THe ofter the science of phisyke with curious and laboured oratiōs hath bene here in this place before y ^e more ꝑt of you comēded, Attēcion & that of men of singu­ler eloquence (moste noble audience) so moche surely the lesse truste and con­fidence haue I, that I shal eyther satis­fie so great a thynge, or answere to the expectacion of your delicious eares. For neyther a thynge in maner diuine, our rude infancy shall easely attayne, nor a vulgare and commen oration of a thynge so oftentymes herde may in any wyse escape paynful tediousnes to the hearers. But yet, leste I shulde seme to be defectyfe, & disobediēt to the ryght holsome ordinaunce of our fathers, whiche haue iudged it mete and expedient with solempne orations the hertes and courages of youth to be awakened, kyndeled, and enflamed to the studie, admiration and loue of this noble sci­ence / my selfe also purpose to assay, to my power (if so be your attētifnes and gentlenes wyll vouchesaue to helpe me [Page] in my speakynge, tenderly fauorynge whom your authoritie hathe dryuen to take this office vpon me) of the right excellent science of phisike the dignitie, the authoritie, The proposition, profite and necessitie, I wyl nat say to open and expounde, whiche were vtterly an infinite busines, but in a brefe summe onely to knyt vp, and as it were to shewe to the sytes of the studious youthe a glymmeryng (as a man myght say) through a lattes [...]e wyndowe of the moste copious and plēteful trea­sours of a ryche quene. Per transennam. Of whome truely this (if there were nothyng els) is a soueraigne and excellēt prayse, first that she neadeth nat at al that any mā shuld her commende or set forthe, beyng set forthe sufficiently of her owne selfe with the vtilitie, The excedynge prayse of this science. and profite, which mā kynde taketh by her, and also by the necessitie and nede that we haue of her. Secondarely that where as she hath ben alredy so oftymes of excellent wytte [...] commēded, yet she fyndeth of her selfe alwayes to wyttes also that be nat very pregnauut newe mater to prayse her, so that it neadeth nothyng to prayse here [Page] (after the commen vsage) with enuious and hatefull comparisons nat without the preiudice and slaunder of other lernynges and craftes. Nay rather this thynge is more to be feared, leste her owne propre and domesticall gyftes and qualities, leste her naturall and germane amplitude, lefte her maie­stie greater than is mannes estate and capacitie, no mortall mannes speache of tonge can compasse or attayne. So that she neadeth nothynge at all to be auansed and lyfted vp, other with any des­pitefull rebukes of other craftes, other with some borowed and paynted co­lours of the rhetoricians, or with the iugglynge castes of amplificacions. It apperteyneth to meane beauties, A sentēc [...] by comparyson of the fowler, or by gor­geous deckynge and payntynge, to be sette forthe and commended. But thynges truely and of them selfes exce­dyngly and passynge beawtifull, it is ynough to haue shewed them ye naked to the eye.

☞For nowe first of al (to haste vs to The dig­nitie and the auctoritie of phisike. [Page] our mater) the other sciēces I can nat denie because there is none of them but hath brought some great commoditie and profyte to the lyfe of mā, haue ben in hyghe pryse and reputacion. But of phisike in tymes passed so wōderful to mankynde hath ben the inuencion, The inuē cion of phisike. so swete the experience that the authours and fyrst inuentours therof, haue other ben taken playnly for goddes (as A­pollo, Apollo. and his sonne Aesculapius) ye rather, Aescula­pius. as Plinie witnesseth, euery thing inuented in this facultie and science was a cause sufficiēt to deifie and make goddes those that ware the inuētours, or at leste, they were estemed worthy of heuē ly and diuine honours, as Asclepiades, Asclepiades. whom the I [...]iricans receyuyng in ma­ner as a god, gaue hym egall honour with Hercules. Surely I do nat allowe that the antiquitie dyd in this thinge, The zele of y ^• old fat [...]er towarde phisiciās but yet I can nat but prayse and com­mende theyr affection, zele and iudge­ment, whiche ryghtly both thought and declared that to a konnyng and fayth­full phisicion no sufficient nor worthy rewarde can be yelded. For, if a man rec [...]unteth with hym selfe, howe many-fold [Page] diuersite there is in the bodies of mā, how great varietie of ages, The dif­ficulte of phisike. of male and female, of regions, of ayers, of educacion, of studies, of customes, howe in­finite difference in so many thousandes of herbes [...] (though I speake nothyng at this tyme of the other remedies) whiche growe in sondry countrees, some in one place and some in an other, Than how many kyndes of diseases, whiche Plinie writteth were rekened vp in olde tyme iii.hondreth by their names, beside the membres and partes of euery kinde, of whiche al, howe innumerable a multi­tude there is, he shal easely gesse whiche onely knoweth howe many formes and fashons the feuers or ague hath (so that of one the residue may be estemed) be­side those whiche dayly encrease newe and new, nor none otherwyse encrease, than if of purpose they semed to haue taken vpon them open warres with our crafte. Besyde, more than a thousande peryls of poysoninges of which howe many sortes ther be euen so many kyn­des of dethes therbe, requiring as many differētes of remedies, Besyde the dayly casualties of falles, Casual­ties. of ruynes, of bra­ [...]tynges, [Page] of brennynges, of wrestynges out of ioynt, of woundes and such lyke whiche in maner do compare in num­bre with the very rought of diseases, fi­nally he y ^t pondereth with hī self, The knowlege of Astrono­my is re­quisite to a phisician how great difficultie is in the obseruyng the heuenly Planetes which, oneles the phisician knoweth, aftentymes that shalbe a poynson whiche is gyuē for remedie. I wyll nat here reherse the ofte descey­uable tokens of diseases, other whe­ther ye beholde the hauour of the co­lour, or enserche the signes of the vrine or obserue the harmonie of the pulse, eue [...] as who shulde saye the euyls of mankynde were