Part 46 (2/2)
To these I may add roses, violets, capers, featherfew, scordium, staechas, rosemary, ros solis, saffron, ochyme, sweet apples, wine, tobacco, sanders, &c. That Peruvian chamico, _monstrosa facultate &c._, Linshcosteus Datura; and to such as are cold, the [4134]decoction of guiac.u.m, China sarsaparilla, sa.s.safras, the flowers of carduus benedictus, which I find much used by Monta.n.u.s in his Consultations, Julius Alexandrinus, Lelius, Egubinus, and others. [4135]Bernardus Penottus prefers his herba solis, or Dutch sindaw, before all the rest in this disease, ”and will admit of no herb upon the earth to be comparable to it.” It excels Homer's moly, cures this, falling sickness, and almost all other infirmities. The same Penottus speaks of an excellent balm out of Aponensis, which, taken to the quant.i.ty of three drops in a cup of wine, [4136]”will cause a sudden alteration, drive away dumps, and cheer up the heart.” Ant. Guianerius, in his Antidotary, hath many such. [4137]Jacobus de Dondis the aggregator, repeats ambergris, nutmegs, and allspice amongst the rest. But that cannot be general. Amber and spice will make a hot brain mad, good for cold and moist. Garcias ab Horto hath many Indian plants, whose virtues he much magnifies in this disease. Lemnius, _inst.i.t. cap. 58._ admires rue, and commends it to have excellent virtue, [4138]”to expel vain imaginations, devils, and to ease afflicted souls.” Other things are much magnified [4139]by writers, as an old c.o.c.k, a ram's head, a wolf's heart borne or eaten, which Mercurialis approves; Prosper Altinus the water of Nilus; Gomesius all seawater, and at seasonable times to be seasick: goat's milk, whey, &c.
SUBSECT. IV.--_Precious Stones, Metals, Minerals, Alteratives_.
Precious stones are diversely censured; many explode the use of them or any minerals in physic, of whom Thomas Erastus is the chief, in his tract against Paracelsus, and in an epistle of his to Peter Monavius, [4140]
”That stones can work any wonders, let them believe that list, no man shall persuade me; for my part, I have found by experience there is no virtue in them.” But Matthiolus, in his comment upon [4141]Dioscorides, is as profuse on the other side, in their commendation; so is Cardan, Renodeus, Alardus, Rueus, Encelius, Marbodeus, &c. [4142]Matthiolus specifies in coral: and Oswaldus Crollius, _Basil. Chym_. prefers the salt of coral.
[4143]Christoph. Encelius, _lib. 3. cap. 131._ will have them to be as so many several medicines against melancholy, sorrow, fear, dullness, and the like; [4144]Renodeus admires them, ”besides they adorn kings' crowns, grace the fingers, enrich our household stuff, defend us from enchantments, preserve health, cure diseases, they drive away grief, cares, and exhilarate the mind.” The particulars be these.
Granatus, a precious stone so called, because it is like the kernels of a pomegranate, an imperfect kind of ruby, it comes from Calecut; [4145]”if hung about the neck, or taken in drink, it much resisteth sorrow, and recreates the heart.” The same properties I find ascribed to the hyacinth and topaz. [4146]They allay anger, grief, diminish madness, much delight and exhilarate the mind. [4147]”If it be either carried about, or taken in a potion, it will increase wisdom,” saith Cardan, ”expel fear; he brags that he hath cured many madmen with it, which, when they laid by the stone, were as mad again as ever they were at first.” Petrus Bayerus, _lib. 2.
cap. 13. veni mec.u.m_, Fran. Rueus, _cap. 19. de geminis_, say as much of the chrysolite, [4148]a friend of wisdom, an enemy to folly. Pliny, _lib.
37._ Solinus, _cap. 52._ Albertus _de Lapid._ Cardan. Encelius, _lib. 3.
cap. 66._ highly magnifies the virtue of the beryl, [4149]”it much avails to a good understanding, represseth vain conceits, evil thoughts, causeth mirth,” &c. In the belly of a swallow there is a stone found called chelidonius, [4150]”which if it be lapped in a fair cloth, and tied to the right arm, will cure lunatics, madmen, make them amiable and merry.”
There is a kind of onyx called a chalcedony, which hath the same qualities, [4151]”avails much against fantastic illusions which proceed from melancholy,” preserves the vigour and good estate of the whole body.
The Eban stone, which goldsmiths use to sleeken their gold with, borne about or given to drink, [4152]hath the same properties, or not much unlike.
