The 1. Chap.

SIcknesses breede, sayth Hippocrates, partlye of Hippoc. in his boke of the nature of mankind. our diet: and partlye of our breath, by drawing in whereof we liue.

They which come of our dyet, are Gal. in the preface of the. 1. booke of Epidem. called Sporadici: and by our breathing are engendred Endemij, and Epidemii. Wee terme those Sporadici, which ac­cording to the diuerse & sundrie trades of life do happen to this or that man, as doth Bronchocele, or rupture of the throate, vnto weemen which dwell by the lake Lemanus, and the inhabitants neere to Geneua by drinking snowie water: Lykewyse great and swel­ling myltes, by drynking of colde, ysie, and troubled waters: as also they which vsed to eate of a kinde of pulse, like vetches, called Eruum, were trou­bled with paine in the knees: and such as fead on other kinde of pulse, became weake in the thies. Of these diseases [Page] hath Hippocrates intreated in his bok [...] of the diet in sharpe sicknesses, as Ga­len is auctour in his commentary vpon the ninth sentence of the second booke of sharpe sicknesses. And they were called Sporadici diseases, of the Ilands named Sporadas which lye stragling, as it were, here & there dispersed, and as Galen lykewise in the third booke of the administration of Anatomie, and in his booke of y ^e dissection of the veines, calleth certaine veines which lye here & there one not far from another vpon the skin, by name of Sporadas. The sick­nesses called Endemij, be they which by reason of the contagion of the heauen, or particulare ayre, do alwayes molest some one place: according as Aristotle reciteth in his booke intituled: Of the world, and dedicated vnto Alexander, howe poysned ayres rose out of corrupt Dennes & Caues, which infected those that came neere them, partlye with an outragious kind of madnes, and partly consumed thē with a pestilent quality.

There are some also that kyll a man presently, as in Phrygia: and there be [Page] many Welles, and small Lakes, and bituminous springes, or standing wa­ters, and places where Metals haue beene digged, and the stinking pudles of Auernus and Lucrinus, whose loth­some vapour kylleth the Dogges that do but once licke of it, bee it neuer so litle, and stifleth the Fowles that flye ouer it. Of these diseases hath Hip­pocrates Galen in the same place. intreated in his booke of the ayre, places, and waters.

The Epidemij sicknesses, are taken by Hippocrates, in two significations. After one sort the Epidemius sicknesse is taken for some disease which taketh a great many of people away, whether it bee flixe, or tercian ague, or some like disease which raigneth among the people in some one place: howbeit for y ^e more part, the Greeke words Limos, Galen in the same place. and Diathesis Limodes, are taken for the Pestilence, which inuading men, wée­men & children, of all ages, dispatcheth many out of their liues: whether it procéede first of the ayre, or by infection, of which diseases Hippocrates hath in­treated in his booke intituled Epide­miorum. [Page] Wherefore, what kinde of disease the Pestilence is, what the sub­staunce thereof is, and of what causes it proceedeth, we must now declare.

The. 2. Chap.

THE Pestilence is a contagious ayre, not being the disease it self, but the neerest and most princi­pall cause thereof, either raised with in the bodies, or caught abroade, suddein­ly weakning the spirites, & the powers which gouerne the body.

The cause of this Pestilence, the Galen in the second boke of Fe­uers. more parte of learned writers ascribe vnto the ayre, but not all one waye: for some are of opinion that the poysoning infection is sent down from the starres and planets, and so dispersed through the ayre: other say that the ayre it selfe is putrified, the cause of which putri­faction they ascribe vnto the coniuncti­ons and oppositions of the planets, the Eclips of the Sunne, and Moone, and the coniunction of Saturnus, with other euell planets, by meanes whereof in­sue [Page] sundry tempestes, & great chaunge of the ayre, and consequently thereof commeth diuers rottennes, and putri­factions. For the ayre hath manifest causes of alteracion, as namelye the mingling of other straunge ayre with it, or of some kinde of substaunce else, which is most contrary vnto vs, as are rotten vapors: and thereof it putrifieth and waxeth pestilent, and is chaunged into the nature of poison. Whereby it cōmeth to passe, that according to pro­portion, this plague rageth sumtime a­mong men, sumtime amōg beasts, and sumtime among grasse, fruite, & corne. And there be many thinges very com­mon that are good for cattel, & wyl hurt men: and contrariwise wyll slay cattel, that wyll doo men good. Like as many doo perceiue, that the feeding on naugh­tie meates engendreth the plague, as if a man should fall into the plague, by vsing such euill diet, as is commonlye séene in the dearth of corne and other victuals: then immediatly shall he in­fect others, and when that disease by going from one to other hath gathered [Page] strength, and hath inuaded many of all ages and sexes: it is called the Pesti­lence. Againe, they suppose that sum­time the ayre is infected by lower cau­ses, of thinges rotten and putrified, as of carcasies vnburied, wythred and pu­trified hearbes and weedes, priuies, dunghils and such lyke: which after­warde being drawne into our bodyes breedeth the plague, as some doo write of the Putauian pyt. Surely that this is the verye iust iudgement & reuenge of God, our barbarous nation being the verie vttermost land of this part of the worlde, doth acknowledge and professe, a most manifest testimonye whereof we haue in Ezechiel, and in the second Ioseplius, the 7. boke and. 13. cha. of the Kinges, the fowre and twentye Chapter.

The. 3▪ Chap.

THat secrete force of infection which our senses cānot discerne, consisteth in an humour, or some other kinde of substaunce: for a force & power of a bodily substaunce, cannot so [Page] much anoy our bodies. Wherefore, I thinke it verye requisite for to knowe perfitlye vppon what part of our body this secrete poison exerciseth his tyrā ­nie, séeing according to the diuersity of the place where it setleth, there ariseth not only diuerse kyndes of pestilences: but also a diuerse order of cure is re­quyred for them. For if it be receyued Galen in the. 3. of his cōmet. vpon the. 3. of E­pid. into the substaunce of the heart, it re­sembleth the likenesse of an Hecticke or consuming feuer: and many times it surpriseth the spyrites, and kylleth the man presently: As not yet full sixe yéeres since I my selfe sawe in the Pe­stilence which raged in Lyons: where men fell downe dead to the grounde, euē as they were going in the streets. Sometime it resteth in the Liuer, and according to the nature of the humour which it infecteth: it causeth a feuer, as namely the feuer called Synochus, if it haue infected the blood, and a burning feuer if it be choler, and the like iudge­ment is also to bee geuen of the other humours. A like plague vnto this whereof I speake, not fullye fiftéene [Page] yéeres ago raigned in Eueris, & at Ver­noyle: whereas a Surgeon through the grace of God, and mine instructions, saued a great many: at which time Iohn Renart the Apothecarye, a man verye well learned, vsed singular dili­gence towarde our cuntreymen, and Citizens. It hapneth also sometime, that the poysned ayre being drawen through the nostrels into the braine, first hurteth the same, for sufficient proofe whereof shall serue the discourse which followeth.

The. 4. Chap.

IT is well knowen by the doctrine of In his boke of kernels. Hippocrates, and the colledge of A­rabians, that the principall partes haue theyr voiding places, issues, or, as they terme them Emunctories, into which they clense and rid away what­soeuer is noysom vnto them, speciallye if those partes be strong, and thereby, as they saye, is coniecture made of the part affected: as for example, if the botch appeare in the grine, it is a signe [Page] that the disease is in the Liuer, or in the partes beneath the midriffe: but if the sore breake foorth in the arme pits, they say that the heart and the partes aboue the midriffe are infected: as they lykewise gather that the infection is in the braine, if the poysoned swelling ga­ther behinde the eares, or in places thereabout: although many times there chaunceth inflamation of the kernels about the eares, called Parotides, whē a more vehement heat hath lifted the matter vp higher, as sayth Galen in the fourth booke of commentaries vppon the Aphorismes, the. 75. Aphorisme.