all to gether bent and sette to deceyue and mocke theyr ennemie the phisician. So greate a quan­titie of difficulties and hardenesses on euery side come about and ouersprede them selues that it is harde for me them all with my wordes to compasse. But, as I began to saye, al these varieties of thynges with studie to attayne, these obscur [...]ties with wytte to comprehende [...] these difficulties with labour to ouer­come, and persyng through the bowels of the erthe, bultynge out euery where [Page] the preuities of al the hole nature, out of all herbes, shrubbes, trees, beastes [...] precious stones ye finally out of euē the very venyms & poysons, to al the euyls of mās lyfe, liuely & effectual remedies to s [...]ke, & of these the ryght & due vs [...] out of so many authors, so many sciēties ye euen out of the very sterres & planettes to fetche, These I say so hydde, with care to rote out, so harde, with the po­wers of the mynde to wynne, so many, w ^t memorie to cōpasse, so necessarie to the preseruaciō of al mākynde to bryng forth abrode, do it nat seme vtterly be­yond mans cōpasse, & playnly a certein diuine thyng? Phisike is a cer­tayne di­uyn thīg. Let no man haue enuye at my saynges. Suffre me boldly to speke that which is true as the euangel, I do nat boste my selfe, but I extolle & mag­nifie the very sciēce. The effe­cte of physike. For if to gyue lyfe is the propre & peculiare benefite of god, surely to kepe & preserue it whā it is ones gyuē, and to retayne it styl whan it is euen now fleyng away, we muste of necessitie confesse to be a gyfte and be­nifite next vnto goddes, howe be it nat so moch as y ^t former benefite which we wyl haue appropriate only to god, the [Page] plucked nat awaye from the phisiciens cra [...]te, whiche antiquitie although they were lyght of credence geuyng, yet vn­dowtedly they were full of gratitude and kyndnes. For by the helpe of that worthy phisicion Esculapius, It was thought in old tyme that the cra [...]t of phisi­cians raysed the deed a­gayne to lyfe. it was thought in olde tyme that Tyndarides and after hym many mo returned forth out of hell into lyfe and lyght agayne. Xanthus an historiographer leuyth to vs in w [...]ittyng that a yonge Lyon which was slayne, and also a man whom a dragon had kylled were restored agayne to lyfe by the vertue of a certayn herbe whiche they called Ha [...]in. More ouer one Iuba witnesseth that in A [...]rike a cer­tayne ꝑsone was called agayne to lyfe by an herbe. Iuba. Nor I do nat greatly passe althoughe some persones perauenture wyll gyue litle credence to these. Sure­ly (the thynge that we go aboute) these wonder [...]ull effectes of phisike do so moche the rather augment and encrease the admiration of the science, the more that they appere to be beyonde the cre­dens of the trouthe and they constraine men to graunt that thynge to be of an incomparable excellencie, which in maner [Page] seme to surmont the truthe. Howe be it concernyng hym which is restored to lyfe, what recketh it, whether the soule be put agayne by goddes hādworke into the forsaken lymmes, or by the crafte a [...]d cure of the phisicion, the lyfe or soule of mā vtterly buried as it were in the bodie and oppressed with the powers of the disease which lyke a cōque­rour hathe gotten the vpper hande, be raysed and subtylly fetched out & hold styl, which els shuld without fayle forth with haue departed away? be nat these two thīges in maner of lyke vertue and egal power, to restore the deed, and to saue hym whiche by and by shuld haue dyed [...]But Plinie reherseth very many and that by name in the seuēth boke of the historie of the worlde, Plinie. whiche after [...]hey were deed and borne out on the beare reuiued agayne partly in the very pytte where as they shuld be buryed or (accordyng to the vsage of the countre in the pyle of wode wherin they shulde haue bene burned, whiche pyle was cal­led of them Rogus) & partely they reuiued many dayes after they were deed and before any burial. This we take [Page] for a miracle and a wonderful thynge / which a chaunce and a casualtie hath gyuen to a fewe. And is nat it than moche more to be wondered of / whiche dayly our science gyueth to many? howe be it I can nat denye but the goodnes of god is to be thanked for this our science, to god we owe it / to whome, there is no­thyng but that we owe [...] leste perchaunce a man wolde thynke these to be spoken more presumptuously and arrogantly than truely. Of many diseases suche is the violence and strenght, that death is certayne oneles the present helpe of the phisician be at hande, as that kynde of traunce whiche is wont to chaunc [...] moste to womē, and as a depe and pro­founde syncopis, the palsay, with such [...] lyke. Nor there is commonly none but that ones in his tyme other seeth or he­reth of suche examples of what nation so euer he be. He than which in this case dryueth awaye death whiche euen nowe hangeth ouer the pacientes heed and redy to stryke with his dart, he (I saye) that thus calleth agayne lyfe sodeynly oppressed / is nat he alwayes to be had and reputed in a maner as a certayne [Page] mercyfull god? yes vndoutedly. Howe many men, thynke ye, were buried be­fore their daye in olde tyme before or the witty inuencion of phisicians hadde founde out the strengthes of diseases & the natures of remedies? howe many thousandes of men at this daye do lyue and farewell whiche shulde neuer haue ben borne oneles the same our crafte had inuented aswel remedies for so many daūgers of chyldbaryng, as the feat & polecie of mydwyuyng? So euē forth with in the very entrie into lyfe aswell the womā that lyeth in and laboureth [...] as the chylde that is in bearyng with lamentable voyce crye for the holsome ayde of phisiciās. To the phisiciās craft he oweth his lyfe, ye whiche as yet hath nat receiued life, whyle thrugh it abortions be prohibeted, whyl power is geuē to the woman of receiuyng & reteinyng mans sede, finally while the power also of deleuering and brynging forthe the chyld into this world is geuē. That if it be truely spoken of them in olde tyme. Deus est iuuare mortalē, that is to saye. A