Another collection of philosophical conferences of the French virtuosi upon questions of all sorts for the improving of natural knowledg made in the assembly of the Beaux Esprits at Paris by the most ingenious persons of that nation / render'd into English by G. Havers, Gent. & J. Davies ..., Gent.

CONFERENCE CX. I. Of Mineral Waters. II. Whether it be better to give than to receive? (Book 110)

AS the goodness of Common Waters is judg'd by their having [ I] neither colour, nor smell, nor taste,* 1.1 and the least weight that may be, wanting all other virtues besides to cool and moi∣sten; so, that of Mineral or Medicinal Waters depends upon the qualities of the Minerals wherewith they are impregnated, and by means whereof they purge and alter the Body; Humidity being easily susceptible of extraneous qualities, and preserving the same best in a dense and gross subject, as Water is. These Waters are either cold or hot; the former are drunk, and the latter serve for Bathing; as that of Aix in Germany; of Plom∣bieres, in Lorrain; of Bourbon, in Bourbonnois; of Bagnieres and Barege, in Gascony; of Balleruc and Barbotan, in Languedoc; of Acqs and Tersis, neer Bayonne; and abundance of other hot Baths caus'd by Subterraneous Fires. Of cold Waters, some are acid and pungent to the taste, as the Vitriolate, such as those of Spa in the Country of Liege, and of Ponges in Nivernois: Others are sharp and rough; as those Springs of Forges and Montdor neer Rheimes, not long since found by Sieur de la Framboisiere; those of Chasteau Thierri, of la Herse neer Bélesme, whose acidity likewise argues something of Vitriol; and divers others, disco∣ver'd daily by experience. Some are found heavy, stinking, fat, and impure; other leight, pure, clear, and sweet. Some are salt or brackish; of colour reddish, green, black, and otherwise different, according as these Waters are variously mix'd; where∣in Minerals are contain'd either in substance and their grosser parts, or else only their Spirits and subtiler parts, so well blended as that there appears no extraneous Body at all; which mixtion depends on the Nature of Minerals, some whereof are never perfectly mix'd with Water, by reason of their hardness; others, though soft and liquid, mix only confusedly, as oyly Bodies: Others mix easily; as Spirits, in regard of their tenuity; and Salts, which melt in the Water.

The Second said, That in this matter Experience is rather to be consulted than Reason, which falls short in the examen of

many Waters, of which Histories are full; as of those of Nile in Aegypt, which make Women fruitful; of a Fountain in Arcadia, which prevents Abortion; of the River Styx in the same place, and of Leontini in Sicily, which presently kill such as drink there∣of; of Cydnus in Cilicia, which cures the Gowt. Such also is Fountain of de Jouvence in the Isle Bonica, which makes old men young again; that of Ise-land, which hinders gray hairs; the two of Baeotia, whereof one strengthens, the others abolishes the Me∣mory; two others of the Fortunate Islands, one of which causes Sardonian and mortal Laughter, unless the other be presently drunk of; and those of Thessaly and Macedon, one whereof makes the Sheep that drink of it to have black Wooll, which the other makes white, and both mix'd together make it of several colours; that of the Isle of Andros; and another a league distant from Coblentz, which inebriate, having the taste of Wine, which the first retained but for seven days, and quitted when carried out of sight of a Temple of that Island dedicated to Bacchus; the oylie Fountains of Zant; the red Spring of Aethiopia, which causes loss of Judgment; as the Mad Lake in Prester John's Coun∣try also doth, which thrice a day, and as often in the night, be∣comes blackish and sharp, and returns as often to its own sweet∣ness; the Sabbatical River mention'd by Josephus, which dries up every Sabbath-day (render'd credible by that of Varins neer Saumur, which hath its flux and reflux, as the Sea); the Water of the Babylonian Lake, which continues red eleven days in Sum∣mer; the Fountain of Dodona, so famous among the Poets, at which they lighted extinct Torches; like to another neer Gre∣noble, which at the same stream sends forth Waters and Flames; and many others, which convert Wood and immers'd Bodies in∣to Stone; the true causes whereof are altogether unknown.

The Third said, That Mineral Waters, though humid to the touch, are desiccative; as appears partly from their composition of Mineral, detersive, and desiccative Spirits; and partly from their effects, which are to heal Ulcers, dry up Scabs and Pustu∣les, and correct the moist intemperies of the Stomach, and other lower Parts. Some argue them all hot, from their acrimony, virtues of penetrating, inciding, opening, attenuating, provoking Urine and Sweat, cleansing the Reins and Bladder; all ffects of heat. Others account them cold, because being drunk they cause shi∣vering at Midsummer, correct the heat of the Liver and Reins, cure hot Diseases, prejudice cold, and generally hurt the Ner∣vous Parts, to which, according to the Aphorism, Heat is friendly, and Cold hurtful: But though actually cold, yet they have some have some heat in power; and being compos'd of se∣veral unlike parts, produce different and sometimes contrary effects: So Aloes and Rhubarb both loosen and bind: All which effects may nevertheless be referr'd to three principal; namely, Refrigerating, Deoppilating or opening, and Strengthning. They refrigerate by their actual coldness and the acidity of Vi∣triol,

which also by vellicating the stomach, causes the great appetite we have during the the use of these Waters. They de∣oppilate, not so much by their quantity (which hath made some erroneously say, that the same proportion of common Water would work the same effect as these Medicinal Waters) as by their tenuity, which they have from the metalline Spirits, which make them penetrate and pass speedily over the whole Body. Lastly, they strengthen by their astringency, (for all Astringents corroborate) which the Chymists attribute to their volatil Spi∣rits, which, as they say, joyn themselves to the fix'd Spirits of our Bodies.