Moreouer, the vrine confirmeth this opinion of ours, béeing sometime thick and troubled, yealowe, and white, as we sée the same to be altered according to the humours offending, and diuersi­tye of the partes affected: as many times the skull being eaten with rot­tennes, and the rime of the braine pe­rished with a stripe or putrified, and whē stoare of mater is gathered with­in the skull, a man shall perceiue the v­rine to be litle or nothing at all chaun­ged. [Page] For when the venim féedeth vpon the sound substaunce of the partes, the vrine is lyke the vrine of one that is whole, which shalbe proued to be true, by this that hereafter followeth.

The. 5. Chap.

BUT for asmuch as we concluded before, that this infection is in the ay [...] which wée drawe in by breathing, [...]s receiued into the inner partes of th [...] body through the pores of the skin, by the motion of the artey­res: how chaūceth it then that the heart is not alwayes infected, for asmuch as in our large breathing, the ayre which is drawen in by the Lungues, imparteth the contagiō sooner vnto the heart because of theyr néerenes, then Galen in the. 3. of his cōmet. vpon the. 3. of E­pid. vnto partes be farther of, as the Liuer and the Braine? Note this common reason, sayth Galen, that a corrupt hu­mour which is engendred in all by one constitucion, doth not affect the same places, for that in respect of al theyr na­tures, the body was not in the same cō ­stitution at that present, but one part was weaker then another. For those [Page] partes which be stronger in qualitie or quantitie, vse to expulse and driue a­waye the offending bumour into ano­ther that is of lesse resistaunce. Wher­fore, if the heart, eyther of it selfe, or by helpe of Phisick, be strong: then wyll it driue the venimous ayre, eyther to the Liuer, or to the Brain. Moreouer, the proportion of the putrifaction maye be in cause thereof, for whatsoeuer hath the force to do any thing, doth not im­mediatly execute the same vpon what euer it méeteth withall, but necessarye it is that there be some naturall like­nesse Galen. 1. boke and 4. chapter of the differē ­ces of fe­uer [...]. betwéene the thing Agent, and the Pacient: and after this maner we affirme that Purgations drawe this or that humour by reason of the lyke­nesse vnto them of nature or substaūce. And therefore the olde writers sayde verye well, that euery thing cannot worke vppon euerye thing, but onely whatsoeuer hath some agréement with the Agent in matter, or in maner of applying them together: lyke as the Ephemerum Colchicum, a venimous herbe so called, & the Uiper, beare en­mitie [Page] against the Liuer, as may easilye be perceiued by the bloody flixe, dropsie, and other accidents which both of them do cause, and as the byting of certaine Beasts breedeth the iaundice, corrup­ting & conuerting the blood into choler. Galen. 5. boke and. 7 chap of pla­ces affected.

Besides this, Henbaine, & the Aspe, molest that part of the Braine, where­in the Animall facultie resteth, the last bringing vnwakeable sléepe, the first distracting y ^e mind, which it doth not by Galen in his boke of Triacle vn­to Piso. reason of cold, as late writers affyrme.

For Brionie, which is hot, worketh also the same effect, howbeit y ^e extreeme colde that is in Houselike, in Lettice, or Poppie, troubleth not the wittes. The Basiliske, slayeth a mā sodainly, consu­ming the spirites which he doth, they say, by sight and hyssing. The Taxus, Galen in the same place Dios­corides in the. 4. boke. which seme suppose to be the Ewtrée, kylleth with his shaddowe, specially in hot cuntreys, those that sleepe vnder it▪ strangling them presently, lyke as the Hemlock, with his passing cold quali­tie, extinguisheth naturall heat.

These causeth of so sudde in death pro­céedeth frō no other thing, then y ^e pecu­liar [Page] kind of poison, which at the first as­sault inuadeth y ^e castle of life. For eue­ry thing hath his peculiar mixtion, frō whence spring forth those properties of substaunce. And these thinges are no lesse proper vnto the ayre also, then they are common vnto plants, & brute beastes, so that the diuerse kinde of pu­trifaction which is in the ayre, infecteth or affecteth the diuers partes of our bodies, after a diuerse kinde of maner. Hippocr. in his boke of the ayre. &c For loke what the ayre is, such must needes our humours and spirites bee, wherein the soundnesse or infirmitie of the partes consisteth. And this was the cause that Hippocrates wrote, how that the sundry mutaciō of tymes, pro­cureth many diseases: as namely, if the Summer be drie, and the wind North, the Haruest verie rainy, and the wind South, the winter following are lyke to ensue payne in the head, coughes, horsenes, rewmes, and stuffing in the head, and many shal fall into consump­tions: lykewise some other disposition of the Summer and Haruest, ingen­dreth other kindes of diseases: so that [Page] sometime they procéede frō the braine, & sometime depend vpon other partes, according to the diuerse temperature of the ayre, and Hippocrates very lear­nedly hath set downe in the thyrd boke of his Aphorismes, in his booke of Epi­demies, and of the ayre, places, and wa­ters.

But the auctoritye of D. Ambro­sius Pareus, whome posterity acknow­ledgeth for the thyrd sun of Aesculapi­us, doeth much lighten and confyrme this opinion: who opening the bed wherein one laye sicke of the Plague, felt a most filthye and pestilent sauour, rysing from the plaguie botch and car­buncle, which so strooke his Braine, that presentlie he fell in a sowne to the ground, without feeling any paine at the heart, or other accident that might declare that the heart, or stomacke, or any other part of the body were affec­ted: at length, recouering strength he arose, and his braine began to expulse that contagious ayre, with so forcible sneesing, that the blood therewith gus­shed out of his nose: and vnlesse, sayde [Page] hée, the expulsiue facultie of my braine had bene strong, doubtlesse I had died, for the Animall or lyuing facultie had bene therewith vtterlye oppressed.

Thus you sée, louing Reader, by the example and iudgement of so notable a man, that this poyson may first infect the braine, no other part being hurt.

For there is a perpetuall drawing of Gal. in his cōment. vpō Hippocr. of humours. ayre into the braine, in euerye brea­thing creature, in at y ^e nostrels through the bones called Istmoidea into y ^e fore­moste ventricle or sell of the braine, where the smelling vertue remaineth, whereby it commeth that it imparteth most readelye vnto the braine that in­fection which it receyueth, before that it conuey it vnto the heart. For it cannot come vnto the heart vntyl such tyme as it bee well laboured in the Lungues, wheras by the tareing there it looseth some parte of the venimous qualitie▪ or else infecteth the hollow­nesse of the Lungues, or the thin skins and rimes within the breast, or the Midriffe, whereby many times in the Pestilence, commeth spetting of blood, [Page] as Guido de Cauliaco hath noted in the same plague which beginning first at Auenion. was dispersed ouer all Eu­rope. Lykewise the painfull Cathar with shortnesse of breath, which the Frenchmē termed Coqueluche, which awhile agoe raged ouer all Europe, was caused by the ayre, declaring it selfe to bée pestilent euen by the verye force thereof, and going from man to man which was the kinde of that in­fection do to: and notwithstanding, all Gale. in his comment. the accidents and tokens declared that by similitude of passion, the braine was likewise affected, as were heauines and paine in the head with desyre to sléepe, the mur, stuffing in the head, and dis­tillacion into the Lungues & stomacke. The lyke vnto this, is to bée founde in Hippocrates in the thyrd booke of Epe­demies, where he describeth a pestilent state: For many were diseased in the Iawes, had impedimentes in theyr speache, theyr bellyes were troubled with laskes, many wared rotten, and fell into consumptions, so that the next wynter following, wee were much [Page] troubled with contagious squincies in these quarters, which came to passe with chaunging of the winde from the South to the North, as it is to be lear­ned out of the twentye fowrth Apho­risme of the first booke of Hippocrates Aphorisines. And afterward Hippo­crates addeth, and the diseases, sayth he, which the pestilent ayre doth bring, if it once offend the Lyuer, are burning fe­uers, dropsies, putrifaction of the lower part of the bellye, and priuities, and when, sayth hee, the rottennes had ta­ken déeper rootes, many lost theyr armes, and from some the whole cu­bite from the elbowe foreward fell a­waye.

