A way to health, long life and happiness, or, A discourse of temperance and the particular nature of all things requisite for the life of man as all sorts of meats, drinks, air, exercise &c., with special directions how to use each of them to the best advantage of the body and mind : shewing from the true ground of nature whence most diseases proceed and how to prevent them : to which is added a treatise of most sorts of English herbs ... the whole treatise displaying the most hidden secrets of philosophy ... / communicated to the world for the general good by Thomas Tryon.

CHAP. XII.

The Cause of SURFEITS, and how to prevent them and keep the Body in Health. As also of large Drinking after Meals; and of eating of Suppers.

WHen any one finds himself much wearied or very hot through some violent action, or fainty through Labour, or long fasting, or any other Accidents of the like Nature, which may have wasted the Radical Moisture, and spent the pure Spirits, whereby the whole Body becomes heavy, dull and indisposed. Then to reco∣ver Nature and the Spirits, and yet at the same time prevent the Diseases called Surfeits, these following Rules are absolutely necessary for every one to observe:

1. Before eating or drinking you ought to rest, by sit∣ting still and silent, or taking a small nap of sleep, or if conveniency will permit, go to Bed and keep your self warm for an hour, or two, or three, according to the greatness of the occasion, which will recover the Spirits and strengthen the natural Heat, and sharpen the Appe∣tite, refreshing the whole Body, and chearing all the Senses, so that you shall not only eat and drink with ten∣fold more pleasure and delight, but with much more safety, as to Health. For no Meats or Drinks (though of the highest Preparation) have such Power to recover and restore the Spirits, and make the sweet Oyl in the Body burn clear, as Rest hath; for which cause a man can fast longer from Food, and with less prejudice to his Health, than from Rest or Sleep. Nevertheless in some of these times of Weariness there is necessity of present eating or drinking, but then it ought to be done spa∣ringly, and such Food as is easie of Digestion, as thin brisk Gruels, Pottages, and the like, and that in a small Quantity; for when the Spirits are spent by any of the forementioned Accidents, the natural Heat of the Sto∣mach is so weakned, that it cannot bear any great Quan∣tity of Meats or Drinks, nor such Foods as are too strong in Quality, without manifest danger to the Health. All

Inequality in this state is very perilous; for when the Radical Moisture is wasted, the natural Spirits are dull and impure, which cannot be restored but only by Rest; for the quickness and sharpness of the Stomach and di∣gestive Faculty does chiefly consist in the Goodness and Quantity of the Radical Moisture and pure Spirits: And for this cause those that are tired with Labour, a less Quantity of strong Drink or Food will overcome them: Also, those that are endued with strong Spirits, and whose Radical Moistures are pure and free from Ob∣structions, have good and sharp Appetites, and can eat and drink greater Quantities without prejudice to their Health; but on the contrary, such as have but weak Heats and few Spirits, have but little Stomachs, and faint desires to eat, their Stomachs being full before their Bel∣lies; and the same is to be understood when the Spirits and Natural Heat are impared and made impotent by Accidents. Therefore Rest after any kind of Weariness (be it what it will) is a most safe means to preserve Health, and prevent the generation of Diseases.

2. It is to be noted, that Surfeits and Obstructions are not (as many suppose) contracted at the first or second Inconveniency (except the Accident or Disorder be very great) but by degrees, every Excess sows some seeds for Diseases, which would be prevented, if care were taken, and Nature not overcharged, especially at the foremen∣tioned times, viz. when the Spirits are weakned or spent, for then the sweet Oyl and Radical Moisture immedi∣ately turns sourish, and then follows an unnatural Heat and Disorder through the whole Body, with a dizziness in the Head; for the Volatile Spirit is the true Life and Being of every thing.

Many lively Instances might be given to demonstrate this, as we see in all the Vegetations of the Earth, if the spirituous parts be any way destroyed or suffocated, that Herb, Seed or Grain decays and becomes of no use or vertue; which is likewise manifest in all Spirituous Li∣quors, as Beer, Ale, Syder, Wine, &c. if by long keeping or

other accidents the spirituous parts be wasted or evapo∣rated, immediately the sweet Quality (as it were) dieth, and then the bitter sour astringent Properties predominate, and appear in their own Forms, which whilst the spiritu∣ous and sweet Qualities were strong, and not violated, did lie hid, being therein incorporated. So that were it possible for Man by any Art to retain the Volatile Spirit in any Liquors or other things, then such things would continue firm and good in all their parts forever.