Latyn prouer­be. To helpe mortal men, is to be a god or y ^e proꝑte & worke of a god, truly ī my [Page] minde y ^t noble prouerbe of the Grekes [...] whiche is, A Greak prouer­be. that man is a god to man, o­ther hath no where his place, or vpon a faythfull and good phisician it shalbe principally verified and haue place, which nat only helpeth, but also saueth And is nat he than an excedyng vnkynd person and in maner vnworthy to lyue whiche phisike the seconde (next god) parent of lyfe, the defendresse, the saue­resse, the protectresse can nat fynde ī his hart to loue, to honour, to magnifie, to worshipe? Of whose ayde and socours there is no person but nedeth continu­ally, for o [...] the reste of craftes neyther we all, nor yet alwayes haue nede [...] but in the profyte and vtilite of this, al the hole lyfe of man standeth, for ymagyne diseases were gone, ymagine prospe­rous helth to be with euery one, yet how shal we kepe it, oneles the physicyon taught vs the diuersite of holsome and vnholsome meates, oneles he taught a waye and a forme to diete our selues? Age is a greuous and paynful burdē to mortal creatures, which to escape is no [Page] more lawful for vs than deth it selfe. Phisiciā [...] craft ke­peth backe age. But yet this age through the helpe and payne of the phisicion chaunseth to many men, both later thā it shulde els haue done [...] and also moch more easelier and lyghter. For it is no fable, that by the quinte essentie (as they call it) agednes dryuen awaye, man doth floryshe and waxe a yonge man agayne by castyng a way (as it were) his olde skynne, sythe ther be bothe in writtynges and other wyses, many recordes of the same. Nor agayne nat onely of the body whiche is the vyler parte of man this our craft taketh cure, nay rather it taketh the cure of the hole man [...] althoughe that the di­uine and professour of Theologie shall take his begynnyng of the mynde, and the phisiciō of the body. For truely, The phi­sician cu­reth the hole mā. because of the most streyght allyance and knotte of familiaritie of them twayne to gether, lyke as the vyces of the mynd do redownde into the bodie, so agayne on the other halfe the diseases of the bodie other do let, or els do vtterly quen­che the strēght and power of the soule. who is so styffe and stronge an entyser and mouer of abstinence [...] of sobrenes [...] [Page] of mesuryng yre, of fleyng heuynes, of eschuyng surfete, of castyng away loue, of refrainyng the luste of body, as is the phisician? who more lyueshely aud effectually counselleth the syckman that if he wyl lyue and fele the holsome helpe and aide of the phisician that first he re­purgeth his minde from the filthynes of vices? The same phisician so ofte as he by geuing and prescribing a forme and maner o [...] diete, or by ministryng of me­dicines do minishe the colar or blacke Iaundies, refreshe the feble powers of the herte, vnderset the spirites of the brayne [...] pourge the instrumentes of the mynde, mende the wyt, repayre the ha­bitacion of the memorie, and chaunge the hole ha [...]our of the mynde into better, do he nat by the outwarde man (as they cal it) saue also the inwarde? He y ^t restoreth the frantyke, the madde man [...] the lethargike, y ^e siderate, the lymphat do he nat restore the hole man? The di­uins effecte and worke is, that men con­uert them selues from vices, but the phisician bringeth to effecte that there may be one that may conuert hym selfe and forsake his euyl lyuyng. In vayne were [Page] he a phisician for the soule, if the soule alredy be fledde, for whome the salue was prepared [...] whan the palsay, the a­poplexia, or any other sodayne scorge do take a wycked man whiche disease wyl soner take lyfe away thā suffre hym to thynke of the amendemēt of his lyfe he that restoreth this persone which els shulde haue ben miserably buried ī his synfulnes, doth he nat ī maner cal back agayne from hel both body and soule? Surely he setteth agayne the man ī that plyght & state, y ^t now it may be in his election wheter he wyl flee or nat eternal damnation, what shall the diuine per­swade the persō that raueth, or is ī such takyng that his wittis & sences be clene taken from hym, if he can nat heare hym that goeth about to perswade and coū sel hym? what shall the preacher or the curate moue the frantyke, if the phisiciā do nat first of al repurge the colour? Charitie and the other vertues wherin the felicitie of a christiā mans lyfe doth stande & henge chefely and principally of the mynde I denye nat, but hycause this mynde beyng so knytte and cope­led with the body must of necessite (wyl [Page] he or wyl he nat) vse the instrumētes corporal, it cometh to passe that a good ꝑt of a good mynde doth depende vpon the nauour & tēperature of the body. An vnhappy temperature of the bodye which we cal commonly a complexion (the Greakes cal it crasis or sistema) draweth many men to synfulnes yea in ma­ner agaynst their wylles & stroggelyng & wra [...]tyng agaynst it, The phis [...] ciā doth a nende an euyl complexion. whyle the mynd [...] whiche [...]ytteth on the horse backe gy­deth the brydel ī vayne, digge the spurres in vayne but maugre his wyl is con­streyned to folowe heedlong the wyld and furious horse. I graunt it is the po­wer of the mynde whiche seeth, it is the power of the mynde which heareth, but yet if any infirmitie take the eyes, if th [...] poores and is [...]ues of the eares be stop­ped & beseged w ^t any grosse humour, ī vayne & al for nought hathe the mynde his power. The mynde hateth, y ^e minde is angry I agre wel / but yet the vitious & corrupte humour beseging the orgās or instrumentes of the mynde is the very cause why thou hatest hī whom thou iu­gest worthy to be beloued and arte an­grye with hym w ^t whome thou woldest [Page] nat. Plato confesseth the sūme & chiefe of philosophie to cōsist and lye here in, Plato. if the affections obey the reason, but to bryng this mater about the phisician is the chiefe helper whose worke and la­bour it is that that parte of man shulde haue his strengthe and sauour by whose arbitrement and guidyng al thynges be done, whice be done wel and