{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_12699/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_12699","id":"gutenberg_12699","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12699","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Health & Medicine","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Human beings","Mind and body","Reproduction"],"text":"[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE WORKS OF\n\nARISTOTLE\n\nTHE FAMOUS PHILOSOPHER\n\nContaining his Complete Masterpiece and\nFamily Physician; his Experienced\nMidwife, his Book of Problems\nand his Remarks on\nPhysiognomy\n\nCOMPLETE EDITION, WITH ENGRAVINGS\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTHE MIDWIFE'S VADE-MECUM\n\nContaining\n\nPARTICULAR DIRECTIONS FOR MIDWIVES, NURSES, ETC.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nSOME GENUINE RECIPES FOR CAUSING SPEEDY DELIVERY.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAPPROVED DIRECTIONS FOR NURSES.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n[Illustration: Medical Knowledge]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nPART I.--BOOK I\n\nTHE MASTERPIECE\n\n     _On marriage and at what age young men and virgins are capable of\n     it: and why so much desire it. Also, how long men and women are\n     capable of it._\n\n\nThere are very few, except some professional debauchees, who will not\nreadily agree that \"Marriage is honourable to all,\" being ordained by\nHeaven in Paradise; and without which no man or woman can be in a\ncapacity, honestly, to yield obedience to the first law of the creation,\n\"Increase and Multiply.\" And since it is natural in young people to\ndesire the embraces, proper to the marriage bed, it behoves parents to\nlook after their children, and when they find them inclinable to\nmarriage, not violently to restrain their inclinations (which, instead\nof allaying them, makes them but the more impetuous) but rather provide\nsuch suitable matches for them, as may make their lives comfortable;\nlest the crossing of those inclinations should precipitate them to\ncommit those follies that may bring an indelible stain upon their\nfamilies. The inclination of maids to marriage may be known by many\nsymptoms; for when they arrive at puberty, which is about the fourteenth\nor fifteenth year of their age, then their natural purgations begin to\nflow; and the blood, which is no longer to augment their bodies,\nabounding, stirs up their minds to venery. External causes may also\nincline them to it; for their spirits being brisk and inflamed, when\nthey arrive at that age, if they eat hard salt things and spices, the\nbody becomes more and more heated, whereby the desire to veneral\nembraces is very great, and sometimes almost insuperable. And the use of\nthis so much desired enjoyment being denied to virgins, many times is\nfollowed by dismal consequences; such as the green weesel colonet,\nshort-breathing, trembling of the heart, etc. But when they are married\nand their veneral desires satisfied by the enjoyment of their husbands,\nthese distempers vanish, and they become more gay and lively than\nbefore. Also, their eager staring at men, and affecting their company,\nshows that nature pushes them upon coition; and their parents\nneglecting to provide them with husbands, they break through modesty and\nsatisfy themselves in unlawful embraces. It is the same with brisk\nwidows, who cannot be satisfied without that benevolence to which they\nwere accustomed when they had their husbands.\n\nAt the age of 14, the menses, in virgins, begin to flow; then they are\ncapable of conceiving, and continue generally until 44, when they cease\nbearing, unless their bodies are strong and healthful, which sometimes\nenables them to bear at 65. But many times the menses proceed from some\nviolence done to nature, or some morbific matter, which often proves\nfatal. And, hence, men who are desirous of issue ought to marry a woman\nwithin the age aforesaid, or blame themselves if they meet with\ndisappointment; though, if an old man, if not worn out with diseases and\nincontinency, marry a brisk, lively maiden, there is hope of him having\nchildren to 70 or 80 years.\n\nHippocrates says, that a youth of 15, or between that and 17, having\nmuch vital strength, is capable of begetting children; and also that the\nforce of the procreating matter increases till 45, 50, and 55, and then\nbegins to flag; the seed, by degrees, becoming unfruitful, the natural\nspirits being extinguished, and the humours dried up. Thus, in general,\nbut as to individuals, it often falls out otherwise. Nay, it is\nreported by a credible author, that in Swedland, a man was married at\n100 years of age to a girl of 30 years, and had many children by her;\nbut his countenance was so fresh, that those who knew him not, imagined\nhim not to exceed 50. And in Campania, where the air is clear and\ntemperate, men of 80 marry young virgins, and have children by them;\nwhich shows that age in them does not hinder procreation, unless they be\nexhausted in their youths and their yards be shrivelled up.\n\nIf any would know why a woman is sooner barren than a man, they may be\nassured that the natural heat, which is the cause of generation, is more\npredominant in the man than in the woman; for since a woman is more\nmoist than a man, as her monthly purgations demonstrate, as also the\nsoftness of her body; it is also apparent that he does not much exceed\nher in natural heat, which is the chief thing that concocts the humours\nin proper aliment, which the woman wanting grows fat; whereas a man,\nthrough his native heat, melts his fat by degrees and his humours are\ndissolved; and by the benefit thereof are converted into seed. And this\nmay also be added, that women, generally, are not so strong as men, nor\nso wise or prudent; nor have so much reason and ingenuity in ordering\naffairs; which shows that thereby the faculties are hindered in\noperations.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\n     _How to beget a male or female child; and of the Embryo and perfect\n     Birth; and the fittest time for the copula._\n\n\nWhen a young couple are married, they naturally desire children; and\ntherefore adopt the means that nature has appointed to that end. But\nnotwithstanding their endeavours they must know that the success of all\ndepends on the blessing of the Gods: not only so, but the sex, whether\nmale or female, is from their disposal also, though it cannot be denied,\nthat secondary causes have influence therein, especially two. First, the\ngeneral humour, which is brought by the arteria praeparantes to the\ntestes, in form of blood, and there elaborated into seed, by the\nseminifical faculty residing in them. Secondly, the desire of coition,\nwhich fires the imagination with unusual fancies, and by the sight of\nbrisk, charming beauty, may soon inflame the appetite. But if nature be\nenfeebled, some meats must be eaten as will conduce to afford such\naliment as makes the seed abound, and restores the exhaustion of nature\nthat the faculties may freely operate, and remove impediments\nobstructing the procreating of children. Then, since diet alters the\nevil state of the body to a better, those subject to barrenness must eat\nsuch meats as are juicy and nourish well, making the body lively and\nfull of sap; of which faculty are all hot moist meats. For, according to\nGalen, seed is made of pure concocted and windy superfluity of blood,\nwhence we may conclude, that there is a power in many things, to\naccumulate seed, and also to augment it; and other things of force to\ncause desire, as hen eggs, pheasants, woodcocks, gnat-snappers,\nblackbirds, thrushes, young pigeons, sparrows, partridges, capons,\nalmonds, pine nuts, raisins, currants, strong wines taken sparingly,\nespecially those made of the grapes of Italy. But erection is chiefly\ncaused by scuraum, eringoes, cresses, crysmon, parsnips, artichokes,\nturnips, asparagus, candied ginger, acorns bruised to powder and drank\nin muscadel, scallion, sea shell fish, etc. But these must have time to\nperform their operation, and must be used for a considerable time, or\nyou will reap but little benefit from them. The act of coition being\nover, let the woman repose herself on her right side, with her head\nlying low, and her body declining, that by sleeping in that posture,\nthe cani, on the right side of the matrix, may prove the place of\nconception; for therein is the greatest generative heat, which is the\nchief procuring cause of male children, and rarely fails the\nexpectations of those that experience it, especially if they do but keep\nwarm, without much motion, leaning to the right, and drinking a little\nspirit of saffron and juice of hissop in a glass of Malaga or Alicant,\nwhen they lie down and arise, for a week.\n\nFor a female child, let the woman lie on her left side, strongly\nfancying a female in the time of procreation, drinking the decoction of\nfemale mercury four days from the first day of purgation; the male\nmercury having the like operation in case of a male; for this concoction\npurges the right and left side of the womb, opens the receptacles, and\nmakes way for the seminary of generation. The best time to beget a\nfemale is, when the moon is in the wane, in Libra or Aquaries. Advicenne\nsays, that when the menses are spent and the womb cleansed, which is\ncommonly in five or seven days at most, if a man lie with his wife from\nthe first day she is purged to the fifth, she will conceive a male; but\nfrom the fifth to the eighth a female; and from the eighth to the\ntwelfth a male again: but after that perhaps neither distinctly, but\nboth in an hermaphrodite. In a word, they that would be happy in the\nfruits of their labour, must observe to use copulation in due distance\nof time, not too often nor too seldom, for both are alike hurtful; and\nto use it immoderately weakens and wastes the spirits and spoils the\nseed. And this much for the first particular.\n\nThe second is to let the reader know how the child is formed in the\nwomb, what accidents it is liable to there, and how nourished and\nbrought forth. There are various opinions concerning this matter;\ntherefore, I shall show what the learned say about it.\n\nMan consists of an egg, which is impregnated in the testicles of the\nwoman, by the more subtle parts of the man's seed; but the forming\nfaculty and virtue in the seed is a divine gift, it being abundantly\nimbued with vital spirit, which gives sap and form to the embryo, so\nthat all parts and bulk of the body, which is made up in a few months\nand gradually formed into the likely figure of a man, do consist in, and\nare adumbrated thereby (most sublimely expressed, Psalm cxxxix.: \"I will\npraise Thee, O Lord, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.\")\n\nPhysicians have remarked four different times at which a man is framed\nand perfected in the womb; the first after coition, being perfectly\nformed in the week if no flux happens, which sometimes falls out\nthrough the slipperiness of the head of the matrix, that slips over like\na rosebud that opens suddenly. The second time of forming is assigned\nwhen nature makes manifest mutation in the conception, so that all the\nsubstance seems congealed, flesh and blood, and happens twelve or\nfourteen days after copulation. And though this fleshy mass abounds with\ninflamed blood, yet it remains undistinguishable, without form, and may\nbe called an embryo, and compared to seed sown in the ground, which,\nthrough heat and moisture, grows by degrees to a perfect form in plant\nor grain. The third time assigned to make up this fabric is when the\nprincipal parts show themselves plain; as the heart, whence proceed the\narteries, the brain, from which the nerves, like small threads, run\nthrough the whole body; and the liver, which divides the chyle from the\nblood, brought to it by the vena porta. The two first are fountains of\nlife, that nourish every part of the body, in framing which the faculty\nof the womb is bruised, from the conception of the eighth day of the\nfirst month. The fourth, and last, about the thirtieth day, the outward\nparts are seen nicely wrought, distinguished by joints, from which time\nit is no longer an embryo, but a perfect child.\n\nMost males are perfect by the thirtieth day, but females seldom before\nthe forty-second or forty-fifth day, because the heat of the womb is\ngreater in producing the male than the female. And, for the same reason,\na woman going with a male child quickens in three months, but going with\na female, rarely under four, at which time its hair and nails come\nforth, and the child begins to stir, kick and move in the womb, and then\nthe woman is troubled with a loathing for meat and a greedy longing for\nthings contrary to nutriment, as coals, rubbish, chalk, etc., which\ndesire often occasions abortion and miscarriage. Some women have been so\nextravagant as to long for hob nails, leather, horse-flesh, man's flesh,\nand other unnatural as well as unwholesome food, for want of which thing\nthey have either miscarried or the child has continued dead in the womb\nfor many days, to the imminent hazard of their lives. But I shall now\nproceed to show by what means the child is maintained in the womb, and\nwhat posture it there remains in.\n\nThe learned Hippocrates affirms that the child, as he is placed in the\nwomb, has his hands on his knees, and his head bent to his feet, so that\nhe lies round together, his hands upon his knees and his face between\nthem, so that each eye touches each thumb, and his nose betwixt his\nknees. And of the same opinion in this matter was Bartholinus. Columbus\nis of opinion that the figure of the child in the womb is round, the\nright arm bowed, the fingers under the ear, and about the neck, the head\nbowed so that the chin touches the breast, the left arm bowed above both\nbreast and face and propped up by the bending of the right elbow; the\nlegs are lifted upwards, the right so much that the thigh touches the\nbelly, the knee the navel, the heel touches the left buttock, and the\nfoot is turned back and covers the secrets; the left thigh touches the\nbelly, and the leg lifted up to the breast.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\n     _The reason why children are like their parents; and that the\n     Mother's imagination contributes thereto; and whether the man or\n     the woman is the cause of the male or female child._\n\n\nIn the case of similitude, nothing is more powerful than the imagination\nof the mother; for if she fix her eyes upon any object it will so\nimpress her mind, that it oftentimes so happens that the child has a\nrepresentation thereof on some part of the body. And, if in act of\ncopulation, the woman earnestly look on the man, and fix her mind on\nhim, the child will resemble its father. Nay, if a woman, even in\nunlawful copulation, fix her mind upon her husband, the child will\nresemble him though he did not beget it. The same effect has imagination\nin occasioning warts, stains, mole-spots, and dartes; though indeed they\nsometimes happen through frights, or extravagant longing. Many women, in\nbeing with child, on seeing a hare cross the road in front of them,\nwill, through the force of imagination, bring forth a child with a hairy\nlip. Some children are born with flat noses and wry mouths, great\nblubber lips and ill-shaped bodies; which must be ascribed to the\nimagination of the mother, who has cast her eyes and mind upon some\nill-shaped creature. Therefore it behoves all women with child, if\npossible, to avoid such sights, or at least, not to regard them. But\nthough the mother's imagination may contribute much to the features of\nthe child, yet, in manners, wit, and propension of the mind, experience\ntells us, that children are commonly of the condition with their\nparents, and possessed of similar tempers. But the vigour or disability\nof persons in the act of copulation many times cause it to be otherwise;\nfor children begotten through the heat and strength of desire, must\nneeds partake more of the nature and inclination of their parents, than\nthose begotten at a time when desires are weaker; and, therefore, the\nchildren begotten by men in their old age are generally weaker than,\nthose begotten by them in their youth. As to the share which each of the\nparents has in begetting the child, we will give the opinions of the\nancients about it.\n\nThough it is apparent that the man's seed is the chief efficient being\nof the action, motion, and generation: yet that the woman affords seed\nand effectually contributes in that point to the procreation of the\nchild, is evinced by strong reasons. In the first place, seminary\nvessels had been given her in vain, and genital testicles inverted, if\nthe woman wanted seminal excrescence, for nature does nothing in vain;\nand therefore we must grant, they were made for the use of seed and\nprocreation, and placed in their proper parts; both the testicles and\nthe receptacles of seed, whose nature is to operate and afford virtue to\nthe seed. And to prove this, there needs no stronger argument, say they,\nthan that if a woman do not use copulation to eject her seed, she often\nfalls into strange diseases, as appears by young men and virgins. A\nsecond reason they urge is, that although the society of a lawful bed\nconsists not altogether in these things, yet it is apparent the female\nsex are never better pleased, nor appear more blythe and jocund, than\nwhen they are satisfied this way; which is an inducement to believe they\nhave more pleasure and titulation therein than men. For since nature\ncauses much delight to accompany ejection, by the breaking forth of the\nswelling spirits and the swiftness of the nerves; in which case the\noperation on the woman's part is double, she having an enjoyment both by\nreception and ejection, by which she is more delighted in.\n\nHence it is, they say, that the child more frequently resembles the\nmother than the father, because the mother contributes more towards it.\nAnd they think it may be further instanced, from the endeared affection\nthey bear them; for that, besides their contributing seminal matters,\nthey feed and nourish the child with the purest fountain of blood, until\nits birth. Which opinion Galen affirms, by allowing children to\nparticipate most of the mother; and ascribes the difference of sex to\nthe different operations of the menstrual blood; but this reason of the\nlikeness he refers to the power of the seed; for, as the plants receive\nmore nourishment from fruitful ground, than from the industry of the\nhusbandman, so the infant receives more abundance from the mother than\nthe father. For the seed of both is cherished in the womb, and then\ngrows to perfection, being nourished with blood. And for this reason it\nis, they say, that children, for the most part, love their mothers best,\nbecause they receive the most of their substance from their mother; for\nabout nine months she nourishes her child in the womb with the purest\nblood; then her love towards it newly born, and its likeness, do clearly\nshow that the woman affords seed, and contributes more towards making\nthe child than the man.\n\nBut in this all the ancients were very erroneous; for the testicles, so\ncalled in women, afford not only seed, but are two eggs, like those of\nfowls and other creatures; neither have they any office like those of\nmen, but are indeed the ovaria, wherein the eggs are nourished by the\nsanguinary vessels disposed throughout them; and from thence one or more\nas they are fecundated by the man's seed is separated and conveyed into\nthe womb by the ovaducts. The truth of this is plain, for if you boil\nthem the liquor will be of the same colour, taste and consistency, with\nthe taste of birds' eggs. If any object that they have no shells, that\nsignifies nothing: for the eggs of fowls while they are on the ovary,\nnay, after they are fastened into the uterus, have no shell. And though\nwhen they are laid, they have one, yet that is no more than a defence\nwith which nature has provided them against any outward injury, while\nthey are hatched without the body; whereas those of women being hatched\nwithin the body, need no other fence than the womb, by which they are\nsufficiently secured. And this is enough, I hope, for the clearing of\nthis point.\n\nAs for the third thing proposed, as whence grow the kind, and whether\nthe man or the woman is the cause of the male or female infant--the\nprimary cause we must ascribe to God as is most justly His due, who is\nthe Ruler and Disposer of all things; yet He suffers many things to\nproceed according to the rules of nature by their inbred motion,\naccording to usual and natural courses, without variation; though indeed\nby favour from on high, Sarah conceived Isaac; Hannah, Samuel; and\nElizabeth, John the Baptist; but these were all extraordinary things,\nbrought to pass by a Divine power, above the course of nature. Nor have\nsuch instances been wanting in later days; therefore, I shall wave them,\nand proceed to speak of things natural.\n\nThe ancient physicians and philosophers say that since these two\nprinciples out of which the body of man is made, and which renders the\nchild like the parents, and by one or other of the sex, viz., seed\ncommon to both sexes and menstrual blood, proper to the woman only; the\nsimilitude, say they, must needs consist in the force of virtue of the\nmale or female, so that it proves like the one or the other, according\nto the quantity afforded by either, but that the difference of sex is\nnot referred to the seed, but to the menstrual blood, which is proper to\nthe woman, is apparent; for, were that force altogether retained in the\nseed, the male seed being of the hottest quality, male children would\nabound and few of the female be propagated; wherefore, the sex is\nattributed to the temperament or to the active qualities, which consists\nin heat and cold and the nature of the matter under them--that is, the\nflowing of the menstruous blood. But now, the seed, say they, affords\nboth force to procreate and to form the child, as well as matter for its\ngeneration; and in the menstruous blood there is both matter and force,\nfor as the seed most helps the maternal principle, so also does the\nmenstrual blood the potential seed, which is, says Galen, blood well\nconcocted by the vessels which contain it. So that the blood is not only\nthe matter of generating the child, but also seed, it being impossible\nthat menstrual blood has both principles.\n\nThe ancients also say that the seed is the stronger efficient, the\nmatter of it being very little in quantity, but the potential quality of\nit is very strong; wherefore, if these principles of generation,\naccording to which the sex is made were only, say they, in the menstrual\nblood, then would the children be all mostly females; as were the\nefficient force in the seed they would be all males; but since both have\noperation in menstrual blood, matter predominates in quantity and in the\nseed force and virtue. And, therefore, Galen thinks that the child\nreceives its sex rather from the mother than the father, for though his\nseed contributes a little to the natural principle, yet it is more\nweakly. But for likeliness it is referred rather to the father than to\nthe mother. Yet the woman's seed receiving strength from the menstrual\nblood for the space of nine months, overpowers the man's in that\nparticular, for the menstrual blood rather cherishes the one than the\nother; from which it is plain the woman affords both matter to make and\nforce and virtue to perfect the conception; though the female's be fit\nnutriment for the male's by reason of the thinness of it, being more\nadapted to make up conception thereby. For as of soft wax or moist clay,\nthe artificer can frame what he intends, so, say they, the man's seed\nmixing with the woman's and also with the menstrual blood, helps to\nmake the form and perfect part of man.\n\nBut, with all imaginary deference to the wisdom of our fathers, give me\nleave to say that their ignorance of the anatomy of man's body have led\nthem into the paths of error and ran them into great mistakes. For their\nhypothesis of the formation of the embryo from commixture of blood being\nwholly false, their opinion in this case must of necessity be likewise.\nI shall therefore conclude this chapter by observing that although a\nstrong imagination of the mother may often determine the sex, yet the\nmain agent in this case is the plastic or formative principle, according\nto those rules and laws given us by the great Creator, who makes and\nfashions it, and therein determines the sex, according to the council of\nhis will.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\n     _That Man's Soul is not propagated by their parents, but is infused\n     by its Creator, and can neither die nor corrupt. At what time it is\n     infused. Of its immortality and certainty of its resurrection._\n\n\nMan's soul is of so divine a nature and excellency that man himself\ncannot comprehend it, being the infused breath of the Almighty, of an\nimmortal nature, and not to be comprehended but by Him that gave it. For\nMoses, relating the history of man, tells us that \"God breathed into his\nnostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul.\" Now, as for\nall other creatures, at His word they were made and had life, but the\ncreature that God had set over His works was His peculiar workmanship,\nformed by Him out of the dust of the earth, and He condescended to\nbreathe into his nostrils the breath of life, which seems to denote both\ncare and, if we may so term it, labour, used about man more than about\nall other living creatures, he only partaking and participating of the\nblessed divine nature, bearing God's image in innocence and purity,\nwhilst he stood firm; and when, by his fall, that lively image was\ndefaced, yet such was the love of the Creator towards him that he found\nout a way to restore him, the only begotten son of the Eternal Father\ncoming into the world to destroy the works of the devil, and to raise up\nman from that low condition to which sin and his fall had reduced him,\nto a state above that of the angels.\n\nIf, therefore, man would understand the excellency of his soul, let him\nturn his eyes inwardly and look unto himself and search diligently his\nown mind, and there he shall see many admirable gifts and excellent\nornaments, that must needs fill him with wonder and amazement; as\nreason, understanding, freedom of will, memory, etc., that clearly show\nthe soul to be descended from a heavenly original, and that therefore it\nis of infinite duration and not subject to annihilation.\n\nYet for its many operations and offices while in the body it goes under\nseveral denominations: for when it enlivens the body it is called the\nsoul; when it gives knowledge, the judgment of the mind; and when it\nrecalls things past, the memory; when it discourses and discerns,\nreason; when it contemplates, the spirit; when it is the sensitive part,\nthe senses. And these are the principal offices whereby the soul\ndeclares its powers and performs its actions. For being seated in the\nhighest parts of the body it diffuses its force into every member. It is\nnot propagated from the parents, nor mixed with gross matter, but the\ninfused breath of God, immediately proceeding from Him; not passing from\none to another as was the opinion of Pythagoras, who held a belief in\ntransmigration of the soul; but that the soul is given to every infant\nby infusion, is the most received and orthodox opinion. And the learned\ndo likewise agree that this is done when the infant is perfected in the\nwomb, which happens about the twenty-fourth day after conception;\nespecially for males, who are generally born at the end of nine months;\nbut in females, who are not so soon formed and perfected, through defect\nof heat, until the fiftieth day. And though this day in either case\ncannot be truly set down, yet Hippocrates has given his opinion, that it\nis so when the child is formed and begins to move, when born in due\nseason. In his book of the nature of infants, he says, if it be a male\nand be perfect on the thirtieth day, and move on the seventieth, he will\nbe born in the seventh month; but if he be perfectly formed on the\nthirty-fifth day, he will move on the seventieth and will be born in the\neighth month. Again, if he be perfectly formed on the forty-fifth day,\nhe will move on the ninetieth and be born in the ninth month. Now from\nthese paring of days and months, it plainly appears that the day of\nforming being doubled, makes up the day of moving, and the day, three\ntimes reckoned, makes up the day of birth. As thus, when thirty-five\nperfects the form, if you double it, makes seventy the day of motion;\nand three times seventy amounts to two hundred and ten days; while\nallowing thirty days to a month makes seven months, and so you must\nconsider the rest. But as to a female the case is different; for it is\nlonger perfecting in the womb, the mother ever going longer with a girl\nthan with a boy, which makes the account differ; for a female formed in\nthirty days does not move until the seventieth day, and is born in the\nseventh month; when she is formed on the fortieth day, she does not move\ntill the eightieth and is born in the eighth month; but, if she be\nperfectly formed on the forty-fifth day she moves on the ninetieth, and\nthe child is born in the ninth month; but if she that is formed on the\nsixtieth day, moves on the one hundred and tenth day, she will be born\nin the tenth month. I treat the more largely of love that the reader may\nknow that the reasonable soul is not propagated by the parents, but is\ninfused by the Almighty, when the child has its perfect form, and is\nexactly distinguished in its lineaments.\n\nNow, as the life of every other creature, as Moses shows, is in the\nblood, so the life of man consists in the soul, which although subject\nto passion, by reason of the gross composures of the body, in which it\nhas a temporary confinement, yet it is immortal and cannot in itself\ncorrupt or suffer change, it being a spark of the Divine Mind. And that\nevery man has a peculiar soul plainly appears by the vast difference\nbetween the will, judgment, opinions, manners, and affections in men.\nThis David observes when he says: \"God hath fashioned the hearts and\nminds of men, and has given to every one his own being and a soul of its\nown nature.\" Hence Solomon rejoiced that God had given him a soul, and a\nbody agreeable to it. It has been disputed among the learned in what\npart of the body the soul resides; some are of opinion its residence is\nin the middle of the heart, and from thence communicates itself to every\npart, which Solomon (Prov. iv. 23) seems to confirm when he says: \"Keep\nthy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.\" But\nmany curious physicians, searching the works of nature in man's anatomy,\ndo affirm that its chief seat is in the brain, from whence proceed the\nsenses, the faculties, and actions, diffusing the operations of the soul\nthrough all parts of the body, whereby it is enlivened with heat and\nforce to the heart, by the arteries, corodities, or sleepy arteries,\nwhich part upon the throat; which, if they happen to be broken or cut,\nthey cause barrenness, and if stopped an apoplexy; for there must\nnecessarily be ways through which the spirits, animal and vital, may\nhave intercourse and convey native heat from the soul. For though the\nsoul has its chief seat in one place, it operates in every part,\nexercising every member which are the soul's instruments, by which she\ndiscovers her power. But if it happen that any of the original parts are\nout of tune, its whole work is confused, as appears in idiots and mad\nmen; though, in some of them, the soul, by a vigorous exertion of its\npower, recovers its innate strength and they become right after a long\ndespondency in mind, but in others it is not recovered again in this\nlife. For, as fire under ashes, or the sun obscured from our sight by\nthick clouds, afford not their native lustre, so the soul, overwhelmed\nin moist or morbid matter, is darkened and reason thereby overclouded;\nand though reason shines less in children than it does in such as are\narrived at maturity, yet no man must imagine that the soul of an infant\ngrows up with the child, for then would it again decay; but it suits\nitself to nature's weakness, and the imbecility of the body wherein it\nis placed, that it may operate the better. And as the body is more\ncapable of recovering its influence, so the soul does more and more\nexert its faculties, having force and endowment at the time it enters\nthe form of a child in the womb; for its substance can receive nothing\nless. And thus much to prove that the soul does not come from the\nparents, but is infused by God. I shall next prove its immortality and\ndemonstrate the certainty of our resurrection.\n\n\n\nOF THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL\n\nThat the soul of man is a Divine ray, infused by the Sovereign Creator,\nI have already proved, and now come to show that whatever immediately\nproceeds from Him, and participates of His nature, must be as immortal\nas its original; for, though all other creatures are endowed with life\nand motion, they yet lack a reasonable soul, and from thence it is\nconcluded that their life is in their blood, and that being corruptible\nthey perish and are no more; but man being endowed with a reasonable\nsoul and stamped with a Divine image, is of a different nature, and\nthough his body is corruptible, yet his soul being of an immortal nature\ncannot perish; but at the dissolution of the body returns to God who\ngave it, either to receive reward or punishment. Now, that the body can\nsin of itself is impossible, because wanting the soul, which is the\nprinciple of life, it cannot act nor proceed to anything either good or\nevil; for could it do so, it might even sin in the grave. But it is\nplain that after death there is a cessation; for as death leaves us so\njudgment will find us.\n\nNow, reason having evidently demonstrated the soul's immortality, the\nHoly Scriptures do abundantly give testimony of the truth of the\nresurrection, as the reader may see by perusing the 14th and 19th\nchapters of Job and 5th of John. I shall, therefore, leave the further\ndiscussion of this matter to divines, whose province it is, and return\nto treat of the works of nature.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\n     _Of Monsters and Monstrous Births; and the several reasons thereof,\n     according to the opinions of the Ancients. Also, whether the\n     Monsters are endowed with reasonable Souls; and whether the Devils\n     can engender; is here briefly discussed._\n\n\nBy the ancients, monsters are ascribed to depraved conceptions, and are\ndesignated as being excursions of nature, which are vicious in one of\nthese four ways: either in figure, magnitude, situation, or number.\n\nIn figure, when a man bears the character of a beast, as did the beast\nin Saxony. In magnitude, when one part does not equalise with another;\nas when one part is too big or too little for the other parts of the\nbody. But this is so common among us that I need not produce a\ntestimony.\n\n[Illustration: There was a Monster at Ravenna in Italy of this kind, in\nthe year 1512.]\n\nI now proceed to explain the cause of their generation, which is either\ndivine or natural. The divine cause proceeds from God's permissive will,\nsuffering parents to bring forth abominations for their filthy and\ncorrupt affections, which are let loose unto wickedness like brute\nbeasts which have no understanding. Wherefore it was enacted among the\nancient Romans that those who were in any way deformed, should not be\nadmitted into religious houses. And St. Jerome was grieved in his time\nto see the lame and the deformed offering up spiritual sacrifices to God\nin religious houses. And Keckerman, by way of inference, excludes all\nthat are ill-shapen from this presbyterian function in the church. And\nthat which is of more force than all, God himself commanded Moses not to\nreceive such to offer sacrifice among his people; and he also renders\nthe reason Leviticus, xxii. 28, \"Lest he pollute my sanctuaries.\"\nBecause of the outward deformity, the body is often a sign of the\npollution of the heart, as a curse laid on the child for the\nincontinency of its parents. Yet it is not always so. Let us therefore\nduly examine and search out the natural cause of their generation, which\n(according to the ancients who have dived into the secrets of nature) is\neither in the mother or in the agent, in the seed, or in the womb.\n\nThe matter may be in default two ways--by defect or by excess: by\ndefect, when the child has only one arm; by excess, when it has four\nhands or two heads. Some monsters are begotten by a woman's unnatural\nlying with beasts; as in the year 1603, there was a monster begotten by\na woman's generating with a dog; which from the navel upwards had the\nperfect resemblance of its mother: but from its navel downwards it\nresembled a dog.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe agent or womb may be in fault three ways; firstly, the formative\nfaculty, which may be too strong or too weak, by which is procured a\ndepraved figure; secondly, to the instrument or place of conception, the\nevil confirmation or the disposition whereof will cause a monstrous\nbirth; thirdly, in the imaginative power at the time of conception;\nwhich is of such a force that it stamps the character of the thing\nimagined on the child. Thus the children of an adulteress may be like\nher husband, though begotten by another man, which is caused through the\nforce of imagination that the woman has of her own husband at the act\nof coition. And I have heard of a woman, who, at the time of conception,\nbeholding the picture of a blackamoor, conceived and brought forth an\nEthiopian. I will not trouble you with more human testimonies, but\nconclude with a stronger warrant. We read (Gen. xxx. 31) how Jacob\nhaving agreed with Laban to have all the spotted sheep for keeping his\nflock to augment his wages, took hazel rods and peeled white streaks on\nthem, and laid them before the sheep when they came to drink, which\ncoupling together there, whilst they beheld the rods, conceived and\nbrought forth young.\n\n[Illustration:\n    \"Where children thus are born with hairy coats\n    Heaven's wrath unto the kingdom it denotes\"]\n\nAnother monster representing a hairy child. It was all covered with hair\nlike a beast. That which made it more frightful was, that its navel was\nin the place where its nose should stand, and its eyes placed where the\nmouth should have been, and its mouth placed in the chin. It was of the\nmale kind, and was born in France, in the year 1597, at a town called\nArles in Provence, and lived a few days, frightening all that beheld it.\nIt was looked upon as a forerunner of desolations which soon after\nhappened to that kingdom, in which men to each other were more like\nbrutes than human creatures.\n\nThere was a monster born at Nazara in the year 1530. It had four arms\nand four legs.\n\nThe imagination also works on the child, after conception, of which we\nhave a pregnant instance.\n\nA worthy gentlewoman in Suffolk, who being with child and passing by a\nbutcher who was killing his meat, a drop of blood sprung on her face,\nwhereupon she said her child would have a blemish on its face, and at\nthe birth it was found marked with a red spot.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nLikewise in the reign of Henry III, there was a woman delivered of a\nchild having two heads and four arms, and the bodies were joined at the\nback; the heads were so placed that they looked contrary ways; each had\ntwo distinct arms and hands. They would both laugh, both speak, and\nboth cry, and be hungry together; sometimes the one would speak and the\nother keep silence, and sometimes both speak together. They lived\nseveral years, but one outlived the other three years, carrying the dead\none (for there was no parting them) till the survivor fainted with the\nburden, and more with the stench of the dead carcase.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nIt is certain that monstrous births often happen by means of undue\ncopulation; for some there are, who, having been long absent from one\nanother, and having an eager desire for enjoyment, consider not as they\nought, to do as their circumstances demand. And if it happen that they\ncome together when the woman's menses are flowing, and notwithstanding,\nproceed to the act of copulation, which is both unclean and unnatural,\nthe issue of such copulation does often prove monstrous, as a just\npunishment for doing what nature forbids. And, therefore, though men\nshould be ever so eager for it, yet women, knowing their own condition,\nshould at such times positively refuse their company. And though such\ncopulations do not always produce monstrous birth, yet the children,\nthus begotten, are generally heavy, dull, and sluggish, besides\ndefective in their understandings, lacking the vivacity and loveliness\nwith which children begotten in proper season are endowed.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\nIn Flanders, between Antwerp and Mechlin, in a village called Uthaton, a\nchild was born which had two heads, four arms, seeming like two girls\njoined together, having two of their arms lifted up between and above\ntheir heads, the thighs being placed as it were across one another,\naccording to the figure on p. 39. How long they lived I had no account\nof.\n\nBy the figure on p. 40 you may see that though some of the members are\nwanting, yet they are supplied by other members.\n\nIt remains now that I make some inquiry whether those that are born\nmonsters have reasonable souls, and are capable of resurrection. And\nhere both divines and physicians are of opinion that those who,\naccording to the order of generations deduced from our first parents,\nproceed by mutual means from either sex, though their outward shape be\ndeformed and monstrous, have notwithstanding a reasonable soul, and\nconsequently their bodies are capable of resurrection, as other men's\nand women's are; but those monsters that are not begotten by men, but\nare the product of women's unnatural lusts in copulating with other\ncreatures shall perish as the brute beasts by whom they were begotten,\nnot having a reasonable soul nor any breath of the Almighty infused into\nthem; and such can never be capable of resurrection. And the same is\nalso true of imperfect and abortive births.\n\nSome are of opinion that monsters may be engendered by some infernal\nspirit. Of this mind was Adigus Fariur, speaking of a deformed monster\nborn at Craconia; and Hieronimus Cardamnus wrote of a maid that was got\nwith child by the devil, she thinking it had been a fair young man. The\nlike also is recorded by Vicentius, of the prophet Merlin, that he was\nbegotten by an evil spirit. But what a repugnance it would be both to\nreligion and nature, if the devils could beget men; when we are taught\nto believe that not any was ever begotten without human seed, except the\nSon of God. The devil then being a spirit and having no corporeal\nsubstance, has therefore no seed of generation; to say that he can use\nthe act of generation effectually is to affirm that he can make\nsomething out of nothing, and consequently to affirm the devil to be\nGod, for creation belongs to God only. Again, if the devil could assume\nto himself a human body and enliven the faculties of it, and cause it to\ngenerate, as some affirm he can, yet this body must bear the image of\nthe devil. And it borders on blasphemy to think that God should so far\ngive leave to the devil as out of God's image to raise his own\ndiabolical offspring. In the school of Nature we are taught the\ncontrary, viz., that like begets like; therefore, of a devil cannot man\nbe born. Yet, it is not denied, but the devils, transforming themselves\ninto human shapes, may abuse both men and women, and, with wicked\npeople, use carnal copulation; but that any unnatural conjunction can\nbring forth a human creature is contrary to nature and all religion.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\n     _Of the happy state of matrimony, as it is appointed by God, the\n     true felicity that rebounds thereby to either sex; and to what end\n     it is ordained._\n\n\nWithout doubt the uniting of hearts in holy wedlock is of all conditions\nthe happiest; for then a man has a second self to whom he can reveal his\nthoughts, as well as a sweet companion in his labours, toils, trials,\nand difficulties. He has one in whose breast, as in a safe cabinet, he\ncan confide his inmost secrets, especially where reciprocal love and\ninviolable faith is centred; for there no care, fear, jealousy, mistrust\nor hatred can ever interpose. For base is the man that hateth his own\nflesh! And truly a wife, if rightly considered, as Adam well observed,\nis or ought to be esteemed of every honest man as \"Bone of his bone and\nflesh of his flesh,\" etc. Nor was it the least care of the Almighty to\nordain so near a union, and that for two causes; the first, for the\nincrease of posterity; the second, to restrain man's wandering desires\nand affections; nay, that they might be yet happier, when God has joined\nthem together, he \"blessed them,\" as in Gen. ii. An ancient writer,\ncontemplating this happy state, says, in the economy of Xenophon, \"that\nthe marriage bed is not only the most pleasant, but also profitable\ncourse of life, that may be entered on for the preservation and increase\nof posterity. Wherefore, since marriage is the most safe, and delightful\nsituation of man he does in no ways provide amiss for his own\ntranquillity who enters into it, especially when he comes to maturity of\nyears.\"\n\nThere are many abuses in marriage contrary to what is ordained, the\nwhich in the ensuing chapter I shall expose to view. But to proceed:\nSeeing our blessed Saviour and His holy apostles detested unlawful\nlusts, and pronounced those to be excluded the kingdom of heaven that\npolluted themselves with adultery and whoring, I cannot conceive what\nface people have to colour their impieties, who hating matrimony, make\nit their study how they may live licentiously: for, in so doing, they\ntake in themselves torment, enmity, disquietude, rather than certain\npleasure, not to mention the hazard of their immortal soul; and certain\nit is that mercenary love (or as the wise man called it harlot-smiles)\ncannot be true and sincere and therefore not pleasant, but rather a net\nlaid to betray such as trust in them with all mischief, as Solomon\nobserves of the young man void of understanding, who turned aside to the\nharlot's house, \"as a bird to the snare of the fowler, or as an ox to\nthe slaughter, till a dart was struck through his liver.\" Nor in this\ncase can they have children, those endearing pledges of conjugal\naffection; or if they have, they will rather redound to their shame than\ncomfort, bearing the odious brand of bastards. Harlots, likewise are\nlike swallows, flying in the summer season of prosperity; but the black\nstormy weather of adversity coming, they take wing and fly into other\nregions--that is, seek other lovers; but a virtuous, chaste wife, fixing\nher entire love upon her husband, and submitting to him as her head and\nking, by whose directions she ought to steer in all lawful courses,\nwill, like a faithful companion, share patiently with him in all\nadversities, run with cheerfulness through all difficulties and dangers,\nthough ever so hazardous, to preserve and assist him, in poverty,\nsickness, or whatsoever misfortunes befall him, acting according to her\nduty in all things; but a proud, imperious harlot will do no more than\nshe lists, in the sunshine of prosperity; and like a horse-leech, ever\ncraving, and never satisfied; still seeming displeased, if all her\nextravagant cravings be not answered; not regarding the ruin and misery\nshe brings on him by those means, though she seems to doat upon him,\nused to confirming her hypocrisy with crocodile tears, vows and\nswoonings, when her cully has to depart awhile, or seems but to deny\nimmediate desires; yet this lasts no longer than she can gratify her\nappetite, and prey upon his fortune.\n\nNow, on the contrary, a loving, chaste and even-tempered wife, seeks\nwhat she may to prevent such dangers, and in every condition does all\nshe can to make him easy. And, in a word, as there is no content in the\nembraces of a harlot, so there is no greater joy in the reciprocal\naffection and endearing embraces of a loving, obedient, and chaste wife.\nNor is that the principal end for which matrimony was ordained, but that\nthe man might follow the law of his creation by increasing his kind and\nreplenishing the earth; for this was the injunction laid upon him in\nParadise, before his fall. To conclude, a virtuous wife is a crown and\nornament to her husband, and her price is above all rubies: but the\nways of a harlot are deceitful.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\n     _Of Errors in Marriages; Why they are, and the Injuries caused by\n     them._\n\n\nBy errors in marriage, I mean the unfitness of the persons marrying to\nenter into this state, and that both with respect to age and the\nconstitution of their bodies; and, therefore, those who design to enter\ninto that condition ought to observe their ability and not run\nthemselves into inconveniences; for those that marry too young may be\nsaid to marry unseasonably, not considering their inability, nor\nexamining the forces of nature; for some, before they are ripe for the\nconsummation of so weighty a matter, who either rashly, of their own\naccord, or by the instigation of procurers or marriage-brokers, or else\nforced thereto by their parents who covet a large dower take upon them\nthis yoke to their prejudice; by which some, before the expiration of a\nyear, have been so enfeebled, that all their vital moisture has been\nexhausted; which had not been restored again without great trouble and\nthe use of medicines. Therefore, my advice is: that it is not convenient\nto suffer children, or such as are not of age, to marry, or get\nchildren.\n\nHe that proposes to marry, and wishes to enjoy happiness in that state,\nshould choose a wife descended from honest and temperate parents, she\nbeing chaste, well bred, and of good manners. For if a woman has good\nqualities, she has portion enough. That of Alcmena, in Plautus, is much\nto the purpose, where he brings in a young woman speaking thus:--\n\n    \"I take not that to be my dowry, which\n    The vulgar sort do wealth and honour call;\n    That all my wishes terminate in this:----\n    I'll obey my husband and be chaste withall;\n    To have God's fear, and beauty in my mind,\n    To do those good who are virtuously inclined.\"\n\nAnd I think she was in the right, for such a wife is more precious than\nrubies.\n\nIt is certainly the duty of parents to bring up their children in the\nways of virtue, and to have regard to their honour and reputation; and\nespecially to virgins, when grown to be marriageable. For, as has been\nnoted, if through the too great severity of parents, they may be crossed\nin their love, many of them throw themselves into the unchaste arms of\nthe first alluring tempter that comes in the way, being, through the\nsoftness and flexibility of their nature, and the strong desire they\nhave after what nature strongly incites them to, easily induced to\nbelieve men's false vows of promised marriage, to cover their shame: and\nthen too late, their parents repent of their severity which has brought\nan indelible stain upon their families.\n\n[Illustration:\n    Conception\n    First Month\n    Second Month\n    Third Month\n    Fourth Month]\n\n[Illustration:\n    Fifth Month\n    Sixth Month\n    Seventh Month\n    Eighth Month\n   Ninth Month]\n\nAnother error in marriage is, the inequality of years in the parties\nmarried; such as for a young man, who, to advance his fortune, marries a\nwoman old enough to be his grandmother: between whom, for the most part,\nstrife, jealousies, and dissatisfaction are all the blessings which\ncrown the genial bed, is being impossible for such to have any children.\nThe like may be said, though with a little excuse, when an old doting\nwidower marries a virgin in the prime of her youth and her vigour, who,\nwhile he vainly tries to please her, is thereby wedded to his grave.\nFor, as in green youth, it is unfit and unseasonable to think of\nmarriage, so to marry in old age is just the same; for they that enter\nupon it too soon are soon exhausted, and fall into consumptions and\ndivers other diseases; and those who procrastinate and marry\nunseemingly, fall into the like troubles; on the other side having only\nthis honour, if old men, they become young cuckolds, especially if their\nwives have not been trained up in the paths of virtue, and lie too much\nopen to the importunity and temptation of lewd and debauched men. And\nthus much for the errors of rash and inconsiderate marriages.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\n     _The Opinion of the Learned concerning Children conceived and born\n     within Seven Months; with Arguments upon the Subject to prevent\n     Suspicion of Incontinency, and bitter Contest on that Account. To\n     which are added Rules to Know the Disposition of Man's Body by the\n     Genital Parts._\n\n\nMany bitter quarrels happen between men and their wives upon the man's\nsupposition that the child comes too soon, and by consequence, that he\ncould not be the father; whereas, it is the want of understanding the\nsecrets of nature which brings the man into that error; and which, had\nhe known, might have cured him of his suspicion and jealousy.