The urinal of physick. By Robert Record Doctor of physick. Whereunto is added an ingenious treatise concerning physicians, apothecaries, and chyrurgians, set forth by a Dr. in Queen Elizabeths dayes. With a translation of Papius Ahalsossa concerning apothecaries confecting their medicines; worthy perusing and following.

The Exposition of certain VVords.

NOw for because I was inforced to use some (though but few) terms in this Book, which be not wel known of the most sort of men, though a great number know them well enough, by often talking with Physitians, I thought it good here to declare some certain of them, for the aid of the most simple sort.

Ages.

Because that in the judgement of urines, the differences of ages ought to be conside∣red, you shall understand that the chief dif∣ferences of them are four, that is to say, Childhood, Youth, Manhood, and Old-age, for though there be commonly 7. Ages rec∣koned, yet these be four principall, and the other three be comprehended under these four, childhood endureth from the hour of birth till the end of 14. yeers of age, and is of complexion hot and moist. At the end of 14. yeers beginneth youth, and lasteth till the 25 yeer, and this age of all other is in com∣plexion the most temperate. From 25. until 35. yeers, is the flourishing of manhood, but yet that manhood lasteth (though not in full freshness) until 50. yeers of age, and this age is of complexion hot and dry. From 50. yeers

forward, is the time or age peculiarly called, in which time mans nature is cold and dry, and not moist, as many doe falsely thinke.

Active qualities, see the title of qualities.

Alterative vertue, see in the title of vertues.

Brightness in urine must be marked for a several thing from cleerness. For the bright-nesse betokeneth the orientness and the beauty of the colour, with a certain glistring. And cleerness is referred to the substance of urine, and is ever annexed with thinness of it. Yet is it a divers qualitie from thinness. So may an urine be cleer in substance, by the reason of his thinness, and yet not bright in colour, and not cleer in substance, but this would be well pondered, lest this necessarie distinction, cause a negligent confusion.

Criticall dayes be such dayes, on which there is (or may be) perceived some certain token and great alteration in the sick body, either to health or death, or continuance of sickness. What these be, more at large I will hereaster (God willing) declare in a Book peculiarly, because it requireth more large∣ness of words, then is meet for this place. But one thing I must tell you, that the same dayes also be called Judiciall, but not Indi∣ciall, for the Indiciall daies are of another kind: but yet associate no these other.

Cruditie is the rawness of the meat in the stomack, when the naturall operation of it cannot duely digest the meat which it hath received; and therefore the urine which de∣clareth default of such digestion, is called a crude, raw, and unconcoct urine.

Cupping is commonly known, that it needeth no declaration.

A cloddie urine is that which hath in it clods of bloud, or other crude matter, or any clusterings of difform contents.

Dark ground is not meant of the dark∣ness of colour, but rather of the slenderness of substance, so that it can scarcely bee dis∣cerned to be any ground, by reason that it is so neer in shape and substance to the rest of the urine. Dulness of colour is contrary to brightness, so that when the colour lack∣eth all brightness, then is it clean dulled, and whatsoever thing causeth decay of such brightnesse, that thing dulleth urine.

Those contents be called divers, which have neither their own right form, nor any other certain, but are altogether disordered and out of form, rather seeming to be many, then to be one.

Duly knit, is a property of due contents, when they are not tattered, ragged, nor jag∣ged, nor flittering asunder, nor yet are not

so clammed together, as tough fleam, or any such thing, but are in a moderate mean be∣tween both these.

A gathering sore, is that sore that is caused of the excessive recourse of humours into any part of the body, as a bile, or any other like.

Harvest, seek times of the yeer.

Judiciall daies, seek Criticall dayes.

Inequalitie of substance in urine doth ap∣pear to be the difforments and disagreeing of the parts of it together; as when it is thin in one part, and thick in another. Howbeit, it is as well used for the alteration from a mean substance to thicknesse or thinnesse, or other wayes unnaturall. Obstruction, is a stopping commonly of the veins, and such great conduits (which convey blood or any other humour) so that the thing which they should convey cannot freely pass as it ought. But if the like stopping happen in the pores of the skin, (I mean those unsensible holes, by which sweat pas∣seth out) so that neither sweat, nor any like excrement may pass that wayes, then is it most named Oppilation. Howbeit, as these words be sometimes used the one for the o∣ther, so they be applied also to other sundry parts of the body; but evermore they beto∣ken

such stopping in that part, that natures work is hindered thereby.

