A uery brefe treatise ordrely declaring the prīcipal partes of phisick that is to saye Thynges natural Thynges not naturall Thynges agaynst nature Gathered and sette forth by Christopher Langton Anno dn̄i M.D.XLVII ¶ Wylm̄ Baldwyn ▪ ¶ Who so desyreth health got to preserue And lost to procure ought chefely to knowe Suche naturall thynges as therto maye serue Great knowlege wherof this boke wil him show Whiche smal though it seme contayneth as much Of arte to be knowen of them that are wyse As byg myghty bokes agastfull to tuche As well for the wayght as for the heauy pryce Reade it therfore all ye that loue your healthe Learne here in an houre elles where in a yere Scarce red the which Langton willing our welth Hath englyshed brefe as it doth appere To whome the free geuer of your so great gayne Yelde thākes prayses a payment for his payne Consule valetudini The contentes of this Boke ¶ The firste boke OF what kynde of artes physicke is Cap. i. Of the sectes in Physycke Cap. ii The partes of physicke iii. The distribucion of Physicke in to three fourmes Cap. iiii Of the numbre of thinges naturall v. Of Elementes Cap. vi Of temperamentes Cap. vii Of Humors Cap. viii Of the partes of mannes body Cap. ix Of powers or faculties Cap. x Of Actions Cap. xi Of Spirites Cap. xii ¶ The seconde boke OF the number of thinges not naturall Cap. i Of Ayer Cap. ii Of meate and drynke Cap. iii Of exercise and rest Cap. iiii Of Slepe and watche Cap. v Of Fulnesse and emptinesse Cap. vi Of the perturbations and sudayne mocions of the mynde Cap. vii ¶ The thyrd boke OF the number of thynges agaynst nature Cap. i Of the causes of diseases Cap. ii Of diseases Cap iii Of Accidentes Cap iiii ¶ The fowerth boke ¶ Howe to iudge of any disease Cap i Of Vrine Cap ii Of the excrementes of the belly Cap iii Of the Spettel Cap iiii Of the Pulses Cap. v Finis ¶ To the right high and mighty Prince Edwarde Duke of Somerset Protector of the kynges maiest realmes and dominions and gouerner of his most Royall person Christofer Langton wyssheth health and encreace of all godlynesse PHisicke hath bene so afflicted clogged wyth ignoraunt wryters it were to tediouse to rehearce eyther theyr names or theyre opinions that before Gallenes dayes none knewe which was the truth And though Gallen wrot orderly yet by the iniurye of tyme the best parte of his workes be lost to the great hynderaunce of all suche as shalbe studentes in Phisicke Yet yf but halfe that that remayneth were englysshed I woulde then thynke y t we shoulde haue al thynges in Phisicke a greate deale the playnar to the great profit welth of the realme dyuers wayes For fyrst it woulde saue great exspence of money which vnlearned strangers dayly carrye awaye Than it woulde be the safegarde of manye mennes lyues whiche myght be able to do the king otherwyse right good seruice And finally it wolde cause a great encrease of wisdome whiche passeth bothe golde precious stones Wherefore I consideryng the wealth of the greater nūber haue taken vpon me to wryte orderly of a great peace of phisicke which I dedicate vnto your grace not that I thynke it worthy so noble a Prince but partly because I iudge you a man muche desirous to knowe suche thinges as be here set foorth for the bodyly healthe partely for that I trust your noblenes wil further al godly ententes whiche yf ye doe ye shall not only encorage me whiche am but a lernar and as yet a young student in Physicke but other also whiche are alredy perfect in the workes of Physicke dayly to set foorth suche thinges as may profit many and hurte none Thus I praye god graunt to youre grace in al your affayers most prosperous successe and after this trāsitory lyfe ioye withoute ende Amen The fyrste boke ¶ The fyrste Chapter Of what kynde of artes Phisicke is SEyng that I haue taken vpon me to wryte a breefe treatyse vpon Phisicke for the alonlye commoditie of ignoraunt and vnlearned studentes in the same I think it very necessarye and expedient to open and declare bothe playnlye and brefely what physicke is whiche in Latine is called Medicina in Englysshe woorde for woorde Medicine Hyppocrates in his boke de flatibus whiche is as muche to saye as in his boke of Spirites or blastes affirmeth that Medicine or Physicke is nothyng but the adiection of that that lacketh or the subtraction or takynge awaye of that whyche is superfluous redoundeth the whych declaration or definition Gallen alloweth in manye places trulie not w tout a cause For ther is no parte of phisike but it is cōprehended in thys finition Auerroes in the .vi. boke and the .i. Chapiter of his gatheringes dothe define phisicke verye fetely in these wordes folowinge Medicina est ars factiuarum vna ratione et experimento inuenta que tum sanitatem tuetur tum morbum depellit whiche is as muche to say in englysh as Phisike is one of those artes whyche dothe make thinges inuented or found out by reason and experience and the whyche partly defendeth health and partly beteth away disease and siknes Herophilus woulde haue defined it after this fashion Medicina est scientia salubrium insalubrium et neutrorum Whyche in englyshe is as foloweth Physike is a science of thynges holsome vnholsome and of neyther of bothe Gallen vseth thys finition in hys boke y t is called ars medica not because he doth so greatly alowe it but because yt serueth hys pourpose whyche is easie to be knowen of that that foloweth where he sayeth that this worde scientia must be taken in that place accordynge to hys common significatyon and not as it signifyeth properlye wherefore phisike is an arte and no science and seynge yt is an arte I thynke yt well donne to shewe in what kynde of artes it is For there be many differences of Artes but especiallye .iiii. One is called in Latyne Contemplatoria whiche hath his ende only in the seyng and beholdyng of thynges and maye well be called contemplacion or knowlege suche is Arithmetick Astronomie natural philosophie for ther is none of these artes that doth any thing but is onlye ended in contemplacion and studye There is an other which is called in Latyn Actiua in Englysh practise and consisteth in doynge as dawnsyng and harpyng wyth other lyke The thyrde in Latyn maye be called Factiua which besyde the practise and studye leaueth behynde his woorke as payntyng buyldyng and of this kynde there be two artes for some make the workes them selues as weuyng tanning and some correct and amend the thynges whan they be made as botchyng and clowtyng of old garmentes houses other thīges The fowerth in Latyn is called comparans which in our tong may be called a gettyng arte for it doeth make nothynge but by studye
