extraordinary vertues are ascribed unto plants? Satyrium & eruca penem erigunt, vitex & nymphea semen extinguunt, some herbs provoke lust, some again, as agnus Castus, waterlilly, quite extinguisheth seed; poppy causeth sleep, Cabbige resisteth drunkenness, &c. and that which is more to be admired, that such and such plants should have a peculiar verue to such particular parts, as to the head Anniseeds, Foalfoot, Betony, Calamint, Eye-bright, Lavander, Bayes, Roses, Rue, Sage, Marjorum, Piony, &c. For the lungs Calamint, Liquorice, Ennula campana, Hysop, Horehound, water Germander, &c. For the heart, Borage, Buglosse, Saffron, Bawm, Basil, Rosemary, Violet, Koses, &c. For the stomack, Wormwood, Mints, Betony, Bawm, Centaury, Sorel, Purslan. For the liver, Darthspine or Camæpitis, Germander, Agrimony, Fennell, Endive, Succory, Liverwort, Barbaryes. For the spleen, Maiden-hair, finger-ferne, dodder of thyme, hoppe, the rinde of ash, Betony. For the kidnies, grumell, parsly, saxifrage, plantane, mallowe. For the womb, mugwort, pennyroyall, fetherfew, savine, &c. For the joynts, Camomile, S. John's wort, organ, rue, cowslips, centaury the lesse, &c. And so to peculiar diseases. To this of melancholy you shall find a Catalogue of herbs proper, and that in every part. See more in Wecker, Renodeus, Heurnius lib. 2. cap. 19. &c. I will briefly speak of them, as first of alteratives, which Galen, in his third book of diseased parts, prefers before diminutives, and Trallianus brags, that he hath done more cures on melancholy men by moistning, then by purging of them. u Borage.] In this Catalogue, Borage and Buglosse may challenge the chiefest place, whether in substance, juice, roots, seeds, flowers, leaves, decoctions, distilled waters, extracts, oils, &c. for such kind of herbs be diversly varied. Buglosse is hot and moist, and therefore worthily reckoned up amongst those herbs which expell melancholy, and exhilarate the heart, Galen lib. 6. cap. 80. de simpl. med. Dioscorides lib. 4. cap. 123. Pliny much magnifies this plant. It may be diversly used; as in Broth, in Wine, in Conserves, Syrops, &c. It is an excellent cordial, and against this malady most frequently prescribed; an herb indeed of such Soveraignty, that as Diodorus lib. 7. bibl. Plinius lib. 25. cap. 2. & lib. 21. cap. 22. Plutarch sympos. lib. 1. cap. 1. Dioscorides lib. 5. cap. 40. Cælius lib. 19. c. 3. suppose it was that famous Nepenthes of † Homer, which Polydamna Thonis wife (then King X • Wecker. Vide Oswal Priestpintle, rocket. Sabina fætum cducit. dum Crollium lib. de Internis rerum signaturis, de herbis particularibus parti cuique convenientibus. Idem Laurentius c. 9. "Dicor Borago gaudia semper ago. * Vino infusum hilaritatem facit. of + Odyss. A. of Thebes in Egypt) sent Helena for a token, of such rare virtue, that if taken steept in wine, if, wife and children, father and mother, brother and sister, and all thy dearest friends should die before thy face, thou couldst not grieve or shed a tear for them. "Qui semel id paterâ mistum Nepenthes Iaccho Si germanus ei charus, materq; paterq; Oppetat, ante oculos ferro confossus atroci." Helena's commended Boul to exhilarate the heart, had no other ingredient, as most of our Criticks conjecture, then this of Borage. 7 Bawme.] Melissa Bawm, hath an admirable virtue to alter Melancholy, be it steeped in our ordinary drink, extracted, or otherwise taken. Cardan lib. 8. much admires this herb. It heats and dries, saith Heurnius, in the second degree, with a wonderfull vertue comforts the heart, and purgeth all melancholy vapors from the spirits, Matthiol. in lib. 3. c. 10. in Dioscoridem. Besides they ascribe other virtues to it," as to help concoction, to cleanse the braine, expell all carefull thoughts, and anxious imaginations:" The same words in effect are in Avicenna, Pliny, Simon Sethi, Fuchsius, Leobel, Delacampius, and every Herbalist. Nothing better for him that is melancholy then to steep this and Borage, in his ordinary drink. Mathiolus in his fift book of medicinall Epistles, reckons up Scorzonera," not against poison only, falling sickness, and such as are vertiginous, but to this malady; the root of it taken by it self expells sorrow, causeth mirth and lightness of heart.” Antonius Musa that renowned Physitian to Cæsar Augustus, in his book which he writ of the vertues of Betony, cap. 6. wonderfully commends that herb, animas hominum & corpora custodit, securas de metu reddit, it preserves both body and