The same is to be conceived in the Humane Nature, and therefore all People ought to consider the danger the Spirit is in on all Disorders and Superfluities; for pre∣sently the Appetite is dulled and the Pallate cannot taste or distinguish the pure Relish of any sort of Food. For where the Spirits are weak all the Properties of Nature become unequal in their operation, and rise up with a kind of violence or hunger after the sweet Oyl, with eagerness to devour it, which is the true Life, Pleasure and Moderator of all the other Properties and Qualities; and therefore when once the same is wounded, the whole System of Nature is disordered, and all her Oeconomy disturbed. And this is really the very Root of all Di∣stemperatures both of the Body and Mind; which if e∣very one did understand, and take care that Nature were not overcharged, might easily be prevented. But though Nature doth frequently complain, sigh, groan and languish under many such Inconveniences and bur∣dens, yet few there be that ever think or consider the cause from whence such Indispositions proceed, but for the most part, through Ignorance, take wrong mea∣sures; for if any find themselves weak, fainty, weary, and the like, they presently think to supply this defect of Nature by giving her good store of rich Food and Cor∣dial Drinks, which for the most part do but add a second burthen to her, and proves of a more hazardous conse∣quence to the Health, than the first Disorder, since these Indispositions generally come not for want of Nourish∣ment, but rather the contrary, and for want of due Rest

after too violent Actions or over-long continuance at them, and for lack of giving Nature proportionable Meats and Drinks, whereby the Spirits and Radical Moi∣sture are wasted, as aforesaid; tho' it must be confessed, That Health and Strength cannot be maintained, but by a con∣stant supply of Meats and Drinks, yet the main thing is in the due and proper Timing thereof. Therefore weak-na∣tur'd People at all times, and others, whenever by La∣bour, Travel or Fasting they are brought into a weak and fainty state, should then be more than ordinarily careful that their Meats and Drinks be not too strong, nor too much in quantity, nor of a contrary quality, but propor∣tionable to the present strength of their Natural Heat.

3. Great drinking of Wine and strong Drinks, after full Meals of Flesh and Fish, (most of them being of disagree∣ing Natures one to the other) do often wound the health; and that constitution is rarely known that they do not prove of evil and dangerous consequence unto; which many of the richest sort of People in this Nation might know by woful experience, especially in London, who do yearly spend many hundreds, (I think I may say thou∣sands) of Pounds on their ungodly Paunches. Many of whom may save themselves that charge and trouble they are usually at in learning of Monsieur Nimble heels, the Dancing-Master, how to go upright, for their Bellies are swelled up to their Chins, which forces them to behold the Skie, but not for Contemplation-sake you may be sure, but out of pure necessity, and without any more Impressions of Reverence towards the Almighty All-wise Creator, than their Fellow Bruits; for their Brains are sunk into their Bellies; Injection and Ejection is the business of their Life, and all their precious hours are spent between the Platter and the Glass, and the Close-stool and Piss-pot. Are not these fine Fellows to call themselves Christians and Right Worshipfuls?

The natural Heat being overcharg'd by too great a Quantity of rich Food, that contains overmuch Nourish∣ment, stops the Passages, arrests the Spirits, and makes the

