John Caius

“ The preseruacion Infection by the aier, and impure spirites by repletion thus founde and declared to be the causes of this pestilente sweate or Englishe ephemera, lette vs nowe see howe we maye preserue our selues from it, and howe it may be remedied, if it chaunce, wythe lesse mortalitie. I wyll begynne wyth preseruation. That most of all dothe stande in auoidyng the causes to come of the disease, the thinges helping forward the same, and remouyng that whiche is alredy had & gotten. Al be done by the good order of thynges perteynyng to the state of the body. ”

“ For these a conueniente tyme is, before meate: due measure, reasonable sweatinge, in al times of the yeare, sauing in the sweatinge tyme. In the whiche I allow rather quietnesse then exercise, for opening the body, in suche persons specially as be liberally & freely brought vp. Others, except sitting artificers, haue theire exercises by daily labours in their occupatiõs, to whom nothing niedeth but solace onely, a thing conuenient for euery bodye that lusteth to liue in helth. For els as nõ other thing, so not healthe canne be longe durable. ”

“ For as great & strong wine, (37) ale, or bere, so longe do burne as there is matter in theim apte to be burned, and then cesse when that whiche remainethe is come againe to hys firste nature: that is, to suche water clere & vnsauery, as either the bruer receiued of the riuer, or vine of the earth: euen so the body so longe continuethe burnynge and sweatynge, as their is matter apte therefore in the spirites, and then leaueth, when the corrupcion taken of the finest of the euill blode is consumed, and the spirites lefte pure and cleane as they were before the tyme of their corruption. ”

“ Therfore next vnto those colde and drie cõplexions, olde men escaped free, as like to theim by age: and children, as voide of replecion consumed by their great hete, and therefore alwaies redy to eate. But in this disease the subtile humour euill and abundant in full bodies fedyng ye spirites, is more to be noted then the humour complexional, whiche notwithstanding, as an helper or hinderer to ye same, is not to be neglected. ”

“ For suche surrendre and geue ouer to the disease without resistence. By whiche occasion manye more died in 30 the fyrste pestilence at Athenes, that I spake of in the beginnynge of thys boke, then other wyse should. Oure kepers, friendes and louers, muste also endeuoure theym selues to be handesome and dilygente aboute vs, to serue vs redilye at al turnes, and neuer to leaue vs duringe foure and twentie houres, but to loke welle vnto vs, that neyther we caste of oure clothes, nor thruste out hande or foote, duryng the space of the saide foure and twenty houres. ”

“ If they be forced by nature to ease them selues in the meane time, let them do it rather in warme shetes put into them (38) closely, then to arise. After they haue thus fully swette, conuey closely warme clothes into theyre beddes, and bid 35 them wipe themselues there with in al partes curiouslye: and be ware that no ayer entre into theire open bodies (and speciallye their arme holes, the openest & rarest parte therof) to let the issue of that whych doeth remaine. ”

“ For so is a man withoute science, as a realme withoute a kyng. Thus muche of exercise, and for exercise. To the which I wolde now ioyne honeste companye betwene man and woman, as a parte of natural exercise, and healpe to ye emptieng & lightning the bodye in other tymes allowed, in this sweating tyme for helthes sake, & for feare of opening the bodye, and resoluing the spirites, not approued, but for dout, that wt lengthing the boke, I shold wery ye reader. Therfore I let yt passe & come to sleping & waking, whiche without (31) good ordre, be gretly hurtful to the bodie. ”

“ Therfore helthful must he nedes be and free from this disease, that vsethe this kinde of liuynge and maner in dietynge. An example hereof may the wise man Socrates be, which by this sorte of diete escaped a sore pestilence in Athenes, neuer fleynge ne kepyng close him selfe from the same. Truly who will lyue accordynge to nature and not to lust, may with this diete be well contented. ”