minde, from fears, cares, griefs; cures falling-sickness, this and many other diseases, to whom Galen subscribes, lib. 7. simpl. med. Dioscorides lib. 4. cap. 1. &c. Marigold is much approved against Melancholy, and often used therefore in our ordinary broth, as good against this and many other diseases. Hop.] Lupulus, hop, is a soveraign remedy; Fucksius Lib. 2. cap. 2. prax. med. mira vi lætitiam præbet & cor confirmat, vapores melancholicos purgat à spiritibus. * Proprium est ejus animum hilarem reddere, concoctionem juvare, cerebri obstructiones resecare, sollicitudines fugare, sollicitas imaginationes toilere. Scorzonera. • Non solum ad viperarum morsus, comitiales, vertiginosos; sed per se accommodata radix tristitiam discutit, hilaritatemq; conciliat, сар. cap. 58. Plant. hist. much extolls it; "bit purgeth all choler, and purifies the blood. Matthiol. cap. 140. in 4. Dioscor. wonders the Physitians of his time made no more use of it, because it rarifies and cleanseth: we use it to this purpose in our ordinary beer, which before was thick and fulsome. Wormwood, Centaury, Penniroyall are likewise magnified and much prescribed (as I shall after shew) especially in Hypocondriake melancholy, daily to be used, sod in whey and as Ruffus Ephesius, Areteus, relate, by breaking winde, helping concoction, many melancholy men have been cured with the frequent use of them alone. And because the spleen and blood are often misaffected in melancholy, I may not omit Endive, Succory, Dandelyon, Fumetory, &c. which cleanse the blood. Scolopendria, Ćuscuta, Ceterache, Mugwort, Liverwort, Ashe, Tamerisk, Genist, Maidenhair, &c. which much help and ease the spleen. d с To these I may add Roses, Violets, Capers, Fetherfew, Scordium, Stæchas, Rosemary, Ros Solis, Saffron, Ocyme, sweet Apples, Wine, Tobacco, Sanders, &c. That Peruvian Chamico, monstrosá facultate, &c. Linshcosteus Datura; and to such as are cold, the decoction or Guiacum, China, Salsaperilla, Sassafras, the flowers of Carduus Benedictus, which I find much used by Montanus in his consultations, Julius Alexandrinus, Lelius, Egubinus, and others. Bernardus Penottus prefers his Herba solis, or Dutch-Sindaw, before all the rest in this disease," and will admit of no herb upon the earth to be comparable to it." It excells Homer's Moly, cures this, fallling sickness, and almost all other infirmities. The same Penottus speaks of an excellent balm out of Aponensis, which taken to the quantity of three drops in a cup of wine, "will cause a sudden alteration, drive away dumps, and chear up the heart." Ant. Guianerius in his Antidotary hath many such. * Jacobus de Dondis the Aggregator, repeats ambergreese, nutmegs, and all spice amongst the rest. But that cannot be generall. Amber and Spice will make a hot brain mad, good for cold and moist. Garcias ab Horto hath many Indian plants, whose vertues he much magnifies in this disease. Lemnius instit. cap. 58. admires Rue, and commends it to have excellent vertue,"to expell vain imaginations, Divels, and to ease af scias nullam Bilem utraq; detrabit, sanguine purgat. t Lib. 7. cap. 5. Laiet occid. Indiæ descrip. lib. 10. cap. 2. Heurnius 1. 2. consil. 185. Scoltzii consil. 77. * Præf. denar. med. Omnes capitis dolores & phantasmata tollit; herbam in terris huic comparandam viribus & bonitate nasci. f Optimum medicamentum in celeri cordis confortatione, & ad omnes qui tristantur, &c. Rondoletius. Elenum quod vim habet miram ad hilaritatem et multi pro seCreto habent. Sckenkius observ. mcd. cen. 5. observ. 86. ▸ Afflictas mentes şelevat, animi Imaginationes & Damones expellit. flicted flicted souls." Other things are much magnified by writers, as an old Cock, a Ram's head, a Wolfe's heart born or eaten, which Mercurialis approves; Prosper Altinus, the water of Nilus; Gomesius all sea water, and at seasonable times to be sea-sick: Goats milk, Whey, &c. SUBSECT. IV. Pretious Stones, Metals, Minerals, Alteratives. RETIOUS stones are diversly censured; many explode the use of them or any Minerals in Physick, of whom Thomas Erastus is the chief, in his Tract against Paracelsus, and in an Epistle of his to Peter Monavius, "That stones can work any wonders, let them beleeve that list, no man shall perswade me; for my part, I have found by experience there is no vertue in them." But Matthiolus, in his comment upon 'Dioscorides, is as profuse on the other side in their commendation; so is Cardan, Renodeus, Alardus, Rueus, Encelius, Marbodeus, &c. Matthiolus