\n\nTo remove which, I shall endeavour to prove, that it is possible, and\nhas been frequently known, that children have been born at seven months.\nPaul, the Counsel, has this passage in the 19th Book of Pleadings, viz.:\n\"It is now a received truth, that a perfect child may be born in the\nseventh month, by the authority of the learned Hippocrates; and\ntherefore, we must believe that a child born at the end of the seventh\nmonth in lawful matrimony may be lawfully begotten.\"\n\nGalen is of opinion that there is no certain time set for the bearing of\nchildren; and that from Pliny's authority, who makes mention of a woman\nthat went thirteen months with child; but as to what concerns the\nseventh month, a learned author says, \"I know several married people in\nHolland that had twins born in the seventh month, who lived to old age,\nhaving lusty bodies and lively minds. Wherefore their opinion is absurd,\nwho assert that a child at seven months cannot be perfect and long\nlived; and that it cannot in all parts be perfect until the ninth\nmonth.\" Thereupon the author proceeds to tell a passage from his own\nknowledge, viz.: \"Of late there happened a great disturbance among us,\nwhich ended not without bloodshed; and was occasioned by a virgin, whose\nchastity had been violated, descending from a noble family of unspotted\nfame. Several charged the fact upon the Judge, who was president of a\ncity in Flanders, who firmly denied it, saying he was ready to take his\noath that he never had any carnal copulation with her, and that he would\nnot father that, which was none of his; and farther argued, that he\nverily believed it was a child born in seven months, himself being many\nmiles distant from the mother of it when it was conceived. Upon which\nthe judges decreed that the child should be viewed by able physicians\nand experienced women, and that they should make their report. They\nhaving made diligent inquiry, all of them with one mind, concluded the\nchild, without discussing who was the father, was born within the space\nof seven months, and that it was carried in the mother's womb but\ntwenty-seven weeks and some odd days; but if she should have gone full\nnine months, the child's parts and limbs would have been more firm and\nstrong, and the structure of the body more compact; for the skin was\nvery loose, and the breast bone that defends the heart, and the gristles\nthat lay over the stomach, lay higher than naturally they should be,\nnot plain, but crooked and sharp, rigid or pointed, like those of a\nyoung chicken hatched in the beginning of spring. And being a female, it\nwanted nails upon the joints of the fingers; upon which, from the\nmasculous cartilaginous matter of the skin, nails that are very smooth\ndo come, and by degrees harden; she had, instead of nails, a thin skin\nor film. As for her toes, there were no signs of nails upon them,\nwanting the heat which was expanded to the fingers from the nearness of\nthe heart. All this was considered, and above all, one gentlewoman of\nquality that assisted, affirming that she had been the mother of\nnineteen children, and that divers of them had been born and lived at\nseven months, though within the seventh month. For in such cases, the\nrevolution of the month ought to be observed, which perfects itself in\nfour bare weeks, or somewhat less than twenty-eight days; in which space\nof the revolution, the blood being agitated by the force of the moon,\nthe courses of women flow from them; which being spent, and the matrix\ncleansed from the menstruous blood which happens on the fourth day,\nthen, if a man on the seventh day lie with his wife, the copulation is\nmost natural, and then the conception is best: and the child thus\nbegotten may be born in the seventh month and prove very healthful. So\nthat on this report, the supposed father was pronounced innocent; the\nproof that he was 100 miles distant all that month in which the child\nwas begotten; as for the mother she strongly denied that she knew the\nfather, being forced in the dark; and so, through fear and surprise, was\nleft in ignorance.\"\n\nAs for coition, it ought not to be used unless the parties be in health,\nlest it turn to the disadvantage of the children so begotten, creating\nin them, through the abundance of ill humours, divers languishing\ndiseases. Wherefore, health is no better discerned than by the genitals\nof the man; for which reasons midwives, and other skilful women, were\nformerly wont to see the testicles of children, thereby to conjecture\ntheir temperature and state of body; and young men may know thereby the\nsigns and symptoms of death; for if the cases of the testicles be loose\nand feeble, which are the proofs of life, are fallen, but if the secret\nparts are wrinkled and raised up, it is a sign that all is well, but\nthat the event may exactly answer the prediction, it is necessary to\nconsider what part of the body the disease possesseth; for if it chance\nto be the upper part that is afflicted, as the head or stomach, then it\nwill not so then appear by the members, which are unconnected with such\ngrievances; but the lower part of the body exactly sympathising with\nthem, their liveliness, on the contrary, makes it apparent; for nature's\nforce, and the spirits that have their intercourse, first manifest\nthemselves therein; which occasions midwives to feel the genitals of\nchildren, to know in what part the gulf is residing, and whether life or\ndeath be portended thereby, the symptoms being strongly communicated to\nthe vessels, that have their intercourse with the principal seat of\nlife.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\n     _Of the Green-Sickness in Virgins, with its causes, signs and\n     cures; together with the chief occasions of Barrenness in Women,\n     and the Means to remove the Cause, and render them fruitful._\n\n\nThe green-sickness is so common a complaint amongst virgins, especially\nthose of a phlegmatic complexion, that it is easily discerned, showing\nitself by discolouring the face, making it look green, pale, and of a\ndusty colour, proceeding from raw and indigested humours; nor doth it\nonly appear to the eye, but sensibly affects the person with difficulty\nof breathing, pains in the head, palpitation of the heart, with unusual\nbeatings and small throbbings of the arteries in the temples, back and\nneck, which often cast them into fevers when the humour is over vicious;\nalso loathing of meat and the distention of the hypochondriac part, by\nreason of the inordinate effluxion of the menstruous blood of the\ngreater vessels; and from the abundance of humours, the whole body is\noften troubled with swellings, or at least the thighs, legs and ankles,\nall above the heels; there is also a weariness of the body without any\nreason for it.\n\nThe Galenical physicians affirm, that this distemper proceeds from the\nwomb; occasioned by the gross, vicious and rude humours arising from\nseveral inward causes; but there are also outward causes which have a\nshare in the production of it; as taking cold in the feet, drinking of\nwater, intemperance of diet, eating things contrary to nature, viz., raw\nor burnt flesh, ashes, coals, old shoes, chalk, wax, nutshells, mortar,\nlime, oatmeal, tobacco pipes, etc., which occasion both a suppression of\nthe menses and obstructions through the whole body; therefore, the first\nthing necessary to vindicate the cause, is matrimonial conjunction, and\nsuch copulation as may prove satisfactory to her that is afflicted, for\nthen the menses will begin to flow according to their natural and due\ncourse, and the humours being dispersed, will soon waste themselves; and\nthen no more matter being admitted to increase them, they will vanish\nand a good temperament of body will return; but in case this best remedy\ncannot be had soon enough, then let blood in the ankles, and if she be\nabout sixteen, you may likewise do it in the arm, but let her be bled\nsparingly, especially if the blood be good. If the disease be of any\ncontinuance, then it is to be eradicated by purging, preparation of the\nhumour being first considered, which may be done by the virgin's\ndrinking the decoction of guaiacum, with dittany of erete; but the best\npurge in this case ought to be made of aloes, agaric, senna, rhubarb;\nand for strengthening the bowels and removing obstructions, chaly-beate\nmedicines are chiefly to be used. The diet must be moderate, and sharp\nthings by all means avoided.\n\nAnd now, since barrenness daily creates discontent, and that discontent\nbreeds indifference between man and wife, or, by immediate grief,\nfrequently casts the woman into one or another distemper, I shall in the\nnext place treat thereof.\n\n\n\nOF BARRENNESS.\n\nFormerly, before women came to the marriage-bed, they were first\nsearched by the mid-wife, and those only which she allowed of as\nfruitful were admitted. I hope, therefore, it will not be amiss to show\nyou how they may prove themselves and turn barren ground into fruitful\nsoil. Barrenness is a deprivation of the life and power which ought to\nbe in the seed to procreate and propagate; for which end men and women\nwere made. Causes of barrenness may be over much cold or heat, drying up\nthe seed and corrupting it, which extinguishes the life of the seed,\nmaking it waterish and unfit for generation. It may be caused also, by\nthe not flowing or over-flowing of the courses by swellings, ulcers, and\ninflammation of the womb, by an excrescence of flesh growing about the\nmouth of the matrix, by the mouth of the matrix being turned up to the\nback or side by the fatness of the body, whereby the mouth of the matrix\nis closed up, being pressed with the omentum or caul, and the matter of\nthe seed is turned to fat; if she be a lean and dry body, and though she\ndo conceive, yet the fruit of her body will wither before it come to\nperfection, for want of nourishment. One main cause of barrenness is\nattributed to want of a convenient moderating quality, which the woman\nought to have with the man; as, if he be hot, she must be cold; if he be\ndry, she must be moist; as, if they be both dry or both moist of\nconstitution, they cannot propagate; and yet, simply considering of\nthemselves, they are not barren, for she who was before as the barren\nfig-tree being joined to an apt constitution becomes as the fruitful\nvine. And that a man and woman, being every way of like constitution,\ncannot create, I will bring nature itself for a testimony, who hath made\nman of a better constitution than woman, that the quality of the one,\nmay moderate the quality of the other.\n\n\n\nSIGNS OF BARRENNESS.\n\nIf barrenness proceeds from overmuch heat, if she is a dry body, subject\nto anger, has black hair, quick pulse, and her purgations flow but\nlittle, and that with pain, she loves to play in the courts of Venus.\nBut if it comes by cold, then the signs are contrary to the above\nmentioned. If through the evil quality of the womb, make a suffumigation\nof red styrax, myrrh, cassia-wood, nutmeg, and cinnamon; and let her\nreceive the fumes into her womb, covering her very close; and if the\nodour so received passes through the body to the mouth and nostrils,\nshe is fruitful. But if she feels not the fumes in her mouth and\nnostrils, it argues barrenness one of these ways--that the spirit of the\nseed is either extinguished through cold, or dissipated through heat. If\nany woman be suspected to be unfruitful, cast natural brimstone, such as\nis digged out of mines, into her urine, and if worms breed therein, she\nis not barren.\n\n\n\nPROGNOSTICS.\n\nBarrenness makes women look young, because they are free from those\npains and sorrows which other women are accustomed to. Yet they have not\nthe full perfection of health which other women enjoy, because they are\nnot rightly purged of the menstruous blood and superfluous seed, which\nare the principal cause of most uterine diseases.\n\nFirst, the cause must be removed, the womb strengthened, and the spirits\nof the seed enlivened. If the womb be over hot, take syrup of succory,\nwith rhubarb, syrup of violets, roses, cassia, purslain. Take of endive,\nwater-lilies, borage flowers, of each a handful; rhubarb, mirobalans, of\neach three drachms; make a decoction with water, and to the straining of\nthe syrup add electuary violets one ounce, syrup of cassia half an\nounce, manna three drachms; make a potion. Take of syrup of mugwort one\nounce, syrup of maiden-hair two ounces, pulv-elect triasand one drachm;\nmake a julep. Take prus. salt, elect. ros. mesua, of each three drachms,\nrhubarb one scruple, and make a bolus; apply to the loins and privy\nparts fomentations of the juice of lettuce, violets, roses, malloes,\nvine leaves and nightshade; anoint the secret parts with the cooling\nunguent of Galen.\n\nIf the power of the seed be extinguished by cold, take every morning two\nspoonfuls of cinnamon water, with one scruple of mithridate. Take syrup\nof calamint, mugwort and betony, of each one ounce; waters of\npennyroyal, feverfew, hyssop and sage, of each two ounces; make a julep.\nTake oil of aniseed two scruples and a half; diacimini,\ndiacliathidiamosei and diagla-ongoe, of each one drachm, sugar four\nounces, with water of cinnamon, and make lozenges; take of them a drachm\nand a half twice a day, two hours before meals; fasten cupping glasses\nto the hips and belly. Take of styrax and calamint one ounce, mastick,\ncinnamon, nutmeg, lign, aloes, and frankincense, of each half ounce;\nmusk, ten grains, ambergris, half a scruple; make a confection with\nrosewater, divide it into four equal parts; one part make a pomatum\noderation to smell at if she be not hysterical; of the second, make a\nmass of pills, and let her take three every other night: of the third\nmake a pessary, dip it in oil of spikenard, and put it up; of the\nfourth, make a suffumigation for the womb.\n\nIf the faculties of the womb be weakened, and the life of the seed\nsuffocated by over much humidity flowing to those parts: take of betony,\nmarjoram, mugwort, pennyroyal and balm, of each a handful; roots of alum\nand fennel, of each two drachms; aniseed and cummin, of each one drachm,\nwith sugar and water a sufficient quantity; make a syrup, and take three\nounces every morning.\n\nPurge with the following things; take of the diagnidium, two grains,\nspicierum of castor, a scruple, pill foedit two scruples, with syrup of\nmugwort, make six pills. Take apeo, diagem. diamoser, diamb. of each one\ndrachm; cinnamon, one drachm and a half; cloves, mace and nutmeg, of\neach half a drachm; sugar six ounces, with water of feverfew; make\nlozenges, to be taken every morning. Take of decoction of sarsaparilla\nand virga aurea, not forgetting sage, which Agrippa, wondering at its\noperation, has honoured with the name of _sacra herba_, a holy herb. It\nis recorded by Dodonoeus in the _History of Plants_, lib. ii. cap. 77,\nthat after a great mortality among the Egyptians, the surviving women,\nthat they might multiply quickly, were commanded to drink the juice of\nsage, and to anoint the genitals with oil of aniseed and spikenard. Take\nmace, nutmeg, cinnamon, styrax and amber, of each one drachm; cloves,\nlaudanum, of each half a drachm; turpentine, a sufficient quantity;\ntrochisks, to smooth the womb. Take roots of valerian and elecampane, of\neach one pound; galanga, two ounces; origan lavender, marjoram, betony,\nmugwort, bay leaves, calamint, of each a handful; make an infusion with\nwater, in which let her sit, after she hath her courses.\n\nIf barrenness proceed from dryness, consuming the matter of the seed;\ntake every day almond milk, and goat's milk extracted with honey, but\noften of the root satyrion, candied, and electuary of diasyren. Take\nthree wethers' heads, boil them until all the flesh comes from the\nbones, then take melilot, violets, camomiles, mercury, orchia with their\nroots, of each a handful; fenugreek, linseed, valerian roots, of each\none pound; let all these be decocted in the aforesaid broth, and let the\nwoman sit in the decoction up to the navel.\n\nIf barrenness be caused by any proper effect of the womb, the cure is\nset down in the second book. Sometimes the womb proves barren where\nthere is no impediment on either side, except only in the manner of the\nact; as when in the emission of the seed, the man is quick and the woman\nis slow, whereby there is not an emission of both seeds at the same\ninstant as the rules of conception require. Before the acts of coition,\nfoment the privy parts with the decoction of betony, sage, hyssop and\ncalamint and anoint the mouth and neck of the womb with musk and civet.\n\nThe cause of barrenness being removed, let the womb be strengthened as\nfollows; Take of bay berries, mastic, nutmeg, frankincense, nuts,\nlaudanum, giapanum, of each one drachm, styracis liquid, two scruples,\ncloves half a scruple, ambergris two grains, then make a pessary with\noil of spikenard.\n\nTake of red roses, lapididis hoematis, white frankincense, of each half\nan ounce. Dragon's blood, fine bole, mastic, of each two drachms;\nnutmeg, cloves, of each one drachm; spikenard, half a scruple, with oil\nof wormwood; make a plaster for the lower part of the belly, then let\nher eat candied eringo root, and make an injection only of the roots of\nsatyrion.\n\nThe aptest time for conception is instantly after the menses have\nceased, because then the womb is thirsty and dry, apt both to draw the\nseed and return it, by the roughness of the inward surface, and besides,\nin some, the mouth of the womb is turned into the back or side, and is\nnot placed right until the last day of the courses.\n\nExcess in all things is to be avoided. Lay aside all passions of the\nmind, shun study and care, as things that are enemies to conception, for\nif a woman conceive under such circumstances, however wise the parents\nmay be, the children, at best, will be but foolish; because the mental\nfaculties of the parents, viz., the understanding and the rest (from\nwhence the child derives its reason) are, as it were, confused through\nthe multiplicity of cares and thought; of which we have examples in\nlearned men, who, after great study and care, having connection with\ntheir wives, often beget very foolish children. A hot and moist air is\nmost suitable, as appears by the women in Egypt, who often bring forth\nthree or four children at one time.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\n     _Virginity, what it is, in what it consists, and how vitiated;\n     together with the Opinions of the Learned about the Change of Sex\n     in the Womb, during the Operation of Nature in forming the Body._\n\n\nThere are many ignorant people that boast of their skill in the\nknowledge of virginity, and some virgins have undergone harsh censures\nthrough their ignorant conclusions; I therefore thought it highly\nnecessary to clear up this point, that the towering imaginations of\nconceited ignorance might be brought down, and the fair sex (whose\nvirtues are so illustriously bright that they excite our wonder and\ncommand our imitation), may be freed from the calumnies and detractions\nof ignorance and envy; and so their honour may continue as unspotted, as\nthey have kept their persons uncontaminated and free from defilement.\n\nVirginity, in a strict sense, signifies the prime, the chief, the best\nof anything; and this makes men so desirous of marrying virgins,\nimagining some secret pleasure is to be enjoyed in their embraces, more\nthan in those of widows, or of such as have been lain with before,\nthough not many years ago, a very great personage thought differently,\nand to use his own expression:--\"The getting a maidenhead was such a\npiece of drudgery, that it was fitter for a coal heaver than a\nprince.\"[1] But this was only his opinion, for I am sure that other men\nthink differently.\n\nThe curious inquirers into the secrets of Nature, have observed, that in\nyoung maidens in the _sinus pudoris_, or in what is called the neck of\nthe womb, is that wonderful production usually called the _hymen_, but\nin French _bouton de rose_, or rosebud, because it resembles the\nexpanded bud of a rose or a gilly flower. From this the word _defloro_,\nor, deflower, is derived, and hence taking away virginity is called\ndeflowering a virgin, most being of the opinion that the virginity is\naltogether lost when this membrane is fractured and destroyed by\nviolence; when it is found perfect and entire, however, no penetration\nhas been effected; and in the opinion of some learned physicians there\nis neither hymen nor expanded skin which contains blood in it, which\nsome people think, flows from the ruptured membrane at the first time of\nsexual intercourse.\n\nNow this _claustrum virginale_, or flower, is composed of four little\nbuds like myrtle berries, which are full and plump in virgins, but hang\nloose and flag in women; and these are placed in the four angles of the\n_sinus pudoris_, joined together by little membranes and ligatures, like\nfibres, each of them situated in the testicles, or spaces between each\nbud, with which, in a manner, they are proportionately distended, and\nwhen once this membrane is lacerated, it denotes _Devirgination_. Thus\nmany ignorant people, finding their wives defective in this respect on\nthe first night, have immediately suspected their chastity, concluding\nthat another man had been there before them, when indeed, such a rupture\nmay happen in several ways accidentally, as well as by sexual\nintercourse, viz. by violent straining, coughing, or sneezing, the\nstoppage of the urine, etc., so that the entireness or the fracture of\nthat which is commonly taken for a woman's virginity or maidenhead, is\nno absolute sign of immorality, though it is more frequently broken by\ncopulation than by any other means.[2]\n\nAnd now to say something of the change of the sexes in the womb. The\ngenital parts of the sexes are so unlike each other in substance,\ncomposition, situation, figure, action and use that nothing is more\nunlike to each other than they are, and the more, all parts of the body\n(the breasts excepted, which in women swell, because Nature ordained\nthem for suckling the infant) have an exact resemblance to each other,\nso much the more do the genital parts of one sex differ, when compared\nwith the other, and if they be thus different in form, how much more are\nthey so in their use.\n\nThe venereal feeling also proceeds from different causes; in men from\nthe desire of emission, and in women from the desire of reception. All\nthese things, then, considered I cannot but wonder, he adds, how any one\ncan imagine that the female genital organs can be changed into the male\norgan, since the sexes can be distinguished only by those parts, nor\ncan I well impute the reason for this vulgar error to anything but the\nmistake of inexpert midwives, who have been deceived by the faulty\nconformation of those parts, which in some males may have happened to\nhave such small protrusions that they could not be seen, as appears by\nthe example of a child who was christened in Paris under the name of\n_Ivan_, as a girl, and who afterwards turned out to be a boy, and on the\nother hand, the excessive tension of the clytoris in newly-born female\ninfants may have occasioned similar mistakes. Thus far Pliny in the\nnegative, and notwithstanding what he has said, there are others, such\nas Galen, who assert the affirmative. \"A man,\" he says, \"is different\nfrom a woman, only by having his genitals outside his body, whereas a\nwoman has them inside her.\" And this is certain, that if Nature having\nformed a male should convert him into a female, she has nothing else to\ndo but to turn his genitals inward, and again to turn a woman into a man\nby a contrary operation. This, however, is to be understood of the child\nwhilst it is in the womb and not yet perfectly formed, for Nature has\noften made a female child, and it has remained so for a month or two, in\nits mother's womb; but afterwards the heat greatly increasing in the\ngenital organs, they have protruded and the child has become a male, but\nnevertheless retained some things which do not befit the masculine sex,\nsuch as female gestures and movements, a high voice, and a more\neffeminate temper than is usual with men; whilst, on the other hand, the\ngenitals have become inverted through cold humours, but yet the person\nretained a masculine air, both in voice and gesture. Now, though both\nthese opinions are supported by several reasons, yet I think the latter\nare nearer the truth, for there is not that vast difference between the\ngenitals of the two sexes as Pliny asserts; for a woman has, in a way,\nthe same _pudenda_ as a man, though they do not appear outwardly, but\nare inverted for the convenience of generation; one being solid and the\nother porous, and that the principal reason for changing sexes is, and\nmust be attributed to heat or cold, which operates according to its\ngreater or lesser force.\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] Attributed to George IV (Translator).\n\n[2] A young man was once tried at Rutland Assizes for violating a\nvirgin, and after close questioning, the girl swearing positively in the\nmatter, and naming the time, place and manner of the action, it was\nresolved that she should be examined by a skilful surgeon and two\nmidwives, who were to report on oath, which they did, and declared that\nthe membranes were intact and unlacerated, and that, in their opinion,\nher body had not been penetrated. This had its due effect upon the jury,\nand they acquitted the prisoner, and the girl afterwards confessed that\nshe swore it against him out of revenge, as he had promised to marry\nher, and had afterwards declined.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\n     _Directions and Cautions for Midwives; and, first, what ought to be\n     the qualifications of a midwife._\n\n\nA midwife who wishes to acquit herself well in her employment, ought\ncertainly not to enter upon it rashly or unadvisedly, but with all\nimaginable caution, remembering that she is responsible for any mischief\nwhich may happen through her ignorance or neglect. None, therefore,\nshould undertake that duty merely because of their age or because they\nthemselves have had many children, for, in such, generally, many things\nwill be found wanting, which she should possess. She ought to be neither\ntoo old nor too young, neither very fat, nor so thin, as to be weak, but\nin a good habit of body; not subject to illness, fears, nor sudden\nfrights; well-made and neat in her attire, her hands small and smooth,\nher nails kept well-trimmed and without any rings on her fingers whilst\nshe is engaged in her work, nor anything upon her wrists that may\nobstruct her. And to these ought to be added activity, and a due amount\nof strength, with much caution and diligence, nor should she be given to\ndrowsiness or impatience.\n\nShe should be polite and affable in her manners, sober and chaste, not\ngiven to passion, liberal and compassionate towards the poor, and not\ngreedy of gain when she attends the rich. She should have a cheerful and\npleasant temper, so that she may be the more easily able to comfort her\npatients during labour. She must never be in a hurry, though her\nbusiness may call her to some other case, lest she should thereby\nendanger the mother or the child.\n\nShe ought to be wary, prudent, and intelligent, but above all, she ought\nto be possessed by the fear of God, which will give her both \"knowledge\nand discretion,\" as the wise man says.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\n     _Further Directions to Midwives, teaching them what they ought to\n     do, and what to avoid._\n\n\nSince the duties of a midwife have such a great influence on the\nwell-doing or the contrary of both women and children, in the first\nplace, she must be diligent in gaining all such knowledge as may be\nuseful to her in her practice, and never to think herself so perfect,\nbut that it may be possible for her to add to her knowledge by study and\nexperience. She should, however, never try any experiments unless she\nhas tried them, or knows that they can do no harm; practising them\nneither upon rich nor poor, but freely saying what she knows, and never\nprescribing any medicines which will procure abortion, even though\nrequested; for this is wicked in the highest degree, and may be termed\nmurder. If she be sent for to people whom she does not know, let her be\nvery cautious before she goes, lest by attending an infectious woman,\nshe runs the danger of injuring others, as sometimes happens. Neither\nmust she make her dwelling a receiving-house for big-bellied women to\ndischarge their load, lest it get her a bad name and she by such means\nloses her practice.\n\nIn attending on women, if the birth happens to be difficult, she must\nnot seem to be anxious, but must cheer the woman up and do all she can\nto make her labour easy. She will find full directions for this, in the\nsecond part of this book.\n\nShe must never think of anything but doing well, seeing that everything\nthat is required is in readiness, both for the woman and for receiving\nthe child, and above all, let her keep the woman from becoming unruly\nwhen her pains come on, lest she endanger her own life, and the child's\nas well.\n\nShe must also take care not to be hurried over her business but wait\nGod's time for the birth, and she must by no means allow herself to be\nupset by fear, even if things should not go well, lest that should make\nher incapable of rendering that assistance which the woman in labour\nstands in need of, for where there is the most apparent danger, there\nthe most care and prudence are required to set things right.\n\nAnd now, because she can never be a skilful midwife who knows nothing\nbut what is to be seen outwardly, I do not think it will be amiss but\nrather very necessary, modestly to describe the generative parts of\nwomen as they have been anatomised by learned men, and to show the use\nof such vessels as contribute to generation.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\n     _The External, and Internal Organs of Generation in Women._\n\n\nIf it were not for the public benefit, especially for that of the\nprofessors and practitioners of the art of midwifery, I would refrain\nfrom treating the secrets of Nature, because they may be turned to\nridicule by lascivious and lewd people. But as it is absolutely\nnecessary that they should be known for the public good, I will not omit\nthem because some may make a wrong use of them. Those parts which can be\nseen at the lowest part of the stomach are the _fissure magna_, or the\n_great cleft_, with its _labia_ or lips, the _Mons Veneris_, or Mountain\nof Venus, and the hair. These together are called the _pudenda_, or\nthings to be ashamed of because when they are exposed they cause a woman\n_pudor_, or shame. The _fissure magna_ reaches from the lower part of\nthe _os pubis_, to within an inch of the _anus_, but it is less and\ncloser in virgins than in those who have borne children, and has two\nlips, which grow thicker and fuller towards the pubis, and meeting on\nthe middle of the _os pubis_, form that rising hill which is called the\n_Mons Veneris_, or the Hill of Venus.\n\nNext come the _Nymphae_ and the _Clitoris_, the former of which is a\nmembrany and moist substance, spongy, soft and partly fleshy, of a red\ncolour and in the shape of two wings, which are joined at an acute angle\nat their base, producing a fleshy substance there which covers the\nclitoris, and sometimes they extend so far, that an incision is required\nto make room for a man's instrument of generation.\n\nThe _Clitoris_ is a substance in the upper part of the division where\nthe two wings meet, and the seat of venereal pleasure, being like a\nman's _penis_ in situation, substance, composition and power of\nerection, growing sometimes to the length of two inches out of the body,\nbut that never happens except through extreme lustfulness or some\nextraordinary accident. This _clitoris_ consists of two spongy and\nskinny bodies, containing a distinct original from the _os pubis_, its\ntip being covered with a tender skin, having a hole or passage like a\nman's yard or _penis_, although not quite through, in which alone, and\nin its size it differs from it.\n\nThe next things are the fleshy knobs of the great neck of the womb, and\nthese knobs are behind the wings and are four in number, resembling\nmyrtle berries, and being placed quadrangularly one against the other,\nand here the orifice of the bladder is inserted, which opens into the\nfissures, to evacuate the urine, and one of these knobs is placed before\nit, and closes up the passage in order to secure it from cold, or any\nsuchlike inconvenience.\n\nThe lips of the womb, which appear next, disclose its neck, if they are\nseparated, and two things may be observed in them, which are the neck\nitself and the _hymen_, or more properly, the _claustrum virginale_, of\nwhich I have spoken before. By the neck of the womb we must understand\nthe channel that lies between the above-mentioned knobs and the inner\nbone of the womb, which receives the penis like a sheath, and so that it\nmay be more easily dilated by the pleasure of procreation, the substance\nis sinewy and a little spongy. There are several folds or pleats in this\ncavity, made by tunicles, which are wrinkled like a full blown rose. In\nvirgins they appear plainly, but in women who are used to copulation\nthey disappear, so that the inner side of the neck of the womb appears\nsmooth, but in old women it is more hard and gristly. But though this\nchannel is sometimes crooked and sinks down yet at the times of\ncopulation, labour, or of the monthly flow, it is erected or distended,\nwhich overtension occasions the pain in childbirth.\n\nThe hymen, or _claustrum virginale_, is that which closes the neck of\nthe womb, and is broken by the first act of copulation; its use being\nrather to check the undue menstrual flow in virgins, rather than to\nserve any other purpose, and usually when it is broken, either by\ncopulation, or by any other means, a small quantity of blood flows from\nit, attended with some little pain. From this some observe that between\nthe folds of the two tunicles, which constitute the neck of the womb\nthere are many veins and arteries running along, and arising from, the\nvessels on both sides of the thighs, and so passing into the neck of the\nwomb, being very large; and the reason for this is, that the neck of the\nbladder requires to be filled with great vigour, so as to be dilated, in\norder that it may lay hold of the penis better; for great heat is\nrequired in such motions, and that becomes more intense by the act of\nfriction, and consumes a considerable amount of moisture, for supplying\nwhich large vessels are absolutely necessary.\n\nAnother cause of the largeness of the vessels is, that menses make their\nway through them, which often occasions pregnant women to continue\nmenstruating: for though the womb be shut up, yet the passages in the\nneck of the womb through which these vessels pass, are open. In this\ncase, we may further observe, that as soon as the _pudenda_ are\npenetrated, there appear two little pits or holes which contain a\nsecretion, which is expelled during copulation, and gives the woman\ngreat pleasure.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\n     _A description of the Fabric of the Womb, the preparing Vessels and\n     Testicles in Women. Also of the Different and Ejaculatory Vessels._\n\n\nThe womb is joined to its neck in the lower part of the _Hypogastrium_\nwhere the hips are the widest and broadest, as they are greater and\nbroader there than those of men, and it is placed between the bladder\nand the straight gut, which keeps it from swaying, and yet gives it\nfreedom to stretch and dilate, and again to contract, as nature\nrequires. Its shape is somewhat round and not unlike a gourd, growing\nsmaller and more acute towards one end, being knit together by its\nown ligaments; its neck likewise is joined by its own substance and by\ncertain membranes that fasten into the _os sacrum_ and the share-bone.\nIts size varies much in different women, and the difference is\nespecially great between those who have borne children and those who\nhave had none. Its substance exceeds a thumb's breadth in thickness, and\nso far from decreasing conception, it rather increases; and in order to\nstrengthen it it is interwoven with fibres which cross it from side to\nside, some of which are straight and some winding, and its proper\nvessels are veins, arteries and nerves. Amongst these there are two\nsmall veins which pass into the womb from the spermatic vessels, and two\nlarger ones from the neck: the mouth of these veins pierces as far as\nthe inward cavity.\n\n[Illustration: Position of a Child in the Womb just before delivery.]\n\n[Illustration: The action of quickening]\n\nThe womb has two arteries on both sides of the spermatic vessels and the\nhypogastric, which accompany the veins; and besides these, there are\nseveral little nerves in the form of a net, which extend throughout it,\nfrom the bottom of the _pudenda_; their chief function is sensibility\nand pleasure, as they move in sympathy between the head and the womb.\n\nIt may be further noted that the womb is occasionally moveable by means\nof the two ligaments that hang on either side of it, and often rises and\nfalls. The neck of the womb is extremely sensitive, so that if it be at\nany time out of order through over fatness, moisture or relaxation, it\nthereby becomes subject to barrenness. With pregnant women, a glutinous\nmatter is often found at the entrance to the womb so as to facilitate\nthe birth; for at the time of delivery, the mouth of the womb is opened\nas wide as the size of the child requires, and dilates equally from top\nto bottom.\n\nThe spermatic vessels in women, consist of two veins and two arteries,\nwhich differ from those of men only in size and the manner of their\ninsertion; for the number of veins and arteries is the same as in men,\nthe right vein issuing from the trunk of the hollow vein descending and\nbesides them there are two arteries, which flow from the aorta.\n\nThese vessels are narrower and shorter in women than in men; but it must\nbe noticed that they are more intertwined and contorted than in men, and\nshrink together by reason of their shortness that they may, by their\nlooseness, be better stretched out when necessary: and these vessels in\nwomen are carried in an oblique direction through the lesser bowels and\ntesticles but are divided into two branches half way. The larger goes to\nthe stones and forms a winding body, and wonderfully inoculates the\nlesser branches where it disperses itself, and especially at the higher\npart of the bottom of the womb, for its nourishment, and that part of\nthe courses may pass through the vessels; and seeing that women's\ntesticles are situated near the womb, for that cause those vessels do\nnot fall from the peritoneum, nor do they make so much passage as in\nmen, as they do not extend to the share-bone.\n\nThe stones of woman, commonly called _testicles_, do not perform the\nsame function as in men, for they are altogether different in position,\nsize, temperature, substance, form and covering. They are situated in\nthe hollow of the muscles of the loins, so that, by contracting greater\nheat, they may be more fruitful, their office being to contain the ova\nor eggs, one of which, being impregnated by the man's seed engenders the\nchild. They are, however, different from those of the male in shape,\nbecause they are smaller and flatter at each end, and not so round or\noval; the external superficies is also more unequal, and has the\nappearance of a number of knobs or kernels mixed together.\n\nThere is a difference, also, in the substance, as they are much softer\nand more pliable, and not nearly so compact. Their size and temperature\nare also different for they are much colder and smaller than in men, and\ntheir covering or enclosure is likewise quite different; for as men's\nare wrapped in several covers, because they are very pendulous and would\nbe easily injured unless they were so protected by nature, so women's\nstones, being internal and thus less subject to being hurt, are covered\nby only one membrane, and are likewise half covered by the peritoneum.\n\nThe ejaculatory vessels are two small passages, one on either side,\nwhich do not differ in any respect from the spermatic veins in\nsubstance. They rise in one place from the bottom of the womb, and do\nnot reach from their other extremity either to the stones or to any\nother part, but are shut up and impassable, and adhere to the womb as\nthe colon does to the blind gut, and winding half way about; and though\nthe testicles are not close to them and do not touch them, yet they are\nfastened to them by certain membranes which resemble the wing of a bat,\nthrough which certain veins and arteries passing from the end of the\ntesticles may be said to have their passages going from the corners of\nthe womb to the testicles, and these ligaments in women are the\n_cremasters_[3] in men, of which I shall speak more fully when I come to\ndescribe the male parts of generation.\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[3] Muscles by which the testicles are drawn up.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\n     _A Description of the Use and Action of the several Generative\n     Parts in Women._\n\n\nThe external parts, commonly called the _pudenda_, are designed to cover\nthe great orifice and to receive the man's penis or yard in the act of\nsexual intercourse, and to give passage to the child and to the urine.\nThe use of the wings and knobs, like myrtle berries, is for the security\nof the internal parts, closing the orifice and neck of the bladder and\nby their swelling up, to cause titillation and pleasure in those parts,\nand also to obstruct the involuntary passage of the urine.\n\nThe action of the clitoris in women is similar to that of the penis in\nmen, viz., _erection_; and its lower end is the glans of the penis, and\nhas the same name. And as the _glans_ of man are the seat of the\ngreatest pleasure in copulation, so is this in the woman.\n\nThe action and use of the neck on the womb is the same as that of the\npenis, viz., erection, brought about in different ways: first, in\ncopulation it becomes erect and made straight for the passage of the\npenis into the womb; secondly, whilst the passage is filled with the\nvital blood, it becomes narrower for embracing the penis; and the uses\nof this erection are twofold:--first, because if the neck of the womb\nwere not erected, the man's yard could find no proper passage to the\nwomb, and, secondly, it hinders any damage or injury that might ensue\nthrough the violent striking of the _penis_ during the act of\ncopulation.\n\nThe use of the veins that pass through the neck of the womb, is to\nreplenish it with blood and vigour, that so, as the moisture is consumed\nby the heat engendered by sexual intercourse, it may be renewed by those\nvessels; but their chief business is to convey nutriment to the womb.\n\nThe womb has many properties belonging to it: first, the retention of\nthe impregnated egg, and this is conception, properly so called;\nsecondly, to cherish and nourish it, until Nature has fully formed the\nchild, and brought it to perfection, and then it operates strongly in\nexpelling the child, when the time of its remaining has expired,\nbecoming dilated in an extraordinary manner and so perfectly removed\nfrom the senses that they cannot injuriously affect it, retaining within\nitself a power and strength to eject the foetus, unless it be rendered\ndeficient by any accident; and in such a case remedies must be applied\nby skilful hands to strengthen it, and enable it to perform its\nfunctions; directions for which will be given in the second book.\n\nThe use of the preparing vessels is this; the arteries convey the blood\nto the testicles; some part of it is absorbed in nourishing them, and in\nthe production of these little bladders (which resemble eggs in every\nparticular), through which the _vasa preparantia_ run, and which are\nabsorbed in them; and the function of the veins is to bring back\nwhatever blood remains from the above mentioned use. The vessels of this\nkind are much shorter in women than in men, because they are nearer to\nthe testicles; this defect is, however, made good by the many intricate\nwindings to which those vessels are subject; for they divide themselves\ninto two branches of different size in the middle and the larger one\npasses to the testicles.\n\nThe stones in women are very useful, for where they are defective, the\nwork of generation is at an end. For though those bladders which are on\nthe outer surface contain no seed, as the followers of Galen and\nHippocrates wrongly believed, yet they contain several eggs, generally\ntwenty in each testicle; one of which being impregnated by the animated\npart of the man's seed in the act of copulation, descends through the\noviducts into the womb, and thus in due course of time becomes a living\nchild.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI\n\n     _Of the Organs of Generation in Man._\n\n\nHaving given a description of the organs of generation in women, with\nthe anatomy of the fabric of the womb, I shall now, in order to finish\nthe first part of this treatise, describe the organs of generation in\nmen, and how they are fitted for the use for which Nature intended them.\n\nThe instrument of generation in men (commonly called the yard, in Latin,\n_penis_, from _pendo_, to hang, because it hangs outside the belly), is\nan organic part which consists of skin, tendons, veins, arteries, sinews\nand great ligaments; and is long and round, and on the upper side\nflattish, seated under the _os pubis_, and ordained by Nature partly for\nthe evacuation of urine, and partly for conveying the seed into the\nwomb; for which purpose it is full of small pores, through which the\nseed passes into it, through the _vesicula seminalis_,[4] and discharges\nthe urine when they make water; besides the common parts, viz., the two\nnervous bodies, the septum, the urethra, the glans, four muscles and the\nvessels. The nervous bodies (so called) are surrounded with a thick\nwhite, penetrable membrane, but their inner substance is spongy, and\nconsists chiefly of veins, arteries, and nervous fibres, interwoven like\na net. And when the nerves are filled with animal vigour and the\narteries with hot, eager blood, the penis becomes distended and erect;\nalso the neck of the _vesicula urinalis_,[5] but when the influx of\nblood ceases, and when it is absorbed by the veins, the penis becomes\nlimp and flabby. Below those nervous bodies is the urethra, and whenever\nthey swell, it swells also. The penis has four muscles; two shorter ones\nspringing from the _Cox endix_ and which serve for erection, and on that\naccount they are called _erectores_; two larger, coming from _sphincters\nani_, which serve to dilate the urethra so as to discharge the semen,\nand these are called dilatantes, or wideners. At the end of the penis is\nthe _glans_, covered with a very thin membrane, by means of which, and\nof its nervous substance, it becomes most extremely sensitive, and is\nthe principal seat of pleasure in copulation. The outer covering of the\n_glans_ is called the _preputium_ (foreskin), which the Jews cut off in\ncircumcision, and it is fastened by the lower part of it to the _glans_.\nThe penis is also provided with veins, arteries and nerves.\n\nThe _testiculi_, stones or testicles (so called because they testify one\nto be a man), turn the blood, which is brought to them by the spermatic\narteries into seed. They have two sorts of covering, common and proper;\nthere are two of the common, which enfold both the testes. The outer\ncommon coat, consists of the _cuticula_, or true skin, and is called the\nscrotum, and hangs from the abdomen like a purse; the inner is the\n_membrana carnosa_. There are also two proper coats--the outer called\n_cliotrodes_, or virginales; the inner _albugidia_; in the outer the\ncremaster is inserted. The _epididemes_, or _prostatae_ are fixed to the\nupper part of the testes, and from them spring the _vasa deferentia_, or\n_ejaculatoria_, which deposit the seed into the _vesicule seminales_\nwhen they come near the neck of the bladder. There are two of these\n_vesiculae_, each like a bunch of grapes, which emit the seed into the\nurethra in the act of copulation. Near them are the _prostatae_, about\nthe size of a walnut, and joined to the neck of the bladder. Medical\nwriters do not agree about the use of them, but most are of the opinion\nthat they produce an oily and sloppy discharge to besmear the urethra so\nas to defend it against the pungency of the seed and urine. But the\nvessels which convey the blood to the testes, from which the seed is\nmade, are the _arteriae spermaticae_ and there are two of them also.\nThere are likewise two veins, which carry off the remaining blood, and\nwhich are called _venae spermaticae_.\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[4] Seminal vesicle.\n\n[5] Urinary vesicle.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII\n\n     _A word of Advice to both Sexes, consisting of several Directions\n     with regard to Copulation._\n\n\nAs Nature has a mutual desire for copulation in every creature, for the\nincrease and propagation of its kind, and more especially in man, the\nlord of creation and the masterpiece of Nature, in order that such a\nnoble piece of divine workmanship should not perish, something ought to\nbe said concerning it, it being the foundation of everything that we\nhave hitherto been treating of, since without copulation there can be no\ngeneration. Seeing, therefore, so much depends upon it, I have thought\nit necessary, before concluding the first book, to give such directions\nto both sexes, for the performance of that act, as may appear\nefficacious to the end for which nature designed it, but it will be done\nwith such caution as not to offend the chastest ear, nor to put the fair\nsex to the blush when they read it.\n\nIn the first place, then, when a married couple from the desire of\nhaving children are about to make use of those means that Nature has\nprovided for that purpose, it is well to stimulate the body with\ngenerous restoratives, that it may be active and vigorous. And the\nimagination should be charmed with sweet music, and if all care and\nthoughts of business be drowned in a glass of rosy wine, so that their\nspirit may be raised to the highest pitch of ardour, it would be as\nwell, for troubles, cares or sadness are enemies to the pleasures of\nVenus. And if the woman should conceive when sexual intercourse takes\nplace at such times of disturbance, it would have a bad effect upon the\nchild. But though generous restoratives may be employed for invigorating\nnature, yet all excess should be carefully avoided, for it will check\nthe briskness of the spirits and make them dull and languid, and as it\nalso interferes with digestion, it must necessarily be an enemy _to_\ncopulation; for it is food taken moderately and that is well digested,\nwhich enables a man to perform the dictates of Nature with vigour and\nactivity, and it is also necessary, that in their mutual embraces they\nmeet each other with equal ardour, for, if not, the woman either will\nnot conceive, or else the child may be weak bodily, or mentally\ndefective. I, therefore, advise them to excite their desires mutually\nbefore they begin their conjugal intercourse, and when they have done\nwhat nature requires, a man must be careful not to withdraw himself from\nhis wife's arms too soon, lest some sudden cold should strike into the\nwomb and occasion miscarriage, and so deprive them of the fruits of\ntheir labour.\n\nAnd when the man has withdrawn himself after a suitable time, the woman\nshould quietly go to rest, with all calmness and composure of mind, free\nfrom all anxious and disturbing thoughts, or any other mental worry. And\nshe must, as far as possible, avoid turning over from the side on which\nshe was first lying, and also keep from coughing and sneezing, because\nas it violently shakes the body, it is a great enemy to conception.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nA\n\nPRIVATE LOOKING-GLASS\n\nFOR THE\n\nFEMALE SEX\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nPART II\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\n     _Treating of the several Maladies incident to the womb, with proper\n     remedies for the cure of each._\n\n\nThe womb is placed in the _hypogastrium_, or lower part of the body, in\nthe cavity called the _pelvis_, having the straight gut on one side to\nprotect it against the hardness of the backbone, and the bladder on the\nother side to protect it against blows. Its form or shape is like a\nvirile member, with this exception, that the man's is outside, and the\nwoman's inside.\n\nIt is divided into the neck and body. The neck consists of a hard fleshy\nsubstance, much like cartilage, and at the end of it there is a membrane\nplaced transversely, which is called the hymen. Near the neck there is a\nprominent pinnacle, which is called the door of the womb, because it\npreserves the _matrix_ from cold and dust. The Greeks called it\n_clitoris_, and the Latins _praeputium muliebre_, because the Roman\nwomen abused these parts to satisfy their mutual unlawful lusts, as St.