gross phlegmatick Body of the Grass is sufficiently digested or exhaled by the virtue and power of the Sun and Elements if the Hay be afterwards continued open abroad the Sun and Air would quickly exhale and destroy the essential Virtues and good Properties also the very same is to be understood in the Preparation of all sorts of Food Furthermore if the Vessel in which your Food is prepared be close covered whilst it is boyling such Food is thereby made yet worse for then those â—â—ery sulphurous Fumes and Vapours which are raised by the Fire and would freely pass away as you see in a mighty continual Reek or Steem if the Vessel were uncovered are stopt and forced back into the Meat and being of a fiery sharp Nature and full of gross Humidity by this Reprâ—cussion or Conâ—inement they become gradually more intense and raging because of the want of the free Influence of the Air and so sinking down again upon the Meat do wound the pure volatile Spirits and not only destroy the natural Colour Smell and Taste but also make the Food Lumpish close heavy dull and gross on the Palate hard of Digestion in the Stomach generating thick Blood and unwholsom Nourishment from whence proceed dull Indispositions and noxious Fumes flying up into the Head For all Cooks and Hâ—usewives ought to note and understand that the digestive Faculty and true Virtue of all Food does consist in the pure spirituous parts and if any violence be offered or done unto them in the Preparation â—hen such Food becomes dull and as it were half dead of Taste for the Fumes or Vapours which Pots and Vessel surrounded with the heat of the Fire do send forth are of a poysonous pernicious Nature and contrary to the genuine heat of the Food as you may perceive if you take up any sort of Food when boyled and presently whilst it is hot cover it close which will force those fiery sharp Fumes back and cause them to re-enter the Food which will thereby presently become Pall'd and lose its natural briskness of Taste Smell and Colour because the pure Spirits are suffocated and so such Foods will not only be heavy and have a dull gross Taste and Smell but shall be unpleasing both to the Pallate and Stomach and harder of Concoction Therefore nothing is more unnatural than for People to eat or drink any kind of Food whilst those fiery Steams and Fumes are in it especially such as are weakly Consumptive People for they Swell the Body and generate Wind in abundance send Fumes and Vapours into the Heâ—d infect the â—hole Mass of Blood with hot sharp Itching Scorbutick Humors And indeed no sort of Food or Liquors ought to be eaten or drank hotter than the Blood in cold Weather but in hot Seasons most sorts are best cold which a little use will make very easie and familiar to every one let their Stomachs be never so much depraved by Custom as I have more at large demonstrated in my Way to Health long Life Happiness c. What hath been said of thick strong over-prepared Pottagâ—s and Broths made of Flesh the very same ill effects have all or most Iellies for by their improper Mixtures and over preparing they became loathsome and Nauseates to Nature even as sick as the languishing Patient that takes them And the like also may be understood of Snails and Milk boyled till it becomes of a Iellous substance and then lustily sweetned with Sugar or Sugar of Roses which is ten times worse than common Sugar being burthensom to the sick Patients Pallate and Stomach very heavy and hard of Concoction and therefore the use thereof does generally prove of evil Consequence for undoubtedly if Heaâ—thy People should confine themselves to such tâ—â—ngs they would in a little time bring Disorders upon them and how profitable they can be then to the sick and weak or rather how very destructive they must needs prove may easily be judged But here some will say Many have been known to recover by or after the eating and drinking of such things To which I Answer That it can never be proved but is absurd to Reason that they recover'd By such things but that some may have recovered After them may be true for tho' I know them to be improper and dangerous yet I do not say they are Mortal to all that take them and if an hundred People be at one time sick of the same Disease if they had neither Dâ—ctor's Advice nor Physick there would no doubt many of them recover but amongst the Ignorant when any one happens to escape they attribute the Glory to the Doctor and his Iâ—â—scriptions never considering the Divine Hand of the Lord nor the secret working Power of his Hand maid â—atuâ—e but cry with open Mouth Such or such a Doctor cured me or eâ—se I had been iâ— my 〈◊〉 Or such a Pottage or â—ehy is a rarâ— thiâ—g it cured me when all hopes of Life were past when in truth neither the Doctor 's Prattle nor the Nauseous Slip-slop contributed any more to the Cure than the Chattering of a Magpye or the Roe of a Red Herring But if the People will be cheated let â—â—em only give me leave to whisper a litter better Advice to the Sons and Daughters of Wisdom who will be so thankful to Truth so obedient to Reason and so kind to Themsâ—lves as to hearken unto it And that is thus When any Person shall find him or her self indisposed their Stomacks to grow weak with a general Disorder through the whole Body and a decay of Strength then first of all they ought to look back and consider what manner or course of Life they have drove as to Temperâ—nce or Intâ—mpeâ—ance in Meats or Drinks and that both in respect of the Quantity and Qualiâ—y as also their Exâ—rcises and all other Extreams they have inured themselves unto which none can so well know or be able to judge of as themselves and likewise â—o consider the Air he hath lived in where the Disease was bred And by this Reflection if it be impartial serious and considerate every man will be enabled to guess much more rightly at the Cause and Nature of his Distemper than any Docter can by the supposed Magick of the Vrinal Thumbing the uncertain Pulse or any other of their Whimsical Oracles Having well considered the past Causes that gave Birth to his present Distemperature he ought then gradually to Altâ—r for the better the whole course of his Life not only in the Nature and Quality of Meats and Drinks but in their Quantity as also his Exercises and the Air as far as the condition of his Life will admit thereof For if the same Intemperances bad Airs and ill regulated Exercises which were the first original of the Disease or rather Worse as most do make it by such strong and fulsom Preparations and contrary Mixtures under the Notion of Helps and Remedies as aforesaid be continued
the Gout and other Obstructions and Diseases in the Body which simâ—le innocent Foods will prevent if Temperance be at any â—ate observed but if Sugaâ— be now and then a little used in Milk-Meats and Pottages for old People it will prove grateful and benefical for of all sorts of People sweetned Foods are best for the aged and are least hurtful to them Touching Sugar-Candy and Pan-Sugar I shall first discribe to you how it is made and then shall the more easily make it appear how improperly it is used commonly amongst us Sugar-Candy is made thus First it is boyled as high as other Sugars then they take this Syrup out of the Pans and put it into an earthen Pot and set it in an hot Stove there to stand eight or ten days in which time the fierceness of the sulpherous heat does Candy or coagulate it into an hard tough substance and then you take it out from the Syrup and put this Candy or the hard lumps into the Stove again but made two or three degrees hotter where it must remain ten or twelve days longer and then it is done There are two sorts of it White and Brown but they are both of one Nature and Operation and the chief use that is made of either besides spoiling of Childrens Teeth is to several sorts of People as a Medicine when they are troubled with Coughs Colds and inward Stoppages of the Breast Now Sugar-Candy as to its Nature and Operation is the same in the Radix as Sugar from whence it is produced only it is nothing so good nor of so cleansing and opening a Quality as Common-Sugar though the contrary is generally believed but any Man that wears Eyes in his Head may from the before cited method of its preparation easily perceive my Opinion to be true for by that tedious unnatural