Practica Plutarche the excellent Phylosopher

Practica of the Phylosopher Plutarche, vpon the Helth of the body of man.

A preseruacion of helth for all the partes of the body. and howe to ordre them.

IN this my great frende Plutarche gyueth me councell to haue alway the handes warme, and that by no meanes he suffer them to be colde. Also that an Ague or feuer, causeth the vtter partes of the body, customably to be colde, when he constrayneth heate all to fle inwardely.

Agayne yf those thynges whiche be outwarde, and stretche to the highest partes do bringe and disperse matter through all the body, that then it is holsome.

Moreouer yf we laboure with out handes, that then by the mocion of that parte, heate is wyllyngly moued to be in all the partes of our body, but yf we do no suche thynge, then we muste prouyde that no colde take the vpper partes.

And this was one of the matters whiche he was displeased with. The other except I be deceyued was of meates to be mynistred to a pacyent, he doth cōmaūde that the pacyent shall tast and take his meate longe or he be taken bycause we beyng in helth may accustome ourselues therwith lest that when the syckenes is come we shulde abhorre & caste our mynde agaynst it, as chyldrī do, but let it be customably gyuen by lytell, lest that whan the fyt taketh vs we be greued with meates, as we be with medycynes and lest that we maye scarsely bere it, when we muste nedes take some meates that besod and vnsauery, wherfore somtyme it is not to be refused to take meat{is} with vnwasshed handes, neyther to drynke water, neyther to drynke warme drynke in somer.

But let these sophysticall crakes passe, as to abstayne from suche thynges, whiche appeare to be done vnder a pretense of temperaunce And let vs so vse our stomaske by lytel and lytel, that without grefe it may gyue place to that whiche is profytable, & let vs put out of our mynde ye superstycious and scrupelous care of suche thynges in our diseases lest that we repent with thē that fall from great and mery pleasures, in to a base & fylthy state of lyuynge, wherof this was excellently spoken, Chose the beste state of lyfe.

Here foloweth Electuaryes to auoyde coloure.

HOwe wil I write of them that auoide colours, and fyrst of the electuary called Diaprunis, it is called so because it standeth moste by Prunes, & it voydeth colour fro the stomacke. and fro the lyuer.

Electuary of the iuce of Roses, that is properly agaynst the hote gowte and purgeth the reed colour. And it is good for syckenes in the ioyntes of colour. Also for them that be right sycke in the Feuer tercian.

Howe thou shall knowe to gyue the quantyte of Medycyne.

MEdycynes before yt they be compounded togither they be dyuers in the makynge as some of more, and some of lesse, as of Scamony and of other veymy moystynges and vyolent, as Turbyt Elebre, Agryt Ensorbie, Colo Bloe and of all other lyke these, so that the takynge of Irapigra shall be .iij. drāmes, the weyght of a drāme is two pens halfepenye.

Ieraphini but two drāmes, for that is more compounded with venymus medycynes, & vyolence than Irapigra, therfore the lesse shalbe taken therof.

Also of Benedicta: maye be .iii. drammes.

Also blanca .iii. drammes.

Also of Pilularū, Archiarum shulde be taken .iii. drammes.

Also of Pilule Aure .iii. drāmes

Also of Pulularū de Euforbie .iii. drammes.

Also of Pulularū Fetidum & of Stomaticum laxatiuum .ii. drammes,

Also of Electuarium dulce .ii drammes.

Also of Theodoricon anā cardiū .iii. drāmes.

Nowe I haue shewed you of the gyuynge of quantyte of medycynes, & the dyuersyte of thē howe they auoyde superfluyte of fleume or coloure.

Here begynneth the quantytes to auoyde Melancoly.

AS it is sayde of Ieraphy, ny so we shall say of Diacene, and the gyuyuge of the quantite shalbe an ounce. Hoc auicena.

Also of Trifera sarasenica the receyte of it is .iiij. drāmes.

Also of Theodoricon eupisticon .ii. drammes.

Also the receyte of Ieralododion .ii. drammes.

Also of Caterica imperiale one dramme.

Nowe it shall be sayde of the quantytes of Medycynes.

TO auoyde Coloure as of Diaprunis .ii. drāmmes.

Also the receyte of succa Rosarum be .iii. drammes. These be the moste gyuynge of medycynes compounded.

Nowe the medycynes that wyll auoyde colde humoures.

MEdicines that auoyde colde humours of the breest, and of his mēbrs, and veynes the fyrste is pallynū that must be sharped with .iii. drammes of Agryl, repressed with a dramme of the iuce of Lycoryse.

Medycynes that shulde purge cold humours of the stomacke, and of the lyuer, shulde be sharpened with two drammes of Turbit, and repressed with a dramme of the powder of peper, or Mirabolanus Iudiis •ebuly, as theyr quantytes be sayde before, or with Esule ope as is sayde before.

Howe hote humoures shulde be purged and sharped.

NOwe hote humours shulde be purged and & sharped with Mirabolanus Citemys, or with Rubarba, or with Cassia fistula asania, or with Tāmaridis, or Scamion, and there be any dropsy of old tyme fastened on the lyuer, the medycy may not be sharped with scamony, for that wolde take of the skyn of ye lyuer, therfore take Esula, or Rubarba, & do to the medicines, as is before written.

Here foloweth his Powders for dysseases.

A Powdre for delycate men for to comforte dygestion and to amende the syght, take Cānell; cardamoī, piperis, saturei, maiorane, crucautes, calamynte, of eche halfe an ounce, nutmuges pompatadyse foli• of eche an ounce, that is to say, of eche .vi. peny weyght, salgēme half an vnce ferthynges wel tempered togyther make powdre of these and vse them.

A powdre agaynst the quartane.

A Powdre agaynst the quartane and vyce of the splene, take Coriandre, carin, seria combusti of eche of them a peny weyght Aneilanes yclensed.

Agaynst fluxe of blode.

A Powdre agaynst the flux of blode of the nosethrylles, take encense, mastyke, sauge dragons nye of eche thre peny weyght, bren thē in a shel ouer the fyre & moue them tyll they wax blacke, & make therof sotyl powdre and cast therin.

A powdre agaynst the Cardyacle, and agaynst to moche feblenes, take camphore, muske, of eche thre halfpeny weyte, shauynges of yuery, of golde, and syluer of eche thre peny weyte.

Finis.

Imprynted by me Robert Wyer.