\nPaul says, Romans 1. 26.\n\nThe body of the womb is where the child is conceived, and this is not\naltogether round, but dilates itself into two angles; the outward part\nis full of sinews, which are the cause of its movements, but inside it\nis fleshy. It is wrongly said, that in the cavity of the womb there are\nseven divided cells or receptacles for the male seed, but anatomists\nknow that there are only two, and also that those two are not divided by\na partition, but only by a line or suture running through the middle of\nit.\n\nAt the bottom of the cavity there are little holes called\n_cotyledones_, which are the ends of certain veins or arteries, and\nserve breeding women to convey nourishment to the child, which is\nreceived by the umbilical and other veins, to carry the courses to the\n_matrix_.\n\nAs to menstruation, it is defined as a monthly flow of bad and useless\nblood, and of the super-abundance of it, for it is an excrement in\nquality, though it is pure and incorrupt, like the blood in the veins.\nAnd that the menstruous blood is pure in itself, and of the same quality\nas that in the veins, is proved in two ways.--First, from the final\nobject of the blood, which is the propagation and preservation of\nmankind, that man might be conceived; and that, being begotten, he might\nbe comforted and preserved both in and out of the womb, and all allow\nthat it is true that a child in the matrix is nourished by the blood.\nAnd it is true that when it is out of it, it is nourished by the same;\nfor the milk is nothing but the menstruous blood made white in the\nbreast. Secondly, it is proved to be true by the way it is produced, as\nit is the superfluity of the last aliment of the fleshy parts.\n\nThe natural end of man and woman's being is to propagate. Now, in the\nact of conception one must be an active agent and the other passive, for\nif both were similarly constituted, they could not propagate. Man,\ntherefore, is hot and dry, whilst woman is cold and moist: he is the\nagent, and she the passive or weaker vessel, that she may be subject to\nthe office of the man. It is necessary that woman should be of a cold\nconstitution, because a redundancy of Nature for the infant that depends\non her is required of her; for otherwise there would be no surplus of\nnourishment for the child, but no more than the mother requires, and the\ninfant would weaken the mother, and like as in the viper, the birth of\nthe infant would be the death of the parent.\n\nThe monthly purgations continue from the fifteenth to the forty-sixth or\nfiftieth year; but a suppression often occurs, which is either natural\nor morbid: the courses are suppressed naturally during pregnancy, and\nwhilst the woman is suckling. The morbid suppression remains to be\nspoken of.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\n     _Of the Retention of the Courses._\n\n\nThe suppression of the menstrual periods, is an interruption of that\naccustomed evacuation of blood, which comes from the matrix every month,\nand the part affected is the womb.\n\n\n\nCAUSE.\n\nThe cause of this suppression is either external or internal. The\nexternal cause may be heat or dryness of air, want of sleep, too much\nwork, violent exercise, etc., whereby the substance is so consumed, and\nthe body so exhausted that nothing is left over to be got rid of, as is\nrecorded of the Amazons who, being active and constantly in motion, had\ntheir courses very little, if at all. Or it may be brought about by cold\nwhich is very frequent, as it vitiates and thickens the blood, and binds\nup the passages, so that it cannot flow out.\n\nThe internal cause is either instrumental or material; in the womb or in\nthe blood. In the womb, it may be in various ways; by humours, and\nabscesses and ulcers, by the narrowness of the veins and passages, or by\nthe adipose membrane in fat bodies, pressing on the neck of the matrix,\nbut then they must have hernia, zirthilis, for in men the membrane does\nnot reach so low; by too much cold or heat, the one vitiating the\naction, and the other consuming the matter through the wrong formation\nof the uterine parts; by the neck of the womb being turned aside, and\nsometimes, though rarely, by a membrane or excrescence of the flesh\ngrowing at the mouth or neck of the womb. The blood may be in fault in\ntwo ways, in quantity and in quality; in quantity, when it is so\nconsumed that no surplus is left over, as in viragoes or virile women,\nwho, through their heat and natural strength, consume it all in their\nlast nourishment; as Hippocrates writes of Prethusa, for when her\nhusband praised her overmuch, her courses were suppressed, her voice\nchanged and she got a beard with a manly face. But I think, rather that\nthese must be _Gynophagi_, or woman-eaters, rather than women-breeders,\nbecause they consume one of the principles of generation, which gives a\nbeing to the world, viz., the menstruous blood. The blood may likewise\nbe lost, and the courses checked by nosebleeding, by bleeding piles, by\ndysentery, commonly called the bloody flux, by many other discharges,\nand by chronic diseases. Secondly, the matter may be vitiated in\nquality, and if it be sanguineous, sluggish, bilious or melancholy, and\nany of these will cause an obstruction in the veins.\n\n\n\nSIGNS.\n\nSigns which manifest the disease are pains in the head, neck, back and\nloins; weariness of the whole body (but especially of the hips and legs,\nbecause the womb is near those parts); palpitation of the heart. The\nfollowing are particular signs:--If the suppression arises from a cold,\nthe woman becomes heavy, sluggish, pale and has a slow pulse; Venus'\ncombats are neglected, the urine is thick, the blood becomes watery and\ngreat in quantity, and the bowels become constipated. If it arises from\nheat, the signs are just the opposite. If the retention be natural and\narises from conception, this may be known by drinking hydromel, i.e.,\nwater and honey, after supper, before going to bed, by the effect which\nit has; for if after taking it, she feels a heating pain about the navel\nand the lower parts of the abdomen, it is a sign that she has conceived,\nand that the suppression is natural.\n\n\n\nPROGNOSTICS.\n\nThe whole body is affected by any disorder of the womb, and especially\nthe heart, the liver and the brain, and there is a singular sympathy\nbetween the womb and those three organs. Firstly, the womb communicates\nwith the heart by the mediation of those arteries which come from the\naorta. Hence, when menstruation is suppressed, fainting, swooning, a\nvery low pulse, and shortness of breath will ensue. Secondly, it\ncommunicates with the liver by the veins derived from the hollow vein.\nObstructions, jaundice, dropsy, induration of the spleen will follow.\nThirdly, it communicates with the brain by the nerves and membranes of\nthe back; hence arise epilepsy, madness, fits of melancholy, pains in\nthe back of the head, unaccountable fears and inability to speak. I may,\ntherefore, well agree with Hippocrates that if menstruation be\nsuppressed, many dangerous diseases will follow.\n\n\n\nCURE.\n\nIn the cure of this, and of all the other following cases, I shall\nobserve the following order:--The cures will be taken from surgical,\npharmaceutical and diuretical means. The suppression has a plethoric\neffect, and must be removed by the evacuation; therefore we begin with\nbleeding. In the middle of the menstrual period, open the liver vein,\nand two days before, open the saphena in both feet; if the repletion is\nnot very great apply cupping glasses to the legs and thighs, although\nthere may be no hope of removing the suppression. As in some women, the\ncotyledones are so closed up that nothing but copulation will open them,\nyet it will be well to relieve the woman as much as possible by opening\nthe hemoroid veins by applying a leech. After bleeding let the place be\nprepared and made flexible with syrup of stychas, calamint, betony,\nhyssop, mugwort, horehound, fumitary, maidenhair. Bathe the parts with\ncamomiles, pennyroyal, savias, bay-leaves, juniper-berries, rue,\nmarjoram, feverfew. Take a handful each of nep, maidenhair, succory and\nbetony leaves and make a decoction, and take three ounces of it, syrup\nof maidenhair, mugwort and succory, half an ounce of each. After she\ncomes out of her bath, let her drink it off. Purge with _Pill agaric,\nfleybany, corb, feriae_. In this case, Galen recommends _pilulae of\ncaberica coloquintida_; for, as they are good for purging the bad\nhumours, so also they open the passages of the womb, and strengthen it\nby their aromatic qualities.\n\nIf the stomach be over-loaded, let her take an emetic, yet such a one as\nmay work both ways, lest if it only works upwards, it should check the\nhumours too much. Take two drachms of trochisks of agaric, infuse this\nin two ounces of oxymel in which dissolve one scruple and a half of\n_electuary dissarum_, and half an ounce of _benedic laxit_. Take this as\na purge.\n\nAfter the humour has been got rid of, proceed to more suitable and\nstronger remedies. Take a drachm and a half of trochisk of myrrh; ten\ngrains of musk with the juice of smallage; make twelve pills and take\nsix every morning, or after supper, on going to bed. Take half an ounce\nof cinnamon, two drachms each of smirutium, or rogos, valerin\naristolochia; two scruples each of astrumone root and saffron; two\ndrachms of spec. diambia; four scruples of trochisk of myrrh; two\nscruples tartari vitriolari; make half into a powder; make lozenges with\nmugwort water and sugar, and take one drachm of them every morning; or\nmix a drachm of the powder with one drachm of sugar, and take it in\nwhite wine. Take two drachms each of prepared steel and spec. hair; one\nscruple each of borax and spec. of myrrh, with savine juice; make it up\ninto eighty-eight lozenges and take three every other day before dinner.\nTake one scruple of castor, half a drachm of wild carrot seed with syrup\nof mugwort, and make four pills, take them in the morning fasting, for\nthree days following, before the usual time of purging. Take five\ndrachms each of agaric, aristolochia, and juice of horehound; six\ndrachma each of rhubarb, spikenard, aniseed, guidanum, asafoetida,\nmallow-root, gentian, of the three peppers and of liquorice: make an\nelectuary with honey, and take three drachms for a dose. For phlegmatic\nconstitutions nothing can be better than the decoction of guaiacum wood\nwith a little disclaim, taken fasting in the morning, for twelve days\nconsecutively, without producing sweating.\n\nTreat the lower parts of the body to suffumigating, pessaries, ointments\nand injections; for fumigating use cinnamon, nutmeg, the berries of the\nbay tree, mugwort, galbanum, molanthium, amber, etc. Make pessaries of\nfigs and the bruised leaves of dog's mercury, rolled up in lint, and if\na stronger one is required, make one of myrrh, opopanax, ammoniac,\ngalbanum, sagepanum, mithridate, agaric, coloquintida, tec. Make\ninjections of a decoction of origane mugwort, dog's mercury, betony, and\neggs; inject into the womb with a female syringe. Take half an ounce\neach of oil of almonds, lilies, capers, camomiles; two drachms each of\nlaudanum and oil of myrrh; make a salve with wax, with which anoint the\nplace; make injections of fenugreek, camomiles, melilot, dill, marjoram,\npennyroyal, feverfew, juniper berries and calamint; but if the\nsuppression arises from a lack of matter, then the courses ought not to\nbe brought on until the spirits be raised and the amount of blood\nincreased; or if it arises from affections of the womb itself, as dropsy\nor inflammation, then particular care must be used; but I will not lay\nstress on this here, but will mention the remedies in their order.\n\nIf the retention comes from repletion or fullness, if the air be hot and\ndry, take moderate exercise before meals, and very light diet and\ndrinks, and with your food take garden savory--thyme and origane, if it\narises from emptiness and defect of matter: if the weather be moist and\nmoderately hot, avoid exercise and late hours; let your food be\nnourishing and easy of digestion, such as raw eggs, lamb, chickens,\nalmonds, milk and the like.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\n     _Of Excessive Menstruation._\n\n\nThe learned say, that truth is manifested by comparing contraries, and\nso, as I have above spoken of the suppression of menstruation, it is now\nnecessary that I should treat of excessive menstruation, which is no\nless dangerous than the former. This immoderate monthly flow is defined\nas a sanguineous discharge, as it consists merely of blood, wherein it\ndiffers from the false courses or whites, of which I shall speak further\non. Secondly, it is said to proceed from the womb; for there are two\nways in which the blood issues forth; one by the internal veins of the\nbody of the womb (and this is properly called the monthly flow), the\nother is by those veins which terminate in the neck of the matrix, which\nAetius calls haemorrhoids of the womb. In quantity, Hippocrates said, it\nshould be about eighteen ounces, and they should last about three days:\nand when the faculties of the body are weakened by their flow, we may\ntake it that the discharge is inordinate. In bodies which abound in\ngross humours, this immoderate flow sometimes unburdens nature of her\nload and ought not to be checked without a physician's advice.\n\n\n\nCAUSE.\n\nThe cause is either internal or external. The internal cause is\nthreefold; in the substance, the instrument or the power. The matter,\nwhich is the blood, may be vitiated in two ways; first, by the heat of\nthe constitution, climate or season, heating the blood, whereby the\npassages are dilated, and the power weakened so that it cannot retain\nthe blood. Secondly, by falls, blows, violent motions, rupture of the\nveins, etc. The external cause may be the heat of the air, heavy\nburdens, unnatural childbirth, etc.\n\n\n\nSIGNS.\n\nIn this excessive flow the appetite is lessened, conception is checked\nand all the functions weakened; the feet swell, the colour of the face\nchanges, and the whole body is weakened. If the flow comes from the\nrupture of a vein, the body is sometimes cold, the blood flows out in\nstreams, suddenly, and causes great pain. If it arises from heat, and\nthe orifice of the vein is dilated, there is little or no pain, but yet\nthe blood flows faster than it does when caused by erosion, but not so\nfast as it does in a rupture. If caused by erosion, the woman feels a\nscalding of the passage, and it differs from the other two, in so much\nas it does not flow so quickly or so freely as they do. If it is caused\nby weakness of the womb, the woman feels a dislike for sexual\nintercourse. Lastly, if it proceeds from the defective quality of the\nblood let some of it drop into a cloth, and when it is dry, you may\njudge, of the quality by the colour. If it be passionate it will be\nyellow; if melancholy, it will be black, and if phlegmatic, it will be\nwaterish and whitish.\n\n\n\nPROGNOSTICS.\n\nIf convulsions are joined to the flow, it is dangerous, because that\nintimates that the noble parts are affected, convulsions caused by\nemptiness are deadly. If they continue long, they will be very difficult\nto cure, and it was one of the miracles which our Saviour Christ\nwrought, to cure a woman of this disease of twelve years standing.\n\nTo conclude, if the flow be excessive, many diseases will follow, which\nwill be almost impossible to cure; the blood, being consumed together\nwith the innate heat, either morbid, dropsical, or paralytical diseases\nwill follow.\n\n\n\nCURE.\n\nThe cure consists in three particulars. First, in expelling and\ncarrying away the blood. Secondly, in connecting and removing the\nfluxibility of the matter. Thirdly, in incorporating the veins and\nfaculties. For the first, to get rid of the superfluous blood, open a\nvein in the arm, and draw off as much blood as the strength of the\npatient will allow; not all at one time, but at intervals, for by those\nmeans the spirits are less weakened, and the reaction so much the\ngreater.\n\nApply cupping glasses to the breasts and also over the liver, and to\ncorrect the flexibility of the matter, purgative means, moderated by\nastringents, may be employed.\n\nIf it is caused by erosion, and salt phlegm, prepare with syrup of\nviolets, wormwood, roses, citron peel, succory, etc. Then make the\nfollowing purge:--mirabolans, half an ounce; trochisks of agaric, one\ndrachm; make a decoction with the plantain-water, and add syrup of roses\nlax. three ounces, and make a draught.\n\nIf caused by any mental excitement, prepare the body by syrup of roses,\nmyrtles, sorrel and parsley, mixed with plantain-water, knot-grass and\nendive. Then purge with the following draught:--Take one drachm each of\nthe void of mirabolans, and rhubarb, cinnamon fifteen grains; infuse for\na night in endive water; add to the strained water half an ounce of pulp\nof tamarinds and of cassia, and make a draught. If the blood be\nwaterish as it is in dropsical subjects and flows out easily on account\nof its thinness, it will be a good plan to draw off the water by purging\nwith agaric, elaterium and coloquintida. Sweating is also useful in this\ncase, as by it the noxious matter is carried off, and the motion of the\nblood to other parts. To produce sweating, employ cardus water, and\nmithridate, or a decoction of guaiacum and sarsaparilla. Gum guaiacum is\nalso a great producer of perspiration, and sarsaparilla pills, taken\nevery night before going to bed are also highly to be recommended. If\nthe blood pours out, without any evil quality in itself, then\nstrengthening means only should be employed, which is a thing to be done\nin cases of inordinate discharge.\n\nTake one scruple of ol. ammoniac, one drachm of treacle, half an ounce\nof conserve of roses and make an electuary with syrup of myrtle, or if\nthe discharge be of long standing take two drachms of matrix, one drachm\nof olilanum troch. de carbara, a scruple of balustium; make into a\npowder and form into pills with syrup of quinces, and take one before\nevery meal. Take two scruples each of troch. dechambede, scoriaferri,\ncoral and frankincense; pound these to a fine powder, and make into\nlozenges with sugar and plantain water. Asses' dung is also approved\nof, whether taken inwardly with syrup of quinces or applied outwardly\nwith steeled water. Galen by sending the juice of it into the womb by\nmeans of a syringe for four days consecutively, cured this immediate\nflow, which could not be checked in any other way. Let the patient take\none scruple and a half of pilon in water before going to bed; make a\nfumigation for the womb of mastic, frankincense and burnt frogs, adding\nthe hoof of a mule. Take an ounce each of the juice of knot-grass,\ncomfoly and quinces; a drachm of camphor; dip a piece of silk or cotton\ninto it and apply it to the place. Take half an ounce each of oil of\nmastic, myrtle, and quinces; a drachm each of fine bole and troch.\ndecardas, and a sufficient quantity of dragon's blood, make an ointment\nand apply it before and behind. Take an ounce and a half each of\nplantain, shepherd's purse and red rose leaves; an ounce of dried mint,\nand three ounces of bean flour; boil all these in plantain water and\nmake two plasters:--apply one before and one behind. If the blood flows\nfrom those veins which are terminated at the neck of the matrix, then it\nis not called an undue discharge of the _menses_, but haemorrhoids of\nthe womb. The same remedy, however, will serve for both, only the\ninstrumental cure will be a little different; for in uterine\nhaemorrhoids, the ends of the veins hang over like teats, which must\nbe removed by cutting, and then the veins closed with aloes, fine bole,\nburnt alum, myrrh, mastic, with comfoly-juice and knot grass, laid upon\nit like a plaster.\n\n[Illustration: _Position of the Embryos in a plural conception_]\n\n[Illustration: Process of Delivery.]\n\nThe air should be cold and dry, and all motion of the body should be\nprohibited. Her diet should consist of pheasants, partridges, grouse,\nrabbits, calves' feet, etc., and her drink should be mixed with the\njuice of pomegranates and quinces.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\n     _Of the Weeping of the Womb._\n\n\nThe weeping of the womb is an unnatural flow of blood, coming from it in\ndrops, like tears, and causing violent pains in it, and occurring at no\nfixed period or time. By some it is supposed to be produced by the\nexcessive flow of the courses, as they flow copiously and freely; this\nis continued, though only little at a time, and accompanied by great\npain and difficulty of passing it, and on this account it is compared\nto the strangury.\n\nThe cause is in the power, instrument or matter; in the power, on\naccount of its being enfeebled so that it cannot expel the blood, and\nwhich, remaining there, makes that part of the womb grow hard, and\ndistends the vessels, and from that, pains in the womb arise. In the\ninstrument, from the narrowness of the passage. Lastly, it may be the\nmatter of the blood which is at fault, and which may be in too great\nquantities; or the quality may be bad, so that it is thick and gross and\ncannot flow out as it ought to do, but only in drops. The signs will\nbest be ascertained by the patient's own account, but there will be\npains in the head, stomach and back, with inflammation, difficulty of\nbreathing and excoriation of the matrix. If the patient's strength will\npermit it, first open a vein in the arm, rub the upper parts and let a\ncord be fastened tightly round the arm, so that the force of the blood\nmay be carried backward; then apply such things as may relax the womb,\nand assuage the heat of the blood, as poultices made of bran, linseed,\nmallows, dog's mercury and artiplex. If the blood be viscous and thick,\nadd mugwort, calamint, dictain and betony to it, and let the patient\ntake about the size of a nutmeg of Venic treacle, and syrup of mugwort\nevery morning; make an injection of aloes, dog's mercury, linseed,\ngroundsel, mugwort, fenugreek, with sweet almond oil.\n\nSometimes it is caused by wind, and then bleeding must not be had\nrecourse to, but instead take one ounce of syrup of feverfew; half an\nounce each of honey, syrup of roses, syrup of stachus; an ounce each of\ncalamint water, mugwort, betony and hyssop, and make a julep. If the\npain continues, use this purge:--Take a drachm of spec. Hitrae, half an\nounce of diacatholicon, one ounce of syrup of roses and laxative, and\nmake a draught with a decoction of mugwort and the four cordial flowers.\nIf it proceeds from weakness, she must be strengthened, but if from\ngrossness of blood, let the quality of it be altered, as I have shown in\nthe preceding chapter. Lastly, if her bowels are confined, move them by\nan injection of a decoction of camomiles, betony, feverfew, mallows,\nlinseed, juniper-berries, cumminseed, aniseed, melilot, and add to it\nhalf an ounce of diacatholicon; two drachms of hiera piera, an ounce\neach of honey and oil and a drachm and a half of sol. nitre. The patient\nmust abstain from salt, acid and windy food.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\n     _The false Courses, or Whites._\n\n\nFrom the womb, not only the menstruous blood proceeds, but many\nevacuations, which were summed up by the ancients under the title of\n_rhoos gunaikeios_,[6] which is the distillation of a variety of corrupt\nhumours through the womb, which flow from the whole body or a part of\nit, varying both in courses and colour.\n\n\n\nCAUSE.\n\nThe cause is either promiscuously in the whole body, by a cacochymia; or\nweakness of it, or in some of its parts, as in the liver, which by a\nweakness of the blood producing powers, cause a production of corrupt\nblood, which then is reddish. Sometimes, when the fall is sluggish in\nits action, and does not get rid of those superfluities engendered in\nthe liver, the matter is yellowish. Sometimes it is in the spleen when\nit does not cleanse the blood of the dregs and rejected particles, and\nthen the matter which flows forth is blackish. It may also come from a\ncold in the head, or from any other decayed or corrupted member, but if\nthe discharge be white, the cause lies either in the stomach or loins.\nIn the stomach, by some crude substance there, and vitiated by grief,\nmelancholy or some other mental disturbance; for otherwise, if the\nmatter were only crude phlegm and noways corrupt, being taken into the\nliver it might be converted into the blood; for phlegm in the ventricle\nis called nourishment half digested; but being corrupt, though sent into\nthe liver it cannot be turned into nutriment, for the second decoction\nin the stomach cannot correct that which the first corrupted; and\ntherefore the liver sends it to the womb, which can neither digest nor\nreject it, and so it is voided out with the same colour which it had in\nthe ventricle. The cause may also be in the veins being overheated\nwhereby the spermatical matter flows out because of its thinness. The\nexternal causes may be moistness of the air, eating bad food, anger,\ngrief, sloth, too much sleep, costiveness.\n\nThe signs are bodily disturbances, shortness of breathing, and foul\nbreath, a distaste for food, swollen eyes and feet, and low spirits;\ndischarges of different colours, as red, black, green, yellow and white\nfrom the womb. It differs from the flowing of the courses and from too\nabundant menstruation, in so far as it keeps no certain period, and is\nof many colours, all of which spring from blood.\n\nIf the flux be phlegmatic, it will last long and be hard to cure, but if\nsickness or diarrhoea supervene, it carries off the humour and cures the\ndisease. If it is abundant it does not last so long, but it is more\ndangerous, for it will cause a cleft in the neck of the womb, and\nsometimes also an excoriation of the matrix; if melancholy, it must be\ndangerous and obstinate. The flux of the haemorrhoids, however, assists\nthe cure.\n\nIf the matter which flows out be reddish, open a vein in the arm; if\nnot, apply ligatures to the arms and shoulders. Galen boasts that he\ncured the wife of Brutus, who was suffering from this disease, by\nrubbing the upper part with honey.\n\nIf it is caused by the brain, take syrup of betony and marjoram. Give as\na purgative _Pill. coch._ or _Agaric_; make nasalia of sage, or hyssop\njuice, betony, flagella, with one drop of oil of _Elect. Dianth. Rosat.\nDiambrae, diamosci dulus_, one drachm of each, and make lozenges to be\ntaken every morning and evening. _Auri Alexandrina_, half a drachm at\nnight on going to bed. If these things have no effect, try suffumigation\nand plasters, as they are prescribed above.\n\nIf it arises from crudities of the stomach or from a cold, disordered\nliver, take a decoction of _lignum sanctum_ every morning, purge with\n_pill de agaric, de hermadact, de hiera, diacolinthis, foetid-agrigatio_;\ntake two drachms of elect. aromet-roses, one scruple each of dried\ncitron peel, nutmeg, long pepper; one drachm of draglanga; half a\nscruple each of _fantalum album_, ling, aloes; six ounces of sugar, with\nmint water: make lozenges of it, and take them before meals. If there be\nrepletion besides the rigidity of the liver, purging by means of an\nemetic is to be recommended, for which take three drachms of the\nelectuary diasatu. Galen allows diuretical remedies, such as _aqua\npetrofolma_.\n\nIf the discharge be angry, treat it with syrup of roses, violets, endive\nand succory; give a purge of mirabolans, manna, rhubarb, and cassia.\nTake two drachms of rhubarb, one of aniseed, and one scruple and a half\nof cinnamon; infuse them into six ounces of syrup of prunes, and add one\nounce of strained manna, and take it in the morning as required. Take\none drachm each of the following drugs: _diatonlanton, diacorant,\ndiarthod, abbaris, dyacydomei_, four ounces of sugar, and make into\nlozenges with plantain water. If the gall be sluggish, and does not stir\nthe bowels, give warm injections of a decoction of the four mollifying\nherbs, with honey of roses and aloes.\n\nIf the flow be bilious, treat the patient with syrup of maiden-hair;\nepithynium, polypody, borage, buglos, fumitary, hart's tongue and\nsyrups, bisantius, which must be made without vinegar, else it will\nassist the disease instead of nature, for melancholy is increased by the\nuse of vinegar, and both Hippocrates, Silvius and Avenzoar reject it as\ninjurious for the womb, and therefore not to be used internally in\nuterine diseases. _Pilulae sumariae, pilulae lud. delupina, lazuli\ndiosena_ and _confetio hamec_ are purges of bile. Take two ounces of\npounded prunes, one drachm of senna, a drachm and a half each of\nepithimium, polypody and fumitary, and an ounce of sour dates, and make\na decoction with endive water; take four ounces of it and add three\ndrachms of hamesech and three of manna. Or take a scruple each of _pil.\nindic. foetid, agarici, trochis ati_; one scruple of rhubarb pills, six\ngrains of lapis lazuli, make into pills with epithimium, and take them\nonce a week. Take three drachms of elect. loetificans. Galen three\ndrachms, a drachm each of _diamargaritum, calimi, diamosci dulus_; a\ndrachm of conserve of borage, violets and burglos; one drachm of candied\ncitron peel, seven ounces of sugar, and make into lozenges with rose\nwater.\n\nLastly let the womb be cleansed of all corrupt matter, and then be\nstrengthened. In order to purify it, make injections of the decoction of\nbetony, feverfew, spikenard, bismust, mercury and sage, and add two\nounces each of sugar and sweet almond oil; pessaries may also be made of\nsilk or cotton, softened in the juice of the above mentioned herbs.\n\nYou must prepare trochisks, thus, to strengthen the womb. Take one ounce\neach of mugwort, feverfew, myrrh, amber, mace, storax, ling aloes and\nred roses, and make lozenges or troches with mucilage of tragacanth;\nthrow one of them on to hot coals and fumigate the womb with red wine,\nin which mastic, fine bole, malustia and red roots have been decocted;\nanoint the matrix with oil of quinces and myrtles, and apply a plaster\nto it, for the womb; and let the woman take _diamosdum dulco_, _aract_,\nand _slemoticum_ every morning.\n\nA drying diet is recommended as best, because in these cases the body\nabounds with phlegmatic and crude humours. On this account, Hippocrates\nadvises the patient to go to bed supperless. Her food should consist of\npartridges, pheasant and grouse, roasted rather than boiled, too much\nsleep must be prohibited whilst moderate exercise is very advisable.\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[6] The female flowing.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\n     _The Suffocation of the Mother._\n\n\nThis, which if simply considered, will be found to be merely the cause\nof an effect, is called in English, \"the suffocation of the mother,\" not\nbecause the womb is strangled, but because by its retraction towards the\nmidriff and stomach, which presses it up, so that the instrumental cause\nof respiration, the midriff, is suffocated, and acting with the brain,\ncause the animating faculty, the efficient cause of respiration, also to\nbe interrupted, when the body growing cold, and the action weakened, the\nwoman falls to the ground as if she were dead.\n\nSome women remain longer in those hysterical attacks than others, and\nRabbi Moses mentions some who lay in the fit for two days. Rufus writes\nof one who continued in it for three days and three nights, and revived\nat the end of the three days. And I will give you an example so that we\nmay take warning by the example of other men. Paroetus mentions a\nSpanish woman who was suddenly seized with suffocation of the womb, and\nwas thought to be dead. Her friends, for their own satisfaction, sent\nfor a surgeon in order to have her opened, and as soon as he began to\nmake an incision, she began to move, and come to herself again with\ngreat cries, to the horror and surprise of all those present.\n\nIn order that the living may be distinguished from the dead, old writers\nprescribe three experiments. The first is, to lay a feather on the\nmouth, and by its movements you may judge whether the patient be alive\nor dead; the second is, to place a glass of water on the breast, and if\nit moves, it betokens life; the third is, to hold a bright, clean,\nlooking-glass to the mouth and nose, and if the glass be dimmed with a\nlittle moisture on it, it betokens life. These three experiments are\ngood, but you must not depend upon them too much, for though the feather\nand the glass do not move, and the looking-glass continues bright and\nclear, yet it is not a necessary consequence that she is dead. For the\nmovement of the lungs, by which breathing is produced, may be checked,\nso that she cannot breathe, and yet internal heat may remain, which is\nnot evident by the motion of the breast or lungs, but lies hidden in the\nheart and arteries.\n\nExamples of this we find in flies and swallows, who seem dead to all\noutward appearances, breathless and inanimate, and yet they live by that\nheat which is stored up in the heart and inward arteries. At the\napproach of summer, however, the internal heat, being restored to the\nouter parts, they are then brought to life again, out of their sleeping\ntrance.\n\nThose women, therefore, who apparently die suddenly, and from no visible\ncause, should not be buried until the end of three days, lest the living\nbe buried instead of the dead.\n\n\n\nCURE.\n\nThe part affected is the womb, of which there are two motions--natural\nand symptomatic. The natural motion is, when the womb attracts the male\nseed, or expels the infant, and the symptomatical motion, of which we\nare speaking, is a convulsive drawing up of the womb.\n\nThe cause is usually in the retention of the seed, or in the suppression\nof the menses, which causes a repletion of the corrupt humours of the\nwomb, from which a windy refrigeration arises, which produces a\nconvulsion of the ligaments of the womb. And just as it may arise from\nhumidity or repletion, so also, as it is a convulsion, it may be caused\nby dryness or emptiness. Lastly also, it may arise from abortion or from\ndifficult childbirth.\n\n\n\nSIGNS.\n\nOn the approach of suffocation of the womb the face becomes pale, there\nis a weakness of the legs, shortness of breathing, frigidity of the\nwhole body, with a spasm in the throat, and then the woman falls down,\nbereft of sense and motion; the mouth of the womb is closed up, and\nfeels hard when touched with the finger. When the paroxysm or the fit is\nover, she opens her eyes, and as she feels an oppression of the stomach,\nshe tries to vomit. And lest any one should be deceived into taking one\ndisease for another, I will show how it may be distinguished from those\ndiseases which most resemble it.\n\nIt differs from apoplexy, as it comes without the patient crying out; in\nhysterical fits also the sense of feeling is not altogether destroyed\nand lost, as it is in apoplexy; and it differs from epilepsy, as the\neyes are not distorted, and there is spongy froth from the mouth. That\nconvulsive motion also, which is frequently accompanied by symptoms of\nsuffocation, is not universal, as it is in epilepsy, but there is some\nconvulsion, but that without any violent agitation. In syncope both\nbreathing and the pulse fail, the face grows pale, and the woman faints\nsuddenly; but in hysterical attacks there are usually both breathing\nand pulse, though these are indistinct; the face is red and she has a\nforewarning of the approaching fit. It cannot, however, be denied that\nsyncope may accompany this feeling of suffocation. Lastly, it can be\ndistinguished from lethargy by the pulse, which is rapid in the former,\nbut weak in the latter.\n\n\n\nCURE.\n\nIn the cure of this affection, two things must be taken care of:--_In\nthe first place_, nature must be stimulated to expel these hurtful\nhumours which obscure the senses, so that the woman may be brought back\nfrom that sleepy fit. _Secondly_, during the intervals of the attack,\nproper remedies must be employed, in order to remove the cause.\n\nTo stimulate nature, apply cupping-glasses to the hips and navel: apply\nligatures to the thighs, rub the extremities with salt, mustard and\nvinegar, and shout and make a great noise in her ears. Hold asafoetida\nto the nose, or sacopenium steeped in vinegar; make her sneeze by\nblowing castor-powder, white pepper and hellebore up her nose; hold\nburnt feathers, hair, leather, or anything else with a strong, stinking\nsmell under her nose, for bad odours are unpleasant to nature, and the\nanimal spirits so strive against them, that the natural heat is restored\nby their means. The brain is sometimes so oppressed, that it becomes\nnecessary to burn the outer skin of the head with hot oil, or with a hot\niron, and strong injections and suppositories are useful. Take a handful\neach of sage, calamint, horehound, feverfew, marjoram, betony and\nhyssop; half an ounce of aniseed; two drachma each of coloquintida,\nwhite hellebore and salgem; boil these in two quarts of water till\nreduced to half; add two ounces of castor oil and two drachms of hiera\npiera and make an injection of it. Or take two ounces of boiled honey,\nhalf a scruple of spurge, four grains of coloquint, two grains of\nhellebore and drachm of salt; make a suppository. Hippocrates mentions a\nhysterical woman who could only be relieved of the paroxysms by pouring\ncold water on her: yet this is a strange cure, and should only be\nadministered in the heat of summer, when the sun is in the tropic of\nCancer.\n\nIf it be caused by the retention and corruption of the seed, let the\nmid-wife take oil of lilies, marjoram and bay leaves, and dissolve two\ngrains of civet in them, and the same quantity of musk, and at the\nmoment of the paroxysm let her dip her finger into the mixture and put\nit into the neck of the womb, and tickle and rub it with it.\n\nWhen the fit is over, proceed to remove the cause. If it arises from\nsuppression of the menses, look in Chapter XI, p. 102, for the cure. If\nit arises from the retention of the seed, a good husband will administer\nthe cure, but those who cannot honourably obtain that remedy, must use\nsuch means as will dry up and diminish the seed, as diaciminum,\ndiacalaminthes, etc. The seed of the agnus castus is highly valued as a\ndraught, whether taken inwardly, applied outwardly or used as a\nsuffumigation. It was held in high esteem by the Athenian women, for by\nits means they remained as pure vessels and preserved their chastity, by\nonly strewing it on the bed on which they lay, and hence the name of\n_agnus castus_, which was given to it, as denoting its effects. Make an\nissue on the inside of each leg, four inches below the knee, and then\nmake lozenges of two scruples of agric, half a scruple each of wild\ncarrot seed and ligne aloes; three drachms of washed turpentine, and\nmake a bolus with a conserve of flowers. Eight drachms of castor taken\nin white wine are very useful in this case, or you may make pills of it\nwith dog's tooth, and take them on going to bed. Take an ounce of white\nbriony root dried and cut up like carrots, put it into a little wine and\nplace it on the fire, and drink when warm. Take one scruple each of\nmyrrh, castor and asafoetida; four grains each of saffron and rue-seed,\nand make eight pills and take two every night on going to bed.\n\nGalen, from his own experience, recommends powdered agaric, of which he\nfrequently gave one scruple in white wine. Put a head of bruised garlic\non the navel at bed time, and fasten it with a swathing band. Make a\ngirdle for the waist of galbanum, and also a plaster for the stomach,\nand put civet and musk on one part of it, which must be applied to the\nnavel. Take two drachms each of pulvis benedict, and of troches of\nagaric, a sufficient quantity of mithridate, and make two pessaries, and\nthat will purge the matrix of wind and phlegm; foment the private parts\nwith salad oil in which some feverfew and camomiles have been boiled.\nTake a handful of roseleaves and two scruples of cloves, sew them in a\nlittle cloth and boil them for ten minutes in malmsey; then apply them,\nas hot as they can be borne, to the mouth of the womb, but do not let\nthe smell go up her nose. A dry diet must still be adhered to and the\nmoderate use of Venus is advisable. Let her eat aniseed biscuits\ninstead of bread, and roast meat instead of boiled.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\n     _Of the Descending or Falling of the Womb._\n\n\nThe descent of the womb is caused by a relaxation of the ligatures,\nwhereby the matrix is carried backward, and in some women it protrudes\nto the size of an egg, and there are two kinds of this, distinguished by\na descending and a precipitation. The descending of the womb is, when it\nsinks down to the entrance of the private parts, and appears either very\nlittle or not at all, to the eye. Its precipitation is when it is turned\ninside out like a purse, and hangs out between the thighs, like a\ncupping glass.\n\n\n\nCAUSE.\n\nThis is either external or internal. The external cause is difficult\nchildbirth, violent pulling away, or inexperience in drawing away the\nchild, violent coughing, sneezing, falls, blows, and carrying heavy\nburdens. The internal cause, is generally the flow of too much moisture\ninto these parts, which hinders the operation of the womb, whereby the\nligaments by which the womb is supported are relaxed. The particular\ncause, however, lies in the retention of the _semen_, or in the\nsuppression of the monthly courses.\n\n\n\nSIGNS.\n\nThe principal gut and the bladder are often so crushed, that the passage\nof both evacuations is hindered. If the urine flows out white and thick,\nand the midriff is interfered with, the loins suffer, the private parts\nare in pain, and the womb descends to them, or else comes clean out.\n\n\n\nPROGNOSTICS.\n\nIf an old woman is thus affected, the cure is very difficult, because it\nweakens the womb, and therefore, though it may be put back into its\nproper place, yet it is apt to get displaced again, by a very slight\namount of illness. And also with younger women, if this disease is\ninveterate, and if it is caused by putrefaction of the nerves, it is\nincurable.\n\n\n\nCURE.\n\nThe womb, being placed by nature between the straight gut and the\nbladder, ought not to be put back again until the powers of both are\nexcited. Now that nature is relieved of her burden, let the woman be\nlaid on her back so that her legs may be higher than her head; let her\nfeet be drawn up towards her private parts, and her knees spread open.\nThen apply oil of sweet almonds and lilies, or a decoction of mallows,\nbeet, fenugreek and linseed, to the swelling; when the inflammation is\nreduced, let the midwife rub her hand with oil of mastic, and restore\nthe womb to its proper place. When the matrix is up, the patient's\nposition must be changed. Her legs must be put out quite straight and\nlaid together, and apply six cupping glasses to her breast and navel.\nBoil feverfew, mugwort, red rose leaves and comfrey in red wine; make a\nsuffumigation for the matrix, and apply sweet scents to her nose. When\nshe comes out of her bath, give her an ounce of syrup of feverfew with a\ndrachm of dog's tooth (_mithridate_). Take three drachms each of\nlaudanum and mastic, and make a plaster for the navel of it, and then\nmake pessaries of asafoetida, saffron, comfrey, and mastic, adding a\nlittle castor oil.--Parius in such cases makes his pessaries only of\ncork, shaped like a small egg; he covered them with wax and mastic\ndissolved together, and fastening them to a thread, he put them into the\nwomb.\n\nThe immediate danger being now removed and the matrix returned to its\nnatural place the remote cause must be got rid of. If she be of full\nhabit of body open a vein, after preparing her with syrup of betony,\ncalamint, hyssop and feverfew. Give a purge, and if the stomach be\noppressed with any crude matter relieve it by emetics and by sudorifics\nof lignum sanctum and sassafras taken twenty days consecutively, which\ndry up the superfluous moisture, and consequently suppress the cause of\nthe disease.\n\nThe air should be hot and dry, and her diet hot and attenuating. Let her\nabstain from dancing, jumping, sneezing, as well as from all mental and\nbodily emotions, eat sparingly, not drink much, and be moderate in her\nsleep.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\n     _Of the Inflammation of the Womb._\n\n\nThe phlegmon, or inflammation of the matrix, is a humour which affects\nthe whole womb, and is accompanied by unnatural heat, by obstruction and\nby an accumulation of corrupt blood.\n\n\n\nCAUSE.\n\nThe cause of this affection is suppression of the courses, fullness of\nbody, the immoderate use of sexual intercourse, frequent handling the\ngenitals, difficult child-birth, violent motions of the body, falls,\nblows, to which may be added, the use of strong pessaries, whereby the\nwomb is frequently inflamed, cupping glasses, also, fastened to the\n_pubis_ and _hypogastrium_, draw the humours of the womb.\n\n\n\nSIGNS.\n\nThe signs are pains in the lower parts of the body and head, humours,\nsickness, coldness in the knees, throbbing in the neck, palpitation of\nthe heart. Often, also, there is shortness of breath because of the\nheart which is close to the midriff, and the breasts sympathising with\nthe swollen and painful womb. Besides this, if the front of the matrix\nbe inflamed, the privates suffer, and the urine is suppressed, or only\nflows with difficulty. If the hinder part be inflamed, the loins and\nback suffer, and the bowels are very costive; if the right side be\ninflamed, the right hip suffers, and the right leg is heavy and moves\nslowly, so that at times she seems almost lame. If, however, the left\nside of the womb be inflamed, then the left hip suffers and the left leg\nis weaker than the right. If the neck of the womb is affected, by\nputting her finger in, the midwife feels that its mouth is contracted\nand closed up, and that it is hard round it.\n\n\n\nCURE.\n\nIn the cure, first of all, let the humours which flow to the womb be\nexpelled. To effect this, after the bowels have been loosened by cooling\nclysters bleeding will be necessary. Therefore, open a vein in the arm,\nif she is not with child; the day after strike the saphena in both feet,\nfasten ligatures and cupping glasses to the arm, and rub the upper part.\nPurge gently with cassia, rhubarb, senna and myrobalan. Take one drachm\nof senna, a scruple of aniseed, myrobalan, half an ounce, with a\nsufficient quantity of barley water. Make a decoction and dissolve syrup\nof succory in it, and two ounces of rhubarb; pound half an ounce of\ncassia with a few drops of oil of aniseed and make a draught. At the\ncommencement of the disease, anoint the private parts and loins with oil\nof roses and quinces: make plasters of plantain, linseed, barley meal,\nmelilot, fenugreek, white of eggs, and if the pain be intense, a little\nlaudanum; foment the genitals with a decoction of poppy-heads, purslace,\nknot-grass and water-lilies. Make injections of goat's milk, rose water,\nclarified whey and honey of roses. When the disease is on a decline, use\ninjections of sage, linseed, mugwort, pennyroyal, horehound, fenugreek,\nand anoint the lower parts of the stomach with oil of camomiles and\nviolets.\n\nTake four ounces each of lily and mallow roots, a handful of dog's\nmercury, a handful and a half each of mugwort, feverfew, camomile\nflowers and melilot, bruise the herbs and roots, and boil them in a\nsufficient quantity of milk; then add two ounces each of fresh butter,\noil of camomiles and lilies, with a sufficient quantity of bran, make\ntwo plasters, and apply one before and the other behind.\n\nIf the tumour cannot be removed, but seems inclined to suppurate, take\nthree drachms each of fenugreek, mallow roots, boiled figs, linseed,\nbarley meal, dove's dung and turpentine; half a drachm of deer's suet,\nhalf a scruple of opium and make a plaster of wax.\n\nTake bay leaves, sage, hyssop, camomiles, and mugwort, and make an\ninfusion in water.\n\nTake half a handful of wormwood and betony and half a pint each of white\nwine and milk, boil them until reduced to half; then take four ounces of\nthis decoction and make an injection, but you must be careful that the\nhumours are not brought down into the womb. Take three drachms each of\nroast figs, and bruised dog's mercury; three drachms each of turpentine\nand duck's grease, and two grains of opium; make a pessary with wax.\n\nThe room must be kept cool, and all motions of the body, especially of\nthe lower parts, must be prohibited. Wakefulness is to be recommended,\nfor humours are carried inward by sleep, and thus inflammation is\nincreased. Eat sparingly, and drink only barley water or clarified whey,\nand eat chickens and chicken broth, boiled with endive, succory, sorrel,\nbugloss and mallows.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\n     _Of Scirrhous Tumours, or Hardness of the Womb._\n\n\nA _scirrhus_, or a hard unnatural swelling of the matrix is generally\nproduced by neglected, or imperfectly cured phlegm, which, insensibly,\nhinders the functions of the womb, and predisposes the whole body to\nlistlessness.\n\n\n\nCAUSE.\n\nOne cause of this disease may be ascribed to want of judgment on the\npart of the physician, as many empirics when attending to inflammation\nof the womb, chill the humour so much that it can neither pass backward\nnor forward, and hence, the matter being condensed, turns into a hard,\nstony substance. Other causes may be suppression of the menses,\nretention of the _Lochein_, commonly called the after purging; eating\ndecayed meat, as in the disordered longing after the _pleia_ to which\npregnant women are often subject. It may, however, also proceed from\nobstructions and ulcers in the matrix or from some evil affections of\nthe stomach or spleen.\n\nIf the bottom of the womb be affected, she feels, as it were, a heavy\nburden representing a mole,[7] yet differing from it, in that the\nbreasts are attenuated, and the whole body grows less. If the neck of\nthe womb be affected, no outward humours will appear; its mouth is\nretracted and feels hard to the touch, nor can the woman have sexual\nintercourse without great pain.\n\n\n\nPROGNOSTICS.\n\nConfirmed scirrhus is incurable, and will turn to cancer or incurable\ndropsy, and when it ends in cancer it proves fatal, because as the\ninnate heat of these parts is almost smothered, it can hardly be\nrestored again.\n\n\n\nCURE.\n\nWhere there is repletion, bleeding is advisable, therefore open a vein\nin one arm and in both feet, more especially if the menses are\nsuppressed.\n\nTreat the humours with syrup of borage, succory made with a poultice,\nand then take the following pills, according to the patient's strength.\n\nHiera piera six drachms, two and a half drachms each of black hellebore\nand polypody; a drachm and a half each of agaric, lapis lazuli, sal\nIndiae, coloquintida, mix them and make two pills. After purging,\nmollify the hardness as follows:--the privy parts and the neck of the\nwomb with an ointment of decalthea and agrippa; or take two drachms each\nof opopanax, bdellium, ammoniac and myrrh, and half a drachm of saffron;\ndissolve the gum in oil of lilies and sweet almond and make an ointment\nwith wax and turpentine. Apply diacatholicon ferellia below the navel,\nand make infusions of figs, mugwort, mallows, pennyroyal, althea, fennel\nroots, melilot, fenugreek and the four mollifying herbs, with oil of\ndill, camomiles and lilies dissolved in it. Take three drachms of gum\nbdellium, put the stone pyrites on the coals, and let her take the fumes\ninto her womb. Foment the privy parts with a decoction of the roots and\nleaves of dane wort. Take a drachm each of gum galbanum and opopanax,\nhalf an ounce each of juice of dane wort and mucilage of fenugreek, an\nounce of calve's marrow, and a sufficient quantity of wax, and make a\npessary. Or make a pessary of lead only, dip it in the above mentioned\nthings, and put it up.\n\nThe atmosphere must be kept temperate, and gross and salt meats such as\npork, bull beef, fish and old cheese, must be prohibited.\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[7] _Mole_: \"A somewhat shapeless, compact fleshy mass occurring in the\nuterus, due to the retention and continued life of the whole or a part\nof the foetal envelopes, after the death of the foetus (a _maternal or\ntrue mole_); or being some other body liable to be mistaken for this, or\nperhaps a polypus or false mole.\" (_Whitney's Century Dictionary_.)\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\n     _Of Dropsy of the Womb._\n\n\nUterine dropsy is an unnatural swelling, caused by the collection of\nwind or phlegm in the cavity, membranes or substance of the womb, on\naccount of the want of innate heat and of sufficient alimentation, and\nso it turns into an excrescence. The causes are, too much cold and\nmoisture of the milt and liver, immoderate drinking, eating\ninsufficiently cooked meat, all of which by causing repletion, overpower\nthe natural heat. It may likewise be caused by undue menstruation, or by\nany other immoderate evacuation. To these may be added abortions,\nsubcutaneous inflammations and a hardened swelling of the womb.\n\n\n\nSIGNS.