The lyke kinde of Pestilence was 1. Booke of feuers. and. 5. of simple medicines. that which Galen citeth out of Thuci­dides, to haue raigned in Athens. But if all these proofes can not sufficientlye perswade thee, rememember that the Leprosie is a contagious disease, the contagion whereof proceedeth of the ayre, corrupt and infected by leprous persons, which beeing drawne in by breathing: infecteth others, the contagi­on [Page] taking hold on y ^e Liuer, which is the seat of the Leprosie: éeuen so, one that is sicke of the plague, disperseth the in­fection abrode in the ayre, which infec­teth those that are about him with the same sicknesse: wherby it hapneth that the same disease, and hauing the verye same accidentes many times continu­eth a yéere or twoo togeather, as I re­member it chaunced once in England.

Measelles, by consent of all auncient wryters, take theyr originall of an in­fection sent downe from the celestiall bodyes into the ayre, and are of the kinde of Epedimious diseases, and the forerunners of some gréeuous & mor­tall pestilence, the cause whereof is the heat and boyling of blood, and are to bée numbred among diseases of the lyuer. And that there is in these a most ma­nifest infection to be taken one of ano­ther, euery simple woman can tell, and Rases maketh them one kinde of the Pestilence.

Thus all that we haue hetherto sayd do prooue▪ that the Pestilent ayre sum­tyme infecteth the Braine, sumtyme [Page] the Lyuer, and sumtime the heart, ac­cording to the diuersitye of the putry­faction▪ and the diuerse disposition of the body.

For as fire is sooner kyndled in drye Aphrodise­us the. 88. question of the. 2. boke. strawe, then in gréene wood: so lyke­wise the infected ayre béeing dispersed abroade and breathed in, sooner ouer­throweth suche bodyes as are stuffed with euyll humours, then those that are cleane and pure from any such, and for this cause you shall see among a great many that were about one which was sicke of the plague, one onely ma­ny times to escape the sicknesse: and euen so all that looke vpon sore eyes, become not sore eyed: but such onelye in whome the infection had lyke mat­ter to worke vpon. And this is the The. 104. question of the. 2. boke of proble­mes. The. 5. que­stion of the 6. booke of problemes. cause, why for the most part, sorenesse & blearenesse of the eyes vseth to come before a plague, as Aphrodiseus wry­teth. Because, sayth hée, the plague is a disease of the spirites, and when this troubled and corrupted spirite is caryed vp to the head, it molesteth the eyes, and hurteth them before any o­ther [Page] thing, for being subtile and moue­able, it goeth first vnto the eyes. Not vnlike vnto this, is that which Ari­stotle verie fitlye demaundeth, howe it chaunceth that when euell tydinges or sorowfull newes are told vs, wee sud­deinly shake & quiuer: and y ^e beholding of affections in other before our eyes, bréede the like affections in vs also: for when we sée another eate some sower thing, our téeth waxe in an edge, and if wee heare a sawe filed, or a Pumice The. [...]. que­stion of the 7. of the problemes. stone cut, we tremble & quake for cold? The cause of al these, as saith Aristotle is the spirite, which entring within our senses, moueth vs, altering, and many times extinguishing the spyrites which are within our bodyes, howbeit then by lykelyhood & proportion they should more easily chaunge the spirites which remaine in she heart, Braine, and Ly­uer, then in the vttermost part of the teeth. But a man shall not easily per­swade the common people▪ or the newe wryters in this point, as that the filthy & stynking Kennels and durty places of the Citye, doo onely hurt the Braine.

[Page]The Colicke (whereof next after The. 3. boke chap. of the paine of the colick, and chap. of the palsie, and Hipp. also. Hippocrates, Paulus Aegineta maketh mencion) in the yéere. 1572▪ reygned generallye, and dyd very much harme, kylling many: For all that were sicke of it, fell into the Paulsie, or falling sicknesse, and many dyed thereof, either in the fyt, or not long after, as I obser­ued it in the house of my good Lord and exhibitour, and in the Monasterye of Casa dei, or Gods house, néere vnto our dwelling called Rugla: for the Nūnes which dwelt there, could not prouide for theyr health by any other meanes then by flight, and chaunge of place.

And more then fiftéene yéere since, this gréeuous disease much afflicted our cun­treymen and Citizens also, and euen this last winter it wandred here amōg our next neighbours, as it reygned at Abbeuille, in the yeere of our Lorde. Emerius in his boke of the pestil. 1554. of the cure whereof I meane Godwylling to intreate in my booke of diseases which came by inheritaunce.

And this much thou hast alreadye, Lo­uing Reader, cōcerning the cause, and place of the Pestilence: and now har­ken [Page] farther to the signes and tokens thereof.

The. 6. Chap.

IF the putrifaction of the corrupted Signes of [...] the infectiō bee in the spirites. ayre do take holde on the spirites, the heat is not sharpe nor pricking, the patiēts féele a greater heat in their breast, then in any other part of the bo­dye, the pulse is nothing weake, but sumtime more quicke then it is woont, but yet not to swift as when the im­perfection is in the humours: the vrine is lyke vnto the naturall, there issueth no sweat, but some moisture appeareth on the forehead and in the necke, the tongue is drye and rough, they thyrst not much, nor tosse them selues hether & thether, because the naturall strength is whollye ouerthrowen: they sowne often, there appeareth vpon them ney­ther botche, nor blaine, nor Gods markes, neyther haue they the laske, but dye suddeinlie, vnlesse they be well looked vnto at the fyrst assault of the sicknesse.

[Page]But when the putrifaction hath in­uaded If in the substance of the heart. the sound substaunce of the heart then it bringeth a feuer, as I haue sayd, like to an Hecticke or a consuming fe­uer: in which there is no great heate, but that which is lurketh within, con­suming and putrefiing the substaunce of the heart, burning it and all that is therein: the pacients féele not them­selues to be in an ague, or to be sicke at all, & so sone as they haue eaten meate▪ they fall into a colde sweat, their pulse is indifferent, almost naturall, but sumdeale quicker and weaker: theyr vrine is lyke ones in good health, they raue not, they are not troubled with the laske, nor gréeued with any other accident. The lyke plague vnto this, raigned at Lions and Vienna, in the yeere of our Lord. 1525. as Montuus reporteth.

If the pestilent ayre being drawne If in the braine. in at the nose or otherwyse, haue pos­sessed the braine: the signes thereof are tremblinges and sadnesse, the partye féeleth great paine in y ^e head, be raueth at the fyrst assault of the sicknes, hée [Page] is troubled with a cholericke distillati­on out of the head into the stomacke, Lungues, and nether partes, he is ey­ther verye sléepie, or aboundeth in ouer watching, he hath swelling in his neck, and about the eares, the daysling of the head, hyssing in the eares, with read­nesse of the face, and beating of the temples. This plague raygned in Auernia, in the yéere of our Lorde. 1546.

