De morbo Gallico·

¶Howe men at the begynnyng resysted this infyrmitie the frenche pockes. Capit. iiij. (Book 4)

VVhan the phisitions were thus amased, the surgiōs came forward in the same errour, and putte to theyr handes: and first they be∣ganne to burne the sores with hote yrons. But for as moche as it was an infinite labour / to touche them all, they wente aboute to ad∣uoyde them by oyntementes, but dyuerse men vsed dyuers oyntementes, and all in vayne, except he added quicke siluer therto, they bete for this vse the pouders of mirre, of mastique / of ceruse, of beyberies, of a∣lam, bolli armenie, cinaber / of veermelon, of corall, of burned salte / of rusty brasse, of leddrosses, of rust of yron, of Rosen, of Turpentyne, and of al maner of best oyles, oyle of bey / oile of pure roses & terebinthiū, oyle of gyneper, of greatte effect, oyle of spike / swynes greace, fatte of oxe feete and butter, made specially in may, talowe of gootes and hartes, virgins honye, pou∣der of rede wormes dryed into duste, or con¦sumed with oyle and beaten, camfere, enfor¦biū & castory: & with .ij. or .iij. of these fore∣sayde thynges myngled to gether / they a∣noynted the sicke mans ioyntis, his armes,

his thyes / his backe bone, his neckebone, with other places of his bodye. Some a∣noynted them ones a day, some twyes, som thryes, some foure tymes. The paciente was shutte in a stufe, kept with continuall and feruent hete, some .xx. and some .xxx. hole dayes: And some were layd in a bedde within the stewe / and anointed, and couered with manye clothes, and were compelled to sweate. Parte of them at the seconde a∣noyntynge beganne to faynt meruaylously. But yet the oyntment was of suche strēgth & effect, that what so euer disease was in the hyer part of the body / it drew into the sto∣make, & from thēs vp into the brayn, & thēs the disese auoyded both by the nose and the mouthe, and dyd putte the pacient to suche peyne, that excepte they toke good hede, theyr tethe fell out, all theyr throtes, theyr longes / their roffes of the mouthes, were full of sores, their iawes did swelle, their teethe were lensed, and contynually there auoyded the moste stynking skome and ma∣ter, that coude be, and what so euer it rāne vpon, by and by it was polluted and infec∣ted / wherby theyr lyppes so touched gathe¦red sores, and within forthe their chekes were greuously peyned. Al the place, where

••hey were, did stink. Which maner of curyng was so peinful, that many had leuer dy thā so to be esed. How be it scātly the hundreth {per}son was esed / but shortly after fel down a¦gain: so y^t his ese dured very few days. wher¦by mē mai esteme, what I suffred in this dis¦ese, that {pro}ued this maner of curing a .xi. ty∣mes, with great ieo{per}die & peril, wrastling w^t this euil .ix. yeres. And yet in the mene time taking what so euer thing was thought to withstōde & resist it. For we vsed bathes & herbis lapped about thē, & drīkes & coresies, And for this we had arsnicke, inke, calcan∣tū, verdegres, or aqua fortis, which wrouzt in vs so bitter peyn / y^t they myght be iuged very desirous of life, y^t had not leuer dy thā so to {pro}lōge theyr life, but tho curingis were most bitter & peinful, which were made with oyntmētes, And was also so moche y^e more dāgerus bicause the ministers of it, knewe not y^e operation therof. For y^e surgions only dyd not vse it, but euery bold felow wēt a∣bout playing the phisition, gyuing to al ma∣ner of mē one ointmēt, either as he had sene it ministred to other, or as he had suffered it him selfe. And so they heled al men with one medicine, as the {pro}uerbe sayth, One s••oo for both fete. If ought happend amis to the sike, for lack of good coūsell, they wiste nat what to do or say. And these mē tormenters

were suffred to practise on all persons what they wold while the phisitiōs were done as ī an vniuersal errour & ignorāce. And so with¦out order or rule, with tormēt of heate and sweat plētie, al were cured after one faciō, without regarde of time, habite, or cōplec∣tion. Nother these ignorante anointers had not so moche knowledge, as with laxes to take away the mater, whiche caused the e∣uyl, or to diete them, or appointe any diuer∣site of meate: but at length the matter must com to this point, that they shulde lose their tethe, for they were losed, their mouth was all in a sore, & through coldnes of the sto∣mak & filthy stench, thei lost appetite. And al¦though their thirst was ītollerable, yet foūd they no kind of drink to help the stomak, ma¦ny were so light ī their brain, that they coud not stōd, & som were brought into a madnes & not ōly their hādis trēbled & shoke therw^t, but also their fete & al y^e body: som mūbled ī their speking as lōge as they liued, & cowd haue no remedy. And many I haue sene die ī the midel of their curing. And one I knowe did so his cure, that in one daye he killed .iii. husbandmē, through immoderat hete which they suffred paciently, shutte within an hote stewe, trustinge that they shulde the sooner obteigne their helthe / tylle throughe vehe∣mente heate their hertes fayled them, and

and perceyued not them selfe to dye, and so were wretchedly strangled. Other I sawe dye, whan theyr throtes were swollen in the intrie, that first the filthy matter, where they shulde haue auoyded in spyttynge / coude fynde no waye oute, and at lengthe theyr breth was lyke wyse stopped, and an other sorte, whan they coude not pisse, Ve∣ry fewe they were / that gatte theyr helth / and they passed through these ••ieopardies, these bytter peynes, and euyls.