Batman vppon Bartholome his booke De proprietatibus rerum, newly corrected, enlarged and amended: with such additions as are requisite, vnto euery seuerall booke: taken foorth of the most approued authors, the like heretofore not translated in English. Profitable for all estates, as well for the benefite of the mind as the bodie. 1582.

¶Of a Postume, Cap. 60.

* 1.1 A Postume is gathered of superfluitie of humours in some member, and maketh rotting and swellyng as Con∣stantine saith. It falleth sometime, that a member impossumeth through an out∣ward cause, as Constantine saith: as of smiting, of a wound, of falling, of break∣ing, and brusing, and boyshing, and hur∣teling: for of all such things, humoures moue ofte and come to the sore place, & putteth and hurleth euery each with o∣ther, and wereth hot and rotteth. Som∣time a postume commeth of an inward cause, as of superfluitie of corrupt hu∣mors, that oft runneth and commeth to∣gethers to a certaine place, and that in two manners: for sometime by gathe∣ring of matter in their owne member: & somtime by running of matter out of one member into another: and such run∣ning hath many causes, as Constantine saith. The first is strength of the mem∣ber, that putteth off noyfull things: for some principall and noble members dis∣charge themselues of superfluities, as the braine dischargeth himselfe of fleuma∣ticke humour, and of sumositie. The se∣cond cause, is féeblenesse of the member that receiueth: for féeble members re∣ceiue superfluities, which come downe from the ouer and stronger members, as the skin & the flesh. The third cause, is multitude of humors, the which, when great superfluitie of them is in the more veynes, they be shed into y^e lesse veynes, & enter into the substance of members, which be of parts like: and that which is more than is néedful to y^t food, tunneth to the member, and the way is closed, & maketh a postume. The fourth is large∣nesse of the veynes, by whom those hu∣mors run easely from member to mem∣ber. The fifth cause, is moysture of hu∣mors and subtilnesse, the which of easie mouing be casely shed: and when they be shed, they are gathered in some mem∣ber, and there they be helde and thrust by straightnes of the member, and huried, and defiled, and disposed to rotting. The sixt cause, is the disposition of the mem∣bers: for kindly the nether members re∣ceiue supersluitie of the euer members, as the members of the head put downe their superfluities, somtime to y^t brawnes and veynes of the throte, & so commeth Squinancie. Sometime to the members of the breast, and so commeth hotches & postumes in the lungs. A postume com∣meth in this manner: While humours haue default in quantitie, and maye not be wasted by heat, nor put out by strēgth of vertue, they be receiued in the hollow∣nes of members, & ther boyle & putrifie, & as peast set in an ouer, & dryed by fire, receiueth a manner crusting in the vtter side, vnder the which crust the paast is softe: so the humour gathered, by heats boyleth and maketh a manner crust a∣boue, vnder the which crust rotted hu∣mor is bidde, and swelleth: and such a swellyng is called Apostema. And som∣time it commeth of ventositie and of minde, and is called Bubo. Sometime of a simple humour, as of bloud, and is called Fleugmon. The tokens thereof, be rednesse which commeth of the cou∣lour of bloud: hardnesse commeth of multitude of matter, and of heate, which wasteth and consumeth watry matter: quapping and leaping, by reason of ven∣tositie and of sumositie: shifting & put∣ting, sore ache, by reason of stretching: heate, by reason of hot matter: & swel∣lyng, by reason of multitude of matter. In this manner is made a Postunis of simple Cholera and red, and is called, Herisipila, that is, holy fire, Per Anti∣frasin, that is to say, by contrary man∣ner of speaking.

And another maner postume com∣meth of pure Cholera, and gnaweth and fretteth y^e member y^t it is in, & is called among Phisitians. Herpes Essimoncus,

