CHAP. IV. Of the signs of the Lues Venerea.
WHen the Lues Venerea is lately taken, malign ulcers appear in the privities, swellings in the groins, a virulent strangury runneth oft-times with filthy sanies, which proceeds either from the prostatae, or the ulcers of the urethra; the patient is troubled with pains in his joints, head, and shoulders, and as it were breakings of his arms, legs and all his members, they are weary without a cause, so that neither the foot nor hand can easily perform his duty; their mouths are inflamed, a swelling troubles their throats, which takes away their freedom of speaking and swallowing, yea of their very spittle; pustles rise over all their bodies, but chiefly certain garlands of them engirt their temples and heads; the shedding or loss of the hair, disgra∣ceth the head and chin; and leanness deformeth the rest of the body; yet all of these use not to appear in all bodies,* 1.1 but some of them in some. But the most certain signs of this disease are, a callous ulcer in the privities, hard and ill conditioned, and this same is judged to have the same force in a prognostick, if after it be cicatrized, it retain the same callous hardness; the Buboes or swel∣lings in the groins to return back into the body without coming to suppuration or other manifest cause: these two signs, if they concur in the same patient, you may judg or foretel that the Lues venerea is either present, or at hand; yet this disease happeneth to many without the concourse of these two signs, which also bewraieth it self by other manifest signs, as ulcers and pustles in the rest of the body, rebellious against medicines though powerful, and discreetly applyed, unless the whole body be anointed with Argentum vivum. But when as the disease becometh inveterate, many become impotent to venery, and the malignity and number of the symptoms encrease, their pains remain fixed and stable, very hard and knotted tophi grow upon the bones, and oft-times they become rotten and foul, as also the hands and feet by the corruption of salt phlegm are troubled with chops or clefts, and their heads are seized upon by an ophiasis and alopecia; whitish tumors with roots deep fastned in, arise in sundry parts of the body, filled with a matter like the meat of a chesnut, or like a tendon; if they be opened they degenerate into diverse ulcers, as putrid, eating and other such,* 1.2 according to the nature and condition of the affected bodies. But why the pains are more grievous on the night season, this may be added to the true reason we rendred in the prece∣dent Chapter, first for that the venerous virulency lying as it were asleep is stirred up and enraged by the warmness of the bed and coverings thereof; Secondly, by reason of the patients thoughts which on the night season are wholly turned and fixed upon the only object of pain.