to say y e springe summar autumne and winter be For euery one of these by hym selfe and without comparison maye be called hote cold drye or moyst of this fashion the spring is withoute all excesse because there is not as is in wynter more colde then heat nor as in summar more heat thē cold lykewyse there is a mediocritie of drynesse and moysture and therfore Hippocrates sayeth that it is the most holsumest tyme of all the yere and a tyme in the which there chaūseth no deadly sicknes For y e moste part of the diseases of the springe happen by reson that all the euyll humors be driuen from the innar partes in to the skynne Wherefore the diseases be rather to be imputed to the body then to y e tyme of y e yeare For what body so euer hath good homours that bodye remayneth styll in healthe so long as the spryng lasteth paraduenture it doeth not so in summar autumne or wynter because these tymes brede or encrese euyll humors as summar encreaseth chollar autumne melancholy wynter fleme watrish humors It is possible that sum man wyll reprehend my sayinges obiecting the begynnyng of the springe to be coulde accordyng to wynter the latter ende hot as in summar In dede I confesse no lesse then y e begynnynge of the springe to be a lytell coulde and the latter ende a lytell hote but not in excesse as it is eyther in summar or wynter Wherfore it can not be called hote and moyest as sūme doe suppose because it can not be hot and temperat both at one tyme. As for summar by the consent as well of the Philosophers as of phisitions is hot and dry because there is in it more heat then could more drinesse then moysture Autumne simply and without exception can not be called colde and dry as sūme holde opinion for it is not coulde because there is as muche heate as coulde seing the middle of the day is much hotter then the mornynge and euenynge Therefore it is founde to be distemperat in heat and coulde and so mixt of bothe that it can nether be called hote nether coulde Therefore it is full of perilouse diseases because it is distempered both in heate and coulde and because it hath more drynesse then moysture therefore it is called dry As for wynter it is moyst could not because it is more moyst coulde then y e other times of the yere but because there is more moysture then drines more could then heate Nowe that I haue so brefelye as I coulde declared the temperamentes of the tymes of the yere it is mete cōuenient to shewe in as fewe wordes as I can the temperamentes of the iiii ages which are chyldehode youth mannes state and olde age Chyldehode is from the chyldyng the space of .xv. yere next folowyng and it is hote and moyst and that is easie to be perceyued hereof that the first constitution of the chylde is of seede and bloude the whiche both be hote and moyst Youthe beginneth where chyldehod endeth continueth .x. yeres in this age ther is more firye heat lesse natural heat thē is in childehode as Gallen witnesseth in hys second boke of temperamentes Mannes state begynneth at .xxv. and continueth to .xxxv. the which tyme is hote and dry Olde age beginneth at .xxxv. and continueth the rest of the lyfe though summe doe recken it but to .ix. and fortie yere and it is colde dry Ye shall fynde in other places mo differences of ages howbeit I thinke these sufficient for suche as be not to deynty and exquisite Whoso thinketh hym selfe not satisfyed with this brefe exposition of temperamentes let hym reade diligently Galenes .iii. bokes of temperamentes and I dout not but he shall be satisfyed For I makyng haste to better and more profitable knowledge cānot finde in my harte to tary any lenger in this disputation yet whoso euer shall dilygently examine in hys mynde that that is wryttē before may easely yf he be not halfe folishe gather y e rest which wanteth without a techer or an instructar ¶ The .viii. chapter of humors HVmours be fower in number that is to say bloude chollar flewme and melancholy of the which bloude is hote moyst and swete Flewme is coulde moyst and vnsauery lyke vnto the pure water yelowe chollar hote dry and bittar blacke chollar or melancholy coulde drye sowre and stipticke These humours be called hot could dry and moyst because they be so in power and not in acte and ther is great difference betwixte thinges that be hot of power and thinges hot in acte For that thing is hot in acte which is hot alredy and that is hot in power which is not hot alredy but may and is apt to be hot afterward so we call bryne or vinegar drye though they appere to the eye to be moyst yet experience hath proued them drye because they consume the superfluous humours bothe of flesh also other thinges Whan these .iiii. humours reserue theyr forsayde qualities then the body wherein they be is hole and without disease and the before named humours be called of the Phisitions naturall The receptacles of bloud be the vaynes and pulses but the bloud that is contayned in the pulses as Gallen sayeth in his first boke and first chapter of affected places differeth from the blowde of the vaynes in that that the blowde of the pulses is both hotter thynnar yelower The well of the blowde is the liuer not onely that but also the first instrument of mannes bodye and the naturall and true cullour of the blowd is red which Galen affirmeth in many places Where blowde redoundeth the body is feat fayer mery plesantly disposed Flewme of cullour is white which at the length by y e meanes of naturall heat may be tourned in to bloude and therefore seinge it is a nowrishment but halfe boyled nature hath prouided no propre or peculier receptacle for the pourgynge of it For flewme engendred in the stomake or mawe be cause it is carryed together w t the iuice that came of the meate drinke vp in to y e liuer is at length by much alteration tourned into bloude and that which is caryed together with the bloud in the vaynes may skant be spared because it mittigateth the greate feruent and outragious heat of y e bloud therfore it hath morenede to tarry styll be altered then to be pourged caryed away but y t that remayneth behynde in the guttes is pourged caryed quite oute at the fundament by reason of the chollar cūmynge fro the lyuer as Gallen sayeth in the .v. of his bokes of the vse of the partes of mannes body The excrement which falleth frō y e brayne in to y e mouth can not properly be called flewme but rather muck or sniuil flewmatick bodyes be slothfull slepy fleshye soone horeheared Yelowe chollar hath his name of his culour nature hathe prouided a proper