preparation and being made stronger of the Lime that thereby it may more easily harden and coagulate This Candid Sugar must needs become of an hotter Nature and tougher Substance than the common Sugar and consequently not so wholsom especially for those People that are troubled with Colds or Stoppages for being by that way of preparing dryed hardened and brought into an hard glewy tough Substance of a slimy ropy Nature when it comes to dissolve it naturally heats and stops the Passages instead of opening them causing Drought c. there being nothing more contrary and burdensom to Nature in such cases than this very thing which is given almost as an universal Medicine to both Young and Old and therefore ought by all wise People to be abandon'd for all things in which the Sweet Quality is extream in which respect Sugar is chief do dull the Palate clog and obstruct the Stomaeh stop the Passages destroy Concoction spoil the natural Heat making it weak and feeble heats the Blood and renders it thick whence proceed dull and impure Spirits Therefore all such things ought to be avoided by â—ound and healthy People but much more by such as are already obstructed except they intend to encrease their Maladies which is often done by such improper means it being a custom too general when any such Disorder is on People to make most of their Foods and Drinks sweet that forsooth they may Rot away the Cold as they call it never considering the evil Consequences of such things which are as far from any Property to help such Infirmities as I 〈◊〉 is from Darkness and only 〈◊〉 Blindness and â—olly have been and are the original of all such Customs and Inventions for in truth such as find themselves invaded with such Distempers the best Food is thin brisk Gruds and Pottages made in the manner we have taught before in the Chapter of Gruâ—ls c. also good Raw Salads with Bread and Oyl but Oyl sparingly likewise Bread and Butter and all sorts of lean Food that are light of Digestion And for Drinks Toast and Water Water and Rhenish Wine or Water and White-Wine two parts Water and one Wine or clear small Ale with moderate Clothing and Exercise in open airy places which will gradually cleanse the Passages open all Obstructions and sâ—on remove those Evils It is further to be noted That all sorts of sweet Fruits as Raisins Figgs and the like being frequently eaten by such People as are subject to Stoppages and Colds does encrease those Distempers by heating the Blood and weakning the digestive faculty and natural Heat and generating evil Iuices except such Fruits are eaten sparingly and with Bread which with such Fruits is to be preferred before any other things mixt or eaten with them whatsoever Likewise there are various sorts of Drinks made by boiling Fruits in Beer Ale Wine and the like with various sorts of Herbs Roots Seeds and Druggs of disagreeing Natures and stoutly sweetned with Sugar or Honey such Liquors for the most part prove of very evil consequence to Health For no sweet Fruits ought to be boyled neither for Food nor Physick for boyling does naturally evaporate and destroy the pleasing friendly opening Qualites and sends packing the purer Spirits as appears both by the Fruits after they are so boyled and also the Liquor that they are boyled in and the nauseous unpleasing Taste which remains in both which is the Reason that all that use this way of Preparation are forced to sweeten such Drinks with Sugar or Honey or else they will not be drinkable but if you take any of the before-mentioned Fruits raw and bruise or stone them and then infuse them in any of the said Liquors especially in common Water it will become sweet and pleasant and far more opening and cleansing and every way wholsomer The same advantage you have when you infuse Herbs properly gathered dryed and preserved and also Seeds Drugs and Roots and all such Drinks will have a pleasant Taste and be welcome to the Stomach but if the same be boyled it will be altogether the contrary as having lost their essential Vertues by the Violence of Fire for the pure volatile Spirits in all sweet lucious Fruits are not only very powerful but stand as it were external and on the surface and therefore will not endure the fierce motion of the Fire as Flesh and several sorts of Martial and Saturnine Fruits Grains and Seeds will for in them the pure sweet vertues and spirits are as it were lockt up under the harsh Forms and earthly Properties of the Original Poysons and therefore cannot be brought out to manifestation but only by the heat of the external â—ire These things ought to be consider'd and understood in all Preparations both in Food and Physick or else there will be but sorry Diet and worse Medicines As for Coughs Colds and Stopâ—ages for which People commonly use Sugar-Candy and Pan-Sugar the same are generally procured by Ill-living and Intemperance in Meaâ—s Drinks Exercises and Habits and also by eating and drinking too much in quantity and things of a contrary quality or improperly
for its natural Vertues are burnt up and totally destroyed in the preparation It s loveâ—y White and Yellow Câ—lour which proceed from Venus and Sol are turned into a Saturnine Blaâ—k and its sweet Spirituous Taste into a nausâ—ous fuâ—soâ—e Bitter with a smâ—ll unpleasant And therefore the Drinkers thereof are forced to drink it very hot to hide the ungrateful Taste whereas Heat destroys the pleasant Taste of proper and Natural Drinks And for this reason Coffee is dull on the Palate and Stomach very apt to obstâ—uct the â—assages and â—inder Digestiâ—n and ought not to be drunk but in the way of Medicine for there is as much and more reason for any Person to burn Wood Herbs or â—rains to Ashes and then take those Ashes and infuse them in hot Water and when 't is settled or clear to drink it â—or such sorts of â—rinks are â—ediciâ—es proper for several Diseases but by no means to be drank as common Drinks In a word Coffee is the Drunkards Settle-brain the â—oolâ— Pâ—ss-Time who admireâ— it for being the Production of Asia and is ravisht with delight when he hears the Berries grow in the Desarts of Arabia but would not give a farthing for an Hogshead of it if it were to be had on Hampstead-Heath or Banstead-Downs 't is the Sawce for News the Busie-mans Recreation and the Idle mans Business The Lazy Prattlers colourable pretence to spend his Money and more pretious Minutes vainly and whilst he is censuring his Superiors and New-vampâ—ing the Government his Wife wants Shoes and his Children cry for Bread But since the Indiscretion of the Age has rendred Sipping and Tippling almost necessary to Bargains and Business and that men especially in Cities and great Towns many times cannot so conveniently transact their Negotiations nor discourse their private Affairs as in such places where there is Liquor sold a Dish of Coffee now and then to be drank by an healthy Person will not hurt him nor make any variation the quantity is so small but drinking of it frequently and smoking Tobacco therewith is injurious to Health yet strong sound Bodies may drink or eat improper things for continual custom will thereby render them less hurtful especially if they be but small quantities at a time However the best and surest way for every one is to let such Forreign Curiosities alone and to take such Meats and Drinks only as are proper in Quality and therewith not to over-charge Nature in Quantity CHAP. XXVII Of Tea its Nature and Operation TEA is another Forregn Drink the use whereof hath not been long known in Englaâ—d the best that can be said of it is That 't is a pretty innocent harmless Liquor it hath an opening Quality and purgeth by Vriâ—e but not so much as many of our own Counâ—ry-Herbâ— and its great esteem is not from the more than ordinary Vertues that it is endued withal but chiefly for Novelty-sake and because 't is Oâ—tlandâ—sh and dear and far-fetcht and therefore admired by the Multitude of ignorant People who always have the greatest esteem for those things they know not The truth is our Herb called Dandelion that is in English Lyons Tooth because of the similitude of its Leaf being gathered according to our Directions in The Way to Health c. and infused in boyling hot Water about half an hour and then the Liquor poured from the Herbs and sweetned with fine White Sugar is a far better