5
against the sweatyng sicknes.
Man beyng borne not for his owne vse
and cõmoditie alone, but also for the commõ benefite of many,
(as reason wil and al good authoures write) he whiche in this world
is worthy to lyue, ought al wayes to haue his hole minde and intente
geuen to profite others. Whiche thynge to shewe in effecte in my selfe,
although by fortune some waies I haue ben letted, yet by that whiche
fortune cannot debarre, some waies again I haue declared. For after
certein yeres beyng at cambrige, I of the age of XX. yeres, partly for mine exercise and profe what I
coulde do, but chefely for certein of my very frẽdes, dyd translate out
of Latine into Englishe certein workes, hauyng nothynge els so good to
gratifie theim wt. Wherof one of S. Chrysostome de
modo orandi deum, that is, of ye manner
(4)
to praye to god, I sent to one my frende then beyng in the courte.
One other, a woorke of Erasmus de vera theologia, the true
and redy waye to reade the scripture, I dyd geue to Maister
Augustine Stiwarde Alderman of Norwiche, not in the ful as the authore
made it, but abbreuiate for his only purpose to whome I sent it, Leuyng
out many subtile thinges, made rather for great & learned diuines,
thẽ for others. The thirde was the paraphrase of the same Erasmus vpon
the
6
Epistle of S. Jude, whiche I translated at the requeste of one
other my deare frende.
These I did in Englishe the rather because at that tyme men ware not
so geuen all to Englishe, but that they dyd fauoure & maỹteine good
learning conteined in tongues & sciences, and did also study and
apply diligently the same thẽ selues. Therfore I thought no hurte done.
Sence yt tyme diuerse other thynges I haue written, but with
entente neuer more to write in the Englishe tongue, partly because the
cõmoditie of that which is so written, passeth not the compasse of
Englande, but remaineth enclosed within the seas, and partly because I
thought that labours so taken should be halfe loste among them whiche
sette not by learnyng. Thirdly for that I thought it beste to auoide the
iudgement of the multitude, from whome in maters of learnyng a man
shalbe forced to dissente, in disprouyng that whiche they most approue,
& approuyng that whiche they moste disalowe. Fourthly for that the
common settyng furthe and printĩg of euery foolishe thyng in englishe,
both of phisicke vnperfectly, and other matters vndiscretly diminishe
the grace of thynges learned set furth in thesame. But chiefely, because
I wolde geue none example or comforte to my countrie men, (whõ I wolde
to be now, as here tofore they haue bene, comparable in learnyng to men
of other countries) to stonde onely in the Englishe tongue, but to leaue
the simplicite of thesame, and to procede further in
(5)
many and diuerse knoweleges bothe in tongues and sciences at home and in
vniuersities, to the adournyng of the cõmon welthe, better seruice of
their kyng, & great pleasure and commodite of their owne selues, to
what kinde of life so euer they shold applie them. Therfore whatsoeuer
sence that tyme I minded to write, I wrate ye same
either in greke or latine. As firste of all certein commentaries vpon
certein bokes of William framinghã, maister of art in Cambrige,
a man ot great witte, memorie, diligence and learnyng, brought vp
in thesame scholes in Englande that I was, euer frõ his beginnyng vntil
his death. Of the which bokes, ij. of cõtinẽtia
(or cõtinence) wer in prose, ye reste in metre or verse
of diuerse kindes. One a comforte for a blinde mã, entitled
7
ad Aemilianum cæcum consolatio, one other Ecpyrosis, seu
incendiũ sodomorũ, the burnyng of Sodome. The thirde
Laurentius, expressyng the tormentes of Saincte Laurence. The
fourthe, Idololatria, Idolatrie, not after the trade and veine of
scripture (wherein he was also very well exercised) but conformable to
scripture and after the ciuile and humane learnyng, declaryng them to
worshippe Mars, that warre, or fight: Venus, that lyue
incontinently: Pluto, that folowe riches couetousely; and so
forth through all vices vsed in his time. The fiueth boke Arete,
vertue: the sixth, Epigrãmes, conteined in two bokes, whiche by an
epistle of his owne hand before ye boke yet remainyng, he
dedicated vnto me, purposyng to haue done many more prety thynges, but
that cruell death preuẽted, and toke him away wher he and I was borne at
Norwiche, in the yere of our Lord M.d.xxxvij. the xxix. daie of
September, beynge then of the age of xxv. yeres, vij. Monethes, and vj.
daies, a greate losse of so notable a yonge man. These workes at
his death he willed to comme to my handes, by
(6)
which occasion after I had viewed thẽ, and perceiued them ful of al
kyndes of learnyng, thinkyng thẽ no workes for all mẽ to vnderstande
with out helpe, but such as were wel sene in all sortes of authours:
I endeuoured my selfe partely for the helpe of others, & partly
for mine owne exercise, to declare vpon theim the profite of my studie
in ciuile and humane learnynge, and to haue before mine eyes as in a
worke (which was alwaies my delyght) how muche I had profited in the
same. Thys so done, I ioyned euery of my commentaries to euery of
hys saied bokes, faier written by Nicolas Pergate puple to the saied
Maister Framyngham, myndyng after the iudgement of learned men had in
thesame, to haue set theim furthe in prynte, if it had ben so thought
good to theim. For whyche cause, at my departynge into Italie,
I put an Epistle before theym dedicatorye to the right Reuerend
father in God Thomas Thirlbye, now Bishoppe of Norwiche, because thesame
maister Framyngham loued hym aboue others. He after my departure
deliuered the bokes to the reuerende father in god Jhõ Skippe, late
bishop of Hereforde, then to D. Thirtle, tutor to the sayd maister
framynghã, frõ him to syr Richard Morisine,
8
now ambassadoure for ye kinges maiestie with thẽperour, then
to D. Tailour Deane of Lincolne, and syr Thomas Smithe, secretarie
after to ye kynges Maiestie, all great learned men. Frõ these
to others they wente, among whome the bokes died, (as I suppose,)
or els be closely kept, that after my death they may be setfurthe in the
names of them which now haue thẽ, as their workes. Howe soeuer it be,
well I knowe that at my returne out of Italie (after vj. yeres
continuance ther) into Englãd, I coulde neuer vnderstand wher they
wer, although I bothe diligently and desirousely sought thẽ. After these
I translated out of Greke into Latine a litle boke of Nicephorus,
declarynge howe a man maye in praiynge confesse hym selfe, which after I
dyd geue vnto Jhõ Grome bacheler in arte,
(7)
a yong man in yeres, but in witte & learnyng for his tyme, of
great expectatiõ. That done I beganne a chronicle of the citie of
Norwiche, of the beginninge therof & thinges done ther frõ time to
time. The matere wherof yet rude and vndigested lyeth by me, which at
laisure I minde to polishe, and to make an end of that I haue begunne.
And to be shorte, in phisicke diuerse thynges I haue made &
settefurth in print bothe in Greke and Latine, not mindyng to do other
wise, as I haue before said, al my life: For which cause al these
thinges I haue rehersed, els superfluous in this place. Yet see, meaning
now to counseill a litle agaynst the sweatyng sickenes for helpe also of
others, notwithstandyng my former purpose, two thynges compell me, in
writynge therof, to returne agayne to Englishe, Necessite of the matter,
& good wyl to my countrie, frendes, & acquaintance, whiche here
to haue required me, to whome I thinke my selfe borne.
Necessite, for that this disease is almoste peculiar vnto vs Englishe
men, and not common to all men, folowyng vs, as the shadowe the body, in
all countries, albeit not at al times. Therfore compelled I am to vse
this our Englishe tongue as best to be vnderstande, and moste nedeful to
whome it most foloweth, most behoueth to haue spedy remedie, and often
tymes leaste nyghe to places of succourre and comforte at lerned mennes
handes: and leaste nedefull to be setfurthe in other tongues to be
vnderstand generally of all persons,
9
whome it either haunteth not at all, or els very seldome, as ones in an
age. Thinkynge it also better to write this in Englishe after mine own
meanyng, then to haue it translated out of my Latine by other after
their misunderstandyng.