the which qualities whiles they be in the elementes altering the substaunce subiect to them do cause the mutuall alteration of y e elementes Yt is necessarie for a Phisition to consider exactlye and diligentlye the nature of the elementes to the ende that he may knowe howe health is made of the temperature of heat cold dry and moyst and of the distemperature of the same sicknes ¶ The seuen chapter Of temperamentes AMongest thynges naturall the temperamentes haue the second place a temperament is no thinge elles but a complexion or a conbination of y e fower elementes or elles of heat coulde dry and moyst of temperamentes there be .ix. differencis of y e which one is temperat be cause it excedeth in no qualitie the rest be all distemperat of the which .iiii. be simple as hot cold dry moyst and .iiii. be compounde as hot moyst to gether cold and dry hot and dry coulde and moyst The ix difference which I sayed before was temperat may be taken .ii. manner of wayes ether temperat simple and absolutly or elles temperate in euerye kynde of thinges loke what is temperate simply and absolutly that in the respect of all thinges is temperat and in it the elementes be equally mingled and such a thinge must be knowen by cogitacion only for other wayes it cannot as Gallen is a manifeste witnesse in the firste boke that he writ in the defence of health And that is temperat in euery kind in the which is the same mediocrity of contrary elementes as is conuenient to the nature not only of man and best but also of trees and plantes and this temperament is in all them that be hole accordynge to there nature and it may be knowen of hys functions and officis who is hole according to hys nature For he that can doe euerie thing well which he is apt to doe naturally is as hole as nature made hym whether it be man or best or it be tree or plant as an apple tre is very well or hole according to his nature whā he bereth a great number of good apples and likewise an horse whan he runneth very swift Therfore this is not the temperament which is mesured by weyght wherin ther is as many degrees of heat as of cold and of drinesse as of moisture for that is no where nor can not be knowen but by cogitation as is a foresayd but in this temperament which is in euery kynd of thinges the elementes be so mixt that the temperament which commeth of the mixture agreeth both to the nature of mē bestes and plantes Therefore it is called a temperament accordynge vnto iustice which mesureth to euery man not by weyght but by dignity wherefore what soeuer thinge exceadeth this temperament ether in heate could drynes or moysture y e same is not temperate and of the same that redoundeth it taketh y e name as if it be hete that is superfluous then it is called hot loke what thinge hath more hete then colde that same is hote contrary yf it haue more cold than heate it is called could lykewise that that hath more moysture then drines is named moyst and agayne yf it haue more drines thē moysture then it may be called dry and here of it commeth y e summer is called hote because it hath more hete then coulde and wynter is called colde because it hath more colde then heate furthermore if a thinge excede in heat and moysture to gether or in colde and drynesse or in hete and drynesse or in colde and moysture then it must take name of the qualities which excedeth as yf heat and moysture excede then it must be called hote and moyste yf colde and drynes cold and dry and so of the other And hereof it is euident that sumtyme one temperament is equall and temperate in one opposicion and distemperate and not equall in an other For yf it be not necessary for that that is hote to be dry but may be moyst then it may also be temperate because the meane is nygher to the dry temperature then is y e moyst and lykewise an other temperature that is colde yf it may as well be dry as moyst may be temperate also because the meane is nigher to the moyst temperature then the dry is The same answere may be made of drye and moyste that before is made of hote and colde Therefore it is no maruayle though there be sumthinge temperate in the one halfe and not temperate in the other But here thou must take hede yf thou be axed of what temperature a man an asse or an oxe is that thou answere not symply and absolutly For to that that is spoken diuersly and is diuerie also of it selfe no man can make absolutely simply a direct answere Therfore before thou make thyne answere y u must bid hym showe y t y e mā the asse or y e oxe whereof he douteth then yf he dout of a man thou muste haue a respect to the perfit man whiche as Gallen sayeth in the firste boke of his tēperamentes is neyther hote nor coulde and as he differeth from hym so make answere sayinge eyther that he is hot or otherwise as thy iudgement shall lede the but yf he doubt of a best then thou must haue an eye to the hole kynde of men For all other kindes compared vnto it are distemperat as he differeth from mankynde eyther in hete or otherwise so shape hym an answere And that thou be not deceyued in makyng thyne answere thou muste vnderstand that heat coulde dry and moyst be taken diuersly For first they be taken absolutely and simply that is to say without any admixtion of other bodyes and of this sorte the only elementes be hot coulde dry moyst secondarely they be spoken by excesse as whan there is in one thing more hete then coulde more drynesse then moysture or other wyse and of this fassion bloud fleme wyne oyle honny be called hot colde dry and moyst and that that is called hote colde dry and moyste of this sort is spoken yet .2 maner of wayes fyrst absolutly that is compared to no one alone but to the hole nature of thinges and of this fasshiō a dog simply absoluetly taken and not compared to any thing alone is dry otherwise that is to say not absolutly but cōpared to sum one alone may be moyst as to a pismyre And moreouer there be .iii. diuers maner of comparisons the first is betwyxt two of diuers kyndes as a man to a beaste The second is whan y e distemperate is compared to the temperate of the same kynde as a man compared to the parfit man whereof we spake before The thirde is whan .ii. distemperate of one kynde is compared together as one man to an other one lyon to an other one horse to an other Whosoeuer dothe diligently examin these thinges may easly iudge of what temperament the iiii tymes of the yere that is