Drink than Tea though the latter costs sixteen or twenty Shillings a Pound whereas the former may plentifully be had by most people for gathering and is of far more use and vertue for it cleanseth the Stomach and powerfully purg th by Vrine its natural Taste is a moderate Bitter which being allay'd by Sugar becomes as grateful if not more than the best Tea There are several other of our common Herbs that will perform the like which I shall not trouble the Reader with in this place only this I must tell you that Sage Penâ—y-Royal Mint Mother of Thime and Garden Thâ—me being gathered and dryed in their proper Seasons and preserv'd in Baggs will make more suitable Drinks for our Constitutions and answer the end of Nature's wants to a greater advantage than Tea CHAP. XXIII Of Herbs and Sillads both boyled and Raw. THere are various sâ—rts of Herbs and fragrant 〈◊〉 that are endued with most excellent Vertues many of which are so ravishing and sublime that with the favour of a Metaphor they may be called The good Food of Angels and therefore they were the only Food for Man in the beginning when he remained in his Angelical state for till he defaced the Image of God wherein he was created every green Herb and Seed was his Meat and should have been to this day if he had continued in that heavenly Condition he was created in and to but so soon as he suffered his Desires to wander after Vanity then immediately the original Wrath got mastery and the divine Moderator became weak and impotent whence arose that desire after Blood and Flâ—sh in which that outward Life stands and has birth from that strong might of Wrath for the original of all Life stands in Poyson therefore when Man entâ—ed into the Wrathful Nature and unâ—qual â—peration of the original Forms which does cause such greedy Inclinations not only to eat Flâ—sh aâ—d 〈◊〉 but also to Fighting Killing and Oppâ—â—ssâ—oâ—s both of those of his own kind and all the inferior Graduates for according to what Principle and Quality doth carry the upper dominion in man's heart whether Love or Angâ—r such Food Drinks Exercises and all other things he desiers Nature being always best gratified with that which has the nearest affinity to its self whence it appears that mens coveting Flesh and Blood is a true sign and testimony of their miserable Fall and that they live under the power of the dark fierce Wrath. But I have discoursed more of this in my general Treatise entituled The Way to Health long Life and Happiness As also I have there shewed at large the excellency of Herbs Grains and Seeds for Food whereunto I refer the Reader and shall here only tell you in particular how to make the best and wholsomest Salads which if practised may much conduce towards the Praservation of your Bodies in Health 1. Take Spinnage Parsâ—ey Sorrel Lettice and a few Onions then add Oyl Viâ—gar and Salt a good quantity of each to make it of an high Taste and Relish but let the Salt a little predominate or exceed both the other Ingredients and eat nothing with it but Bread which is sufficient and will be much more grateful to the alate than if you eat Bread and Buâ—ter or Breaâ— and Cheese or Bread and Meat though all those things may be admitted when you season your Sallad only with Salt and Vinegar but it is not proper to eat Butter Cheese or Flesh with such things or Sallads wherein Oyl is mixed there being
ferment separative and digestive Faculties of the Stomach than any of the sharp Juices last mentioned for in this Milk as is said before there is a real ferment and separative Quality arises and proceeds out of its own body and from the Animal Spirits therein contain'd which hath much agreement with the Stomach and above half the Work is done to Natures hand And before People do envigh against this innocent simple Food they should consider that the Stomach and natural Heat cannot make any separation or digestion of any Food before there is a sowring or fermentation This is most manifest in all Chymical Operations and Preparations the spirituous parts will not separate from the gross body until such Menstrums are fermented and become somewhat keen or sower but then it must not be too keen or sharp for the the Spirit will suffer and receive hurt the same in some degree is to be observed in all sowred Food it most not be too keen or sharp for then it will heat the Blood and irritate the original or sleeping Poysons in the Body but when this Sower Quality is moderate in any thing or properly mixed it s a gleam of the life and the true delight of the Spirit it opposeth the fierceness of the Biâ—ter and Aâ—â—ringent Properties and quickens and enlivens the Sweet and is the quickning Power in every thing all things are heavy dull and flat when this Quality is impotent CHAP. III. Of Water-Gruel ANother thing very proper for weak Consumptive Natures is Water-Gruel and that is best which is made after this manner viz. Take a quart of River or Spring-Water add to it one spoonful and an half of good Oatmeal newly made or grown'd being stirred well together set it on a clear Fire when it is rising or just ready to boyl take it off and brew it out of one thing into another and so back again as you do Butter'd Ale then set it on the fire again till it be ready to boyl but before it do so take it off and let it stand a while in the Swacepan that the course Husks of the Oatmeal may sink to the bottom and then putting it out add Bread and Salt or if you please Bread Salt and Butter stirring it about well until your Butter be melted that it may not turn to Oyl and then let it stand without any further stirring till it be but Blood-warm for much stirring or motion to cool it does oft-times offer some violence to the pure Spirits for all Gruels Pottages and Milk-Mâ—ats if they are let stand after they are prepared and put into the Dish or Platter do naturally as it were skin over which does retain and keep in the pure Bâ—lsamick Vâ—rtues but will not confine the fierce furious Fires of Saturn and Mars which being Aliens to the good Vertues of such Food will not continue in it any longer than forced by the continual heat of the Fire wherefore of their own accord they hastily fly away Besides it is to be noted that continual Motion in all Liquid Bodies destroys and causes to evaporate the essential Spirits and good Vertues thereof An Example of this we have in that Milk Women carry about two or three Miles in their Pails shaking and measuring of it out by degrees causing thereby as it were a continual Motion which makes the Volatile Spirits to evaporate and then presently the sweet Body and oyly Quality is thereby wounded and the Milk becomes thin and Wheyish and it will not afford half the quantity of Cream as Milk will do that is set to cream as soon as 't is milk't for that skinny substance that all Milk covers it self with does keep in the pure essential Spirits whereby the sweet Oyly Body is preserved in its full Vertue and Strength for the Volatile Spirit is the true Life of the Balsamick Bâ—dy and the Oyly Body or sweet Quality in all things is the House or Habitation of the Volatile Spirits therefore if one be destroy'd the other cannot subsist but immediately dyeth Likewise all violent Heat and Cold doth the same for which cause in cold frosty Weather the like quantity of Cream will noâ— make above two thirds of the Butter as it will do in warm moderate Seasons and it will be much longer 〈◊〉 coming The like in some degree is to be understood when the Season is extream hot for hot weather too vâ—olently evaporates the volatile Spirits and causes the sweet Body to sower as the cold condenses the spirituous parts whereby they become less volatile which hinders separation so that the oyly fat Quality in the Milk cannot rise to the top in such quantity as in warm moderate Seasons For this cause all Dairy-Women ought to have such Milk-Houses as are Warm in the Winter and Cold in the Summer for in cold Weather most Women are forced to let their Milk stand a long time viz. several days or else they will have a very small quantity of Cream which long standing of Milk to get the more Cream does awaken the original Fires viz. the astringent and bitter Qualities for which reason most of the Butter made in the Winter has a kind of sower bitter Taste which does not proceed from the Hay or Grass as some suppose