Good wyll to my countrie frendes and acquaintance, seynge them wyth
out defence yelde vnto it, and it ferefully to inuade thẽ, furiousely
handle them, spedily oppresse them, vnmercyfully
(8)
choke them, and that in no small numbers, and such persons so notably
noble in birthe, goodly conditions, graue sobrietie, singular wisedõe,
and great learnynge, as Henry Duke of Suffolke, and the lorde Charles
his brother, as fewe hath bene sene lyke of their age: an heuy &
pitifull thyng to here or see. So that if by onely learned men in
phisicke & not this waye also it should be holpen, it were nedeful
almost halfe so many learned men to be redy in euery toune and citie, as
their should be sweatynge sicke folkes. Yet this notwithstandynge,
I wyll euery man not to refuse the counseill of the present or
nighe phisicen learned, who maie, accordyng to the place, persone,
cause, & other circũstances, geue more particular counseil at nede,
but in any wise exhorte him to seke it with all diligence. To this
enterprise also amonge so many learned men, not a litle stirreth me the
gentilnes and good willes of al sortes of men, which I haue well proued
heretofore by my other former bokes. Mindynge therefore with as good a
will to geue my counseil in this, and trusting for no lesse gentlenes in
the same, I wyll plainly and in English for their better
vnderstandynge to whome I write, firste declare the beginnynge, name,
nature, and signes of the sweatynge sickenes. Next, the causes of the
same. And thirdly, how to preserue men frõ it, and remedy them whẽ they
haue it.
The beginnyng of the disease
In the yere of our Lorde God M.CCCC.lxxxv. shortly after the vij. daye
of august, at whiche tyme kynge Henry the seuenth arriued at Milford in
walles, out of Fraunce, and in the firste yere of his reigne, ther
chaunced a disease among the people, lastyng the reste of that monethe
& all September, which for the soubdeine sharpenes and vnwont
cruelnes passed the pestilence. For this commonly geueth iij. or iiij.
often vij. sumtyme ix. as that firste at
10
Athenes whiche Thucidides describeth in his seconde boke, sumtyme
xj. and sumtyme xiiij. dayes respecte, to whome it
(9)
vexeth. But that immediatly killed some in opening theire windowes, some
in plaieng with children in their strete dores, some in one hour, many
in two it destroyed, & at the longest, to thẽ that merilye dined, it
gaue a sorowful Supper. As it founde them so it toke them, some in
sleape some in wake, some in mirthe some in care, some fasting &
some ful, some busy and some idle, and in one house sometyme three
sometime fiue, sometyme seuen sometyme eyght, sometyme more some tyme
all, of the whyche, if the haulfe in euerye Towne escaped, it was
thoughte great fauour. How, or wyth what maner it toke them, with what
grieffe, and accidentes it helde theym, herafter thẽ I wil declare, whẽ
I shal come to shewe the signes therof. In the mene space, know that
this disease (because it most did stand in sweating from the beginning
vntil the endyng) was called here, the Sweating sickenesse: and because
it firste beganne in Englande, it was named in other countries, the
englishe sweat. Yet some conjecture that it, or the like, hath bene
before seene among the Grekes in the siege of Troie. In thẽperor
Octauius warres at Cantabria, called nowe Biscaie, in Hispaine:
and in the Turkes, at the Rhodes. How true that is, let the aucthours
loke: how true thys is, the best of our Chronicles shewith, & of the
late begonne disease the freshe memorie yet confirmeth. But if the name
wer now to be geuen, and at my libertie to make the same: I would
of the maner and space of the disease (by cause the same is no
sweat only, as herafter I will declare, & in the spirites) make the
name Ephemera, which is to sai, a feuer of one natural dai.
A feuer, for the feruor or burning, drieth & sweating feure
like. Of one naturall day, for that it lasteth but the time of xxiiij.
houres. And for a distinction from the commune Ephemera, that
Galene writeth of, comming both of other causes, and wyth vnlike paines,
I wold putte to it either Englishe, for that it followeth somoche
English menne, to whõ
(10)
it is almoste proper, & also began here: or els pestilent, for that
it cõmeth by infection & putrefaction, otherwise then doth the other
Ephemera. Whiche thing I suppose may the
11
better be done, because I se straunge and no english names both in
Latine and Greke by commune vsage taken for Englishe. As in Latin,
Feure, Quotidiã, Tertian, Quartane, Aier, Infection, Pestilence, Uomite,
Person, Reines, Ueines, Peines, Chamere, Numbre, &c. a litle altered
by the commune pronunciation. In Greke, Pleuresie, Ischiada, Hydrops,
Apostema, Phlegma, and Chole: called by the vulgare pronunciatiõ,
Schiatica, Dropsie, Impostume, Phleume, & Choler: Gyne also, and
Boutyre, Sciourel, Mouse, Rophe, Phrase, Paraphrase, & cephe, wherof
cometh Chaucers couercephe, in the romant of the Rose, writtẽ and
pronoũced comõly, kerchief in ye south, & courchief in
the north. Thereof euery head or principall thing, is comonlye called
cephe, pronoũced & writtẽ, chief. Uery many other there be in our
commune tongue, whiche here to rehearse were to long. These for an
example shortelye I haue here noted. But for the name of this disease it
maketh now no matter, the name of Sweat beyng cõmõly vsed. Let vs
therfore returne to the thing, which as occasiõ & cause serued, came
againe in the M.D.vi. the xxii. yeare of the said Kyng Henry the
seuenth. Aftre that, in the yeare M.D.xvii. the ix. yeare of Kyng Henry
the viii, and endured from July, vnto ye middest of Decẽbre.
The iiii tyme, in the yeare M.D.xxviii. the xx. yeare of thesaied Kyng,
beginning in thende of May, & continuing June and July. The fifth
tyme of this fearful Ephemera of Englande, and pestilent sweat,
is this in the yeare M.D.LI. of oure Lorde GOD, and the fifth yeare of
oure Souereigne Lorde king Edwarde the sixth, beginning at Shrewesbury
in the middest of April, proceadinge with greate mortalitie to Ludlowe,
Prestene, and
(11)
other places in Wales, then to Westchestre, Couentre, Oxenfoorde, and
other tounes in the Southe, and such as were in and aboute the way to
London, whether it came notablie the seuenth of July, and there
continuing sore, with the losse of vii. C. lxi. from the ix. day vntil
the xvi. daye, besides those that died in the vii. and viii. dayes, of
whõ no registre was kept, frõ that it abated vntil the xxx. day of the
same, with the losse of C. xlii. more. Then ceassing there, it wente
from thence throughe al the east partes of England into the Northe
12
vntill the ende of Auguste, at whiche tyme it diminished, and in the
ende of Septembre fully ceassed.
This disease is not a Sweat onely, (as it is thought & called)
but a feuer, as I saied, in the spirites by putrefaction venemous, with
a fight, trauaile, and laboure of nature againste the infection receyued
in the spirites, whervpon by chaunce foloweth a Sweate, or issueth an
humour compelled by nature, as also chanceth in other sicknesses whiche
consiste in humours, when they be in their state, and at the worste in
certein dayes iudicial, aswel by vomites, bledinges, & fluxes, as by
sweates. That this is true, the self sweates do shewe. For as in vtter
businesses, bodies yt sore do labour, by trauail of the same
are forced to sweat, so in inner diseases, the bodies traueiled &
labored by thẽ, are moued to the like. In which labors, if nature be
strõg & able to thrust out the poisõ by sweat (not otherwise letted)
ye persõ escapeth: if not, it dieth. That it is a feuer, thus
I haue partly declared, and more wil streight by the notes of the
disease, vnder one shewing also by thesame notes, signes, and short
tariance of the same, that it consisteth in the spirites. First by the
peine in the backe, or shoulder, peine in the extreme partes, as arme,
or legge, with a flusshing, or wind, as it semeth to certeine of the
pacientes, flieng in the same. Secondly by the grief in the liuer and
the nigh stomacke. Thirdely, by the peine in the head, & madnes of
(12)
the same. Fourthly by the passion of the hart. For the flusshing or
wynde comming in the vtter and extreame partes, is nothing els but the
spirites of those same gathered together, at the first entring of the
euell aire, agaynste the infection therof, & flyeng thesame from
place to place, for their owne sauegarde. But at the last infected, they
make a grief where thei be forced, which cõmonly is in tharme or legge
(the fartheste partes of theire refuge) the backe or shulder: trieng
ther first a brũt as good souldiers, before they wil let their enemye
come further into theire dominion. The other grefes be therefore in
thother partes aforsaid & sorer, because the spirites be there most
plẽtuous as in their founteines, whether alwaies thinfection desireth to
go. For frõ the liuer, the nigh stomack, braine, and harte, come all the
iij. sortes, and kyndes
13
of spirites, the gouernoures of oure bodies, as firste spronge there.