place for it which is y e blather vnder y e liuer for it was necessary for it to be parted from the bloud lest at the length y e hole body should becumne yelowe as it doth in the yelowe Iawndies Cholericke men be angry sharpe wytted nymble and quicke in all theyr affayers inconstant and leane and good digesters of theyr meat melancholy is the dregges and filthe of the bloud and therefore it is blacke as it appereth in the name it were great daunger for it to be left in the liuer therfore the splyne is prouided of nature to receyue it the which splyne yf it drawe lesse then it should do then the melancholy or blacke chollar is left with the blowde by reason whereof the body getteth a black colour or at the least a feuer quartayne Men that be melancholy be sottell couetouse greate frettars with them selues vnfaythful sad and carefull enuious ferfull and weak sprited The vse of these forsayde humors is such in especiall as foloweth The bloud serueth to the nowrishment of the hole body flewme helpeth the mouyng of the ioyntes yelow chollar clenseth the intestines of of their flewme and filthe melancholy healpeth y e action of the stomake as Gallene writeth in his v. boke of the vse of the partes of mannes body by reason y t it draweth the stomake together wherby the naturall heat is encreased the concoction of the meat made much the more parfit Soranus an Ephesian borne wryteth that these humours rule the body by course eche of them .vi. houres to gether as bloud begynneth at .ix. of the clocke in the night ruleth vntyll .iii. of the mornyng yelowe chollar beginneth at .3 in the mornyng and gouerneth vntyll .ix. of the mornyng melancholy beginneth at .ix. and continueth to .iii. in the after noone Flewme begynneth at .iii. of the after noone and lasteth tyll .ix. of the night These humors sumtyme lose theyre naturall qualities wherby they hurt the body and be called not naturall Blowde becummeth vnnaturall ether whan it putrifieth in the vaynes be cause the pores be shut or els whan it is mixt with suÌ„me other euyll humor as in the dropsy where it is mingled w t water or finally whan it is mixt ether w t ouer muche chollar flewme or melancholy whereof it taketh a newe name and is called eyther cholericke blowd flewmaticke or melancholy bloud For it is neuer naturall except in the mixture it haue the rule and dominion Of vnnaturall flewme there be .iiii. kyndes as Gallen wytnessyth in his second boke .vi. chapter of y e differences of feuers The first is watrysh of the cullar of molten glasse wherof it hathe to name citrine is very cowld The second kynde is that which after y e hawking out hath a swete taste is called swete flewme The third is sowre of taste is not so colde as the citrine cowlder then the swete The fowerth is salt eyther by y e mixture of suÌ„me salt humor or elles by putrifactioÌ„ is called salt flewme Of vnnaturall yealowe chollar there be .v. kyndes The firste is yelowe lyke vnto the yolkes of egges as Gallen sayeth is engendred in y e vaynes The second is colowred lyke leade or garlicke is bred in y e stomake or mawe The thirde is of a rusty cullour it also is bred in y e stomake The forth inclineth sumwhat towardes grene and is engendred in the place beforesayd The .v. is of the cullour of the sea and groweth in the stomacke also Of melaÌ„choly or black chollar ther is but one kynde vnnaturall it is sumwhat browne of cullour and so sharpe and sowre that it eateth fretteth the body where it goethe ¶ The .ix. chapter of the partes of mannes body THe firste diuision of partes of maÌ„nes body is of those that y e latten men call similares dissimilares whiche in englishe may be called lyke and vnlike â–ª For similares be such partes as be lyke vnto them selues in all thinges which when they be diuided or parted in sonder the leste of them kepeth the same name that the hole dothe whereof it is part and dissimilares be such as are vnlyke them selfes in all thinges which whan they be deuided or parted a sunder none of them can be called by the name y t the hole is as in example No part of the head can yf it be separat parted from the head be called an head â–ª no more can any part of the hand be named an hand nor of y e foote a foote nor of the eye an eye yet euery parte of water is called water and euery part of bloud is called bloude and euerye parte of bone bone and euery part of flesh is called fleshe Therfore these last rehersed be such as the laten men call similares and the other be the selfe same y t be called dissimilares or instrumentales Gallen sayeth y t the same partes which the latyns call similares be the first elementes and begynners of mannes bodye although the selfe same be common to brute beastes also for ther is nether oxe horse ne dogge but they haue pulses vaynes senewes tiinges gristilles skinnes and fleshe yet not in all poyntes lyke vnto man and beside these other that man hath not as hornes bylles spowres skales of these the other which be called dissimilares or instrumentales be made as hed handes feet such lyke An instrumentall parte differith from the instrument because that suÌ„me of the same partes before is called similares be instrumentes and yet may not be instrumentall partes For euery part as gallen sayeth that bringeth forth a parfit actioÌ„ is an instrument wherof it commeth that the pulses vaynes and senewes be