but from the long standing of the Milk as aforesaid For Butter made in Winter if the Milk stand no longer than in Summer will be very good and sweet And if the Hay had any such nature to cause a sower bitter Taste how comes it to pase that the Flesh of all Beasts fatted in the Stall in the Winter with Hay is not only more firm but also far sweeter and fuller of brisk lively Spirits than in Summer and therefore will take Salt much better and afford a firmer Nourishment and also continue sound and good much longer Note also That Boyl'd Milk is nothing so good as either raw or scalded for the boyling it does not only fix it and thereby render it more stopping and harder of Concoction but also the violent Motion of boyling does as it were totally destroy the volatile spirit so that if boyled never so little it will not afterwards afford any Cream but only a thin skin for the volatile Spirit is so pure and subtle that it will not endure any harsh or violent Motion and so soon as that delicate Spirit is wounded the sweet Quality of faâ— Oyl loosing its Power and Vertue passeth away in an invisible vapour orâ—fume â—nsensible to the Preparers and this is the true cause why boyled Milk will not cream whereas if you take Milk and scald it but it must be done to a point not too hot and then take it off the Fire and let it stand in the same Vessel and there will arise a brave thick clouted Cream which way many use in the West parts of England and therewith make very good Butter but if you let your Milk be too hot it will not cream to such advantage
in the Sweet Body therefore ought not to be frequently drank in times of Health its Vertues being too great for common use for that which is extraordinary good in season may prove of ill consequence when used unseasonably for the common use thereof dulls the edge of the Appetite weaknes the natural Heat of the Stomach and spoils the Concoction and for that reason a very little will satisfie those that drink much of this Cordial Liquor besides it replenishes the whole Body with superfluous Humours and evil Juices for all sorts of Wine are Extreams especially Sack and though it eâ—ceed in the best Property of Nature yet the frequent use of such high graduated Drinks may prove as prejudicial to the Health and Strength both of the Body and Spirits as things of meaner Vertuâ—s nay much more harmful for all Extreams or things in which any Property of Nature is too highly advanced ought to be taken very sparingly and as Physick rather than Food 'T is a dangerous Error to imagin as most People do That the sweeter and richer Drinks and Foods are whether simple or compound so much the better or stronger Nourishment they shall â—fford Whereas the clean contrary is true for nothing can maintain the Body and Spirits in good Health and Tranquility but such Meats and Drinks as are simple and nearest the Equality For Drinks wherein the Spirit is predominant if not taken very seldom and sparingly are apt to destroy the action of the Stomach and to incorporate with their similes viz. with the pure natural Spirits and balsamick Vertues in the Body causing them to burn too violently so that an evaporation or suffocation of them follows therefore although whilst such spirituous Drinks are in operation all the Spirits of him that hath drank are in an hot Rage or Tumult and he forgets all Sorrow Modesty and Temperance and by the awakening an unequal Motion of the Spirit skips like a Wild Asses Colt and Sings and Rants and becomes brisk and Jolley and in his own floating Imagination as Great as a KING yet when a little Sleep has quell'd this Tumult and dissolv'd these Fumes you shall find the poor Creature with much fewer Spirits and less Oyl in his vital Lamp than he had before the Merry Carrouze and he is weak and faint and feavâ—rish and goes trembling and looks as dejected as a conquer'd City which shews what Spoil and Waste what Havâ—ck and Desolation the strong spirituous Liquor has made upon his natural Spirits and this is a sure Demonstration which all tâ—ue Topers cannot but subscribe to and confirm from their own wretched Experience Moreover all Rich sweet Wines and Cordial Liquors if frequently drank though not the degree of disturbing the Brain do yet heat the Blood and put it into a kind of disorderly ferment and set the Gate of Venus open and makes Men too Effemenate and Women too Sâ—lacious being not at all agreeable to our Northen Constitutions therefore if healthy People will drink Wine they ought to allay it with Water and then it makes a Drink more equal and more wholesom viz. two thirds Water and one Wine And for such as are weak sick and fainty if they would have stronger Cordials than our own Country affords let them drink some Wine which is the choicest of Cordials and higher graduated in Nature than any other Liquor that can be made by Art but if Men and Women addict themselves in health to guzzle down the Richest Wines daily as many Thousands do now a days what must they have for Cordials in their Sickness for their Bodies being so habituated to Wine that will have no operation to help them Shall they take Brandy and Rectified Spirit of Wine Alas this too they have already made their common Drink and Wine is long since become too cold for their destroy'd Stomachs even when they are in the best Health they are capable of and Bâ—andy Rum and Vsquebath are scarce able to furnish out so much warmth and activity to the natural Heat as to digest a small Dinner Now when such People come to be sick and to be sure long they cannot continue well what Cordial shall be prescribed for them I believe the learnedst Doctor in Europe cannot tell unless he should make them swallow two or three Ladles full of scalding Lead boyling Pitch or flaming Brimstone They are at the end of Nature and therefore cannot arrive any higher for those that drink strong Ale and Beer in Childhood their Nature shall require Wine in their Middle Years and Brandy in Old Age for Nature as it grows old becomes weaker and colder and so requires more hot spirituous Drinks and therefore Wine and such strong Liquors are drank with most advantage by the Aged And if Children and Young People be used commonly to drink Water which will be most for their Healths then Small or middle Beer or Ale will be as cordial to them and warm and comfort them as much in their middle Age as Wine will that drank strong Ale or Beer in Youth And to speak truth no sort of Drink does maintain the Spirits and natural Heat in such vigour and strength as mean Liquors viz. such as are of the middle Nature or nearest the Temperature viz. good Water or well-brew'd Ale or Beer of a middling strength or Wine allay'd with Water as aforesaid But now most are grown to that degree of Blindness Excess and Folly that nothing will give their â—oracious Desires and greedy â—aunches satisfaction but such Drinks as are strong hot and unequal in their Parts which indeed is like themselves for ever since man hath suffered his desiers to enter into Discord he cannot but desire such disagreeing meats and drinks for every Like desires its Likeness and is its highest Joy Inequality begets Discord and Concords Peace Therefore all plain simple Meats and Drinks are for certain of the greatest strength and vertue and the only maintainers and continuers of Healâ—h and long Life And English People have need of no other or better Drinks and Cordials than may be made of our own Seeds Grains and Fruits as Ale Beer and Cyder which may be made to what degree of strength and goodness you please and being well prepared are far more agreeable to the Constitutious of English People than the Liquors that come from other Counties But all thick strong Ale and harsh bitter or stale strong Beer is very injurious to the Health as also Double Beer which is now a fashion but never invented by Philosophers The common drinking of such Drinks does strike at the very Sinews of Health being much worse than Wine especiaâ—ly than Wine and Water which is 〈◊〉 commendable clean healthy Drink that begâ—ts Appâ—tite cleanseth the Stomach Purgethâ—y Vrine and is endued with many excellent Faculties and if it were the Growth of our own Country I would commend the use of it to my Country-men but being a dear Drink and therefore not Come-at-able by