But from the hart, the liuish spirites. In putrifieng wherof by the euel
aier in bodies fit for it, the harte is oppressed. Wherupon also
foloweth a marueilous heauinesse, (the fifthe token of this disease,)
and a desire to sleape, neuer contented, the senses in al partes beynge
as they were bounde or closed vp, the partes therfore left heuy,
vnliuishe, and dulle. Laste foloweth the shorte abidinge,
a certeine Token of the disease to be in the spirites, as wel may
be proued by the Ephemera that Galene writethe of, whiche because
it consistethe in the Spirites, lasteth but one natural day. For as fire
in hardes or straw, is sone in flambe & sone oute, euen so heate in
the spirites, either by simple distemperature, or by infection and
putrefaction therin conceyued, is sone in flambe and sone out, and soner
for the vehemencye or greatnes of the same, whiche without lingering,
consumeth sone the light matter, contrary to al other diseases restyng
in humoures, wherin a fire ones kindeled, is not so sone put out, no
more
(13)
then is the same in moiste woodde, or fat Sea coles, as well by the
particular Example of the pestilence, (of al others most lyke vnto
this) may be declared, whyche by that it stãdeth in euel humors, tarieth
as I said, sometyme, from iiij. vii. ix. & xj. vntill xiiij. dayes,
differentlie from this, by reason therof, albeit by infection most lyke
to this same. Thus vnder one laboure shortelie I haue declared both what
this disease is, wherein it consisteth, howe and with what accidentes it
grieueth and is differente from the Pestilence, and the propre signes,
and tokens of the same, without the whiche, if any do sweate,
I take theym not to Sweate by this Sickenesse, but rather by feare,
heate of the yeare, many clothes, greate exercise, affection, excesse in
diete, or at the worst, by a smal cause of infection, and lesse
disposition of the bodi to this sicknes. So that, insomoche as the body
was nat al voide of matter, sweate it did when infection came: but in
that the mattere was not greate, the same coulde neyther be perilous nor
paineful as in others, in whom it was greater cause.
The causes.
Hetherto I haue shewed the beginning, name, nature, & signes of this
disease: nowe I will declare the causes,
14
which be ij.: infectiõ, & impure spirites in bodies corrupt by
repletiõ. Infection, by thaire receiuing euel qualities, distẽpring not
only ye hete, but the hole substãce therof, in putrifieng
thesame, and that generally ij. waies. By the time of the yere
vnnatural, & by the nature & site of the soile &
region—wherunto maye be put the particular accidentes of this
same. By the time of the yeare vnnaturall, as if winter be hot &
drie, somer hot and moist: (a fit time for sweates) the spring
colde and drye, the fall hot & moist. To this mai be ioyned the euel
disposition by constellation, whiche hath a great power & dominion
in al erthly thinges. By the site & nature of the soile & regiõ,
many wayes. First & specially by euel mistes & exhalatiõs drawen
out of the grounde by the sũne in the heate of the yeare, as chanced
amõg the Grekes in the siege of Troy, wherby died firste dogges &
mules, after,
(14)
mẽ in great numbre: & here also in Englãd in this m.d.lj. yeare, the
cause of this pestilent sweate, but of dyuers nature. Whiche miste in
the countrie wher it began, was sene flie frõ toune to toune, with suche
a stincke in morninges & eueninges, that mẽ could scarcely abide it.
Thẽ by dampes out of the earth, as out of Galenes Barathrũ, or
the poetes auernũ, or aornũ, the dampes wherof be such,
that thei kil ye birdes fliẽg ouer them. Of like dampes,
I heard in the north coũtry in cole pits, wherby the laboring mẽ be
streight killed, except before the houre of coming therof (which thei
know by ye flame of their cãdle) thei auoid the groũd.
Thirdly by putrefactiõ or rot in groũdes aftre great flouddes, in
carions, & in dead men. After great fluddes, as happened in
ye time of Gallien thẽperor at rome, in Achaia &
Libia, wher the seas sodeinly did ouerflow ye cities
nigh to yt same. And in the xi. yeare of Pelagius,
when al the flouddes throughe al Italye didde rage, but chieflye
Tibris at Rome, whiche in many places was as highe as the walles
of the citie.
In cariõs or dead bodies, as fortuned here in Englande vpon the sea
banckes in the tyme of King Alured, or Alfrede; (as some
Chroniclers write) but in the time of king Ethelred after Sabellicus, by
occasion of drowned Locustes cast vp by the Sea, which by a wynde were
driuen oute of Fraunce
15
thether. This locust is a flie in bignes of a mãnes thumbe, in colour
broune, in shape somewhat like a greshopper, hauing vi. fiete, so many
wynges, two tiethe, & an hedde like a horse, and therfore called in
Italy Caualleto, where ouer ye city of Padoa,
in the yeare m.d.xlij. (as I remembre,) I, with manye more did see
a swarme of theim, whose passage ouer the citie, did laste two hours, in
breadth inestimable to euery man there. Here by example to note
infection by deadde menne in Warres, either in rotting aboue the ground,
as chaunced in Athenes by theim of Ethiopia, or els in beyng buried
ouerly
(15)
as happened at Bulloigne, in the yere M.D.xlv. the yeare aftre king
Henrye theight had conquered the same, or by long continuance of an
hoste in one place, it is more playne by dayly experience, then it
neadeth to be shewed. Therefore I wil now go to the fourth especial
cause of infectiõ, the pent aier, breaking out of the ground in
yearthquakes, as chaunced at Uenice in the first yeare of Andrea
Dandulo, then Duke, the xxiiij. day of Januarye, and xx. hour after
their computacion. By which infectiõ mani died, & many were borne
before their time. The v. cause is close, & vnstirred aire, &
therfore putrified or corrupt, out of old welles, holes in yt
groũd made for grain, wherof many I did se in & about Pesaro
in Italy, by openĩg thẽ aftre a great space, as both those coũtrimẽ do
cõfesse, & also by exãple is declared, for ye manye in
openĩg thẽ vnwarely be killed. Out of caues, & tõbes also, as
chaũced first in the country of Babilonia, proceding aftre into
Grece, and so to Rome, by occasion that ye souldiers of
themperour Marcus Antoninus, vpon hope of money, brake up a
golden coffine of Auidius Cassius, spiẽg a litle hole therin, in
the tẽple of Apollo in Seleucia, as Ammianus
Marcellinus writeth. To these mai be ioyned the particular causes of
infectiõ, which I cal the accidentes of the place, augmenting thesame.
As nigh to dwelling places, merishe & muddy groundes, puddles or
donghilles, sinkes or canales, easing places or carions, deadde ditches
or rotten groundes, close aier in houses or ualleis, with suche like.
Thus muche for the firste cause.
The second cause of this Englyshe Ephemera, I said were
thimpure spirites in bodies corupt by repletiõ. Repletion I
16
cal here, abundance of humores euel & maliciouse, from long time by
litle & litle gathered by euel diete, remaining in the bodye, coming
either by to moche meate, or by euel meate in qualitie, as infected
frutes, meates of euel iuse or nutrimẽt; or both ioyntly. To such
spirites when the aire infectiue cometh
(16)
cõsonant, thẽ be thei distẽpered, corrupted, sore handled, &
oppressed, thẽ nature is forced, & the disease engendred. But while
I doe declare these impure spirites to be one cause, I must remoue
your myndes frõ spirites to humours, for that the spirites be fedde of
the finest partes therof, & aftre bringe you againe to spirites
where I toke you. And forsomuche as I haue not yet forgotten to whome I
write, in this declaration I will leaue a part al learned & subtil
reasõs, as here void & vnmiete, & only vse suche as be most
euident to whom I write, & easiest to be vnderstanden of the same:
and at ones therwith shew also why it haũteth vs English men more thẽ
other nations. Therfore I passe ouer the vngẽtle sauoure or smell of the
sweate, grosenes, colour, and other qualities of the same, the
quantitie, the daunger in stopping, the maner in coming furthe redily,
or hardly, hot or cold, the notes in the excremẽtes, the state longer or
sorer, with suche others, which mai be tokẽs of corrupt humours &
spirites, & onli wil stãd upõ iii. reasõs declaring ye
same swet by gret repletiõ to be in vs not otherwise for al the euel
aire apt to this disease, more thẽ other natiõs. For as hereaftre I wil
shew, & Galẽ cõfirmeth, our bodies cã not suffre any thĩg or hurt by
corrupt & infectiue causes, except ther be in thẽ a certeĩ mater
prepared apt & like to receiue it, els if one were sick, al shuld be
sick, if in this countri, in al coũtres wher the infection came, which
thĩg we se doth not chãce. For touching the first reasõ, we se this
sweting sicknes or pestilẽt Ephemera, to be oft in Englãd, but
neuer entreth Scotland, (except the borders) albeit thei both be
ioinctly within the cõpas of on sea. The same beginning here, hath
assailed Brabant & the costes nigh to it, but neuer passed Germany,
where ones it was in like faciõ as here, with great mortalitie, in the
yere m.d.xlix. Cause wherof none other there is naturall, then the euell
diet of these thre contries whiche destroy more meates and
(17)
17
drynckes withoute al ordre, cõueniẽt time, reasõ, or necessite, thẽ
either Scotlande, or all other countries vnder the sunne, to the greate
annoiance of their owne bodies and wittes, hinderance of theim which
have nede, and great dearth and scarcitie in their cõmon welthes.