Stomach violently attract unto it self from all parts of the Body, the pleasant moist Vapours, to help and assist her to overcome and digest that load of Victuals which they have ingorged, that often puts Nature very hard to it in her internal Laboratory, causing a kind of suffo∣cation of the pure Spirits, drying and consuming the Ra∣dical Moisture and thin refreshing Vapours. Therefore after such Epicurean Meals, there is always an Indispositi∣on through the whole Body, with dulling Fumes in the Head, and drouziness, that generally continues, four, five or six hours, more or less, according to the strength of each mans Constitution, and the quantity of Food. Du∣ring which time the Passages of the Spirits are obstruct∣ed, the Pores stopt, so that the thin pleasant Vapours of the Air from without cannot penetrate, and thence the Blood is heated, and its Circulation hindred; and all this by gross phlegmatick Juices arising from Superflui∣ties, which impede the Passages and free Course of Na∣ture. But after some hours, when Nature hath strugled with these Besiegers, and flung off their Chains, and over∣come her Enemy, and forced her way, and made a sepa∣ration, then the Road of the Spirits is again laid open, and the Pores are unlockt to let in the refreshing Breezes, and the Man grows brisk and lively, and fit for business.—And so indeed he might have been all this while, if to pamper a liquorish Pallate, and gratifie an extravagant Humour and Custom, he had not wilfully Ingurgitated so much Food, as thus oppressed Nature for the present; and tho' he think now all's over; and is rea∣dy the very next day to attack her again with a like De∣bauch, yet he shall shortly find, the Dregs remain, there is a Morbifick matter left, and continually encreased, which at length being ripened into Act by some proper Aspect of the Heavens, or similary Accident on Earth, breaks forth into a most grievous Surfeit or violent Fe∣ver, and the Man is all on sire, and sighs, and languishes, and dies. And who shall pity him? since if he would in time have hearkened to the Voice of Reason or Experience,

either of them would have told him, That the sole In∣tention of Nature in eating and drinking is purely to support and refresh her, and not burden her; and there∣fore he ought to have chosen simple Food, and the quan∣tity not too great for the natural Heat, and then he should have found, after such eating and drinking, a cer∣tain pleasant and refreshing and chearing Joy spread through the whole Body, from the Center to the Circum∣ference, being more brisk, lively, active and useful than before.

But still, many there are, that be not content to Over∣cram Nature with too great a quantity of Food, but they will needs drown her too, with a deluge of Drink, pou∣ring in such vast Quantities of Wine and strong Liquors in∣to their foolish Hogsheads, as if they designed to make their Souls immediately swim out of their Bodies. This second Charge, especially when it comes immediately upon, or soon after the first, wounds Dame Nature to the very Heart, and sets her on fire, consuming the sweet Oyl and Radical Moisture by whole-sale, suffocates the purer Spirits, and puts the Blood (their limpid and natural Habitation) all into a combustion; and the first and greatest Suffer∣er in this Hurliburly is the pure Volatile Spirit, Balsamick Body and pure Oyl, which is of a friendly Nature, so meek and gentle, that it cannot, without manifest danger to the Health, endure any such harsh Fires or churlish Moti∣ons. And whenever Violence is offered to this benign quality, Nature falls into a languishing, which makes the Functions of the Stomach to cease, and the Salt's spirit looseth its savour, if the Disorder happen near the Cen∣ter of Life: But if only the pure Spirits and sweet Oyl of any Member be hurt, then it often falls out that the Evil and Defect remains only in that Member, and the Stomach and Center continue well; and in such cases the Life is seldom in danger.

But many Physitians, mistaken in Nature, do conclude, That the cause of such Defects proceed from some ill-habit or vitiated Tone of the Stomach, and more Central parts; and

therefore they will give strong Potions of harsh Medi∣cines, both Purging and Vomiting, which for the most part hurt Nature, weaken the Center, help to weaken and destroy the Balsamick Vertues, and the Limb or Member afflicted grows worse; for when in any Mem∣ber the wrathful Saturnal and Mercurial Poysons and sul∣pherous Heats of Mars are stirred up and awakened, they will in a little time envenom the whole, and make it burn like fire with Pains, whence Swellings and Putri∣factions proceed. Did People rightly understand this, they would be afraid to commit such Excess, loading Nature beyond what she can bear, by adding Intemper∣ance to Intemperance, as first to over-gorge themselves with too much, as well as too rich Food, and then to drink such great quantities of Strong Drink after it; these two Superfluities Nature cannot bear at one time with∣out great Injury to Health.