Many are of opinion that the Pesti­lence If in the Lyuer. is a thyrde kinde of the burning Feuer, and iudge that it procéedeth of Melancholicke blood, eyther putry­fying, or boyling by reason of the pu­tryfying: which they gather to bée so, by the resemblaunce which it hath to a continual quartaine, and the smellings which vse to appeare in such Feuers. Howbeit vnlesse all the auncient wry­ters, and this our learned age also, haue bene verye much ouerseene, the Feuer is not of the verye substaunce of the sicknesse. For albe it for the more part shee ioyne her selfe vnto it as a most painfull companion, and a whelpe of [Page] the same hayre, notwithstanding the whole order of the cure sheweth that they differ euen by whole kinde. And because the place of making blood and other humours, is by nature appointed vnto the Lyuer, I wyl shew the signes If in blood. of euery one: beginning first with the signes that declare the infection to bee in the blood, which are these, heat not byting, but gentle and milde, a stiffe and strouting weerinesse of the whole body, stinking sieges, large and liquide: lying of the pacient vpon his back, hea­uines of the head, beating of the tēples, rauing and idle speech after the fourth or seauenth day, smal thyrst or none at all, a filthie tongue, vrine at the begin­ning almost white, afterward grow­ing redder and confused: all the bodye ouer, speciallye vpon the backe, breast, and armes, litle red whelkes rysing, not vnlike to fleabites.

If the infection be in Choler, the di­seased If in chole [...]. are vexed with that vnquietnes which the Grecians terme Lismos, fée­ling such an extreame burning within them, that thèy alwaye crye to bée re­moued [Page] to some colder place, although theyr outwarde partes are not hote at all: theyr face is sometime pale, and sometime red, they thyrst much, theyr tongue is verye drie, they neuer sléepe, their breath stinketh, they breath hard­lye, for which cause and by reason of theyr immoderate heat, they desire to drawe in freshe ayre continually: theyr sieges are cholericke, thinne, stinking, and fattie: and sometime they make water verye yealowe, watrishe, and thinne.

When the infection hath taken hold If in Fleagme. on the rawer part of the blood, then the pacient sléepeth continuallye, the body is slouthfull, and the partes thereof weerie, the belching sower, soft and flegmaticke, swellinges do aryse with other signes moe, declaring the domi­nion of fleame. And therefore ten­der and moist natures are sooner infec­ted then olde men, and such as are ge­uen to labour, or that are of a colde and moist temperament, and brought vp with cold meates.

But when this pestilent corruption If in Mc­lancholie. [Page] of the ayre hath inuaded the dregges of the blood called Melancholie, the pa­cient wyll bee very carefull and heauy, and much more sorrowful then he was woont, he becummeth distract, the pulse is small and déepe, the vrine lyke the wine of Pomegranates, blackishe, and whatsoeuer sores or botches breake out in the body, they represent the cou­lour and complexion of their humour.

The. 7. Chap.

HEtherto we haue intreated of y ^e signes, it followeth now that we come to the cure, which cōsisteth in two pointes, in preuenting and dry­uing away the sicknes. The pestilent ayre is auoided many wayes. First, if wee kéepe awaye all occasions of the bringing of it to the place where wee dwell, as we reade that Marcus Varro did at Corcira: for when he perceyued howe that there were some sicke in e­uerye house round about him, he shut his windowes whiche opened to the South, and he opened them that were [Page] to the North, and so preserued all his familie in good health: howbeit that which Varro did toward the South, I thinke ought to be done also when the winde is East, Northeast, and West also: for if the wise and dilligent Phisi­tion do well marke it, he shall perceiue that the plague incr [...]a [...]eth when those windes do blowe. So lykewise it is necessarie to chaunge place, as from lowe places to goe vnto higher, when the plague is ingendred by corruption of the ayre: but if the winde bring the plague out of one cuntreye into ano­ther, then were it kest to descend from a high dwelling to a lower, where the ground is watrishe, and the ayre thick, which wyll hardlye receyue the im­pression of the supernall bodies. And when we haue chosen an house, then the pestilent ayre is to be corrected, by burning of such thinges as eyther by secrete or manifest qualitie are contra­rye to the infection, as are the Trochis­ces which followe. Take Styrax cala­mite, Benioin, of eche one dram: red Roses, Lauender, Cypres, of eche halfe [Page] a dram: with Rosewater & Tragagāt, make Trochisces, burne thē in a cha­fingdishe of coales, or else burne with them of the composition called Gallia, or Alipta moscata, and such lyke.

It were verye good also for this pur­pose to burne such woods and hearbes as yéeld a sweet sauour, as Rosemary, Sage, Lauender, Baies, Ciprus wood, Juniper, the wood & the barries, y ^e wood Aloes, Cinnamon & Cloues. Likewise the sprincling of sweete waters about the chamber, amendeth the euill dispo­sition of the ayre, as the water of La­uender and Maierom, but these are most to be vsed when the ayre is moist, cloudye, and colde: For the warme ayre more spéedely and redelye perceth into our bodies, and is soonest infected with the qualitye of some other thing, as Auicen hath noted in his first booke, in the Chapter of varietye of seasons: Wherefore prouision must bee made that it waxe not verye hote, by sprinc­ling of fayre water and vineger, rose­vineger: by setting vp Wyllowe boughes, and by strawing the Cham­ber [Page] with water lyllies, flagges, and such like.

The. 8. Chap.

BUt nowe it is not inough in this maner to haue amended the ayre, but also the principal parts must bee strengthened, both with thinges receyued inward, and applied out­warde, to thintent they maye the more valiauntlye withstande the pestilent ayre. And among those thinges to which the Grecians giue name for that they be hanged about vs: I lyke espe­ciallye of twaine: the one is, if a hole be made in a hasyll nut, and the kernel b [...]e pulled forth with a pin, and the place fylled vp againe with common quicksiluer, and hanged about the neck, it preserueth a man wonderfully from the pestilence. This Medicine I lear­ned aboue twelue yéeres agoe, of the Phisition to the Right honourable the Lord Vidam that nowe dead is. For at what time Henrie the secōd, King of Fraūce, lead his armie into Germanie, [Page] and at the siedge of the Citie of Ment [...] hee preserued not onelye him selfe, but also his Surgeon which went to them that had the plague, and dressed them: Of this Medicine Marsilius Ficinus speaketh.

There is also another such medicine, The. 7. cha. of his boke of the Pe­stilence. and it is Christialline, and red Arsnick, the effect whereof I learned at Argen­tine and Basil, in the yeere of our Lord. 1564. at what tyme the plague raig­ned almost ouer all Germanie. But for as much as Georgius Agricola in his thyrd booke, of the nature of things digged out of the ground, and after him Theodosius Montuus haue sufficiently disputed of this matter, I wyll onelye set downe the receite of the Medicine, which is after this maner: Take Ars­nick christalline and red, of eche a lyke quantitie, beate them into powder, whereof with the white of an egge, or the Mucciladge of Tragagant, you shall make a lozenge a finger thicke, then folde it in a double péece of silke, & applye it vnto the region of the hart: but beware that the moyst Arsnicke, [Page] exulcerate not the skin, and therefore in the morning you must diligentlye wipe the place, or at what tyme so euer else the pacient sweateth, for which cause it were good to put a fayre linnen cloath betwéene: The Arsnicke being The. 8 boke chap of the hardnes of the Splene. applyed, strengthneth as wel the heart as the Mylt, as Trallianus writeth, but it worketh not that effect of custome, as Theodosius sayth. Surely in this one point God wonderfullye declareth his prouidence, when he teacheth vs to applye strong and deadlye poysons vn­to our commoditie: as Galen sheweth in the eleuenth booke of simple Medi­cines of the wine made of Uipers: and our men of late tyme haue applyed the oyle of Scorpions in the cure of the plague with so good successe, that onelye with the annointing of this oyle they dryue awaye the euyll qualitye of the pestilent ayre, by example of them which haue gréeuous vlcers in theyr feete. D. Ambrosius Pareus geueth this counsell, that they which wyll goe visite the sicke of the plague, shoulde fyrst make issues in theyr armes and [Page] legges, bicause nature vseth to purge out by those places whatsoeuer veni­mous humour is in the whole bodye, & dryuing that thether whatsoeuer ga­thereth vnto any principall part.