Wherfore if Esculapius the inuentour of phisike, ye
sauer of mẽ from death, and restorer to life, should returne again ĩto
this world, he could not saue these sortes of men, hauing so moche
sweatyng stuffe, so many euill humoures laid vp in store, frõ this
displeasante, feareful, & pestilent disease: except thei would
learne a new lesson, & folowe a new trade. For other wise, neither
the auoidyng of this countrie (the seconde reason) nor fleyng into
others, (a commune refuge in other diseases) wyll preserue vs
Englishe men, as in this laste sweate is by experience well proued in
Cales, Antwerpe, and other places of Brabant, wher only our contrimen
ware sicke, & none others, except one or ii. others of thenglishe
diete, which is also to be noted. The cause hereof natural is onely
this, that they caried ouer with thẽ, & by lyke diete ther incresed
that whiche was the cause of their disease. Wherefore lette vs
asserteine our selues, that in what soeuer contrie lyke cause and matter
is, there commyng like aier and cause efficient, wil make lyke effecte
and disease in persõs of agreable complexions, age, and diete, if the
tyme also doe serue to these same, and in none others. These I putte,
for that the tyme of the yere hote, makethe moche to the malice of the
disease, in openynge the pores of the body, lettynge in the euill aier,
resoluynge the humores and makynge them flowable, and disposing therfore
the spirites accordyngly, besyde, that (as I shewed in the first
cause of this pestilente sweate) it stirreth and draweth out of the
erthe euill exhalations and mistes, to thinfection of the aier and
displeasure of vs.
(18)
Diet I put, for that they of the contrarie diete be not troubled with it
at all. Age and complexion, for this, that although it spareth nõ age of
bothe kyndes, nor no complexion but some it touchethe, yet for the most
parte (wherby rules and reasones be alwayes to be made) it vexed theim
of the middle age, beste luste, and theim not moche vnder that, and of
complexions hote & moiste, as fitteste by their naughty & moche
18
subtiltie of blode to fede the spirites: or nigh and lyke to thesame in
some one of the qualities, as cholerike in hete, phlegmatike in moister,
excepte thother their qualities, as drinesse in cholerike, & cold in
phlegmatike, by great dominion ouer thother, did lette. For the clene
contrarie complexiõs to the infected aier, alwaies remaine helthful,
saulfe and better then tofore, the corrupte and infected aier
notwithstandyng. Therfore cold and drie persones either it touched not
at all, or very fewe, and that wyth no danger: such I say as beside
their complexion, (whiche is so harde to finde in any man exacte and
simple, as exacte helthes) were annoied with some corrupt humoures &
spirites, & therfore mete by so moch to receiue it, & that by
good reasõ. For nothing can naturally haue power to do ought against any
thing, excepte the same haue in it selfe a disposicion by like qualities
to receiue it. As the cause in the fote cãnot trouble the flanke and
leue the knee (the mean betwixte) except there were a greater consent
and likenes of nature in sufferance (whiche we call sympathian)
betwixte those then thother. Nor fire refusynge stones, canne burne
hardes, strawe, stickes and charcole, oile, waxe, fatte, and seacole,
except these same first of al wer apte, and by conuenient qualities
disposed to be enflamed and burned. Nor any man goeth about to burne
water, because the qualities thereof be contrary, and the body
vndisposed to the like of fire. By whiche reason it may also be
perceiued, that ye venemouse qualitie of this corrupt aire is
(20)
[= (19)]
hote and moiste, for it redily enfectethe the lyke complexions, and
those nigh vnto theim, and the contrary not at all, or hardly: &
easely doth putrify, as doe the Southe wyndes. Therfore next vnto those
colde and drie cõplexions, olde men escaped free, as like to theim by
age: and children, as voide of replecion consumed by their great hete,
and therefore alwaies redy to eate. But in this disease the subtile
humour euill and abundant in full bodies fedyng ye spirites,
is more to be noted then the humour complexional, whiche
notwithstanding, as an helper or hinderer to ye same, is not
to be neglected. For els it should be in all contries and persones
indifferently, wher all complexiones be. The thirde and laste
19
reason is, yt they which had thys sweat sore with perille or
death, were either men of welthe, ease, & welfare, or of the poorer
sorte such as wer idle persones, good ale drinkers, and Tauerne
haunters. For these, by ye great welfare of the one sorte,
and large drinkyng of thother, heped vp in their bodies moche euill
matter: by their ease and idlenes, coulde not waste and consume it.
A comfirmacion
of this is, that the laborouse and thinne
dieted people, either had it not, because they dyd eate but litle to
make the matter: or with no greate grefe and danger, because they
laboured out moche thereof. Wherefore vpon small cause, necessarily must
folowe a smal effecte. All these reasones go to this ende, that persones
of all contries of moderate and good diete, escape thys Englishe
Ephemera, and those be onely vexed therewith, whiche be of
immoderate and euill diete. But why? for the euill humores and corrupte
aier alone? No, for thẽ the pestilence and not the swet should rise. For
what then? For ye impure spirites corrupte in theim selues
and by the infectiue aier. Why so? for that of impure and corrupte
humores, whether thei be blode or others, can rise none other then
impure spirites.
(20)
For euery thynge is suche as that whereof it commeth. Now, that of the
beste and fineste of the blode, yea in corrupte bodies (whyche beste is
nought) these spirites be ingendred and fedde, I before expressed.
Therfor who wyl haue them pure and cleane, and him selfe free from
sweat, muste kepe a pure and cleane diete, and then he shalbe sure.
The preseruacion
Infection by the aier, and impure spirites by repletion thus founde and
declared to be the causes of this pestilente sweate or Englishe
ephemera, lette vs nowe see howe we maye preserue our selues from
it, and howe it may be remedied, if it chaunce, wythe lesse mortalitie.
I wyll begynne wyth preseruation. That most of all dothe stande in
auoidyng the causes to come of the disease, the thinges helping forward
the same, and remouyng that whiche is alredy had & gotten. Al be
done by the good order of thynges perteynyng to the state of the body.
Therfore I will begin with diete wher I lefte, & then go furth with
aier where I beganne in treatyng the causes, and declare the waie to
auoide
20
infection, and so furthe to the reste in order. Who that lustethe to
lyue in quiete suretie, out of the sodaine danger of this Englishe
ephemera, he aboue all thynges, of litle and good muste eate
& spare not, the laste parte wherof wyl please well (I doubt
not) vs Englishe men: the firste I thinke neuer a deale. Yet it must
please theim that entende to lyue without the reche of this disease. So
doyng, they shall easely escape it. For of that is good, can be
engendred no euill: of that is litle, can be gathered no great store.
Therfore helthful must he nedes be and free from this disease, that
vsethe this kinde of liuynge and maner in dietynge. An example hereof
may the wise man Socrates be, which by this sorte of diete
escaped a sore pestilence in Athenes, neuer fleynge ne kepyng close him
selfe from the same. Truly who will lyue accordynge to nature and not to
lust, may with this diete be well contented. For nature is pleased with
a litle, nor seketh other then that
(22)
[= (21)]
the mind voide of cares and feares may be in quiete merily, and the body
voide of grefe, maye be in life swetly, as Lucretius writeth.