Levinus Lemnius, _Inst.i.tui. ad vit. cap. 58._ amongst other jewels, makes mention of two more notable; carbuncle and coral, [4153]”which drive away childish fears, devils, overcome sorrow, and hung about the neck repress troublesome dreams,” which properties almost Cardan gives to that green-coloured [4154]emmetris if it be carried about, or worn in a ring; Rueus to the diamond.
Nicholas Cabeus, a Jesuit of Ferrara, in the first book of his Magnetical Philosophy, _cap. 3._ speaking of the virtues of a loadstone, recites many several opinions; some say that if it be taken in parcels inward, _si quis per frustra voret, juventutem rest.i.tuet_, it will, like viper's wine, restore one to his youth; and yet if carried about them, others will have it to cause melancholy; let experience determine.
Mercurialis admires the emerald for its virtues in pacifying all affections of the mind; others the sapphire, which is ”the [4155]fairest of all precious stones, of sky colour, and a great enemy to black choler, frees the mind, mends manners,” &c. Jacobus de Dondis, in his catalogue of simples, hath ambergris, _os in corde cervi_, [4156]the bone in a stag's heart, a monocerot's horn, bezoar's stone [4157](of which elsewhere), it is found in the belly of a little beast in the East Indies, brought into Europe by Hollanders, and our countrymen merchants. Renodeus, _cap. 22.
lib. 3. de ment. med_. saith he saw two of these beasts alive, in the castle of the Lord of Vitry at Coubert.
Lapis lazuli and armenus, because they purge, shall be mentioned in their place.
Of the rest in brief thus much I will add out of Cardan, Renodeus, _cap.
23. lib. 3._ Rondoletius, _lib. 1. de Testat. c. 15. &c._ [4158]”That almost all jewels and precious stones have excellent virtues” to pacify the affections of the mind, for which cause rich men so much covet to have them: [4159]”and those smaller unions which are found in sh.e.l.ls amongst the Persians and Indians, by the consent of all writers, are very cordial, and most part avail to the exhilaration of the heart.”
_Minerals._] Most men say as much of gold and some other minerals, as these have done of precious stones. Erastus still maintains the opposite part.
_Disput. in Paracelsum. cap. 4. fol. 196._ he confesseth of gold, [4160]
”that it makes the heart merry, but in no other sense but as it is in a miser's chest:” _at mihi plaudo simul ac nummos contemplor in arca_, as he said in the poet, it so revives the spirits, and is an excellent recipe against melancholy,
[4161] _For gold in physic is a cordial, Therefore he loved gold in special._
_Aurum potabile_, [4162]he discommends and inveighs against it, by reason of the corrosive waters which are used in it: which argument our Dr. Guin urgeth against D. Antonius. [4163]Erastus concludes their philosophical stones and potable gold, &c. ”to be no better than poison,” a mere imposture, a _non ens_; dug out of that broody hill belike this golden stone is, _ubi nascetur ridiculus mus_. Paracelsus and his chemistical followers, as so many Promethei, will fetch fire from heaven, will cure all manner of diseases with minerals, accounting them the only physic on the other side. [4164]Paracelsus calls Galen, Hippocrates, and all their adherents, infants, idiots, sophisters, &c. _Apagesis istos qui Vulcanias istas metamorphoses sugillant, inscitiae soboles, supinae pertinaciae alumnos_, &c., not worthy the name of physicians, for want of these remedies: and brags that by them he can make a man live 160 years, or to the world's end, with their [4165]_Alexipharmac.u.ms, Panaceas, Mummias, unguentum Armarium_, and such magnetical cures, _Lampas vitae et mortis, Balneum Dianae, Balsamum, Electrum Magico-physic.u.m, Amuleta Martialia_, &c.
What will not he and his followers effect? He brags, moreover, that he was _primus medicorum_, and did more famous cures than all the physicians in Europe besides, [4166]”a drop of his preparations should go farther than a dram, or ounce of theirs,” those loathsome and fulsome filthy potions, heteroc.l.i.tical pills (so he calls them), horse medicines, _ad quoram aspectum Cyclops Polyphemus exhorresceret_. And though some condemn their skill and magnetical cures as tending to magical superst.i.tion, witchery, charms, &c., yet they admire, stiffly vindicate nevertheless, and infinitely prefer them. But these are both in extremes, the middle sort approve of minerals, though not in so high a degree. Lemnius _lib. 3. cap.