Moreouer, an oyntment made of La­serpitium, the fat of venimous Ser­pentes, and Uitrioll is much commen­ded: or if of these be made a broade cake and folded in sylke, and layd vpon the heart and arteries. I haue also vsed the Linament which foloweth not on­ly in the Pestilence, but also in the quiuering of the heart, which is thus made: Take of the iuce of Cardiaca one ounce, of Camfire halfe a dram, of Saffron one scruple, with as muche waxe as sufficeth, make thereof an oyntment, and therewith anoynt the region of the heart: or make an oynt­ment of the iuce of Buglosse, Bo­rage, and Saffron. There maye also be one made to the same effect of roses, violets, red Saunders, Cinnamom, Cloues, Lauender Flowers, Orenge pilles, & the wood Agallochum, which is prepared in maner following. Take [Page] of the three kindes of Saūders, Roses, Wormwood, Agrimonie, of eche halfe an ounce, beate them into powder, and boyle them ouer a softe fyre an houre & an halfe, then straine the liquour, and wring it harde through a linnen cloth, then seeth it againe ouer the fyre, vn­tyll it come to the thicknesse of Honie, then put thereto the iuce of Lettice, smalledge, wylde succorie, of eche thrée drams, Camfyre a dram, and with a lytle waxe make thereof an oyntment, and anoint therewith the region of the Liuer. After this order the oyntments which are prepared, I better lyke of, not onely in the Pestilence, but also in other continuall Feuers, then if the pouders were put in whole, for else howe could those thicke and grosse pou­ders mingled with the iuces and oiles, doo any good vnto the place? Lyke wise there maye be made semblable oynt­mentes for the heart, of the roote of Lormentill, Zedoarie, Roses, & such lyke. It is good also to drop into the eare, a twoo or thrée drops of the oyle of Sage, or Cloues, with a lytle Muske. [Page] I prepare oyles for that purpose after this maner: Take of Nutmegges one ounce, Cloues, and Cinamom, of eche halfe an ounce, drye Sage an ounce, swéete Almondes twoo ounces, make them all into pouder, and sprincle them with Aqua vitae, and presse it hard as you would do oyle of Almondes: and vse it as is afore declared: and with the same oyle you may anoynt your tēples and nostrels. It is good also to kéepe a péece of the rinde of a Citron in the mouth, or Cinamom, Zedoarie, Ange­lica, or such lyke. Our husbandmen in the Cuntreye smell vnto hearbe grace, it were not a misse neyther to beare in a spunge to smell vnto, Cina­mom water, rose vineger, rose water, or this sweet ball, the discription wher­of insueth: Take roses, Styrax cala­mite, Cloues, of eche twoo ounces, Ar­race rootes of Florence, thrée ounces, Muske twoo scruples, of these make a swéete ball. Some stiepe Cloues in vi­neger al night, & eate them in the mor­ning, and washe their face, arme holes, and priuie partes with vineger. The [Page] Phisitions of Germanie, shaue the roote of the great cloat leafe, and stiepe it in vineger a night or more, thē they roule it in Suger, and geue it in the morning to preuent the plague. But I vse to laye the same roote to sooke in whyte wine, or wine of wormewood, and in the morning geue it to drincke with Sugar.

The. 9. Chap.

THose things which are receyued in at the mouth to preuent the sicknesse, are partlye Medicines against poyson and infection, and part­lye purgatiue remedies, for wée hope that such purgatiues are onely néede­full for this purpose, as do clense the first region of the bodye, without moo­uing the humours. For we must take héede least by sharpe and strong pur­gations we cause a laske, which were verye daungerous in this disease. For in a pestilent constitucion, the humors be mooued by the smallest occasion that maye bée, and forciblye doo run downe into the bellie: such purgatiues where­of we now speake, are Rhabard & Aga­rike [Page] made in infusion in the decoction of such hearbes as are naturall, good a­gainst this infection, adding thereto the Syrupe made by infusion of Da­maske roses, of Uiolets, of Succorye compound, and such other lyke, as in respect of the age, custome, and tempe­rament, maye bée prescribed by the skilfull Phisition. Howbeit, for chil­dren I vse Rhabarb thus prepared. Cut Rhabarb into small slices, & moys­ten them with the vapour of whyte wine, then stiepe it with Cinamom a daye and a nyght in rose water, in Sū ­mer: but in Wynter in white Wine and rose water mingled togeather, and when the Rhabarb hath lost his colour in the water, then dreane that water awaye and put freshe too, and thus shall you doo vntyll the Rhabarb coulour the water no more: then take those cou­loured waters, and boyle them to the one halfe ouer a good fire for temperate heate: then put vnto this liquour, Su­gar or Honye, and boyle it againe vnto y ^e consistence of a Syrupe perfectly boi­led, and then put the slices of Rhabarb [Page] into the sirupe: Of this sirupe you may minister twoo or thrée sponefuls vnto children of twoo or thrée yéere olde, and to them that are elder, you maye geue one slice of y ^e Rhabarb with the sirupe. With this Medicine you shall not one­lye preserue them from the plague, but also slaie and driue foorth the Wormes that bée in the guts. Or else, when you haue thus sliced your Rhabarb, mingle it with the sirupe of Uiolets, Succorie, or roses, and while the sub­stance of the Rhabarb is somwhat soft, séeth the sirupe againe, & when it is cold put thereto Rhabarb againe with Ci­namom & cloues, and minister foure or fiue slices with two sponfuls of sirupe. And vnto those that are elder, but deli­cate, wée vse to prescribe in Winter pilles of Rhabarb, Aloës, Agarike, Se­ne, and Mirobalanes, according to the custome of theyr lyfe, & diuersity of na­tures: and in Summer we geue Poti­ous made of the same, or the lyke. The maner of making whereof is this: Také Rhabarb an ounce and a halfe, Agarike one ounce, Sene clensed foure [Page] ounces, Cinamom one dram, Ginger halfe a scruple, Anise and Fenell seedes of eche twoo drams, beate them into a grosse pouder, and sprincle it with A­qua vitae, afterwarde stéepe it in Bo­rage water, or fayre common water: and when it is sufficientlye couloured, then straine it, then powre the like wa­ter vpon the dregges, and let it stéepe as before, then straine it and wring it, and boyle the strayned lycour ouer a soft fyre, vntyll it come to the consistēce of Honie, then put Sugar thereto, and kéepe it to your vse: geue of this three pilles for halfe a dram, more or lesse ac­cording to the age, strength, and tem­perament. I knewe one in England, Baptista Agnelli, who had spent all his life in the art of Distilling, hee vsed this Opiate in the time of Pestilence with verye good successe, whose description followeth: Take Agrimonie, Worm­wood romane, of eche twoo handfuls, A­nise halfe an ounce, Sene twoo ounces, boyle them in common water, the space of foure houres, then straine thē all stronglye, and vnto the strayned li­cour [Page] put an ounce of Sugar, of clensed Cassia twoo ounces, make it after the maner of an Opiate, whereof you may geue half an ounce at a time, for it pur­geth gentlye, without troubling the humours. Some put Manna to the si­rupe of Roses, and so make an Opiate. But all wryters commende the pilles called Ruffi, or Common, or of Aloes, Saffron, and Mirrhe, not onely because they purge euyll humours, but because they resist putrifaction, strengthning the heart, Lyuer, and other partes, and consume superfluous moistures, which br [...]de great occasion of this disease, as Booke 4. [...]en 1. cha. 4. Auicen wryteth. But they which can not take purgations, they must of­ten haue theyr bellies mooued with a Glyster: or they in whome blood alone, or ioyned with other humours, is found much abounding, would haue some taken from them after these aboue re­hearsed euacuations, speciallye if they haue bene accustomed to lettyng of blood, and haue large veynes, and bée much geuen to drynking of Wine, and eating of fleshe.

The▪ 10. Chap.