Here at large to ronne out vntill my breth wer spent, as vpon a common
place, against ye intemperãce or excessiue diete of Englande,
thincommodities & displeasures of the same many waies: and
contrarie, in commẽdation of meane diete and temperance (called of
Plato sophrosyne, for that it cõserneth wisdome) and the
thousande commodities therof, both for helthe, welthe, witte, and longe
life, well I might, & lose my laboure: such be our Englishe facions
rather then reasones. But for that I purpose neither to wright a longe
worke but a shorte counseill, nor to wery the reders with that they
luste not to here, I will lette that passe, and moue thẽ that
desire further to knowe my mynde therin, to remember that I sayd before,
of litle & good eate and spare not, wherby they shall easely
perceiue my meanyng. I therefore go furth with my diete, wherin my
counseill is, that the meates be helthfull, and holsomly kylled, swetly
saued, and wel prepared in rostyng, sethyng, baking, & so furth. The
bred, of swet corne, wel leuened, and so baked. The drinke of swete
malte and good water kyndly brued, without other drosse nowe a daies
vsed. No wine in all the tyme of
21
sweatyng, excepte to suche whose sickenes require it for medicin, for
fere of inflamynge & openynge, nor except ye halfe be wel
soden water. In other tymes, old, pure, & smal. Wishĩg for the
better executiõ hereof & ouersight of good and helthsome victalles,
ther wer appointed certein masters of helth in euery citie and toune, as
there is in Italie, whiche for the good order in all thynges, maye be in
al places an example. The meates I would to be veale, muttone, kidde,
olde lambe, chikyn, capone, henne, cocke, pertriche, phesane, felfare,
smal birdes, pigeon, yong pecockes, whose fleshe by a
(22)
certeine natural & secrete propertie neuer putrefie, as hath bene
proued. Conies, porke of meane age, neither fatte nor leane, the skynne
takẽ awaye, roste, & eatẽ colde: Tartes of prunes, gelies of veale
& capone. Yong befe in this case a litle poudered is not to be
dispraised, nor new egges & good milke. Butter in a mornyng with
sage and rewe fastynge in the sweatynge tyme, is a good preseruatiue,
beside that it nourisheth. Crabbes, crauesses, picrel, perche, ruffe,
gogion, lampreis out of grauelly riuers, smeltes, dace, barbell,
gornerd, whityng, soles, flunders, plaice, millers thumbes, minues,
wt such others, sodde in water & vinegre wt
rosemary, time,
sage, & hole maces, & serued hote. Yea swete salte fishe and
linge, for the saltes sake wastynge ye humores therof, which
in many freshe fishes remaine, maye be allowed well watered to thẽ that
haue none other, & wel lyke it. Nor all fishes, no more then al
fleshes be so euil as they be takẽ for: as is wel declared in physik,
& approued by the olde and wise romaines moche in their fisshes,
lusty chartusianes neuer in fleshes, & helthful poore people more in
fishe then fleshe. But we are nowe a daies so vnwisely fine, and womanly
delicate, that we may in no wise touch a fisshe. The olde manly hardnes,
stoute courage, & peinfulnes of Englande is vtterly driuen awaye, in
the stede wherof, men now a daies receive womanlines, & become nice,
not able to withstande a blaste of wynde, or resiste a poore fishe. And
children be so brought vp, that if they be not all daie by the fire with
a toste and butire, and in their furres, they be streight sicke.
Sauces to metes I appoint firste aboue all thynges good
22
appetite, and next Oliues, capers, iuse of lemones, Barberies,
Pomegranetes, Orenges and Sorel, veriuse, & vineigre, iuse of vnripe
Grapes, thepes or Goseberies. After mete, quinces, or marmalade,
Pomegranates, Orenges sliced eaten with Suger, Succate of the pilles or
barkes therof, and of pomecitres, olde apples and peres, Prunes,
Reisons, Dates & Nuttes. Figges
(24)
[= (23)]
also, so they be taken before diner, els no frutes of that yere, nor
rawe herbes or rotes in sallattes, for that in suche times they be
suspected to be partakers also of the enfected aire.
Of aire so much I haue spoken before, as apperteinethe to the
declaration of enfection therby. Nowe I wyl aduise and counseill howe to
kepe the same pure, for somoche as may be, or lesse enfected, and
correcte the same corrupte. The first is done in takynge a way
ye causes of enfectiõ. The seconde, by doynge in all pointes
the contrary thereto. Take awaye the causes we maye, in damnyng diches,
auoidynge cariõs, lettyng in open aire, shunning suche euil mistes as
before I spake of, not openynge or sturrynge euill brethynge places,
landynge muddy and rottẽ groundes, burieng dede bodyes, kepyng canelles
cleane, sinkes & easyng places sweat, remouynge dongehilles, boxe
and euil sauouryng thynges, enhabitynge high & open places, close
towarde the sowthe, shutte toward the winde, as reason wil &
thexperience of M. varro in the pestilẽce at Corcyra
confirmethe. Correcte in doyng the contrary we shall, in dryenge the
moiste with fyres, either in houses or chambers, or on that side the
cities, townes, & houses, that lieth toward the infection and wynde
commyng together, chefely in mornynges & eueninges, either by
burnyng the stubble in the felde, or windfallynges in the woodes, or
other wise at pleasure. By which policie skilful Acron deliuered
Athenes in Gretia, and diuine Hippocrates abderã in
Thratia frõ ye pestilẽce, & preserued frõ the same
other the cities in Grece, at diuerse times cõyng with the wynde
frõ æthiopia, illyria
& pæonia, by putting to the fires wel smelling
garlãdes, floures & odoures, as Galene and Soranus
write. Of like pollicie for purgyng the aier were the bonfires made
(as I suppose) frõ long time hetherto vsed in ye middes
of sommer,
(24)
and not onely for vigiles. In cõfortyng the spirites also, and
23
by alterynge the aier with swete odoures of roses, swet perfumes of the
same, rosemary leaues, baies, and white sanders cutte, afewe cloues
steped in rose water and vinegre rosate, the infection shalbe lesse
noious. With the same you maye also make you a swete house in castynge
it abrode therin, if firste by auoidynge the russhes and duste, you make
the house clene. Haue alwaies in your handcercher for your nose and
mouth, bothe with in your house and without, either the perfume before
saide, or vinegre rosate: and in your mouth a pece either of setwel, or
of the rote of enula campana wel steped before in vinegre rosate,
a mace, or berie of Juniper. In wante of suche perfumes as is
beforesaide, take of mirrhe & drie rose leues of eche a lyke
quantite, with a little franke encense, for the like purpose, and caste
it vpon the coles: or burne Juniper & their beries. And for so moche
as clenelines is a great help to helthe, mine aduise is, that all your
clothes be swete smellynge and clene, and that you wasshe your handes
and face not in warme water, but with rose water and vinegre rosate
colde, or elles with the faire water and vinegre wherein the pilles or
barkes of orenges and pomegranates are sodden: or the pilles of
pomecitres & sorel is boiled: for so you shalle close the pores
ayenst the ayre, that it redily entre not, and cole and tempre those
partes so wasshed, accordynge to the right entente in curynge this
disease. For in al the discurse, preseruatiõ, and cure of thys disease,
the chefe marke & purpose is, to minister suche thynges as of their
nature haue the facultie by colyng dryenge and closyng, to resiste
putrefaction, strength and defende the spirites, comforte the harte, and
kepe all the body ayenst the displeasure of the corrupte aire. Wherfor
it shal be wel done, if you take of this cõposition folowyng euery
mornyng the weight of ij. d. in vi.
(25)
sponefulles of water or iuleppe of Sorel, & cast it vpon your meate
as pepper, ℞ seĩs citri. acetos. ros. rub. sãdal. citrin. ãn. ʒ i,
boli armeni oriẽtal. ʒ i. s, terr. sigil. ʒ s,
margarit. ʒ i, fol. auri puri. nº. iiij, misce. &
f. pul. diuidatur ad põd. ʒ s. Or in the stede of this, take
fasting the quantitie of a small bene of Mithridatum or Uenice
triacle in a sponeful of Sorel, or Scabious water, or by the selfe
alone. And in goyng
24
abrode, haue in youre hande either an handekercher with vinegre and rose
water, or a litle muske balle of nutmegges, maces, cloues, saffrõ, &
cinamone, of eche the weight of ij. d. finely beatẽ; of mastike the
weight of ij. d. ob. of storax, v. d. of ladane x. d. of
Ambre grise vi. graines, of Muske iii. graines dissolued in ryght
Muscadel: temper al together, & make a balle. In want of
Mithridatum or suche other as I haue before mencioned, vse dayly
the Sirupes of Pomegranates, Lemones, and Sorell, of eche half an vnce,
with asmuche of the watres of Tormentille, Sorell, and Dragones, fasting
in the morning, and one houre before supper. A toste in vinegre or
veriuse of Grapes, with a litle poulder of Cinamome and Settewelle caste
vppon it. Or two figges with one nutte carnelle, and tenne leaues of rue
in eche, and a litle salt. Or boutire, rue, and sage, with breade in a
morning eaten nexte your harte, be as good preseruatiues, as theie be
easye to be hadde. These preseruatiues I here appoincte the more
willingly among many others further to be fetched, because these maye
easelier be hadde, as at hande in niede, which now to finde is my most
endeuour, as moste fruictfulle to whome I write. And this to be done I
counsaille in the sickenesse tyme, when firste you heare it to be
comming and begonne, but not in the fitte. Alwayes remembryng, not to go
out fastinge. For as Cornelius Celsus wrytethe, Uenime or
infection taketh holde muche soner in a bodye yet fasting, then in the
same not fastinge. Yet this is not so to be vnderstande, that in the
(26)
mornynge we shal streight as our clothes be on, stuffe our bellies as
fulle as Englishe menne, (as the Frenche man saieth to our shames,)
but to be contente with oure preseruatiues, or with a little meate bothe
at breakefaste (if custome and nede so require) dynner and supper.