the middle or meaner sort of People I shall forbear to speak any thing more of its Vertues only I advise the Physitians and Apothecaries to use and prefer Wine especially right Rich Racy Canaâ—y as their best and general Cordial in times of Disorder and Sickness and do commend all People in general to that brave mild friendly Drink viz. Ale made and brew'd according to our Directions in the Book entituled The Way to Health Long Life and Happiness c. there also you will find an account of the Vertues and Vices of Beer and common Ale and which is most agreeable to Nature and best to preserve Health CHAP. XX. Of Sherry SHERRY by many here in England call'd Bristol-Milk is a fine Cordial Wine as good for common drinking as Canaâ—y but nothing so Rich being mixt with Waâ—er it begets Appetite helps concoction cleanseth the Passages and purges more by Vrine than Canary neither is it so apt to weaken the Natural Heat nor lead the Lovers thereof into Consumptions but as it is a strong Wine and heady discretion and Temperance ought to regulate the use of it for being too frequently drank or in too great Quantity it may prove of ill consequence To which purpose most of those Observations we have made upon Canary may also conveniently be referr'd unto this sort of Wine And though I am forced to use Repetitions sometimes for the Readers sake I take no delight therein for my Own CHAP. XXI Of White-Wine WHite-Wine is a brave clean brisk Drink if moderately taken it begets Appetite and purgeth by Vrine yet it contains two Qualities that are not friendly to nature especially if frequently drank viz. Heat and a keen Sharpness whereby if Temperance be wanting in the Drinkers thereof it will quickly kindle and irritate the central Fires of Mars and Saturn which will not only indispose the Body and Spirits by putting them into an unnatural flame but in some Complexions generates an hard gritty matter or substance both in the Reins and Bladder Therefore this as well as the other Wines ought to be well allay'd with Water which will bravely moderate cool and sweeten the hot sharp Properties thereof and bring them near the Equality and then viz. 〈◊〉 thâ—s sort of Wine is thus allay'd Two thirds of Water to one of Wine it is one of the best Stomach-drinks that I know for it powerfully helps Concoction washes and cleanses all the Passages and Vessels and â—egets Appettite and gallantly purges by Vrine But if too frequently drank alone as the custom of most is then it heats the Blood and fumes into the Head and after a little custom of drinking is so far from being a Whet as our Tavern-haunters to excuse their Morning-Debauches call it that it dulls the edge of Appetite and hinders Concoction and breeds the Stone or Gravel by its sharpness and heat and yet at the same time purges powerfully by Urine by reason of its pure thin spirituous and Balsamick Vertues but notwithstanding that Torrent of Urine it leaves behind it an hot harsh or gretty Substance which in some Natures or Complexions doth generate an hard stoney substance and indeed all sorts of Drinks or Foods in which either hear or sharpness doth predominate are not proper nor Healthy to be frequently drank or eaten for all such things do by degrees awaken and strengthen their like Properties in the Body stealing on them as it were insensibly till such matter hath gotten strength then presently they put Nature into an unequal Motion for which cause all Old Wines which some so much love and commend are injurious for the longer any Wines are kept after they are fit to drink the clearer sharper brisker and hotter they become for length of time does as it were digest or waste the sweet Balsamick Vertues by which they become more sharp harder and nearer to the strong original Spirit Therefore all Old Wines and Stale Drinks do more heat the Body and sooner irritate and awake the natural Heat than New it being a grand Error for any to imagine that New Wine or Ale is not so good or wholsome or does not afford so proper a Nourishment as Old Wine and Stale Beer for indeed the former is far to be preferr'd before the latter for the milder sweet and friendly any Drink is the more true Nourishment it affords both to the Body and the Spirit and the Reason why such Liquors do not so soon and so much heat the Body and irritate the Spirits is because New Mild or Sweet Liquor contains more of the balsamick Body which does qualifie and as it were captivate the fierce original Spirit so that it can hardly be tasted or perceived Not but that in all New or Balsamick Drinks whether Wine or Ale there is contained a far greater quantity of Spirits than in Old Wine or stale Beer for the more gentle and the sweeter any Liquor is the more Spirits it contains as all that are versed in Distillations well know for such as make Spirits of Mault-Drink do always distil Ale not stale Beer And so in boyling strong sweet Wort it shall waste more in quantity in one hour than small Wort will in three And wherefore is this Only because the strong sweet Wort has a greater Body mild friendly and Balsamick containing a larger quantity of pure Spirits that will not endure the Violence of Boyling without Evaporation Likewise the older any sort of Drink is the leaner it becomes for as the sweetness digests by length of time so the original hot fierce Spirits seem not only to be more in quantity but stronger too but it is not so only the sweet pure Body or friendly Quality is weakned or digested by long keeping which was the Allayer or Moderator of this hot Spirit for a quart of New Ale contains more Spirit than a quart of stale Beer that was originally of like strength and sweetness the same is to be understood of New and Old Wine and other Drinks For which Reasons we conclude New Wine is far more wholsome healthy and agreeable to Nature than Old And Ale when well-brew'd and according to the Rules set down in our Way to Hâ—alth c. is to be preferred before much boyled or stale Beer and so of other Drinks especially by all such People as are subject to the Stone or Gravel who must observe to drink mild gentle friendly Liquors that are neither sharp keen nor hot in operation as middle Ale Water and Wine and Water The same Rule they ought to follow in their Food for some sort of Victuals are altogether as apt to generate the Stone and Gravel as any sorts of Drinks if not more Therefore all such Foods and Drinks as are of a middle Nature and nearest the Simpâ—icity are always safest as to Health and for preventing all kinds of Diseases CHAP. XXII Of Rhenish-Wine its Nature and Operation THis sort of Wine is a kin to White-Wine but more
substance a brave noble Juice an excellent Cleanser of the Stomach whereby it begets Appetite and helps Concoction Nevertheless it is endued with an hot sharp Quality which when the same is too plentifully drank heats the whole Body and is apt to precipitate the Drinkers thereof into Feavers and as for such as by their Complexions are any thing subject to the Stone it will help forward the generation thereof for though this Wine doth naturally purge by Vrine yet there is in it an hot or harsh Quality that heats the Blood and congeals the Humours with a Saturnine or gretty Substance for all sorts of Drinks and Foods in which the hot sharp Quality does predominate are friends to the generation of the Stone and Gravel But as every thing has in it a latent Poyson and yet carries always above it its own Antidote if wisely handled so if this sort of Wine be discreetly mixed with Water and drank only with Food or when Nature require then it will prove one of the best sorts of Drink not only to beget Appetite help Concoction and cleanse the Stomach but also prevent the generation of the Stone and Gravel for this Drink does Purge by Vrine as much if not more than any other The truth is all sorts of Wine drank in Health ought to be allay'd with Water or otherwise taken very sparingly for there must be a sympathetical agreement between the Meats or Drinks and Nature both in number weight and measure or as near as may be or else the Tranquility and Health of the Body and Mind cannot be continued but such as are ill or faintish may drink now and then a Glass of intire to great advantage of their Health being the best of Cordiaâ—s if used with discretion As for Old Hock a sort of Rhenish of which some will now and then boast that it is twenty or thirty