THus when at sundrye times the body hath bene gentlie purged, let the Pacient take betimes in the morning fasting a dram of this O­piate following: Lake olde Triacle one dram, conserue of the flowers of Tunica, and rosemary [...], of eche thrée drams, with the iuce of a Citron, make them vp in the forme of an Opiate. Or thus: Take the rootes of Angelica, Ze­doarie. Tormentill, of eche one ounce, Cinamom twoo drams, the rinde of a Citron a dram, bring these into pou­der, and boyle them in rose water, an hower and a halfe, then straine it hard, and boyle the strayned licour with Su­gar sufficient vnto the consistence of Hony, and make it an Opiate, or make it an Clectuarye in lozenges. After the same order you maye make a very good Opiate of the iuce of gréene Juni­per berries, with Sugar, to coale the stomacke, to expell the grauell out of the reynes, and to fortifye the principal partes. Or thus: Bruse the berryes and boyle them in common water to [Page] the thyrd part, then boyle the strayned licour againe as I haue shewed before. Of Bole, Zedoarie, Gentian, and An­gelica maye bée made trochiskes, with the iuce of Borage, Scabious, & Pim­pernell. But those that insue I vse more commonlye, and they are more pleasaunt to bée taken: Take ten Ci­trons and cut them into many péeces, the tops of Borage an handfull, good white wine thrée pintes, styll them in an earthen vessell, and there wyll drop forth very cleare water, soote, & pleasaūt to taste, take of this water twoo oun­ces euerye morning fasting. Another: Take Aqua vitae thrée ounces, rose­water an ounce and an halfe [...], wherein laye a stiepe of Cinamom thrée drams, yealowe Saunders one dram, straine it through an hairen strainer, & swée­ten it with conserue of roses, take one ounce thereof euery morning eyther in a spone, or vpon a tost of bread. Ano­ther: Take Tormentill, Bistort, Ze­doary, Enelacāpane, of eche one ounce, Diuels bit, Scordium, Saucealone, wilde Sorrell, Pimpernell, of eche [Page] halfe an handfull, Borage and violet flowers, Taxus Barbatus, the tops of Rue one gripefull, Citron séedes, and Carduus benedictus, ofech twoo drams, Juniper berries thrée drams, Cloues, Nutmegs of eche a dram and an halfe, plde Triacle, an ounce and an halfe, good white wine, a pint and an halfe, distyll them all in Balneo, and minister twoo ounces of this distylled water.

The most wicked and desperate var­lets, whome the Magistrates of Lions put to death for carreing about and in­creasing the plague, when they were led to execution, confessed, that they pre­serued themselues from the Pestilence with none other thing then a walnut, which they tosted or scorched a lytle a­gainst the fyre before they eate it.

Leonhardus Fuchsius tolde me once in his owne house, that there was no­thing more holsome against y ^e plague, then an Electuarie of Egges, and that it was a cōmon thing among the Ger­manes, both to preuent and to cure the plague, and hee sayde as much also of Angelica.

The. 11. Chap.

FOr as much as at the beginning of this disease, there is great plentye of euyll humours gathered into y ^e stomack, and other common passedges of the bodye, which may easilye bee dis­cerned by the burning, and byting of the stomacke, vnquencheable thyrst, lo­thing, vomyting of fleame, choler, or some other humour: then must the cure bee begun by clensing the bellye with a suppositour, or common Olyster. After­ward the pacient maye take a dram of mine Electuarye, whose discription is to bee founde in the [...]yght Chapter, and twoo or three howers after that, you must prouoke vomite with Anti­monie, whose preparation you shall finde discribed in the ende of this trea­tise.

But to the intent that the pacient maye vomite with more ease and lesse trouble vnto him, it were good for him to sup the broath of a Chick, an hower or twaine after hee haue receyued the vomite, and to doo so as often as hée [Page] perceiueth him selfe mooued to vomite. For the corrupt humours which the Antimonie hath drawne into the capa­citie of the stomack, wyl be without a­ny trouble cast foorth with the breath. For vomiting vpon an empty stomack is painful. But they that haue not An­timonie in aredines, let them take one or two of the inner kernels of y ^e straūge Indian Nut, which is as pleasaunt vn­to the mouth, as the Filbeard or Wal­nut, but it prouoketh vomit very strōg­ly, a medicine truely not to be despised, for it néedeth no preparation, and may alwayes be at hand in areadines. The effecte of this Medicine I learned at And warpe, of an Italian Surgeō, whē I trauailed that waye out of England into Germanie. At the last Nauigation out of Hispania noua, the Admirall of the fléete brought great stoare of these into Normandy: the Trée whereon they grow, as he told, is al the stemme ouer full of sharpe prickles lyke the hip trée, and as big as our plum trées, full of boughes growing streight foorth at the top, whereof y ^e fruite groweth like a [Page] Chestnut, wherin are cōtayned fower or fiue nuts, blackishe, somewhat long, round, and lyke filbeards. These, whē the prickly huske gapeth with ripenes, many times fall downe alone. But be­cause no man shal thinke that I father some glorious lye in sight of the world, vpon these rare Merchaundize, which are brought out of India, the stéede and vertues of this Nut maye bee supplied by fine kernels or séedes of the hearbe called Palma Christi, or commonly Ri­cinum, for they purge the bellye, and there withal prouoke vomite, peraduē ­ture as well as Matthiolus his Anti­monie doth. But good héede must be ta­kē, least being delighted with y ^e swéet­nesse of the meate, there be too many eaten of them, for then they wyll cause a superpurgation: the profe whereof I found of late in a certaine noble man, who, I being not priuie thereof, deuou­red fiftéene kernels, and with sieging & vomitting had almost purged out his life. I my selfe a fewe yéeres since bée­ing in England, ministred twoo ounces of the hearb Erisinum, with the waters [Page] of Buglosse, Scabious, & Carduus be­nedictus to prouoke vomit, with so good successe, that at one time the pacientes vomited, and draue out their sores. Some geue the distylled water of wild Sorrell, mingled with vineger, and a lytle Uitrioll, to prouoke vomit. Take Bolearmoniack prepared, Cinamom, of eche a dram & an halfe, the roote of Dittamnie, Tormentill, Pimpernell, Gentian, of eche twoo drams, the séeds of the Citron, and of Sorrell, of eche a dram & an halfe, of al kindes of Saun­ders, Zedoarie, Angelica, Scordium, shauinges of Iuorie, of eche one dram, & of the horne of a young heart, shaued neare vnto y ^e head, halfe a dram, make thereof a pouder with thrise so muche Sugar. The quantitye to be ministred is one dram, or fower scruples in y ^e wa­ter of Buglosse, Scabious, or in the si­rupe of Limons. Aboue fiftéene yéere agoe, I knewe a Surgeon at the Citie of Roan, an old man, who was found & maintayned by the common charge of the Citie, to the intēt he should goe vn­to all the Citizens y ^• were sicke in time [Page] of Pestilēce: He vsed at the first assault of the sicknesse to let them blood, as I wyl afterward declare, and afterward he gaue them prepared Calcanthum, as he termed it, to prouoke them to vo­mite, with good successe. The same also vsed Antimonic, before that Matthio­lus had set forth his commentaries vpō Dioscorides, and this is the maner of preparing the Calcanthum: Take vi­triol romane aud drie it very diligent­ly, then dissolue it in water, & clense the water cléerely from the residence, then Euaporate this cleered water awaye, & you shall haue your vitrioll in the bot­tome like salt, which you may vse with conserue of roses, of the flowers of rose­marye, or Borage water, twoo scruples or one dram of y ^• salt at a time: touching this matter, séeke more in Guainerius Fumanellus, and Amatus Lusitanus. In smaller diseases, I haue cōmonly vsed to geue a vomit of the séede of Arrage, Radish, Walwort, Broome, & the roote of Assarabacca, & the diligent Readers maye seeke for the lyke receites in the bookes of practicioners, alwayes re­membring [Page] this, that in this diseasey, as strongest must bée vsed, that the humorie may not be stirred only, but expelled al­so. And when the pacient hath made an ende of vomiting, he must be comforted with such things as nourish much & spe­dely, as is the water of fleshe, whose di­scription foloweth: Cut a Pertridge, ca­pon, or any other kind of flesh into thin & broad slices, & seeth thē ouer the fire with the pouder of Diamargariton frigidum, conserue of Marygold flowers, buglosse, & of rosemary flowers, vntyll they be re­solued into lycour, this water shall you dreane from the groundes, & geue it the pacient to drinke. To the same purpose maye be made strengthning broathes, & suppinges of fleshe, pouned and wrong in a presse, called collyces, and such lyke: then afterwarde to amende the harme whiche the stomacke hath taken by the recourse of euyll humours vnto it, it were verye wholsome to minister some of the substaunce of a Quince, with a little of a Citron condite, that by dili­gence wee maye restore as much as the vomite hath weakened.