The Fourth said, That the three conditions of a good Medi∣cament are, To Cure Speedily, Safely, and Pleasantly; as Mine∣ral Waters do. They are familiar to us, by their nature of Wa∣ter; Medicaments, by their composition, which is discover'd either by letting them settle, or by evaporating, or by distilling them; as also by the smell, taste, and colour, which becoming black by the infusion of Galls; shews that there is Vitriol in them. And whereas the longest and most difficult Maladies proceed from obstruction and cold, the hot or acute being speedily ter∣minated, these Waters are the most effectual Remedy of both; for they penetrate, and, like a torrent, open not the great passa∣ges only, but also the small veins of the Mesentery; and heat by their Spirits and Sulphur, which hath a heat very benign and friendly to the principal parts, especially to the Lungs, where∣unto it is a Balsom and Specifical. Above all, they are admira∣ble in curing Gravel, not only vacuating the gross and viscous humours, which are the matter of the Stone, but sometimes breaking and dissolving the Stone in the Kidneys and Bladder; which, amongst others, those of Spà perform, by reason of their abounding in Vitriol, whose acidity and acrimony produces the same effect upon Stones in the Body, as that of Vinegar doth upon Egg-shells, Pearls, and Corals.

The Fifth said, That the use of Natural Baths, whether hot or cold, may be easily practised in sundry Diseases; but 'tis im∣portant to discern the occasions of taking them by the mouth, and their differences. For, besides that their great quantity (the Italians prescribing above 200 ounces a day, others 25 pound) sometimes overcomes the strength, and extinguishes the natural heat; some have malignant Qualities, and Enemies to the prin∣ciples of Life, not so much by reason of their Metalline Spirits, disproportionate to our Bodies, as of the mixture of Mercury, Plaster, and other Earths entring into their Composition; whence many die by taking the Waters, or come back from them more infirm, by accidents following upon them, as Gowts, weakness of Stomach, Imbecillity, Lassitude, Livid Complexion, Drop∣sie, and other more dangerous Evils than that for which they were recurr'd to.

The sixth said, To the end the use of these waters may prove

healthful, regard is to be had to the Persons, the Diseases, and the Nature of the waters. As for the first; Children, old Men, breeding Women, and fat People, must not take them without great necessity: For the second; Most waters are unprofitable, and sometimes contrary to the disease; as, to the infirmities of the Breast, Fluxions, Ulcers of the Lungs, Epilepsie, Apoplexie, Convulsions, cold Maladies, and all others of the Brain and ner∣vous Parts. If there happen a complication of Diseases, some of which require, others reject the use of the Waters, regard must be had to the most urgent and dangerous. They have not always the same effect; either because they are corrupted by Rain, or vehement Heat consumes their subtilest Spirits, in which their chief virtue resides; which likewise depend on the Quality, Quantity, Time, Place, and Manner wherein they are to be us'd: For they must be taken in the Morning, fasting, in a hot and dry Season, as well because they are then purest and leightest, as because the Body better supports that quantity of cold Water, which relieves its natural Faculties languishing in great heat; and, if it may be, they must be taken at the Spring, the Spirits being easily dissipated by transportation. The Quan∣tity, and Time of taking them, are not to be measur'd by the number of Glasses or Days, but proportionated to the Disease and its Causes, the diseas'd Parts, the Age, Temper, Custom, and other Signs, from which Physitians take their Indications: Which Conditions being well observ'd, it may be said, God hath not given Men any thing more profitable than these Medi∣cinal Waters, temper'd by Nature her self, who makes us a free present of them; their disproportion with our Bodies being the cause of their action upon them, (otherwise we should turn them into our substance, as we do Plants and Animals); the bad successes which happen by them being much more rare than those of any other Medicaments, although the most rebellious Diseases are commonly remitted to them.

