¶ Here is a newe Boke, called the defence of age / and recouery of youth / transla¦ted out of the famous Clarke and ryght experte medy∣cyne Arnold de Noua Villa / very profyta∣ble for all men to knowe.

OR

De conservatione juventutis et retardatione senectutis

Arnold de Villa Nova

1311


¶ Vnto the noble and vertuous ••y La¦dy Marget dowgses, Nice, vnto the moste noble & crysten, prynce Henry ye. viii. kyng of Englande & of Fraūce, defender of ye fayth, & vnder god supremeheed of ye Churche of Englande, syster vnto the moste noble & thrysten prynce Iames, kynge of Scottes doughter, vnto the noble coūtie Archebald Erle of Anguysshe, Ionas D•lumde her vmbse ser∣uyt•r de•ueth grace and hesthe.
SOry I am to offer vnto your noble, and vertuous Ladyshyp so small a boke, were it not so that I am purposed to recompence your Ladyshyp, with a greater, so that this maye fauourably be receyued (which to beleue) the 〈◊〉 no¦blenes, and gentylnes that is in you, per¦swadeth me, also I hope that ye wyl con¦syder rather the herte of the gyuer then the gyft it selfe which although it 〈…〉 small in quātite, yet it is great in 〈◊〉 & this done, I shall desyre 〈…〉 to preserue your Ladyshyps noblen•••


THe cōseruaciō of youth and withstandyng of age, con¦systeth in the mayntenynge of the powres, the spyrites, & the naturall heate of the body in theyr state and temperancy: & in the cōfortyng and repayrynge of theym beynge defertyue. For so longe as the powres, the spyrytes and the naturall heate of mannes body are not debylitate nor wekened, so longe (I saye) neyther shall ye skynne wrynkle, for the debylyte of ye natural heate de•ly¦nynge to coldenes and drynes throughe the which the fode & norisshement of the body is corrupted & hyndered: is cause of rorrugacyon or wrynklyng of ye skynne. For the meate beynge fyrste dygested in the stomacke, and then shortly after sent in to euery parte of the body, is dygested agayne of ye naturall heate of the same parte, where it is receyued: than yf that this naturall heate be by any occasyon corrupted or destroyed: the foode also is sent to the same place, shall be lykewyse


corrupted, & then so ensueth corrugacyō of ye skynne, & hore heares, as ye maye se in ye auncyent & aged men, when they be colde & drye, for horenes cōmeth of ye de∣fecte of naturall heate, the which defen∣deth the body frō age, age properly doth make mā colde & drye, & therfore they be of ly•el blode, and the powres & natural heate in them very weke, & vnable to cō∣coctyng & dygestyng of meate, wherfore there increace great plēty of humidites and crude rawe humours, & therfore the thre sprytes & the thre digestions in age be decayde, & in thē rayneth ye debilite of heate, & this foloweth with ye course of tyme, ye whiche course may be somwhat let & defēded by Phisicke, & by auoyding of suche accidentall causes as do induce age, as sorowe, study, heuynes, despera∣cion, ouer moch venery, labour, traueyl, or rest, & whē age by any of these causes is come, then to amputat or cut awaye the cause by thynges apropriat. And for the preseruacyō of the powres, is no bet¦ter


thynge then a syrupe made of wyne and suger, myxte togyther. iii. partes of wyne, &. ii. partes of suger dronke with fayre water, or borage water. This sy∣rupe is both meate and drynke, and in it be two thynges confycte togyther, whi∣che are moste frendly to nature, & when the powres be weke they nede such thyn¦ges as may cōforte them, both meates, drynkes, and other spyces, and moystyn∣ge medycynes, and this is a very secrete thynge. Corrugacyon and reuelynge of the skynne requyre suche thynges, as do clense & make playne & smoth skynne, wt certayne oyles, waters, & oyntementes. Goodlynes and fresshenes of coloure, is by fedinge vpon such meates & drynkes, as do engender good & laudable blode, & are lyght of dygestyon, and by such thyn¦ges, as do clense ye blode corrupted, and the other powres is, ouermoch euacua∣cyon, or to often lettynge of blode, or su∣che other lyke thynges. These thynges may be amended with thus, earynge of


chekyns, and chekyn broth, with due rest and slepe, and also with swete and odo∣ryferous thynges, and suche other lyke.

¶ Thynges engenderynge euyl and rot¦ten flume, be fruytes, fysshe, all thynges made of mylke, & such other, of the whi∣che be engendred watery humours, not dygestyble in the membres, & then in the same membres it causeth horenesse, and wryncles. But amonge all other thyng{is} there is nothynge, the which so strongly doth cause a man to loke oldely, as feare and desperacion. For because in that pas¦syon and effectyon, all the naturall hete of the body doth resort inwarde, and for¦saketh the outwarde partes, and yt most chefely, when the mānes complexyon is disposed to the same, and that is the cau¦se that many beynge •os•e, turmoyled, and vexed, with this worldly stormes so day•ly theyr heer waxe hore, or whyte.