And therefore since some Men are such Swine as to delight to overcharge Nature with too much Drink, their safest way is to drink when their Stomachs are ra∣ther empty than full; for hard drinking doth not very often surfeit, when the Stomach is free from Fulness (except men drink to a very excessive pitch, and of va∣rious sorts of Drink, or such as is bad in its kind) especi∣ally when men are at mature Age, or rather old than young; for indeed all strong Drinks are absolutely against the Health of Young People, by reason their Blood is more hot, which being encreased, sets Nature on Fire, and precipitates them into Fury, Lust and Madness.

But it may be observed, that more People do surfeit themselves and destroy their Health by Gluttony and Su∣perfluous Eating, than by Overdrinking (though perhaps the Sin of Drunkenness makes more noise in the World) for Gluttony is hid in the Bud, and little or no notice ta∣ken of it, but is indeed committed by all sorts of People, both Male and Female, Young and Old, but more especial∣ly Young People and Children. And the Reasons hereof are, because Food is of a heavy gross Nature, and hard

of Concoction, and requires time for Digestion, so that Nature cannot so easily rid her self of it; but Drink doth pass through several Digestions and Fermentations, by which the spirituous parts are already become vola∣tile, that the Stomach and Natural Heat have no such difficulty to separate it, for that is done almost as soon as it comes into the Stomach, the spirituous parts incor∣porating themselves with their similies, viz. with the na∣tural Heat, as every man is sensible of, presently after the drinking of strong Drinks, which set the whole Body into an heat, if such quantity be drunk as causeth an eva∣poration of the natural Spirits, and the phlegmatick part thereof falleth down into the Ureters; so that tho' it must be confessed, That superfluity in drinking is ve∣ry injurious to Nature, yet being of a thin spirituous quality, it finds many quick ways of evacuation and transpirations; therefore not so dangerous as over∣much eating; but both are bad against Health, and great sins against God and Nature. Besides, those that are in∣clin'd to Drink, are manifest to all men, and so their Irregularities often restrain'd through shame, and re∣spect to their Credit; whereas the other gormandize publickly, and without the least Reflection, so general and customary is that Vice become.

4. The Eating of Suppers is profitable but to few, ex∣cept Young People, whose Imployments are hard, and in the Fields or open Air, or such as do not make Dinners, and whose Food and Drinks are mean; for such People may eat Suppers without prejudice, as also such as accust∣om themselves to eat in the morning and fast till night; also they that be of House-Imployments. But for all sorts of People that live sedentary Lives, and are of easie Im∣ployments, more especially those that are of mature Age, as Gentlemen and Citizens, &c. who use themselves to lie long in Bed in the Morning, and to great Dinners and rich Cordial Drinks, whose Tables are so adorned and set forth, not only with such great store of rich Food, but also with other Circumstances of great Charge, so

that a sober man would not imagin that so great Cost, Pains and time should be spent thereon, except such Din∣ners would continue and sustain Nature several years; but alas! the same is all swallowed and devoured in one hour, and all the pleasure of it gone, and for real use an honest piece of Bread and Cheese▪ should do a man three times more good than all this variety of Dainties, whose best service is to make work for the Doctors and Apothe∣caries, and they to provide Imployment for the Sextons; or if they escape the Wooden Tenement and Flannel, all they have to shew in Memory of these chargeable Treats, is an empty Purse, a disordered Mind, a loathsomely sullied Soul, and an indisposed distempered Body, as full of Diseas∣es as an Hospital.

To this sort of People it is most injurious to make Suppers; neither indeed are they good for any who live easie, and eat Dinners, because the space between Din∣ner and Supper is not sufficient to make a perfect Con∣coction, especially with those that eat much. Flesh and Fish, or Food that is fat; for after such Food men ought to fast at the least eight or ten hours, because the oily substance furs the Passages and dulls the natural Heat and Action of the Stomach, and consequently requires a lon∣ger time for Concoction than Herbs, Seeds, Fruits or Grains. Besides, Flesh is of a grosser substance, and more phlegmatick, therefore apt to generate Obstructions, thicker Blood, and more impure Spirits, and therefore those that feed thereon ought to fast a considerable time after it (by which means the natural Heat of the Sto∣mach may the better digest the superfluous gross matter) before fresh Food be taken into the Stomach again.