For other wise nature, if the disease shoulde take vs, shoulde haue more
a doe againste the full bealy and fearce disease, then it were able to
susteyne.
Aftre diete and ayer followethe filling or emptieng. Of filling in
the name of repletiõ I spake before. Of ẽptieng, I will now
shortely write as of a thing very necessary for the conseruation of
mannes healthe. For if that whiche is euel within, be not by good meanes
& wayes wel fet oute, it often
25
times destroyeth the lyfe. Good meanes to fet out the
euelle stuffe of the body be two, abstinence, & auoydance.
Abstinence, in eatynge and drinckynge litle, as a lytle before I
sayed, and seldome. For so, more goeth awaie then comethe, and by litle
and litle it wasteth the humours & drieth. Therfore (as I
wiene) throughe the counseil of Phisike, & by the good ciuile, &
politique ordres, tẽdring the wealth of many so much geuẽ to their
bellies to their own hurtes & damages, not able for wãt of reasõ to
rule thẽ selues, & therby enclined to al vices and diseases: for
thauoiding of these same, increase of vertue, witte and health, sauing
victualles, making plenty, auoyding lothesomenesse or wearinesse, by
chaunge, in taking sometime of that in the sea, and not alwaies
destroieng yt of the lande, an ordre (without the whiche
nothing can stand) and comon wealth, dayes of abstinence, and fasting
were firste made, and not for religion onely.
Auoidance, because it cãnot be safely done withoute the healpe of a
good Phisicien, I let passe here, expressing howe it shoulde bee
done duelye accordinge to the nature of the
(27)
disease and the estate of the personne, in an other booke made by me in
Latine, vppon this same matter and disease. Who therfore lusteth to see
more, let him loke vpon that boke. Yet here thus much wil I say, that if
after euacuation or auoiding of humors, the pores of the skinne remaine
close, and ye sweating excrement in the fleshe continueth
grosse (whiche thinge howe to know, hereafter I will declare) then rubbe
you the person meanly at home, & bathe him in faire water sodden
with Fenel, Chamemil, Rosemarye, Mallowes, & Lauendre, & last of
al, powre water half colde ouer al his body, and so dry him, &
clothe him. Al these be to be don a litle before ye end of
ye spring, that the humours may be seatled, and at rest,
before the time of the sweting, whiche cometh comonly in somer, if it
cometh at al. For the tormoiling of the body in that time when it ought
to be most quiete, at rest, and armed against his enemy, liketh me not
beste here, no more then in the pestilence. Yet for the presente nede,
if it be so thoughte good to a learned and discrete Phisicien,
I condescend the rather. For as in thys, so
26
in alle others before rehearsed, I remytte you to the discretion of
a learned manne in phisike, who maye iudge what is to be done, and how,
according to the present estate of youre bodies, nature, custome, and
proprety, age, strength, delyghte and qualitie, tyme of the yeare, with
other circumstaunces, and thereafter to geue the quantitie, and make
diuersitie of hys medicine. Other wise loke not to receiue by this boke
that good which I entend, but that euel which by your owne foly you
vndiscretelye bring. For good counseil may be abused. And for me to
write of euery particular estate and case, whiche be so manye as there
be menne, were so great almost a busines, as to numbre the sandes in the
sea. Therfore seke you out a good Phisicien, and knowen to haue skille,
and at the leaste be so good to your bodies, as you are to your hosen or
shoes, for the wel making or mending wherof, I doubt
(28)
not but you wil diligently searche out who is knowẽ to be the best
hosier or shoemaker in the place where you dwelle: and flie the
vnlearned as a pestilence in a comune wealth. As simple women,
carpenters, pewterers, brasiers, sopeballesellers, pulters, hostellers,
painters, apotecaries (otherwise then for their drogges,) auaunters thẽ
selues to come from Pole, Constantinople, Italie, Almaine, Spaine,
Fraunce, Grece and Turkie, Inde, Egipt or Jury: from ye
seruice of Emperoures, kinges & quienes, promising helpe of al
diseases, yea vncurable, with one or twoo drinckes, by waters sixe
monethes in continualle distillinge, by Aurum potabile, or
quintessence, by drynckes of great and hygh prices, as though
thei were made of the sũne, moone, or sterres, by blessynges and
Blowinges, Hipocriticalle prayenges, and foolysh smokynges of shirtes
Smockes and kerchieffes, wyth suche others theire phantasies, and
mockeryes, meaninge nothinge els but to abuse your light belieue, and
scorne you behind your backes with their medicines (so filthie,
that I am ashamed to name theim) for your single wit and simple belief,
in trusting thẽ most, whiche you know not at al, and vnderstãd least:
like to them whiche thinke, farre foules haue faire fethers, althoughe
thei be neuer so euel fauoured & foule: as thoughe there coulde not
be so conning an Englishman, as a foolish running stranger, (of
27
others I speake not) or so perfect helth by honest learning, as by
deceiptfull ignorance. For in the erroure of these vnlerned, reasteth
the losse of your honest estimation, diere bloudde, precious spirites,
and swiete lyfe, the thyng of most estimation and price in this worlde,
next vnto the immortal soule.
For consuming of euel matter within, and for making our bodies
lustye, galiard, & helthful, I do not a litle comende exercise,
whiche in vs Englishe men I allowe quick, and
(29)
liuishe: as to runne after houndes and haukes, to shote, wrastle, play
at Tẽnes and weapons, tosse the winde balle, skirmishe at base
(an exercise for a gentlemanne, muche vsed among the Italianes,)
and vaughting vpon an horse. Bowling, a good excercise for women:
castinge of the barre and camping, I accompt rather a laming of
legges, then an exercise. Yet I vtterly reproue theim not, if the hurt
may be auoyded. For these a conueniente tyme is, before meate: due
measure, reasonable sweatinge, in al times of the yeare, sauing in the
sweatinge tyme. In the whiche I allow rather quietnesse then exercise,
for opening the body, in suche persons specially as be liberally &
freely brought vp. Others, except sitting artificers, haue theire
exercises by daily labours in their occupatiõs, to whom nothing niedeth
but solace onely, a thing conuenient for euery bodye that lusteth
to liue in helth. For els as nõ other thing, so not healthe canne be
longe durable. Thus I speake of solace, that I meane not Idlenesse,
wisshing alwayes no man to be idle, but to be occupied in some honest
kinde of thing necessary in a cõmon welth. For I accompt thẽ not worthi
meate & drink in a cõmõ welth, yt be not good for some
purpose or seruice therin, but take thẽ rather as burdennes vnprofitable
and heauye to the yearth, men borne to fille a numbre only, and wast the
frutes whiche therthe doeth giue,
willing soner to fiede the Lacedemonians old
& croked asse, whiche labored for the liuing so long as it coulde
for age, then suche an idle Englisshe manne. If the honestye and profite
of honeste labour and exercise, conseruation of healthe, preseruation
from sickenesse, maintenaunce of lyfe, aduauncement, safety from
shamefull deathes, defence from beggerye, dyspleasures by idlenesse,
28
shamefulle diseases by the same, hatefulle vices, and punishemente of
the immortalle soule, canne not moue vs to reasonable laboure and
excercise, and to be profitable membres of the commune welthe, let at
the least shame moue vs, seyng that
(30)
other country menne, of nought, by their owne witte, diligence, labour
and actiuitie, can picke oute of a cast bone, a wrethen strawe,
a lyghte fether, or an hard stone, an honeste lyuinge: Nor ye shal
euer heare theym say, alas master, I haue nõ occupaciõ, I must
either begge or steale. For they can finde other meanes betwene these
two. And forsomuche as in the case that nowe is, miserable persons are
to be relieued in a cõmon welth, I would wisshe for not fauouring
the idle, the discretion of Marc. Cicero the romaine were vsed in
healping them: Who wolde compassion should be shewed vpon them, whome
necessitie compelled to do or make a faute: & no cõpassion vpon
them, in whome a faulte made necessitie. A faulte maketh
necessitie, in this case of begging, in them, whyche might laboure and
serue, & wil not for idlenes: and therfore not to be pitied, but
rather to be punished. Necessitie maketh a fault in thẽ, whiche wold
labor and serue, but cãnot for age, ĩpotẽcy, or sickenes, and therfore
to be pitied & relieued. But to auoyde punishmente & to shew the
waye to amendmente, I would again wishe, yt forsomuch as
we be so euel disposed of our selfes to our own profites and comodities
with out help, this old law were renued, which forbiddeth the nedy &
impotent parentes, to be releued of those their welthi chyldren, that by
theym or theire meanes were not broughte vppe, eyther in good learning
and Science, or honeste occupation. For so is a man withoute science, as
a realme withoute a kyng. Thus muche of exercise, and for exercise. To
the which I wolde now ioyne honeste companye betwene man and woman, as a
parte of natural exercise, and healpe to ye emptieng &
lightning the bodye in other tymes allowed, in this sweating tyme for
helthes sake, & for feare of opening the bodye, and resoluing the
spirites, not approued, but for dout, that wt lengthing the
boke, I shold wery ye reader. Therfore I let
yt passe & come to sleping & waking, whiche without
(31)
good ordre, be gretly hurtful to the bodie. For auoiding the
29
whiche, I take the meane to be best, and against this sweat moste
commendable. But if by excesse a man must in eyther part offend,
I permit rather to watch to muche, then to lie in bedde to longe:
so that in watchinge, there be no way to surfetting. Al these thinges
duely obserued, and well executed, whiche before I haue for preseruation
mencioned, if more ouer we can sette a parte al affections, as fretting
cares & thoughtes, dolefull or sorowfull imaginations, vaine feares,
folysh loues, gnawing hates, and geue oure selues to lyue quietly,
frendlie, & merily one with an outher, as men were wont to do in the
old world, whẽ this countrie was called merye Englande, and euery man to
medle in his own matters, thinking theim sufficient, as thei do in
Italye, and auoyde malyce and dissencion, the destruction of commune
wealthes, and priuate houses: I doubte not but we shall preserue
oure selues, bothe from this sweatinge syckenesse, and other diseases
also not here purposed to be spoken of.