as it were gnawing and fretting it selfe. In the same manner wise a postume commeth of fleame, and is called Zuma, or Palus. For right as in moores and in maraise, is much superfluitie of slyme & of wose, so in this postume is much su∣perfluitie. And if thou thrustest thy fin∣ger therevpon, it denteth in: for the run∣ning matter withdraweth, and letteth not the finger to enter, and then in the middle is a pit, as it were the bore of an hole, and when the finger is awaye, the matter commeth againe, and filleth all the place. The tokens of these Po∣stumes be whitenesse, for the matter is white: softenesse, for the matter is flée∣ting: and soft ach, for the matter with his coldnesse swageth the feelyng. In a postume that commeth of red Cholera, the signes be as it were coutrarye: for the heate is strong, because that y^e mat∣ter is full hot: it is redde with yeolow∣nesse, for the Cholera is not red, but yeo∣low: great ache and pricking, for the matter is sharpe. Of Melancholia com∣meth a postume, and if the matter be all without, the postume is called Schrosis. And if the matter be some within, and some without: then commeth a postume which is called Cancer, a Canker, to the lykenesse of a Crab. For in lykewise as a Crabbe is broad by the ridge, and the armes stretche by the sides: so in this postume is a manner swellyng in stéed of the ridge, and the braunches of hu∣mors stretch hether and thether in stéed of armes. Also it croepeth little and lit∣tle, gnawing and fretting the flesh and sinewes slowly to the sight as it were a Crab. The signes therof be, great hard∣nesse, for when the matter is earthly and melancholike, it is full thicke and sadde: the colour is wanne, for the matter is not all blacke: the ach is scarse or none for vnféelingnesse thereof, for the matter hath two slayeng qualities, coldenesse, and drynesse: and it gnaweth and fret∣reth alwaye, and costumpeth the flesh a∣none to the rootes of the sinewes, and infecteth the bones that reach thereto: and therefore this euill is as it were pe∣stilence euill. Among these gnawing & fretting postumes is such an order. For Noli me tangere is a cankrie postume in the sace, and fretteth little and little, and lesse then other: and the Canhertretheth more than the postume, which is called Lupus. And Herisipila the holy fire, fret∣teth most. And Fistula the fester fretteth not, but rotteth within, and maketh the flesh rotlewe, & the sinewes shrinke,* 1.2 and draweth them to quitter, and corrump∣eth sinewes sometime, and maketh the bones to fall. And it commeth often and many times of a wound, which is euill kept, when the bone, which is there vn∣der is infected with quitter, and so the féeding that commeth thereto, tourneth into this manner, for because the vtter part breaketh and the wound runneth, sometime the wound is closed, and som∣time it, breaketh againe, and if the Fe∣ster be full colde, vnneth it is curable. Ofte about the wound, be manye open holes: For a fester hath a deepe wound within, and a straight and a narrowe without: and the Ca••ker in contrari∣wise hath a wide wounde without, and straight within: and therefore it is more harder to helpe. Sometime as fester com∣meth, of a reume, or of an olde wounde, & sometime of a postume euill healed, & namely if the postume and the wounde be made too moyst, and hath many holes, out of the which holes issueth water of diuers colours, now white, now yeolow. And ofte these holes be cloased in one place, and breake out in another. Other postumes there be, which come of con∣trary matter, as it fareth in a postume, which is called Antrax, which Constan∣tine calleth Carbunculus, for it burneth as a coale: and it commeth of full wood matter and venemous, & of matter that is compowned, & it is knowen by those lynes, which be therein of diuers cou∣lours: and is shaped lyke vnto a rodde, and therein be some lines red and blou∣die, and some yeolow and cholaricke: some be somewhat white and fleuma∣tike, and some wanne and melancho∣licke: Some cleare, and come of salte fleame, and so of other vnkinde hu∣moures. The tokens of that Postume Antrax, be passing ache, burning and pitching, and pricking in the ground.

In the head of the postume bréedeth a whelke or a blaine, which betokeneth and signifieth, that heate followeth the humour that hath masterie, and hath in a gathering a shape lyke vnto a rodde, di∣stinguished with lynes of diuers cou∣lours, and it séemeth that it is drawen to the grounde thereof with a manner thred fastened to the vtter parte of the bladder in the middle.

To heale and to saue postumes, men vse in the beginning, Repercussiues, but if the matter be woode and vene∣mous, as it fareth in Herisipila, holye fire, and in the postume which is called Antrax: for in such, men shall not laye Repercussiues to y^e sore, but rather those things that swage and ease, least the venemous matter be smitten inward to the inner members, and so cause more griefe and disease. Then when the Po∣stume is in state, men shall vse tempe∣ring things and shedding, and softning, and cupping. And when the postume is opened, or els broken, and the matter brought out, then men shall vse medi∣cines that close and souder, & that bréed good flesh. To other postumes, which hane worse accidents and stronger, men shall vse such medicines, as men doe vse against the Canker and Festure, & other such, for there as kinde fayleth, the pati∣ent shall be first cleansed within. And men shall ordaine therefore remedye as the place as keth. Against the Canker, men shall minister medicines, which burne and fret the dead flesh. Against a Fester men shall vse medicines, which diye, and wast, and cleanse, and washeth of the quitter. And if these profite not: then he shall be put to Surgerie. For it is more safetie, that one corrupt part of an whole body be burned or cut away, then all that other deale be spilte and corrupt and vtterly destroyed. Further∣more afterward against venomous po∣stumes, as against postumes, which be called Antrax,* 1.3 men shall ordaine a re∣medie wately and soone: for he slayeth soone, but if succour come redely & soone. Then it is good counsayle, but some o∣ther things let, to let bloud in the be∣ginning, in the same side, in y^e next place to the gathering of the postume.

For it is not sure in such a case to lette bloud in the contrary side, least the mat∣ter be drawen into the body, & to noble mēbers, while the matter is venomous, and than it is needfull and good to drink Triacle with hot wine, and to annoynt therewith the sore place. For if the tri∣acle be proued,* 1.4 and it be a very Antrax, the Triacle shall drawe out the matter that is drye and venemous, and he shall dry it so, that thou mightest make pow∣der thereof, as it were ashes: and then Triacle shall be layed too fresh often∣times, till the postume breake, and when it is broke, it is no dread of perill. The yolke of an egge baked with salt, work∣eth the same, if it be often layde to the postume, for it swageth and easeth the same, and breaketh the postume, as the Commentour saith.

Apostumes be of diuers causes, and breede in sundrye places: the inwarde Apostumes be most daungerous, which are in the head, stomack, lunges, splene, and bowells. Flegmon, commeth of bloud. Zimie of fleame, or Zunia.

Herisipila commeth of cholar, Cancri or Sclitos, of melancholy, or cholar a∣dusted. Byles, botches, blaynes, and such lyke, be lesse daungerous, so that in the comming foorth, for want of skill, they bee not sunke in againe: for where there is not sufficicieut heate of bodye to force them foorth, they stop the powers, and suffocate to death.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Aposte∣ma. Postume.
• * 1.2

  th•••• vve or •••••••• ••alu••e.
• * 1.3

  Antrax is a felon or whisslavv
• * 1.4

  Triacle in a plaister.