laudable If they be iudged vnworthy to bere the name of man whiche after the fashon of brute beastes be drawen and caried w ^t lustes and sensualities, surely than we owe to the phisiciās a great parte of the worthynes of this name [...] whiche beynge an hyghe and great thynge in priuate and common persons, howe moche more greater and nobler benefite is it beynge wrought in a prince. A phisician moste necessary to prīce [...] None es­tate is more encombered with suche e­uyls than the estate of moste fortunate and blessed kynges. what araye what busynes and mischife shal the corrupt [...] brayne of one persone styer? In vayne maye they that be of his counsell crye oute agaynste hym, thou arte madde syr [...]ynge, come to thy selfe agayne, yf so be that the physician with his c [...]afte [Page] restore nat his mynde and wittes agayn vnto him, nether it wyllyng nor felyng. I [...] the Emperour Caligula had had a trusty and fayth [...]ul phisician, Caligula he shulde nat so with poysonynges & pryue morders haue raged to the great destructiō of mankynde. And for this very cause it is comēly vsed through out al the uacions of y ^• world y ^t the prince kepe nor abyde in no place without his phesiciās wherfore the wyse princes in tymes past haue gyuen to no sciēce more honour or reuereuce than vnto phisike. The ho­nour had in tymes pa [...]t vnto physike. For Era­sistratus (to passe ouer with silence the residue) neuewe by the doughters syde to Aristotle for the helyng o [...] kyng An­t [...]ochus was rewarded with an hūdreth talentes of Ptolomeo his sonne. More ouer also the holy escripture of god cō maundeth due honour to be had to the phisician nat onely for the profite and vtilite which therby aryseth but also for the necessitie so that the ingratitude and vnkyndnes which is towarde other wel doers and welde seruers, Honora medicum is agaynst the phisiciā an impietie or vngodlynes, sith that the phisiciā as it were the helper of diuine benefite saue vp and defēde that [Page] with his arte and sciēce which god hath gyuen to mā moste deare and beste, that is to saye lyfe. we haue nothynge but we may thanke our father and mother for it [...] bycause by them we seme ī maner to haue receyued the benefite of lyfe. But we owe more in my mynde to the phisician to whom we owe oftymes the thynge whiche we owe onely but ones to our parētes, if yet we owe any thyng at al vnto them. we owe charitie aud a certeyne natural zele to them which dryue awaye the ennemie from our necke, and do we nat owe moche more to the phisician whiche for our helth and preseruation fyghteth dayly with so many mortal & capital ennemies of our lyfe? we adore & worship kynges euen lyke goddes, bycause it is thought that they haue power of lyfe and deth, which yet although they may kyll yet surely they can none otherwyse gyue lyfe but in as moche as they bereue and take it nat a­way, [...]uen as we say that theues do saue those mens lyues whome they murder nat, nor these princes can geue none o­ther lyfe, but the lyfe of the body. But howe moche nerer doth the benefite of [Page] the phisician approche to the benignite and goodnes of god, whiche draweth euen out of the mouthes of death with his crafte, wytte, cure, and faythfulnes the man which was euen now destinat & appoynted to the fyar of hell. In other thynges to profite man, we call it an humanite or a gentylnes [...] but to saue a mā euen in the very daungeer of body and soule is more thā a pietie or godlynes. Put here vnto, that what so euer is great and excellent in man, as lernyng, vertue the giftes of nature or what other thing so euer it be, of altogether we thanke y ^e arte of phisike, in so moche as it saueth and mayntayne that thyng without whiche we coulde nat kepe vp the residue. If althynges be for man, Argumē ­ [...]ations. and the phisician preserueth mā vndoubtedly we may thanke the phisician for all. If he lyueth nat, which lyueth accombred with diseases, and the phisician is he whiche resto­reth & preserueth the prosperous helth is it nat cōueniēt to recognise hī as the parēt of lyfe? If immorta [...]te be a thing greatly to be desyred & wyshed for, y ^e industrie of the phisicians doth (asmoch as may be) counterfayt it, whiche with [Page] theyr diligence attempt to prolonge i [...] so farre as is possible, for what shall I here recount vnto yo [...] t [...]e comen [...]y knowen exāples, Pythagoras / Ch [...]pp [...]s / Plato / Cato sensorius / Antonius / [...]a­stor [...] & besyde these innu [...]erab [...]e other of whome the moste parte by the obser­uation and marking of phisike dyd prolonge theyr lyfe beyonde an hundred yeres without sycknes, neyther the freshnes of wyt endulled nor abated, nor the surenes and styfnes of memorie nat shaken, nor yet the senses brosed or enfea­bled. I praye you is nat this to shewe as it were euen nowe here in this presēt lyfe a certeyne spyse, represētacion, or ymage of immortalitie? Also Christe selue hym the onely author redeamer and conquerour of immortalitie toke a body vpon hym whiche thoughe it was mortal, Christe was ne­uer sycke yet it was combered with no di­sease he abhorred nat the crosse but he abhorred diseases. And were it nat a fayre & a godly thynge for vs, also in this parte to folowe to our power our prince & lorde? The apostles lyued in maner al a long lyfe, The apostles. we reade thē be­ten, we reade them slayne, but we reade [Page] nat they were sycke. By what meanes so euer this thyng chaunsed vnto them, surely the phisicians craft parforme the same to vs, whiche their felicitie performed vnto them For I count nat thē worthy to be herde which no lesse vnlernedly than vnshamefastly ar wont to caste this in our tethes, A confu­tacion. Virtus in infirmitate perficitur. That is to say, vertue is per­fited in infirmitie, dreaming that Paule was combered with greuous heedage, where as he calleth the infirmitie, eyther the temptation of the mynde, or whiche is nygher to the truthe the bacbytyng & persecution of wycked persons. But the same selfe Paule, amonge the apo­stolical gyftes reherseth also the gyft of curyng or healyng. Donū curationis. More