De morbo Gallico·

¶What place phisitions haue in this cure. Ca∣pitulo .xj. (Book 11)

BVt nowe I know, that some suspecteth me to be of this mynde, that I wold no phi∣sition to be vsed in this cure, whiche thynge is far other¦wise. For my mynde is / that somme, that is well lerned and wise, shulde be gotten, whiche is not bolde ne liberall in po••rynge in of poticarye ware. his custody and also his order, if he haue lerned the vse of the admynistracyon of Guaiacum, I wolde the sycke personne shulde vse. And these myscheuous busy fe∣lowes, whiche are so gladde to offer to vs this straunge waare, and medicines / if any be broughte from the heedes of Ni∣lus, of whiche / the more they coste, the

more they make of thē, auāsyng them aboue the mone, these I saye I wolde haue dryuen away / and in no wyse•• to se the sycke no nat through a latis. I haue proued this thyng euen so to be as Asclepiades iudged, whiche thought all maner drenches vnfrendely to the stomake. And Celsus also saythe, that medicines for the moste parte hurte the sto∣make / ye and moreouer that hap••ened to me, that the same author shewed before shulde happen, that medicines receyued into the body, whan they had ben kept in the lo∣wer partis, were driuen back again into the heed, and caused great peyne, whiche thing lette all remembre that wyll enter into this cure, that they cōmyt not them selfe rasshly to suche tourmenters, not only bycause the nature of this woode is not yet well kno∣wen / but also bycause it is theyr maner ne¦uer to knowledge ignorance, but always to commaund somewhat, to ministre and gyue some what, vnto whome a man shall at no tyme shewe his water, howe well and hel∣thfull so euer he be, but they wyll make theyr bylle to the poticaries, recipe, recipe take, take / sayinge that other they suspect•• some sycknes to be begonne, other els that the whiche is nowe at hand / must be preue••¦ted

or it come, excepte thou swallowe this (saye they) or drynke that, thou haste the axes. O myscheuous men•• if they maye be called men, and worthye to be hated of all the worlde. But what so euer they be, they haue bene bolde to take vppon them many thynges of late about the administration of Guaiacum / thrustynge in them selfe, vnto that worke, the sellers therof helpynge them forwarde through some conuention & bargayn made betwene them I beleue. For whā they sawe, that by meanes of this rude, vile, and contemptible medicine there shuld be hereafter no nede of theyr discepta∣tions, and yet durste not / for I know some that wolde withstonde so fauorable & good a thynge. And of the other syde, whan the marchantes feared, leest they shulde selle but lytel, if the phisitions allowed it not, for no man wolde lyghtly go vnto a medicine, that came from so strange a place, and was ministred so farre from the commen maner of medicines, than they agreed betwyxte them, I beleue, that this shulde be spredde amonges the commen people, that the phi∣sitions labour was necessarye in this cure: So that they sellynge a remedye approued of the phisitions, moughte gette as they

were wont, and the phisitions in the meane tyme shu••de lose nothynge of theyr stipen∣des, seynge that they were called vnto this cure.

¶I knowe certayne phisitions of a better sorte, that went into Spayne in the empe∣rours name / and in the name of a bysshop here, onely to enquere and serche for this thing. And these, whan they were taught of them that lerned & knew the thing in Spag¦nola, tolde nothynge in maner otherwyse than our experience hath: but that they ad∣ded of theyr own braynes, what medicines, vpon what dayes, with what obseruations ought to be receyued, & by a mathematicall dyete, howe they shulde behaue them selfe in eatynge and drynkynge: whiche thynge I beleue, they dydde of no euyll mynde, but ••ft••r theyr maner, and supersticiousnes vsed of some good phisitions, whiche are so ••esyrous t•• helpe the sycke, and are so tender towarde them, that sometyme they do more than they shulde. Their good min∣des I do allowe, but yet I thynke it daun∣ge••ous, to agree vnto all men in all thyn∣ges. But to retourne agayn to these yf myn¦ded phisitiōs. I thynke they be agreed with the marchantes, that they may he admitted

into parte of the lucre and gaynes. For I my selfe dyd se a certayne phisition, if we vouchsafe to calle a rude and an vnlerned asse by this name, who with many wordes dispreysed this wodde Guaiacum, as a vayne thynge / & nothyng worthe: but that the marchātes fained it to do these thynges. But shortely after this lewde dispreyser was called vnto the cure of a certain ryche man, and shortely after to an other•• And whan the man beganne to smelle the golde, and sawe great gaynes to comme through the multitude of suche sycke men / he began fyrste to be more gentylle, and to diminishe his cruelnes & malice more & more, & within a whyle preysed this wode, and greatly a∣uanced it, and sayde: Nowe at the laste, I my selfe haue proued the meruay••lous po∣wer and vertue of this wodde. Naye naye asse / but nowe thou haste founde thyne ad∣uantage therin.