The cure or remedy.
But if in leauinge a parte these or some of them, or negligently
executing them, it chaunceth the disease of sweating to trouble our
bodies, then passinge the bondes and compasse of preseruation, we must
come to curation, the way to remedie the disease, & the third and
last parte (as I first sayed) to be entreated in this boke. The
principalle entente herof, is to let out the venime by sweate accordinge
to the course of nature. This is brought to passe safely two waies, by
suffring and seruing handsomly nature, if it thruste it oute readily and
kindely: and helping nature, if it be letted, or be weake in expellinge.
Serue nature we shall, if in what time so euer it taketh vs, or what so
euer estate, we streyghte lay vs downe vppon oure bedde, yf we be vp and
in oure clothes, not takyinge them of: or lie stille, if we be in bed
out
(32)
of our clothes, laiyng on clothes both wayes, if we wante, reasonably,
and not loadinge vs therewith vnmeasurably. Thus layed and couered, we
must endeuoure our selues so to continue wyth al quietnes, & for so
much as may be without feare, distruste, or faintehartednesse, an euel
thinge in al diseases. For suche surrendre and geue ouer to the disease
without resistence. By whiche occasion manye more died in
30
the fyrste pestilence at Athenes, that I spake of in the
beginnynge of thys boke, then other wyse should. Oure kepers, friendes
and louers, muste also endeuoure theym selues to be handesome and
dilygente aboute vs, to serue vs redilye at al turnes, and neuer to
leaue vs duringe foure and twentie houres, but to loke welle vnto vs,
that neyther we caste of oure clothes, nor thruste out hande or foote,
duryng the space of the saide foure and twenty houres. For albeit the
greate daungere be paste after twelue houres, or fourtene, the laste of
trial, yet many die aftre by to muche boldenes, when thei thinke theim
selues most in suretye, or negligence in attendaunce, when they thinke
no necessitie. Wherby it is proued that without dout, the handsome
diligence, or carelesse negligence, is the sauing, or casting awaye of
many. If ij. be taken in one bed, let theym so continue, althoughe it be
to their vnquietnesse. For feare wherof, & for the more quietnesse
& safetye, very good it is duryng all the sweating time, that two
persones lye not in one bed. If with this quietnes, diligẽce, and ordre,
the sicke do kindelye sweate, suffre them so to continue, without meate
all the xxiiij houres: withoute drincke, vntil the fifth houre, if it
maie be. Alwayes taking hede to theim in the fourth, seuenth, nineth,
& eleuenth houres speciallye, and fourteenth also, as the laste of
triall and daungier, but of lesse in bothe. For these be most perilous,
as I haue obserued this yere in this disease, hauing ye
houres iudicial, as others haue theire dayes, and therfore worse to geue
anye thinge in, for troublyng nature standyng in trialle.
(33)
Yet wher more daunger is in forbearyng then in takyng, I counseill
not to spare in these howres to do as the case requireth with wisdome
& discretion, but lesse then in other howres. In the fifthe howre
geue theim to drinke clarified ale made only doulcet with a litle suger,
out of a cruet, or glasse made in cruet facion, with a nebbe, for feare
of raisynge theim selues to receiue the drinke offered, & so to let
the sweat, by the ayer strikyng in. But if the sicke on this wise
beforesaid canot sweate kyndly, then nature must be holpen, as I sayd
before. And for so moch as sweat is letted in this disease fower waies,
by disorder, wekenes of nature, closenes of the
31
pores in the skinne, & grosnes of the humoures: my counseil is to
auoide disorder by suche meanes as hetherto I haue taught, and next to
open the pores if they be close, and make thinne the matter, if it be
grosse, and prouoke sweat, if nature be weke. Those you shal doe by
gentle rubbynges, this by warme drinckes as hereafter streight I will
declare. And for that euery man hath not the knowlege to discerne which
of these is the cause of let in sweatyng, I wil shewe you plainly
howe to do with moste suretie and leste offense. I wyll beginne
with wekenes of nature. Therefore remember well that in treatynge the
causes of this disease, I sayed that this sweate chauncethe cõmonly
in theim of the mydde age and beste luste, the infection hauyng a
certein concordance, or conuenience with the corrupte spirites of theim
more then others. Knowe agayne that nature is weke, ij. waies, either in
the selfe, or by the annoiance of an other. In the selfe, by wante of
strength consumed by sicknes or other wise. By annoiaunce of an other,
when nature is so ouerlaid with the quantitie of euill humours that it
can not stirre. Betwene thes two set youre witte, and se whether the
persõ be lustye
(34)
or sickly. If he be lustye, vnderstande that the sweat doth not stoppe
for wekenes of nature in it selfe. Then of necessitie it must be for
some of thother causes. But for whiche, thus knowe. Consider whether the
lusty person were in foretyme geuen to moche drynkyng, eatyng and
rauenyng, to moch ease, to no exercise or bathinges in his helth, or no.
If all these you finde in him, knowe that bothe nature is wekened by the
annoiance of the humoures, and that the skinne is stopped, and the
humoure grosse, and that for thys the sweate is letted. If you finde
onely some of these, and that rauenynge, annoiance is the cause. If want
of exercise or bathinges, stoppinges of the pores and closenesse, or
grosenes of humours, or bothe, be the cause of not sweatying. On the
othersyde, if the persõ be sickely, it is easely knowẽ that his wekenes
consisteth in nature the self. And for so moche as weke folkes and sicke
shal also by other causes not sweate, consider if in his sickenes he
hath swette moche or no, or hath bẽ disposed to it and coulde not. If he
neither hath swette, nor coulde sweat
32
disposed, knowe that closenes of the skinne, and grosenes of the humour
is the cause. Therfore euery thing in his kynde muste be remedied,
Wekenes of nature, by drinkes prouokyng sweate: closenes, &
grosenes, by rubbynge, as I said. But be ware neither to rubbe or geue
drinkes, excepte you see cause as beforesayd. For other wise, the one
hindrethe nature, and thother letteth out the spirites & wasteth
ye strength. Therefore accordyngly, if rubbe you must, geue
to the sicke in to their beddes a newe and somewhat harde kerchefe, well
warmed but not hote, and bydde theim rubbe all their bodies ouer
therewith vnder the clothes, neither to moche neither to litle, nor to
harde or to softe, but meanely betwene, takyng you hede whiche be aboute
them, that by stirrynge their armes they raise not the clothes to let in
the ayer. This done, if case so require, geue thẽ a good draught of hote
possette ale
(35)
made of swiete milke turned with vinegre, in a quarte wherof percely,
and sage, of eche haulfe one litle handfull hath been sodden, wyth iii.
sliftes of rosemary, ii. fenel rootes cutte, and a fewe hole maces.