6. de occult. nat. mir_. commends gold inwardly and outwardly used, as in rings, excellent good in medicines; and such mixtures as are made for melancholy men, saith Wecker, _antid. spec. lib. 1._ to whom Renodeus subscribes, _lib. 2. cap. 2._ Ficinus, _lib. 2. cap. 19._ Fernel. _meth.
med. lib. 5. cap. 21. de Cardiacis_. Daniel Sennertus, _lib. 1. part. 2.
cap. 9._ Audernacus, Libavius, Querceta.n.u.s, Oswaldus Crollius, Euvonymus, Rubeus, and Matthiolus in the fourth book of his Epistles, Andreas a Blawen _epist. ad Matthiolum_, as commended and formerly used by Avicenna, Arnoldus, and many others: [4167]Matthiolus in the same place approves of potable gold, mercury, with many such chemical confections, and goes so far in approbation of them, that he holds [4168] ”no man can be an excellent physician that hath not some skill in chemistical distillations, and that chronic diseases can hardly be cured without mineral medicines:” look for antimony among purgers.
SUBSECT. V.--_Compound Alteratives; censure of Compounds, and mixed Physic_.
Pliny, _lib. 24. c. 1_, bitterly taxeth all compound medicines, [4169]
”Men's knavery, imposture, and captious wits, have invented those shops, in which every man's life is set to sale: and by and by came in those compositions and inexplicable mixtures, far-fetched out of India and Arabia; a medicine for a botch must be had as far as the Red Sea.” And 'tis not without cause which he saith; for out of question they are much to [4170]blame in their compositions, whilst they make infinite variety of mixtures, as [4171]Fuchsius notes. ”They think they get themselves great credit, excel others, and to be more learned than the rest, because they make many variations; but he accounts them fools, and whilst they brag of their skill, and think to get themselves a name, they become ridiculous, betray their ignorance and error.” A few simples well prepared and understood, are better than such a heap of nonsense, confused compounds, which are in apothecaries' shops ordinarily sold. ”In which many vain, superfluous, corrupt, exolete, things out of date are to be had” (saith Cornarius); ”a company of barbarous names given to syrups, juleps, an unnecessary company of mixed medicines;” _rudis indigestaque moles_. Many times (as Agrippa taxeth) there is by this means [4172]”more danger from the medicine than from the disease,” when they put together they know not what, or leave it to an illiterate apothecary to be made, they cause death and horror for health. Those old physicians had no such mixtures; a simple potion of h.e.l.lebore in Hippocrates' time was the ordinary purge; and at this day, saith [4173]Mat. Riccius, in that flouris.h.i.+ng commonwealth of China, ”their physicians give precepts quite opposite to ours, not unhappy in their physic; they use altogether roots, herbs, and simples in their medicines, and all their physic in a manner is comprehended in a herbal: no science, no school, no art, no degree, but like a trade, every man in private is instructed of his master.” [4174]Cardan cracks that he can cure all diseases with water alone, as Hippocrates of old did most infirmities with one medicine. Let the best of our rational physicians demonstrate and give a sufficient reason for those intricate mixtures, why just so many simples in mithridate or treacle, why such and such quant.i.ty; may they not be reduced to half or a quarter? _Frustra fit per plura_ (as the saying is) _quod fieri potest per pauciora_; 300 simples in a julep, potion, or a little pill, to what end or purpose? I know not what [4175]Alkindus, Capivaccius, Montagna, and Simon Eitover, the best of them all and most rational, have said in this kind; but neither he, they, nor any one of them, gives his reader, to my judgment, that satisfaction which he ought; why such, so many simples? Rog. Bacon hath taxed many errors in his tract _de graduationibus_, explained some things, but not cleared. Mercurialis in his book _de composit. medicin._ gives instance in Hamech, and Philonium Romanum, which Hamech an Arabian, and Philonius a Roman, long since composed, but _cra.s.se_ as the rest. If they be so exact, as by him it seems they were, and those mixtures so perfect, why doth Fernelius alter the one, and why is the other obsolete? [4176]Cardan taxeth Galen for presuming out of his ambition to correct Theriachum Andromachi, and we as justly may carp at all the rest. Galen's medicines are now exploded and rejected; what Nicholas Meripsa, Mesue, Celsus, Scribanius, Actuarius, &c. writ of old, are most part contemned. Mellichius, Cordus, Wecker, Quercetan, Renodeus, the Venetian, Florentine states have their several receipts, and magistrals: they of Nuremberg have theirs, and Augustana Pharmacopoeia, peculiar medicines to the meridian of the city: London hers, every city, town, almost every private man hath his own mixtures, compositions, receipts, magistrals, precepts, as if he scorned antiquity, and all others in respect of himself. But each man must correct and alter to show his skill, every opinionative fellow must maintain his own paradox, be it what it will; _Delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi_: they dote, and in the meantime the poor patients pay for their new experiments, the commonalty rue it.
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