The. 12. Chap.

THey which haue no lyking to vomit at y ^e beginning of y ^e sicknes, or whē they haue done vomiting, let them, if it be possible, sweat abundantly. For those medicines which prouoke sweate do not only helpe to the driuing forth of botches, but also expell the verye séede & ground of the pestilent putrifaction with the thinnest part of the blood through the smal passages of the skin. The profe her­of is cléere, if we take a president from y ^e cure of the French pocks: for as no man wyl graūt that they be perfectly healed, vnles the sores be cured by bringing thē vnto suppuratiō by sundry & often times sweating, or by any other means wher­by the poisoned humour which possessed the principall part be drawen forth: so likewise neyther can the pestilēt disease or plague be remedied, vnlesse y ^e néerest & chéefest cause, together with the bumor whereon it feedeth, are by nature voided into y ^e proper issue, or some other conue­nient place. Now therefore must we doo our best in describing the most fit & soue­raine medicines to prouoke sweat. And among the residue that are deuised by the [Page] expert in the secretes of Philosophy, as principall are commended the salt made of wormwood, & of Scabious, being such as being ministred in very litle quātity, do not onely prouoke sweat verye abun­dantlye: but also withstand this sicknes mightely. And no maruaile, since Hip­pocrates said, that salt cureth the iaūdice: For salt by cutting & making thin, dis­chargeth the stopping of y ^e intrailes, & by y ^e vertue which it hath to drie, it resisteth putrifactiō, which many times is ioyned with the iaundice and the pestilence. If these properties be common to the salt which we eate with our meate, much more is it peculiar vnto this kinde of salt whereof I now speake, which hath in it a firy quality of y ^• thing, out of which it is drawne. The making of y ^e salt is after Raymun. Lul in Clauicula. this maner. Take wormwood romane, & scabious, & burne them to ashes, & poure cōmon fayre water vnto thē, & boyle thē halfe an hower & more, then straine the water, & put freshe vnto the ashes, and boile it as before, which you shall doo so oftē vntil in boiling y ^e water chaūge nei­ther tast, nor colour Thē clēse these wa­ters which you haue kept, either through [Page] a cloth, or by dreaning, and cause it to bée euaporated away by a soft fire, and you shal haue the salt in the bottom & sides of y ^e vessell, whereof you shal geue x. grains in white wine, delaied with the water of Buglosse, conserue of roses, or the water of Citrons before discribed. With this Medicine onely many were saued of the plague, in the yéere of our Lord. 1567. at what time it raigned ouer all England & Germani. You may also after the same maner, and to the same purpose, draw a salt out of Angelica, Zedoarie, Guaicū, & such like: But thys much I aduertise the Readers, y ^e vnto sweating medicines they put some thing that may helpe the part affected by natural inclination, as if the gréefe be in the Liuer, geue the salt in the decoction of such hearbs as experiēce hath taught do comfort the Liuer, & the lyke discrecion is to be vsed in the other partes. Ierome of Flaūders a Surgeon, when he was once heartned by y ^e plague that was at London, began boldly to goe visite first his friendes, & afterward the common people of the Englishmen that were sick, to the imitacion of them who hauing once escaped the daunger of the [Page] Sea & warre, goe vnto the same againe with better courage, hoping y ^e hey may escape harder perils, as saufe they did before. And this was a cause to make them lesse dispaire of recouerie. He gaue them ten or twelue graines of salt made of the Ashe trée, which he had of a friend, which he ministred vnto them in the cō ­serue of Borage, Rosemary flowers, Ro­ses, or in y ^e water of Carduus benedictus, or Scabious, & immediatly their bodies ran all on a sweat, & the sick were recu­red, eyther the mallice of the disease be­ing ouercome or dryuen forth into some voiding place, as he faithfully reported y ^e same vnto mée, and other his friendes.

These thinges haue I not gathered out of the most vaine trifles of Paracelsus, as Andernacus a man verye well learned, & Adamus a Bodestein can wel remember, but rather out of Geber, & Raymundus Lullius. For Geber sayth, that of euery In Claus [...] la. thing may be made Lime, of Lime salt, of salt, water, or oyle. And indeede if you dissolue this salt in Aqua vitae, & let it pu­trifye fiue or sixe dayes in Balneo, or Dungue: & afterward distyll it, you shal haue an oyle, whereof thrée drops being [Page] mi [...] some conuenient lycour, prouo [...]eat plentifully, as I haue of­tentim [...]perimented in curing of the Qua [...] Ague, by the oyles drawen foorth [...] salts of Germāder, Ceterac, Polipo [...], or of the Ashe trée. But they that haue no leisure to prepare their salt, let them vse the medicines following: Take Triacle thrée ounces, conserue of Buglosse, & of the flowers of Rosemary, of eche one ounce, Scabious, Diuels bit, Pimpernell, of eche halfe an hādful, Gē ­tian, Angelica, Zedoarie, Cinamom, of ech twoo drams, flowers of Chamomil, & Peneriall, of eche twoo gripes, the séedes of Caduus benedictus, a dram & an halfe, beate the rootes & leaues into pouder, & with equal quātity of the water of Car­duus benedictus & white wine, distyl thē in Balneo or ashes, and giue thrée ounces thereof at a time, Or boyle Milium in common fayre water, vntyll it yeeld no more skum, then take of this decoction thre ounces, of good white wine an ounce & an halfe, mingle them togeather, & let the pacient drinke it warme, & it prouo­keth sweat abundantlye. This kinde of remedie also we vse in Feuers, distilla­cions, [Page] and other infirmities w [...]ein we think it conuenient to prouoke [...]weat: o­thersom prouoke sweat with [...]or seauē drops of the oyle of vitrioll, & [...] with the oyle of Anise séede. But the most su­rest remedy is prepared of the decoctiō of Guaicū, the rootes called Chynae, & Zarsa parilla, adding thereto the sirupe called Acetositatis citri, & the Theriacal water, with such like. I know a surgeō at And­warp, who to prouok sweat, vsed to wrap his paciēts in a shéete moistned with the decoctiō of Guaicum, the roote of Tormē ­till, Walwort, and the herbe Bardana, wherein al he dissolued Sublimatum. O­thers vse to make a Suffumigation or smoake of Cinabar, Frankēsense & such like, which we vse ordinarely in curing the Frenche pockes: but the vse of our Mercurie water is more effectual, wher­with we vse to bathe al the ioynts of the body, to prouoke sweat in the Plague, & in the French pocks, of which medicines we wyl dispute more at large in another place. And some againe make a Suffu­migaciō of Frankensence, Cinabar, An­timonie, Cloues, and such lyke, which through tynnen funnels and pipes, they [Page] [...]he sicke mans bed, to cause him [...]ut prouided alwaies, that the [...]ot the head.

[...]e. 13. Chap.

