plyed. Inwardly taken, be either liquid or solid: liquid, are fluid or consisting. Fluid, as Wines, and Syrrups. The wines ordinarily used to this disease, are Wormewoodwine, Tamarisk, and Buglossatum, wine made of Borage and bugloss, the composition of which is specified in Arnoldus Villanovanus, lib. de vinis of Borage, Bawme, Bugloss, Cinamon, &c. and highly commended for its vertues: " it drives away Leprosy, Scabs, cleers the blood, recreates the spirits, exhilarates the mind, purgeth the brain of those anxious black melancholy fumes, and cleanseth the whole body of that black humour by urine. To which I adde," saith Villanovanus, "that it will bring mad men, and such raging Bedlams as are tied in chains, to the use of their reason again. My conscience hears me witness, that I do not lye, I saw a grave matron helped by this means; she was so cholerick, and so furious sometimes, that she was almost mad, and beside her self; she said and did she knew not what, scolded, beat her maids, and was now ready to be bound till she drank of this Borage wine, and by this excellent remedy was cured, which a poor forrainer, a silly beggar, taught her by chance, that came to crave an alms from door to door." The juyce of Borage, if it be clarified, and drunk in wine, will do as much, the roots sliced and steeped, &c. saith Ant. Mizaldus, art med. who cites this story verbatim out of Villanovanus, and so doth Magninus a Physitian of Millan, in his regiment of health. Such another excellent compound water I find in Rubeus de distill. sect. 3. which he highly magnifies out of Savanarola, “for such as are solitary, dull, heavy or sad without a cause, or be troubled with trembling of heart." Other excellent compound waters for melancholy, he cites in the same place." If their melancholy be not inflamed, or their temperature over hot." Evonimus hath a pretious Aquavite to this purpose, for such as are cold. But he and most commend Aurum potabile, and every writer prescribes clarified whey, with Borage, Bugloss, Endive, Succory, &c. of Goats milk especially, some indefinitely at all times, some thirty dayes together in the spring, every morning fasting, a good draught. Syrupes are very * Sanguinem corruptum emaculat, scabiem abolet, lepram curat, spiritus recreat, & animum exhilarat. Melancholicos humores per urinam educit, & cerebrum à crassis, ærumnosis melancholia fumis purgat, quibus addo dementes & furiosos vinculis retinendos plurimum juvat, & ad rationis usum ducit. Testis est mihi conscientia, quod viderim matronam quandam hinc liberatam, quæ frequentiùs ex iracundia demens, & impos animi dicenda tacenda loquebatur, adeo furens ut ligari cogeretur. Fuit ei præstantissimo remedio, vini istius usus, indicatus à peregrino homine mendico, eleemosynam præ foribus dictæ matronæ implorante. Iis qui tristantur sine causa, & Modo non inflammetur me vitant amicorum societatem & tremunt corde. lancholia, aut calidiore temperamento sint. good, good, and often used to digest this humor in the heart, spleen, liver, &c. As Syrupe of Borage, (there is a famous Syrupe of Borage highly commended by Laurentius to this purpose in his Tract of melancholy) de pomis of King Sabor, now obsolete, of Thyme and Epithyme, Hops, Scolopendria, Fumitory, Maidenhair, Bizantine, &c. These are most used for preparatives to other Physick, mixed with distilled waters of like nature, or in Julips otherwise. Consisting, are conserves or confections; conserves of Borage, Bugloss, Bawm, Fumitory, Succory, Maidenhair, Violets, Roses, Wormwood, &c. Confections, Treacle, Mithridate, Eclegms, or Linctures, &c. Solid, as Aromatical confections; hot, Diambra, Diamargaritum calidum, Dianthus, Diamoschum dulce, Electuarium de gemmis, latificans Galeni & Rhasis, Diagalinga, Diacimynum, Dianisum, Diatrion piperion, Diazinziber, Diacapers, Diacinnamonum : Cold, as Diamargaritum frigidum, Diacorolli, Diarrhodon Abbatis, Diacodion, &c. as every Pharmacopaia will shew you, with their tables or losings that are made out of them; with Condites and the like. Outwardly used as occasion serves, as amulets, oyls hot and cold, as of Camomile, Stæchado's, Violets, Roses, Almonds, Poppy, Nymphea, Mandrake, &c. to be used after bathing, or to procure sleep. Oyntments composed of the said species, oyls and wax, &c. as Alablastritum Populeum, some hot, some cold, to moysten, procure sleep, and correct other accidents. Liniments are made of the same matter to the like purpose: Emplasters of herbs, flowers, roots, &c. with