ouer this also augmenteth the glorye of phisike nat a lytle, that aswell the maiestie of the em­perours lawes, as the aucthoritie of poPes lawes do frely submit them selues to the iudgement of phisicians as in ca­ses of nonage whiche they cal pubertie, in cases of chyldbyrthes, and poisonynges, also in certayne questions touching matrimonie. O a newe and straunge dignitie of phisike. They go vpon lyfe and [Page] deth of a man, and the sentence of the iudge hengeth vpon the foreiudgemēt of the phisiciā. The charitie of the pope whan he pardoneth any thyng [...] he par­doneth or lycense the none otherwyse oneles the phesician alloweth and counselleth the same. Also the pope in his decrees, that bysshop whiche is cōplay­ned vpon to haue any foule or horrible disease by the iudgement of phisike iu­geth hym other to be put out of his by­shopryche or els to be restored agayne to his place. Also saynt Augustin cōmē ­deth al thinges to be done by y ^e aduise of the phisicians althoughe the pacient wolde nat. Augustin Also the honour whiche is due to the phisician that is the rewarde of his craft and labour the same saynt Augustin writteth very wel y ^t it is wrōgfully taken away of hym that with olde it, as of an iniuste possessour and occupeyng with an euyl conscience that which is an others and nat his, ye more ouer these persones which with certeyne ori­sōs and prayers made to the same pur­pose dryue out of mens bodies wycked spirites and deuyls, oftētymes take phisicians with them to haue aduise, as in [Page] those diseases whiche by pryuy and se­crete meanes do marre and corrupt certeyne organs & instrumentes of the [...]enses and spirite and do so counterfait a demoniacal spice, that they can nat be discerned but of very connyng phisici­ans, other whether they be certayn grosser deuyls (as it is sayd [...]heyr natures to be diuines and sundry) whiche can fel [...] the cure of the phisician, or whether th [...] sycknes remaineth so deaply ī the most inwarde parties of the mynde that it semeth to be clene straunge and of an o­ther nature [...] than the body is. An example. In proue and witnes of which thynge, whyle that I repor [...] vnto you of innumerable exā ­ples one which I sawe & herde my selfe I pray you to heare me paciently. Panacens a phisician of an excellent and re­nowned fame floryshed whan I was a yonge man and was of my singular ac­quayntance. He (I present & beyng witnes) re [...]tored to helth a certayne person called Phlyari [...]s a spoletan borne whiche by reason of vermyn was fallē into a newe kynde of madnes in so moch y ^t in his sycknes he dyd speake very well Dut [...]he which thyng before whā he was [Page] hole (it was manifestly knowen) that he coulde neuer do. who nat connyng nor sene in phisike wolde nat styflye haue sworne that this man was possessed with some spirite? But this phisician with an easy and redy remedie dyd restore him, to his ryght mynde agayne. And whā he was ones restored agayne to hym selfe, he neyther coulde speke nor yet vnder­stande the Dutche tongue. That if per­chaunce some men wolde contend with me and saye that this man was in dede possessed with a deuyl, surely this thyng do moste of al auance and set forth the noble science of the phisicians to which (it is manifestly proued) that the wyc­ked spirites do also obey, which our noble science is not onely the ministre but also the counterfettour and folower of the diuine vertue and myght aswell in the restorynge of lyfe, as in castynge forthe spirites. Nor there lacked none whiche slaūderously reported that this thyng was wrought by arte magyke or wytchecraft, whose slaunder I do turne to the great glorie & prayse of our arte wherby those thynges are brought to [Page] passe which the vulgare and lay people beleueth to passe mans powers. wherefore nat without great & iuste [...]auses in the olde worlde whan vyle gaynes and foule pleasures had nat as yet vitiate nor corrupted al to gethers, The re­garde of phisike ī old tyme among all other sciences the onely art of phisike was chiefly regarded of the diuyne and moste noble men, of moste happy and ryche prynces, of moste renowmed senatours, nor there was no crafte more ac­ceptable to mankynde, for that great man Moses Moses. (as it is thought) dyd in his lawes make distinctiō of his meates by none other wysdome or pollecie thā by the reason of phisike. Orpheus Orpheus the most oldest of y ^e Grekes dyd bryng to lyght many thynges [...] (as it is read o [...] hym) of the natures and powers of herbes. Homere. Ho­mere hym selfe which was without que­stion the onely fountayne of wittes is moche busied both ī the rehersal of herbes and in the prayse of phisicians. He also paynted & describeth vnto vs Moly, The her­be called Moly. of all herbes (as Plinie witnesseth) moste comendable whiche is good and effectual agaynst poysonynges, the in­uention of whiche herbe he assigne and [Page] attribute vnto Mercurie, with this herbe he armeth his wyse man vlysses agaynst the drynkes of the voytche Circe. Nepen­thes. The selue same Homer sheweth y ^t Nepēthes an herbe ought to be had in feastes, by cause it dryueth away care and heuynes Moreouer he reherseth and rekeneth vp oftymes with great honoure Machaon, Machaō, Peon, Peon. Chiron, Chiron. Podalirius as excellent men in this faculty, Podali­rius. by whose cure and handewerke he fayneth that nat onely the noble the dukes and princes were holpen, but also y ^e goddes them selues meanyng without doubt and signifieng vnto vs that the moste hyghe princes haue nede of the helpe and socours of the phisicians, and that the lyfe of them is in the phisiciās hande, which in al other seme to haue iurisdiction & power both of lyfe & deth [...] ye what wyl ye say yf the selue same poet in the .xi. boke of his Ilias hathe renowmed and nobilitat the profession of this science withe the most hyghe and singuler commendation that can be gyuen, sayng. The onely phisiciā is to be had in greater pryse and repu­tacion than a great nombre of the reste of men, Agayne in an other place he noteth [Page] and marketh the phisician that h [...] called him lerned in al thynges, openly