years old I will only say that then it has been kept seventeen or twenty five years too long The keeping of Wine to that Age was only to gratifie Conceit Vanity Ostentation and a drunken Humour and to offer the greater Violence to Nature for how improper all such very stale supernatural Wines are we have mentioned in the last Chapter And if People would be but so kind to themselves to observe the Distempers of their Bodies and what feaverish Heats they labour under after the drinking of such stale Liquors they would certainly for the future forbear them CHAP. XXIII Of Claret its Nature and Operation CLARET is a good Stomach-Wine of a brisk chearing Operation the moderate use thereof helps Concoction and begets Appetite but it purgeth not so much by Urine as White-Wine being of a rough or harsher Nature but of the two more agreeable to English-men's Stomachs if healthy strong People drink frequently of this Wine 't is apt to make them fat phlegmatick especially such as therewith use little Exercise as Gentlemen Citizens and the like for no Creature Man or Beast will be fat except they be given up to Idleness and Superfluity 't is true some People and some Beasts will with the same Meats and Drinks be more full and fleshier than others but not fat Others that use Exercises and but ordinary Food seem to be fat but for the most part the same is a Distemper as watry dropsical Humors which in some puff up the â—embers and swell the Body but the chief reason Claret-Wine makes Gentlemen Citizens and the like fat is for want of Exercise and by its agreeableness with the Stomach which sharpens the Appetite and opens the Vessels by its rough harsh quality whereby they are inticed to eat great quantities of fat rich Foods and so passing their time without due labour they become over-grown with Fat like cram'd Capons their beloved Dish or Swine in a Stye Yet it must be acknowledgeded that Claret is the best of Wines for those that eat abundance of fat Flesh and succulent Foods for by its rough keen quality it digests and separates such oyly Foods as many of our English Epicures too frequenâ—ly gormandize which milder sweeter Liquors cannot do as Canary Ale or the like for this cause many that eat such fat Foods and Sawces made with Butter do so mâ—ch desire brisk spirituous Drinks finding that such Liquors do best digest them But yet they are to know that the frequent use of such Drinks will weaken the natural Heat so that by degrees the Appetite of such People grows dull and the Vessells of the Stomach are contracted and then their Stomachs will desire still more and greater quanties and to drink them oftner till at length Health is utterly subverted and Nature debilitated for I cannot say it too oft the frequent use of all spirituous strong Liquors being unequal in their parts do in a little time beget the like Inequality in the Elements of the Body and instead of preserving Health destroy it for there cannot be a better thing than a glass of Claret or a dram of Brandy or the like now and then when People have eat too much in Quantity or Foods too fat or gross in Quality but I know no necessity for those Spurs and Helps except to such as lead idle gluttonous Lives but for others who feed on plain simple Foods and middle Drinks and use proper Exercises and keep within the â—ounds of Moderation they shall have no need to drink a glass of Claret before Dinner as a Preparative nor a dram of Brandy after for a Restorative of their natural heat to help it concoct their simple natural Foods for such innocent natural Diet will maintain the natural Heat in great Vigour especially if the friendship and advice of Temperance be observed but if Temperance be wanting then the necessity which men do thereby bring upon themselves by drinking of Claret does sufficiently revenge it self upon their Bodies as well as Purses for it heats the Blood sends Fumes up into the Crown destroys the vigour of the Natural Heat awakens the central Fires makes the Stomach by its continual use flat and dull by which means Drinkers of this Wine can fast long neither can they eat heartily with Appetite except they do fast a considerable time which gives a further occasion to a phlegmy Fatness which many of its common Drinkers are subject unto for those Persons that are of the Phlegmatick-Melancholly Phlegmatick-Sanguine or Phlegmatick-Chollerick Complexion if once they get the habit of drinking this sort of Wine though they do not well love it yet their Nature will seem to require it so that if their Purse be but strong enough they must have a Glass or two or three before Dinner to clear their Stomachs of that gross slimy matter which their Over-Nights Dâ—bauches or superfluous Evening Draughts have occasion'd and left behind and four or five Glasses at Dinner as a spur to force it down and five or six more after Dinner with a File of Pipes oâ— Tobaâ—co to help Concoction This
is the Trade which some Gentlemen and too many Ciâ—izens drive which not only wastes their Estaâ—es and destroys their Health which is the greatest Enjoyment in this World but also beclouds their Intellectuals stupifies their Senses destroys that true natural Pleasure of eating and drinking which is one of the greatest where Health is and a well-prepared Appetite joyn'd with a clean Stomach free from Obstructions for he that has a full-spread Table every day of various sorts of Rich compounded Foods with strong Drinks and Wine is a Thousand times more weary and glutted with it and hath nothing of that pleasure which the Poor Man who eats his Bread and Cheese in the Sweat of his Brows under an Hedge enjoys Nothing so much â—loys and oppresses the Appetite and Stomach as always to have varieties of Flesh and Fish compounded Sawces Puddâ—ns Pyes Broths Bisques Oglio's and the like Extravagant â—urâ—iture of Gluttony enricht with East and West-Indiaâ— Ingrâ—dients and follow'd with heaps of Sweet-Meats and lucious Fruits and other Kickshaws This all that use such Intemperance may know by their own woful Experience and by the great number of Diseases they do through Wantonness contract and yet their Brains being sunk into their Bellies and their Vnderstandings buried in the Ordure of their swelling Paunches they have not the wit to consider it but finding their Stomachs dull weary and apt to loathing never thinking of the true cause thereof will needs go about to mend this defect of Appetite by invented New Dishes and more Poinâ—nt Sawâ—es and greater variety of Compositions foollishly imagining thereby to cure all as if they would quench Fire with pouring on Oyl for too much of this was indeed the original cause of their Grievance Therefore let all Men that prize the Health either of their Bodies or Minds fly such Excesses and the Pomp of Glutâ—ony as they would do the Pestilence and for such as have a desire to drink of this charming ruddy Wiâ—e they ought to allay and mix it with Water Two thirds Water and one Wine but if you drink it commonly or frequently then three fourths Water and one Wine will be enough which will be an excellent Drink to beget Appetite and cleanse the Stomach it also Purges powerfully by Vrine cools the Body makes the Blood thin and fine whence proceed brisk lively Natural Spirits Senses Intellectuals Dispositions and Inclinations CHAP. XXIV Of Cyder its Nature and Operation CYDER if well made and fermented is a fine brisk or quick Drink and that is best which is made of good sound and proper Apples of which there are various sorts as Redstrâ—aks Pâ—ppins Pearmains Iillyflowers Golden-Pâ—ppins and many others well known to the Makers of Cyder and therefore needless here to enumerate But this ought to be noted that the Apples you intend for Cyder be they of what sort soever ought to be ripe before they are gathered and afterwards to lie in an open Airy Room for two three or four weeks in which time by the Apples sweating the phlegmatick raw Quality will in some degree be digested which will â—â—nder your Cyder sweeter of a better Bâ—dy and more Balsamick than that whiâ—â— is made of Apples either unripe or made into Cyder as soon as they are gathered Note further that those that would have a sweeter stâ—onger and better bodied Cyder than ordinary ought in some degree to observe the Rules as are usual in Brewing viz. not to press your Apples too hard as