oyls, and other liquors mixt and boiled together. Cataplasms, salves, or pultises made of green hearbs, pounded, or sod in water till they be soft, which are applied to the Hypocondries, and other parts, when the body is empty. Cerotes, are applyed to several parts, and Frontals, to take away pain, grief, heat, procure sleep. Fomentations or spunges, wet in some decoctions, &c. Epithemata, or those moist me, dicines, laid on linnen, to bath and cool several parts misaffected. Sacculi, or little bags of herbs, flowers, seeds, roots, and the like, applied to the head, heart, stomack, &c. odoraments, balls, perfumes, posies to smell to, all which have their several uses in melancholy, as shall be shewed, when I treate of the cure of the distinct Species by themselves. MEMB. d MEMB. II. SUBSECT. I. Purging Simples upward. MELAN ELANAGOGA, or melancholy purgin medicines, are either Simple or compound, and that gently, or violently, purging upwards or downward. These following purge upward. Asarum, or Asrabecca, which, as Mesue saith, is hot in the second degree, and dry in the third, "it is commonly taken in wine, whey," or as with us, the juyce of two or three leaves or more sometimes, pounded in posset drink qualified with a little liquorice, or anniseeds, to avoid the fulsomness of the taste, or as Diaserum Fernelii. Brassivola in Catart. reckons it up amongst those simples that only purge melancholy, and Ruellius confirms as much out of his experience, that it purgeth black choler, like Hellebor itself. Galen lib. 6. simplic. and Matthiolus ascribe other vertues to it, and will have it purge other humors as well as this. с Laurel, by Heurnius method. ad prax. lib. 2. cap. 24. is put amongst the strong purgers of melancholy; it is hot and dry in the fourth degree. Dioscorides lib. 11. cap. 114. adds other effects to it ". Pliny sets down 15 berries in drink for a sufficient potion: it is commonly corrected with his opposites, cold and moist, as juyce of Endive, Purslane, and is taken in a potion to seven grains and a half. But this and Asrabecca, every Gentlewoman in the Country knows how to give, they are two common vomits. h Scilla, or Sea Onyon, is hot and dry in the third degree. Brassivola in Catart. out of Mesue, others, and his own experience, will have this simple to purge melancholy alone. It is an ordinary vomit, vinum Scilliticum, mixt with Rubel in a little white wine. White Hellebor, which some call sneezing powder, a strong purger upward, which many reject, as being too violent : Mesue and Averroes will not admit of it," by reason of danger of suffocation," "great pain and trouble it puts the poor patient to," saith Dodonæus. Yet Galen lib. 6. simpl. med. and Dioscorides cap. 145. allow of it. It was indeed "terrible in former times," as Pliny notes, but now familiar, insomuch that many Heurnins: datur in sero lactis, aut vino. • Veratri modo expurgat cerebrum, roborat memoriam. Fuchsius. f Crassos & biliosos humores per vomitum educit. & Vomi.um & menses cit. valet ad Hydrop. &c. h Materias atras educit. Ab arte ideo rejiciendum, ob periculum suffocationis. * Cap. 16. magna vi educit, & molestia cum summa. dam terrible. 1 Quon took took it in those dayes, ❝m that were students, to quicken their wits, which Persius Sat. 1. objects to Accius the Poet, Ilias Acci ebria veratro. It helps melancholy, the falling sickness, madness, gout, &c. but not to be taken of old men, youths, such as are weaklings, nice or effeminate, troubled with headach, high coloured, or fear strangling," saith Dioscorides. Oribasius, an old Physitian, hath written very copiously, and approves of it, "in such affections which can otherwise hardly be cured." Heurnius lib. 2. prax. med de vomitoriis, will not have it used" but with great caution, by reason of its strength, and then when Antimony will do no good," which caused Hermophilus to compare it to a stout captain (as Codroneus observes cap. 7. comment. de Helleb.) that will see all his souldiers go before him and come post principia, like the bragging souldier, last him self: when other helps fail in inveterate melancholy, in a desperate case, this vomit is to be taken. And yet for all this, if it be well prepared, it may be securely given at first. Mathiolus brags, that he hath often, to the good of many, made use of it, and Heurnithat he hath happily used it, prepared after his own prescript," and with good success. Christophorus à l'ega lib. 3. c. 41, is of the same opinion, that it