Principall members (as to our purpose now) are these 3. the brain, the heart, and the liver.

Passive: seek Qualities.

Putrefaction is commonly known to sig∣nifie, rotting.

Qualities active, are named heat and cold, because they are more apt and able to work, then to be wrought. And contrarie waies, driness and moisture are named passive, or suffering qualities, because they are more ready to be altered by the working of heat and cold, then to work themselves; howbeit yet they doe work also.

There be in sickness four principall parts of time, to be observed of Physitians: The beginning of sickness, the increase or aug∣menting, the standing or chief force of it, and the declination or asswaging of it.

The beginning is, from the time that sick∣nesse hath overcome mans strength, and brought him to lie down, till there doe appear manifest signes of concoction of the matter, whereof the disease cometh, at which time, the sickness waxeth fiercer and fiercer: and while it so continued, that time is called the Increase and augmenting

of sickness, but when the violence of the sick∣nesse is at the most, so that the rage of it is at one stay, and neither increases nor decreases, that time is called the standing, stay, state, or chief strength of the sickness. And after that the furious rage of sickness doth abate, and calm his cruell stormes, then is the de∣clination of the sickness: after which (if the Patient escape as very few die in the declina∣tion) then followeth recovery to health a∣gain. And these be the four generall or uni∣versall times of sickness. Beside these there be other times more particular, wherof now to speak I need not. The diversity of times in the yeer are duly to be observed, for they do much alter mans body.

The Spring time increaseth blood and bringeth all the parts of the body to a tem∣perance, as nigh as it can. For it of all other times is the most temperate, neither exces∣sively hot, nor cold; neither moist, nor dry; but of a just temperature, as Galen proveth abundantly in his first Book of Tempera∣ments, where he doth much blame them that name it to be hot and moist, which he saith, is of all other the most pestilent state of air. This Spring, after Galens minde, doth begin about the tenth day of March, and endeth about the 14. day of April, so

that it lasteth, but 6. weeks, and 2. dayes. For at the rising of the Pleiades (which is now in our time about the 24. day of Aprill) he saith that Summer doth begin. Which Summer is in complexion hot and dry, and therefore meet to increase choler, which in that time doth abound. The Summer lasteth 21. weeks. Harvest doth begin after Galens minde, about the 17. day of September, and lasteth 7. weekes. The Harvest, is dry of complexion, but neither only hot, nor only cold, but is distemperate in hear and cold. For in the morning and evening it is cold, and at noon it is hot. So may it not be cal∣led justly (as men do name it) cold and dry. In this time doth melancholy increase. At the end of Harvest, about the seventh day of November, doth Winter begin, which time is cold and moist; and therefore increaseth flegm, which is like in complexi∣on unto it. And the Winter lasteth till the 10. day of March; so, is it in length about 17. weeks and a half, and then beginneth the Spring time again. And this is the course of the year, after Physick. Other men which in∣treat of Husbandry, do part the yeer into 4. equall parts, giving 3. months to every time. Unto the Spring they give February, March, and April. To the Summer. May,

June, and July. Unto Harvest, August, September, October. And unto winter they appoint November, December, and January. Why the Physitians part the yeer one way, and writers of husbandry another way, at more convenient time I will declare.

Vertues naturall are four. The first is, That which draweth nourishment into due pla∣ces, and that is called the attractive vertue. The second, is it that altereth the nourish∣ment into a due form to nourish the body, and is called the alterative vertue. The third is that vertue, which keepeth in the good nourishment, till the alterative vertue hath duly altered it, and therefore is called the re∣tentive vertue. The fourth, is called the ver∣tue expulsive, because his office is to expel those superfluous excrements which are left, when the other vertues have done their office duly.

Notes

• Childhood.
• Youth.
• Manhood.
• Age.
• Alterative Active 9. Brightness.
• Clearness.
• Criticall dayes.
• Judiciall dayes.
• Cruditie.
• Cupping.
• Cloddie u∣rine.
• Dulness.
• Divers.
• Duly knit.
• A gathering.
• Harvest.
• Judiciall dayes.
• Inequalitie.
• Obstructi∣on.
• Oppilation.
• Principall members
• Passive.
• Putrefacti∣on.
• Qualities.
• The four times of sicknesse.
• The begin∣ning.
• The in∣crease.
• The state.
• Declinati∣on.
• Times of the yeer.
• The Spring.
• Summer.
• Harvest.
• Winter.
• Another sort of these times.
• Vertues. Attractive.
• Alterative.
• Retentive.
• Expulsive.