¶And after this maner this medicine se∣meth to come into theyr canons / lykewyse as all other medicines haue done: whiche thynge if it be done by the auctorite of the wyse / experte / and lerned phisitions, I im∣proue it not: howe be it my mynde gyueth me, and I verely beleue, that they can not

do it as yet: And agayne I thynke it not very necessarye. For eyther in Spagnola, where are no phisitions / somewhat is lac∣kynge vnto this medicine, or elles it oughte here lykewyse to be ministred without suche supersticiousnes and formalities. May ther any man be ••o lyght of beleue, as to thynke that the phisitions can handle this busynesse more counnyngly, than they whiche knewe it by experience in them selfe, consyderynge howe that Guaiacum hath not contynued so longe with vs, that they might in that space haue serched and lerned his nature. And to speke in fewe wordes, men do yet meruayle at the thynge / & is nat as yet come vnto per¦fyte knowlege. Therfore canne hit not be vnder theyr canons in this shorte tyme, or any cause of his operation shewed.

¶Lette this therfore stycke fast in all mens myndes, that they thynke this symple dyete sufficient to cure and heale them, which we teache by experience, in our selfe. Let them be seene and looked vppon, of the sober and lerned phisitions: but lette them leaue the dregges and spices of this other sorte. Let them bede farewell for euer and adaye to these, that go about to restore vs from diseases with theyr disputations. These are

they / whiche, as I sayde, allowe nothynge that is vile and of smalle price / and whiche thynke that I telle fables, whan I say that I haue driuen away the axes mo than eight tymes by drynkynge of myn owne water / by and by at the begynnynge: and with no other medicine. And that I haue sene men in Saxonie / whiche haue quenched al ma∣ner diseases with drynkynge hotte buttred beere. And agayne they wyl not beleue me, that there is a seruant of my faders, which with .iii. certayne herbes sodden in wyne, hath healed a mannes brayne panne broken to peces: and many sore and euyl woundes hath he heled with a few herbis of our own growynge, sodden in wyne or water, and that within .x. or .xii. dayes, withoute any feare of feuer. But this they thynke a vile medicine / sayinge it is not done after theyr canons. And the same thynge do they iudge of Guaiacum, whose nature and power / howe clerely they vnderstonde, and what maner wordes they vse to haue of hit: we may perceyue by the answere of a certaine noble phisition, not nowe yonge, that he shulde begynne to practise / but of extreme age, that it is very lykely he fealeth Aui∣cen, Mesuen, and other authors of phisike,

as well as his owne nayles. This phisition whan I was wrytinge these thynges, and takyng my iourney from Frankeford, wher he was wrytynge his recipe, was asked of a certayne frende of myn, what he thought of Guaiacum: I haue not sene it / sayd he, but what so euer it be, the weyght / the co∣lour, the sauour, must be consydered in quā∣tite and qualite. Than sayde I, his weighte is very heuy, and synketh in the water, how lyttell so euer the cuttynge be: and hathe the same colour almoste that is in boxe, and it smelleth fayntely / somewhat of rosen: doest thou knowe nowe by this, what the nature and power of Guaiacum is? Than he thynkynge to face me downe with wor∣des, chattered I wot••e not whatte / out of Aristotels predicamentes. Than sayde I, It may be, good fader, seinge the disease is newe, and this a newe medicine, that the holle matter is yet vnknowen vnto you. Thou arte deceyued sayde he, it is no newe disease, seinge Plini wryteth therof. Than I, beynge desyrous to knowe, what he knewe in Plini, that I knew not, asked him, what name Plinie gaue vnto this disease? Mentagram sayde he, quía vexat mentem, that is to say, bycause hit vexith a mannes

mynde. Than sayde I / why and do not other infirmities and sycknes than tourmēt and vexe a mans mynde? or doth not fren∣syes, madnes, the fallynge euyll, and other rauysshynges of the wyttes this thing more than the frenche pockes? As he was inter∣pretynge I can nat telle what: good olde man, quod I, lerne agaynste an other tyme to answere more wysely / and specially in suche thynges as apertaigne to mans helth. For if ye had redde Plinie / ye wolde not saye Mentagram to come a mente, but a mento. For in the chynne that disease fyrste began / whiche thynge declareth it to be an other syckenes than the frenche pockes. And who coude forbere to rebuke this mis∣cheuous madde asse heed? But let vs passe ouer these raskall phisitions, of the whiche we se a great parte ryche in wordes / but in the knowlege of thynges very poore: and lette vs retourne to our purpose, whereof this is the pythe, that phisitions shall be ta∣ken in this cure, not as ministers of medi∣cins or healers, but as kepers. And these to be, as I haue ofte sayde / chosen, wise, and well lerned, and mooste experte, and suche as hadde leuer be wyse by them selfe, than erre with the comon sorte: And suche

as if they coude heale a ••ycke man with ea∣tynge beanes, wolde not seke for any costly, and especially strange medicines.