testifienge that whiche is mater in dede that this science do nat stande in one or two lernynges but in the knowlege and circuit of al artes, and more ouer (be­syde the exacte witte) in the moche vre and experience of thynges. pythogoras wrot of phisik The great clerke pythagoras of the yle of Samos to whome the people of auncient tyme dyd attribute a certayn diuinitie left behynd him (as we reade) a noble volume of the natures of herbes. what great philoso­phers dyd stu­dy phisik Mithridates kyng of Pōtus And to passe ouer with silence Plato, Aristotle, Theophrast, Chrisippe, Cato Censorius, and Varro, whose studie it was to intermed­del this science other with theyr gr [...]t studies or els with theyr great payne & businesses, surly Mithridates king of Pō thus was nat so greatly renowmed ney­ther by his realme thoughe it were ne­uer so ryche, nor by the wōderful knowlege of the .xxi. straūge languages whi­che he both vnderstode & coulde speke as he was by the knowlege and experi­ence of phisike, which thynge declared hym a great man in dede, whiche noble kynge (Plinie beynge myn authour) lef [...] [Page] in writtynge commentaries, exampl [...] and experiences or effectes of this sci­ence. By whose name yea euen nowe at this daye there is a soueraygne kynde of triacle named. Now comenly it i [...] coūted a princely pastime and mete for a noble kynge to playe at dyse, The [...] of olde princes & lordes to hunt, to do trifels. But in tymes passed to the princes and rulers of the people of [...]ome nothynge was regarded & more theyr care than to further the arte and science of phisike with bryngyng home newe and straunge herbes out of farre countrees, nor to that people whiche at that tyme hadde the dominion of al th [...] worlde there was no maner of gyft, no maner reward is more welcome and more acceptable, Christe called hī selfe a phisicia [...] yea what that Christe hym selue the authour and prince of al disciplines and teachynges professeth hym selfe to be nat a great doctour or a great counsellour of the lawe, nat a great Rhetorician [...] nat a great Philoso­pher, but a great phisician, whyles whā he speaketh of him selfe sayth that they haue no neade of a phisici [...]n whiche be in helthe, and whyles he resemblynge hym selfe vnto a Samaritan poureth [Page] oyle and wyne into the woundes, and whyles he temperyng the erth with his spytel, sprede it on y ^e eyes of the blind man, Christe gate the loue o [...] the peo­ple by hel [...]g theyr infirmi­ties. what that the selfe same Christe chiefly by this commendation what ty­me he was as yet vnknowē to the world dyd by lytle and lytle wynde him selfe into the myndes and affections of men, nat with gold, nat with empyrs, but w ^t the remedies of sycknesses. The thynge that he dyd with a beck, or with a word of his mouth, the same the phisiciā doth to his power counterfait and foloweth Nor there lacketh neyther to those re­medies and medicines a diuyne power and vertue, for the operatiōs & strenghtes of healyng is euen from god to this very purpos and intent geuen to thyn­ges. Nor he hath instructed the apostles with none other viauger more than with the gyft of healyng, comaundyng them that forthwith with this deserte and benefite they shulde wynne the fauoure of theyr ost that logeth them, healyng ( (que) he) theyr infirmities and diseases and anoyntyng the sycke with oyle. S. paule plaith y ^e phisician That great man Paule whā he counselleth his disciple Timothie to take a lytle quan­tite [Page] of wyne to stablyshe his stomake & the feblenes of his braynes, doth he nat openly take vpon hym the partes of [...] phisician? But what wonderful thyng is this in the apostle, The an­gel Ra­phael. syth the aungell Ra­phael healynge the blyndnes of Tobie gote hereby also his name amonge the writters and studentes of diuine thyn­ges? O howe heuenly and ryght holy is this science, Raphael is inter­preted medicina de [...] .i. the phisik of god. of whiche the heuenly myn­des haue their dominatiō? Among mor­tall people some studie & professe one science, some an other, but only this sci­ence ought to be studied of al, syth it is necessarie to al. But alas alas y ^e croked and peruerse iugementes of mē. No mā can abyde to be ignorant of coyne, whiche is currant and lawful and whiche is vnlawful or coūterfait, lest they myght perchaūce be deceyued in a thyng most vyle and of lytle importaūce, but they wyl nat study to knowe by what skylles and meanes they may preserue that whiche is the best thyng that they haue. In money they beleue nat other mens eyes. in the mater of lyfe and helthe do they blynfelde (as they cal it) folowe other mens iudgemētes? That if the absolute [Page] and parfite knowlege of the hole sciēc [...] can nat chaunce but vnto a fewe whiche haue appoynted and as I myght say dedicate theyr hole lyfe to this onely stu­die, It is very expediet for euery man to lerne so moche phisike that he may pre­serue his owne he [...]the. at lest it were mete and conuenient that of that parte of phisike whiche ap­perteyneth to the gouernaunce and preseruation of h [...]lth no persone shuld be ignoraunt. Although to say the trouthe a great part o [...] the difficultie & hardnes cometh nat of the very science but other of the bungerlynes and blynde igno­rance, [...]r els of the vayne glorie & am­bition of leude phis [...]iās. Alwayes ye a­monge the wylde and barbarous nati­ons the name of amitie hath ben coūted holy and honorable, and he is takē for a singuler and [...]ure frende which is a cō ­paignon and a felowe both in prospe­rite and in aduersitie because y ^t the cō ­mune sort of fren [...]es, lyke as swalowes in somer, Swalo­wes. so they in welth & prosperite be present and at hande, but in aduersitie, lyke as the sayd swalowes agaynste the cōmyng of wynter [...] flye away. Byrdes called Se [...]euci­des. But howe moche more sure & substanciall a frende is the phisician whiche (after the example o [...] certeyne byrdes whiche be called Seleucides which as they say ca [...] [Page] [...]o where be espi [...]d of the inhabitantes of the mountayne of Casius but whan they nede theyr