¶ Nowe thynges that do resyste or put away these causes, are chosē the ioyce of Pomegranate, & chefely golde, & the ioy¦ce


of Borage, & of fumytorye, & specyally grene and puryfyed, and ye vertue of the rote of Playntayne and suche other.

¶ The rotten fleume is destroyed with the vse of Myrabolaues composed, and Aloe rosatum, and Agaryke, thynges to be had at the Apothecaries. And y• wher with properly both melancolye & fleume be expelled out of the body, is Eleborus niger, called in Englysshe Beares foote, prepared by a certayne maner vnto few knowen. For in the rectifying of ye maly cyousnesse of this herbe, standeth all the secrete of his operacyon, for by hym a man shal be altered from euyl cōplexion to good, and it restoreth youth agayne, but it is not conuenyent for delycate bo¦dyes and noble complexyous, & therfore I wyl say lytel of hym. Beware ye neuer entermedle with this herbe, without the aduysement and coūceyll of some exper∣te and well learned Physycyon.

¶ Also ••anthos composed with suger, the whiche properly doth consume the


fleume and melaneoly being in the heed, and it tarieth and letteth the hore heres coroborateth and strengneth the censes, and prolōgeth the lyfe, & chefely when a quātite of it is disolued in aqua vita wel and craftely made, & somtyme it is disol¦ued in wyne, & lyeth ī it. ii. or. iii. dayes, & then strayned, & so vsed conueniently, ac∣cordyng to the coūceyll of a Physycyon.

¶ Other thynges also there be, whiche quycken & maketh lusty ye body, as Dia∣cameron, Mirabolany, Chebuly compo¦sed, which by theyr property do consume and waste the flematycke super fluytyes of the stomacke & do comforte hym, and do clarify the blode and be of great force agaynst melancoly, and thuse of those do comforte youth, and causeth a man to waxe yonge agayne, & defendeth a man from hore heares, also the decoction of sene with Diaboraginatum, & the whey of gotes mylke and such other. And one of the chefe thyng{is}, wherby age is defen¦ded and youth prolōged, is once in a mo¦neth


to haue a vomyte, to expel the fleu∣matyke humour, and once in a weke to receyue aclyster, and specyally that com∣posed of the ioyce of Mercury, walwort elder, and bete wt halfe an ounce of yero∣pegara, the whiche is a great secrete.

¶ And also subiction made with yero∣pigra, or Cassia fistula, and the ioyce of fresshe Roses, preparate with sugre, is a goodly easer of nature, mynystred wyse∣ly, and it is a blessyd medycyne to make a▪ man soluble, and therwith also it com¦forteth the pryncypal membres in man, and altereth the euyll dysposiciō of man to good, it openeth opilatiōs or stoppyn¦ges. It cōforteth the herte, and clenseth it, and to speke of the prayse of this me∣dycyne wolde requyre a longe processe.

Other thyng{is} also destroyinge and con∣sumyng the humours, which cause age are those temperate Spyces knowen to euery body, Cloues, Cinam•me, Liqui∣ryce, and such other, but most pryncypal¦ly, when they are conficte & incorporate


with good wyne, and so (beyng fyrst som¦what watered) receyued and dronken.

¶ Also it is not vnknowen, howe that pylles made of myrtha, be of an excellēt goodnesse in the conseruacyon of helth & lyfe, for it withstandeth putrefactiō re∣ctifieth and sincereth that which is redy to putrefaction, wherfore this Myrtha is confycte with suche thynges as deade bodyes are incered with all, to defende the corse from putrefactiō. And the fore sayd spyced wyne, when it is receyued of man, it spredeth it selfe abrode in ye par∣tes of the body and comforteth all the partes of the body, and dryeth vp the su¦perfluous humydyties of the body, also the powder of the same spyces vsed with meate, profyteth wonderfully.

¶ Howebeit, yf the man be of a dry dys∣posycyon, then shall it be nedefull to ad∣ioyne to these spyces, some more tempe∣rate thynge, as the ioyce of Pomegra∣nates, Rose water, Sugre, Lyckeryce, Resyus, and such lyke. Diacamerō resto¦reth