\n\nThe signs of this affection are as follows:--The lower parts of the\nstomach, with the genitals, are swollen and painful; the feet swell, the\nnatural colour of the face is lost, the appetite becomes depraved, and\nthere is a consequent heaviness of the whole body. If the woman turns\nover in bed a noise like flowing water is heard, and sometimes water is\ndischarged from the womb. If the swelling is caused by wind and the\nstomach feels hot, it sounds like a drum; the bowels rumble, and the\nwind escapes through the neck of the womb with a murmuring noise. This\naffection may be distinguished from true conception in many ways, as\nwill be shown in the chapter on _conception_. It is distinguished from\ncommon dropsy, by the lower parts of the stomach being most swollen.\nAgain, it does not appear so injurious in this blood-producing\ncapability, nor is the urine so pale, nor the face so altered. The upper\nparts are also not so reduced, as in usual dropsy.\n\n\n\nPROGNOSTICS.\n\nThis affection foretells the ruin of the natural functions, by that\npeculiar sympathy it has with the liver, and that, therefore,\n_kathydria_, or general dropsy will follow.\n\n\n\nCURE.\n\nIn the cure of this disease, imitate the practice of Hippocrates, and\nfirst mitigate the pain with fomentations of melilot, dog's mercury,\nmallows, linseed, camomiles and althoea. Then let the womb be prepared\nwith syrup of stoebis, hyssop, calamint, mugwort, with distilled water,\na decoction of elder, marjoram, sage, origan, spearage, pennyroyal, and\nbetony. Purge with senna, agaric, rhubarb, and claterium. Take spicierum\nhier, a scruple each of rhubarb, agaric lozenges, and make into pills\nwith iris juice.\n\nWhen diseases arise from moistness, purge with pills, and in those\naffections which are caused by emptiness or dryness, purge by means of a\ndraught. Apply cupping glasses to the stomach and also to the navel,\nespecially if the swelling be flatulent. Put a seton on to the inside of\neach leg, the width of a hand below the knee. Take two drachms each of\nsparganium, diambrae, diamolet, diacaliminti, diacinamoni, myrrh\nlozenges, and a pound of sugar; make these into lozenges with betony\nwater, and take them two hours before meals. Apply a little bag of\ncamomiles, cummin and melilot boiled in oil of rue, to the bottom of the\nstomach as hot as it can be borne; anoint the stomach and the privates\nwith unguent agripp, and unguent aragon. Mix iris oil with it, and cover\nthe lower part of the stomach with a plaster of bay berries, or a\ncataplasm made of cummin, camomiles, briony root, adding cows' and\ngoats' dung.\n\nOur modern medical writers ascribe great virtues to tobacco-water,\ninjected into the womb by means of a clyster. Take a handful each of\nbalm of southernwood, origanum, wormwood, calamint, bay berries and\nmarjoram, and four drachms of juniper berries; make a decoction of these\nin water, and use this for fomentations and infusions. Make pessaries of\nstorax, aloes, with the roots of dictam, aristolochia and gentian, but\ninstead of this you may use the pessary prescribed at the end of Chapter\nXVII. Let her take aromatic electuary, disatyrion and candied eringo\nroots, every morning.\n\nThe air must be hot and dry, moderate exercise is to be taken and too\nmuch sleep prohibited. She may eat the flesh of partridges, larks,\ngrouse, hares, rabbits, etc., and let her drink diluted urine.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\n     _Of Moles[8] and False Conceptions._\n\n\nThis disease may be defined as an inarticulate shapeless piece of flesh,\nbegotten in the womb as if it were true conception. In this definition\nwe must note two things: (1) because a mole is said to be inarticulate\nor jointless, and without shape, it differs from monstrosities which are\nboth _formata_ and _articulata_; (2) it is said to be, as it were a true\nconception, which makes a difference between a true conception, and a\nmole, and this difference holds good in three ways. First, in its genus,\nbecause a mole cannot be said to be an animal: secondly, in the species,\nbecause it has not a human figure and has not the character of a man;\nthirdly, in the individual, for it has no affinity to the parent, either\nin the whole body, or in any particular part of it.\n\n\n\nCAUSE.\n\nThere is a great difference of opinion amongst learned writers as to the\ncause of this affection. Some think, that if the woman's seed goes into\nthe womb, and not the man's, that the mole is produced thereby. Others\ndeclare that it springs from the menstruous blood, but if these two\nthings were granted, then virgins, by having their courses or through\nnocturnal pollutions, might be liable to the same things, which none\nhave ever been yet. The true cause of this fleshy mole is due both to\nthe man and from the menstruous blood in the woman both mixing together\nin the cavity of the womb. Nature finding herself weak there (and yet\nwishing to propagate her species), labours to bring forth a defective\nconception rather than nothing and instead of a living creature produces\na lump of flesh.\n\n\n\nSIGNS.\n\nThe signs of a mole are these. The _menses_ are suppressed, the appetite\nbecomes depraved, the breasts swell and the stomach becomes inflated and\nhard. So far the symptoms in a pregnant woman and in one that has a mole\nare the same, but now this is how they differ. The first sign of\ndifference is in the movements of a mole. It may be felt moving in the\nwomb before the third month, whereas an infant cannot be so felt; yet\nthis motion cannot proceed from any intelligent power in the mole, but\nfrom the capabilities of the womb, and of the seminal vigour,\ndistributed through the substance of the mole, for it does not live an\nanimal, but a vegetable life, like a plant. _Secondly_, in a mole the\nstomach swells suddenly, but in true conception it is first contracted,\nand then rises by degrees. _Thirdly_, if the stomach is pressed with the\nhand, the mole gives way, and returns to its former position as soon as\nthe hand is removed. But a child in the womb does not move immediately\nthough pressed with the hand, and when the hand is removed it returns\nslowly or not at all. _Lastly_, no child continues in the womb more than\neleven months, but a mole continues for four or five years, more or\nless, sometimes according as it is fastened to the matrix; and I have\nknown a mole pass away in four or five months. If, however, it remains\nuntil the eleventh month, the woman's legs grow weak and the whole body\nwastes away, but the stomach still increases, which makes some women\nthink that they are dropsical, though there is no reason for it, for in\ndropsy the legs swell and grow big, but in a mole they wither and fall\naway.\n\n\n\nCURE.\n\nIn the school of Hippocrates we are taught that bleeding causes\nabortion, by taking all the nourishment which should preserve the life\nof the embryo. In order, therefore, that this faulty conception may be\ndeprived of that nourishing sap by which it lives, open the liver vein\nand saphena in both feet, apply cupping glasses to the loins and sides\nof the stomach, and when that has been done, let the uterine parts be\nfirst softened, and then the expulsive powers be stimulated to get rid\nof the burden.\n\nIn order to relax the ligatures of the mole, take three handfuls of\nmallows with their roots, two handfuls each of camomiles, melilot,\npellitory of the wall, violet leaves, dog's mercury, fennel roots,\nparsley, and one pound each of linseed and fenugreek; boil them in oil\nand let the patient sit in it up to her navel. When she comes out of her\nbath, she should anoint her private parts and loins with the following\nointment:--\"Take one ounce each of oil of camomiles, lilies and sweet\nalmonds: half an ounce each of fresh butter, laudanum and ammoniac, and\nmake an ointment with oil of lilies. Or, instead of this, you may use\nunguentum agrippae or dialthea. Take a handful of dog's mercury and\nalthea roots; half a handful of flos brochae ursini; six ounces of\nlinseed and barley meal. Boil all these together in honey and water and\nmake a plaster, and make pessaries of gum galbanum, bdellium, ammoniac,\nfigs, pig's fat and honey.\n\nAfter the ligaments of the mole are loosened, let the expulsive powers\nbe stimulated to expel the mole, and for doing this, all those drugs may\nbe used which are adapted to bring on the courses. Take one ounce of\nmyrrh lozenges, half an ounce each of castor, astrolachia, gentian and\ndittany and make them into a powder, and take one drachm in four ounces\nof mugwort water. Take calamint, pennyroyal, betony, hyssop, sage,\nhorehound, valerian, madder and savine; make a decoction in water and\ntake three ounces of it, with one and a half ounces of feverfew. Take\nthree scruples each of mugwort, myrrh, gentian and pill. coch.; a drachm\neach of rue, pennyroyal and opopanax, and the same of asafoetida,\ncinnamon, juniper-berries and borage, and make into pills with savine\njuice, to be taken every morning. Make an infusion of hyssop, bay\nleaves, bay berries, calamint, camomiles, mugwort and savine. Take two\nscruples each of sacopenium, mugwort, savine, cloves, nutmeg, bay\nberries; one drachm of galbanum; one scruple each of hiera piera and\nblack hellebore, and make a pessary with turpentine.\n\nBut if these medicaments are not procurable, then the mole must be\npulled out by means of an instrument called the _pes gryphis_,[9] which\nmay be done without much danger if it be performed by a skilful surgeon.\nAfter she has been delivered of the mole (because the woman will have\nlost much blood already), let the flow of blood be stopped as soon as\npossible.\n\nApply cupping glasses to the shoulders and ligatures to the arms, and if\nthis be not effective, open the liver vein in the arm.\n\nThe atmosphere of the room must be kept tolerably dry and warm, and she\nmust be put on a dry diet, to soothe the system; she must, however,\ndrink white wine.\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[8] _Mole_: \"A somewhat shapeless, compact fleshy mass occurring in the\nuterus, due to the retention and continued life of the whole or a part\nof the foetal envelopes, after the death of the foetus (_a maternal or\ntrue mole_); or being some other body liable to be mistaken for this, or\nperhaps a polypus or false mole.\" (_Whitney's Century Dictionary_.)\n\n[9] _Griffin's claw_, a peculiar hooked instrument.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\n     _Of Conception and its Signs, and How a Woman may know whether it\n     be Male or Female._\n\n\nIgnorance often makes women the murderesses of the fruit of their own\nbody, for many, having conceived and finding themselves out of order,\nand not rightly knowing the cause, go to the shop of their own conceit\nand take whatever they think fit, or else (as the custom is) they send\nto the doctor for a remedy, and he, not perceiving the cause of their\ntrouble, for nothing can be diagnosed accurately by the urine,\nprescribes what he thinks best; perhaps some diuretic or cathartic,\nwhich destroy the embryo. Therefore Hippocrates says, it is necessary\nthat women should be instructed in the signs of conception, so that the\nparent as well as the child may be saved from danger. I shall,\ntherefore, lay down some rules, by which every woman may know whether\nshe is pregnant or not, and the signs will be taken from the woman, from\nher urine, from the child and from experiments.\n\n\n\nSIGNS.\n\nThe first day after conception, she feels a slight quivering and\nchilliness throughout her body; there is a tickling of the womb and a\nlittle pain in the lower parts of her stomach. Ten or twelve days after\nshe feels giddy and her eyes dim and with circles round them; the\nbreasts swell and grow hard, with some pain and pricking in them, whilst\nthe stomach rises and sinks again by degrees, and there is a hardness\nabout the navel. The nipples grow red, the heart beats unusually\nstrongly, the natural appetite abates, and the woman has a craving after\nstrange food. The neck of the womb is contracted, so that it can\nscarcely be felt when the finger is put in. And the following is an\ninfallible sign; she is alternately in high spirits and melancholy; the\nmonthly courses cease without any apparent cause, the evacuations from\nthe bowels are retained unusually long, by the womb pressing on the\nlarge gut, and her desire for sexual intercourse is diminished. The\nsurest sign is taken from the infant, which begins to move in the womb\nin the third or fourth month, and not in the manner of a mole, mentioned\nabove, from side to side like a stone, but gently, as may be perceived\nby applying the hand cold upon the stomach.\n\n\n\nSIGNS TAKEN FROM THE URINE.\n\nThe best writers affirm that the water of a pregnant woman is white and\nhas little specks in it, like those in a sunbeam, ascending and\ndescending in it, of an opal colour, and when the sediment is disturbed\nby shaking the urine, it looks like carded wool. In the middle of\ngestation it turns yellow, then red and lastly black, with a red film.\nAt night on going to bed, let her drink water and honey, and if\nafterwards she feels a beating pain in her stomach and about the navel,\nshe has conceived. Or let her take the juice of cardius, and if she\nbrings it up again, that is a sign of conception. Throw a clean needle\ninto the woman's urine, put it into a basin and let it stand all night.\nIf it is covered with red spots in the morning, she has conceived, but\nif it has turned black and rusty, she has not.\n\n\n\nSIGNS TAKEN FROM THE SEX, TO SHOW WHETHER IT BE A MALE OR FEMALE.\n\nIf it is a male, the right breast swells first, the right eye is\nbrighter than the left, the face is high-coloured, because the colour is\nsuch as the blood is, and as the male is conceived of purer blood and of\nmore perfect seed than the female, red specks in the urine, and making a\nsediment, show that a male has been conceived, but if they are white, a\nfemale. Put the urine of the woman into a glass bottle, let it stand\ntightly stoppered for two days, then strain it through a fine cloth,\nand you will find little animals in it. If they are red, it is a male,\nbut if white, it is a female.\n\nThe belly is rounder and lies higher with a boy than with a girl, and\nthe right breast is harder and plumper than the left, and the right\nnipple redder, and the woman's colour is clearer than when she has\nconceived a girl.\n\nTo conclude, the most certain sign to give credit to, is the motion of\nthe child, for the male moves in the third month, and the female not\nuntil the fourth.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\n     _Of Untimely Births._\n\n\nWhen the fruit of the womb comes forth before the seventh month (that\nis, before it comes to maturity), it is said to be abortive; and, in\neffect, the children prove abortive, that is, do not live, that are born\nin the eighth month. Why children born in the seventh or ninth month\nshould live, and not those born in the eighth, may seem strange, and yet\nit is true. The cause of it is ascribed by some to the planet under\nwhich the child is born; for every month, from conception to birth, is\ngoverned by its own planet, and in the eighth month Saturn predominates,\nwhich is dry and cold; and coldness, being an utter enemy to life,\ndestroys the natural constitution of the child. Hippocrates gives a\nbetter reason, viz.:--The infant, being every way perfect and complete\nin the seventh month, wants more air and nourishment than it had before,\nand because it cannot obtain this, it tries for a passage out. But if it\nhave not sufficient strength to break the membranes and to come out as\nordained by nature, it will continue in the womb until the ninth month,\nso that by that time it may be again strengthened. But if it returns to\nthe attempt in the eighth month and be born, it cannot live, because the\nday of its birth is either past or is to come. For in the eighth month\nAvicunus says, it is weak and infirm, and therefore on being brought\ninto the cold air, its vitality must be destroyed.\n\n\n\nCURE.\n\nUntimely births may be caused by cold, for as it causes the fruit of the\ntree to wither and fall before it is ripe, so it nips the fruit of the\nwomb before it comes to perfection, or makes it abortive;--sometimes by\nhumidity, which weakens its power, so that the fruit cannot be retained\nuntil the proper time. It may be caused by dryness or emptiness, which\nrob the child of its nourishment, or by an alvine discharge, by bleeding\nor some other evacuation, by inflammation of the womb, and other severe\ndisease. Sometimes it is caused by joy, anger, laughter and especially\nby fear, for then the heat forsakes the womb, and goes to the heart, and\nso the cold sinks into the womb, whereby the ligaments are relaxed, and\nso abortion follows. On this account, Plato recommended that the woman\nshould avoid all temptations to excessive joy and pleasure, as well as\nall occasions for fear and grief. Abortion may also be caused by the\npollution of the air by filthy odours, and especially by the smell of\nthe smouldering wick of a candle, and also by falls, blows, violent\nexercise, jumping, dancing, etc.\n\n\n\nSIGNS.\n\nSigns of coming abortion are a falling away of the breast, with a flow\nof watery milk, pains in the womb, heaviness in the head, unusual\nweariness in the hips and thighs, and a flowing of the courses. Signs\ndenoting that the fruit is dead in the womb are sunken eyes, pains in\nthe head, frights, paleness of the face and lips, gnawing at the\nstomach, no movements of the infant; coldness and looseness of the\nmouth of the womb. The stomach falls down, whilst watery and bloody\ndischarges come from the womb.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\n     _Directions for Pregnant Women._\n\n\nThe prevention of untimely births consists in removing the\naforementioned causes, which must be effected both before and after\nconception.\n\nBefore conception, if the body be too hot, dry or moist, employ such\ntreatment as to counteract the symptoms; if the blood be vitiated purify\nit, if plethoric, open the liver vein; if gross, reduce it; if too thin\nstrengthen and nourish it. All the diseases of the womb must be removed\nas I have shown.\n\nAfter conception, let the atmosphere be kept temperate, do not sleep too\nmuch, avoid late hours, too much bodily exercise, mental excitement,\nloud noises and bad smells, and sweet smells must also be avoided by\nthose who are hysterical. Refrain from all things that may provoke\neither urine or menstruation, also salt, sour, and windy food, and keep\nto a moderate diet.\n\nIf the bowels are confined, relieve the stomach with injections made of\na decoction of mallows and violets, with sugar and salad oil; or make a\nbroth with borage, buglos, beetroot, and mallows, and add a little manna\nto it. If, on the other hand, she be troubled with looseness of the\nbowels, do not check it with medical advice, for all the uterine fluxes\nhave some bad qualities in them, which must be evacuated before the\ndischarge is stopped.\n\nA cough is another thing to which pregnant women are frequently liable,\nand which causes them to run great danger of miscarrying, by the shock\nand continual drain upon the vein. To prevent this shave off the hair\nfrom the coronal commissures, and apply the following plaster to the\nplace.\n\nTake half an ounce of resin, a drachm of laudanum, a drachm each of\ncitron peel, lignaloes and galbanum, with a sufficient quantity of\nliquid and dry styrax. Dissolve the gum in vinegar and make a plaster,\nand at night let her inhale the fumes of these lozenges, thrown upon\nbright coals. Take also a drachm and a half each of frankincense, styrax\npowder and red roses: eight drachms of sandrich, a drachm each of\nmastic, benjamin and amber; make into lozenges with turpentine, and\napply a cautery to the nape of the neck. And every night let her take\nthe following pills:--Half an ounce each of hypocistides, terrae\nsigilatae and fine bole; two drachms each of bistort, alcatia, styrax\nand calamint, and one drachm of cloves, and make into pills with syrup\nof myrtles.\n\nIn pregnant women, a corrupt matter is generated which, flowing to the\nventricle, spoils the appetite and causes sickness. As the stomach is\nweak, and cannot digest this matter, it sometimes sends it to the bowels\nwhich causes a flux of the stomach, which greatly adds to the weakness\nof the womb. To prevent all these dangers the stomach must be\nstrengthened by the following means:--Take one drachm each of lignaloes\nand nutmeg; a scruple each of mace, cloves, mastic, laudanum; an ounce\nof oil of spikenard; two grains of musk, half an ounce each of oil of\nmastic, quinces and wormwood, and make into an ointment for the stomach,\nto be applied before meals. Instead of this, however, you may use\ncerocum stomachile Galeni. Take half an ounce each of conserve of\nborage, buglos and atthos; two drachms each of confection of hyacinths,\ncandied lemon peel, specierum, diamarg, pulo. de genunis: two scruples\neach of nutmeg and diambra; two drachma each of peony roots and\ndiacoratum, and make into an electuary with syrup of roses, which she\nmust take twice a day before meals. Another affection which troubles a\npregnant woman is swelling of the legs, which happens during the first\nthree months, by the superfluous humours descending from the stomach and\nliver. To cure this, take two drachms of oil of roses, and one drachm\neach of salt and vinegar; shake them together until the salt is\ndissolved, and anoint the legs with it hot, rubbing it well in with the\nhand. It may be done without danger during the fourth, fifth and sixth\nmonths of pregnancy; for a child in the womb is compared to an apple on\nthe tree. For the first three months it is a weak and tender subject,\nlike the apple, to fall away; but afterwards, when the membranes become\nstrengthened, the fruit remains firmly fastened to the womb, and not\nsubject to mischances, and so it remains, until the seventh month, until\nwhen it is near the time, the ligaments are again relaxed (like the\napple that is almost ripe).\n\nThey grow looser every day, until the appointed time for delivery; if,\ntherefore, the body is in real need of purging, the woman may do it\nwithout danger in the fourth, fifth or sixth month, but neither before\nnor after that unless in the case of some violent illness, in which it\nis possible that both mother and child may perish. Apply plasters and\nointments to the loins in order to strengthen the fruit in the womb.\nTake one drachm each of gum Arabic, galangale, bistort, hypocistid and\nstorax, a drachm and a half each of fine bole, nutmeg, mastic, balaust,\ndragon's blood and myrtle berries, and a sufficient quantity of wax and\nturpentine and make into a plaster. Apply it to the loins in the winter,\nand remove it every twenty-four hours, lest the loins should become\noverheated by it. In the interim, anoint the private parts and loins\nwith _countess' balsam_ but if it be summer time and the loins hot, the\nfollowing plaster will be more suitable. Take a pound of red roses, two\ndrachms each of mastic and red Sanders, one drachm each of bole ammoniac\nand red coral, two drachms and a half each of pomegranate seed and\nprepared coriander seed, two scruples of barberries, one ounce each of\noil of mastic and of quinces, and plantain-juice.\n\nAnoint the loins also with sandalwood ointment, and once a week wash\nthem with two parts of rose-water and one of white wine mixed together\nand warmed at the fire. This will assuage the heat of the loins, get rid\nof the oil of the plaster from the pores of the skin, and cause the\nfresh ointment or plaster to penetrate more easily, and to strengthen\nthe womb. Some think that a load-stone laid upon the navel, keeps a\nwoman from abortion. The same thing is also stated of the stone called\n_aetites_ or eagle-stone, if it is hung round the neck. Samian stone has\nthe same virtue.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\n     _Directions for Women when they are taken in Labour, to ensure\n     their safe Delivery, and Directions for Midwives._\n\n\nHaving thus given the necessary directions to pregnant women, how to\nmanage their health during their pregnancy, I will now add what is\nnecessary for them to do, in order that they may be safely delivered.\n\nWhen the time of birth draws near, the woman must be sure to send for a\nskilful midwife, and that rather too soon than too late. She must have a\npallet bed ready to place it near the fire, so that the midwife and\nthose who are to help her, may be able to pass round it, and give\nassistance on either side, as may be required. A change of linen must be\nin readiness, and a small stool to rest her feet against, as she will\nhave more power when her legs are bent, than when they are straight.\n\nWhen everything is thus ready, and when the woman feels the pains coming\non, if the weather be not cold, she should walk about the room, rest on\nthe bed occasionally, waiting for the breaking of the waters, which is a\nfluid contained in one of the outward membranes, and which flows out\nthence, when the membrane is broken by the struggles of the child. There\nis no special time for this discharge, though it generally takes place\nabout two hours before the birth. Movements will also cause the womb to\nopen and dilate, and when lying long in bed will be uncomfortable. If\nshe be very weak she may take some mild cordial to give her strength, if\nher pain will permit her; and if the labour be tedious, she may be\nrevived with chicken or mutton broth, or she may take a poached egg; but\nshe must be very careful not to eat to excess.\n\nThere are many postures in which women are delivered; some sitting in a\nchair, supported by others, or resting on the bed; some again upon their\nknees and resting on their arms; but the safest and most commodious way,\nis in the bed, and then the midwife ought to observe the following\nrules:--Let her lay the woman upon her back, with her head a little\nraised by means of a pillow, with similar supports for her loins and\nbuttocks, which latter should also be raised, for if she lies low, she\ncannot be delivered so easily. Then let her keep her knees and thighs as\nfar apart as she can, her legs bent inward towards each other, and her\nbuttocks, the soles of her feet and her heels being placed upon a small\nrest, placed for the purpose, so that she may be able to strain the\nstronger. In case her back should be very weak, a swathing band should\nbe placed under it, the band being doubled four times and about four\ninches broad. This must be held by two persons who must raise her up a\nlittle every time her pains come on, with steady hands and in even time,\nbut if they be not exact in their movements, they had better leave her\nalone. At the same time two women must hold her shoulders so that she\nmay strain out the foetus more easily; and to facilitate this let one\nstroke or press the upper part of her stomach gently and by degrees. The\nwoman herself must not be nervous or downhearted, but courageous, and\nforcing herself by straining and holding her breath.\n\nWhen delivery is near, the midwife must wait patiently until the child's\nhead, or some limb, bursts the membranes, for if the midwife through\nignorance, or through haste to go to some other woman, as some have\ndone, tears the membrane with her nails, she endangers both the woman\nand the child; for by lying dry and lacking that slipperiness which\nshould make it easy, it comes forth with severe pains.\n\nWhen the head appears, the midwife must hold it gently between her\nhands, and draw the child, whenever the woman's pains are upon her, but\nat no other times; slipping her forefingers under its armpits by\ndegrees, and not using a rough hand in drawing it out, lest the tender\ninfant might become deformed by such means. As soon as the child is\ntaken out, which is usually with its face downwards,--it should be laid\nupon its back, that it may receive external respiration more freely;\nthen cut the navel string about three inches from the body, tying the\nend which adheres to it with a silk string, as closely as you can; then\ncover the child's head and stomach well, allowing nothing to touch its\nface.\n\nWhen the child has been thus brought forth, if it be healthy lay it\naside, and let the midwife attend to the patient by drawing out the\nafterbirth; and this she may do by wagging and stirring it up and down,\nand afterwards drawing it out gently. And if the work be difficult, let\nthe woman hold salt in her hands, close them tightly and breathe hard\ninto them, and by that she will know whether the membranes are broken or\nnot. It may also be known by making her strain or vomit; by putting her\nfingers down her throat, or by straining or moving her lower parts, but\nlet all be done immediately. If this should fail, let her take a draught\nof elder water, or the yolk of a new laid egg, and smell a piece of\nasafoetida, especially if she is troubled with a windy colic. If she\nhappen to take cold, it is a great obstruction to the afterbirth; in\nsuch cases the midwife ought to chafe the woman's stomach gently, so as\nto break, not only the wind, but also to force the secundine to come\ndown. But if these should prove ineffectual, the midwife must insert her\nhand into the orifice of the womb and draw it out gently.\n\nHaving thus discussed common births, or such as are generally easy, I\nshall now give directions in cases of extremity.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI\n\n     _What ought to be done in cases of extremity, especially in women\n     who, in labour, are attacked by a flux of blood, convulsions and\n     fits of wind._\n\n\nIf the woman's labour be hard and difficult, greater care must be taken\nthan at other times. And, first of all, the situation of the womb and\nher position in lying must be across the bed, and she must be held by\nstrong persons to prevent her from slipping down or moving during the\nsurgeon's operations. Her thighs must be put as far apart as possible,\nand held so, whilst her head must rest upon a bolster, and her loins be\nsupported in the same manner. After her rump and buttocks have been\nraised, be careful to cover her stomach, belly and thighs with warm\nclothes, to keep them from the cold.\n\nWhen the woman is in this position, let the operator put up his or her\nhand, if the neck of the womb be dilated, and remove the coagulated\nblood that obstructs the passage of the birth; and by degrees make way\ngently, let him remove the infant tenderly, having first anointed his\nhand with butter or some harmless salve. And if the waters have not come\ndown, they may then be let out without difficulty. Then, if the infant\nshould attempt to come out head foremost, or crosswise, he should turn\nit gently, to find the feet. Having done this, let him draw out one and\nfasten it with ribbon and then put it up again, and by degrees find the\nother, bringing them as close together and as even as possible, and\nbetween whiles let the woman breathe, and she should be urged to strain\nso as to help nature in the birth, that it may be brought forth. And to\ndo this more easily, and that the hold may be surer, wrap a linen cloth\nround the child's thighs, taking care to bring it into the hand face\ndownwards.\n\nIn case of flux of blood, if the neck of the womb be open, it must be\nconsidered whether the infant or the _secundine_, generally called the\nafterbirth, comes first, and as the latter happens to do so\noccasionally, it stops the mouth of the womb and hinders the birth, and\nendangers both the woman's and the child's life. In this case the\nafterbirth must be removed by a quick turn. They have deceived many\npeople, who, feeling their softness, have supposed that the womb was not\ndilated, and by that means the woman and child, or at least the latter,\nhave been lost. When the afterbirth has been removed, the child must be\nsought for and drawn out, as directed above; and if the woman or the\nchild die in such a case, the midwife or the surgeon are blameless\nbecause they have used their best endeavours.\n\nIf it appears upon examination that the afterbirth comes first, let the\nwoman be delivered as quickly as possible, because a great flow of blood\nwill follow, for the veins are opened, and on this account two things\nhave to be considered.\n\n_First_:--The manner in which the afterbirth advances, whether it be\nmuch or little. If the former, and the head of the child appears first,\nit may be guided and directed towards the neck of the womb, as in the\ncase of natural birth, but if there appears any difficulty in the\ndelivery, the best way is to look for the feet, and draw it out by them;\nbut if the latter, the afterbirth may be put back with a gentle hand,\nand the child taken out first. But if the afterbirth has come so far\nforward that it cannot be put back, and the child follows it closely,\nthen the afterbirth must be removed very carefully, and as quickly as\nmay be, and laid aside without cutting the entrail that is fastened to\nit; for you may be guided to the infant by it, which must be drawn out\nby the feet, whether it be alive or dead, as quickly as possible; though\nthis is not to be done except in cases of great necessity, for in other\ncases the afterbirth ought to come last.\n\nIn drawing out a dead child, these directions should be carefully\nfollowed by the surgeon, viz.--If the child be found to be dead, its\nhead appearing first, the delivery will be more difficult; for it is an\nevident sign that the woman's strength is beginning to fail her, that,\nas the child is dead and has no natural power, it cannot be assisting in\nits own delivery in any way. Therefore the most certain and the safest\nway for the surgeon is, to put up his left hand, sliding it into the\nneck of the womb, and into the lower part of it towards the feet, as\nhollow in the palm as he can, and then between the head of the infant\nand the neck of the womb. Then, having a forceps in the right hand, slip\nit up above the left hand, between the head of the child and the flat of\nthe hand, fixing it in the bars of the temple near the eye. As these\ncannot be got at easily in the occipital bone, be careful still to keep\nthe hand in its place, and gently move the head with it, and so with the\nright hand and the forceps draw the child forward, and urge the woman to\nexert all her strength, and continue drawing whenever her pains come on.\nWhen the head is drawn out, he must immediately slip his hand under the\nchild's armpits, and take it quite out, and give the woman a piece of\ntoasted white bread, in a quarter of a pint of Hippocras wine.\n\nIf the former application fails let the woman take the following potion\nhot when she is in bed, and remain quiet until she begins to feel it\noperating.\n\nTake seven blue figs, cut them into pieces and add five grains each of\nfenugreek, motherwort and rue seed, with six ounces each of water of\npennyroyal and motherwort; reduce it to half the quantity by boiling and\nafter straining add one drachm of troches of myrrh and three grains of\nsaffron; sweeten the liquor with loaf sugar, and spice it with\ncinnamon.--After having rested on this, let her strain again as much as\npossible, and if she be not successful, make a fumigation of half a\ndrachm each of castor, opopanax, sulphur and asafoetida, pounding them\ninto a powder and wetting the juice of rue, so that the smoke or fumes\nmay go only into the matrix and no further.\n\nIf this have not the desired effect, then the following plaster should\nbe applied:--Take an ounce and a half of balganum, two drachms of\ncolocynth, half an ounce each of the juice of motherwort and of rue, and\nseven ounces of virgin bees' wax: pound and melt them together,\nspreading them on a cere-cloth so that they may spread from the navel to\nthe os pubis and extending to the flanks, at the same time making a\npessary of wood, enclosing it in a silk bag, and dipping it in a\ndecoction of one drachm each of sound birthwort, savin colocinthis,\nstavescare and black hellebore, with a small sprig or two of rue.\n\nBut if these things have not the desired effect, and the woman's danger\nincreases, let the surgeon use his instruments to dilate and widen the\nwomb, for which purpose the woman must be placed on a chair, so that she\nmay turn her buttocks as far from its back as possible, at the same time\ndrawing up her legs as close as she can and spreading her thighs open as\nwide as possible; or if she is very weak it may be better to lay her on\nthe bed with her head downwards, her buttocks raised and both legs drawn\nup. Then the surgeon may dilate the womb with his speculum matrices and\ndraw out the child and the afterbirth together, if it be possible, and\nwhen this is done, the womb must be well washed and anointed, and the\nwoman put back to bed and comforted with spices and cordials. This\ncourse must be adopted in the case of dead children and moles,\nafterbirths and false births, which will not come out of themselves, at\nthe proper time. If the aforementioned instrument will not widen the\nwomb sufficiently, then other instruments, such as the drake's bill, or\nlong pincers, ought to be used.\n\nIf any inflammation, swelling or congealed blood happens to be\ncontracted in the womb under the film of these tumours, either before or\nafter the birth, let the midwife lance it with a penknife or any\nsuitable instrument, and squeeze out the matter, healing it with a\npessary dipped in oil of red roses.\n\nIf the child happens at any time to be swollen through cold or violence,\nor has contracted a watery humour, if it is alive, such means must be\nused as are least injurious to the child or mother; but if it be dead,\nthe humours must be let out by incisions, to facilitate the birth.\n\nIf, as often happens, the child is presented feet foremost, with the\nhands spreading out from the hips, the midwife must in such a case be\nprovided with the necessary ointments to rub and anoint the child with,\nto help it coming forth, lest it should turn into the womb again,\nholding both the infant's arms close to the hips at the same time, that\nit may come out in this manner; but if it proves too big, the womb must\nbe well anointed. The woman should also take a sneezing powder, to make\nher strain; the attendant may also stroke her stomach gently to make the\nbirth descend, and to keep it from returning.\n\nIt happens occasionally, that the child presenting itself with the feet\nfirst, has its arms extended above its head; but the midwife must not\nreceive it so, but put it back into the womb, unless the passage be\nextraordinarily wide, and then she must anoint both the child and the\nwomb, and it is not safe to draw it out, which must, therefore, be done\nin this manner.--The woman must lie on her back with her head low and\nher buttocks raised; and then the midwife must compress the stomach and\nthe womb with a gentle hand, and by that means put the child back,\ntaking care to turn the child's face towards the mother's back, raising\nup its thighs and buttocks towards the navel, so that the birth may be\nmore natural.\n\nIf the child happens to come out with one foot, with the arm extended\nalong the side and the other foot turned backwards; then the woman must\nbe immediately put to bed and laid in the above-described position; when\nthe midwife must immediately put back the foot which appears so, and the\nwoman must rock herself from side to side, until she finds that the\nchild has turned, but she must not alter her position nor turn upon her\nface. After this she may expect her pains and must have great assistance\nand cordials so as to revive and support her spirits.\n\nAt other times it happens that the child lies across in the womb, and\nfalls upon its side; in this case the woman must not be urged in her\nlabour; therefore, the midwife when she finds it so, must use great\ndiligence to reduce it to its right form, or at least to such a form in\nthe womb as may make the delivery possible and most easy by moving the\nbuttocks and guiding the head to the passage; and if she be successful\nin this, let the woman rock herself to and fro, and wait with patience\ntill it alters its way of lying.\n\nSometimes the child hastens simply by expanding its legs and arms; in\nwhich, as in the former case, the woman must rock herself, but not with\nviolence, until she finds those parts fall to their proper station; or\nit may be done by a gentle compression of the womb; but if neither of\nthem avail, the midwife must close the legs of the infant with her hand,\nand if she can get there, do the like by the arms, and so draw it forth;\nbut if it can be reduced of itself to the posture of a proper birth it\nis better.\n\nIf the infant comes forward, both knees forward, and the hands hanging\ndown upon the thighs, then the midwife must put both knees upward, till\nthe feet appear; taking hold of which with her left hand let her keep\nher right hand on the side of the child, and in that posture endeavour\nto bring it forth. But if she cannot do this, then also the woman must\nrock herself until the child is in a more convenient posture for\ndelivery.\n\nSometimes it happens that the child presses forward with one arm\nextended on its thighs, and the other raised over its head, and the feet\nstretched out at length in the womb. In such case, the midwife must not\nattempt to receive the child in that posture, but must lay the woman on\nthe bed in the manner aforesaid, making a soft and gentle compression on\nher belly, oblige the child to retire; which if it does not, then must\nthe midwife thrust it back by the shoulder, and bring the arm that was\nstretched above the head to its right station; for there is most danger\nin these extremities; and, therefore, the midwife must anoint her hands\nand the womb of the woman with sweet butter, or a proper pomatum, and\nthrust her hand as near as she can to the arm of the infant, and bring\nit to the side. But if this cannot be done, let the woman be laid on the\nbed to rest a while; in which time, perhaps, the child may be reduced to\na better posture; which the midwife finding, she must draw tenderly the\narms close to the hips and so receive it.\n\nIf an infant come with its buttocks foremost, and almost double, then\nthe midwife must anoint her hand and thrust it up, and gently heaving up\nthe buttocks and back, strive to turn the head to the passage, but not\ntoo hastily, lest the infant's retiring should shape it worse: and\ntherefore, if it cannot be turned with the hand, the woman must rock\nherself on the bed, taking such comfortable things as may support her\nspirits, till she perceives the child to turn.\n\nIf the child's neck be bowed, and it comes forward with its shoulders,\nas it sometimes doth, with the hands and feet stretched upwards, the\nmidwife must gently move the shoulders, that she may direct the head to\nthe passage; and the better to effect it, the woman must rock herself as\naforesaid.\n\nThese and other like methods are to be observed in case a woman hath\ntwins, or three children at a birth, which sometimes happens: for as\nthe single birth hath but one natural and many unnatural forms, even so\nit may be in a double and treble birth.\n\nWherefore, in all such cases the midwife must take care to receive the\nfirst which is nearest the passage; but not letting the other go, lest\nby retiring it should change the form; and when one is born, she must be\nspeedy in bringing forth the other. And this birth, if it be in the\nnatural way, is more easy, because the children are commonly less than\nthose of single birth, and so require a less passage. But if this birth\ncome unnaturally, it is far more dangerous than the other.\n\nIn the birth of twins, let the midwife be very careful that the\nsecundine be naturally brought forth, lest the womb, being delivered of\nits burden, fall, and so the secundine continue longer there than is\nconsistent with the woman's safety.\n\nBut if one of the twins happens to come with the head, and the other\nwith the feet foremost, then let the midwife deliver the natural birth\nfirst; and if she cannot turn the other, draw it out in the posture in\nwhich it presses forward; but if that with its feet downward be\nforemost, she may deliver that first, turning the other aside. But in\nthis case the midwife must carefully see that it be not a monstrous\nbirth, instead of twins, a body with two heads, or two bodies joined\ntogether, which she may soon know if both the heads come foremost, by\nputting up her hand between them as high as she can; and then, if she\nfinds they are twins she may gently put one of them aside to make way\nfor the other, taking the first which is most advanced, leaving the\nother so that it do not change its position. And for the safety of the\nother child, as soon as it comes forth out of the womb, the midwife must\ntie the navel-string, as has before been directed, and also bind, with a\nlarge, long fillet, that part of the navel which is fastened to the\nsecundine, the more readily to find it.\n\nThe second infant being born, let the midwife carefully examine whether\nthere be not two secundines, for sometimes it falls out, that by the\nshortness of the ligaments it retires back to the prejudice of the\nwoman. Wherefore, lest the womb should close, it is most expedient to\nhasten them forth with all convenient speed.\n\nIf two infants are joined together by the body, as sometimes it\nmonstrously falls out, then, though the head should come foremost, yet\nit is proper, if possible, to turn them and draw them forth by the feet,\nobserving, when they come to the hips, to draw them out as soon as may\nbe. And here great care ought to be used in anointing and widening the\npassage. But these sort of births rarely happening, I need to say the\nless of them, and, therefore, shall show how women should be ordered\nafter delivery.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII\n\n     _How child-bearing Women ought to be ordered after Delivery._\n\n\nIf a woman has had very hard labour, it is necessary that she should be\nwrapped up in a sheep's skin, taken off before it is cold, applying the\nfleshy side to her veins and belly, or, for want of this, the skin of a\nhare or coney, flayed off as soon as killed, may be applied to the same\nparts, and in so doing, a dilation being made in the birth, and the\nmelancholy blood being expelled in these parts, continue these for an\nhour or two.\n\nLet the woman afterwards be swathed with fine linen cloth, about a\nquarter of a yard in breadth, chafing the belly before it is swathed,\nwith oil of St. John's wort; after that raise up the matrix with a linen\ncloth, many times folded: then with a linen pillar or quilt, cover the\nflanks, and place the swathe somewhat above the haunches, winding it\npretty stiff, applying at the same time a linen cloth to her nipples; do\nnot immediately use the remedies to keep back the milk, by reason the\nbody, at such a time, is out of frame; for there is neither vein nor\nartery which does not strongly beat; and remedies to drive back the\nmilk, being of a dissolving nature, it is improper to apply them to the\nbreasts during such disorder, lest by doing so, evil humours be\ncontracted in the breast. Wherefore, twelve hours at least ought to be\nallowed for the circulation and settlement of the blood, and what was\ncast on the lungs by the vehement agitation during labour, to retire to\nits proper receptacles.\n\nSome time after delivery, you may take a restrictive of the yolks of two\neggs, and a quarter of a pint of white wine, oil of St. John's wort, oil\nof roses, plantain and roses water, of each an ounce, mix them together,\nfold a linen cloth and apply it to the breast, and the pains of those\nparts will be greatly eased.\n\nShe must by no means sleep directly after delivery; but about four hours\nafter, she may take broth, caudle or such liquid victuals as are\nnourishing; and if she be disposed to sleep it may be very safely\npermitted. And this is as much, in the case of a natural birth, as ought\nimmediately to be done.\n\nBut in case of an extremity or an unnatural birth, the following rules\nought to be observed:--\n\nIn the first place, let the-woman keep a temperate diet, by no means\novercharging herself after such an extraordinary evacuation, not being\nruled by giving credit to unskilful nurses, who admonish them to feed\nheartily, the better to repair the loss of blood. For that blood is not\nfor the most part pure, but such as has been retained in the vessels or\nmembrane better voided, for the health of the woman, than kept, unless\nthere happen an extraordinary flux of the blood. For if her nourishment\nbe too much, which curding, very often turns to imposthumes.\n\nTherefore, it is requisite, for the first five days especially, that she\ntake moderately panado broth, poached eggs, jelly of chickens or calves'\nfeet or fresh barley broth; every day increasing the quantity a little.\n\nAnd if she intend to be a nurse to the child, she may take something\nmore than ordinary, to increase the milk by degrees, which must be of no\ncontinuance, but drawn off by the child or otherwise. In this case\nlikewise, observe to let her have coriander or fennel seeds boiled in\nbarley broth; but by all means, for the time specified, let her abstain\nfrom meat. If no fever trouble her, she may drink now and then a small\nquantity of pure white wine or of claret, as also syrup of maidenhead or\nany other syrup that is of an astringent quality, taken in a little\nwater well boiled.\n\nAfter the fear of fever or contraction of humour in the breast is over,\nshe may be nourished more plentifully with the broth of capons, pullets,\npigeons, mutton, veal, etc., which must not be until after eight days\nfrom the time of delivery; at which time the womb, unless some accident\nbinds, has purged itself. It will then likewise be expedient to give\ncold meats, but let it be sparingly, so that she may the better gather\nstrength. And let her, during the time, rest quietly and free from\ndisturbance, not sleeping in the day time, if she can avoid it.\n\nTake of both mallows and pellitory of the wall a handful; camomile and\nmelilot flowers, of each a handful; aniseed and fennel of each two\nounces; boil them in a decoction of sheep's head and take of this three\nquarts, dissolving in it common honey, coarse sugar and fresh butter and\nadminister it clysterwise; but if it does not penetrate well take an\nounce of catholicon.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII\n\n     _Acute Pains after Delivery._\n\n\nThese pains frequently afflict the woman no less than the pain of her\nlabour, and are, by the more ignorant, many times taken the one for the\nother; and sometimes they happen both at the same instant; which is\noccasioned by a raw, crude and watery matter in the stomach, contracted\nthrough ill digestion; and while such pains continue, the woman's\ntravail is retarded.\n\nTherefore, to expel fits of the cholic, take two ounces of oil of sweet\nalmonds, and an ounce of cinnamon water, with three or four drops of\nsyrup of ginger; then let the woman drink it off.\n\nIf this does not abate the pain, make a clyster of camomile,\nbalm-leaves, oil of olives and new milk, boiling the former in the\nlatter. Administer it as is usual in such cases. And then, fomentation\nproper for dispelling the wind will not be amiss.\n\nIf the pain produces a griping in the guts after delivery, then take of\nthe root of great comfrey, one drachm, nutmeg and peach kernels, of each\ntwo scruples, yellow amber, eight drachms, ambergris, one scruple;\nbruise them together, and give them to the woman as she is laid down, in\ntwo or three spoonfuls of white wine; but if she be feverish, then let\nit be in as much warm broth.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTHE\n\nFAMILY PHYSICIAN\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nBEING\n\nCHOICE AND APPROVED\n\nREMEDIES\n\nFOR SEVERAL DISEASES\n\nINCIDENTAL TO HUMAN BODIES\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n_For the Apoplexy._\n\nTake man's skull prepared, and powder of male peony, of each an ounce\nand a half, contrayerva, bastard dittany, angelica, zedvary, of each two\ndrachms, mix and make a powder, add thereto two ounces of candied\norange and lemon peel, beat all together to a powder, whereof you may\ntake half a drachm or a drachm.\n\n\n\n_A Powder for the Epilepsy or Falling Sickness._\n\nTake of opopanax, crude antimony, castor, dragon's blood, peony seeds,\nof each an equal quantity; make a subtle powder; the dose, half a drachm\nof black cherry water. Before you take it, the stomach must be prepared\nwith some proper vomit, as that of Mynficht's emetic tartar, from four\ngrains to six; if for children, salts of vitrol, from a scruple to half\na drachm.\n\n\n\n_For a Headache of Long Standing._\n\nTake the juice or powder in distilled water of hog lice and continue it.\n\n\n\n_For Spitting of Blood._\n\nTake conserve of comfrey and of hips, of each an ounce and a half;\nconserve of red roses, three ounces; dragon's blood, a drachm; spices of\nhyacinths, two scruples; red coral, a drachm; mix and with syrup of\npoppies make a soft electuary. Take the quantity of a walnut, night and\nmorning.\n\n\n\n_For a Looseness._\n\nTake Venice treacle and diascordium, of each half a drachm, in warm ale\nor water gruel, or what you like best, at night, going to bed.\n\n\n\n_For the Bloody Flux._\n\nFirst take a drachm of powder of rhubarb in a sufficient quantity of\nconserve of red roses, in the morning early; then at night, take of\ntornified or roasted rhubarb, half a drachm; diascordium, a drachm and a\nhalf; liquid laudanum cyclomated, a scruple: mix and make into a bolus.