instrumentes and no instrumentall partes Of y e instrumentall partes there be thre called chefe or principall y e brayne hart liuer There are summe whiche addeth vnto these y e priuy partes because they conserue and kepe y e kinde There be belonging to these iiii other as to y e brayne senewes to the hart pulses to the liuer vaynes and to the pryuye partes the sparmaticke vessayles besyde these there be certayne other partes of the body whiche nether rule other nor yet be ruled of other but hath a facultie of them selfes whereof they be gouerned as bone tiynge skynne and fleshe All y e partes of mannes body haue nede of pulses and vaynes to the keping of ther substance vaynes to the entent y t they may be nowrished and pulses for the kepynge of naturall heat in good temper Hytherto I haue spoken generally of the partes of mannes body whoso is wyllyng to haue a particular rehersall of all the partes let them seke Gallen or Vesalâ—us For they haue writteÌ„ hole bokes and greate volumes of them and as for me I haue written of the same in an other place so well as my wyt lernyng knowledge and the sterilitie and baraynes of the english tong wolde gyue me leue
excrementes wolde be taken heede to of the Phisicion because he may diuine diuerse thinges bothe of their substance qualitie and coulour The thirde way to cleanse the bodie is by vomit wherof Nature hath much good For they that vomit often for the most part be alwayes hole For there is euacuation made as well of flewme as of chollar by meanes wherof the stomacke is not filled with euyll humors the head findeth muche ease Vomiting is most profitable for them that be cholerick hauing large brestes short neckes wide mouthes it profiteth also to such as by meanes of great eatynge drinkinge reserue crude and rawe humors in theyr stomakes yet he that wyll be hole and pourposeth to be olde let hym not be to busye with vomittynge For the muche vse of it causeth deafnesse hurteth the eyes it breaketh y e vaynes of the breste and lunges it offendeth the teathe and causeth head ache Therfore it is y e Phisitions dutie to declare who is apt to vomit and who is not For suche as be not apte to vomit shoulde be pourged dounwarde and in no-case constrayned to vomit such as be not apt to vomite be they that be betwixt fat and lene hauynge theyr brestes narrowe and theyr neckes long and such as be leane slender and haue wyde brestes shorte neckes be apt to vomit In vomittyng the excrement must be loked well vpon for the sight of it shall amend the coniecture of the Phisicion The forth way of emptying y e body is by boxyng which as Gallen sayeth in hys boke y t he wrote of boxing doth not only make euacuation and drawe oute muche matter but also easeth the payne and diminisheth the swellyng dissolueth wynde and styrreth vp appetite where it was almost lost confirming the strength of weake stomakes calleth againe life in swounes and fayntynges it draweth also swellynges and fluxes from one part to another stinteth bledyng and stayeth wemens flowers There be .2 kindes of boxing on is withoute any scarifiyng which preuayleth moste in drawing backe of humours as in y e drawing back of wemens flowers whā they rūne to much these be light boxing glasses which be vsed w tout scarifiyng The other is w t scarifiyng which is vsed in hard swellynges cummynge of melancholy or whan y e partes be troubled w t the fluxe of any sharpe matter whiche muste be drawen from one to another in sharpe quicke diseases wheras y e pacient may spare no bloude scarifyinge profiteth watryng eyes and also paines both of head brest backe The .v. kynde of emptying the bodye is by bathe and here ye muste marke that there is .ii. kyndes of bathes one is naturall and an other artificiall That is called natural which springeth of his owne accorde without y e healp of mānes inuention Of naturall bathes summe be hote by the mixture of niter salte allume brimstone chaulke lyme yrō copper goulde syluer tinne which ether lieth in the bothom of the bathe or elles in the rockes or hylles from whence the springe cūmeth whereof water taketh his qualitie by this reasō y e bathes which be in a towne called Bathe here in Englande be hote to the great admiration of all ignorante people These kyndes of bathes be good for suche as be diseased in their ioyntes or haue crude raw matter in theire bodyes and be diseased ether with pockes pyles or emeroides but for men that be in health and haue swete humors they be nothyng mete yea and the vse of them is very perilous Artificiall bathes be made by mannes witte therefore they be not in all places lyke But here in Englande they be nothing so commendable as in Germany and other places For here there is but one hotte house and therefore the subtell parte of the humor is drawen out and y e grosse is left behinde But in Germany in other places they haue diuers houses first one wher they put of their clothes an other where they be annoynted and rubbed and in the thyrde house they sweate and be washed the forthe house is not so warme as the thyrde the fyfthe is sumwhat colde nowe that I haue declared the partes of the artificiall bathes whiche were vsed in the olde tyme and yet be in many places I purpose to shewe in as fewe wordes the commodities of the same begynnyng with the firste part which is a warme house prepared with fire or wyth warme water and swete herbes to the entente that the littell pores of the skynne may open easilye and the hole body with all the humors be sumwhat warmed The nexte house beinge sumthynge warmer stirreth vp the spirites and dissolueth the grosse humors and the rubbyng with the annoyntynge correcteth amendeth the hardnes of the senewes ioyntes and loynes the thirde house by hys greate heat dissolueth mightilye the grosse humours by meanes wherof nature pourgeth the bodye of them and the luke warme water moysteth the hole body taketh away werynesse yf ther be any in the vtter partes y e fowerth house because it is sumwhat coldar reducethe nature by litell and litell to here pristinate state The fifth by meanes of his colde shutteth agayne the pores of y e skinne which beateth the naturall heate in and causeth good concoction amendyng the action bothe of the stomacke and liuer The