be fit and comely for a Church-man to make use of such meanes which suppose they be not unlawfull yet at least are they suspicious And the Apostle wisheth us to absteine from all appearance of evill if this precept my be extended to all Clergie men And whether there be not here at least an appearance of evill that I say no further let the learned and judicious judge I cannot dwell longer upon this point but wish master parson now in his old age being now capularis senex to leave these vanities and betake himselfe to doe what good he can in his owne ministeriall function not meddling with such things especially as have bin by the honestest and most judicious of all ages condemned and so may he at that great day of account give up a good reckoning Now because in this point of fascination there is often much use made of imagination and having beene lately also mentioned it shall not be impertinent ere wee proceed further to say something thereof I purpose not here to enter into any exquisite and accurate Philosophicall discourse concerning this subject nor yet the strange effects thereby produced but to demonstrate the erroneous opinion of some concerning the same The phansie then called phantasia is an internall sense reteining and examining such species as have beene by the commonsense apprehended or yet by it selfe framed Of the strange effects of this phansie called also imagination both in melancholicke persons in women with child and divers others the mouthes of every one are so full that I shall not neede to insist thereon But all these strange effects are yet immanent and confined within the body imagining not transient or working upon any outward object For although wee ofte gape or make water when we see some others doe such things yet is this but by way of remembrance and being excited by their example and not forced thereunto by their imagination But here ariseth now the question whether the phansie can worke without that body whereunto it belongeth or whether it can worke without its owne body for a great distance This hath beene alwaies by an unanimous consent as well of Physitians as Philosophers ever denied the which I could prove by a cloud of witnesses which were but to small purpose it being a confessed truth Notwithstanding the premisses some have taught us another lesson and that imagination not onely within the same individuall body but in others also may produce strange effects And this hath been by our Arabians strongly mainteined that the soule approached neerest to the celestiall understandings and by that meanes was indued with extraordinary vertues and powers and among the rest to command inferiour natures But to confute this opinion many arguments might be produced In the first place these supreme intelligences by meanes of naturall causes interceding produce raine stormes and faire weather

I thinke it shall not bee impertinent ere wee proceed to say something concerning this simple Of this mention is made in Genesis where it is said that Reuben went forth in the time of wheat Harvest and having brought home with him Mandrake Rachel begging them of her sister Leah she refused c. From whence it is collected and by some supposed that Leah used this simple as an amorous bait to make her fruitfull and to attract and so much the more procure her husbands love into the truth whereof we are now to inquire In the first place then it would seeme this simple was by the antients used to this same end and purpose and was for this same cause by them called Circaea or Circetris from that famous witch Circe Dioscoride maketh it of two sorts male and female the female he maketh lesser in leaves the leaves smaller and smelling better to the male againe he ascribeth greater leaves and the fruit bigger participating of a sweet heavy loathsome smell Of any pleasantnesse of smell Pliny speaketh not one word but whereas all agree that the leaves and root are of a loathsome and strong smell Pliny averreth that this apple or fruit doth yet exceed them herein but neither of them doe ascribe unto it any amorous quality S. Augustine affirmeth he found in his owne experience this pleasant smell in these apples and withall that they were of an insipid and unsavoury taste for the which cause he wondreth why Rachel should so much desire the same and acknowledgeth himselfe to be ignorant hereof unlesse she were in love with the smell and beauty of this fruit and the rarity thereof A late Germane divine who also quoteth this same place of S. Augustine is of this opinion also that this was not for any venereous use that Rachel so much desired these apples or flowers or whatsoever it was Galen giveth it no such amorous quality but ascribeth unto it a cooling vertue in the third degree together with some portion of heat especially to the root but the apples he acknowledgeth to be moister but in all he holdeth this narcoticke quality to be predominant Now by any thing which hath hitherto beene said there hath beene proved no amorous quality in this simple which notwithstanding hath beene hitherto by many very stedfastly beleeved and hath been the cause that many have bought such supposed roots at a very high rate Matthiole a late learned Physitian upon that place of Dioscoride above mentioned maketh mention of the cheating and cosening of impostors with this counterfeit root They take saith hee a briony or some other root in the which they cut out the proportion of a man and in the head place of the beard and other parts where haire useth to grow they make many small holes into the which they put some cornes of barly millet or some other graine and burying it in the ground let it lie untill such time as these graines were growne out and then with a pen-knife or otherwise cut out those blades of the graines in the forme and fashion of small haires and so sell them to credulous and simple people women especially who are perswaded that this is a speciall remedy against sterility And this the same Author affirmeth that hee learned of a notorious quacke-salving Mountebancke whom at Rome hee cured of the French pox who among many other cheating trickes confessed this also and affirmed that for one of those counterfeit Mandrakes he had had sometimes 25. sometimes 30. crownes Now the better and more easily to delude the simpler sort and more cunningly to picke their purses they tell them a strange tale of the manner of pulling up this root that it is very dangerous for them that doe it and therefore that they bare it about the root tye one end of a string about it and the other end about a dogs necke and the master departing the dog essaying to follow him pulleth up this plant by the root and dieth immediately and then there is no more danger either to the master or any body else And this fable it seemeth had its first foundation in Josephus who writeth such a thing of a root which he calleth Baaras digged up after the aforementioned manner Now this Mandrake root barren women sought much after supposing it did further fecundity unto the which they have beene induced by the mistaking of the true meaning of that place of Genesis And there is a learned late writer that laboureth much to prove this howbeit in my opinion to small purpose His first argument is taken from the Chalde Paraphrasts who both in both places Genesis I meane and the Canticles translate this word Dudaim Jabruchin in the plurall number the singular being Jabroach and the Arabians even at this day call Mandrake Jabora and Jabroach Againe saith he both the septuagint and the old Latine translation hath translated this word Dudaim Mandragora in both places Againe saith he Dod and in the plurall Dodim signifieth love or charity and therefore the breast and paps are also called by this name being as he saith the seat of love and in forme like this apple But the truth is that whatsoever faire flourishes these reasons may make yet in them is no certaine nor assured truth For as concerning the signification of the word he himselfe confesseth that the word Dod from whence Dudaim is derived besides this signification signifieth also a caldron and laboureth also to apply this to the forme of the Mandrake and againe Dod signifieth an uncle and Dodah an aunt from the effect of love and would have this Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the brest or dug derived from this Hebrew Dod or Dodim how well let the learned judge And he confesseth also that Rabbi Schelomoth in both places interpreteth this word Dudaim sweet and well-smelling figs others interprete it violets others that plant we cal Satyrium and some againe that we cal Winter-cherry and finally some translate it pleasant and well-smelling apples To come then to our purpose it seemeth this word is not proper to this plant onely or rather is a generall word signifying well-smelling fruits or flowers as doth appeare by the late translation of the learned Tremellius himselfe a Jew and his friend Junius who both in both these places where this word is onely found translate it well-smelling fruits or flowers in English indeed in both places it is translate Mandrakes Now if wee but consider a right this place of the Canticles it seemeth to stand to best reason that it should be translated sweet smelling flowers or at least of very pleasant and delectable fruit there being mentioned before it the vine and pomegranat and after all manner of pleasant fruits Now this apple of Mandrake take it at the best is not I am sure to be parallelled with the best and pleasantest fruits S. Augustine indeed saith it