commonly is done but to half press them and then put them by for a smaller Cyder for the first that runs off when you do but gently squeze your Apples as flowing almost of its own accord is much sweeter and more balsamick than that which is pressed forth with violence from the harsh centre of the Fruit and consequently is stronger and more Spirituous as from the Mault that liquor or Wort which runs off first is many degrees better than the latter for though it must be confessed the case is not altogether the same because the Mault has passed through several Digestions which have open'd the Closset of Saturn and set the sweet spirituous Quality at liberty just upon the Wing by which it readily gives forth its good Vertues yet the Analogy holds in Apples and other Fruits for Nature's Operations are unifoâ—m he that rightly understands one Link will easily comprâ—hend the whole Chain for if you observe you shall find that any sort of Fruits will when any violence is offered to them first give forth their more sweet Vertues and pure spirituous Qualities as if you bite a piece of Apple will not the sweeter and more pleasant Juices be extracted first And so by degrees yield that which is harsher and more unpleasant The astringent Properties of Saturn and the hot bitter harsh Qualities of Mars are the first and last in all Vegetations The same we find in the Stomach Nature's Laboratory does not she separate and extract all the Balsamick and good Vertues first to the supply of Nutriment for all parts of the Body As you may perceive if you give your Stomach any occasion of Casting if it be within an hour or two after you received your Food or Drink then it will be somewhat sweet very tollerable and come up easie but if this Puking happen long after as sever eight or ten hours then it will be very nauseous bitter sour and of various Colours as Yellow Green and the like whereby 't is evident that the bitter parts are drawn away first So if Apples be pressed hard there is forced out an hard harsh astringent â—our Property which may cause such Cyder to ripen sooner and be thereby fit to drink in a shorter time but it will also cause it to fret or become of a keen sharp Nature and often causes it to sour more especially if such Cyder shall be put on a fresh ferment by Carriage either by Land or Sea Now to know when you have drawn enough from your first gentle pressing the best way will be to taste your Juice as it comes from the Press and when it begins to taste any thing harsh unpleasant or bitterish then hold your hand as to that and keep the Juice of the latter pressing by it self as Brewers and Housewives do their latter Wort. If this course be duly observed your first running from the Press will make a Noble Balsamick Cyder altogether as good as White-Wiâ—â— or Claret and perhaps better than either of them for our English Bodies If drank temperately And as it will be thus much better than your common Cyder so it will keep longer from being sour sharp or eager and consequently continues more friendly to Nature Another or new way to make Cyder Take the first or second Juice you press out of your Apples and put it into a Kettle or Copper and make it ready to boyl or boyling-hot but not boyl then put it into Coolers for that purpose as you do in
the Vessel taken off as soon as they begin to boyl till they are quite boyled which will be in a very little time and then Butter melted with Water into a thick substnace being put to them and some Salt and then eaten with Bread or Bread and Flesh makes a brave wholsom Food Touching the Nature of all Green Pulses and that the frequent eating of them does generate crude windy Humours and thick gross Blood and are the occasion of several Diseases see our before-cited Treatise viz. The Way to Health long Life and Happiness c. How to supply the want of Oyl in Sallets where Persons do not love it or cannot have it For seasoning all sorts of green Sallads I have mentioned Oyl as a principal Ingredient and deservedly for nothing is more excellent for that purpose it being called Sallet-Oyl from that very use But whereas some People for want of use or by I know not what secret Antipathy do not love Oyl and others many times cannot procure it especially here in England I shall here acquaint them how they may furnish themselves to supply the want of it You must know then that Butter is our English Oyl the nearest thing we have in affinity to the Nature of Oyl and designed no doubt by Nature to serve our turn instead of it for no Country yields all things and yet such is the gracious Providence of God that every Region affords all things necessary to the Inhabitants if therefore you melt good Butter thick and pour it upon your Sallad it will relish and suit with it excellently well and serve very conveniently instead of Oyl being so like it amongst the Herbs both in shew and Taste that an ordinary lover of Oyl will not doubt but he has it and he that does not love Oâ—l may be sure he has it not and both enjoy upon the matter as much Vertue for Nourishment and Wholsomeness as if they had eat the purest Salad-Oyl that is brought from beyond the Seas A curious Secret not commonly practised and which I am confident many People will have reason to thank me for CHAP. XXIX The best way to make Herb Pottage not only in the Spring but also at all times of the Year TAke Elder-buds Nettle tops Clivers and Watercresses or Smallage and what quantity of Water you please preportionable to your quantity of Herbs add Oatmeal according as you would have it in thickness and when your Water and Oatmeal is just ready to boyl put your Herbs into it cut or uncut as you like best and then when it is again ready to boyl take a Ladle and lade it so that you keep it from boyling and when you have done thus near half a quarter of an hour take it off the Fire and let it stand a little while then you may either eat it with the Herbs or strain it adding a little Butter Salt and Bread the best way will be not to eat it till it is somewhat cooled and not past as hot as Milk from the Cow and you are to remember not to let it boyl at all This is a brave wholsom cleansing sort of Pottege far beyond what is commonly made Another sort of Herb-Pottage Take Water and Oatmeal make it boyling hot on a quick Fire then take Spinnage Corn-sallet Tops of Penny-Royal and Mint cut them and put a good Quantity into it let it stand on the Fire till it be ready to boyl and then lade it to and fro five or six Minuits then take it off and let it stand a while that the Oatmeal may sink to the bottom then strain it adding Butter Salt and Bread and when it is about Blood warm Eat it This is a gallant sublime Pottage pleasant to the Palate and Stomach cleansing the Passages by opening Obstructions it also chears and comforts the Spirits breeds good Blood and makes the whole body lightsom The same method you ought to follow in making all sorts of Gruels and Herb-Pottages be the Herbs of what Nature they will for the boyling of Herbs not only in Pottage but for any other use of Food was not invented by wise Seers into the Arcana of Nature for it does as it were totally destroy the pure volatile Spirits and balsamick Vertues as also the strong warming Properties thereof For this cause Raw Herbs are much better affording a firmer Nourishment better Blood and purer Spirits and feel more warming in the Stomach than boyled nor are they so apt to loosen the Bowels But if any shall make boyled Herbs their Food though they prepare them by dressing them with Butter and the like they will prove phlegmatick cold and windy with other evil Properties and not afford half so good a Nourishment as if they were Raw nor are Raw Herbs more Windy than boyled as some People not for want of Ignorance suppose but rather the contrary for the common eating of Raw Herbs does naturally resist all crude windy matter and gross Juices by assisting the natural Heat and helping Concoction they give Life to the Stomach by opening the Mouth of the Appetite and sharpen it as appears by such as have dull flat Appetites for when such shall come to a good Salleâ— it does as it were create or revive a Stomach and good Taste whereas before they could relish nothing Also they help to digest and carry off all heavy fat or gross Food and make it less hurtful insomuch that some have