sixt kinde of those thinges which lewseth the body is sweat and it ought to be prouoked whan any euyll humors is in the innar partes as in feuers pestilent agues It may be prouoked diuersly as by the heate of drye bathes hote stones yrons or by swete herbes and warme water ether in pottes or in blathers But in all vehement and sharpe diseases and especiallye in hote agues the Phisiciō shoulde take great hede of the sweat markynge very dilygentlye which is good and whych is euyll For by them he may coniecture muche of the cause of the grefe but as Hyppocrates sayeth those sweates in feruent and hote diseases which cōmeth in the iudgyng dayes doe ende the feuer be best and most holsume and it is not euyll whan the patient sweateth in euery part of hys body so hys paynes waxe lesse withall but whā y e body sweateth muche and the paynes encrease it is not good Howbeit it is worst of all yf the sweate be cold And whan the face head and necke sweat onlye if it be in any hot ague it declareth dethe whichout any remedy In prouokyng of sweate the Phisition shoulde take hede that it be not to much for feare of dissoluyng of the strength of hys pacient The seuenth kynde of euacuation is exercise wherof we spoke before in the fowerthe chapter of this same boke The .viii. kynde is abstinence or hungar which doth not extenuat nor make euacuation of him selfe but by meanes that that is not restored which w t abstinence or fastinge was wasted Fastyng or abstinēce may be takē .ii. wayes eyther vtterly to forbeare
bothe meate and drinke or elles to take so much as is sufficient to kepe the soule and the body together and no more Ther is nothyng that so muche profiteth ether the sicke or the hole as doth abstinence yf it be taken in due tyme and orderly and therfore Plinie none of the worst wryters of Physycke commendeth sobrietie in meates and drinkes sayinge that it is verye profitable for all men to be temperate in their diet And the very father of Phisicke Hyppocrates affirmeth moderate eatynge and drinking to be the castel of health and many tymes such as be diseased and sicke be cured onlye by abstinence In prescribynge of abstinēce the Phisitiō shoulde discretly consider who may best beare it for as Gallen sayeth in his .2 boke of temperamentes They y t haue small vaynes haue but lytell bloude wherfore they can not faste without hurtyng theyre bodies they that haue great vaynes haue plentye of bloude wherefore they maye the better away with abstinence without any decay of theyr bodelye health or strength of such as be sicke they y t be full of crude rawe humors be least hurte w t fastyng yea the best remedye to all such is abstinēce but to be brefe none shoulde be cōmaunded to fast of the Phisicion but suche as be stronge or elles be sicke of suche diseases as cū of cruditie As abstinence if it be geuen in seasō to suche as hath nede of it profiteth very muche so if it be taken out of time or be geuen to such as nede it not it hurteth twise as much It is taken out of time whā y e bodye is weake the disease easy to be ouer cumme or elles whan it is prescribed vnto such as be of nature cholericke for in such it bredeth chollar causeth feuers with many frettes and pinchinges both in the belly also in the mouth of the mawe Slepe hathe the .ix. place of those thinges which healpe euacuation howbeit all slepe dothe not extenuat nor at all tymes but that only which is taken the body being hungery or elles by and by after exercise and labor for the naturall heate in slepe is called in to the innar partes whych whan it findeth no nurrishment nor meate to be altered and digested it doth waste and consume the profitable humors of all the body and so of necessitie it both drieth the body lessenneth it also the which thing Hyppocrates witnesseth sayinge Much slepe drieth his body which before hath bene to muche pourged any manner of way Also in hys .ii. boke that he writ of good ordar of diet he affirmeth y t slepe extenuateth the body which fasteth or kepeth abstinence and maketh it coulde consumynge all the humiditye wythin it Of all other tymes that slepe whiche is taken in the morninge after exercise dryeth the body most the same also doth slepe taken after bathes For the bathe opening the poores maketh euacuation of all the excrementes which lurked in y e skynne and slepe immediatly folowinge the bathe calleth in the naturall heat agayne and wasteth the profitable humidity of y e innar partes The .xii. kynde of euacuatiō is the prouoking of vrine which should be vsed whan ther is any obstruction or any great abundaunce of humors about that part of the liuer which in latten is called gibba or els in the raynes or bladder for if the obstruction be in cauo hepatis which as gibba is the plumppest parte and the toppe of the liuer so cauum is the holowest parte the lowest of y e same thē it is better to lewse the bellye then to prouoke vryne For Gallen sayeth as the toppe of the liuer which before is called gibba is clensed by prouokinge of vrine so the holowe part of the liuer which I called cauum is pourged by lewsyng of the belly The which sayinge he repeteth in the .vii. chapter of his .ii. boke that he write to hys frynde Glauco and in many other diuers and sundry places In the prouokynge of vrine y e Phisicion must beware that there be no fluxe of bloude nor exulceration in the raynes or bladder for thē it is better to pluck from thence in to other partes of the body thē to drawe from other places thyther The .xi. kynde of euacuation is the drawinge downe of the spettell or the excrement of the braine by the mouthe whose vse is whā the breste and the instrumentes of brethynge shoulde be pourged wherfore whan the spettell is equall bothe in quantitie and collour then it declareth the brest the instrumentes of brethynge to be in perfit health but whan it is otherwyse that is to saye of diuers cullours not equall it declareth the instrumentes of brethynge and the hole brest so farre to be distempered as it differethe from hys owne naturall cullour and quantitie Wherfore the Phisicion shoulde diligently consider what Hyppocrates hathe writ in the .ii. boke prog and Aphor .43 also in sūme of the other folowing The .xii. kinde of euacuation is by