The treasurie of health contayning many profitable medicines, gathered out of Hipocrates, Galen and Auicen / by one Petrus Hyspanus, and translated into English by Humfry Lloyd, who hath added thereunto the causes and signes of euery disease, with the Aphorismes of Hipocrates, and Iacobus de Partibus, redacted to a certaine order according to the members of mans bodie, and a compendious table containing the purging and confortative medicines, with the exposition of certaine names and weights in this booke contained, with an epistle of Diocles unto Kyng Antigonus..

The Epistle of Diocles vnto king Antigonus, vvhich teacheth a man to preserue himselfe in health.

IN so muche as your grace being now somewhat runne in years (most noble Prince Antigonus) is endowed with knowlege aboue other kings and that in all parts of philo∣sophy & the arts called Mathematical, wher in your grace hath wonderfully profited: I thought that parte of Philosophie whiche teacheth a manne to preserue hymselfe in health not worthy to be despised and lefte vntouched of your regall maiestie, where∣fore I thought it necessary to declare vnto youre maiestie in this Epistle, the causes of diuers diseases, with the sygnes and to∣kens whiche go before the same, and last of all the remedies where with the same may be healed and cured: for lyke as there is no raging and hideous tempest without some manifest and open sygnes whyche declar•• the same to folow, wherby men which haue knowledge and be learned in the Arcane

and priuy workes of nature do so prouide for themselues that they be sure from all perilles and leoperdies that may ensue, so is there no kind of disease or sicknesse that may infect any member of mans body, but that hath before such euidente sygnes and tokens that it may be easly knowen to fo∣low. Therefore your grace putting youre trust and confidence in these our pr••ceptes may easely attayne to the perfect and abso∣lute knowledge of all things.

Firste of all I haue deuided the body of man into four parts, that is to say the head, the brest, the bely, and the blader.

These signes and tokens do declare whē any kinde of disease is about to infect the head, daseling in the eyes, the headache, hea∣uinesse of the browes, a noyse in the eares, pricking in the temples, the eyes to water in the morning and the sight to fayle, wyth dulnesse or want of smelling and the lifting vp of the gummes.

When thou doest perceiue any suche to∣kens, it is the best remedy to purge and clense the head (and that with no purgatiue medicine) but with fiue vnces of wine made of withereo grapes, or of new wine sodde till halfe be wasted away therewith thou

shalt washe thy mouth fasting, and garga∣rise it therin till the head be purged of fleme therin conteyned, and this is the casiest re∣medie for all diseases in the head. Also it were very good and healthfull, if the pacient fasting would eate a quantitie of mustarde which haue béen macerate or steeped in wa∣ter and hony mingled togither, and gargari∣sing the same, would drawe downe the hu∣mor conteyned in the head, but first of all you must take heede the head be couered till it heate, whereby the slymy fieme may be made more apt and méete to flowe downe to the mouth.

Now of the contrarie part, who so despi∣seth these signes and tokēs shall be troubled with these diseases, or one of them, the oph∣talmy, the pearle in the eyes, breaking out about the eares, poukes or wheales in the necke, the consumption in the brayne, hea∣uinesse in the head, the squinancie, wormes whiche eate the heare, the paynes in the slappe that couereth the winde pipe, the fal∣ling of the heare, scabbes or vlcers in the head, and the tothache.

You may perceiue by these tokens, if any man is like to be diseased about the brest, or no, fyrst a swet through all the body, & brest

the tongue to waxe rough or thick, the spittle to be salt, or bitter in tast, or cholerik, sodayn paynes in the sides or shoulders, without manifest occasion, oft yaning, muche wat∣ching, suffocations, thyrst after sléepe, great sadnesse, coldnesse in the brest, and a shaking in the armes and handes, and the diseases therof ensuing you may anoyde with par∣braking after a meane supper, without re∣ceyuing any medicine. Also it is very good to vomite fasting.

Therfore let him that would vomite eate radish, towneresses, roket, mustard, or pur∣slane, and afterward drinke warme water, and he shal vomit foorth with, but he that set∣teth little by these presages & signes, ought to feare these diseases, the plurisie, paines in the lungs, melancholicall madnesse, sharpe agues, the frensie, the lethargie, and a bur∣ning ague with yesking.