Therefore the best times for eating, are about eight or nine in the Morning, and five in the Afternoon; for nothing gives greater advantages to the Stomach to cleanse it self from all gross superfluous matter, than time and forbearance of eating or drinking for a fit space, which makes the edg of the Appetite sharp, and Pallate the perfect.

Moreover, Suppers (except to young People, and such as have prepar'd their Stomachs by large Fastings & Labours) fill the Body full of Wind, and cause it to glow with an unnatural heat and unsound sleep. And yet some there are, who (through a disorderly Life, their Natures being depraved) are so troubled with windy Diseases, that they are forced to eat Suppers to prevent the burden∣som pains of the Wind, and yet all will not do. But the most considerable thing why Suppers prove burdensom & unhealthy to Nature, is, because in the Night the Body is without Motion, and seems to cease from Action, and the Rooms are made close, and the whole Body kept much hotter than in the day, all which doth prevent the pure thin vapours of the Air from penetrating the Bo∣dy; but in the day the body being kept cooler than in the night, it is fuller of motion causing a more perfect Concoction.

Therefore the most natural and approved way to Health, is to make but two Meals in 24 hours, one (as I said) in the Morning, the other about 4 or 5 in the Af∣ternoon. And it is to be observed, that the strongest Food and greatest quantity ought to be eaten in the Morning, and the smaller quantity, and such as is easiest of Con∣coction in the Afternoon, viz. Milk-Pottage, Milk and Flour, Milk as it comes from the Cow, after 'tis cold, eaten with Bread, Water-Gruels, &c. Now the Reason of this is, because in the Morning, the Spirits, thro' Rest, are restored fresh and brisk, and the Sun is not come to the Meridian, but by that time it arrives there, the Food is pretty well digested; for you must note, that when the Sun comes to the Meridian, it doth more or less exhale or cause some Evaporations of the natural Spirits, espe∣cially in hot Seasons; and therefore Nature is then more indisposed, dull and heavy than at other times. Also, the fore-part of the day hath spent the Spirits by Labour, Exercise, &c. For this cause most People do find them∣selves dull and heavy after Dinner.

There is nothing that does more help Concoction

than the cool refreshing Influences of the Air; for it strengthens the natural Heat, and makes it more central; for which cause People in cold Weather have greater and stronger Appetites, and more Spirits than in hot; and therefore are able to endure more Action; so like∣wise such as are bred in cold Countries, are harder, stronger, and for the most part longer liv'd than those that inhabit in over-hot Regions; for Heat dries up the thin spirituous Vapours and Radical Moisture in the Bo∣dy, and causes the internal Heat and Moisture (which should serve for the help of Concoction) to spread it self into all the external parts of the Body; for all out∣ward Heat does by simile draw forth the internal heat, and causes the pure Spirits to evaporate. For this very Reason mens desires are much after Drink in hot Seasons, and on the contrary for Food in cold; thus likewise the heat of Beds, where most People wrap themselves up very warm, takes away the Appetite; for let a man go to Bed some-what hungry, yet after he has slept, his Sto∣mach shall seem dull, and his desire of eating gone, till his motion for a while in the Air does recal it; and the same quantity of Food eaten for a Supper, which proves burdensom to him that goes to Bed, shall be most pleas∣ant and lightsom to one that sits up all night, so great is the power of Air and Motion. Therefore all hot soft Feather Beds, with thick Coverings, which most People use themselves to, with Curtains drawn, &c. so that their Chambers are in the next degree to Bagneo's or Hot-Houses, are very inconvenient; for they weaken the Back and Joynts, destroy the Appetite, and render the whole Body so delicate and tender, that every little Inconveni∣ency is felt, and such People can scarce endure the fresh Air to blow upon them, without some prejudice to their Health, which doth increase stoppages and all Windy Diseases; but on the contrary, open fresh Airs, Rooms that have large Windows and fair Prospects, and the Bed open, hard and clean, so that the refreshing Influences of the Air may pass freely, will strengthen the whole Body,

beget and increase Appetite, and make the spirits power∣ful, whereby Nature does avoid many Inconveniences and Diseases.