holdyng medicynes in the roofe of y e mouthe which is called gargelyng vnder the which kynde is cōtayned the puttyng of medicines in to the nose called nisynge and these if they be vsed in theyr time profiteth and healpeth the braine very much The .xiii. kynde is the bledyng at the nose which amendeth the obstructions of y e brayne the distillations from the heade in to all partes of the body wherfore the Phisitiō shoulde diligently attende that in bledyng at the nose he knowe whan to stynt it whan not For sūme tyme whan it hathe bled but a verye litell it must be staied incontinent Sumtyme it is not stayed w tout greate daunger as yf it chaunce by the abundaunce of nawghtye bloude for then it is better to healpe nature to expell the nawghtie bloud thē to stay it wherfore euery Phisicion shoulde wel remember this sayinge of Hyppocrates whan so euer the bledynge at the nose quieteth not the body it must be stopped w t a dry medicyne The .xiiii. kynde of euacuation is wemens flowres which chaunce to wemē at times appoynted of nature that by the meanes of them y e hole bodye may be pourged and so health defended wherfore if the flowres be suppressed at any tyme excepte that tyme that the woman goethe with childe or geueth sucke it decayeth health vtterly and marreth the good constitution of the body as well as whan they runne to muche which Hyppocrates witnesseth saying as foloweth Of to many flowres cūmeth diseases but of to fewe or not at all foloweth diseases of the wombe Yet in stopping of the flowres the Phisicion shoulde behaue hym selfe wiselye lest he stop them to sone or to late For sū wemen hath them naturally longer then other haue which Hyppocrates witnesseth saying to such womē as haue moyst bodies their flowres continueth long if they cū not downe quickly they swell with all The xv kynde of euacuation is done
by the hemorrhoides which is the name of certayne vaynes cūminge to the loweste parte of the fundament by the which nature purgeth the body of melancholye wherby it deliuereth the bodye of many diseases which Hippocrates affirmeth sayinge They that haue the hemorrhoides be safe frō all paine of their sides and inflammatiō of their lunges nor shal be troubled nether with byles scurfe nor no kynde of lepry Therfore the Phisiciō must take great hede in stoppynge of them lest they be the authors of great and perilous sicknessis as of the dropsie consumtions He that requireth a longer disputation of this matter let hym reade ouer Hyppocrates bokes written of the same matter The xvi kinde of euacuatiō is the fleshly or carnall copulation which profiteth y e body much yf it be vsed moderatly and in due tyme For it amendeth the fulnesse of the body and as Aetius in the .viii. chapter of hys .iii. boke Agineta in the 3. chapter of his .i. boke witnesseth whan the body is at the groweth it maketh it strong nymble and quicke and amendeth the hard habyt of the bodye For it mollifieth the instrumentes and dilateth the pores and pourgeth the body of flewme Morouer it quickneth y e wit pacifieth anger wherefore it profiteth all them that haue lost ther wyttes either with anger or elles w t sorowe it profiteth them also which haue the fawling euil such as haue heauinesse in theyr browes and ache in theyr heades many tymes be cured by it Which Hyppocrates confirmeth saying carnal copulation which is called venus ▪ amendeth all diseases that cum of flewme howbe it yf it be vsed to much it hurteth the eyes and all the sensis and the head senewes brest raines loynes thyghes and morouer hasteneth olde age and deth and vtterly dissolueth the strength of the bodye and hereof it commeth that they that vse it to much be forgetfull and be weake full of payne both in their ioyntes loynes thighes it bringeth many to y e strangury many to the gout Of all tymes of the yere it may safest be vsed in thy springe it is vtterly to be abhorred in autumne and in sūmar Winter also by meanes of hys greate colde is not very good the best houre for it is as Gallē sayeth whan the body is in a meane betwixte full and emptie and excedeth nether in heat nether in colde drynesse nor moysture Therefore who so euer wyll vse it let hym beware of cruditie drunkennes hungar werynesse vomittynge pourging of the belly watchyng and all other such as healpeth to dissolue the strength of the body After moderate eatyng is the best time of it and before slepe for that amendeth y e strength and maketh that there foloweth no colde after it For slepe immediatly folowing it taketh away the werines of the muscles and senewes and calleth in the natural heat which maketh the concoction perfit Moreouer this time is best and aptest to the procreation of children for many causes but especially because the woman whyles she slepeth holdeth her husbandes seed beste The .xvii. kynde of euacuation is perspiratiō or euaporation which is done ether by nature or elles by medicine which so finely subtylith the humors that they passe by the insensible poores of y e skinne without any putrifiynge Hitherto I haue declared the kyndes of euacuatiō or emptines the which euery diligent Phisition must so well obserue that he may knowe whan to vse this kynde or that or elles whan to stop for sumtyme it is better to encrease humors ▪ then to diminishe them Finallye the Phisition shoulde obserue and marke howe he should make euacuation and where and what and whan and how much ¶ The .vii. chapter Of the perturbations sudden motions of the minde THe Affections which be the sudden motions and perturbations of the mynde ought not to be neclected of the phisitiō because they be of great might and make great alteratiō in all the body y e whiche amongest al other feare Ioy angar and sorowe declare euidently Feare by drawing the spirite and bloud in to y e innar partes leaueth the vtter pale for colde Anger setteth the body on fire with mouing of the bloud to the vtter partes as in anger the pulse beteth mightely so in fere it beateth almost nothyng at all sorrow is an affection w c the which y e hart as though it were smytten is drawen together and doth tremble and quake not without great sense of payne and so by lyttel and lyttel whiles the sorow goeth not away the strength of the hart is quite ouerthrowen