socure & helpe agaynst the violence and power of great butterflyes destroyng theyr corues / whan all thynges be wel and saufe he neuer put­teth hym selfe in peryl, but in suche ca­sualties in whiche both the wy [...]e & the [...]hildren oftentymes forsaketh the man as in the fransie, the lowsy euyl (whiche is called Phthiriasis) and the pestilence the phisician onely is constantly presē [...] [...]nd he is present nat with an vnprofitable seruice, as the moste part of the rest [...] but he is presēt to helpe, he is presēt to fyght w ^t the sycknes for lyfe & deth of his patiēt, & y ^t many times putting his owne lyfe ī ieopardy. And O more thā vnkynde ꝑsons which preserued by the seruice of such a frend can fynd ī their hertes whā the ieopardy is now driuē a way to hate the phisiciā & do nat rather r [...]uerēce & worship hī in stede of a pa­renteA cōmen frend y ^t bideth thē good morow, or good euē so oft as they mete hī, i [...] for his kynd salutatiō called to super, he y ^t taketh thē curtesly by y ^e arm [...] hym they recompēce w ^t lyke kyndnes, [Page] and wyl they shake of suche frende whā they leue neadyng of hym? and for this very cause shake hym of, bycause they ꝑceyue that they be nat able (were they neuer so ryche) to yelde due thankes vnto his kynde deseruynges? That if he is the beste man which moste profite the cō men weale, than surely he that coueteth to be best ought prīcipaly to study this facultie. A cōmendatiō of the gay­nes and lucre. But nowe if ther be any of thi [...] appetite which had rather measure the prisel of thynges w ^t profite & gaynage (albe it this arte is more hyghe & more diuine, than that it shuld be estemed by suche reasons) yet I say if ther be any of that apetite whiche regarde lucre & gaines, this art wyl gyue place to none o­ther science neyther in this behalfe, for ther was neuer none more fruteful, and auaylable, and so redy a craft to get ryches sodēly as this. Erasistratus. Erasistratus of whō I made mencion before was as we rede in Cronicles rewarded of kynge Pto­lome and also Critobulus an other phisician was rewarded of Alexander the great [...] with ryche and in maner incredi­ble gyftes, Critobulus. howe be it what rewarde can nat but seme to lytle whiceh is gyuen to [Page] the sauiour of the lyfe of him for whose onely lyfe so many thousandes of men dyd put theyr bodies and lyfes in [...]eo­pardie? what shulde I nowe make reher [...]al of other noble phisicians, as of the Cassians, the Caipitans, the Arunkes, y ^e Albutis, of whome Plinie writteth that they had vnmeasurable gaynes in Rho­me aswel with y ^e prince and emperour as w ^t the people. How be it what serch we these histories out of olde tymes, as thoughe at this day euery man can nat remembre ynoughe whom this science hath brought vp to ryches ahoue the ryches of Cresus? Rhetorike, or poetrie, fynde none oneles he be excellent. The musician excepte he be passyng cōnyng he hath but a cold supper. The man of lawe hath thyne gaynes if he be nat de­pely and profundly studied. Onely phisike fyndeth and supporteth hym whi­che is but so so lerned. A meane syght in phisike getteth a lyuyng. Phisike consist in innumerable disciplins, and in infinite knowlege of thynges, and yet it is oftē sene that one or two medicines or remedies shal fynde a fole that haue no ler­nyng at al. So that in no wyse this art cā be condempned of barennes. Put this [Page] [...]o, y ^t of other crafts ther is no redy gaynes in euery place. The phi­sician where so euer he goth getteth his lyuyng. The Khetoritiā may blowe his nayles among the Sermates. The Ciuil law is nat so hyghly estemed in England. But the phisician whether so euer he goeth, in what partes of the worlde so euer he kepeth hath his ho­nour & worship, his viauger foloweth hym. So that also the comune prouerbe of the Grekes can be applied better vp on no science than it is vpon this, A pro­uerb [...]. [...] [...]he craftesmā getteth his lyuyng where euer he goeth. A confu­tation. But plinie or surly other y ^t Plinie speketh of, take great indig­natiō and be hyghly discōtented y ^t the profession of phisike shuld be a gayne [...] & a lucre. I graunt, this facultie is greater thā y ^t it shuld be subiecte & seruia­ble to lucre & gaynes. I graunt it is for vyle occupations to serue for gaynes. [...]ut agayne on y ^e other syde how g [...]eat an ingratitude, what an vnkyndnes wer it to do fraude and depriue this science onely of his mede to whiche no due no [...] sufficiēt mede can be requited? A noble phisician euen lyke a certeyn god wyll [Page] saue frely without rewarde, he wyl saue yea them that be vnwillyng to be saued but agayne it is an impieti [...] and an vn­godlynes nat to considre and acknow­lege the benifite of the godly person. He lytle passe on thy rewarde, but yet thou art worthy to be punyshed by the lawes for thy notable ingratitude. But yet this natwithstādyng I knowe ryght wel that this noble sciece hath ben euyl spoken of both in tymes passed among the olde fathers, and also nowe at this day is euyl defamed among certeyn vn­lerned ꝑsons. This art plesed nat Cato nat because he damned the very thyng, Cato di­praysed this sci­ence. but that he coulde nat abyde [...]he vayne glorious profession of the Greakes, beyng hym selfe a mere Rhomane. And he gaue so moche to experiēce, y ^t he wold nat haue it a science. But the selfe same Cato iudged it expedient that all the philosophie of the Crekes were vtterly expelled and banyshed the citie, for y ^e grosse and hard man thought that bras­sica and ofte vomites dyd suffice to purge mans body, and yet he hym selfe so styffe an ennemy of phisicians by the obseruation & kepyng of phisike dyd (as [Page] it is written of him) preserue his myght and strengthe hole and sounde euen vnto his very extreme age. Also y ^e rude & vnlerned people cast in our tethe, that the phisicians ar licensed with out puni­shemētes to kyl mē. Mary for this cause the rather good phisicians ar to be magnified and hyghly cōmēded which wher as it is in their hande nat onely without punishmēt but also w ^t mede to kyl, An obie­ction. yet they had rather saue. That