When the belly shall be diseased, some of the signes do commonly appeare before, the throwes and paynes in the belly, meats and drinks to seeme bitter, heauinesse in y^e knées, colde stifnesse in the ioynts, wearinesse of al the body without any occasion, lack of senses in the legs, and easy feuers. Now when any of these tokens do appeare, it is best to make

the belly soft and lose with some kinde of di∣et, & with no purging medicine, for it is lesse leopardie to vse such things that a man may scant erre in, as boetes sod with water and hony, sod garlike, malowes, dockes, or Mer∣cury, & swéete meates made with hony, for all these things do mollisie the belly, but if any of the foresayd signes be manifest or en∣dure long, adde to the sayd decoctiōs the iuice of bastard Saffron, for thereby it shall be swéeter and more holsome. Also Coleworts sod in a great quantitie of water, or foure vnces of the iuyce therof receiued with hony and salt, is very good, and of no lesse eff••cte is the water of the decoction of Cychepea∣son or bitterfetch dronke fasting. But they which thinke these signes to be of none ef∣fect, are oftentimes diseased with these sick∣nesses, the fluxe in the belly, paynes in the bowels, the lyenteri, ilica passio, whiche is a disease in the small guttes, the sciatica, the feuer tertian, the goute in the feete, the apo∣plexie, the hemorrhoydes, and the ioynte sicknesse.

Al diseases of the bladder be knowne by these tokens, to be very full after little meat, great inflations, muche belching, the pale colour of al the body, heauy or sad slepe,

vrine wan of colour, and great paynes in the making thereof, with swelling aboute the priuy members, after whiche tokens it is good to vse odoriferous things whiche moue brine, as the rotes of fenel or persely, which haue béene steped a while in good and odori∣ferous white wine, of the which let the pa∣cient take euery morning fasting thrée vn∣ces with the water of yellow carectes or lo∣uage or enula campana, for they be of like operation, & of no lesse efficacie is the water wherein Chiches haue béene stepped in, if it be dronk with wine. But who so doth light∣ly passe ouer these tokens shal looke for some of these diseases, the hydropise, the bignesse of the splene, paynes in the liuer, the stone, payns in the raynes, the strangurie, and the distention of the belly. And héere is to be no∣ted, that in all these signes before rehearsed, we ought to minister gentle and easy medi∣cines to children, and to suche as be elder, medicines that be of more strong operation and greater efficacie.

Nowe I intende briefly to declare vnto your maiestie the two turnings of the sonne called in Latine solstitia (at whiche tymes suche things do commonly chaunce) & what

meates your grace shall vse or abstayne from, in eyther of them, taking my begin∣ning at the winter turning.

The vvinter turne.

Solstiticum hiemale which I call the win¦ter turne, is about the xj. day of December when the sun entreth the Goate. IN the winter turne doe reunies and hu∣miditie encrease in mens bodies tyll the spring equinoctiall, therfore it is good to eate whoate meates, and to drink sweete wines, and especially with wilde margeram, and also to vse the company of women.

There be from the winter turning to the spring equinoctiall nyntie dayes.

The spring time equinoctiall.

The spring equinoct••••d is the .x. day of Marche, when the sun entreth the Ram. FRom the spring equinoctiall vnto the ri∣sing of the seuen starres called virgilie, dothe flegme and swéete corruption of the bloud engender in mans body, and for that cause it is good to vse moyst and tart meats, to exercise the body, and not to absteyne from women. From the spring equinoctiall to the rising of Pleiades be .xivj. dayes.

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The rising of the seuen Starres.

The seuen stars called Uirgihe or Pleiades, rise with the sunne about the ix. day of May. CHoler and bitter matter beareth rule in man from this time vnto the sommer turning: therfore vse meates that be swéete, laratiue, beware of actes venerial: from the rising of the Pleiades vnto y^e sommer turne be .xiv. dayes.

The Sommer turning.

The somet turne, is about the x. day of July, when the sun entieth the Crab. AT this time is melancholy augmented till the haruest equinoctiall, therefore drinke colde water, and smell odoriferous things, and as for Uenus you must eyther vse it moderately, or eschue it vtterly: we haue to the haruest equinoctiall nyntie and thrée dayes.

The haruest equinoctiall.

The har∣uest equi∣noctial is the .xiij. day of Septēber. when the sun entreth the balāce. FLegme and thinne fluxions aboūd from this time to the setting of the seuen stars, therefore it is good to purge the humors, or to stoppe the fluxions, and to eate all ••arle and moyst meates, to parbrake nothing at all, to exercise the body, and to flée women. From which time to the setting of the se∣uen starres be .xxxvj. dayes.

The setting of the seuen Starres.

The seuen starres set with the sun about the tenth of Nouember FRom this tyme to the winter turnyng doth fleme beare dominion in man, ther∣fore you must take fatte and bitter things, drinke swéete wines, and exercise the body. From the going downe of the seuen Starres to the winter turne be fiue and fortie dayes.

FINIS.