N [...]me vnto y ^• which I propo­sed [...]he third & last place, wherin it is conuenient to set downe the particular cure of the Pestilēce. Where­fore, assoone as thou cūmest to one whom y ^u suspectest to be sick of the plague, geue him a dram of the Electuarie following: Take Angelica, Zedoary, Tormentill, Gentian, of eche an ounce, the séedes of Carduus benedictus, of Citrons, of eche two drams, beate thē into pouder, & boile them ouer a soft fire the space of twoo or thrée howers, then straine them & wring them hard, and boyle the strained lycour with Sugar, vnto the consistence of an Opiate, or make it into an Electuarie. In the stede of this compositiō, take twoo drams of the Opiate before described, with the dystilled water of Citrons: and in the meane while, search diligently in what part of the bodye the infection lur­keth, which you may easily perceyue by the agréemēt & concurse of signes, wher­of we haue intreated before. Wherfore, [Page] if the infection be in the Liuer [...]paine, and pricking, and sti [...] be grine: immediatly let the pa [...] in the ancle veines, but if the b [...] not foorth in sufficient quantitye or [...]e for some other consideration it be not good to open those veines, thē were it good to set cupping glasses vnto y ^e place with scari­fication, and before, or immediatly after opening y ^• veine, to mooue the belly with a suppositour made of Honie, or y ^e com­mon Glyster, & afterward set cupping glasses to the grine where it beginneth to swel, & foure fingers breadth beneath the place affected, applye the leaues of Elleborus niger, which Plinie calleth Cō ­siligo, layd too playsterwise. And to draw the corruption foorth vnto the voyding place, the roote and leaues of Yarrowe, stāped with common salt, & layd too after y ^e same maner, is very good to breake the botch, as the same varlets of whom we made mencion before, declared at theyr death, as Maister Laigle, the flower of our Citie, a very wel learned Phisition, & a mā of good credite, affirmed vnto mée. For being demaunded by the gouernour how they saued thē whome they had in­fected [Page] [...]heyr wyll? they aunswe­ [...]s medicine only they vsed [...]e poisō which possessed y ^e [...]es, & so they saued them [...]ould not haue to perishe. The [...]hale of y ^e walnut with salt, hath the same effect, as also Brionie, the black vine, & the inner rinde of Viburnū. While the Surgeon is busie about these maters, let him vse also the ointments a­fore described for the Liuer & the heart, or let him anoint the region of the heart with oyle made of y ^e kernels or y ^e flouers of Peaches, or of rosemary, or S. Johns wort. Or beat dried roses into very fine pouder, & boyle it in rosewater an houre & an half, or sumwhat more, thē strain it hard, y ^e the finest part of y ^e pouder which is dissolued by boyli, may passe through the lynnen strayner. Then when it is strained, boyle it againe ouer a soft fire, vntyl it come to the consistence of hony, or an oyntment, & therewith anoynt the region of the heart. This is the maner to draw the earth (as they terme it) out of simples, as I my selfe at other tymes haue drawne the like out of wormwood, Gaules, Pomegranate floures, & such [Page] lyke, against harde milte [...] bleeding of the Hemerodes, [...] long & stubborne diseases [...] & vnto the roses may be a [...] of Citrons, of Orenges, a [...]rs of Gentian, especiallye in Burgondie, which is a place y ^t nourisheth most rare and precious simples. I vse to put vnto this oyntment while it is boyling a fewe drops of the iuce of Limons, y ^t by reason of the more liuely heat, and pleasantnes of the tast, it may be the more acceptable vnto the sicke person. If there appeare any swelling in the necke, or about the eares, or any other signes declare the in­fection to bée in the Braine, the forehead veine must be opened, or else the small veines in the Nose, with Milfoile thrust into the nostrels, or with some other pricking thing. The learned and expert Surgeons do open the outward veine of the throate, with no feare or daunger of to much confluxe of blood, as I my selfe haue also experimēted in the continuing headach. The later practicioners let blood in a small quantitie out of Cephalica, o­thersome open the veines y ^t are vnder the tongue, bicause, as the diuine Hippo­crates [Page] [...]ten, it is most requisit to [...]lace vnto the pain. And [...] very good reason, that it [...] to apply cupping glas­ [...]ation vpō the neck, back, [...] and armes, and beneath the place affected must the things be applied which I described erewhile. When the swelling riseth vnder the arme, open the veine Basilica on the same side, where y ^e swelling appeareth. And if it ryse vnder both armes, opē the Basilica in the right arme, then make a little cut in the inner side of the hand on the same side, right a­gainst the little finger, and then lay vnto the cut Scordium, or Sauce alone in the steede thereof, to drawe forth the Uenim at the peculiar voyding place: this medi­cen I learned of D. Pelleterius Bishop of Monpelier when he was at Paris, fiftene or twēty yéere a goe. D. Hollerius a Phi­sition of Paris, who sumtime was my mayster, vsed to apply liue Oysters to the same purpose. Now when the botch i [...] swolne somwhat bigge, then lay ther­to an Oynion rosted in the embers with garlick, and barrowes greace, or butter: Or make an Oynion hollow, and fill vp [Page] the hole with olde Triacle [...] vp, and rost it in the embe [...] Malowes, violets, cammo [...] and the fresh flowers of [...] they be well boyled, pow [...] and straine thē through an hairen strai­ner, then put therto the oyle of S. Johns woort, or of Camomill, and make therof a plaister. The last yéere all the Surge­ons in England applied plasters whiche they made of Crabbes before they were ripe: othersome cut a Pomegranate in­to smale pieces, and boyle it in vineger, and powne it, and spread it vpon a linen cloath, & laye it too, not to repell the large recourse of the noisome humour, as some doo write, but to drawe rather: for it is straunge to sée howe by the laying too of this, the sore wyll sodainly swell, & waxe byg, but the playster must touch y ^e whole places about the sore also, y ^• from thence it may draw moysture into the swelling kernell. Whatsoeuer else belongeth to the cure of y ^e pestilēt [...]ote [...], the Readers maye gather it out of Hollerius booke of the Pestilent feuer, out of Ambrosius Par [...]us, and others that haue written more copiouslye of this argument.

[depiction of furnace]

THis is the forme aud representa­cion The forme [...]f the For­ace. of the Fornace, with his ves­sell, which notwithstanding, I thought good to place apart, whereby their seueral figures might be the better perceiued. The vessell with the thrée [Page] neckes must so be plac [...]nace, that y ^e twoo necke [...] one direaly against an [...] maye passe through th [...] fornace made on eythe [...] the twoo endes maye come [...] the fornace, and the thyrd sticke [...]rectly vpryght. Nowe when after this maner the vessell is placed within the fornace, and couered with Bricks or Tyles, layd one vpon another, so close that the heate of the fyre passe foorth at no chinke, the doore which you see in the side may serue partlye to put in the fire, and partly also to kindle it, that it goe not out for want of ayre. The nethermost doore is made to auoide the ashes, and at the beginning of the worke you shall make a great fire so long cōtinuing, vntyl the earthen ves­sell be all red hote, which for the most part wyil bée in halfe an howre, or an howre at the most.

Then take one dram of crude Antimo­nie and cast it into the vessell at the neck which sticketh vpright, and then couer it immediatlye with a stople of earth, or glasse, and forthwith the Antimonie wyl ryse vp too the twoo neckes which are at [Page] [...]e fornace, which in the top [...]hite, & beneath somwhat [...]stay betwéene casting in [...]me may be the more per­ [...]d. Anon cast in againe as much more crude Antimonie, & do so styl as I haue before declared vntyll you, sée the twoo side necks halfe full of prepared Antimonie. Then withdrawe the fire, and when the vessell is colde, breake it, and gather the Antimonie awaye from the refuse which lyeth in the bottome, whereof there is no vse in Phisicke. And kéepe the red Antimonie vnto your vse, whereof I haue intreated in the. [...]. Cha. And reserue the whyte vnto other pur­poses, especiallye against the impedi­mentes of the eyes, and other most grée­uous diseases of the bodye, of which thing (God wylling) I meane here­after in some other place to discourse more at large.