A most excellent and perfecte homish apothecarye or homely physik booke, for all the grefes and diseases of the bodye. Translated out the Almaine speche into English by Ihon Hollybush

¶If a man had no sieges and were stopped.

* 1.1ARe they of middel age / than geue thē thre quarters of an vnce of Dia¦carthami. But if it is a man of a great & stronge bodye / then geue him halfe an vnce of it halfe an houre before daye / and walke well vpon it / if he can / nother eat nor drinke before he haue had sieges.

But if he can not walke for sycknes / then let him be caried / or sit vpright in his bed / and let his back / body and legges be softely rubbed: and if he is so strong / let him turne him selfe from the one syde to the other. Let him fast iij. or iiij. houres at the least after that he hath taken it.

But if it were to hard / then let him drink a good draught of warme wa¦ter / the night before: that helpeth very well / that it may worke so muche the better in the morninge. And if the pacient were of a very hote and drye cō∣plexion / and that his sieges were harde / then geue him two nightes & two morninges before / euerye mornyng a good draught of syrop of Violettes to drinke / specially the night before he will take the comfecte. But if ye haue no syrop of Violettes / then drinke a good draught of whaye of milke bloud warme / and anoynt the nauell wyth creme / thesame soffteneth wel. But I haue somtyme taken for poore people only the Gall of an oxe / and swynes fat or grece of lyke quantitie / molten together / and straked their nauel well therewyth / and layed thereon of it as bigge as a walnut / & couered a dishe vpon it. But if he was colde / then toke I butter in steade of swynes grece / and did as is specified before / thesame mollifyeth very well. Geue him also in the morning halfe an vnce of Electuarium de succo Rosarum / mixt with a broth of fresh Byfe / that is not to fatt: geue him a good draught of y^e same to drinke / as hote as he can brouke it: thesame driueth y^e matter out / and ma¦keth her apte to voyde. But if he can haue no whaye / then geue him a good broth of whyte vnsalted Peasen in the euening / in steade of the whaye: and in steade of the flesh broth / take an vnsalted broth of whyt Peasen / without anye fatnesse. If ye will haue it to mollifye yet more / put thereto the thyrde parte so much of rootes of Malowes / as is of the Pease broth: & this shal ye vse in stead of the syrop of Violettes. When he hath taken the purgacion in the morning / if he is stronge / then let him walke well therevpon:* 1.2 if not / let hym slepe therevpon / but it were better not.

Some men ther are / whych whan they take y^e Electuaries or cōfectiōs / do perbreake / by reason of their swetenesse: wherefore ye maye geue them

halfe an vnce of Diaprunis laxatiui / thesame is soure / and hath thesame o∣peration / and dryueth out very easely.

But if such a siege dyd tarye vntill the euening before it did worke then seth hym a water with a litle Licoris / and a litle Hony / and when he goeth to bedde / let hym drinke a good draught of thys water / blood warme: the∣same mollifyeth verye well / that it maye voyde / and he maye haue a siege wythout any harme and vncase / and after that geue hym nyne Pyllulas communes.

But if it were a fishe day when he would take it / then geue him a pease broth in stede of a fleshbroth / as is specified before.

He also that hath a wambling in hys stomake / or doth lightely perbrea∣ke / when he hath taken ought:* 1.3 let thesame holde a pece of tosted breade be∣fore hys mouth / as warme as he can suffre it. For assone as the stomake per¦ceyueth the sauoure of the bread / then doth the wamblinge alaye.

If a man had taken oughte / to cause hym to haue sieges / and it woulde not wyde neuerthelesse / and hym thought he should do hys easemente / and yet coulde not: then take Brenne / Malowes / both the herbe and rootes of lyke quantitie / chappe the herbes small / and seth these wel in water •• and set the pacient in that water vntill the nauel / as warme as he can suffre it / and it shall weaken in a man / that he shall haue sieges. But if he will not bath / then put the Branne and herbes together / and put them in two small bag∣ges lyke in kussins or pylowbeers / and laye the one of them before vpon his belly and nauel / and the other behynde vpon hys loynes / as warme as he can suffer them. Thesame mollifyeth hym well / that he maye haue sieges wythout hurt.

If a man had taken a medicine laxatiue / and it were to stronge for him / so that he must do his easement to often / wherof he might get a grepinge or other inconuenience:* 1.4 then make a litle shete warme / and laye it vpon hys bellye and loynes / as warme as he can suffre it: and let hym lye vpon hys backe / and couer him warme / and lye still a good whyle / and the grepynge shall go awaye wythout hurte.

Notes

• * 1.1

  To make sieges.
• * 1.2

  Agaynst perbrea∣kinge of cōfecti∣ons takē.
• * 1.3

  Vvāblīg of the sto¦make of purgaci∣ons takē▪
• * 1.4

  Restraīte of ouer∣much sie¦ges or greping.