An excellent treatise teaching howe to cure the French-pockes with all other diseases arising and growing thereof, and in a manner all other sicknesses. Dravvne out of the bookes of that learned doctor and prince of phisitians, Theophrastus Paracelsus. Compiled by the learned Phillippus Hermanus, phisition and chirurgion. And now put into English by Iohn Hester in the spagiricall arte, practitioner.

Capit. 4. VVhat regiment the Patient is to obserue.

FIrst and formost you must take diligent heede that you doo not pinche your Patient w^t much hunger, but let him haue as much as shall be sufficient to quench hunger with, for hunger doth weaken and pull down a man more then anie other thing, drying vppe the naturall moisture, and ex∣tinguishing the naturall heate, whereby the life of man is shortened. For when a man hath kept a verie strait diet, and beene greatlie pinched with hunger a great time, the saide time beeing expired, and that he commeth to eate his fill, all his nourishment turneth to a certaine waterish humor, tur∣ning to the Dropsie & such like foule diseases, the cause here∣of is, that his nourishment is giuen him too late. As for ex∣ample, a flower which hath beene long parched with y^t heate of the Sunne, in the ende commeth a raine, which raine ser∣ueth the flower to no other end but to spoile and rot it the soo∣ner, the reason is, because the raine came too late. Euen so is it with a man hauing béene long pined with hunger, ther∣fore you shall cause him to abstaine, not from that which is good, but from that which is naught, according as hath béen taught in the other Chapters before.

The best and wholesome meate that you can giue your Patient, is Mutton, Veale, and Hennes, which shalbe boy∣led in a Potte stopped close, and sette in a Kettle of water to seeth, as is shewed before, and hee shall not eate his meate fresh, that is to say without salt, as hath heeretofore beene taught by certaine Doctors, but it shall be seasoned in such reasonable sort, that it be neither too fresh nor too salt, but that it may haue a pleasant taste. The reason why we allow

of salt is shewed, as we haue set downe in another Chapter before, and therefore not to be repeated now for anoiding of tediousnes. The quantitie of meat and drinke to be vsed by the Patient, cannot well be described, for that mens sto∣mackes are not all alike, the one eating more, and the other lesse, therefore you shall giue the Patient so much as shall be sufficient for him to suffise hunger, taking heede that hée doe not gorge or glut himselfe, but that he doe alwaies leaue off with an appetite, and concerning his drinke, that shall bee such as is appertinent to the disease, whereof he may drinke as much as him listeth, beeing alwaies made warme ere hée drinke it, but if he chaunce to be féeble or faint, you shal not giue him of his drinke alone at meales, but you shall giue him some wine with it, eyther Renish, or small white wine, mingling the same with his drinke, halfe one, halfe ano∣ther, but as for Beere (howe good so euer it be) hee shall not drinke anie, vntill he be perfectlie cured, because it is hurtful for him.

In this aforesaid order you shall diet all your Patients, olde and young, to wit, with such good meate dressed in this order, vntill they find thēselues reasonably satis-fied, alwaies leauing with a little appetite, that the Medicine be not hin∣dered in his operation with ouer much meate. Concerning the obseruation of the time, you shall beginne with the Pa∣tient in the morning at fiue of the clock, giuing him then his Medicine to drinke, which being doone, you shall couer him so warme that he may sweat verie well, he shall lie still and sweat at the least two houres, if he be able to endure so long) and you shall giue him warme cleane clothes, to dry of the sweat from his bodie, and you shall take away his wet shirt, giuing him a dry one well warmed to put on, then hee shall put on his clothes, and sitte by a good fire, and make him readie, and when hee is ready, let him walke vp and downe the Chamber till eyght of the clocke, and then he shall goe to dinner, he shall first suppe of the broth with a little Breade, and then eate of the flesh as much as shall suffise him, as is

aforesaid. After he hath thus dined, he shall walke vppe and downe the Chamber recreating himselfe with some pastime or other to driue awaie Melancholie, till about foure of the clocke in the afternoone, and then he shall goe to supper, v∣sing himselfe as at dinner, after which hee shall fast till sea∣uen of the clocke, then he shall goe to bedde, then giue him of his drinke as much as in the morning, to wit, at each time eyght ounces, whereupon you shall cause him to sweat, dry∣ing the sweat from him as you did in the morning, and prin∣cipallie you must drie his head well, and his shirt which hée put of in the morning you shall drie it verie wel, and let him put it on againe warme, and then you shall make his bedde with a payre of cleane warme sheetes, and so let him goe to bedde, and let him rest quietlie till fiue of the clocke the next morning. And then you shall giue him his drinke, vsing him in all things as is aforesaid.

In this manner (with sweating and diet) you shall vse all those which may keepe their Chamber in y^e time of their curing: but as for those that must goe abroade, their drinke must be prepared with wine, as shall be shewed heereafter, and as for their sweating and their diet, it must be in all re∣spects as the other, which béeing performed, they may goe a∣bout their busines, although it were better and more sure for them to tarrie within doores, and that cheefelie in foule, rainie, or blustering wether, for although the wine doo resist the contagion of the ayre, yet it cannot resist all, especiallie, when the wether is so vntemperate, notwithstanding, I haue in this maner aforesaid cured many that went abroad, but yet I counsaile you to cause your Patient to tarrie at home in his Chamber by the fire in fouls wether.

The best time to take in hand to cure the Patient, is the Haruest and the spring time, and next to that is the winter, but the Sommer is not good, principallie for hote Cholle∣ricke persons, for in it selfe it is contrarie vnto them by rea∣son of the great heate and drith, which it increaseth so much the more in them: but to colde, moiste, and flegmaticke bo∣dies,

the Sommer is not so hurtfull as to the chollerick, and therefore in time of neede, such Patients may be cured in the Sommer.

Thus much concerning sweating, with the time, and the ordering of the diet, nowe followeth the order of curing, and first of the great intollerable paine in the heade, which happeneth often in this disease, suffering the Patient not to take any rest.