dygestyon, los•e and comforteth it, and Trifera passeth all declynynge, som¦what more to calidite. The naturall he∣te then & the meate cōmyng to the mem¦bres beyng decayed or corrupted, which cōmeth of putryfyed colour, furthwith ensueth corrugacyon, and olde lokynge as ye may se in such as are scaby, in any parte of theyr body, for that parte beyn∣ge enfected, it semeth ryuyled and olde skynne. The infection beyng once depar¦ted agayne, the skynne sheweth it selfe fayre, smothe, and yongly, and to those golde preparate is s•uerayne, & the wy∣ne of Pomegranate, and this is specyal good for the lepry. And this wyne of gra¦nates taken and receyued howe ye lyst, hath properte to extenate the humours, and to alaye the hete of the lyuer, and to comforte all partes of mans body offen¦ded with heate, and it is good agaynst wekenes of herte, fortyfyeth the mouth of the stomacke, & comforteth the herte. Also Mirabolani Rebul• conditi be ve∣ry


good both in hote and colde dyseases they comforte the stomacke, and dryeth vp the superfluous moystenes of the sa∣me, and be sydes this they helpe the me∣lancolicke people, they clarefy and make clere the blode, and the spyrytes, neyther is there any thynge more excellent for that purpose then these.

¶ Also borage wyne made (in tyme that grapes be gathered & pressed) with must is pryncipally good for melācoly, faynte herted, and mad people, for it clēseth the blode, & taketh away euyl fantasies, and comforteth all the regetyue power, and encountreth all corrupcion. The electu∣arye also of the Myrabolans vsed, is a thynge ryght often proued and alowed, to the conseruacion of helth, and prolon¦gynge of the lyfe, and to waxe yonge a∣gayne, for it comforteth the stomacke, & maketh it apte & lusty, & cōsumeth ye wa trynesse lefte of the fore fode, & the vse of this electuarye withstandeth age, & cau¦seth mā to lyue longe by the help of god.


¶ Agayne certayn suffumigations and sauours made of conuenyent thynges, and accordynge as the man nedeth, is very profytable. ☞ ❧

¶ Bathynge also temperatly without a¦ny great sweatyng so yt onely the skynne be mundefyed and clensed frō fylthynes, is holesome and profytable, for therby ye powres are opened, and the superfluous humidities lurkynge within the skynne, be wasted and dryed vp. ☞ ❧

¶ But the vse of good wyne in the whi∣che such spyces, as we haue spoken of be¦fore, haue ben steped, and the vertue of theym in it resolued, temperatly taken with a lytell water myxte therwith in due season, shall passe and enter in to all the hydde wayes of the body, and it shall drye vp all the euyll humydyties, & cōfor¦teth all the inwarde partes, & perfectely doth open all maner of opilactiō or stop¦pynge, the whiche is secrete for the apa∣rycyon or openynge of places opilat, or stopped, causeth ye lyuely spyryt{is} to rūne


throughout euery parte of the body, and causeth the naturall heate for to waxe stronge, and to be of great force, but opi¦lacion or stopping causeth the contrary, for the naturall hete beynge conculcate, or strangled, not hauyng the fre passage throughe euery parte, is therby debyly∣tate and wekened, and so not suffycyent and myghtye to seperate the pure from the vnpure, wherupon the superfluous humydyties rotten & putrefyed be in the body moche increased, and therby conse¦quently ensueth wrynkelinge of the fles∣she and skynne, and age at hande.

¶ An other also stronge meane there is to defende age, and to recouer youth a∣gayne, by abstynence, and conuenyēt for bearynge of your quantyte of meate, vn¦to such tyme as the body be brought ve∣ry lowe, and made very spare, and then to restore, and norysshe it agayne with laudable, holesome, and good fode, whi∣che hath a propertye, to engender cleare and pure blode▪ ☞ ❧


¶ This poynte also do they obserue the which make fat Oxen: whose flesshe the more it waxeth leane and bare, ye more also dothe it be come tender and yonge, and the better afterwerde do they lyke and batten, and ye may also se the prac∣tyse of this in suche as be lately recoue∣red from syckenesse. ❧ ❧

¶ But to be shorte, he yt wyll refrayne age, and conserue youth, let hym not be neclygent in chosyng of his meate, that it be suche, as maye brede good, cleare, fat, thycke and viscous blode, and then may he withstande well age.

¶ And when that suche humydytyes, or moystenesse, whiche are in the body, and crude humoures are increased in man, then hath he nede of such thynges whi∣che do extenate and exiccat those super∣fluous moystenes, and such thynges as may dygest the crude or rawe humours, syncere and depure the hole body.

¶ Amonge other thyng{is}, suche as waxe aged, haue great nede of calefactyon,


and humystation, that is to saye▪ war¦mynge, and moystynge, of both equally by meates, and drynkes, and medycynes conuenyent, by exercyse, and gladnesse.

¶ Nowe that he maye kepe his body it such temperancy, that he may lyue with out ye horryble daūger of greuous sycke¦nes, and the better able to serue almygh¦ty God, to whom be all honoure.

¶ FINIS.
¶ Imprynted by me Robert wyer / dwellynge in saynt Martyns parysshe / at the sygne of saynt Iohn̄ Euangelyst / besyde Charyn∣ge Crosse. †