specifies in Corall: and Oswaldus Crollius Basil. chym. prefers the salt of Corall. "Christoph. Encelius lib. 3. cap. 131. will have them to be as so many severall medicines against melancholy, sorrow, fear, dulnesse, and the like; Renodeus admires them, "besides they adorn Kings Crowns, grace the fingers, enrich our houshold stuffe, defend us from enchantments, preserve health, cure diseases, they drive away grief, cares, and exhilarate the minde." The particulars be these. Granatus, a pretious stone so called, because it is like the kernels of a Pomegranate, an unperfect kinde of Ruby, it comes from Calecut; "Pif hung about the neck, or taken in drink, it much resisteth sorrow, and recreats the heart." The same properties I find ascribed to the Iacinth and Topaze. They allay anger, grief, diminish madness, much delight and exhilarate the minde. "If it be either carried about, or taken in a iSckenkius, Mizaldus, Rhasis. * Cratonis ep. vol. 1. Credat qui vult gemmas mirabilia efficere; mihi qui & ratione & experientia didici aliter rem habere, nullus facile persuadebit falsum esse verum. 1 L. de gemmis. m Margaritæ & corallum ad melancholiam præcipue valent. "Margaritæ & gem mæ spiritus confortant & cor, melancholiam fugant. • Præfat. ad lap. prec. lib. 2. sect. 2. de mat. med. Regum coronas ornant, digitos illustrant, supellec tilem ditant, è fascino tuentur, morbis medentur, sanitatem conservant, mentem exhilarant, tristitiam pellunt. P Encelius 1. 3. c. 4 Suspensus vel ebiIdem. cap. 5. & cap. 6. de. Lapis hic ges-tatus aut ebibitus prudentiam auget, nocturnos timores pellit; insanos hac sanavi, & quum lapidem abjecerint, erupit iterum stultitia." bitus tristitiæ multum resistit, & cor recreat. VOL. II, H potion, potion, it will increase wisdome," saith Cardan, "expell fear; he brags that he hath cured many mad men with it, which, when they laid by the stone, were as mad again as ever they were at first." Petrus Bayerus lib. 2. cap. 13. veni mecum, Fran. Rueus cap. 19. de gemmis, say as much of the Chrysolite, a friend of wisdome, an enemy to folly. Pliny lib. 37. Solinus cap. 52. Albertus de Lapid. Cardan. Encelius lib. 3. cap. 66. highly magnifies the vertue of the Beryll, “it much availes to a good understanding, represseth vain conceits, evil thoughts, causeth mirth," &c. In the belly of a swallow there is a stone found called Chelidonius, "which if it be lapped in a fair cloath, and tied to the right arm, will cure lunaticks, mad men, make them amiable and merry." There is a kinde of Onyx called a Chalcidonye, which hath the same qualities, " availes much against phantastict illusions which proceed from melancholy," preserves the vigour and good estate of the whole body. The Eban stone, which Goldsmiths use to sleeken their gold with, born about or given to drink, hath the same properties, or not much unlike. Levinus Lemnius Institut. ad vit. cap. 58. amongst other Jewels makes mention of two inore notable; Carbuncle and Corall, " which drive away childish fears, Divels, overcome sorrow, and hung about the neck repress troublesome dreams," which properties almost Cardan gives to that green coloured Emmetris, if it be carried about, or worn in a ring; Rueus to the Diamond. Nicholas Cabeus, a Jesuit of Farrara, in the first book of his Magneticall Philosophy, cap. 3. speaking of the vertues of a loadstone, recites many several opinions; some say that if it be taken in parcels inward, si quis per frusta voret, juventutem restituet, it will, like viper's wine, restore one to his youth; and yet if carried about them, others will have it to cause melancholy; let experience determine. Mercurialis admires the Emerald for his vertues in pacifying all affections of the mind; others the Saphyre, which is the fairest of all precious stones of skye colour, and a great enemy dit. Inducit sapientiam, fugat stultitiam. Idem Cardanus, lunaticos juvat. Confert ad bonum intellectum, comprimit malas cogitationes, &c. Alacres redAlbertus, Encelius cap. 44. lib. 3. Plin. lib. 37. cap. 10. Jacobus de Dondis: dextro brachio alligatus sanat lunaticos, insanos, facit amabiles, jucundos. Valet contra phantasticas illusiones ex melancholia. Amentes sanat, tristitiam pellit, iram, &c. * Valet ad fugandos timores & dæmones, turbulenta somnia abigit, & nocturnos puerorum timores compescit. • Somnia Læta facit argenteo annulo gestatus. Atræ bili adversatur, omnium geminarum pulcherrima, cœli colorem refert, animum ab errore liberat, mores in melius mutat. |