they may, i [...] is a power, that they wyl nat, it is theyr goodnes. It is recited now in euery place at ale houses & tauernes among drō kardes this prouerbe. A pro­uerbe of [...]oles. Qui medice viuit misere [...] viuit. He that lyueth after the rules of phisike lyueth wretchedly. As thoughe it were an happynes and feli­citie, the body to be swolen and stret­ched out with surfettyng, to be brasted wit [...] the pleasu [...]e of the body, to waxe foggyshe with drinkyng of good ale, & to be sepulte and drowned in slepe. But these Sycophātes and bakbyters what nedeth it to refel with my oration, syth they them selues paye sufficient penal­ties to our art for their skoldyng, beyng [...]one after wrested with y ^e g [...]ut, amased [Page] with the palsay, dotynge and lackynge theyr wittes before the due tyme, wax­yng blynde and blereyed before age, and thā at last beyng ī this wretchednes they rechaunt and synge a newe songe praysing (as Stesichorus dyd) but al to late phisyke whiche before they dys­praysed. And yet to these persones though they be most vnworthy, y ^e goodnes of the art dysdayneth not to lay to, her helpyng hande, and to socour them as moch as in her is. Out of A­ristopha­nes. There be som ma­ligners also whiche borowyng a tawnt out of y ^t old comedie called phisiciās, scatophagos, that is to say, deuowrers of turdes. As though for this very cause they deserued not chyefly to be praysed which to the entente they wolde secoure and helpe the miseries and calamitie [...] of men, are contented from theyr hygh­nes and sublimitie to humble themsel­fes vnto these so vyle seruices, but if the phisicians were as scornfull and dys­daynfull as these be ful of skoldyng & raylyng, they myght on euery syde dye a pace without controllyng. But our art hathe this one thyng cōmune with good kynges, that it doth good and hathe an [Page] euyl name. And though there were most of al (as there be) in this sort and kynd of men, The leudnes of certeyne euyl phi­siciās maketh nat phisike to be e­ [...]yl. whiche beare them selues for phisicians whiche be nothynge lesse thā phisicians, if there be whiche for reme­dies ministre poysons, if therbe whiche for gaynes or vayne glorie do counsell theyr syck patiētes amisse, what is more agayn [...]t al reason & [...]quitie thā to wre [...]t and detort the vices of men to the slaū ­der of the science? Ther be also among prestes auowterers and euyl lyuers, ther be among fryers, monkes, and other re­ligious persons murderers, māquellers and pyrates [...] but what is this to the religion whiche is of it selfe the best thynge that can be deuised of mā? There is no profession so holy but that nourysheth a sort of naughty packes and vngraci­ous felowes. It is a thynge with all vo­wes to be wyshed [...] that al rulers & prin­ces were suche as becometh, them to be whiche be thought worthy of this name but yet nat because of this is the office of a prince to be damned, that some vnder that tytle playe the pyllers, tyran­tes, an ennemies of the cōmune welthe. I wolde wyshe also my selfe that al the [Page] phisicians were, truely phisicians and that the greake prouerbe had no place in them. A pro­uerbe. [...]. Many dryuers of the oxe, but fewe plo­wers of the erthe. I wold wyshe y ^• that holynes and purenes were perfourmed of al phisicians which the moste worthy phisician Hippocrates requireth o [...] his scolers whome he sware with a solēpne othe. S [...] tū Hip­pocrati [...] But yet we ought to endeuour our selues vnto it, althoughe we se it nat perfourmed of the moste part of them that professe this science. The epi­loge or perclos [...] of this o­ration. But because (O ryght worthy audience) the cause which I nowe plede hath so great plentie and copie of mater in it, that it is very hard to fynde an ende of speakynge, leste I shulde nat perfourme that I promised in the begynnyng I thynke it nowe due tyme to gather to gether ī a grosse sūme all the prayses of it. For if so be ma­ny thynges are commendable onely by reason of antiquitie, than surely this arte or science was founde, fyrste of al [Page] other, euen for very necessitie. If the sci­ence be made the noblear by reason of the first authours and inuentours and inuentours of it, this science was euer tho­ught to be inuented of goddes. If ho­nour addeth any authoritie, no other science hath deserued diuine honours so vniuersally and so longe tyme. If those thynges be of great reputacion whiche be regarded and allowed of most hygh men / this studie hath nat onely delyted but also renowmed and auanced moste hygh kynges & potestates. Di [...]sicilia quae pul­chra. If those thinges that be herde, be also fayre and godly / there is nothing more buysy more laborious than this, whiche rested ī so many disciplines and in the serchyng out and the experience of so many thynges If we estyme the thynge by the worthy­nes and dignitie therof / what thynge is more excellent than that, whiche goeth more nyghe to the bounty of god? If by the faculty and power, what thyng is of more myght and strength / than to haue the power restore agayne the hole man to hym selfe whiche els shulde certenly haue dyed? If we mesure the thynge by necessitie / what is so necessarie as that, [Page] with out whiche we can nother lyue nor be borne? [...]f by the vertue, what is more honeste, than to saue mankynde? If by the vtilite & profite, the v [...]e of nothyng is neyther greater nor whyther. If by the gaynes and auauntage, other this sciēce muste nedes brynge in great lucre and ryches, or els men be very vnkynde [...] wherfore for your causes I greately re­ioyse (o moste excellent and famous in this science? A gra [...] ­lation. whome it hath chaunced to excel ī this moste goodly kynde of profession. An exhortation. And you (yonge men) I exhorte this science to loue & embrace with al your brestes, [...]pon this set your studies with all the veynes of your bodies, whiche shal bryng vnto you renowme, glo [...]rie, authoritie, ryches / by whiche ye a­gayne on your parte shal bryng to your frendes, to your natiue contre, ye and ta al mankynde no smal profite and vtilite, I haue spoken.