\n\n\n\n_For an Inflammation of the Lungs._\n\nTake of cherious water, ten ounces; water of red poppies, three ounces;\nsyrup of poppies, an ounce; pearl prepared, a drachm; make julep, and\ntake six spoonfuls every fourth hour.\n\n\n\n_An Ointment for the Pleurisy._\n\nTake oil of violets or sweet almonds, an ounce of each, with wax and a\nlittle saffron, make an ointment, warm it and bathe it upon the parts\naffected.\n\n\n\n_An Ointment for the Itch._\n\nTake sulphur vive in powder, half an ounce, oil of tartar per deliquim,\na sufficient quantity, ointment of roses, four ounces; make a liniment,\nto which add a scruple of rhodium to aromatize, and rub the parts\naffected with it.\n\n\n\n_For Running Scab._\n\nTake two pounds of tar, incorporate it into a thick mass with\nwell-sifted ashes; boil the mass in fountain-water, adding leaves of\nground-ivy, white horehound, fumitory roots, sharp-pointed dock and of\nflocan pan, of each four handfuls; make a bath to be used with care of\ntaking cold.\n\n\n\n_For Worms in Children._\n\nTake wormseed, half a drachm, flour of sulphur, a drachm; mix and make a\npowder. Give as much as will lie on a silver threepence, night and\nmorning, in grocer's treacle or honey, or to grown up people, you may\nadd a sufficient quantity of aloe rosatum and so make them up into\npills; three or four may be taken every morning.\n\n\n\n_For Fevers in Children._\n\nTake crab-eyes, a drachm, cream of tartar, half a drachm; white\nsugar-candy finely powdered, weight of both; mix all well together and\ngive as much as will lie on a silver threepence, in a spoonful of\nbarley-water or sack whey.\n\n\n\n_A Quieting Night-Draught, when the Cough is Violent._\n\nTake water of green wheat, six ounces, syrup diascordium, three ounces,\ntake two or three spoonfuls going to bed every night or every other\nnight.\n\n\n\n_An Electuary for the Dropsy._\n\nTake best rhubarb, one drachm, gum lac, prepared, two drachms,\nzyloaloes, cinnamon, long birthwort, half an ounce each, best English\nsaffron, half a scruple; with syrup of chicory and rhubarb make an\nelectuary. Take the quantity of a nutmeg or small walnut every morning\nfasting.\n\n\n\n_For a Tympany Dropsy._\n\nTake roots of chervil and candied eringo roots, half an ounce of each,\nroots of butcher-broom, two ounces, grass-roots, three ounces, shavings\nof ivory and hartshorn, two drachms and a half each; boil them in two or\nthree pounds of spring water. Whilst the strained liquor is hot, pour it\nupon the leaves of watercresses and goose-grass bruised, of each a\nhandful, adding a pint of Rhenish wine. Make a close infusion for two\nhours, then strain out the liquor again, and add to it three ounces of\nmagirtral water and earth worms and an ounce and a half of the syrup of\nthe five opening roots. Make an apozen, whereof take four ounces twice a\nday.\n\n\n\n_For an Inward Bleeding._\n\nTake leaves of plantain and stinging nettles, of each three handfuls,\nbruise them well and pour on them six ounces of plantain water,\nafterwards make a strong expression and drink the whole off. _Probatum\nest._\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nGENERAL OBSERVATIONS\n\n     _Worthy of Notice._\n\n\nWHEN YOU FIND\n\nA red man to be faithful, a tall man to be wise, a fat man to be swift\nof foot, a lean man to be a fool, a handsome man not to be proud, a poor\nman not to be envious, a knave to be no liar, an upright man not too\nbold and hearty to his own loss, one that drawls when he speaks not to\nbe crafty and circumventing, one that winks on another with his eyes not\nto be false and deceitful, a sailor and hangman to be pitiful, a poor\nman to build churches, a quack doctor to have a good conscience, a\nbailiff not to be a merciless villain, an hostess not to over-reckon\nyou, and an usurer to be charitable----\n\nTHEN SAY,\n\n     _Ye have found a prodigy._\n\nMen acting contrary to the common course of nature.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nPART II\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTHE\n\nEXPERIENCED MIDWIFE\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nI have given this Part the title of The Experienced Midwife, because it\nis chiefly designed for those who profess Midwifery, and contains\nwhatever is necessary for them to know in the practice thereof; and\nalso, because it is the result of many years' experience, and that in\nthe most difficult cases, and is, therefore, the more to be depended\nupon.\n\nA midwife is the most necessary and honourable office, being indeed a\nhelper of nature; which therefore makes it necessary for her to be well\nacquainted with all the operations of nature in the work of generation,\nand instruments with which she works. For she that knows not the\noperations of nature, nor with what tool she works, must needs be at a\nloss how to assist therein. And seeing the instruments of operation,\nboth in men and women, are those things by which mankind is produced, it\nis very necessary that all midwives should be well acquainted with them,\nthat they may better understand their business, and assist nature, as\nthere shall be occasion.\n\nThe first thing then necessary as introductory to this treatise, is an\nanatomical description of the several parts of generation both in men\nand women; but as in the former part of this work I have treated at\nlarge upon these subjects, being desirous to avoid tautology, I shall\nnot here repeat anything of what was then said, but refer the reader\nthereto, as a necessary introduction to what follows. And though I shall\nbe necessitated to speak plainly so that I may be understood, yet I\nshall do it with that modesty that none shall have need to blush unless\nit be from something in themselves, rather than from what they shall\nfind here; having the motto of the royal garter for my defence, which\nis:--\"Honi soit qui mal y pense,\"--\"Evil be to him that evil thinks.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nA\n\nGUIDE TO CHILDBEARING\n\nWOMEN\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nBOOK I\n\nCHAPTER I\n\n\nSECTION I.--_Of the Womb._\n\nIn this chapter I am to treat of the womb, which the Latins call\n_matrix_. Its parts are two; the mouth of the womb and the bottom of it.\nThe mouth is an orifice at the entrance into it, which may be dilated\nand shut together like a purse; for though in the act of copulation it\nis big enough to receive the glans of the yard, yet after conception, it\nis so close and shut, that it will not admit the point of a bodkin to\nenter; and yet again, at the time of a woman's delivery, it is opened to\nsuch an extraordinary degree, that the child passeth through it into the\nworld; at which time this orifice wholly disappears, and the womb seems\nto have but one great cavity from the bottom to the entrance of the\nneck. When a woman is not with child, it is a little oblong, and of\nsubstance very thick and close; but when she is with child it is\nshortened, and its thickness diminished proportionably to its\ndistension; and therefore it is a mistake of anatomists who affirm, that\nits substance waxeth thicker a little before a woman's labour; for any\none's reason will inform him, that the more distended it is, the thinner\nit must be; and the nearer a woman is to the time of her delivery the\nshorter her womb must be extended. As to the action by which this inward\norifice of the womb is opened and shut, it is purely natural; for were\nit otherwise, there could not be so many bastards begotten as there are,\nnor would any married women have so many children. Were it in their own\npower they would hinder conception, though they would be willing enough\nto use copulation; for nature has attended that action with so pleasing\nand delightful sensations, that they are willing to indulge themselves\nin the use thereof notwithstanding the pains they afterwards endure, and\nthe hazard of their lives that often follows it. And this comes to pass,\nnot so much from an inordinate lust in woman, as that the great Director\nof Nature, for the increase and multiplication of mankind, and even all\nother species in the elementary world, hath placed such a magnetic\nvirtue in the womb, that it draws the seed to it, as the loadstone draws\niron.\n\nThe Author of Nature has placed the womb in the belly, that the heat\nmight always be maintained by the warmth of the parts surrounding it; it\nis, therefore, seated in the middle of the hypogastrium (or lower parts\nof the belly between the bladder and the belly, or right gut) by which\nalso it is defended from any hurt through the hardness of the bones, and\nit is placed in the lower part of the belly for the convenience of\ncopulation, and of a birth being thrust out at full time.\n\nIt is of a figure almost round, inclining somewhat to an oblong, in part\nresembling a pear; for being broad at the bottom, it gradually\nterminates in the point of the orifice which is narrow.\n\nThe length, breadth and thickness of the womb differ according to the\nage and disposition of the body. For in virgins not ripe it is very\nsmall in all its dimensions, but in women whose terms flow in great\nquantities, and such as frequently use copulation, it is much larger,\nand if they have had children, it is larger in them than in such as have\nhad none; but in women of a good stature and well shaped, it is (as I\nhave said before), from the entry of the privy parts to the bottom of\nthe womb usually about eight inches; but the length of the body of the\nwomb alone, does not exceed three; the breadth thereof is near about the\nsame, and of the thickness of the little finger, when the womb is not\npregnant, but when the woman is with child, it becomes of a prodigious\ngreatness, and the nearer she is to delivery, the more the womb is\nextended.\n\nIt is not without reason then, that nature (or the God of Nature) has\nmade the womb of a membranous substance; for thereby it does the easier\nopen to conceive, is gradually dilated by the growth of the foetus or\nyoung one, and is afterwards contracted or closed again, to thrust forth\nboth it and the after-burden, and then to retire to its primitive seat.\nHence also it is enabled to expel any noxious humours, which may\nsometimes happen to be contained within it.\n\nBefore I have done with the womb, which is the field of generation, and\nought, therefore, to be the more particularly taken care of (for as the\nseeds of plants can produce no plants, nor sprig unless grown in ground\nproper to excite and awaken their vegetative virtue so likewise the seed\nof man, though potentially containing all the parts of the child, would\nnever produce so admissible an effect, if it were not cast into that\nfruitful field of nature, the womb) I shall proceed to a more particular\ndescription of its parts, and the uses for which nature has designed\nthem.\n\nThe womb, then, is composed of various similar parts, that is of\nmembranes, veins, arteries and nerves. Its membranes are two and they\ncompose the principal parts of the body, the outermost of which ariseth\nfrom the peritoneum or caul, and is very thin, without it is smooth, but\nwithin equal, that it may the better cleave to the womb, as it is\nfleshier and thicker than anything else we meet with within the body,\nwhen the woman is not pregnant, and is interwoven with all sorts of\nfibres or small strings that it may the better suffer the extension of\nthe child, and the water caused during pregnancy, and also that it may\nthe easier close again after delivery.\n\nThe veins and arteries proceed both from the hypogastric and the\nspermatic vessels, of which I shall speak by and by; all these are\ninserted and terminated in the proper membranes of the womb. The\narteries supply it with food and nourishment, which being brought\ntogether in too great a quantity, sweats through the substance of it,\nand distils as it were a dew at the bottom of the cavity; from thence\nproceed the terms in ripe virgins, and the blood which nourisheth the\nembryo in breeding women. The branches which issue from the spermatic\nvessels, are inserted on each side of the bottom of the womb, and are\nmuch less than those which proceed from the hypogastrics, those being\ngreater and bedewing the whole substance of it. There are some other\nsmall vessels, which arising the one from the other are conducted to the\ninternal orifice, and by these, those that are pregnant purge away the\nsuperfluity of the terms when they happen to have more than is used in\nthe nourishment of the infant: by which means nature has taken so much\ncare of the womb, that during pregnancy it shall not be obliged to open\nitself for passing away those excrementitious humours, which, should it\nbe forced to do, might often endanger abortion.\n\nAs touching the nerves, they proceed from the brain, which furnishes all\nthe inner parts of the lower belly in them, which is the true reason it\nhath so great a sympathy with the stomach, which is likewise very\nconsiderably furnished from the same part; so that the womb cannot be\nafflicted with any pain, but that the stomach is immediately sensible\nthereof, which is the cause of those loathings or frequent vomitings\nwhich happen to it.\n\nBut beside all these parts which compose the womb, it has yet four\nligaments, whose office it is, to keep it firm in its place, and prevent\nits constant agitation, by the continual motion of the intestines which\nsurround it, two of which are above and two below. Those above are\ncalled the broad ligaments, because of their broad and membranous\nfigure, and are nothing else but the production of the peritoneum which\ngrowing out of the sides of the loins towards the veins come to be\ninserted in the sides of the bottom of the womb, to hinder the body from\nbearing too much on the neck, and so from suffering a precipitation as\nwill sometimes happen when the ligaments are too much relaxed; and do\nalso contain the testicles, and as well, safely conduct the different\nvessels, as the ejaculatories, to the womb. The lowermost are called\nround ligaments, taking their origin from the side of the womb near the\nhorn, from whence they pass the groin, together with the production of\nthe peritoneum, which accompanies them through the rings of the oblique\nand transverse muscles of the belly, by which they divide themselves\ninto many little branches resembling the foot of a goose, of which some\nare inserted into the os pubis, the rest are lost and confounded with\nthe membranes which women and children feel in their thighs. These two\nligaments are long, round and nervous, and pretty big in their\nbeginning near the matrix, hollow in their rise, and all along the os\npubis, where they are a little smaller and become flat, the better to be\ninserted in the manner aforesaid. It is by their means the womb is\nhindered from rising too high. Now, although the womb is held in its\nnatural situation by means of these four ligaments, it has liberty\nenough to extend itself when pregnant, because they are very loose, and\nso easily yield to its distension. But besides these ligaments, which\nkeep the womb, as it were, in a poise, yet it is fastened for greater\nsecurity by its neck, both to the bladder and rectum, between which it\nis situated. Whence it comes to pass, that if at any time the womb be\ninflamed, it communicates the inflammation to the neighbouring part.\n\nIts use or proper action in the work of generation, is to receive and\nretain the seed, and deduce from it power and action by its heat, for\nthe generation of the infant; and it is, therefore, absolutely necessary\nfor the conservation of the species. It also seems by accident to\nreceive and expel the impurities of the whole body, as when women have\nabundance of whites, and to purge away, from time to time, the\nsuperfluity of the blood, as when a woman is not with child.\n\n\n\nSECT. II.--_Of the difference between the ancient and modern Physicians,\n    touching the woman's contributing seed for the Formation of the\n    Child._\n\nOur modern anatomists and physicians are of different sentiments from\nthe ancients touching the woman's contributing seed for the formation of\nthe child, as well as the man; the ancients strongly affirming it, but\nour modern authors being generally of another judgment. I will not make\nmyself a party to this controversy, but set down impartially, yet\nbriefly, the arguments on each side, and leave the judicious reader to\njudge for himself.\n\nThough it is apparent, say the ancients, that the seed of man is the\nprincipal efficient and beginning of action, motion and generation, yet\nthe woman affords seed, and contributes to the procreation of the child,\nit is evident from hence, that the woman had seminal vessels, which had\nbeen given her in vain if she wanted seminal excretions; but since\nnature forms nothing in vain, it must be granted that they were formed\nfor the use of the seed and procreation, and fixed in their proper\nplaces, to operate and contribute virtue and efficiency to the seed; and\nthis, say they, is further proved from hence, that if women at years of\nmaturity use not copulation to eject their seed, they often fall into\nstrange diseases, as appears by young women and virgins, and also it\nappears that, women are never better pleased than when they are often\nsatisfied this way, which argues, that the pleasure and delight, say\nthey, is double in women to what it is in men, for as the delight of men\nin copulation consists chiefly in the emission of the seed, so women are\ndelighted, both in the emission of their own and the reception of the\nman's.\n\nBut against this, all our modern authors affirm that the ancients are\nvery erroneous, inasmuch as the testicles in women do not afford seed,\nbut are two eggs, like those of a fowl or other creatures; neither have\nthey any such offices as in men, but are indeed an ovarium, or\nreceptacle for eggs, wherein these eggs are nourished, by the sanguinary\nvessels dispersed through them; and from hence one or more, as they are\nfecundated by the man's seed, are conveyed into the womb by the\noviducts. And the truth of this, say they, is so plain, that if you boil\nthem, the liquor shall have the same taste, colour and consistency with\nthe taste of bird's eggs. And if it be objected that they have no\nshells, the answer is easy; for the eggs of fowls while they are in the\novary, nay, after they have fallen into the uterus, have no shell: and\nthough they have one when they are laid, yet it is no more than a fence\nwhich nature has provided for them against outward injuries, they being\nhatched without the body, but those of women being hatched within the\nbody have no need of any other fence than the womb to secure them.\n\nThey also further say, that there are in the generation of the foetus,\nor young ones, two principles, _active_ and _passive_; the _active_ is\nthe man's seed elaborated in the testicles out of the arterial blood and\nanimal spirits; the _passive_ principle is the ovum or egg, impregnated\nby the man's seed; for to say that women have true seed, say they, is\nerroneous. But the manner of conception is this; the most spirituous\npart of the man's seed, in the act of copulation, reaching up to the\novarium or testicles of the woman (which contains divers eggs, sometimes\nfewer) impregnates one of them; which, being conveyed by the oviducts to\nthe bottom of the womb, presently begins to swell bigger and bigger, and\ndrinks in the moisture that is so plentifully sent hither, after the\nsame manner that the seed in the ground suck the fertile moisture\nthereof, to make them sprout.\n\nBut, notwithstanding what is here urged by modern anatomists, there are\nsome late writers of the opinion of the ancients, viz., that women both\nhave, and emit seed in the act of copulation; and even women themselves\ntake it ill to be thought merely passive in the act wherein they make\nsuch vigorous exertions; and positively affirm, that they are sensible\nof the emission of their seed in that action, and that in it a great\npart of the delight which they take in that act, consists. I shall not,\ntherefore, go about to take away any of their happiness from them, but\nleave them in possession of their imaginary felicity.\n\nHaving thus laid the foundation of this work, I will now proceed to\nspeak of conception, and of those things which are necessary to be\nobserved by women from the time of their conception, to the time of\ntheir delivery.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\n     _Of Conception; what it is; how women are to order themselves after\n     Conception._\n\n\nSECTION I.--_What Conception is, and the qualifications requisite\n    thereto._\n\nConception is nothing but an action of the womb, by which the prolific\nseed is received and retained, that an infant may be engendered and\nformed out of it. There are two sorts of conception: the one according\nto nature, which is followed by the generation of the infant in the\nwomb; the other false and wholly against nature, in which the seed\nchanges into water, and produces only false conceptions, moles, or other\nstrange matter. Now, there are three things principally necessary in\norder to a true conception, so that generation may follow, viz., without\ndiversity of sex there can be no conception; for, though some will have\na woman to be an animal that can engender of herself, it is a great\nmistake; there can be no conception without a man discharge his seed\ninto the womb. What they allege of pullets laying eggs without a cock's\ntreading them is nothing to the purpose, for those eggs should they be\nset under a hen, will never become chickens because they never received\nany prolific virtue from the male, which is absolutely necessary to this\npurpose, and is sufficient to convince us, that diversity of the sex is\nnecessary even to those animals, as well as to the generation of man.\nBut diversity of sex, though it be necessary to conception, yet it will\nnot do alone; there must also be a congression of the different sexes;\nfor diversity of sex would profit little if copulation did not follow. I\nconfess I have heard of subtle women, who, to cover their sin and\nshame, have endeavoured to persuade some peasants that they were never\ntouched by man to get them with child; and that one in particular\npretended to conceive by going into a bath where a man had washed\nhimself a little before and spent his seed in it, which was drawn and\nsucked into her womb, as she pretended. But such stories as these are\nonly for such who know no better. Now that these different sexes should\nbe obliged to come to the touch, which we call copulation or coition,\nbesides the natural desire of begetting their like, which stirs up men\nand women to it, the parts appointed for generation are endowed by\nnature with a delightful and mutual itch, which begets in them a desire\nto the action; without which, it would not be very easy for a man, born\nfor the contemplation of divine mysteries, to join himself, by the way\nof coition, to a woman, in regard to the uncleanness of the part and the\naction. And, on the other side, if the woman did but think of those\npains and inconveniences to which they are subject by their great\nbellies, and those hazards of life itself, besides the unavoidable pains\nthat attend their delivery, it is reasonable to believe they would be\naffrighted from it. But neither sex makes these reflections till after\nthe action is over, considering nothing beforehand but the pleasure of\nthe enjoyment, so that it is from this voluptuous itch that nature\nobliges both sexes to this congression. Upon which the third thing\nfolloweth of course, viz., the emission of seed into the womb in the act\nof copulation. For the woman having received this prolific seed into her\nwomb, and retained it there, the womb thereupon becomes depressed, and\nembraces the seed so closely, that being closed the point of a needle\ncannot enter into it without violence. And now the woman may be said to\nhave conceived, having reduced by her heat from power into action, the\nseveral faculties which are contained in the seed, making use of the\nspirits with which the seed abounds, and which are the instruments which\nbegin to trace out the first lineaments of the parts, and which\nafterwards, by making use of the menstruous blood flowing to it, give\nit, in time, growth and final perfection. And thus much shall suffice to\nexplain what conception is. I shall next proceed to show\n\n\n\nSECT. II.--_How a Woman ought to order herself after Conception._\n\nMy design in this treatise being brevity, I shall bring forward a little\nof what the learned have said of the causes of twins, and whether there\nbe any such things as superfoetations, or a second conception in a woman\n(which is yet common enough), and as to twins, I shall have occasion to\nspeak of them when I come to show you how the midwife ought to proceed\nin the delivery of the women that are pregnant with them. But having\nalready spoken of conception, I think it now necessary to show how such\nas have conceived ought to order themselves during their pregnancy, that\nthey may avoid those inconveniences, which often endanger the life of\nthe child and many times their own.\n\nA woman, after conception, during the time of her being with child,\nought to be looked upon as indisposed or sick, though in good health;\nfor child bearing is a kind of nine months' sickness, being all that\ntime in expectation of many inconveniences which such a condition\nusually causes to those that are not well governed during that time; and\ntherefore, ought to resemble a good pilot, who, when sailing on a rough\nsea and full of rocks, avoids and shuns the danger, if he steers with\nprudence, but if not, it is a thousand to one but he suffers shipwreck.\nIn like manner, a woman with child is often in danger of miscarrying and\nlosing her life, if she is not very careful to prevent those accidents\nto which she is subject all the time of her pregnancy. All which time\nher care must be double, first of herself, and secondly of the child\nshe goes with for otherwise, a single error may produce a double\nmischief; for if she receives a prejudice, the child also suffers with\nher. Let a woman, therefore, after conception, observe a good diet,\nsuitable to her temperament, custom, condition and quality; and if she\ncan, let the air where she ordinarily dwells be clear and well tempered,\nand free from extremes, either of heat or cold; for being too hot, it\ndissipateth the spirits too much and causes many weaknesses; and by\nbeing too cold and foggy, it may bring down rheums and distillations on\nthe lungs, and so cause her to cough, which, by its impetuous motion,\nforcing downwards, may make her miscarry. She ought alway to avoid all\nnauseous and ill smells; for sometimes the stench of a candle, not well\nput out, may cause her to come before time; and I have known the smell\nof charcoal to have the same effect. Let her also avoid smelling of rue,\nmint, pennyroyal, castor, brimstone, etc.\n\nBut, with respect to their diet, women with child have generally so\ngreat loathings and so many different longings, that it is very\ndifficult to prescribe an exact diet for them. Only this I think\nadvisable, that they may use those meats and drinks which are to them\nmost desirable, though, perhaps, not in themselves so wholesome as some\nothers, and, it may be not so pleasant; but this liberty must be made\nuse of with this caution, that what they desire be not in itself\nunwholesome; and also that in everything they take care of excess. But,\nif a child-bearing woman finds herself not troubled with such longings\nas we have spoken of, let her take simple food, and in such quantity as\nmay be sufficient for herself and the child, which her appetite may in a\ngreat measure regulate; for it is alike hurtful to her to fast too long\nas to eat too much; and therefore, rather let her eat a little and\noften; especially let her avoid eating too much at night, because the\nstomach being too much filled, compresseth the diaphragm, and thereby\ncauseth difficulty of breathing. Let her meat be easy of digestion, such\nas the tenderest parts of beef, mutton, veal, fowls, pullets, capons,\npigeons and partridges, either boiled or roasted, as she likes best, new\nlaid eggs are also very good for her; and let her put into her broth\nthose herbs that purify it, as sorrel, lettuce, succory and borage; for\nthey will purge and purify the blood. Let her avoid whatever is hot\nseasoned, especially pies and baked meats, which being of hot digestion,\novercharge the stomach. If she desire fish let it be fresh, and such as\nis taken out of rivers and running streams. Let her eat quinces and\nmarmalade, to strengthen her child: for which purpose sweet almonds,\nhoney, sweet apples, and full ripe grapes, are also good. Let her\nabstain from all salt, sour, bitter and salt things, and all things that\ntend to provoke the terms--such as garlic, onions, mustard, fennel,\npepper and all spices except cinnamon, which in the last three months is\ngood for her. If at first her diet be sparing, as she increases in\nbigness, let her diet be increased, for she ought to consider that she\nhas a child as well as herself to nourish. Let her be moderate in her\ndrinking; and if she drinks wine, let it be rather claret than white\n(for it will breed good blood, help the digestion, and comfort the\nstomach, which is weakly during pregnancy); but white wine being\ndiuretic, or that which provokes urine, ought to be avoided. Let her be\ncareful not to take too much exercise, and let her avoid dancing, riding\nin a coach, or whatever else puts the body into violent motion,\nespecially in the first month. But to be more particular, I shall here\nset down rules proper for every month for the child-bearing woman to\norder herself, from the time she first conceived, to the time of her\ndelivery.\n\n\n\n_Rules for the First Two Months._\n\nAs soon as a woman knows, or has reason to believe, that she has\nconceived, she ought to abstain from all violent motions and exercise;\nwhether she walks afoot, or rides on horseback or in a coach, it ought\nto be very gently. Let her also abstain from Venery (for which, after\nconception, she has usually no great inclination), lest there be a mole\nor superfoetation, which is the adding of one embryo to another. Let her\nbeware not to lift her arms too high, nor carry great burdens, nor\nrepose herself on hard and uneasy seats. Let her use moderately good,\njuicy meat and easy of digestion, and let her wines be neither too\nstrong nor too sharp, but a little mingled with water; or if she be very\nabstemious, she may use water wherein cinnamon has been boiled. Let her\navoid fastings, thirst, watchings, mourning, sadness, anger, and all\nother perturbations of the mind. Let no one present any strange or\nunwholesome thing to her, nor so much as name it, lest she should desire\nit and not be able to get it, and so either cause her to miscarry, or\nthe child to have some deformity on that account. Let her belly be kept\nloose with prunes, raisins or manna in her broth, and let her use the\nfollowing electuary, to strengthen the womb and the child--\n\n\"Take conserve of borage, buglos and roses, each two ounces; an ounce of\nbalm; an ounce each of citron peel and shreds, candied mirobalans, an\nounce each; extract of wood aloes a scruple; prepared pearl, half a\ndrachm; red coral and ivory, of each a drachm; precious stones each a\nscruple; candied nutmegs, two drachms, and with syrup of apples and\nquinces make an electuary.\"\n\n\n\n_Let her observe the following rules._\n\n\"Take pearls prepared, a drachm; red coral and ivory prepared, each half\na drachm, precious stones, each a scruple; yellow citron peel, mace,\ncinnamon, cloves, each half a drachm; saffron, a scruple; wood aloes,\nhalf a scruple; ambergris, six drachms; and with six ounces of sugar\ndissolved in rosewater make rolls.\" Let her also apply strengtheners of\nnutmeg, mace and mastich made up in bags, to the navel, or a toast\ndipped in malmsey, or sprinkled with powdered mint. If she happens to\ndesire clay, chalk, or coals (as many women with child do), give her\nbeans boiled with sugar, and if she happens to long for anything that\nshe cannot obtain, let her presently drink a large draught of pure cold\nwater.\n\n\n\n_Rules for the Third Month._\n\nIn this month and the next, be sure to keep from bleeding; for though it\nmay be safe and proper at other times, yet it will not be so at the end\nof the fourth month; and yet if blood abound, or some incidental disease\nhappens which requires evacuation, you may use a cupping glass, with\nscarification, and a little blood may be drawn from the shoulders and\narms, especially if she has been accustomed to bleed. Let her also take\ncare of lacing herself too straitly, but give herself more liberty than\nshe used to do; for inclosing her belly in too strait a mould, she\nhinders the infant from taking its free growth, and often makes it come\nbefore its time.\n\n\n\n_Rules for the Fourth Month._\n\nIn this month also you ought to keep the child-bearing woman from\nbleeding, unless in extraordinary cases, but when the month is passed,\nblood-letting and physic may be permitted, if it be gentle and mild, and\nperhaps it may be necessary to prevent abortion. In this month she may\npurge, in an acute disease, but purging may only be used from the\nbeginning of this month to the end of the sixth; but let her take care\nthat in purging she use no vehement medicine, nor any bitter, as aloes,\nwhich is disagreeable and hurtful to the child, and opens the mouth of\nthe vessels; neither let her use coloquintida, scammony nor turbith; she\nmay use cassia, manna, rhubarb, agaric and senna but dyacidodium\npurgans is best, with a little of the electuary of the juice of roses.\n\n\n\n_Rules for the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Months._\n\nIn these months, child-bearing women are troubled with coughs, colds,\nheart-beating, fainting, watching, pains in the loins and hips, and\nbleeding. The cough is from a sharp vapour that comes to the jaws and\nrough artery from the terms, or the thin part of that blood got less\ninto the reins of the breast; this endangers abortion, and strength\nfails from watching: therefore, purge the humours that come to the\nbreast, with rhubarb and agaric, and strengthen the head as in a\ncatarrh, and give sweet lenitives as in a cough. Palpitation and\nfaintness arises from vapours that go to it by the arteries, or from\nblood that abounds and cannot get out of the womb, but ascends and\noppresses the heart; and in this case cordials should be used both\ninwardly and outwardly. Watching, is from sharp dry vapours that trouble\nthe animal spirits, and in this case use frictions, and let the woman\nwash her feet at bed-time, and let her take syrup of poppies, dried\nroses, emulsions of sweet almonds, and white poppy seed. If she be\ntroubled with pains in her loins and hips, as in those months she is\nsubject to be, from the weight of her child as it grows big and heavy,\nand so stretches the ligaments of the womb and part adjacent, let her\nhold it up with swathing bands about her neck. About this time also the\nwoman often happens to have a flux of blood, either at the nose, womb or\nhaemorrhoids, from plenty of blood, or from the weakness of the child\nthat takes it not in, or else from evil humour in the blood, that stirs\nup nature and sends it forth. And sometimes it happens that the vessels\nof the womb may be broken, either by some violent motion, fall, cough or\ntrouble of the mind (for any of these will work that effect), and this\nis so dangerous, that in such a case the child cannot be well, but if it\nbe from blood only, the danger is less, provided it flows by the veins\nof the neck of the womb, for then it prevents plethora and takes not\naway the nourishment of the child; but if it proceeds from the weakness\nof the child, that draws it not in, abortion of the child often follows,\nor hard travail, or else she goes beyond her time. But if it flows from\nthe inward veins of the womb, there is more danger by the openness of\nthe womb, if it come from evil blood; the danger is alike from\ncacochymy, which is like to fall upon both. If it arises from plethora,\nopen a vein, but with great caution, and use astringents, of which the\nfollowing will do well:--Take prepared pearls, a scruple; red coral, two\nscruples; mace, nutmeg, each a drachm; cinnamon, half a drachm; make a\npowder, or with white sugar make rolls. Or give this powder in\nbroth:--\"Take red coral, a drachm; half a drachm precious stones; red\nsander, half a drachm; bole, a drachm; scaled earth and tormental roots,\neach two scruples, with sugar of roses and Manus Christi; with pearl,\nfive drachms; make a powder.\" You may also strengthen the child at the\nnavel, and if there be a cacochymy, alter the humours, and if you can do\nit safely, evacuate; you may likewise use amulets on her hands and about\nher neck. In a flux of haemorrhoids, wear off the pain, and let her\ndrink hot wine with a toasted nutmeg. In these months the belly is also\nsubject to be bound, but if it be without any apparent disease, the\nbroth of a chicken or veal, sodden with oil, or with the decoction of\nmallows or marsh-mallows, mercury or linseed, put up in a clyster, will\nnot be amiss, but in less quantity than is given in other cases:--viz.\nof the decoction, five ounces, of common oil, three ounces, of sugar,\ntwo ounces, and of cassia fistula, one ounce. But if she will not take a\nclyster, one or two yolks of new laid eggs, or a little peas-pottage\nwarm, a little salt and sugar, and supped a little before meat, will be\nvery convenient. But if her belly be distended and stretched with wind a\nlittle fennel seed and aniseed reduced to a powder and mixed with honey\nand sugar made after the manner of an electuary, will be very well Also,\nif thighs and feet swell let them be anointed with erphodrinum (which is\na liquid medicine) made with vinegar and rose-water, mingled with salt.\n\n\n\n_Rules for the Eighth Month._\n\nThe eighth month is commonly called the most dangerous; therefore the\ngreatest care and caution ought to be used, the diet better in quality,\nbut no more, nor indeed, so much in quantity as before, but as she must\nabate her diet, she must increase her exercise; and because then women\nwith child, by reason that sharp humours alter the belly, are accustomed\nto weaken their spirits and strength, they may well take before meat, an\nelectuary of diarrhoden, or aromaticum rosatum or diamagarton; and\nsometimes they may lick a little honey. As they will loathe, nauseate\ntheir meat, they may take green ginger, candied with sugar, and the\nrinds of citron and oranges candied; and let them often use honey for\nstrengthening the infant. When she is not very far from her labour, let\nher eat every day seven roasted figs before her meat, and sometimes let\nher lick a little honey. But let her beware of salt and powdered meat,\nfor it is neither good for her nor the child.\n\n\n\n_Rules for the Ninth Month._\n\nIn the ninth month let her have a care of lifting any great weight, but\nlet her move a little more, to dilate the parts, and stir up natural\nheat. Let her take heed of stooping, and neither sit too much nor lie on\nher sides, neither ought she to bend herself much enfolded in the\numbilical ligaments, by which means it often perisheth. Let her walk and\nstir often, and let her exercise be, rather to go upwards than\ndownwards. Let her diet, now especially, be light and easy of digestion\nand damask prunes with sugar, or figs with raisins, before meat, as also\nthe yolks of eggs, flesh and broth of chickens, birds, partridges and\npheasants; astringent and roasted meats, with rice, hard eggs, millet\nand such like other things are proper. Baths of sweet water, with\nemollient herbs, ought to be used by her this month with some\nintermission, and after the baths let her belly be anointed with oil of\nsweet roses and of violets; but for her privy parts, it is better to\nanoint them with the fat of hens, geese or ducks, or with oil of\nlilies, and the decoction of linseed and fenugreek, boiled with oil of\nlinseed and marshmallows, or with the following liniment:--\n\nTake mallows and marshmallows, cut and shred, of each one ounce; of\nlinseed, one ounce; let them be boiled from twenty ounces of water to\nten; then let her take three ounces of the boiled broth, of oil of\nalmonds and oil of flower-de-luce, of each one ounce; of deer's suet,\nthree ounces. Let her bathe with this, and anoint herself with it, warm.\n\nIf for fourteen days before the birth, she do every morning and evening\nbathe and moisten her belly with muscadine and lavender water, the child\nwill be much strengthened thereby. And if every day she eat toasted\nbread, it will hinder anything from growing to the child. Her privy\nparts must be gently stroked down with this fomentation.\n\n\"Take three ounces of linseed, and one handful each of mallows and\nmarshmallows sliced, then let them be put into a bag and immediately\nboiled.\" Let the woman with child, every morning and evening, take the\nvapour of this decoction in a hollow stool, taking great heed that no\nwind or air come to her in-parts, and then let her wipe the part so\nanointed with a linen cloth, and she may anoint the belly and groins as\nat first.\n\nWhen she has come so near to her time, as to be ten or fourteen days\nthereof, if she begins to feel any more than ordinary pain let her use\nevery day the following:--\"Take mallows and marshmallows, of each a\nhandful; camomiles, hard mercury, maidenhair, of each a handful; of\nlinseed, four ounces; let them be boiled in a sufficient quantity of\nwater as to make a bath therewith.\" But let her not sit too hot upon the\nseat, nor higher than a little above her navel; nor let her sit upon it\nlonger than about half an hour, lest her strength languish and decay,\nfor it is better to use it often than to stay too long in it.\n\nAnd thus have I shown how a child-bearing woman ought to govern herself\neach month during her pregnancy. How she must order herself at her\ndelivery, shall be shown in another chapter, after I have first shown\nthe intended midwife how the child is first formed in the womb, and the\nmanner of its decumbiture there.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\n     _Of the Parts proper to a Child in the womb; How it is formed\n     there, and the manner of its Situation therein._\n\n\nIn the last chapter I treated of conception, showed what it was, how\naccomplished and its signs, and how she who has conceived ought to order\nherself during the time of her pregnancy. Now, before I come to speak of\nher delivery, it is necessary that the midwife be first made acquainted\nwith the parts proper to a child in the womb, and also that she be shown\nhow it is formed, and the manner of its situation and decumbiture there;\nwhich are so necessary to her, that without the knowledge thereof, no\none can tell how to deliver a woman as she ought. This, therefore, shall\nbe the work of this chapter. I shall begin with the first of these.\n\n\n\nSECTION I.--_Of the Parts proper to a Child in the Womb._\n\nIn this section, I must first tell you what I mean by the parts proper\nto a child in the womb; and they are only those that either help or\nnourish it; and whilst it is lodged in that dark repository of nature,\nand that help to clothe and defend it there and are cast away, as of no\nmore use, after it is born, and these are two, viz., the umbilicars, or\nnavel vessels, and the secundinum. By the first it is nourished, and by\nthe second clothed and defended from wrong. Of each of these I shall\nspeak distinctly; and first,\n\n\n\n_Of the Umbilicars, or Navel Vessels._\n\nThese are four in number, viz.:--one vein, two arteries, and the vessel\nwhich is called the urachos.\n\n(1) The vein is that on which the infant is nourished, from the time of\nits conception till the time of its delivery; till being brought into\nthe light of the world, it has the same way of concocting the food we\nhave. This vein ariseth from the liver of the child, and is divided into\ntwo parts when it has passed the navel; and these two are divided and\nsubdivided, the branches being upheld by the skin called _chorion_ (of\nwhich I speak by and by), and are joined to the veins of the mother's\nwomb, from whence they have their blood for the nourishment of the\nchild.\n\n(2) The arteries are two on each side which proceed from the back\nbranches of the great artery of the mother, and the vital blood is\ncarried by those to the child being ready concocted by the mother.\n\n(3) A nervous or sinewy production is led from the bottom of the\nbladder of the infant to the navel, and this is called _urachos_, and\nits use is, to convey the urine of the infant from the bladder to the\nalantois. Anatomists do very much vary in their opinion concerning this,\nsome denying any such thing to be in the delivery of the woman, and\nothers on the contrary affirming it; but experience has testified there\nis such a thing, for Bartholomew Carbrolius, the ordinary doctor of\nanatomy to the College of Physicians at Montpellier in France, records\nthe history of a maid, whose water being a long time stopped, at last\nissued out through the navel. And Johannes Fernelius speaks of the same\nthing that happened to a man of thirty years of age, who having a\nstoppage at the neck of the bladder, his urine issued out of his navel\nfor many months together, and that without any prejudice at all to his\nhealth, which he ascribes to the ill lying of his navel, whereby the\nurachos was not well dried. And Volchier Coitas quotes such another\ninstance in a maid of thirty-four at Nuremburg in Germany. These\ninstances, though they happen but seldom, are sufficient to prove that\nthere is such a thing as anurachos in men.\n\nThese four vessels before mentioned, viz., one vein, two arteries and\nthe urachos, join near the navel, and are united by a skin which they\nhave from the chorion and so become like a gut or rope, and are\naltogether void of sensibility, and this is that which women call the\nnavel-string. The vessels are thus joined together, that so they may\nneither be broken, severed nor entangled; and when the infant is born\nare of no use save only to make up the ligament which stops the hole of\nthe navel and for some other physical use, etc.\n\n\n\n_Of the Secundine or After-birth._\n\nSetting aside the name given to this by the Greeks and Latins, it is\ncalled in English by the name of secundine, after-birth or after-burden;\nwhich are held to be four in number.\n\n(1) The _first_ is called placenta, because it resembles the form of a\ncake, and is knit both to the navel and chorion, and makes up the\ngreatest part of the secundine or after-birth. The flesh of it is like\nthat of the melt or spleen, soft, red and tending something to\nblackness, and hath many small veins and arteries in it: and certainly\nthe chief use of it is, for containing the child in the womb.\n\n(2) The _second_ is the chorion. This skin and that called the amnios,\ninvolve the child round, both above and underneath, and on both sides,\nwhich the alantois does not. This skin is that which is most commonly\ncalled the secundine, as it is thick and white garnished with many small\nveins and arteries, ending in the placenta before named, being very\nlight and slippery. Its use is, not only to cover the child round about,\nbut also to receive, and safely bind up the roots of the veins and\narteries or navel vessels before described.\n\n(3) The _third_ thing which makes up the secundine in the alantois, of\nwhich there is a great dispute amongst anatomists. Some say there is\nsuch a thing, and others that there is not. Those who will have it to be\na membrane, say it is white, soft and exceedingly thin, and just under\nthe placenta, where it is knit to the urachos, from which it receives\nthe urine; and its office is to keep it separate from the sweat, that\nthe saltness of it may not offend the tender skin of the child.\n\n(4) The _fourth_, and last covering of the child is called amnios; and\nit is white, soft and transparent, being nourished by some very small\nveins and arteries. Its use is, not only to enwrap the child, but also\nto retain the sweat of the child.\n\nHaving thus described the parts proper to a child in the womb, I will\nnext proceed to speak of the formation of the child therein, as soon as\nI have explained the hard terms of the section, that those for whose\nhelp it is designed, may understand what they read. A _vein_ is that\nwhich receives blood from the liver, and distributes in several branches\nto all parts of the body. _Nerve_ is the same with _sinew_, and is that\nby which the brain adds sense and motion to the body. _Placenta_,\nproperly signifies _sugar_ cake; but in this section it is used to\nsignify a spongy piece of flesh resembling a cake, full of veins and\narteries, and is made to receive a mother's blood appointed for the\ninfant's nourishment in the womb. The _chorion_ is an outward skin which\ncompasseth the child in the womb. The _amnios_ is the inner skin which\ncompasseth the child in the womb. The _alantois_ is the skin that holds\nthe urine of the child during the time that it abides in the womb. The\n_urachos_ is the vessel that conveys the urine from the child in the\nwomb to the _alantois_. I now proceed to\n\n\n\nSECT. II.--_Of the Formation of the Child in the Womb._\n\nTo speak of the formation of the child in the womb, we must begin where\nnature begins, and, that is at the act of coition, in which the womb\nhaving received the generative seed (without which there can be no\nconception), the womb immediately shuts up itself so close that the\npoint of a needle cannot enter the inward orifice; and this it does,\npartly to hinder the issuing out of the seed again, and partly to\ncherish it by an inward heat, the better to provoke it to action; which\nis one reason why women's bellies are so lank at their first conception.\nThe woman having thus conceived, the first thing which is operative in\nconception is the spirit whereof the seed is full, which, nature\nquickening by the heat of the womb, stirs up the action. The internal\nspirits, therefore, separate the parts that are less pure, which are\nthick, cold and clammy, from those that are more pure and noble. The\nless pure are cast to the outside, and with these seed is circled round\nand the membrane made, in which that seed that is most pure is wrapped\nround and kept close together, that it may be defended from cold and\nother accidents, and operate the better.\n\nThe first thing that is formed is the amnios; the next the chorion; and\nthey enwrap the seed round like a curtain. Soon after this (for the seed\nthus shut up in the woman lies not idle), the navel vein is bred, which\npierceth those skins, being yet very tender, and carries a drop of blood\nfrom the veins of the mother's womb to the seed; from which drop the\nvena cava, or chief vein, proceeds, from which all the rest of the veins\nwhich nourish the body spring; and now the seed hath something to\nnourish it, whilst it performs the rest of nature's work, and also blood\nadministered to every part of it, to form flesh.\n\nThis vein being formed, the navel arteries are soon after formed; then\nthe great artery, of which all the others are but branches; and then the\nheart, for the liver furnisheth the arteries with blood to form the\nheart, the arteries being made of seed, but the heart and the flesh, of\nblood. After this the brain is formed, and then the nerves to give sense\nand motion to the infant. Afterwards the bones and flesh are formed; and\nof the bones, first of all, the vertebrae or chine bones, and then the\nskull, etc. As to the time in which this curious part of nature's\nworkmanship is formed, having already in Chapter II of the former part\nof this work spoken at large upon this point, and also of the\nnourishment of the child in the womb, I shall here only refer the reader\nthereto, and proceed to show the manner in which the child lies in the\nwomb.\n\n\n\nSECT. III.--_Of the manner of the Child's lying in the Womb._\n\nThis is a thing so essential for a midwife to know, that she can be no\nmidwife who is ignorant of it; and yet even about this authors\nextremely differ; for there are not two in ten that agree what is the\nform that the child lies in the womb, or in what fashion it lies there;\nand yet this may arise in a great measure from the different times of\nthe women's pregnancy; for near the time of its deliverance out of those\nwinding chambers of nature it oftentimes changes the form in which it\nlay before, for another.\n\nI will now show the several situations of the child in the mother's\nwomb, according to the different times of pregnancy, by which those that\nare contrary to nature, and are the chief cause of ill labours, will be\nmore easily conceived by the understanding midwife. It ought, therefore,\nin the first place to be observed, that the infant, as well male as\nfemale, is generally situated in the midst of the womb; for though\nsometimes, to appearance a woman's belly seems higher on one side than\nthe other, yet it is so with respect to the belly only, and not to her\nwomb, in the midst of which it is always placed.