“ All these reasones go to this ende, that persones of all contries of moderate and good diete, escape thys Englishe Ephemera, and those be onely vexed therewith, whiche be of immoderate and euill diete. But why? for the euill humores and corrupte aier alone? No, for thẽ the pestilence and not the swet should rise. For what then? For ye impure spirites corrupte in theim selues and by the infectiue aier. Why so? for that of impure and corrupte humores, whether thei be blode or others, can rise none other then impure spirites. (20) For euery thynge is suche as that whereof it commeth. ”

“ For good counseil may be abused. And for me to write of euery particular estate and case, whiche be so manye as there be menne, were so great almost a busines, as to numbre the sandes in the sea. Therfore seke you out a good Phisicien, and knowen to haue skille, and at the leaste be so good to your bodies, as you are to your hosen or shoes, for the wel making or mending wherof, I doubt (28) not but you wil diligently searche out who is knowẽ to be the best hosier or shoemaker in the place where you dwelle: and flie the vnlearned as a pestilence in a comune wealth. ”

“ That this is true, the self sweates do shewe. For as in vtter businesses, bodies yt sore do labour, by trauail of the same are forced to sweat, so in inner diseases, the bodies traueiled & labored by thẽ, are moued to the like. In which labors, if nature be strõg & able to thrust out the poisõ by sweat (not otherwise letted) ye persõ escapeth: if not, it dieth. That it is a feuer, thus I haue partly declared, and more wil streight by the notes of the disease, vnder one shewing also by thesame notes, signes, and short tariance of the same, that it consisteth in the spirites. ”

“ Thus I speake of solace, that I meane not Idlenesse, wisshing alwayes no man to be idle, but to be occupied in some honest kinde of thing necessary in a cõmon welth. For I accompt thẽ not worthi meate & drink in a cõmõ welth, yt be not good for some purpose or seruice therin, but take thẽ rather as burdennes vnprofitable and heauye to the yearth, men borne to fille a numbre only, and wast the frutes whiche therthe doeth giue, willing soner to fiede the Lacedemonians old & croked asse, whiche labored for the liuing so long as it coulde for age, then suche an idle Englisshe manne. ”

“ Therfore compelled I am to vse this our Englishe tongue as best to be vnderstande, and moste nedeful to whome it most foloweth, most behoueth to haue spedy remedie, and often tymes leaste nyghe to places of succourre and comforte at lerned mennes handes: and leaste nedefull to be setfurthe in other tongues to be vnderstand generally of all persons, 9 whome it either haunteth not at all, or els very seldome, as ones in an age. Thinkynge it also better to write this in Englishe after mine own meanyng, then to haue it translated out of my Latine by other after their misunderstandyng. ”

“ Man beyng borne not for his owne vse and cõmoditie alone, but also for the commõ benefite of many, (as reason wil and al good authoures write) he whiche in this world is worthy to lyue, ought al wayes to haue his hole minde and intente geuen to profite others. Whiche thynge to shewe in effecte in my selfe, although by fortune some waies I haue ben letted, yet by that whiche fortune cannot debarre, some waies again I haue declared. ”

“ If with this quietnes, diligẽce, and ordre, the sicke do kindelye sweate, suffre them so to continue, without meate all the xxiiij houres: withoute drincke, vntil the fifth houre, if it maie be. Alwayes taking hede to theim in the fourth, seuenth, nineth, & eleuenth houres speciallye, and fourteenth also, as the laste of triall and daungier, but of lesse in bothe. For these be most perilous, as I haue obserued this yere in this disease, hauing ye houres iudicial, as others haue theire dayes, and therfore worse to geue anye thinge in, for troublyng nature standyng in trialle. ”

“ But while I doe declare these impure spirites to be one cause, I must remoue your myndes frõ spirites to humours, for that the spirites be fedde of the finest partes therof, & aftre bringe you againe to spirites where I toke you. And forsomuche as I haue not yet forgotten to whome I write, in this declaration I will leaue a part al learned & subtil reasõs, as here void & vnmiete, & only vse suche as be most euident to whom I write, & easiest to be vnderstanden of the same: and at ones therwith shew also why it haũteth vs English men more thẽ other nations. ”