been thereby cured of windy Phlegmatick Humours that offended the Stomach and consequently sent Fumes up to the Head causing it to ake Therefore this was the way the wise healthy long-lived Antients prepared their Herbs who made them one of their principal Foods but now-aâ— days People do scarce eat them but as Sawce And as boyling of Herbs does destroy the purer Vertues and firmer Substance of them so that they become phlegmy cold and windy The same is to be understood in all sorts of Herb-Pottage whether for Food or Physick for boyling any sorts of Herbs does in a Moments time either suffocate or evaporate the volatile Spirits of them and then all the sweet pleasant opening cleansing Vertues are gone and they become like Beer Ale or Wine that has lost its pure Spirits which is further evidenced by that strong nauseous or fulsom Taste ill Smell and dull Colour all such boyled Pottages have so that very few care for eating them unless they are forced to it as they are to Physick that is against their Stomachs For the pure sweet pleasant Taste and lively briskness of all things resides in the power of the Spirits which all Housewives and Preparers of Food ought to consider and understand as also the degrees of the Fire the quantity of Water and that the Water be in sufficient quantity and that the Air have its free circulation and to give it true time or else none can prepare any kind of Food without prejudice for in the sweet and spirituous Properties stand
evil Nourishment bad Blood and iâ— pure Spirits 4. The frequent eating of moist phlegmatick Food which naturally dull stupifie and drown the Senses and makes the Sweet Oyl burn dim which causes Indisposition and unpleasant Humors 5. The common eating of Flesh without diâ—â—inction or regard had to the season of the Year healthfulness or unhealthfulness of the Creatures which do as it were corrupt the very Radix of Nature from whom proceed various Diseases as Pthycks Stoppages of the Breast Phlegm and Phlegmatick Humors which makes the Spirits dull and impure whence do arise heavy lumpish Dispositions with ravenous fierce Inclinations and cruel Passions which cause many of them to use such evil Words demonstraâ—ing that the dark center of Wrath is awakened and does predominate for all evil Words are generated from the fierce wrathful or devilish Nature This every one ought to consider as in those two common Passions when the poysonous and fierce fury of Saturn and Mars is stirred up are not most then apt to belch forth vain wicked and helâ—ish Speeches as Swearing Cursing and not only impiously prophaning the holy Name of God but even challenging and as it were daring his Tremendous Majesty whose Wrath is a consuming Fire to damn and confound them and calling their fellow Creatures Dogs Whelps Sons of Whores Devils and a hundred of the like evil Names Now consider O Man from what Root such Word do take their Birth And so on the contrary do not all good Men and otâ—eâ—s when pleased or in good Humours breathe forth amâ—cable loving Words or Discouâ—ses there being more either good or evil in words than most imagin for they declare what Kingdom has the upper dominion in them nor is it unobservable that the word Scurvey denotes well and evil Affection of Mind and a cross way-ward peevish ill conditioned Dâ—sposition as well as a disordered habit of Body and not without cause since they both proceed from the same occasion or radical cause of mans precipiâ—ating himself into the dark Abâ—sse or Cruelty preying upon and devouring his fellow Creatures 6. The much eating of Flesh and Fish does generate in some Complexions cloded Blood King's-Evil Plurisies Scabs Leprosiâ—s and many other mangie Diseases or Dropsies heaviness of the Spirit and in some it causeth Feavers Swellings of the Members also the Gout Stone and many other unnatural Diâ—â—empers which at last having reduced the Body into a general discrasie or unnatural Ferment terminates in the Scurvey as so many stinking Puddles into one Common-Shore for indeed the Scurvey is a Complication of several Diseases and Disorders as appears by the various and very different Symptoms appearing on such as are afflicted therewith 7. By eating most sorts of Food whilst the fiery Heat is in it not suffering the sulpherous Vapours and â—erce Fumes to seperate after 't is prepared which causes a Scorbutick Itch to possess the Blood and swells the Body with winâ—y Humors 8. By eating too often that is before the former Meal be concocted which does not only dull and indispose the whole Body but also it generates Crudiâ—ies and evil Juices which cause Stoppages and shortness oâ— Breath 9. By drinking too much in Quantity of rich Cordial-dâ—ink which irritates and awakens the cenâ—ral Spirits and by degrees destroys the digestive Faculty and natural Heat and hurts the Blood 10. The drinking small Beer that is brewed after Ale and strong Beer which is nothing but the washing of the Grains viz. a sour nauseous Quality nothing breeds worse Blood than the frequent drinking of such Liquor 11. The drinking of Ale not well fermented or such as has the Barm or Yest beaten into it as is usual for Brewers to do in London to make it seem strong sweet and full in the Mouth such Drinâ—â— is very offensive to Nature it generates Phlegm 〈◊〉 thâ— Stomach dulls the edge of the Appetitâ— furs the Passages sends dulling Fumes and Vapours into the Head and breeds bad Blood likewise new small Beer and Ale is pernicious 12. By drinking stale strong Beer which is boyled a long time with Hops this sort of Drink is pernicious it heats the Blood swells the whole Body generates in some Complexions a hard gretty substance in the Reins and Bladder 13. By drinking various sorts of Wine when need and nature doth not require it which do irritate the Spirits heat the Blood destroy the Appetite and indisposes the whole Body 14. By accustoming themselves to close Houses warm Clothings soft Feather-Beds and lying long in Bed which does soften and weaken Nature that she becomes impotent and hinders the free circulation of the Blood 15. Idleness and want of proper Exercise in open airy places destroys the Health and weakens the whole Body 16. By visiting the Shades of Venus too often and forcing Nature beyond her Inclinations and Power which does corrupt her in the very Radix and this is frequently done by â—â—imulating Nature with gluttonous Provocations high compounded Foods and rich Cordial Drinks viz. such as need no Teeth to chew them nor Stomach to digest them that being done already in the Preparation 17 By Carking Cares and Perturbations of Mind Passions of Love and Hatred Superstition Envy and the like These are some of the Intemperances that have destroy'd the Health bâ—th of the Body and Mind even in the very Radix and indeed when I consider the various Disorders that Mankind daily commits I cannot admire at the great number of cruel Diseases they are afflicted with but rather I am apt sometimes to wonder that there are any that escape or that so many do out-live Childhood but it must be said That through the custom of ill usage and disorders great numbers do croud through many Inconveniences as in the most fatal 〈◊〉 some escape Rules and Directions for suâ—h as are Wise and Well minded and would prevent the Scurvey and other Diseases 1. MEats and Drinks ought not to be taken â—hat are too strong for Nature but rather she ought always to be stronger than the Food and so the Stomach and the Natural Heat will be able to digest and make perfect Separation whence will be generated good Blood and pure brisk Spirits and they always make the Body light lightsâ—me and agile 2. Meats or Drinks ought not to be taken that are of a contrary Nature or Quality to the Constitution but such as are simple in their kind agreeable to the â—omplexion and as near as may be equal in theâ—r parts which will breed good â—lood and encrease the Spirits and keep the Passages free from Obstructions and give strength to all the members of the Body 3. Neither ought any to eat to Dullness for if healthy People feel themselves oppressed after Meals they ought to make abatement in the quantity Do not most People before eatting and drinking find themselves quiâ—k brisk and lightsom provided they have not either by over-labour or fasting too long evaporated or wasted their Spirits