\n\nBut, in the second place, a woman's great belly makes different figures,\naccording to the different times of pregnancy; for when she is young\nwith child, the embryo is always found of a round figure, a little long,\na little oblong, having the spine moderately turned inwards, and the\nthighs folded, and a little raised, to which the legs are so raised,\nthat the heels touch the buttocks; the arms are bending, and the hands\nplaced upon the knees, towards which part of the body, the head is\nturned downwards towards the inward orifice of the womb, tumbling as it\nwere over its head so that then the feet are uppermost, and the face\ntowards the mother's great gut; and this turning of the infant in this\nmanner, with its head downwards, towards the latter end of a woman's\nreckoning, is so ordered by nature, that it may be thereby the better\ndisposed of its passage into the world at the time of its mother's\nlabour, which is not then far off (and indeed some children turn not at\nall until the very time of birth); for in this posture all its joints\nare most easily extended in coming forth; for by this means its arms and\nlegs cannot hinder its birth, because they cannot be bent against the\ninner orifice of the womb and the rest of the body, being very supple,\npasseth without any difficulty after the head, which is hard and big;\nbeing passed the head is inclined forward, so that the chin toucheth the\nbreast, in which posture, it resembles one sitting to ease nature, and\nstooping down with the head to see what comes from him. The spine of the\nback is at that time placed towards the mother's, the head uppermost,\nthe face downwards; and proportionately to its growth, it extends its\nmembers by little and little, which were exactly folded in the first\nmonth. In this posture it usually keeps until the seventh or eighth\nmonth, and then by a natural propensity and disposition of the upper\nfirst. It is true there are divers children, that lie in the womb in\nanother posture, and come to birth with their feet downwards, especially\nif there be twins; for then, by their different motions they do so\ndisturb one another, that they seldom come both in the same posture at\nthe time of labour, but one will come with the head, and another with\nthe feet, or perhaps lie across; but sometimes neither of them will come\nright. But, however the child may be situated in the womb, or in\nwhatever posture it presents itself at the time of birth, if it be not\nwith its head forwards, as I have before described, it is always against\nnature, and the delivery will occasion the more pain and danger, and\nrequire greater care and skill from the midwife, than when the labour is\nmore natural.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\n     _A Guide for Women in Travail, showing what is to be done when they\n     fall in Labour, in order to their Delivery._\n\n\nThe end of all that we have been treating of is, the bringing forth of a\nchild into the world with safety both to the mother and the infant, as\nthe whole time of a woman's pregnancy may be termed a kind of labour;\nfor, from the time of the conception to the time of her delivery, she\nlabours under many difficulties, is subject to many distempers, and in\ncontinual danger, from one affection or other, till the time of birth\ncomes; and when that comes, the greatest labour and travail come along\nwith it, insomuch that then all the other labours are forgotten, and\nthat only is called the time of her labours, and to deliver her safely\nis the principal business of the midwife; and to assist therein, shall\nbe the chief design of this chapter. The time of the child's being ready\nfor its birth, when nature endeavours to cast it forth, is that which is\nproperly the time of a woman's labour; nature then labouring to be eased\nof its burden. And since many child-bearing women, (especially the first\nchild) are often mistaken in their reckoning and so, when they draw near\ntheir time take every pain they meet with for their labour, which often\nproves prejudicial and troublesome to them, when it is not so, I will in\nthe first section of this chapter, set down some signs, by which a woman\nmay know when the true time of her labour is come.\n\n\n\nSECTION I.--_The Signs of the true Time of a Woman's Labour._\n\nWhen women with child, especially of their first, perceive any\nextraordinary pains in the belly, they immediately send for their\nmidwife, as taking it for their labour; and then if the midwife be not a\nskilful and experienced woman, to know the time of labour, but takes it\nfor granted without further inquiry (for some such there are), and so\ngoes about to put her into labour before nature is prepared for it, she\nmay endanger the life of both mother and child, by breaking the amnios\nand chorion. These pains, which are often mistaken for labour, are\nremoved by warm clothes laid to the belly, and the application of a\nclyster or two, by which those pains which precede a true labour, are\nrather furthered than hindered. There are also other pains incident to a\nwoman in that condition from the flux of the belly, which are easily\nknown by the frequent stools that follow them.\n\nThe signs, therefore, of labour, some few days before, are that the\nwoman's belly, which before lay high, sinks down, and hinders her from\nwalking so easily as she used to do; also there flow from the womb slimy\nhumours, which nature has appointed to moisten and smooth the passage\nthat its inward orifice may be the more easily dilated when there is\noccasion; which beginning to open at this time, suffers that slime to\nflow away, which proceeds from the Glandules called _prostata_. These\nare signs preceding the labour; but when she is presently falling into\nlabour, the signs are, great pains about the region of the reins and\nloins, which coming and retreating by intervals, are answered in the\nbottom of the belly by congruous throes, and sometimes the face is red\nand inflamed, the blood being much heated by the endeavours a woman\nmakes to bring forth her child; and likewise, because during these\nstrong throes her respiration is intercepted, which causes the blood to\nhave recourse to her face; also her privy parts are swelled by the\ninfant's head lying in the birth, which, by often thrusting, causes\nthose parts to descend outwards. She is much subject to vomiting, which\nis a good sign of good labour and speedy delivery, though by ignorant\npeople thought otherwise; for good pains are thereby excited and\nredoubled; which vomiting is excited by the sympathy there is between\nthe womb and the stomach. Also, when the birth is near, women are\ntroubled with a trembling in the thighs and legs, not with cold, like\nthe beginning of an ague fit, but with the heat of the whole body,\nthough it must be granted, this does not happen always. Also, if the\nhumours which then flow from the womb are discoloured with the blood,\nwhich the midwives call _shows_, it is an infallible mark of the birth\nbeing near. And if then the midwife puts up her fingers into the neck of\nthe womb, she will find the inner orifice dilated; at the opening of\nwhich the membranes of the infant, containing the waters, present\nthemselves and are strongly forced down with each pain she hath; at\nwhich time one may perceive them sometimes to resist, and then again\npress forward the finger, being more or less hard and extended,\naccording as the pains are stronger or weaker. These membranes, with the\nwaters in them, when they are before the head of the child, midwives\ncall _the gathering of the waters_, resemble to the touch of the fingers\nthose eggs which have no shell, but are covered only with a simple\nmembrane. After this, the pains still redoubling the membranes are\nbroken by a strong impulsation of these waters, which flow away, and\nthen the head of the infant is presently felt naked, and presents\nitself at the inward orifice of the womb. When these waters come thus\naway, then the midwife may be assured the birth is very near, this being\nthe most certain sign that can be; for the _amnios alantois_, which\ncontained these waters, being broken by the pressing forward of the\nbirth, the child is no better able to subsist long in the womb\nafterwards than a naked man in a heap of snow. Now, these waters, if the\nchild comes presently after them, facilitate the labour by making the\npassage slippery; and therefore, let no midwife (as some have foolishly\ndone) endeavour to force away the water, for nature knows best when the\ntrue time of birth is, and therefore retains the waters till that time.\nBut if by accident the water breaks away too long before the birth, then\nsuch things as will hasten it, may be safely administered, and what\nthese are, I will show in another section.\n\n\n\nSECT. II.--_How a Woman ought to be ordered when the time of her labour\n    is come._\n\nWhen it is known that the true time of her labour is come by the signs\nlaid down in the foregoing, of which those most to be relied upon are\npains and strong throes in the belly, forcing downwards towards the\nwomb, and a dilation of the inward orifice, which may be perceived by\ntouching it with the finger, and the gathering of the waters before the\nhead of the child, and thrusting down the membranes which contain them;\nthrough which, between the pains, one may in some manner with the finger\ndiscover the part which presents itself (as we have said before),\nespecially if it be the head of the child, by its roundness and\nhardness; I say, if these things concur and are evident, the midwife may\nbe sure it is the time of the woman's labour, and care must be taken to\nget all those things that are necessary to comfort her at that time. And\nthe better to help her, be sure to see that she is not tightly laced;\nyou must also give her one strong clyster or more, if there be occasion,\nprovided it be done at the beginning, and before the child be too\nforward, for it will be difficult for her to receive them afterwards.\nThe benefit accruing therefrom will be, that they excite the gut to\ndischarge itself of its excrements, so that the rectum being emptied\nthere may be the more space for the dilation of the passage; likewise to\ncause the pains to bear the more downward, through the endeavours she\nmakes when she is at stool, and in the meantime, all other necessary\nthings for her labour should be put in order, both for the mother and\nthe child. To this end, some get a midwife's; but a pallet bed, girded,\nis much the best way, placed near the fire, if the season so require,\nwhich pallet ought to be so placed, that there may be easy access to it\non every side, that the woman may be the more easily assisted, as there\nis occasion.\n\nIf the woman abounds with blood, to bleed her a little more may not be\nimproper, for thereby she will both breathe the better, and have her\nbreasts more at liberty, and likewise more strength to bear down her\npains; and this may be done without danger because the child being about\nready to be born, has no more need of the mother's blood for its\nnourishment; besides, this evacuation does many times prevent her having\na fever after delivery. Also, before her delivery, if her strength will\npermit, let her walk up and down her chamber; and that she may have\nstrength so to do, it will be necessary to give her good strengthening\nthings, such as jelly, broth, new laid eggs, or some spoonfuls of burnt\nwine; and let her by all means hold out her pains, bearing them down as\nmuch as she can, at the time when they take her; and let the midwife\nfrom time to time touch the inward orifice with her finger, to know\nwhether the waters are ready to break and whether the birth will follow\nsoon after. Let her also anoint the woman's privities with emollient\noil, hog's grease, and fresh butter, if she find they are hard to be\ndilated. Let the midwife, likewise, all the time be near the labouring\nwoman, and diligently observe her gestures, complaints, and pains, for\nby this she may guess pretty well how far her labour advanceth, because\nwhen she changeth her ordinary groans into loud cries, it is a sign that\nthe child is near the birth; for at the time her pains are greater and\nmore frequent. Let the woman likewise, by intervals, rest herself upon\nthe bed to regain her strength, but not too long, especially if she be\nlittle, short and thick, for such women have always worse labour if they\nlie long on their beds in their travail. It is better, therefore, that\nshe walk about her chamber as long as she can, the woman supporting her\nunder the arms, if it be necessary; for by this means, the weight of the\nchild causes the inward orifices of the womb to dilate the sooner than\nin bed, and if her pains be stronger and more frequent, her labour will\nnot be near so long. Let not the labouring woman be concerned at those\nqualms and vomitings which, perhaps, she may find come upon her, for\nthey will be much for her advantage in the issue, however uneasy she may\nbe for a time, as they further her pains and throes by provoking\ndownward.\n\nWhen the waters of the child are ready and gathered (which may be\nperceived through the membranes presenting themselves to the orifice)\nto the bigness of the whole dilatation, the midwife ought to let them\nbreak of themselves, and not, like some hasty midwives, who being\nimpatient of the woman's long labour, break them, intending thereby to\nhasten their business, when instead thereof, they retard it; for by the\ntoo hasty breaking of these waters (which nature designed to make the\nchild slip more easy), the passage remains dry by which means the pains\nand throes of the labouring woman are less efficacious to bring forth\nthe infant than they would otherwise have been. It is, therefore, much\nthe better way to let the waters break of themselves; after which the\nmidwife may with ease feel the child by that part which first presents,\nand thereby discern whether it comes right, that is, with the head\nforemost, for that is the proper and most natural way of the birth. If\nthe head comes right, she will find it big, round, hard and equal; but\nif it be any other part, she will find it rugged, unequal, soft and\nhard, according to the nature of the part it is. And this being the true\ntime when a woman ought to be delivered, if nature be not wanting to\nperform its office, therefore, when the midwife finds the birth thus\ncoming forward let her hasten to assist and deliver it, for it\nordinarily happens soon after, if it be natural.\n\nBut if it happens, as it sometimes may, that the waters break away too\nlong before the birth, in such a case, those things which hasten nature\nmay safely be administered. For which purpose make use of pennyroyal,\ndittany, juniper berries, red coral, betony and feverfew, boiled in\nwhite wine, and give a drachm of it, or it would be much better to take\nthe juice of it when it is in its prime, which is in May, and having\nclarified it, make it into a syrup with double its weight of sugar, and\nkeep it all the year, to use when occasion calls for it; mugwort used in\nthe same manner is also good in this case; also a drachm of cinnamon\npowder given inwardly profits much in this case; and so does tansey\nbroiled and applied to the privities; or an oil of it, so, made and\nused, as you were taught before. The stone _aetites_ held to the\nprivities, is of extraordinary virtue, and instantly draws away, both\nchild and after-burden; but great care must be taken to remove it\npresently, or it will draw forth womb and all; for such is the magnetic\nvirtue of this stone that both child and womb follow it as readily as\niron doth the load-stone or the load-stone the north star.\n\nThere are many things that physicians affirm are good in this case;\namong which are an ass's or horse's hoof, hung near the privities; a\npiece of red coral hung near the said place. A load-stone helps very\nmuch, held in the woman's left hand; or the skin cut off a snake, girt\nabout the middle, next to the skin. These things are mentioned by\nMizaldus, but setting those things aside, as not so certain,\nnotwithstanding Mizaldus quotes them, the following prescriptions are\nvery good to speedy deliverance to women in travail.\n\n(1) A decoction of white wine made in savory, and drank.\n\n(2) Take wild tansey, or silver weed, bruise it, and apply to the\nwoman's nostrils.\n\n(3) Take date stones, and beat them to powder, and let her take half a\ndrachm of them in white wine at a time.\n\n(4) Take parsley and bruise it and press out the juice, and dip a linen\ncloth in it, and put it so dipped into the mouth of the womb; it will\npresently cause the child to come away, though it be dead, and it will\nbring away the after-burden. Also the juice of the parsley is a thing of\nso great virtue (especially stone parsley) that being drank by a woman\nwith child, it cleanseth not only the womb, but also the child in the\nwomb, of all gross humours.\n\n(5) A scruple of castorum in powder, in any convenient liquor, is very\ngood to be taken in such a case, and so also is two or three drops of\ncastorum in any convenient liquor; or eight or nine drops of spirits of\nmyrrh given in any convenient liquor, gives speedy deliverance.\n\n(6) Give a woman in such a case another woman's milk to drink; it will\ncause speedy delivery, and almost without pain.\n\n(7) The juice of leeks, being drunk with warm water, highly operates to\ncause speedy delivery.\n\n(8) Take peony seeds and beat them into a powder, and mix the powder\nwith oil, with which oil anoint the privities of the woman and child; it\nwill give her deliverance speedily, and with less pain than can be\nimagined.\n\n(9) Take a swallow's nest and dissolve it in water, strain it, and drink\nit warm, it gives delivery with great speed and much ease.\n\nNote this also in general, that all that move the terms are good for\nmaking the delivery easy, such as myrrh, white amber in white wine, or\nlily water, two scruples or a drachm; or cassia lignea, dittany, each a\ndrachm; cinnamon, half a drachm, saffron, a scruple; give a drachm, or\ntake borax mineral, a drachm, and give it in sack; or take cassia\nlignea, a drachm; dittany, amber, of each a drachm; cinnamon, borax, of\neach a drachm and a half; saffron, a scruple, and give her half a\ndrachm; or give her some drops of oil of hazel in convenient liquor; or\ntwo or three drops of oil of cinnamon in vervain water. Some prepare\nthe secundine thus:--Take the navel-string and dry it in an oven, take\ntwo drachms of the powder, cinnamon a drachm, saffron half a scruple,\nwith the juice of savin make trochisks; give two drachms; or wash the\nsecundine in wine and bake it in a pot; then wash it in endive water and\nwine, take half a drachm of it; long pepper, galangal, of each half a\ndrachm; plantain and endive seed, of each half a drachm; lavender seed,\nfour scruples; make a powder, or take laudanum, two drachms; storax,\ncalamite, benzoin, of each half a drachm; musk, ambergris each six\ngrains, make a powder or trochisks for a fume. Or use pessaries to\nprovoke the birth; take galbanum dissolved in vinegar, an ounce; myrrh,\ntwo drachms, with oil of oat make a pessary.\n\n\n\n_An Ointment For the Navel._\n\nTake oil of keir, two ounces, juice of savine an ounce, of leeks and\nmercury, each half an ounce; boil them to the consumption of the juice;\nadd galbanum dissolved in vinegar, half an ounce, myrrh, two drachms,\nstorax liquid a drachm, round bitwort, sowbread, cinnamon, saffron, a\ndrachm, with wax make an ointment and apply it.\n\nIf the birth be retarded through the weakness of the mother, refresh\nher by applying wine and soap to the nose, confect. alkermas. diamarg.\n\nThese things may be applied to help nature in her delivery when the\nchild comes to the birth the right way, and yet the birth be retarded;\nbut if she finds the child comes the wrong way, and that she is not able\nto deliver the woman as she ought to be, by helping nature, and saving\nboth mother and child (for it is not enough to lay a woman if it might\nbe done any other way with more safety and ease, and less hazard to\nwoman and child), then let her send speedily for the better and more\nable to help; and not as I once knew a midwife do, who, when a woman she\nwas to deliver had hard labour, rather than a man-midwife should be sent\nfor, undertook to deliver the woman herself (though told it was a man's\nbusiness), and in her attempting it, brought away the child, but left\nthe head in the mother's womb; and had not a man midwife been presently\nsent for, the mother had lost her life as well as the child; such\npersons may rather be termed butchers than midwives. But supposing the\nwoman's labour to be natural, I will next show what the midwife ought to\ndo, in order of her delivery.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\n     _Of Natural Labour; What it is and what the Midwife is to do in\n     such Labour._\n\n\nSECTION I.--_What Natural Labour is._\n\nThere are four things which denominate a woman's natural labour; the\nfirst is, that it be at the full time, for if a woman comes before her\ntime, it cannot be termed natural labour, neither will it be so easy as\nthough she had completed her nine months. The second thing is, that it\nbe speedy, and without any ill accident; for when the time of her birth\ncome, nature is not dilatory in the bringing it forth, without some ill\naccident intervene, which renders it unnatural.\n\nThe third is, that the child be alive; for all will grant, that the\nbeing delivered of a dead child is very unnatural. The fourth is, that\nthe child come right, for if the position of the child in the womb be\ncontrary to that which is natural, the event will prove it so, by making\nthat which should be a time of life, the death both of the mother and\nthe child.\n\nHaving thus told you what I mean by natural labour, I shall next show\nhow the midwife is to proceed therein, in order to the woman's\ndelivery. When all the foregoing requisites concur, and after the\nwaters be broken of themselves, let there rather a quilt be laid upon\nthe pallet bedstead than a feather bed, having there-on linen and cloths\nin many folds, with such other things as are necessary, and that may be\nchanged according to the exigency requiring it, so that the woman may\nnot be incommoded with the blood, waters and other filth which are\nvoided in labour. The bed ought to be ordered, that the woman being\nready to be delivered, should lie on her back upon it, having her body\nin a convenient posture; this is, her head and breast a little raised,\nso that she may be between lying and sitting, for being so placed, she\nis best capable of breathing, and, likewise, will have more strength to\nbear her pains than if she lay otherwise, or sunk down in her bed. Being\nso placed, she must spread her thighs abroad, folding her legs a little\ntowards her buttocks, somewhat raised by a little pillow underneath, to\nthe end that her rumps should have more liberty to retire back; and let\nher feet be stayed against some firm thing; besides this, let her take\nfirm hold of some of the good women attending her, with her hands, that\nshe may the better stay herself during her pains. She being thus placed\nat her bed, having her midwife at hand, the better to assist as nature\nmay require, let her take courage, and help her pains as best she can,\nbearing them down when they take her, which she must do by holding her\nbreath, and forcing them as much as possible, in like manner as when she\ngoes to stool, for by such straining, the diaphragm, or midriff, being\nstrongly thrust downward, necessarily forces down the womb and the child\nin it. In the meantime, let the midwife endeavour to comfort her all she\ncan, exhorting her to bear her labour courageously, telling her it will\nbe quickly over, and that there is no fear but that she will have a\nspeedy delivery. Let the midwife also, having no rings on her fingers,\nanoint them with oil of fresh butter, and therewith dilate gently the\ninward orifice of the womb putting her finger ends into the entry\nthereof, and then stretch them one from the other, when her pains take\nher; by this means endeavouring to help forward the child, and thrusting\nby little and little, the sides of the orifice towards the hinder part\nof the child's head, anointing it with fresh butter if it be necessary.\n\nWhen the head of the infant is a little advanced into the inward\norifice, the midwife's phrase is:--\"It is crowned\"; because it girds and\nsurrounds it just as a crown; but when it is so far that the extremities\nbegin to appear without the privy parts, then they say, \"The infant is\nin the passage\"; and at this time the woman feels herself as if it were\nscratched, or pricked with pins, and is ready to imagine that the\nmidwife hurts her, when it is occasioned by the violent distension of\nthose parts and the laceration which sometimes the bigness of the\nchild's head causeth there. When things are in this posture, let the\nmidwife seat herself conveniently to receive the child, which will come\nquickly, and with her finger ends (which she must be sure to keep close\npared) let her endeavour to thrust the crowning of the womb (of which I\nhave spoken before), back over the head of the child, and as soon as it\nis advanced as far as the ears, or thereabouts, let her take hold of the\ntwo sides with her two hands, that when a good pain comes she may\nquickly draw forth the child, taking care that the navel-string be not\nentangled about the neck or any part, as sometimes it is, lest thereby\nthe after-burden be pulled with violence, and perhaps the womb also, to\nwhich it is fastened, and so either cause her to flood or else break the\nstrings, both which are of bad consequence to the woman, whose delivery\nmay thereby be rendered the more difficult. It must also be carefully\nobserved that the head be not drawn forth straight, but shaking it a\nlittle from one side to the other, that the shoulders may sooner and\neasier take their places immediately after it is past, without losing\ntime, lest the head being past, the child be stopped there by the\nlargeness of the shoulders, and so come in danger of being suffocated\nand strangled in the passage, as it sometimes happens, for the want of\ncare therein. But as soon as the head is born, if there be need, she may\nslide her fingers under the armpits, and the rest of the body will\nfollow without any difficulty.\n\nAs soon as the midwife hath in this manner drawn forth the child, let\nher put it on one side, lest the blood and water which follows\nimmediately, should do it any injury by running into its mouth and nose,\nas they would do, if it lay on its back; and so endanger the choking of\nit. The child being thus born, the next thing requisite is, to bring\naway the after-burden, but before that let the midwife be very careful\nto examine whether there be more children in the womb; for sometimes a\nwoman may have twins that expected it not; which the midwife may easily\nknow by the continuance of the pains after the child is born, and the\nbigness of the mother's belly. But the midwife may be sure of it, if she\nputs her hand up to the entry of the womb, and finds there another\nwatery gathering, and the child in it presenting to the passage, and if\nshe find it so, she must have a care of going to fetch the after-birth,\ntill the woman be delivered of all the children she is pregnant with.\nWherefore the first string must be cut, being first tied with a thread\nthree or four times double, and fasten the other end with string to the\nwoman's thighs, to prevent the inconvenience it may cause by hanging\nbetween the thighs; and then removing the child already born, she must\ntake care to deliver her of the rest, observing all the circumstances as\nwith the first; after which, it will be necessary to fetch away the\nafter-birth, or births. But of that I shall treat in another section,\nand first show what is to be done to the new-born infant.\n\n\n\nSECT. II.--_Of the Cutting of the Child's Navel String._\n\nThough this is accounted by many but as a trifle, yet great care is to\nbe taken about it, and it shows none of the least art and skill of a\nmidwife to do it as it should be; and that it may be so done, the\nmidwife should observe: (1) The time. (2) The place. (3) The manner. (4)\nThe event.\n\n(1) The time is, as soon as ever the infant comes out of the womb,\nwhether it brings part of the after-burden with it or not; for\nsometimes the child brings into the world a piece of the amnios upon its\nhead, and is what mid wives call the _caul_, and ignorantly attribute\nsome extraordinary virtue to the child so born; but this opinion is only\nthe effect of their ignorance; for when a child is born with such a\ncrown (as some call it) upon its brows, it generally betokens weakness\nand denotes a short life. But to proceed to the matter in hand. As soon\nas the child comes into the world, it should be considered whether it is\nweak or strong; and if it be weak, let the midwife gently put back part\nof the natural and vital blood into the body of the child by its navel;\nfor that recruits a weak child (the vital and natural spirits being\ncommunicated by the mother to the child by its navel-string), but if the\nchild be strong, the operation is needless. Only let me advise you, that\nmany children that are born seemingly dead, may soon be brought to life\nagain, if you squeeze six or seven drops of blood out of that part of\nthe navel-string which is cut off, and give it to the child inwardly.\n\n(2) As to the place in which it should be cut, that is, whether it\nshould be cut long or short, it is that which authors can scarcely agree\nin, and which many midwives quarrel about; some prescribing it to be cut\nat four fingers' breadth, which is, at best, but an uncertain rule,\nunless all fingers were of one size. It is a received opinion, that the\nparts adapted to the generation are contracted and dilated according to\nthe cutting of the navel-string, and this is the reason why midwives are\ngenerally so kind to their own sex, that they leave a longer part of the\nnavel-string of a male than female, because they would have the males\nwell provided for the encounters of Venus; and the reason they give, why\nthey cut that of the female shorter is, because they believe it makes\nthem more acceptable to their husbands. Mizaldus was not altogether of\nthe opinion of these midwives, and he, therefore, ordered the navel\nstring to be cut long both in male and female children; for which he\ngives the following reason, that the instrument of generation follows\nthe proportion of it; and therefore, if it be cut too short in a female,\nit will be a hindrance to her having children. I will not go about to\ncontradict the opinions of Mizaldus; these, experience has made\ngood:--That one is, that if the navel-string of a child, after it be\ncut, be suffered to touch the ground, the child will never hold its\nwater, either sleeping or waking, but will be subjected to an\ninvoluntary making of water all its lifetime. The other is, that a piece\nof a child's navel-string carried about one, so that it touch his skin,\ndefends him that wears it from the falling sickness and convulsions.\n\n(3) As to the manner it must be cut, let the midwife take a brown\nthread, four or five times double, of an ell long, or thereabouts, tied\nwith a single knot at each of the ends, to prevent their entangling; and\nwith this thread so accommodated (which the woman must have in readiness\nbefore the woman's labour, as also a good pair of scissors, that no time\nmay be lost) let her tie the string within an inch of the belly with a\ndouble knot, and turning about the end of the thread, let her tie two\nmore on the other side of the string, reiterating it again, if it be\nnecessary; then let her cut off the navel-string another inch below the\nligatures, towards the after-birth, so that there only remains but two\ninches of the string, in the midst of which will be the knot we speak\nof, which must be so close knit, as not to suffer a drop of blood to\nsqueeze out of the vessels, but care must be taken, not to knit it so\nstrait, as to out it in two, and therefore the thread must be pretty\nthick and pretty strait cut, it being better too strait than too loose;\nfor some children have miserably lost their lives, with all their blood,\nbefore it was discovered, because the navel-string was not well tied,\ntherefore great care must be taken that no blood squeeze through; for if\nthere do, a new knot must be made with the rest of the string. You need\nnot fear to bind the navel-string very hard because it is void of sense,\nand that part which you leave, falls off in a very few days, sometimes\nin six or seven, or sooner, but never tarries longer than eight or nine.\nWhen you have thus cut the navel-string, then take care the piece that\nfalls off touch not the ground, for the reason I told you Mizaldus gave,\nwhich experience has justified.\n\n(4) The last thing I mentioned, was the event or consequence, or what\nfollows cutting the navel-string. As soon as it is cut, apply a little\ncotton or lint to the place to keep it warm, lest the cold enter into\nthe body of the child, which it most certainly will do, if you have not\nbound it hard enough. If the lint or cotton you apply to it, be dipped\nin oil of roses, it will be the better, and then put another small rag\nthree or four times double upon the belly; upon the top of all, put\nanother small bolster, and then swathe it with a linen swathe, four\nfingers broad, to keep it steady, lest by moving too much, or from being\ncontinually stirred from side to side, it comes to fall off before the\nnavel-string, which you left remaining, is fallen off.\n\nIt is the usual custom of midwives to put a piece of burnt rag to it,\nwhich we commonly call tinder; but I would rather advise them to put a\nlittle ammoniac to it, because of its drying qualities.\n\n\n\nSECT. III.--_How to bring away the After-burden._\n\nA woman cannot be said to be fairly delivered, though the child be born,\ntill the after-burden be also taken from her; herein differing from most\nanimals, who, when they have brought forth their young, cast forth\nnothing else but some water, and the membranes which contained them. But\nwomen have an after-labour, which sometimes proves more dangerous than\nthe first; and how to bring it safely away without prejudice to her,\nshall be my business to show in this section.\n\nAs soon as the child is born, before the midwife either ties or cuts the\nnavel-string, lest the womb should close, let her take the string and\nwind it once or twice about one or two fingers on her left hand joined\ntogether, the better to hold it, with which she may draw it moderately,\nand with the right hand, she may only take a single hold of it, above\nthe left, near the privities, drawing likewise with that very gently,\nresting the while the forefinger of the same hand, extended and\nstretched forth along the string towards the entrance of the vagina,\nalways observing, for the greater facility, to draw it from the side\nwhere the burden cleaves least; for in so doing, the rest will separate\nthe better; and special care must be taken that it be not drawn forth\nwith too much violence, lest by breaking the string near the burden, the\nmidwife be obliged to put the whole hand into the womb to deliver the\nwoman; and she need to be a very skilful person that undertakes it, lest\nthe womb, to which the burden is sometimes very strongly fastened, be\ndrawn away with it, as has sometimes happened. It is, therefore, best to\nuse such remedies as may assist nature. And here take notice, that what\nbrings away the birth, will also bring away the after-birth. And\ntherefore, for effecting this work, I will lay down the following rules.\n\n(1) Use the same means of bringing away the after-birth, that you made\nuse of to bring away the birth; for the same care and circumspection are\nneedful now that there were then.\n\n(2) Considering that the labouring woman cannot but be much spent by\nwhat she has already undergone in bringing forth the infant, be\ntherefore sure to give her something to comfort her. And in this case\ngood jelly broths, also a little wine and toast in it, and other\ncomforting things, will be necessary.\n\n(3) A little hellebore in powder, to make her sneeze, is in this case\nvery proper.\n\n(4) Tansey, and the stone aetites, applied as before directed, are also\nof good use in this case.\n\n(5) If you take the herb vervain, and either boil it in wine, or a syrup\nwith the juice of it, which you may do by adding to it double its weight\nof sugar (having clarified the juice before you boil it), a spoonful of\nthat given to the woman is very efficacious to bring away the secundine;\nand feverfew and mugwort have the same operation taken as the former.\n\n(6) Alexanders[10] boiled in wine, and the wine drank, also sweet\nservile, sweet cicily, angelica roots, and musterwort, are excellent\nremedies in this case.\n\n(7) Or, if this fail, the smoke of marigolds, received up a woman's\nprivities by a funnel, have been known to bring away the after-birth,\neven when the midwife let go her hold.\n\n(8) Boil mugwort in water till it be very soft, then take it out, and\napply it in the manner of a poultice to the navel of the labouring\nwoman, and it instantly brings away the birth. But special care must be\ntaken to remove it as soon as they come away, lest by its long tarrying\nit should draw away the womb also.\n\n\n\nSECT. IV.--_Of Laborious and Difficult Labours and how the Midwife is\n    to proceed therein._\n\nThere are three sorts of bad labours, all painful and difficult, but not\nall properly unnatural. It will be necessary, therefore, to distinguish\nthese.\n\nThe _first_ of these labours is that when the mother and child suffer\nvery much extreme pain and difficulty, even though the child come right;\nand this is distinguishably called the laborious labour.\n\nThe _second_ is that which is difficult and differs not much from the\nformer, except that, besides those extraordinary pains, it is generally\nattended with some unhappy accident, which, by retarding the birth,\ncauses the difficulty; but these difficulties being removed, it\naccelerates the birth, and hastens the delivery.\n\nSome have asked, what is the reason that women bring forth their\nchildren with so much pain? I answer, the sense of feeling is\ndistributed to the whole body by the nerves, and the mouth of the womb\nbeing so narrow, that it must of necessity be dilated at the time of the\nwoman's delivery, the dilating thereof stretches the nerves, and from\nthence comes the pain. And therefore the reason why some women have more\npain in their labour than others, proceeds from their having the mouth\nof the matrix more full of nerves than others. The best way to remove\nthose difficulties that occasion hard pains and labour, is to show first\nfrom whence they proceed. Now the difficulty of labour proceeds either\nfrom the mother, or child, or both.\n\nFrom the mother, by reason of the indisposition of the body, or from\nsome particular part only, and chiefly the womb, as when the woman is\nweak, and the mother is not active to expel the burden, or from\nweakness, or disease, or want of spirits; or it may be from strong\npassion of the mind with which she was once possessed; she may also be\ntoo young, and so may have the passage too narrow; or too old, and then,\nif it be her first child, because her pains are too dry and hard, and\ncannot be easily dilated, as happens also to them which are too lean;\nlikewise those who are small, short or deformed, as crooked women who\nhave not breath enough to help their pains, and to bear them down,\npersons that are crooked having sometimes the bones of the passage not\nwell shaped. The colic also hinders labour, by preventing the true\npains; and all great and active pains, as when the woman is taken with a\ngreat and violent fever, a great flooding, frequent convulsions, bloody\nflux, or any other great distemper. Also, excrements retained cause\ngreat difficulty, and so does a stone in the bladder: or when the\nbladder is full of urine, without being able to void it, or when the\nwoman is troubled with great and painful piles. It may also be from the\npassages, when the membranes are thick, the orifice too narrow, and the\nneck of the womb not sufficiently open, the passages strained and\npressed by tumours in the adjacent parts, or when the bones are too\nfirm, and will not open, which very much endangers the mother and the\nchild; or when the passages are not slippery, by reason of the waters\nhaving broken too soon, or membranes being too thin. The womb may also\nbe out of order with regard to its bad situation or conformation, having\nits neck too narrow, hard and callous, which may easily be so naturally,\nor may come by accident, being many times caused by a tumour, an\nimposthume, ulcer or superfluous flesh.\n\nAs to hard labour occasioned by the child, it is when the child happens\nto stick to a mole, or when it is so weak it cannot break the membranes;\nor if it be too big all over, or in the head only; or if the natural\nvessels are twisted about its neck; when the belly is hydropsical; or\nwhen it is monstrous, having two heads, or joined to another child,\nalso, when the child is dead or so weak that it can contribute nothing\nto its birth; likewise when it comes wrong, or there are two or more.\nAnd to all these various difficulties there is oftentimes one more, and\nthat is, the ignorance of the midwife, who for want of understanding in\nher business, hinders nature in her work instead of helping her.\n\nHaving thus looked into the cause of hard labour, I will now show the\nindustrious midwife how she may minister some relief to the labouring\nwoman under these difficult circumstances. But it will require judgment\nand understanding in the midwife, when she finds a woman in difficult\nlabour, to know the particular obstruction, or cause thereof, that so a\nsuitable remedy may be applied; as for instance, when it happens by the\nmother's being too young and too narrow, she must be gently treated, and\nthe passages anointed with oil, hog's lard, or fresh butter, to relax\nand dilate them the easier, lest there should happen a rupture of any\npart when the child is born; for sometimes the peritoneum breaks, with\nthe skin from the privities to the fundament.\n\nBut if the woman be in years with her first child, let her lower parts\nbe anointed to mollify the inward orifice, which in such a case being\nmore hard and callous, does not easily yield to the distention of\nlabour, which is the true cause why such women are longer in labour, and\nalso why their children, being forced against the inward orifice of the\nwomb (which, as I have said, is a little callous) are born with great\nbumps and bruises on their heads.\n\nThose women who are very small and mis-shaped, should not be put to bed,\nat least until the waters are broken, but rather kept upright and\nassisted to walk about the chamber, by being supported under the arms;\nfor by that means, they will breathe more freely, and mend their pains\nbetter than on the bed, because there they lie all of a heap. As for\nthose that are very lean, and have hard labour from that cause, let them\nmoisten the parts with oil and ointments, to make them more smooth and\nslippery, that the head of the infant, and the womb be not so compressed\nand bruised by the hardness of the mother's bones which form the\npassage. If the cause be weakness, she ought to be strengthened, the\nbetter to support her pains, to which end give her good jelly broths,\nand a little wine with a toast in it. If she fears her pains, let her be\ncomforted, assuring her that she will not endure any more, but be\ndelivered in a little time. But if her pains be slow and small, or none\nat all, they must be provoked by frequent and pretty strong clysters;\nlet her walk about her chamber, so that the weight of the child may help\nthem forward. If she flood or have strong convulsions she must then be\nhelped by a speedy delivery; the operation I shall relate in this\nsection of unnatural labours. If she be costive, let her use clysters,\nwhich may also help to dispel colic, at those times very injurious\nbecause attended with useless pains, and because such bear not downward,\nand so help not to forward the birth. If she find an obstruction or\nstoppage of the urine, by reason of the womb's bearing too much on the\nbladder, let her lift up her belly a little with her hands, and try if\nby that she receives any benefit; if she finds she does not, it will be\nnecessary to introduce a catheter into her bladder, and thereby draw\nforth her urine. If the difficulty be from the ill posture of the woman,\nlet her be placed otherwise, in a posture more suitable and convenient\nfor her; also if it proceeds from indispositions of the womb, as from\nits oblique situation, etc., it must be remedied, as well as it can be,\nby the placing her body accordingly; or, if it be a vicious\nconformation, having the neck too hard, too callous, too straight, it\nmust be anointed with oil and ointments, as before directed. If the\nmembranes be so strong that the waters do not break in due time, they\nmay be broken with the fingers, if the midwife be first well assured\nthat the child is come forward into the passage, and ready to follow\npresently after; or else, by the breaking of the waters too soon, the\nchild may be in danger of remaining dry a long time; to supply which\ndefect, you may moisten the parts with fomentations, decoctions, and\nemollient oils; which yet is not half so well as when nature does her\nwork in her own time, with the ordinary slime and waters. The membranes\nsometimes do press forth with the waters, three or four fingers' breadth\nout of the body before the child resembling a bladder full of water; but\nthere is no great danger in breaking them, if they be not already\nbroken; for when the case is so, the child is always in readiness to\nfollow, being in the passage, but let the midwife be very careful not to\npull it with her hand, lest the after-burden be thereby loosened before\nits time, for it adheres thereto very strongly. If the navel-string\nhappen to come first, it must presently be put up again, and kept so, if\npossible, or otherwise, the woman must be immediately delivered. But if\nthe after-burden should come first, it must not be put up again by any\nmeans; for the infant having no further occasion for it, it would be but\nan obstacle if it were put up; in this case, it must be cut off, having\ntied the navel-string, and afterwards draw forth the child with all\nspeed that may be, lest it be suffocated.\n\n\n\nSECT. V.--_Of Women labouring of a dead Child._\n\nWhen the difficulty of labour arises from a dead child, it is a great\ndanger to a mother and great care ought to be taken therein; but before\nanything be done, the midwife ought to be well assured that the child is\ndead indeed, which may be known by these signs.\n\n(1) The breast suddenly slacks, or falls flat, or bags down. (2) A great\ncoldness possesses the belly of the mother, especially about the navel.\n(3) Her urine is thick, with a filthy stinking settling at the bottom.\n(4) No motion of the child can be perceived; for the trial whereof, let\nthe midwife put her hand into warm water, and lay it upon the belly, for\nthat, if it is alive, will make it stir. (5) She is very subject to\ndreams of dead men, and affrighted therewith. (6) She has extraordinary\nlongings to eat such things as are contrary to nature. (7) Her breath\nstinks, though not used so to do. (8) When she turns herself in her bed,\nthe child sways that way like a lump of lead.\n\nThese things being carefully observed, the midwife may make a judgment\nwhether the child be alive or dead, especially if the woman take the\nfollowing prescription:--\"Take half a pint of white wine and burn it,\nand add thereto half an ounce of cinnamon, but no other spices\nwhatever, and when she has drunk it, if her travailing pains come upon\nher, the child is certainly dead; but if not, the child may possibly be\neither weak or sick, but not dead. This will bring her pains upon her if\nit be dead, and will refresh the child and give her ease if it be\nliving; for cinnamon refresheth and strengtheneth the child.\n\nNow, if upon trial it be found the child is dead, let the mother do all\nshe can to forward the delivery, because a dead child can in no wise be\nhelpful therein. It will be necessary, therefore, that she take some\ncomfortable things to prevent her fainting, by reason of the putrid\nvapours arising from the dead child. And in order to her delivery let\nher take the following herbs boiled in white wine (or at least as many\nof them as you can get), viz., dittany, betony, pennyroyal, sage,\nfeverfew, centaury, ivy leaves and berries. Let her also take sweet\nbasil in powder, and half a drachm at a time in white wine; let her\nprivities also be anointed with the juice of the garden tansey. Or take\nthe tansey in the summer when it can most plentifully be had, and before\nit runs up to flower, and having bruised it well, boil it in oil until\nthe juice of it be consumed. If you set it in the sun, after you have\nmixed it with oil, it will be more effectual. This, an industrious\nmidwife, who would be prepared against all events, ought to have always\nby her. As to the manner of her delivery, the same methods must be used\nas are mentioned in the section of natural labour. And here again, I\ncannot but commend the stone aetites, held near the privities, whose\nmagnetic virtue renders it exceedingly necessary on this occasion, for\nit draws the child any way with the same facility that the load-stone\ndraws iron.\n\nLet the midwife also make a strong decoction of hyssop with water, and\nlet the woman drink it very hot, and it will in a little time bring away\nthe dead child.\n\nIf, as soon as she is delivered of the dead child, you are in doubt that\npart of the afterbirth is left behind in the body (for in such cases as\nthese many times it rots, and comes away piece-meal), let her continue\ndrinking the same decoction until her body be cleansed.\n\nA decoction made of herbs, muster-wort, used as you did the decoction of\nhyssop, works the effect. Let the midwife also take the roots of\npollodum and stamp them well; warm them a little and bind them on the\nsides of her feet, and it will soon bring away the child either dead or\nalive.\n\nThe following medicines also are such as stir up the expulsive faculty,\nbut in this case they must be stronger, because the motion of the child\nceases.\n\nTake savine, round birthwort, trochisks of myrrh, castor, cinnamon and\nsaffron, each half a drachm; make a powder, give a drachm.\n\nOr she may purge first, and then apply an emollient, anointing her about\nthe womb with oil of lilies, sweet almonds, camomiles, hen and\ngoose-grease. Also foment to get out the child, with a decoction of\nmercury, orris, wild cucumbers, saecus, broom flowers. Then anoint the\nprivities and loins with ointment of sow-bread. Or, take coloquintida,\nagaric, birthwort, of each a drachm; make a powder, add ammoniacum\ndissolved in wine, ox-gall, each two drachms. Or make a fume with an\nass's hoof burnt, or gallianum, or castor, and let it be taken in with a\nfunnel.\n\nTo take away pains and strengthen the parts, foment with the decoction\nof mugwort, mallows, rosemary, with wood myrtle, St. John's wort, each\nhalf an ounce, spermaceti two drachms, deer's suet, an ounce; with wax\nmake an ointment. Or take wax six ounces, spermaceti an ounce; melt\nthem, dip flux therein, and lay it all over her belly.\n\nIf none of these things will do, the last remedy is to try surgery, and\nthen the midwife ought without delay to send for an expert and able\nman-midwife, to deliver her by manual operation, of which I shall treat\nmore at large in the next chapter.\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[10] Horse-parsley.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\n     _Of Unnatural Labour._\n\n\nIn showing the duty of a midwife, when the child-bearing woman's labour\nis unnatural, it will be requisite to show, in the first place, what I\nmean by unnatural labour, for that women do bring forth in pain and\nsorrow is natural and common to all. Therefore, that which I call\nunnatural is, when the child comes to the birth in a contrary posture to\nthat which nature ordained, and in which the generality of the children\ncome into the world.\n\nThe right and natural birth is when the child comes with its head first;\nand yet this is too short a definition of a natural birth; for if any\npart of the head but the crown comes first, so that the body follows not\nin a straight line, it is a wrong and difficult birth, even though the\nhead comes first. Therefore, if the child comes with its feet first, or\nwith the side across, it is quite contrary to nature, or to speak more\nplainly, that which I call unnatural.\n\nNow, there are four general ways a child may come wrong. (1) When any of\nthe foreparts of the body first present themselves. (2) When by an\nunhappy transposition, any of the hinder parts of the body first present\nthemselves. (3) When either of the sides, or, (4) the feet present\nthemselves first. To these, the different wrong postures that a child\ncan present itself in, may be reduced.\n\n\n\nSECTION I.--_How to deliver a Woman of a Dead Child by Manual\n   Operation._\n\nWhen manual operation is necessary, let the operator acquaint the woman\nof the absolute necessity there is for such an operation; and that, as\nthe child has already lost its life, there is no other way left for the\nsaving hers. Let him also inform her, for her encouragement, that he\ndoubts not, with the divine blessing, to deliver her safely, and that\nthe pains arising therefrom will not be so great as she fears. Then let\nhim stir up the woman's pains by giving her some sharp clyster, to\nexcite her throes to bear down, and bring forth the child. And if this\nprevails not, let him proceed with the manual operation.