and the generation of spirites is letted by meanes wherof the lyfe is vtterly extinct suche a cruell scourge is sorow vnto mā Feare and sorowe differ of this fashion y e sorowfull mā suffereth that by littell and litell which the fearfull mā doth suffer all a tonse Ioy is a sudden motion with the whiche y e harte reioysing dilateth hym selfe and suddenly sendeth furth al hys naturall heat and spirites wherby sumtyme it chaunseth that a weake body diethe in Ioy because for lacke of strength the hart cā not call in agayne his naturall heat and spirites Aulus Gellius in hys .iii. boke and .xv. chapter writeth ā historye worthy to be remembred of one Diagoras y t had .iii. sonnes which were all crowned of the people in one day at the playes of the hil Olimpia whilest the people and his iii. sōnes reioysing embrased their father castyng theyre garlandes vpon hym he died in theyr armes Philippides also a maker of playes whan he had y e victorie amongest the Poettes whiche he loked not for died by and by amongest them all Howe be it anger kylleth no man because it nether cooleth the naturall heat nor yet dissolueth the strength The phisition shoulde marke earnestlye not onlye these but all other affectes of the mynde also partly that he may know of them what humor redoundeth but especially that he may lerne how to resiste them and by hys counsell master them in the ende †The ende of the seconde boke The third boke ¶ The first chapter of the number of thinges agaynste Nature THynges agaynste Nature be .iii. in number the firste is the cause which goeth before the disease The seconde is the disease it selfe by whome the action is first hurt The third is the accidentes folowyng the disease This same parte of phisicke which inquireth of the causes and the accidētes of diseases is called of the Grekes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 soundeth nothing elles but the mouyng of any thing that is affected wherfore he hath hys substance no lenger then he is in mouing altering or changing and so he differeth from affection taken specially the which is nothynge elles but an alteration remayning in a thing that hath suffered by this meanes the disease and the cause with the accidente which be affections of oure body as pale and euyll culour be called affections
forth maketh any noyse it declarethe winde to be mixte w t thynne moysture and the fundement to be drawen nere together Whan any wyndye spirit striueth with moysture then commonly there remayneth sum fome in the siege The siege being diuers in cullar showeth y e body to be diuersly affected wherfore for the most part it is a signe of long sicknesse ¶ Of the spettell The .4 chapter THe spettell is to be considered in all diseases but especially in the diseases or griefes of the brest and lunges in the which diseases yf the pacient spet nothing at all it is a tokē of extreme cruditie but if he spet though it be moyst crude it signifieth the first part of the disease which is the beginning to be newly ended after that it is more baked cummeth vp first a littell then more more thē the sicknesse is almost in y e state at the worst whan it is well baked cūmeth a great pase then the disease is alredy in the state which is to say at the heyght because thē it cā grow no hygher after cummyng lesse w t more ease lesse grefe in coughyng and takyng of breth beinge also well cōcoct not crude it signifieth y e sicknesse to decline depart Yf the spettel be sumthynge nigh vnto yelowe w t a light fome vpon it it is a token of cruditie only without any furthar euill But if it be very yelow tawny grene or blacke or clammy w t much fome it is not to be beliked at all if it be blody it is nothynge so euyll as blacke and yealow but the manner of excretion must also be well marked For if it cum vp easily thē it is to be accounted good and yf not but w t difficultie of brethyng thē it is euel The absolute note marke of concoction is whan the spettel is light white and egal of substance nether thynne nor thicke yf the spettell be thynne not blacke it signifieth nothynge but the lacke of naturall heat but yf it be the cullar of leade or rustinesse or blacke it is extreme euyll ¶ The .v. chapter of the pulses THe pulse is a sensible mouynge of the hart and Arteries that is to say vaynes hauing two coates growing of the hart carriynge both blod and spirit by the which they be lifted vp and let done againe This mouynge hath ii vses For in the dilatynge of the arteries colde Ayer is drawen in which doeth not only stirre vp but also refresheth the vitall power wherof the Animall spirites be made and in the submission or cōtraction of the forenamed Arteries the smoky excrement whiche came of burnte humors aduste is expelled Parauenture summe will loke that here in this place I shoulde haue declared the differencys of the pulses because that w tout the knowlege therof there can be no diuinatiō by the pulses Howbeit I willingly at this time omyt them because Gallen and Archigines with other mo auncient writers are not as yet agreed of them Cornelius Celsus non of the worst Phisitions semeth to doubt much whether any thynge may certaynly be coniectured by them or no. But this I am assured of that though I should haue set them furth so playnly as I coulde for my lyfe yet they shoulde not haue bene throughly knowen but of such as alredy be well entred practised not only in the workes of Phisicke but also in Arithmaticke and Mathamaticke and as for such let them serche what Gallen and other olde phisitions haue wrytten For to them this littel rude boke is not written but only to suche as are ignorant in the lattyn tong y t they may by healp of this my boke not only lerne sūthyng for theyr bodely health but also saue theire money which they dayly wast in feeding such Phisitions as be not lernyd wherfore gentyll readers accept my good wyll though I haue not satisfied youre expectation remembrynge the olde poetes sayinge Rebus et in magnis est voluisse satis which is to say that in matters of weyght to haue ben wyllynge it is sufficient Finis ¶ Imprinted at London in Fletestrete at the signe of the Sunne ouer agaynst the condyte by Edvvard VVhitchurche the .x. day of April Cum priuilegio ad imprimendum solum