[ II] Upon the Second Point it was said, That the straight conne∣xion between all the parts of the Universe makes this Question hard to be judg'd;* 1.2 since they give nothing but what they receiv'd before. For our common Mother, the Earth, receives her fruit∣fulness from the impressions of the Air; the Air, from the influ∣ence of the Stars; these their light and power from the Sun; and he his from his Maker: Which the Platonists represent to us by the mutual embraces of Porus and Penia; the one the God of Plenty, which is the original of Gifts; the other the Goddess of Necessity, which is the cause of Receiving; to shew, that they necessarily follow one the other. And as in Nature the attenuated and rarifi'd Parts strongly attract the next for hin∣dring vacuity, and the full reject what is superfluous; so in Mo∣rality we may say, That Giving and Receiving are equally good and natural, not differing but in certain terms and respects;

otherwise a Man might be said more or less excellent or happy than himself; there being no Person but hath need to Receive and power to Give at the same time, out of the Plenty or Neces∣sity which he hath of something; For should he be stor'd with whatever he could wish, Might not we ask him, as S. Paul doth, What hast thou that thou hast not receiv'd? So then, 'tis Reception that hath put him into this happy state; and if there be any ex∣cellence in Giving, it proceeds only from having Receiv'd be∣fore. Moreover, the three points which make a thing esteem'd in the World, Profit, Pleasure, and Honour, are all on the Receiver's side: For he must have renounc'd all the inte∣rests of Self-love that can believe there is more Profit and Plea∣sure in Giving than in Receiving. And as for Honour, although it seem more openly to favour the party of those that Give, ne∣vertheless since Giving and Receiving are Correlatives, the rea∣son of either must be alike; and there cannot be Honour and Virtue in the one, but there must be so in the other; nor, on the contrary, Blame and Ignominy in the Receiver, but it reflects back upon the Giver. And as he who loves, is less excellent than he who is lov'd, because he hath some perfection in himself which renders him lovely, which is ordinarily wanting in him who loves; so, between the Giver and the Receiver, the latter being as 'twere the Person lov'd, may be said more noble than he who Gives, who is the Lover; for there is no less Liberality in the one Person to be willingly oblig'd, then in the other to oblige him; and besides, Virtue being a habit of the Will, he who Receives with Gratitude, and desires to Repay with Usu∣ry, may be said as virtuous and as liberal in the act of his good∣will, as if he gave effectively. But this Virtue, commonly ap∣propriated to the Giver, is oftentimes rather Ostentation and Vanity, than true Virtue. For either the Man gives such things as himself needs, and then 'tis rather Folly than Virtue; or such as are superfluous, in which case 'tis no Virtue for a Man to de∣prive himself of a useless thing. Yea, sometimes tis more igno∣minious and dishonest to Give than to Receive; for every thing restrain'd by the Laws is not only unjust, but vicious and disho∣nest: Now the most part of Donations is restrain'd, not only by that rule of Givers, who say, That the Title De Donationibus is the Title of Fools, because to Give is to Lose; but the Empe∣rours had an express Officer call'd Comes Sacrarum Largitionum, who was to retrench the superfluity of their Gifts, and put in execution that Formula of our Chambers of Accompts, Trop donné soit repeté; Too large a Grant is to be recall'd. Yea, the Donations of private Persons were retrench'd by the same Laws; even those between Husband and Wife; Legacies, by the Law Falcidia; Feoffments, by the Trebellian; Liberties, by the Caninian Law. But there can be no shame in receiving; since not only Kings, but God himself Receives from Men; and the Grandeur of the Messiah is not describ'd by the Prophet, saving

by the Presents he was to receive of the Kings of Arabia and Saba; Gifts being a testimony of their excellence to whom they are conferr'd: Whence the Lawyers hold, That a Testamentary Legacy is a mark of Honour to the Legatee; as also they call the Fee which Advocates receive, Honorarium: And the Wise-man commands us to Reward the Physitian by the word of Honour∣ing him. In fine, The praeeminence of Receiving above Giving sufficiently appears, in that our Lord invites us to Give, only by the promise and hope of Receiving an hundred fold.

The Second said, Although to Give and to Receive be so dif∣ficult, that Seneca justly complains, That we know not how to do either; yet the former is far more excellent, according to S. Paul's testimony, who in the 20^th of the Acts exhorts the Chri∣stians to remember the Word of our Lord, That it is more blessed to Give than to Receive. For since, according to the Maxim, A man cannot give what he hath not, nor receive what he hath already; Giving is a sign of Plenty and Perfection, as Receiving is of Want and Imperfection: Whence 'tis nobler to be lov'd than to love, because Love is the desire of a Good which we want, and is found in the Person lov'd. Moreover, since an Action is the more excellent, by how much 'tis more virtuous and honest; Giving, which is more virtuous because more difficult than recei∣ving (as being contrary to our natural inclination of Getting) is also more excellent. Wherefore Philophers reckon not amongst Virtues the habit of Receiving, as being wholly mercenary; but account Liberality and Magnificence a Royal and Divine Virtue: For, if to Receive were an act of virtue, as Aristotle holds, who places Liberality as well in Receiving as in Giving, it had not been a Virtue in Curius to refuse the Treasures of the Samnites. But the action of Giving hath been honour'd, not only with the Name, but the Tokens and Ornaments of Vir∣tue, Praise, and Honour; as Ignominy oftentimes adheres to those that Receive. Now an Action is the more virtuous, the more 'tis honour'd and commended; and since many who Re∣ceive are asham'd of it, and unwilling to have witnesses of this action, whereas all that Give derive glory for so doing; there can be no virtue in Receiving, because we are not asham'd of Virtue, but only of Vice.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Of Mineral Waters.
• * 1.2

  Whether it be better to Give than to Receive?