\n\nFirst, therefore, let her be placed across the bed that he may operate\nthe easier; and let her lie on her back, with her hips a little higher\nthan her head, or at least the body equally placed, when it is necessary\nto put back or turn the infant to give it a better posture. Being thus\nsituated, she must fold her legs so as her heels be towards her\nbuttocks, and her thighs spread, and so held by a couple of strong\npersons, there must be others also to support her under her arms, that\nthe body may not slide down when the child is drawn forth; for which\nsometimes great strength is required. Let the sheets and blankets cover\nher thighs for decency's sake, and with respect to the assistants, and\nalso to prevent her catching cold; the operator herein governing himself\nas well with respect to his convenience, and the facility and surety of\nthe operation, as to other things. Then let him anoint the entrance to\nthe womb with oil or fresh butter, if necessary, that with so more ease\nhe may introduce his hand, which must also be anointed, and having by\nthe signs above mentioned, received satisfaction that the child is dead,\nhe must do his endeavours to fetch it away as soon as he possibly can.\nIf the child offer the head first, he must gently put it back until he\nhath liberty to introduce his hand quite into the womb; then sliding it\nalong, under the belly, to find the feet, let him draw it forth by\nthem, being very careful to keep the head from being locked into the\npassage; and that it be not separated from the body; which may be\neffected the more easily, because the child being very rotten and\nputrefied, the operator need not be so mindful to keep the breast and\nface downwards as he is in living births. But if notwithstanding all\nthese precautions, by reason of the child's putrefaction, the head\nshould be separated and left behind in the womb, it must be drawn forth\naccording to the directions which have been given in the third section\nof this chapter. But when the head, coming first, is so far advanced\nthat it cannot well be put back, it is better to draw it forth so, than\nto torment the woman too much by putting it back to turn it, and bring\nit by the feet; but the head being a part round and slippery, it may\nalso happen that the operator cannot take hold of it with his fingers by\nreason of its moisture, nor put them up to the side of it, because the\npassage is filled with its bigness; he must, therefore, take a proper\ninstrument, and put it up as far as he can without violence, between the\nwomb and the child's head (for the child being dead before, there can be\nno danger in the operation), and let him fasten it there, giving it hold\nupon one of the bones of the skull, that it may not slide, and after it\nis well fixed in the head, he may therewith draw it forth, keeping the\nends of the fingers of his left hand flat upon the opposite side, the\nbetter to help to disengage it, and by wagging it a little, to conduct\nit directly out of the passage, until the head be quite born; and then,\ntaking hold of it with his hands only, the shoulders being drawn into\nthe passage, and so sliding the fingers of both hands under the armpits,\nthe child may be quite delivered, and then the after-burden fetched, to\nfinish the operation, being careful not to pluck the navel-string too\nhard lest it break, as often happens when it is corrupt.\n\nIf the dead child comes with the arm up to the shoulders so extremely\nswelled that the woman must suffer too great violence to have it put\nback, it is then (being first well assured the child is dead) best to\ntake it off by the shoulder joints, by twisting three or four times\nabout, which is very easily done by reason of the softness and\ntenderness of the body. After the arm is so separated, and no longer\npossesses the passage, the operator will have more room to put up his\nhand into the womb, to fetch the child by the feet and bring it away.\n\nBut although the operator is sure the child is dead in the womb, yet he\nmust not therefore presently use instruments because they are never to\nbe used but when hands are not sufficient, and there is no other remedy\nto prevent the woman's danger, or to bring forth the child any other\nway; and the judicious operator will choose that way which is the least\nhazardous, and most safe.\n\n\n\nSECT. II.--_How a Woman must be Delivered when the Child's Feet come\n   first._\n\nThere is nothing more obvious to those whose business it is to assist\nlabouring women, than that the several unnatural postures in which\nchildren present themselves at the birth are the occasions of most of\nthe bad labours and ill accidents that happen to them in that condition.\n\nAnd since midwives are often obliged, because of their unnatural\nsituations, to draw the children forth by the feet, I conceive it to be\nmost proper first to show how a child must be brought forth that\npresents itself in that posture, because it will be a guide to several\nof the rest.\n\nI know indeed in this case it is the advice of several authors to change\nthe figure, and place the head so that it may present to the birth, and\nthis counsel I should be very much inclined to follow, could they but\nalso show how it may be done. But it will appear very difficult, if not\nimpossible to be performed, if we would avoid the danger that by such\nviolent agitations both the mother and the child must be put into, and\ntherefore my opinion is, that it is better to draw forth by the feet,\nwhen it presents itself in that posture, than to venture a worse\naccident by turning it.\n\nAs soon, therefore, as the waters are broken, and it is known that the\nchild come thus and that the womb is open enough to admit the midwife's\nor operator's hand into it, or else by anointing the passage with oil or\nhog's grease, to endeavour to dilate it by degrees, using her fingers to\nthis purpose, spreading them one from the other, after they are together\nentered, and continue to do so until they be sufficiently dilated, then\ntaking care that her nails be well pared, no rings on her fingers and\nher hands well anointed with oil or fresh butter, and the woman placed\nin the manner directed in the former section, let her gently introduce\nher hand into the entrance of the womb, where finding the child's feet,\nlet her draw it forth in the manner I shall presently direct; only let\nher first see whether it presents one foot or both, and if but one foot,\nshe ought to consider whether it be the right foot or the left, and also\nin what fashion it comes; for by that means she will soon come to know\nwhere to find the other, which as soon as she knows and finds, let her\ndraw it forth with the other; but of this she must be specially careful,\nviz., that the second be not the foot of another child; for if so, it\nmay be of the utmost consequence, for she may sooner split both mother\nand child, than draw them forth. But this may be easily prevented if she\nbut slide the hand up by the first leg and thigh to the waist, and there\nfinding both thighs joined together, and descending from one and the\nsame body. And this is also the best means to find the other foot, when\nit comes but with one.\n\nAs soon as the midwife has found both the child's feet, she may draw\nthem forth, and holding them together, may bring them little by little\nin this manner, taking afterwards hold of the arms and thighs, as soon\nas she can come at them, drawing them so till the hips come forth. While\nthis is doing, let her observe to wrap the parts in a single cloth, so\nthat her hands being always greasy slide not in the infant's body, which\nis very slippery, because of the vicious humours which are all over it;\nwhich being done, she may take hold under the hips, so as to draw it\nforth to the beginning of the breast; and let her on both sides with her\nhand bring down the child's hand along its body, which she may easily\nfind; and then let her take care that the belly and face of the child be\ndownwards; for if they should be upwards, there would be the same danger\nof its being stopped by the chin, over the share-bone, and therefore, if\nit be not so she must turn it to that posture; which may easily be done\nif she takes a proper hold of the body when the breasts and arms are\nforth, in the manner we have said, and draw it, turning it in proportion\non that side it most inclines to, till it be turned with the face\ndownwards, and so, having brought it to the shoulders, let her lose no\ntime, desiring the woman at the same time to bear down, that so drawing\nthe head at that instant may take its place, and not be stopped in the\npassage, though the midwife takes all possible care to prevent it. And\nwhen this happens, she must endeavour to draw forth the child by the\nshoulders (taking care that she separate not the body from the head, as\nI have known it done by the midwife), discharging it by little and\nlittle from the bones in the passage with the fingers of each hand,\nsliding them on each side opposite the other, sometimes above and\nsometimes under, till the work be ended; endeavouring to dispatch it as\nsoon as possible, lest the child be suffocated, as it will unavoidably\nbe, if it remain long in that posture; and this being well and\ncarefully effected, she may soon after fetch away the after-birth, as I\nhave before directed.\n\n\n\nSECT. III.--_How to bring away the Head of the Child, when separated\n    from the Body, and left behind in the Womb._\n\nThough the utmost care be taken in bringing away the child by the feet,\nyet if it happen to be dead, it is sometimes so putrid and corrupt, that\nwith the least pull the head separates from the body and remains alone\nin the womb, and cannot be brought away but with a manual operation and\ngreat difficulty, it being extremely slippery, by reason of the place\nwhere it is, and from the roundness of its figure, on which no hold can\nwell be taken; and so very great is the difficulty in this case that\nsometimes two or three very able practitioners in midwifery have, one\nafter the other, left the operation unfinished, as not able to effect\nit, after the utmost industry, skill and strength; so that the woman,\nnot being able to be delivered, perished. To prevent which fatal\naccident, let the following operation be observed.\n\nWhen the infant's head separates from the body, and is left alone\nbehind, whether owing to putrefaction or otherwise, let the operator\nimmediately, without any delay, while the womb is yet open, direct up\nhis right hand to the mouth of the head (for no other hole can there be\nhad), and having found it let him put one or two of his fingers into it,\nand the thumb under its chin; then let him draw it little by little,\nholding it by the jaws; but if that fails, as sometimes it will when\nputrefied, then let him pull off the right hand and slide up his left,\nwith which he must support the head, and with the right hand let him\ntake a narrow instrument called a _crochet_, but let it be strong and\nwith a single branch, which he must guide along the inside of his hand,\nwith the point of it towards it, for fear of hurting the womb; and\nhaving thus introduced it, let him turn it towards the head to strike\neither in an eyehole, or the hole of the ear, or behind the head, or\nelse between the sutures, as he finds it most convenient and easy; and\nthen draw forth the head so fastened with the said instrument, still\nhelping to conduct it with his left hand; but when he hath brought it\nnear the passage, being strongly fastened to the instrument, let him\nremember to draw forth his hand, that the passage not being filled with\nit, may be larger and easier, keeping still a finger or two on the side\nof the head, the better to disengage it.\n\nThere is also another method, with more ease and less hardship than the\nformer; let the operator take a soft fillet or linen slip, of about four\nfingers' breadth, and the length of three quarters of an ell or\nthereabouts, taking the two ends with the left hand, and the middle with\nthe right, and let him so put it up with his right, as that it may be\nbeyond the head, to embrace it as a sling does a stone, and afterwards\ndraw forth the fillet by the two ends together; it will thus be easily\ndrawn forth, the fillet not hindering the least passage, because it\ntakes up little or no space.\n\nWhen the head is fetched out of the womb care must be taken that not the\nleast part of it be left behind, and likewise to cleanse the womb of the\nafter-burden, if yet remaining. If the burden be wholly separated from\nthe side of the womb, that ought to be first brought away, because it\nmay also hinder the taking hold of the head. But if it still adheres to\nthe womb, it must not be meddled with till the head be brought away; for\nif one should endeavour to separate it from the womb, it might then\ncause a flooding, which would be augmented by the violence of the\noperation, the vessels to which it is joined remaining for the most part\nopen as long as the womb is distended, which the head causeth while it\nis retained in it, and cannot be closed until this strange body be\nvoided, and this it doth by contracting and compressing itself\ntogether, as has been more fully before explained. Besides, the\nafter-birth remaining thus cleaving to the womb during the operation,\nprevents it from receiving easily either bruise or hurt.\n\n\n\nSECT. IV.--_How to deliver a Woman when the child's head is presented to\n    the birth._\n\nThough some may think it a natural labour when the child's head come\nfirst, yet, if the child's head present not the right way, even that is\nan unnatural labour; and therefore, though the head comes first, yet if\nit be the side of the head instead of the crown, it is very dangerous\nboth to the mother and the child, for the child's neck would be broken,\nif born in that manner, and by how much the mother's pains continue to\nbear the child, which is impossible unless the head be rightly placed,\nthe more the passages are stopped. Therefore, as soon as the position of\nthe child is known, the woman must be laid with all speed, lest the\nchild should advance further than this vicious posture, and thereby\nrender it more difficult to thrust it back, which must be done, in order\nto place the head right in the passage, as it ought to be.\n\nTo this purpose, therefore, place the woman so that her buttocks may be\na little higher than her head and shoulders, causing her to lean a\nlittle to the opposite side to the child's ill posture; then let the\noperator slide up his hand, well anointed with oil, by the side of the\nchild's head; to bring it right gently, with his fingers between the\nhead and the womb; but if the head be so engaged that it cannot be done\nthat way, he must then put up his hand to the shoulders, that by so\nthrusting them back a little into the womb, sometimes on the one side,\nand sometimes on the other, he may, little by little, give a natural\nposition. I confess it would be better if the operator could put back\nthe child by its shoulders with both hands, but the head takes up so\nmuch room, that he will find much ado to put up one, with which he must\nperform this operation, and, with the help of the finger-ends of the\nother hand put forward the child's birth as in natural labour.\n\nSome children present their face first, having their hands turned back,\nin which posture it is extremely difficult for a child to be born; and\nif it continues so long, the face will be swelled and become black and\nblue, so that it will at first appear monstrous, which is occasioned as\nwell by the compression of it in that place, as by the midwife's fingers\nin handling it, in order to place it in a better posture. But this\nblackness will wear away in three or four days' time, by anointing it\noften with oil of sweet almonds. To deliver the birth, the same\noperation must be used as in the former, when the child comes first with\nthe side of the head; only let the midwife or operator work very gently\nto avoid as much as possible the bruising the face.\n\n\n\nSECT. V.--_How to Deliver a Woman when the Child presents one or both\n    Hands together with the Head._\n\nSometimes the infant will present some other part together with its\nhead; which if it does, it is usually with one or both of its hands; and\nthis hinders the birth, because the hands take up part of that passage\nwhich is little enough for the head alone; besides that, when this\nhappens, they generally cause the head to lean on one side; and\ntherefore this position may be well styled unnatural. When the child\npresents thus, the first thing to be done after it is perceived, must\nbe, to prevent it from coming down more, or engaging further in the\npassage; and therefore, the operator having placed the woman on the bed,\nwith her head lower than her buttocks, must guide and put back the\ninfant's hand with his own as much as may be, or both of them, if they\nboth come down, to give way to the child's head; and this being done,\nif the head be on one side, it must be brought into its natural posture\nin the middle of the passage, that it may come in a straight line, and\nthen proceed as directed in the foregoing section.\n\n\n\nSECT. VI.--_How a Woman ought to be delivered, when the Hands and Feet\n    of the Infant come together._\n\nThere are none but will readily grant, that when the hands and feet of\nan infant present together, the labour must be unnatural, because it is\nimpossible a child should be born in that manner. In this case,\ntherefore, when the midwife guides her hand towards the orifice of the\nwomb she will perceive only many fingers close together, and if it be\nnot sufficiently dilated, it will be a good while before the hands and\nfeet will be exactly distinguished; for they are sometimes so shut and\npressed together, that they seem to be all of one and the same shape,\nbut where the womb is open enough to introduce the hand into it, she\nwill easily know which are the hands and which are the feet; and having\ntaken particular notice thereof, let her slide up her hand and presently\ndirect it towards the infant's breast, which she will find very near,\nand then let her gently thrust back the body towards the bottom of the\nwomb, leaving the feet in the same place where she found them. And then,\nhaving placed the woman in a convenient posture, that is to say, her\nbuttocks a little raised above her breast (and which situation ought\nalso to be observed when the child is to be put back into the womb), let\nthe midwife afterwards take hold of the child by the feet, and draw it\nforth, as is directed in the second section.\n\nThis labour, though somewhat troublesome, yet is much better than when\nthe child presents only its hands; for then the child must be quite\nturned about before it can be drawn forth; but in this they are ready,\npresenting themselves, and there is little to do, but to lift and thrust\nback the upper part of the body, which is almost done of itself, by\ndrawing it by the feet alone.\n\nI confess there are many authors that have written of labours, who would\nhave all wrong births reduced to a natural figure, which is, to turn it\nthat it may come with the head first. But those that have written thus,\nare such as never understood the practical part, for if they had the\nleast experience therein, they would know that it is impossible; at\nleast, if it were to be done, that violence must necessarily be used in\ndoing it, that would probably be the death both of mother and child in\nthe operation. I would, therefore, lay down as a general rule, that\nwhenever a child presents itself wrong to the birth, in what posture so\never, from the shoulders to the feet, it is the way, and soonest done,\nto draw it out by the feet; and that it is better to search for them, if\nthey do not present themselves, than to try and put them in their\nnatural posture, and place the head foremost; for the great endeavours\nnecessary to be used in turning the child in the womb, do so much weaken\nboth the mother and the child, that there remains not afterwards\nstrength enough to commit the operation to the work of nature; for,\nusually, the woman has no more throes or pains fit for labour after she\nhas been so wrought upon; for which reason it would be difficult and\ntedious at best; and the child, by such an operation made very weak,\nwould be in extreme danger of perishing before it could be born. It is,\ntherefore, much better in these cases to bring it away immediately by\nthe feet, searching for them as I have already directed, when they do\nnot present themselves; by which the mother will be prevented a tedious\nlabour, and the child be often brought alive into the world, who\notherwise could hardly escape death.\n\n\n\nSECT. VII.--_How a Woman should be delivered that has twins, which\n    present themselves in different postures._\n\nWe have already spoken something of the birth of twins in the chapter of\nnatural labour, for it is not an unnatural labour barely to have twins,\nprovided they come in the right position to the birth. But when they\npresent themselves in different postures, they come properly under the\ndenomination of unnatural labours; and if when one child presents itself\nin a wrong figure, it makes the labour dangerous and unnatural, it must\nneeds make it much more so when there are several, and render it not\nonly more painful to the mother and children, but to the operator also;\nfor they often trouble each other and hinder both their births. Besides\nwhich the womb is so filled with them, that the operator can hardly\nintroduce his hand without much violence, which he must do, if they are\nto be turned or thrust back, to give them a better position.\n\nWhen a woman is pregnant with two children, they rarely present to the\nbirth together, the one being generally more forward than the other; and\nthat is the reason that but one is felt, and that many times the midwife\nknows not that there are twins until the first is born, and that she is\ngoing to fetch away the afterbirth. In the first chapter, wherein I\ntreated of natural labour, I have showed how a woman should be delivered\nof twins, presenting themselves both right; and before I close the\nchapter of unnatural labour, it only remains that I show what ought to\nbe done when they either both come wrong or one of them only, as for the\nmost part it happens; the first generally coming right, and the second\nwith the feet forward, or in some worse posture. In such a case, the\nbirth of the first must be hastened as much as possible and to make way\nfor the second, which is best brought away by the feet, without\nendeavouring to place it right, because it has been, as well as the\nmother, already tired and weakened by the birth of the first, and there\nwould be greater danger to its death, than likelihood of its coming out\nof the womb that way.\n\nBut if, when the first is born naturally, the second should likewise\noffer its head to the birth, it would then be best to leave nature to\nfinish what she has so well begun, and if nature should be too slow in\nher work, some of those things mentioned in the fourth chapter to\naccelerate the birth, may be properly enough applied, and if, after\nthat, the second birth should be delayed, let a manual operation be\ndelayed no longer, but the woman being properly placed, as has been\nbefore directed, let the operator direct his hand gently into the womb\nto find the feet, and so draw forth the second child, which will be the\nmore easily effected, because there is a way made sufficiently by the\nbirth of the first; and if the waters of the second child be not broke,\nas it often happens, yet, intending to bring it by its feet, he need not\nscruple to break the membranes with his fingers; for though, when the\nbirth of a child is left to the operation of nature, it is necessary\nthat the waters should break of themselves, yet when the child is\nbrought out of the womb by art, there is no danger in breaking them,\nnay, on the contrary it becomes necessary; for without the waters are\nbroken, it will be almost impossible to turn the child.\n\nBut herein principally lies the care of the operator, that he be not\ndeceived, when either the hands or feet of both children offer\nthemselves together to the birth; in this case he ought well to consider\nthe operation, of whether they be not joined together, or any way\nmonstrous, and which part belongs to one child and which to the other;\nso that they may be fetched one after the other, and not both together,\nas may be, if it were not duly considered, taking the right foot of one\nand the left of the other, and so drawing them together, as if they\nboth belonged to one body, because there is a left and a right, by which\nmeans it would be impossible to deliver them. But a skilful operator\nwill easily prevent this, if, after having found two or three of several\nchildren presenting together in the passage, and taking aside two of the\nforwardest, a right and a left, and sliding his arm along the legs and\nthighs up to the wrist, if forward, or to the buttocks, if backwards, he\nfinds they both belong to one body; of which being thus assured, he may\nbegin to draw forth the nearest, without regarding which is the\nstrongest or weakest, bigger or less, living or dead, having first put\naside that part of the other child which offers to have the more way,\nand so dispatch the first as soon as may be, observing the same rules as\nif there were but one, that is keeping the breast and face downwards,\nwith every circumstance directed in that section where the child comes\nwith its feet first, and not fetch the burden till the second child is\nborn. And therefore, when the operator hath drawn forth one child, he\nmust separate it from the burden, having tied and cut the navel-string,\nand then fetch the other by the feet in the same manner, and afterwards\nbring away the after-burden with the two strings as hath been before\nshowed. If the children present any other part but the feet, the\noperator may follow the same method as directed in the foregoing\nsection, where the several unnatural positions are fully treated of.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\n     _Directions for Child-bearing Women in their Lying-in._\n\n\nSECTION I.--_How a Woman newly Delivered ought to be ordered._\n\nAs soon as she is laid in her bed, let her be placed in it conveniently\nfor ease and rest, which she stands in great need of to recover herself\nof the great fatigue she underwent during her travail, and that she may\nlie the more easily let her hands and body be a little raised, that she\nmay breathe more freely, and cleanse the better, especially of that\nblood which then comes away, that so it may not clot, which being\nretained causeth great pain.\n\nHaving thus placed her in bed, let her take a draught of burnt white\nwine, having a drachm of spermaceti melted therein. The best vervain is\nalso singularly good for a woman in this condition, boiling it in what\nshe either eats or drinks, fortifying the womb so exceedingly that it\nwill do it more good in two days, than any other thing does in double\nthat time, having no offensive taste. And this is no more than what she\nstands in need of; for her lower parts being greatly distended until the\nbirth of the infant, it is good to endeavour the prevention of an\ninflammation there. Let there also be outwardly applied, all over the\nbottom of her belly and privities, the following anodyne and\ncataplasm:--Take two ounces of oil of sweet almonds, and two or three\nnew laid eggs, yolks and whites, stirring them together in an earthen\npipkin over hot embers till they come to the consistence of a poultice;\nwhich being spread upon a cloth, must be applied to those parts\nindifferently warm, having first taken away the closures (which were put\nto her presently after her delivery), and likewise such clots of blood\nas were then left. Let this lie on for five or six hours, and then renew\nit again when you see cause.\n\nGreat care ought to be taken at first, that if her body be very weak,\nshe be not kept too hot, for extremity of heat weakens nature and\ndissolves the strength; and whether she be weak or strong, be sure that\nno cold air comes near her at first; for cold is an enemy to the\nspermatic parts; if it get into the womb it increases the after pains,\ncauses swelling in the womb and hurts the nerves. As to her diet, let it\nbe hot, and let her eat but little at a time. Let her avoid the light\nfor the first three days, and longer if she be weak, for her labour\nweakens her eyes exceedingly, by a harmony between the womb and them.\nLet her also avoid great noise, sadness and trouble of mind.\n\nIf the womb be foul, which may easily be perceived by the impurity of\nthe blood (which will then easily come away in clots or stinking, or if\nyou suspect any of the after-burden to be left behind, which may\nsometimes happen), make her drink a feverfew, mugwort, pennyroyal and\nmother of thyme, boiled in white wine and sweetened with sugar.\n\nPanado and new laid eggs are the best meat for her at first, of which\nshe may eat often, but not too much at a time. And let her nurse use\ncinnamon in all her meats and drinks, for it generally strengthens the\nwomb.\n\nLet her stir as little as may be until after the fifth, sixth, or\nseventh day after her delivery, if she be weak; and let her talk as\nlittle as possible, for that weakens her very much.\n\nIf she goes not well to stool, give a clyster made only of the\ndecoction of mallows and a little brown sugar.\n\nWhen she hath lain in a week or more, let her use such things as close\nthe womb, of which knot-grass and comfrey are very good, and to them you\nmay add a little polypodium, for it will do her good, both leaves and\nroot being bruised.\n\n\n\nSECT. II.--_How to remedy those Accidents which a Lying-in Woman is\n    subject to._\n\nI. The first common and usual accident that troubles women in their\nlying-in is after-pains. They proceed from cold and wind contained in\nthe bowels, with which they are easily filled after labour, because then\nthey have more room to dilate than when the child was in the womb, by\nwhich they were compressed; and also, because nourishment and matter,\ncontained as well in them as in the stomach, have been so confusedly\nagitated from side to side during the pains of labour, by the throes\nwhich always must compress the belly, that they could not be well\ndigested, whence the wind is afterwards generated and, by consequence,\nthe gripes which the woman feels running into her belly from side to\nside, according as the wind moves more or less, and sometimes likewise\nfrom the womb, because of the compression and commotion which the\nbowels make. This being generally the case, let us now apply a suitable\nremedy.\n\n1. Boil an egg soft, and pour out the yolk of it, with which mix a\nspoonful of cinnamon water, and let her drink it; and if you mix in it\ntwo grains of ambergris, it will be better; and yet vervain taken in\nanything she drinks, will be as effectual as the other.\n\n2. Give a lying-in woman, immediately after delivery, oil of sweet\nalmonds and syrup of maiden-hair mixed together. Some prefer oil of\nwalnuts, provided it be made of nuts that are very good; but it tastes\nworse than the other at best. This will lenify the inside of the\nintestines by its unctuousness, and by that means bring away that which\nis contained in them more easily.\n\n3. Take and boil onions well in water, then stamp them with oil of\ncinnamon, spread them on a cloth, and apply them to the region of the\nwomb.\n\n4. Let her be careful to keep her belly warm, and not to drink what is\ntoo cold; and if the pain prove violent, hot cloths from time to time\nmust be laid on her belly, or a pancake fried in walnut oil may be\napplied to it, without swathing her belly too strait. And for the better\nevacuating the wind out of the intestines, give her a clyster, which\nmay be repeated as often as necessity requires.\n\n5. Take bay-berries, beat them to a powder, put the powder upon a\nchafing-dish of coals, and let her receive the smoke of them up her\nprivities.\n\n6. Take tar and bear's grease, of each an equal quantity, boil them\ntogether, and whilst it is boiling, add a little pigeon's dung to it.\nSpread some of this upon a linen cloth, and apply it to the veins of the\nback of her that is troubled with afterpains, and it will give her\nspeedy ease.\n\nLastly, let her take half a drachm of bay-berries beaten into a powder,\nin a drachm of muscadel or teat.\n\nII. Another accident to which women in child-bed are subject is\nhaemorrhoids or piles, occasioned through the great straining in\nbringing the child into the world. To cure this,\n\n1. Let her be let blood in the saphoena vein.\n\n2. Let her use polypodium in her meat, and drink, bruised and boiled.\n\n3. Take an onion, and having made a hole in the middle, of it, fill it\nfull of oil, roast it and having bruised it all together, apply it to\nthe fundament.\n\n4. Take a dozen of snails without shells, if you can get them, or else\nso many shell snails, and pull them out, and having bruised them with a\nlittle oil, apply them warm as before.\n\n5. If she go not well to stool, let her take an ounce of cassia fistula\ndrawn at night, going to bed; she needs no change of diet after.\n\nIII. Retention of the menses is another accident happening to women in\nchild-bed, and which is of so dangerous a consequence, that, if not\ntimely remedied, it proves mortal. When this happens,\n\n1. Let the woman take such medicines as strongly provoke the terms, such\nas dittany, betony, pennyroyal, feverfew, centaury, juniper-berries,\npeony roots.\n\n2. Let her take two or three spoonfuls of briony water each morning.\n\n3. Gentian roots beaten into a powder, and a drachm of it taken every\nmorning in wine, are an extraordinary remedy.\n\n4. The roots of birthwort, either long or round, so used and taken as\nthe former, are very good.\n\n5. Take twelve peony seeds, and beat them into a very fine powder, and\nlet her drink them in a draught of hot cardus posset, and let her sweat\nafter. And if the last medicine do not bring them down the first time\nshe takes it, let her take as much more three hours after, and it seldom\nfails.\n\nIV. Overflowing of the menses is another accident incidental to\nchild-bed women. For which,\n\n1. Take shepherd's purse, either boiled in any convenient liquor, or\ndried and beaten into a powder, and it will be an admirable remedy to\nstop them, this being especially appropriated to the privities.\n\n2. The flower and leaves of brambles or either of them, being dried and\nbeaten into a powder, and a drachm of them taken every morning in a\nspoonful of red wine, or in a decoction of leaves of the same (which,\nperhaps, is much better), is an admirable remedy for the immoderate\nflowing of the term in women.\n\nV. Excoriations, bruises, and rents in the lower part of the womb are\noften occasioned by the violent distention and separation of the\ncaruncles in a woman's labour. For the healing whereof,\n\nAs soon as the woman is laid, if there be only simple contusions and\nexcoriations, then let the anodyne cataplasm, formerly directed, be\napplied to the lower parts to ease the pain, made of the yolks and\nwhites of new laid eggs, and oil of roses, boiled a little over warm\nembers, continually stirring it until it be mixed, and then spread on a\nfine cloth; it must be applied very warm to the bearing place for five\nor six hours, and when it is taken away, lay some fine rags, dipped in\noil of St. John's wort twice or thrice a day; also foment the parts with\nbarley water and honey of roses, to cleanse them from the excrements\nwhich pass. When the woman makes water, let them be defended with fine\nrags, and thereby hinder the urine from causing smart or pain.\n\nVI. The curding and clotting of the milk is another accident that\nhappens to women in child-bed, for in the beginning of child-bed, the\nwoman's milk is not purified because of the great commotions her body\nsuffered during her labour, which affected all the parts, and it is then\naffected with many humours. Now this clotting of the milk does, for the\nmost part, proceed from the breasts not being fully drawn, and that,\neither because she has too much milk, and that the infant is too small\nand weak to suck it all, or because she doth not desire to be a nurse,\nfor the milk in those cases remaining in the breasts after concoction,\nwithout being drawn, loses its sweetness and the balsamic qualities it\nhad, and by reason of the heat it requires, and the too long stay it\nmakes there, is sours, curds and clots, in like manner as we see rennet\nput into ordinary milk to turn it into curds. The curding of the milk\nmay also be caused by having taken a great cold, and not keeping the\nbreasts well covered.\n\nBut from what cause so ever this curding of the milk proceeds, the most\ncertain remedy is, to draw the breasts until it is emitted and dried.\nBut in regard that the infant by reason of weakness, cannot draw\nstrength enough, the woman being hard marked when her milk is curded, it\nwill be most proper to get another woman to draw her breasts until the\nmilk comes freely, and then she may give her child suck. And that she\nmay not afterwards be troubled with a surplus of milk, she must eat such\ndiet as give but little nourishment, and keep her body open.\n\nBut if the case be such that the woman neither can nor will be a nurse,\nit is necessary to apply other remedies for the curing of this\ndistemper; for then it will be best not to draw the breasts, for that\nwill be the way to bring more milk into them. For which purpose it will\nbe necessary to empty the body by bleeding the arms, besides which, let\nthe humours be drawn down by strong clysters and bleeding at the foot;\nnor will it be amiss to purge gently, and to digest, dissolve and\ndissipate the curded milk, four brans dissolved in a decoction of sage,\nmilk, smallage and fennel, mixing with it oil of camomile, with which\noil let the breasts be well anointed. The following liniment is also\ngood to scatter and dissipate the milk.\n\n\n\n_A Liniment to Scatter and Dissipate the Milk._\n\nThat the milk flowing back to the breast may without offence be\ndissipated, you must use this ointment:--\"Take pure wax, two ounces,\nlinseed, half a pound; when the wax is melted, let the liniment be made,\nwherein linen cloths must be clipped, and, according to their largeness,\nbe laid upon the breasts; and when it shall be dispersed, and pains no\nmore, let other linen cloths be laid in the distilled water of acorns,\nand put upon them.\n\n_Note._--That the cloths dipped into distilled water of acorns must be\nused only by those who cannot nurse their own children; but if a\nswelling in the breast of her who gives such do arise, from abundance of\nmilk, threatens an inflammation, let her use the former ointment, but\nabstain from using the distilled water of acorns.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\n     _Directions for the Nurses, in ordering Newly-born Children._\n\n\nWhen the child's navel-string hath been cut according to the rules\nprescribed, let the midwife presently cleanse it from the excrements and\nfilth it brings into the world with it; of which some are within the\nbody, as the urine in the bladder, and the excrements found in the guts;\nand the others without, which are thick, whitish and clammy, proceeding\nfrom the sliminess of the waters. There are sometimes children covered\nall over with this, that one would think they were rubbed over with soft\ncheese, and some women are of so easy a belief, that they really think\nit so, because they have eaten some while they were with child. From\nthese excrements let the child be cleansed with wine and water a little\nwarmed, washing every part therewith, but chiefly the head because of\nthe hair, also the folds of the groin, and the cods or privities; which\nparts must be gently cleansed with a linen rag, or a soft sponge dipped\nin lukewarm wine. If this clammy or viscous excrement stick so close\nthat it will not easily be washed off from those places, it may be\nfetched off with oil of sweet almond, or a little fresh butter melted\nwith wine, and afterwards well dried off; also make tents of fine rags,\nand wetting them in this liquor, clear the ears and nostrils; but for\nthe eyes, wipe them only with a dry, soft rag, not dipping it in the\nwine, lest it should make them smart.\n\nThe child being washed, and cleansed from the native blood and\nimpurities which attend it into the world, it must in the next place be\nsearched to see whether all things be right about it, and that there is\nno fault nor dislocation; whether its nose be straight, or its tongue\ntied, or whether there be any bruise or tumour of the head; or whether\nthe mold be not over shot; also whether the scrotum (if it be a male) be\nnot blown up and swelled, and, in short, whether it has suffered any\nviolence by its birth, in any part of its body, and whether all the\nparts be well and duly shaped; that suitable remedies may be applied if\nanything be found not right. Nor is it enough to see that all be right\nwithout, and that the outside of the body be cleansed, but she must also\nobserve whether it dischargeth the excrements contained within, and\nwhether the passage be open; for some have been born without having been\nperforated. Therefore, let her examine whether the conduits of the urine\nand stool be clear, for want of which some have died, not being able to\nvoid their excrements, because timely care was not taken at first. As to\nthe urine all children, as well males as females, do make water as soon\nas they are born, if they can, especially if they feel the heat of the\nfire, and also sometimes void the excrements, but not so soon as the\nurine. If the infant does not ordure the first day, then put into its\nfundament a small suppository, to stir it up to be discharged, that it\nmay not cause painful gripes, by remaining so long in the belly. A sugar\nalmond may be proper for this purpose, anointed all over with a little\nboiled honey; or else a small piece of castile-soap rubbed over with\nfresh butter; also give the child for this purpose a little syrup of\nroses or violets at the mouth, mixed with some oil of sweet almonds,\ndrawn without a fire, anointing the belly also, with the same oil or\nfresh butter.\n\nThe midwife having thus washed and cleansed the child, according to the\nbefore mentioned directions, let her begin to swaddle it in swathing\nclothes, and when she dresses the head, let her put small rags behind\nthe ears, to dry up the filth which usually engenders there, and so let\nher do also in the folds of the armpits and groins, and so swathe it;\nthen wrap it up warm in a bed with blankets, which there is scarcely any\nwoman so ignorant but knows well enough how to do; only let me give\nthem this caution, that they swathe not the child too tightly in its\nblankets, especially about the breast and stomach, that it may breathe\nthe more freely, and not be forced to vomit up the milk it sucks,\nbecause the stomach cannot be sufficiently distended to contain it;\ntherefore let its arms and legs be wrapped in its bed, stretched and\nstraight and swathed to keep them so, viz., the arms along its sides,\nand its legs equally both together with a little of the bed between\nthem, that they may not be galled by rubbing each other; then let the\nhead be kept steady and straight, with a stay fastened each side of the\nblanket, and then wrap the child up in a mantle and blankets to keep it\nwarm. Let none think this swathing of the infant is needless to set\ndown, for it is necessary it should be thus swaddled, to give its little\nbody a straight figure, which is most proper and decent for a man, and\nto accustom him to keep upon his feet, who otherwise would go upon all\nfours, as most animals do.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\n\nSECTION I.--_Of Gripes and Pains in the, Bellies of Young Children._\n\nThis I mention first, as it is often the first and most common distemper\nwhich happens to little infants, after their birth; many children being\nso troubled therewith, that it causes them to cry day and night and at\nlast die of it. The cause of it for the most part comes from the sudden\nchange of nourishment, for having always received it from the umbilical\nvessel whilst in the mother's womb, they come on a sudden not only to\nchange the manner of receiving it, but the nature and quality of what\nthey received, as soon as they are born; for instead of purified blood\nonly, which was conveyed to them by means of the umbilical vein, they\nare now obliged to be nourished by their mother's milk, which they suck\nwith their mouths, and from which are engendered many excrements,\ncausing gripes and pains; and not only because it is not so pure as the\nblood with which it was nourished in the womb, but because the stomach\nand the intestines cannot make a good digestion, being unaccustomed to\nit. It is sometimes caused also by a rough phlegm, and sometimes by\nworms; for physicians affirm that worms have been bred in children even\nin their mother's belly.\n\n_Cure_. The remedy must be suited to the cause. If it proceed from the\ntoo sudden change of nourishment, the remedy must be to forbear giving\nthe child suck for some days, lest the milk be mixed with phlegm, which\nis then in the stomach corrupt; and at first it must suck but little,\nuntil it is accustomed to digest it. If it be the excrements in the\nintestines, which by their long stay increase their pains, give them at\nthe month a little oil of sweet almonds and syrup of roses; if it be\nworms, lay a cloth dipped in oil of wormwood mixed with ox-gall, upon\nthe belly, or a small cataplasm, mixed with the powder of rue, wormwood,\ncoloquintida, aloes, and the seeds of citron incorporated with ox-gall\nand the powder of lupines. Or give it oil of sweet almonds and syrup of\nroses; if it be worms, lay a cloth, dipped in oil of wormwood mixed with\nox-gall, upon the belly, or a small cataplasm mixed with the powder of\nrue, wormwood, coloquintida, aloes, and the seeds of citron incorporated\nwith ox-gall and the powder of lupines. Or give it oil of sweet almonds\nwith sugar-candy, and a scruple of aniseed; it purgeth new-born babes\nfrom green cholera and stinking phlegm, and, if it be given with\nsugar-pap, it allays the griping pains of the belly. Also anoint the\nbelly with oil of dill, or lay pelitory stamped with oil of camomile to\nthe belly.\n\n\n\nSECT. II.--_Of Weakness In Newly-born Infants._\n\nWeakness is an accident that many children bring into the world along\nwith them, and is often occasioned by the labour of the mother; by the\nviolence and length whereof they suffer so much, that they are born with\ngreat weakness, and many times it is difficult to know whether they are\nalive or dead, their body appearing so senseless, and their face so blue\nand livid, that they seem to be quite choked; and even after some hours,\nthen-showing any signs of life is attended with weakness, that it looks\nlike a return from death, and that they are still in a dying condition.\n\n_Cure_. Lay the infant speedily in a warm blanket, and carry it to the\nfire, and then let the midwife take a little wine in her mouth and spout\nit into its mouth, repeating it often, if there be occasion. Let her\napply linen dipped in urine to the breast and belly, and let the face be\nuncovered, that it may breathe the more freely; also, let the midwife\nkeep its mouth a little open, cleanse the nostrils with small linen\ntents[11] dipt in white wine, that so it may receive the smell of it;\nand let her chafe every part of its body well with warm cloths, to bring\nback its blood and spirits, which being retired inwards through\nweakness, often puts him in danger of being choked. By the application\nof these means, the infant will gradually recover strength, and begin to\nstir its limbs by degrees, and at length to cry; and though it be but\nweakly at first, yet afterwards, as it breathes more freely, its cry\nwill become more strong.\n\n\n\nSECT. III.--_Of the Fundament being closed up in a newly-born Infant._\n\nAnother defect that new-born infants are liable to is, to have their\nfundaments closed up, by which they can neither evacuate the new\nexcrements engendered by the milk they suck, nor that which was amassed\nin their intestines before birth, which is certainly mortal without a\nspeedy remedy. There have been some female children who have their\nfundaments quite closed, and yet have voided the excrements of the guts\nby an orifice which nature, to supply the defect, had made within the\nneck of the womb.\n\n_Cure_. Here we must take notice, that the fundament is closed two ways;\neither by a single skin, through which one may discover some black and\nblue marks, proceeding from the excrements retained, which, if one touch\nwith the finger, there is a softness felt within, and thereabout it\nought to be pierced; or else it is quite stopped by a thick, fleshy\nsubstance, in such sort that there appears nothing without, by which its\ntrue situation may be known. When there is nothing but the single skin\nwhich makes the closure, the operation is very easy, and the children\nmay do very well; for then an aperture or opening may be made with a\nsmall incision-knife, cross-ways, that it may the better receive a round\nform, and that the place may not afterwards grow together, taking care\nnot to prejudice the sphincter or muscle of the rectum. The incision\nbeing thus made, the excrements will certainly have issue. But if, by\nreason of their long stay in the belly, they become so dry that the\ninfant cannot void them, then let a clyster be given to moisten and\nbring them away; afterwards put a linen tent into the new-made\nfundament, which at first had best be anointed with honey of roses, and\ntowards the end, with a drying, cicatrizing ointment, such as unguentum\nalbum or ponphilex, observing to cleanse the infant of its excrement,\nand dry it again as soon and as often as it evacuates them, that so the\naperture may be prevented from turning into a malignant ulcer.\n\nBut if the fundament be stopped up in such a manner, that neither mark\nnor appearance of it can be seen or felt, then the operation is much\nmore difficult, and, even when it is done, the danger is much greater\nthat the infant will not survive it. Then, if it be a female, and it\nsends forth its excrements by the way I mentioned before, it is better\nnot to meddle than, by endeavouring to remedy an inconvenience, run an\nextreme hazard of the infant's death. But when there is no vent for the\nexcrements, without which death is unavoidable, then the operation is\njustifiable.\n\n_Operation_. Let the operator, with a small incision-knife that hath but\none edge, enter into the void place, and turning the back of it upwards,\nwithin half a finger's breadth of the child's rump, which is the place\nwhere he will certainly find the intestines, let him thrust it forward,\nthat it may be open enough to give free vent to matter there contained,\nbeing especially careful of the sphincter; after which, let the wound\nbe dressed according to the method directed.\n\n\n\nSECT. IV.--_Of the Thrush, or Ulcers In the Mouth of the Infant._\n\nThe thrush is a distemper that children are very subject to, and it\narises from bad milk, or from foul humour in the stomach; for sometimes,\nthough there be no ill humour in the milk itself, yet it may corrupt the\nchild's stomach because of its weakness or some other indisposition; in\nwhich, acquiring an acrimony, instead of being well digested, there\narise from it thrice biting vapours, which forming a thick viscosity, do\nthereby produce this distemper.\n\n_Cure_. It is often difficult, as physicians tell us, because it is\nseated in hot and moist places, where the putrefaction is easily\naugmented; and because the remedies applied cannot lodge there, being\nsoon washed with spittle. But if it arises from too hot quality in the\nnurse's milk, care must be taken to temper and cool, prescribing her\ncool diet, bleeding and purging her also, if there be occasion.\n\nTake lentils, husked, powder them, and lay a little of them upon the\nchild's gums. Or take bdellium flowers, half an ounce, and with oil of\nroses make a liniment. Also wash the child's mouth with barley and\nplantain-water, and honey of roses, mixing with them a little verjuice\nof lemons, as well to loosen and cleanse the vicious humours which\ncleave to the inside of the infant's mouth, as to cool those parts which\nare already over-heated. It may be done by means of a small fine rag,\nfastened to the end of a little stick, and dipped therein, wherewith the\nulcers may be gently rubbed, being careful not to put the child in too\nmuch pain, lest an inflammation make the distemper worse. The child's\nbody must also be kept open, that the humours being carried to the lower\nparts, the vapours may not ascend, as is usual for them to do when the\nbody is costive, and the excrements too long retained.\n\nIf the ulcers appear malignant, let such remedies be used as do their\nwork speedily, that the evil qualities that cause them, being thereby\ninstantly corrected, their malignity may be prevented; and in this case,\ntouch the ulcers with plantain water, sharpened with spirits of vitriol;\nfor the remedy must be made sharp, according to the malignity of the\ndistemper. It will be necessary to purge these ill humours out of the\nwhole habit of the child, by giving half an ounce of succory and\nrhubarb.\n\n\n\nSECT. V.