Alwaies remembrynge here, as in other places of this boke, to heate the
herbes in a peuter dishe before the fyre, or washe theim in hote water,
before you putte them in to the posset ale, and that you putte their to
no colde herbes at any tyme durynge the hole fitte. Or geue theim posset
ale hote with rosemary, dittane, & germander. Or baie beries, anise
seades, & calamintes with claret wine sodden and dronke warme. Or
white wine with hore and wilde tansy growen in medes sodden therin, and
ii. d. weight of good triacle, dronke hote, or in ye
stede of that, wilde tanesy, mogwort or feuerfue. These prouoke sweat,
may easely be hadde, & be metest for thẽ which haue al ye
causes beforesayde of lettyng thesame. But specially if for colde and
grose humoures, or for closenes of the skinne, the sweate commethe not
furthe. If with one draught they sweate not, geue theim one other, or
ij. successiuely, after halfe one houre betwene, and encrease the
clothes, first a litle aboue the meane, after, more or lesse as the
cause requireth, & make a litle fire in the chamber of clene woode,
as ashe & oke, with the perfume of bdellium: or swiet woode, as
Juniper, fyrre, or pine, by theimselues: remembrynge
33
to withdrawe the fire, when they sweat fully, and the clothes aboue the
meane, by litle and litle as you laide theim on, when they firste
complaine of faintyng. And after xii. or xiiii. houres, some also of the
meane, but one after an other by halfe one houre successiuely with
discrecion, alwaies not lokyng so moche to the quantitie of the sweat,
as what the sicke may saufely beare. And in suche case of faintynge,
suffer competent open aier to come into the chamber, if the same and the
wether be hote, for smoderynge the pacient, by
(36)
suche windowes as the wynde liethe not in, nor openeth to the south. Put
to their noses to smell vinegre and rose water in an handkercher, not
touchynge theim there with so nighe as maye be. Cause theim to lie on
their right side, and bowe theim selues forward, call theim by their
names, and beate theim with a rosemary braunche, or some other swete
like thynge. In the stede of posset ale, they whiche be troubled with
gowtes, dropsies, reumes, or suche other moiste euill diseases,
chauncing to sweat, may drinke a good draught of the stronger drinke of
Guaiacum so hote as they can, for the lyke effecte, as also
others may, not hauynge these deseases, if it be so redy to theim as the
other. After they ones sweat fully, myne aduise is not to geue any more
posset ale, but clarified ale with suger, duryng the hole fitte, neither
vnreasonably, nor so ofte as they call for it, neither yet pinchyng
theym to moche when they haue nede, alwayes takynge hede not to putte
any colde thynge in their mouthe to cole and moiste them with, nor any
colde water, rose water, or colde vinegre to their face duryng the sweat
and one daie after at the leaste, but alwaies vse warmeth accordynge to
nature, neuer contrariyng thesame so nighe as may be. If they raue or be
phrenetike, putte to their nose thesame odour of rose water &
vinegre, to lette the vapoures from the headde. If they slepe, vse theim
as in the case of faintyng I said, with betyng theim and callynge theim,
pullyng theim by the eares, nose, or here, suffering them in no wise to
slepe vntil suche tyme as they haue no luste to slepe, except to a
learned mã in phisicke the case appere to beare the contrary. For
otherwise the venime in slepe continually runneth inward to
ye hart.
34
The contrary hereof we muste alwaies intende, in prouokyng it outwarde
by all meanes duryng the fitte, whyche so longe lasteth in burnynge and
sweatyng, as the matter thereof hath any fyrie or apte partes therfore.
For as great & strong wine,
(37)
ale, or bere, so longe do burne as there is matter in theim apte to be
burned, and then cesse when that whiche remainethe is come againe to hys
firste nature: that is, to suche water clere & vnsauery, as either
the bruer receiued of the riuer, or vine of the earth: euen so the body
so longe continuethe burnynge and sweatynge, as their is matter apte
therefore in the spirites, and then leaueth, when the corrupcion taken
of the finest of the euill blode is consumed, and the spirites lefte
pure and cleane as they were before the tyme of their corruption.
This done, and the body by sufficient sweate discharged of the
venime, the persone is saulfe. But if he by vnrulines & brekyng his
sweate, sweateth not sufficiently, thẽ he is in daunger of death by
yt venime that doth remaine, or at the leaste to sweat ones
againe or oftener, as many hath done, fallynge in thrise, sixe tymes,
yea, xii. tymes some. If sufficiently the sweate be come, you shal know
by the lightnes & cherefulnes of the body, & lanckenes in all
partes, by the continuall sweatyng the hole daie and out of all partes,
whyche be the beste and holsome sweates. The other which come but by
tymes and onely in certein partes, or broken, be not sufficient nor
good, but very euill, of whose insufficiency, ij. notes learne:
a swellyng in ye partes with a blackenes, & a
tinglyng or prickyng in the same. Suche I aduise to appointe theim
selues to sweat againe to ridde their bodies of that remaineth, &
abide it out vntill they fele their bodies lanke & light, and to
moue the sweat as before I said, if thesame come not kyndly by the
selfe. If they canot forbeare meate during ye space of their
fitte, and faste out their xxiiij. houres, without danger, geue theim a
litle of an alebrie onely, or of a thinne caudel of an egge sodden with
one hole mace or ij. If they be forced by nature to ease them selues in
the meane time, let them do it rather in warme shetes put into them
(38)
closely, then to arise. After they haue thus fully swette, conuey
closely warme clothes into theyre beddes, and bid
35
them wipe themselues there with in al partes curiouslye: and be ware
that no ayer entre into theire open bodies (and speciallye their arme
holes, the openest & rarest parte therof) to let the issue of that
whych doeth remaine. The lyke may be done in the reste of their fitte,
with lyke warenes, for that clenlinesse comfortethe nature, and
relieueth the pacient. If in duringe oute the foure and twentye houres
there be thought daungiere of death without remouing, rather warme well
the other side of the bedde, and wil hym to remoue himself into it, thẽ
to take him vp & remoue hym to an other bed, which in no case mai be
done. For better is a doubtful ware hope, then a certeine auentured
death. The foure and twenty houres passed duly, they may putte on theire
clothes warme, aryse, and refresshe theym selues with a cawdle of an
egge swietelye made, or such other meates and sauces reasonably and
smally taken, as before I mencioned. And if their strength be sore
wasted, let theym smelle to an old swiet apple (as Aristotle did by
his reporte in the boke de pomo) or hotte new bread, as
Democritus did, by the record of Laertius in his life,
either by it self alone, or dipped in wel smelling wyne, as Maluesey or
Muscadelle, & sprinckled with the pouder of mintes. Orenges also and
Lemones, or suche muske balles as I before described, be thinges mete
for this purpose. For as I saied in my ij. litle bokes in Latine de
medendi methodo, of deuise to cure diseases, there is no thinge more
comfortable to the spirites then good and swiet odoures. On this wise
aduised how to order your selues in al the time of the fitte, now this
remaineth, to exhorte you not to go out of your houses for iij. dayes,
or ij. at the least after the fitte passed, and then wiselye, warely,
and not except in a faire
(39)
bright daye, for feare of swouning after great emptinesse, and vnwont
ayer, or for forcyng nature by soubdaine strikyng in of thesame aier,
colde, or euil, in to the open body. For nature so forced, maketh often
tymes a sore and soubdaine fluxe, as wel after auoidaunce of these
humores by sweate, (as was this yere well sene in many persones in
diuerse contries of Englande for none other cause) as of others by
purgation.
36
Thus I haue declared the begynning, name, nature, accidentes, signes,
causes, preseruations, and cures naturall of this disease the sweatynge
sickenes, English Ephemera, or pestilent sweate, so shortly &
plainly as I could for ye cõmune saufty of my good
countrimen, help, relieue, & defence of thesame against
ye soubdaine assaultes of the disease, & to satisfie the
honeste requeste of my louynge frendes and gentle acquaintance. If other
causes ther be supernatural, theim I leue to the diuines to serche, and
the diseases thereof to cure, as a matter with out the compasse of my
facultie.