De morbo Gallico·

¶Howe this medicine shall helpe, and whether it healeth men sodaynly, or at ley∣sure. Ca. xxiii. (Book 23)

BVt nowe, I suppose, hit is hygh tyme to declare, howe the effecte of this medycine may be perceiued and vnder¦stande, and whan the pacien∣tis begynne to mende, and whether this curynge be sodayne and swyft, or late and slowe. Wherin, as I vse in all o∣ther, I wyll open to you those thynges, that I my selfe haue bothe sene and knowen: but this I warne you of before, that if it haue chaunced otherwyse to any manne, thanne I wryte, that he laye not the blame in me.

¶I haue lerned, that Guaiacum helpeth

by lyttell and lytell, and not ••odaynly, and gothe forwarde fayre and easely, and not violently. For it is so far from the trouthe, to thynke that it helpeth one sodaynly, that ••ometymes, from the fyrste daye to the .xv. the disease cometh so sharpe, and the peyne and ache so augmenteth, and the foores so enlarge, that a man wolde thynke hym selfe in worse case durynge those days, than euer he was before: eyther bycause than the dis∣ease is rooted vp & drawen from the inner partis, and the rootynge vp is peynfull, or els that the alteration / whiche than is cau∣sed in the disposition of the body, breakynge out with a great violence and shakyng, put∣teth a man to greuous peyne. For vndoub∣tedly this medicine drawethe out this mys∣cheuous disease by the rootis: and that doth it vnto some forth with after they begynne to take it, and to some oth••r it tarieth a lon∣ger tyme: but hit dothe so to no man before the .vii. daye: and to many (as it dyd to me) after the .xx. day: if it tarye longer er hit worke this effecte, than the defaute is other whyle in the pacientis, whan they wyll vse excesse in fedynge. In me (as I sayd afore) the fa••te was in sithynge of Guaiacum / for by reason that the phisitions in preparynge

therof, made it smaller than they shuld haue done, I was the longer er it wrought on me. And I haue harde physitions say, that accor¦ding to the cōplexiō of the bodies it worketh sooner and slowlyer. And this is sure and certayne, whiche thynge Stromer ofte af∣firmed vnto me, that if they, the whose wyt is more subtyle, and are ryghte attentiuely g••uen vnto studye / happe to falle sycke / theyr diseases shall be more vehement and longer continue. And many thynke, that it skylleth greatly, as well in this disease / as other, in what placis of the body the sycke∣nes shulde chaunce, for the ryghte parte is more healeable than the left: Bycause, saith Alexander, by larger exercyse the matter is stopped, and made more apte to heale. Also they saye, it is more harder to heale the vttermoste partis, bycause they be farre of from the bodye, it is longe er they can be nourysshed and fedde. And there it is to be taken hede, whether the grefe doth ascende or discende. Celsus sayth, that what so euer grefe gothe downewarde, is the more cu∣rable. And agayne. All grefe, whiche pro∣cedeth vpwarde, is worse for the medicyne to come vnto. And that suche diseases, that chaunce in our secrete partis / as they are

moste peynefull and sharpe, by reason of in∣flamation (whervnto those partis are spe∣cially subiectes) so are they forthewith and soonest healed. Whiche as in all other medi∣cines they maye be moued, so for the newe vse brought vp of Guaiacum, I wote not whether it be alway so or no. But this lette euery man take hede of, that where so euer the grefe be, and with what so euer kynde of the pockes they be peyned, that they pre∣pare well Guaiacum / and after they haue dronke so long therof that it be spredde and rounne into the veynes: thanne ye maye be sure theyr ache lytell and lytell goth away: And otherwhyle the ache commeth agayne / and is more sharpe and peynefull: and goth away agayne. For after it ones begynneth to swage, and than waxeth soore and peyn∣full, it endureth not longe. And they that haue soores, shall haue the flesshe eaten a∣way about the soores of a greatte breadth: And that is a token, they begynne to heale. For vnto me it chāced, as it neuer did afore, that about the .xxv. daye my legges weare eaten so bare, that ye myghte haue sene the bone the breadth of a mannes nayle, whi∣che thynge putte me in great feare: but with¦out any difficultie, within a fewe days after

the flesshe grewe and was restored agayne. And by this I perceyue well, that the na∣ture of this medicine is to purifie & clense the soores vndernethe, and vnder the fleshe to proue and shewe fyrste the vertue therof. Hytherto haue I sene fewe or none, whose soores were cleane healed, that were kepte close tyll they helde. And therfore I haue harde many experte therin saye, that than Guaiacum maketh an ende of his operati∣on, whan the pacient returneth to his meate and in euery thynge taketh agayne his olde custome of lyuynge. I tolde you before / that it was necessary for me to kepe in, tyll the .xl. daye. All thynges welle pondered / I perceyue, that this medicine requyrethe a longe season to worke perfectely. For the nature of this medicine is not to breake, or plucke away the blondde, but by lyttell and lyttell to amende and purifie hit (in whiche blondde beinge corrupte, resteth al the force and strength of this disease) and to expelle and diuide from the body the hurtefull hu∣mours, thht are norisshementes of this dis∣ease, from some in theyr vrine and swea∣tynges, and from other som in theyr sieges. And whan of this disease a man begynneth to waxe whole, than the fyrst operation of

••uaicu•• is to make a man to 〈◊〉〈◊〉, and secondly by the passages of the vrine it pur∣geth: by whiche meanes it fetcheth out and voydeth marueylous foule fylthynesses. And than the handes and feete waxe mer∣uaylous colde, in so moche that they seme to haue no heate in them at all. Wherof phisi∣tions saye this is the cause, that than this medicine draweth the heate from the vtter partes to the inner: the whiche inward par∣tis after they be warmed and made hotte, thā the hete spredeth it self into the vtward partis. For this, without any doubt is pro∣ued, that theyr lymmes, that be healed with Guaiacum be moste hotte. And .vi. or vij. wynters nexte folowynge my legges and fete wolde be so colde, that I coude ne∣uer gette them warme inough, thoughe I wrapped them in neuer so many clothes: nowe they waxe so warme, that with a ve∣rye thynne hose or suche lyke garment / I putte away the colde. These thynges thus vnderstande and knowen, we muste comme to this poynt, that is, to knowe the opera∣tion of Guaiacum / and agaynst what syck∣nesses it helpeth.