“ Sence yt tyme diuerse other thynges I haue written, but with entente neuer more to write in the Englishe tongue, partly because the cõmoditie of that which is so written, passeth not the compasse of Englande, but remaineth enclosed within the seas, and partly because I thought that labours so taken should be halfe loste among them whiche sette not by learnyng. Thirdly for that I thought it beste to auoide the iudgement of the multitude, from whome in maters of learnyng a man shalbe forced to dissente, in disprouyng that whiche they most approue, & approuyng that whiche they moste disalowe. ”

“ Therfore cold and drie persones either it touched not at all, or very fewe, and that wyth no danger: such I say as beside their complexion, (whiche is so harde to finde in any man exacte and simple, as exacte helthes) were annoied with some corrupt humoures & spirites, & therfore mete by so moch to receiue it, & that by good reasõ. For nothing can naturally haue power to do ought against any thing, excepte the same haue in it selfe a disposicion by like qualities to receiue it. ”

“ In the fifthe howre geue theim to drinke clarified ale made only doulcet with a litle suger, out of a cruet, or glasse made in cruet facion, with a nebbe, for feare of raisynge theim selues to receiue the drinke offered, & so to let the sweat, by the ayer strikyng in. But if the sicke on this wise beforesaid canot sweate kyndly, then nature must be holpen, as I sayd before. ”

“ Who wolde compassion should be shewed vpon them, whome necessitie compelled to do or make a faute: & no cõpassion vpon them, in whome a faulte made necessitie. A faulte maketh necessitie, in this case of begging, in them, whyche might laboure and serue, & wil not for idlenes: and therfore not to be pitied, but rather to be punished. Necessitie maketh a fault in thẽ, whiche wold labor and serue, but cãnot for age, ĩpotẽcy, or sickenes, and therfore to be pitied & relieued. ”

“ The olde manly hardnes, stoute courage, & peinfulnes of Englande is vtterly driuen awaye, in the stede wherof, men now a daies receive womanlines, & become nice, not able to withstande a blaste of wynde, or resiste a poore fishe. And children be so brought vp, that if they be not all daie by the fire with a toste and butire, and in their furres, they be streight sicke.
Sauces to metes I appoint firste aboue all thynges good 22 appetite, and next Oliues, capers, iuse of lemones, Barberies, Pomegranetes, Orenges and Sorel, veriuse, & vineigre, iuse of vnripe Grapes, thepes or Goseberies. ”

“ Yet this notwithstandynge, I wyll euery man not to refuse the counseill of the present or nighe phisicen learned, who maie, accordyng to the place, persone, cause, & other circũstances, geue more particular counseil at nede, but in any wise exhorte him to seke it with all diligence. To this enterprise also amonge so many learned men, not a litle stirreth me the gentilnes and good willes of al sortes of men, which I haue well proued heretofore by my other former bokes. ”

“ So that if by onely learned men in phisicke & not this waye also it should be holpen, it were nedeful almost halfe so many learned men to be redy in euery toune and citie, as their should be sweatynge sicke folkes. ”

“ If they slepe, vse theim as in the case of faintyng I said, with betyng theim and callynge theim, pullyng theim by the eares, nose, or here, suffering them in no wise to slepe vntil suche tyme as they haue no luste to slepe, except to a learned mã in phisicke the case appere to beare the contrary. For otherwise the venime in slepe continually runneth inward to ye hart. 34 The contrary hereof we muste alwaies intende, in prouokyng it outwarde by all meanes duryng the fitte, whyche so longe lasteth in burnynge and sweatyng, as the matter thereof hath any fyrie or apte partes therfore. ”

“ If ij. be taken in one bed, let theym so continue, althoughe it be to their vnquietnesse. For feare wherof, & for the more quietnesse & safetye, very good it is duryng all the sweating time, that two persones lye not in one bed. ”