may be lawfully given; and our country Gentlewomen finde it by their common practice, that there is no such great danger in it. D. Turner speaking of this plant, in his Herball, telleth us, that in his time it was an ordinary receipt among good wives, to give Hellebor, in powder to iid weight, and he is not much against it. But they do commonly exceed, for who so bold as blinde Bayard, and prescribe it by penyworths, and such irrationall wayes, as I have heard my self market folks ask for it in an Apothecaries shop: but with what success God knows; they smart often for their rash boldness and folly, break a vein, make their eyes ready to start out of their heads, or kill themselves. So that the fault is not in the Physick, but in the rude and undiscreet handling of it. He that will know, therefore, when to use, how to prepare it aright, and in what dose, let him read Heurnius lib. 2. prax. med. Brassivolu de Catart. Gode us, Multi studiorum gratia ad providenda acrius quæ commentabantur. ▪ Medetur comitialibus, melancholicis, podagricis; vetatur senibus, pueris, mollibus & effæminatis. • Collect. lib. 8. cap. 3. in affectionibus iis quæ difficulter curan.ur, Helleborum damus. P Non sine summa cau.io ne hoc remedio utemur; est enim validiss mum, & quum vires Antimonii contemnit morbus, in auxilium evocatur, modo valide vires efflorescant. Etius tetrab. cap. 1. ser. 2. Iis solum dari vult Helicborum album, qui secus spem non habent, &C. iis qui Syncopen_timent, Cum salute multorum. Cap. 12. de morbis cap. Nos facillime utimur nostro preparato Helleboro albo. non fridus Stegius the Emperour Rodolphus Physitian cap. 16. "Matthiolus in Dioscor. and that excellent Commentary of Baptista Codronchus, which is instar omnium de Helleb. alb. where we shall finde great diversity of examples and Receipts. Antimony or Stibium, which our Chymists so much magnifie, is either taken in substance or infusion, &c. and frequently prescribed in this disease. "It helps all infirmities,' "saith u 7 Matthiolus, which proceed from black choler, falling sickness, and Hypocondriacall passions," and for farther proof of his assertion, he gives severall instances of such as have been freed with it: One of Andrew Gallus, a Physitian of Trent, that after many other essayes, "imputes the recovery of his health, next after God, to this remedy alone." Another of George Handshius, that in like sort, when other medicines failed," was by this restored to his former health, and which of his knowledge, others have likewise tried, and by the help of this admirable medicine, been recovered." A third of a parish Priest at Prage in Bohemia," that was so far gone with melancholy, that he doted, andspake he knew not what ; but after he had taken 12 grains of Stibium, (as I my self saw, and can witness, for I was called to see this miraculous accident) he was purged of a deal of black choler, like little gobbets of flesh, and all his excrements were as black blood (a medicine fitter for a Horse then a Man) yet it did him so much good, that the next day he was perfectly cured." This very story of the Bohemian Priest, Sckenkius relates verbatim, Exoter. experiment. ad Far, morb. cent. 6. observ. 6. with great approbation of it. Hercules de Saxonia calls it a profitable medicine, if it be taken after meat to 6. or 8. grains, of such as are apt to vomit. Rodericus à Fonseca the Spaniard, and late professor of Padua in Italy, extols it to this disease, Tom. 2. consul. 85. so doth Lod. Mercatus de inter morb. cur. lib. 1. cap. 17. with many others. Jacobus Gervinus a French Physitian on the other side. lib. 2, de venemis confut. explodes all this, and saith he took three grains only upon Matthiolus and some others commendation, but it almost killed him, whereupon he concludes, " Antimony is 2 66 a In lib. 5. Diascor. cap. 3. Omnibus opitulatur morbis, quos atrabilis exciavit comitialibus iisq; presertim qui Hypocondriacas obtinent passiones. Andreas Gallus, Tridentinus medicus, salutem huic medicamento post Deum debet. y Integræ sanitati, brevi restitutus. Id quod aliis accid:sse scio, qui hoc mirabili medicamento usi sunt. Qui melancholicus factus planè desipiebat, multaq; stultè loqucbatur, huic exhibitum 12. gr. stibium, quod paulo post atram bilem ex alvo eduxit (ut ego vidi, qui vocatus tanquam ad miraculum adfui testari possum,) & ramenta tanquam carnis dissecta in partes totum excrementum tanquam sanguinem nigerrimum repræsentabat. ? Antimonium venenum, non medicamentum. rather |