--_Of Pains in the Ears, Inflammation, Moisture, etc._\n\nThe brain in infants is very moist, and hath many excrements which\nnature cannot send out at the proper passages; they get often to the\nears, and there cause pains, flux of blood, with inflammation and matter\nwith pain; this in children is hard to be known as they have no other\nway to make it known but by constant crying; you will perceive them\nready to feel their ears themselves, but will not let others touch them,\nif they can prevent; and sometimes you may discern the parts about the\nears to be very red.\n\nThese pains, if let alone, are of dangerous consequences, because they\nmay bring forth watchings and epilepsy; for the moisture breeds worms\nthere, and fouls the spongy bones, and by degrees causes incurable\ndeafness.\n\n_Cure_. Allay the pain with all convenient speed, but have a care of\nusing strong remedies. Therefore, only use warm milk about the ears,\nwith the decoction of poppy tops, or oil of violets; to take away the\nmoisture, use honey of roses, and let aqua mollis be dropped into the\nears; or take virgin honey, half an ounce; red wines two ounces; alum,\nsaffron, saltpetre, each a drachm, mix them at the fire; or drop in\nhemp seed oil with a little wine.\n\n\n\nSECT. VI.--_Of Redness and Inflammation of the Buttocks, Groin and the\n    Thighs of a Young Child._\n\nIf there be no great care taken to change and wash the child's bed as\nsoon as it is fouled with the excrements, and to keep the child very\nclean, the acrimony will be sure to cause redness, and beget a smarting\nin the buttocks, groin and thighs of the child, which, by reason of the\npain, will afterwards be subject to inflammations, which follow the\nsooner, through the delicacy and tenderness of their skin, from which\nthe outward skin of the body is in a short time separated and worn away.\n\n_Cure_. First, keep the child cleanly, and secondly, take off the\nsharpness of its urine. As to keeping it cleanly, she must be a sorry\nnurse who needs to be taught how to do it; for if she lets it but have\ndry, warm and clean beds and cloths, as often and as soon as it has\nfouled and wet them, either by its urine or its excrements, it will be\nsufficient. And as to taking off the sharpness of the child's urine,\nthat must be done by the nurse's taking a cool diet, that her milk may\nhave the same quality; and, therefore, she ought to abstain from all\nthings that may tend to heat it.\n\nBut besides these, cooling and drying remedies are requisite to be\napplied to the inflamed parts; therefore let the parts be bathed in\nplantain-water, with a fourth of lime water added to it, each time the\nchild's excrements are wiped off; and if the pain be very great, let it\nonly be fomented with lukewarm milk. The powder of a post to dry it, or\na little mill-dust strewed upon the parts affected, may be proper\nenough, and is used by many women. Also, unguentum album, or\ndiapompholigos, spread upon a small piece of leather in form of a\nplaster, will not be amiss.\n\nBut the chief thing must be, the nurse's taking great care to wrap the\ninflamed parts with fine rags when she opens the child, that these parts\nmay not gather and be pained by rubbing together.\n\n\n\nSECT. VII.--_Of Vomiting in Young Children._\n\nVomiting in young children proceeds sometimes from too much milk, and\nsometimes from bad milk, and as often from a moist, loose stomach; for\nas dryness retains so looseness lets go. This is, for the most part,\nwithout danger in children; for they that vomit from their birth are\nthe lustiest; for the stomach not being used to meat, and milk being\ntaken too much, crudities are easily bred, or the milk is corrupted; and\nit is better to vomit these up than to keep them in; but if vomiting\nlast long, it will cause an atrophy or consumption, for want of\nnourishment.\n\n_Cure_. If this be from too much milk, that which is emitted is yellow\nand green, or otherwise ill-coloured and stinking; in this case, mend\nthe milk, as has been shown before; cleanse the child with honey of\nroses, and strengthen its stomach with syrup of milk and quinces, made\ninto an electuary. If the humours be hot and sharp, give the syrup of\npomegranates, currants and coral, and apply to the belly the plaster of\nbread, the stomach cerate, or bread dipped in hot wine; or take oil of\nmastich, quinces, mint, wormwood, each half an ounce; of nutmegs by\nexpression, half a drachm; chemical oil of mint, three drops. Coral hath\nan occult property to prevent vomiting, and is therefore hung about the\nneck.\n\n\n\nSECT. VIII--_Of Breeding Teeth in Young Children._\n\nThis is a very great and yet necessary evil in all children, having\nvariety of symptoms joined with it. They begin to come forth, not all\nat once, but one after the other, about the sixth or seventh month; the\nfore-teeth coming first, then the eye-teeth, and last of all the\ngrinders. The eye-teeth cause more pain to the child than any of the\nrest, because they have a deep root, and a small nerve which has\ncommunication with that which makes the eye move.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nIn the breeding of the teeth, first they feel an itching in their gums,\nthen they are pierced as with a needle, and pricked by the sharp bones,\nwhence proceed great pains, watching, inflammation of the gums, fever,\nlooseness and convulsions, especially when they breed their eye-teeth.\n\nThe signs when children breed their eye-teeth are these:\n\n1. It is known by the time, which is usually about the seventh month.\n\n2. Their gums are swelled, and they feel a great heat there with an\nitching, which makes them put their fingers into their mouths to rub\nthem; a moisture also distils from the gums into the mouth, because of\nthe pain they feel there.\n\n3. They hold the nipple faster than before.\n\n4. The gums are white when the teeth begin to come, and the nurse, in\ngiving them suck, finds the mouth hotter, and that they are much\nchanged, crying every moment, and cannot sleep, or but very little at a\ntime.\n\nThe fever that follows breeding of teeth comes from choleric humours,\ninflamed by watching, pain and heat. And the longer teeth are breeding,\nthe more dangerous it is; so that many in the breeding of them, die of\nfevers and convulsions.\n\n_Cure_. Two things are to be regarded:--one is, to preserve the child\nfrom the evil accidents that may happen to it by reason of the great\npain; the other, to assist as much as may be, the cutting of the teeth,\nwhen they can hardly cut the gums themselves.\n\nFor the first of these, viz., the preventing of those accidents to the\nchild, the nurse ought to take great care to keep a good diet, and to\nuse all things that may cool and temper her milk, that so a fever may\nnot follow the pain of the teeth. And to prevent the humour falling too\nmuch upon the inflamed gums, let the child's belly be always kept loose\nby gentle clysters, if he be bound; though oftentimes there is no need\nof them, because they are at those times usually troubled with a\nlooseness; and yet, for all that, clysters may not be improper.\n\nAs to the other, which is to assist it cutting the teeth, that the nurse\nmust do from time to time by mollifying and loosening them, and by\nrubbing them with her finger dipped in butter or honey; or let the child\nhave a virgin-wax candle to chew upon; or anoint the gums with the\nmucilage of quince made with mallow-water, or with the brains of a hare;\nalso foment the cheeks with the decoction of althoea, and camomile\nflowers and dill, or with the juice of mallows and fresh butter. If the\ngums are inflamed, add juice of nightshade and lettuce. I have already\nsaid, the nurse ought to take a temperate diet; I shall now only add,\nthat barley-broth, water-gruel, raw eggs, prunes, lettuce and endive,\nare good for her; but let her avoid salt, sharp, biting and peppered\nmeats, and wine.\n\n\n\nSECT. IX.--_Of the Flux of the Belly, or Looseness in Infants._\n\nIt is very common for infants to have the flux of the belly, or\nlooseness, especially upon the least indisposition; nor is it to be\nwondered at, seeing their natural moistness contributes so much thereto;\nand even if it be extraordinarily violent, such are in a better state of\nhealth than those that are bound. The flux, if violent, proceeds from\ndivers causes, as 1. From breeding of the teeth, and is then commonly\nattended with a fever in which the concoction is hindered, and the\nnourishment corrupted. 2. From watching. 3. From pain. 4. From stirring\nup of the humours by a fever. 5. When they suck or drink too much in a\nfever. Sometimes they have a flux without breeding of teeth, from inward\ncold in the guts or stomach that obstructs concoction. If it be from the\nteeth, it is easily known; for the signs of breeding in teeth will\ndiscover it. If it be from external cold, there are signs of other\ncauses. If from a humour flowing from the head there are signs of a\ncatarrh, and the excrements are frothy. If crude and raw humours are\nvoided, and there be wind, belching, and phlegmatic excrements, or if\nthey be yellow, green and stink, the flux is from a hot and sharp\nhumour. It is best in breeding of teeth when the belly is loose, as I\nhave said before; but if it be too violent, and you are afraid it may\nend in a consumption, it must be stopped; and if the excrements that are\nvoided be black, and attended with a fever, it is very bad.\n\n_Cure_. The remedy in this case, is principally in respect to the nurse,\nand the condition of the milk must be chiefly observed; the nurse must\nbe cautioned that she eat no green fruit, nor things of hard concoction.\nIf the child suck not, remove the flux with such purges as leave a\ncooling quality behind them, as syrup of honey or roses, or a clyster.\nTake the decoction of millium, myrobolans, of each two or three ounces,\nwith an ounce or two of syrup of roses, and make a clyster. After\ncleansing, if it proceed from a hot cause, give syrup of dried roses,\nquinces, myrtles and a little sanguis draconis. Also anoint with oil of\nroses, myrtles, mastich, each two drachms; with oil of myrtles and wax\nmake an ointment. Or take red roses and moulin, of each a handful;\ncypress roots two drachms; make a bag, boil it in red wine and apply it\nto the belly. Or use the plaster bread or stomach ointment. If the cause\nbe cold, and the excrements white give syrup of mastich and quinces,\nwith mint-water. Use outwardly, mint, mastich, cummin; or take rose\nseeds, an ounce, cummin, aniseed, each two drachms; with oil of mastich,\nwormwood and wax, make an ointment.\n\n\n\nSECT. X.--_Of the Epilepsy and Convulsions in Children._\n\nThis is a distemper that is often fatal to young children, and\nfrequently proceeds from the brain, originating either from the parents,\nor from vapours, or bad humours that twitch the membranes of the brain;\nit is also sometimes caused by other distempers and by bad diet;\nlikewise, the toothache, when the brain consents, causes it, and so does\na sudden fright. As to the distemper itself, it is manifest and well\nenough known where it is; and as to the cause whence it comes, you may\nknow by the signs of the disease, whether it comes from bad milk, or\nworms, or teeth; if these are all absent, it is certain that the brain\nis first affected; if it come with the small-pox or measles, it ceaseth\nwhen they come forth, if nature be strong enough.\n\n_Cure_. For the remedy of this grievous, and often mortal distemper,\ngive the following powder to prevent it, to a child as soon as it is\nborn:--Take male peony roots, gathered in the decrease of the moon, a\nscruple; with leaf gold make a powder; or take peony roots, a drachm;\npeony seeds, mistletoe of the oak, elk's hoof, man's skull, amber, each\na scruple; musk, two grains; make a powder. The best part of the cure is\ntaking care of the nurse's diet, which must be regular, by all means. If\nit be from corrupt milk, provoke a vomit; to do which, hold down the\ntongue, and put a quill dipped in sweet almonds, down the throat. If it\ncome from the worms, give such things as will kill the worms. If there\nbe a fever, with respect to that also, give coral smaragad and elk's\nhoof. In the fit, give epileptic water, as lavender water, and rub with\noil of amber, or hang a peony root, and elk's hoof smaragad, about the\nchild's neck.\n\nAs to a convulsion, it is when the brain labours to cast out that which\ntroubles it; the mariner is in the marrow of the back, and fountain of\nthe nerves; it is a stubborn disease, and often kills.\n\nWash the body, when in the fit, with decoction of althoea, lily roots,\npeony and camomile flowerets, and anoint it with man's and goose's\ngrease, oils of worms, orris, lilies, foxes, turpentine, mastich, storax\nand calamint. The sun flower is also very good, boiled in water, to wash\nthe child.\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[11] Tent (_surgical_). A bunch of some fibre such as sponge or\nhorsehair introduced into an opening, natural or artificial, to keep it\nopen, or increase its calibre.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nPROPER AND SAFE REMEDIES\n\nFOR\n\nCURING ALL THOSE DISTEMPERS\n\nTHAT ARE PECULIAR\n\nTO THE FEMALE SEX\n\nAND ESPECIALLY THOSE OBSERVATIONS\n\nTO BEARING OF CHILDREN\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nBOOK II\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nHaving finished the first part of this book, and wherein, I hope, amply\nmade good my promise to the reader, I am now come to treat only of those\ndistempers to which they are more subject when in a breeding condition,\nand those that keep them from being so; together with such proper and\nsafe remedies as may be sufficient to repel them. And since amongst all\nthe diseases to which human nature is subject, there is none that more\ndiametrically opposes the very end of our creation, and the design of\nnature in the formation of different sexes, and the power thereby given\nus for the work of generation, than that of sterility or barrenness\nwhich, where it prevails, renders the most accomplished midwife but a\nuseless person, and destroys the design of our book; I think, therefore,\nthat barrenness is an effect that deserves our first and principal\nconsideration.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\n     _Of Barrenness; its several Kinds; with the proper Remedies for it;\n     and the Signs of Insufficiency both in Men and Women._\n\n\nSECTION I.--_Of Barrenness in General._\n\nBarrenness is either natural or artificial.\n\nNatural barrenness is when a woman is barren, though the instruments of\ngeneration are perfect both in herself and in her husband, and no\npreposterous or diabolical course used to it, and neither age, nor\ndisease, nor any defect hindering, and yet the woman remains naturally\nbarren.\n\nNow this may proceed from a natural cause, for if the man and woman be\nof one complexion, they seldom have children, and the reason is clear,\nfor the universal course of nature being formed of a composition of\ncontraries, cannot be increased by a composition of likes; and,\ntherefore, if the constitution of the woman be hot and dry, as well as\nthe man's there can be no conception; and if, on the contrary, the man\nshould be of a cold and moist constitution, as well as the woman, the\neffect would be the same; and this barrenness is purely natural. The\nonly way to help this is, for people, before they marry, to observe each\nothers constitution and complexion, if they design to have children. If\ntheir complexions and constitutions be alike, they are not fit to come\ntogether, for discordant natures only, make harmony in the work of\ngeneration.\n\nAnother natural cause of barrenness, is want of love between man and\nwife. Love is that vivid principle that ought to inspire each organ in\nthe act of generation, or else it will be spiritless and dull; for if\ntheir hearts be not united in love, how should their seed unite to cause\nConception? And this is sufficiently evinced, in that there never\nfollows conception on a rape. Therefore, if men and women design to have\nchildren, let them live so, that their hearts as well as their bodies\nmay be united, or else they may miss their expectations.\n\nA third cause of natural barrenness, is the letting virgins blood in the\narm before their natural courses are come down, which is usually in the\nfourteenth and fifteenth year of their age; sometimes, perhaps before\nthe thirteenth, but never before the twelfth. And because usually, they\nare out of order, and indisposed before their purgations come down,\ntheir parents run to the doctor to know what is the matter; and he, if\nnot skilled, will naturally prescribe opening a vein in the arm,\nthinking fullness of blood the cause; and thus she seems recovered for\nthe present: and when the young virgin happens to be in the same\ndisorder, the mother applies again to the surgeon, who uses the same\nremedy; and by these means the blood is so diverted from its proper\nchannel, that it comes not down the womb as usual, and so the womb dries\nup, and she is for ever barren. To prevent this, let no virgin blood in\nthe arm before her courses come down well; for that will bring the blood\ndownwards, and by that means provoke the _menstrua_ to come down.\n\nAnother cause of natural barrenness, is debility in copulation. If\npersons perform not that act with all the bent and ardour that nature\nrequires, they may as well let it alone; for frigidity and coldness\nnever produces conception. Of the cure of this we will speak by and by,\nafter I have spoken of accidental barrenness, which is occasioned by\nsome morbific matter or infirmity in the body, either of the man or of\nthe woman, which being removed they become fruitful. And since, as I\nhave before noted, the first and great law of creation, was to increase\nand multiply, and barrenness is in direct opposition to that law, and\nfrustrates the end of our creation, and often causes man and wife to\nhave hard thoughts one of another, I shall here, for the satisfaction of\nwell meaning people, set down the signs and causes of insufficiency both\nin men and women; premising first that when people have no children,\nthey must not presently blame either party, for neither may be in fault.\n\n\n\nSECT. II.--_Signs and Causes of Insufficiency in Men._\n\nOne cause may be in some viciousness of the yard, as if the same be\ncrooked, or any ligaments thereof distorted and broken, whereby the ways\nand passages, through which the seed should flow, come to be stopped or\nvitiated.\n\nAnother cause may be, too much weakness of the yard, and tenderness\nthereof, so that it is not strong enough erected to inject seed into the\nwomb; for the strength and stiffness of the yard very much conduces to\nconception, by reason of the forcible injection of the seed.\n\nAlso, if the stones have received any hurt, so that they cannot exercise\nthe proper gift in producing seed, or if they be oppressed with an\ninflammation, tumour, wound or ulcer, or drawn up within the belly, and\nnot appearing outwardly.\n\nAlso, a man may be barren by reason of the defect of seed, as first, if\nhe cast forth no seed at all, or less in substance than is needful. Or,\nsecondly, if the seed be vicious, or unfit for generation; as on the one\nside, it happens in bodies that are gross and fat, the matter of it\nbeing defective; and on the other side, too much leanness, or continual\nwasting or consumption of the body, destroys seed; nature turning all\nthe matter and substance thereof into the nutriment of the body.\n\nToo frequent copulation is also one great cause of barrenness in men;\nfor it attracteth the seminal moisture from the stones, before it is\nsufficiently prepared and concocted. So if any one, by daily\ncopulation, do exhaust and draw out all their moisture of the seed, then\ndo the stones draw the moist humours from the superior veins unto\nthemselves; and so, having but a little blood in them, they are forced\nof necessity to cast it out raw and unconcocted, and thus the stones are\nviolently deprived of the moisture of their veins, and the superior\nveins, and all the other parts of the body, of their vital spirits;\ntherefore it is no wonder that those who use immoderate copulation are\nvery weak in their bodies, seeing their whole body is deprived of the\nbest and purest blood, and of the spirit, insomuch that many who have\nbeen too much addicted to that pleasure, have killed themselves in the\nvery act.\n\nGluttony, drunkenness, and other excesses, do so much hinder men from\nfruitfulness, that it makes them unfit for generation.\n\nBut among other causes of barrenness of men, this also is one, and makes\nthem almost of the nature of eunuchs, and that is the incision or the\ncutting of the veins behind their ears, which in case of distempers is\noftentimes done; for, according to the opinions of most physicians and\nanatomists, the seed flows from the brain by those veins behind the\nears, more than any part of the body. From whence it is very probable,\nthat the transmission of the seed is hindered by the cutting of the\nveins behind the ears, so that it cannot descend to the testicles, or\nmay come thither very crude and raw.\n\n\n\nSECT. III.--_Signs and Causes of Insufficiency or Barrenness in Women._\n\nAlthough there are many causes of the barrenness of women, yet the chief\nand principal are internal, respecting either the privy parts, the womb\nor menstruous blood.\n\nTherefore, Hippocrates saith (speaking as well of easy as difficult\nconception in women) the first consideration is to be had of their\nspecies; for little women are more apt to conceive than great, slender\nthan gross, white and fair than ruddy and high coloured, black than wan,\nthose that have their veins conspicuous, than others; but to be very\nfleshy is evil, and to have great swelled breasts is good.\n\nThe next thing to be considered is, the monthly purgations, whether they\nhave been duly every month, whether they flow plentifully, are of a good\ncolour, and whether they have been equal every month.\n\nThen the womb, or place of conception, is to be considered. It ought to\nbe clean and sound, dry and soft, not retracted or drawn up; not prone\nor descending downward; nor the mouth thereof turned away, nor too\nclose shut up. But to speak more particularly:--\n\nThe first parts to be spoken of are the _pudenda_, or privities, and the\nwomb; which parts are shut and enclosed either by nature or against\nnature; and from hence, such women are called _imperforate_; as in some\nwomen the mouth of their womb continues compressed, or closed up, from\nthe time of their birth until the coming down of their courses, and\nthen, on a sudden, when their terms press forward to purgation, they are\nmolested with great and unusual pains. Sometimes these break of their\nown accord, others are dissected and opened by physicians; others never\nbreak at all, which bring on disorders that end in death.\n\nAll these _Aetius_ particularly handles, showing that the womb is shut\nthree manner of ways, which hinders conception. And the first is when\nthe _pudenda_ grow and cleave together. The second is, when these\ncertain membranes grow in the middle part of the matrix within. The\nthird is, when (though the lips and bosom of the _pudenda_ may appear\nfair and open), the mouth of the womb may be quite shut up. All which\nare occasions of barrenness, as they hinder the intercourse with man,\nthe monthly courses, and conception.\n\nBut amongst all causes of barrenness in women, the greatest is in the\nwomb, which is the field of generation; and if this field is corrupt, it\nis in vain to expect any fruit, be it ever so well sown. It may be unfit\nfor generation by reason of many distempers to which it is subject; as\nfor instance, overmuch heat and overmuch cold; for women whose wombs are\ntoo thick and cold, cannot conceive, because coldness extinguishes the\nheat of the human seed. Immoderate moisture of the womb also destroys\nthe seed of man, and makes it ineffectual, as corn sown in ponds and\nmarshes; and so does overmuch dryness of the womb, so that the seed\nperisheth for want of nutriment. Immoderate heat of the womb is also a\ncause of barrenness for it scorcheth up the seed as corn sown in the\ndrought of summer; for immoderate heat burns all parts of the body, so\nthat no conception can live in the womb.\n\nWhen unnatural humours are engendered, as too much phlegm, tympanies,\nwind, water, worms, or any other evil humour abounding contrary to\nnature, it causes barrenness as do all terms not coming down in due\norder.\n\nA woman may also have accidental causes of barrenness (at least such as\nmay hinder her conception), as sudden frights, anger, grief and\nperturbation of mind; too violent exercises, as leaping, dancing,\nrunning, after copulation, and the like. But I will now add some signs,\nby which these things may be known.\n\nIf the cause of barrenness be in the man, through overmuch heat in the\nseed, the woman may easily feel that in receiving it.\n\nIf the nature of the woman be too hot, and so unfit for conception, it\nwill appear by her having her terms very little, and the colour\ninclining to yellowness; she is also very hasty, choleric and crafty;\nher pulse beats very swift, and she is very desirous of copulation.\n\nTo know whether the fault is in the man or in the woman, sprinkle the\nman's urine upon a lettuce leaf, and the woman's urine upon another, and\nthat which dries away first is unfruitful. Also take five wheaten corns\nand seven beans, put them into an earthen pot, and let the party make\nwater therein; let this stand seven days, and if in that time they begin\nto sprout, then the party is fruitful; but if they sprout not, then the\nparty is barren, whether it be the man or the woman; this is a certain\nsign.\n\nThere are some that make this experiment of a woman's fruitfulness; take\nmyrrh, red storax and some odoriferous things, and make a perfume of\nwhich let the woman receive into the neck of the womb through a funnel;\nif the woman feels the smoke ascend through her body to the nose, then\nshe is fruitful; otherwise she is barren. Some also take garlic and\nbeer, and cause the woman to lie upon her back upon it, and if she feel\nthe scent thereof in her nose, it is a sign of her being fruitful.\n\nCulpepper and others also give a great deal of credit to the following\nexperiment. Take a handful of barley, and steep half of it in the urine\nof a man, and the other half in the urine of the woman, for the space of\ntwenty-four hours; then take it out, and put the man's by itself, and\nthe woman's by itself; set it in a flower-pot, or some other thing,\nwhere let it dry; water the man's every morning with his own urine, and\nthe woman's with hers, and that which grows first is the most fruitful;\nbut if they grow not at all, they are both naturally barren.\n\n_Cure_. If the barrenness proceeds from stoppage of the menstrua, let\nthe woman sweat, for that opens the parts; and the best way to sweat is\nin a hot-house. Then let the womb be strengthened by drinking a draught\nof white wine, wherein a handful of stinking arrach, first bruised, has\nbeen boiled, for by a secret magnetic virtue, it strengthens the womb,\nand by a sympathetic quality, removes any disease thereof. To which add\nalso a handful of vervain, which is very good to strengthen both the\nwomb and the head, which are commonly afflicted together by sympathy.\nHaving used these two or three days, if they come not down, take of\ncalamint, pennyroyal, thyme, betony, dittany, burnet, feverfew, mugwort,\nsage, peony roots, juniper berries, half a handful of each, or as many\nas can be got; let these be boiled in beer, and taken for her drink.\n\nTake one part of gentian-root, two parts of centaury, distil them with\nale in an alembic after you have bruised the gentian-roots and infused\nthem well. This water is an admirable remedy to provoke the terms. But\nif you have not this water in readiness, take a drachm of centaury, and\nhalf a drachm of gentian-roots bruised, boiled in posset drink, and\ndrink half a drachm of it at night going to bed. Seed of wild navew\nbeaten to powder, and a drachm of it taken in the morning in white wine,\nalso is very good; but if it answers not, she must be let blood in the\nlegs. And be sure you administer your medicines a little before the full\nof the moon, by no means in the wane of the moon; if you do, you will\nfind them ineffectual.\n\nIf barrenness proceed from the overflowing of the menstrua, then\nstrengthen the womb as you were taught before; afterwards anoint the\nveins of the back with oil of roses, oil of myrtle and oil of quinces\nevery night, and then wrap a piece of white baise about your veins, the\ncotton side next to the skin and keep the same always to it. But above\nall, I recommend this medicine to you. Take comfrey-leaves or roots, and\nclown woundwort, of each a handful; bruise them well, and boil them in\nale, and drink a good draught of it now and then. Or take cinnamon,\ncassia lignea, opium, of each two drachms; myrrh, white pepper,\ngalbanum, of each one drachm; dissolve the gum and opium in white wine;\nbeat the rest into powder and make pills, mixing them together exactly,\nand let the patient take two each night going to bed; but let the pills\nnot exceed fifteen grains.\n\nIf barrenness proceed from a flux in the womb, the cure must be\naccording to the cause producing it, or which the flux proceeds from,\nwhich may be known by signs; for a flux of the womb, being a continual\ndistillation from it for a long time together, the colour of what is\nvoided shows what humour it is that offends; in some it is red, and that\nproceeds from blood putrified, in some it is yellow, and that denotes\ncholer; in others white and pale, and denotes phlegm. If pure blood\ncomes out, as if a vein were opened, some corrosion or gnawing of the\nwomb is to be feared. All these are known by the following signs:\n\nThe place of conception is continually moist with the humours, the face\nill-coloured, the party loathes meat and breathes with difficulty, the\neyes are much swollen, which is sometimes without pain. If the offending\nhumour be pure blood, then you must let blood in the arm, and the\ncephalic vein is fittest to draw back the blood; then let the juice of\nplantain and comfrey be injected into the womb. If phlegm be a cause,\nlet cinnamon be a spice used in all her meats and drinks, and let her\ntake a little Venice treacle or mithridate every morning. Let her boil\nburnet, mugwort, feverfew and vervain in all her broths. Also, half a\ndrachm of myrrh, taken every morning, is an excellent remedy against\nthis malady. If choler be the cause, let her take burrage, buglos, red\nroses, endive and succory roots, lettuce and white poppy-seed, of each a\nhandful; boil these in white wine until one half be wasted; let her\ndrink half a pint every morning to which half pint add syrup of chicory\nand syrup of peach-flowers, of each an ounce, with a little rhubarb, and\nthis will gently purge her. If it proceed from putrified blood, let her\nbe bled in the foot, and then strengthen the womb, as I have directed in\nstopping the menstrua.\n\nIf barrenness be occasioned by the falling out of the womb, as sometimes\nit happens, let her apply sweet scents to the nose, such as civet,\ngalbanum, storax, calamitis, wood of aloes; and such other things as\nare of that nature; and let her lay stinking things to the womb, such as\nasafoetida, oil of amber, or the smoke of her own hair, being burnt; for\nthis is a certain truth, that the womb flies from all stinking, and to\nall sweet things. But the most infallible cure in this case is; take a\ncommon burdock leaf (which you may keep dry, if you please, all the\nyear), apply this to her head and it will draw the womb upwards. In fits\nof the mother, apply it to the soles of the feet, and it will draw the\nwomb downwards. But seed beaten into a powder, draws the womb which way\nyou please, accordingly as it is applied.\n\nIf barrenness in the woman proceed from a hot cause, let her take whey\nand clarify it; then boil plantain leaves and roots in it, and drink it\nfor her ordinary drink. Let her inject plantain juice into her womb with\na syringe. If it be in the winter, when you cannot get the juice, make a\nstrong decoction of the leaves and roots in water, and inject that up\nwith a syringe, but let it be blood warm, and you will find this\nmedicine of great efficacy. And further, to take away barrenness\nproceeding from hot causes, take of conserve of roses, cold lozenges,\nmake a tragacanth, the confections of trincatelia; and use, to smell to,\ncamphor, rosewater and saunders. It is also good to bleed the basilica\nor liver vein, and take four or five ounces of blood, and then take this\npurge; take electuarium de epithymo de succo rosarum, of each two\ndrachms and a half; clarified whey, four ounces; mix them well together,\nand take it in the morning fasting; sleep after it about an hour and a\nhalf, and fast for four hours after; and about an hour before you eat\nanything, drink a good draught of whey. Also take lilywater, four\nounces; mandragore water, one ounce; saffron, half a scruple; beat the\nsaffron to a powder, and mix it with waters, drink them warm in the\nmorning; use these eight days together.\n\n\n\n_Some apparent Remedy against Barrenness and to cause Fruitfulness._\n\nTake broom flowers, smallage, parsley seed, cummin, mugwort, feverfew,\nof each half a scruple; aloes, half an ounce; Indian salt, saffron, of\neach half a drachm; beat and mix them together, and put it to five\nounces of feverfew water warm; stop it up, and let it stand and dry in a\nwarm place, and this do, two or three times, one after the other; then\nmake each drachm into six pills, and take one of them every night before\nsupper.\n\nFor a purging medicine against barrenness, take conserve of benedicta\nlax, a quarter of an ounce; depsillo three drachms, electuary de\nrosarum, one drachm; mix them together with feverfew water, and drink it\nin the morning betimes. About three days after the patient hath taken\nthis purge, let her be bled, taking four or five ounces from the median,\nor common black vein in the foot; and then give for five successive\ndays, filed ivory, a drachm and a half, in feverfew water; and during\nthe time let her sit in the following bath an hour together, morning and\nnight. Take mild yellow sapes, daucas, balsam wood and fruit, ash-keys,\nof each two handfuls, red and white behen, broom flowers, of each a\nhandful; musk, three grains; amber, saffron, of each a scruple; boiled\nin water sufficiently; but the musk, saffron, amber and broom flowers\nmust be put into the decoction, after it is boiled and strained.\n\n\n\n_A Confection very good against Barrenness._\n\nTake pistachia, eringoes, of each half an ounce; saffron, one drachm;\nlignum aloes, galengal, mace, coriophilla, balm flowers, red and white\nbehen, of each four scruples; syrup of confected ginger, twelve ounces;\nwhite sugar, six ounces, decoct all these in twelve ounces of balm\nwater, and stir them well together; then put in it musk and amber, of\neach a scruple; take thereof the quantity of a nutmeg three times a day;\nin the morning, an hour before noon and an hour after supper.\n\nBut if the cause of barrenness, either in man or woman, be through\nscarcity or diminution of the natural seed, then such things are to be\ntaken as do increase the seed, and incite to stir up to venery, and\nfurther conception; which I shall here set down, and then conclude the\nchapter concerning barrenness.\n\nFor this, yellow rape seed baked in bread is very good; also young, fat\nflesh, not too much salted; also saffron, the tails of stincus, and long\npepper prepared in wine. But let such persons eschew all sour, sharp,\ndoughy and slimy meats, long sleep after meat, surfeiting and\ndrunkenness, and so much as they can, keep themselves from sorrow,\ngrief, vexation and anxious care.\n\nThese things following increase the natural seed, stir up the venery and\nrecover the seed again when it is lost, viz., eggs, milk, rice, boiled\nin milk, sparrows' brains, flesh, bones and all; the stones and pizzles\nof bulls, bucks, rams and bears, also cocks' stones, lambs' stones,\npartridges', quails' and pheasants' eggs. And this is an undeniable\naphorism, that whatever any creature is addicted unto, they move or\nincite the man or the woman that eats them, to the like, and therefore\npartridges, quails, sparrows, etc., being extremely addicted to venery,\nthey work the same effect on those men and women that eat them. Also,\ntake notice, that in what part of the body the faculty that you would\nstrengthen, lies, take that same part of the body of another creature,\nin whom the faculty is strong, as a medicine. As for instance, the\nprocreative faculty lies in the testicles; therefore, cocks' stones,\nlambs' stones, etc., are proper to stir up venery. I will also give you\nanother general rule; all creatures that are fruitful being eaten, make\nthem fruitful that eat them, as crabs, lobsters, prawns, pigeons, etc.\nThe stones of a fox, dried and beaten to a powder, and a drachm taken in\nthe morning in sheep's milk, and the stones of a boar taken in like\nmanner, are very good. The heart of a male quail carried about a man,\nand the heart of a female quail carried about a woman, causes natural\nlove and fruitfulness. Let them, also, that would increase their seed,\neat and drink of the best, as much as they can; for _sine Cerere el\nLibero, friget Venus_, is an old proverb, which is, \"without good meat\nand drink, Venus will be frozen to death.\"\n\nPottages are good to increase the seed; such as are made of beans, peas,\nand lupins, mixed with sugar. French beans, wheat sodden in broth,\naniseed, also onions, stewed garlic, leeks, yellow rapes, fresh mugwort\nroots, eringo roots confected, ginger connected, etc. Of fruits, hazel\nnuts, cyprus nuts, pistachio, almonds and marchpanes thereof. Spices\ngood to increase seed are cinnamon, galengal, long pepper, cloves,\nginger, saffron and asafoetida, a drachm and a half taken in good wine,\nis very good for this purpose.\n\nThe weakness and debility of a man's yard, being a great hindrance to\nprocreation let him use the following ointment to strengthen it: Take\nwax, oil of beaver-cod, marjoram, gentle and oil of costus, of each a\nlike quantity, mix them into an ointment, and put it to a little musk,\nand with it anoint the yard, cods, etc. Take of house emmets, three\ndrachms, oil of white safannum, oil of lilies, of each an ounce; pound\nand bruise the ants, and put them to the oil and let them stand in the\nsun six days; then strain out the oil and add to it euphorbium one\nscruple, pepper and rue, of each one drachm, mustard seed half a drachm,\nset this altogether in the sun two or three days, then anoint the\ninstrument of generation therewith.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\n     _The Diseases of the Womb._\n\n\nI have already said, that the womb is the field of generation; and if\nthis field be corrupted, it is vain to expect any fruit, although it be\never so well sown. It is, therefore, not without reason that I intend in\nthis chapter to set down the several distempers to which the womb is\nobnoxious, with proper and safe remedies against them.\n\n\n\nSECTION I.--_Of the Hot Distemper of the Womb._\n\nThe distemper consists in excess of heat; for as heat of the womb is\nnecessary for conception, so if it be too much, it nourisheth not the\nseed, but it disperseth its heat, and hinders the conception. This\npreternatural heat is sometimes from the birth, and causeth barrenness,\nbut if it be accidental, it is from hot causes, that bring the heat and\nthe blood to the womb; it arises also from internal and external\nmedicines, and from too much hot meat, drink and exercise. Those that\nare troubled with this distemper have but few courses, and those are\nyellow, black, burnt or sharp, have hair betimes on their privities, are\nvery prone to lust, subject to headache, and abound with choler, and\nwhen the distemper is strong upon them, they have but few terms, which\nare out of order, being bad and hard to flow, and in time they become\nhypochondriacal, and for the most part barren, having sometimes a\nphrenzy of the womb.\n\n_Cure_. The remedy is to use coolers, so that they offend not the\nvessels that most open for the flux of the terms. Therefore, take the\nfollowing inwardly; succory, endive, violets, water lilies, sorrel,\nlettuce, saunders and syrups and conserve made thereof. Also take a\nconserve of succory, violets, water-lilies, burrage, each an ounce;\nconserve of roses, half an ounce, diamargation frigid, diatriascantal,\neach half a drachm; and with syrup of violets, or juice of citrons, make\nan electuary. For outward applications, make use of ointment of roses,\nviolets, water-lilies, gourd, Venus navel, applied to the back and\nloins.\n\nLet the air be cool, her garments thin, and her food endive, lettuce,\nsuccory and barley. Give her no hot meats, nor strong wine, unless mixed\nwith water. Rest is good for her, but she must abstain from copulation,\nthough she may sleep as long as she pleases.\n\n\n\nSECT. II.--_Of the Cold Distempers of the Womb._\n\nThis distemper is the reverse of the foregoing, and equally an enemy to\ngeneration, being caused by a cold quality abounding to excess, and\nproceeds from a too cold air, rest, idleness and cooling medicines. It\nmay be known by an aversion to venery, and taking no pleasure in the act\nof copulation when the seed is spent; the terms are phlegmatic, thick\nand slimy, and do not flow as they should; the womb is windy and the\nseed crude and waterish. It is the cause of obstructions and barrenness,\nand is hard to be cured.\n\n_Cure_. Take galengal, cinnamon, nutmeg mace, cloves, ginger, cububs,\ncardamom, grains of paradise, each an ounce and a half, galengal, six\ndrachms, long pepper, half an ounce, Zedoary five drachms; bruise them\nand add six quarts of wine, put them into a cellar nine days, daily\nstirring them; then add of mint two handfuls, and let them stand\nfourteen days, pour off the wine and bruise them, and then pour on the\nwine again, and distil them. Also anoint with oil of lilies, rue,\nangelica, cinnamon, cloves, mace and nutmeg. Let her diet and air be\nwarm, her meat of easy concoction, seasoned with ant-seed, fennel and\nthyme; and let her avoid raw fruits and milk diets.\n\n\n\nSECT. III.--_Of the Inflation of the Womb._\n\nThe inflation of the womb is a stretching of it by wind, called by some\na windy mole; the wind proceeds from a cold matter, whether thick or\nthin, contained in the veins of the womb, by which the heat thereof is\novercome, and which either flows thither from other parts, or is\ngathered there by cold meats and drinks. Cold air may be a producing\ncause of it also, as women that lie in are exposed to it. The wind is\ncontained either in the cavity of the vessels of the womb, or between\nthe tumicle, and may be known by a swelling in the region of the womb,\nwhich sometimes reaches to the navel, loins and diaphragm, and rises and\nabates as the wind increaseth or decreaseth. It differs from the dropsy,\nin that it never swells so high. That neither physician nor midwife may\ntake it for dropsy, let them observe the signs of the woman with the\nchild laid down in a former part of this work; and if any sign be\nwanting, they may suspect it to be an inflation; of which it is a\nfurther sign, that in conception the swelling is invariable; also if you\nstrike upon the belly, in an inflation, there will be noise, but not so\nin case there be a conception. It also differs from a mole, because in\nthat there is a weight and hardness of the belly, and when the patient\nmoves from one side to the other she feels a great weight which moveth,\nbut not so in this. If the inflation continue without the cavity of the\nwomb, the pain is greater and more extensive, nor is there any noise,\nbecause the wind is more pent up.\n\n_Cure_. This distemper is neither of a long continuance nor dangerous,\nif looked after in time; and if it be in the cavity of the womb it is\nmore easily expelled. To which purpose give her diaphnicon, with a\nlittle castor and sharp clysters that expel the wind. If this distemper\nhappen to a woman in travail let her not purge after delivery, nor\nbleed, because it is from a cold matter; but if it come after\nchild-bearing, and her terms come down sufficiently, and she has\nfullness of blood, let the saphoena vein be opened, after which, let her\ntake the following electuary: take conserve of betony and rosemary, of\neach an ounce and a half; candied eringoes, citron peel candied, each\nhalf an ounce; diacimium, diagenel, each a drachm; oil of aniseed, six\ndrops, and with syrup of citrons make an electuary. For outward\napplication make a cataplasm of rue, mugwort, camomile, dill, calamint,\nnew pennyroyal, thyme, with oil of rue, keir and camomile. And let the\nfollowing clyster to expel the wind be put into the womb: Take agnus\ncastus, cinnamon, each two drachms, boil them in wine to half a pint.\nShe may likewise use sulphur, Bath and Spa waters, both inward and\noutward, because they expel the wind.\n\n\n\nSECT. IV.--_Of the Straitness of the Womb and its Vessels._\n\nThis is another effect of the womb, which is a very great obstruction to\nthe bearing of children, hindering both the flow of the menses and\nconception, and is seated in the vessel of the womb, and the neck\nthereof. The causes of this straitness are thick and rough humours, that\nstop the mouths of the veins and arteries. These humours are bred either\nby gross or too much nourishment, when the heat of the womb is so weak\nthat it cannot attenuate the humours, which by reason thereof, either\nflow from the whole body, or are gathered into the womb. Now the vessels\nare made straiter or closer several ways; sometimes by inflammation,\nscirrhous or other tumours; sometimes by compressions, scars, or by\nflesh or membranes that grow after a wound. The signs by which this is\nknown are, the stoppage of the terms, not conceiving, and condities\nabounding in the body which are all shown by particular signs, for if\nthere is a wound, or the secundine be pulled out by force phlegm comes\nfrom the wound; if stoppage of the terms be from an old obstruction of\nhumours, it is hard to be cured; if it be only from the disorderly use\nof astringents, it is more curable; if it be from a scirrhous, or other\ntumours that compress or close the vessel, the disease is incurable.\n\n_Cure_. For the cure of that which is curable, obstructions must be\ntaken away, phlegm must be purged, and she must be let blood, as will be\nhereafter directed in the stoppage of the terms. Then use the following\nmedicines: Take of aniseed and fennel seed, each a drachm; rosemary,\npennyroyal, calamint, betony flowers, each an ounce; castus, cinnamon,\ngalengal, each half an ounce; saffron half a drachm, with wine. Or take\nasparagus roots, parsley roots, each an ounce; pennyroyal, calamint,\neach a handful; wallflowers, gilly-flowers, each two handfuls; boil,\nstrain and add syrup of mugwort, an ounce and a half. For a fomentation,\ntake pennyroyal, mercury, calamint, marjoram, mugwort, each two\nhandfuls, sage, rosemary bays, camomile-flowers, each a handful, boil\nthem in water and foment the groin and the bottom of the belly; or let\nher sit up to the navel in a bath, and then anoint about the groin with\noil of rue, lilies, dill, etc.\n\n\n\nSECT. V.--_Of the falling of the Womb._\n\nThis is another evil effect of the womb which is both very troublesome,\nand also a hindrance to conception. Sometimes the womb falleth to the\nmiddle of the thighs, nay, almost to the knees, and may be known then by\nits hanging out. Now, that which causeth the womb to change its place\nis, that the ligaments by which it is bound to the other parts, are not\nin order; for there are four ligaments, two above, broad and membranous,\nround and hollow; it is also bound to the great vessels by veins and\narteries, and to the back by nerves; but the place is changed when it is\ndrawn another way, or when the ligaments are loose, and it falls down by\nits own weight. It is drawn on one side when the menses are hindered\nfrom flowing, and the veins and arteries are full, namely, those that go\nto the womb. If it be a mole on one side, the liver and spleen cause it;\nby the liver vein on the right side, and the spleen on the left, as they\nare more or less filled. Others are of opinion, it comes from the\nsolution of the connexion of the fibrous neck and the parts adjacent;\nand that it is from the weight of the womb descending; this we deny not,\nbut the ligaments must be loose or broken. But women with a dropsy could\nnot be said to have the womb fallen down, if it came only from\nlooseness; but in them it is caused by the saltness of the water, which\ndries more than it moistens. Now, if there be a little tumour, within or\nwithout the privities, it is nothing else but a descent of the womb, but\nif there be a tumour like a goose's egg and a hole at the bottom and\nthere is at first a great pain in the parts to which the womb is\nfastened, as the loins, the bottom of the belly, and the os sacrum, it\nproceeds from the breaking or stretching of the ligaments; and a little\nafter the pain is abated, and there is an impediment in walking, and\nsometimes blood comes from the breach of the vessels, and the excrements\nand urine are stopped, and then a fever and convulsion ensueth,\noftentimes proving mortal, especially if it happen to women with child.\n\n_Cure_. For the cure of this distemper, first put up the womb before the\nair alter it, or it be swollen or inflamed; and for this purpose give a\nclyster to remove the excrements, and lay her upon her back, with her\nlegs abroad, and her thighs lifted up and her head down; then take the\ntumour in your hand and thrust it in without violence; if it be swelled\nby alteration and cold, foment it with the decoction of mallows,\nalthoea, lime, fenugreek, camomile flowers, bay-berries, and anoint it\nwith oil of lilies, and hen's grease. If there be an inflammation, do\nnot put it up, but fright it in, by putting a red-hot iron before it\nand making a show as if you intended to burn it; but first sprinkle upon\nit the powder of mastich, frankincense and the like; thus, take\nfrankincense, mastich, each two drachms; sarcocol steeped in milk,\ndrachm; mummy, pomegranate flowers, sanguisdraconis, each half a drachm.\nWhen it is put up, let her lie with her legs stretched, and one upon the\nother, for eight or ten days, and make a pessary in the form of a pear,\nwith cork or sponge, and put it into the womb, dipped in sharp wine, or\njuice of acacia, with powder of sanguis, with galbanum and bdellium.\nApply also a cupping-glass, with a great flame, under the navel or paps,\nor both kidneys, and lay this plaster to the back; take opopanax, two\nounces, storax liquid, half an ounce; mastich, frankincense, pitch,\nbole, each two drachms; then with wax make a plaster; or take laudanum,\na drachm and a half; mastich, and frankincense, each half a drachm, wood\naloes, cloves, spike, each a drachm; ash-coloured ambergris, four\ngrains: musk, half a scruple; make two round plasters to be laid on each\nside of the navel; make a fume of snails' skins salted, or of garlic,\nand let it be taken in by the funnel. Use also astringent fomentations\nof bramble leaves, plantain, horse-tails, myrtles, each two handfuls;\nwormseed, two handfuls; pomegranate flowers, half an ounce; boil them in\nwine and water. For an injection take comfrey root, an ounce;\nrupturewort, two drachms; yarrow, mugwort, each half an ounce; boil them\nin red wine, and inject with a syringe. To strengthen the womb, take\nhartshorn, bays, of each half a drachm; myrrh half a drachm; make a\npowder of two doses, and give it with sharp wine. Or you may take\nZedoary, parsnip seed, crabs' eyes prepared, each a drachm, nutmeg, half\na drachm; and give a drachm, in powder; but astringents must be used\nwith great caution, lest by stopping the courses a worse mischief\nfollow. To keep in its place, make rollers and ligatures as for a\nrupture; and put pessaries into the bottom of the womb, that may force\nit to remain. Let the diet be such as has drying, astringent and glueing\nqualities, as rice, starch, quinces, pears and green cheese; but let the\nsummer fruits be avoided; and let her wine be astringent and red.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\n     _Of Diseases Relating to Women's Monthly Courses._\n\n\nSECTION I.--_Of Women's Monthly Courses in General._\n\nThat divine Providence, which, with a wisdom peculiar to itself, has\nappointed woman to conceive by coition with man, and to bear and bring\nforth children, has provided for nourishment of children during their\nrecess in the womb of their mother, by that redundancy of the blood\nwhich is natural to all women; and which, flowing out at certain periods\nof time (when they are not pregnant) are from thence called _terms_ and\n_menses_, from their monthly flux of excrementitious and unprofitable\nblood. Now, that the matter flowing forth is excrementitious, is to be\nunderstood only with respect to the redundancy and overplus thereof,\nbeing an excrement only with respect to its quantity; for as to its\nquality, it is as pure and incorrupt as any blood in the veins; and this\nappears from the final cause of it, which is the propagation and\nconservation of mankind, and also from the generation of it, being\nsuperfluity of the last aliment of the fleshy parts. If any ask, if the\nmenses be not of hurtful quality, how can they cause such venomous\neffects; if they fall upon trees and herbs, they make the one barren\nand mortify the other: I answer, this malignity is contracted in the\nwomb, for the woman, wanting native heat to digest the superfluity,\nsends it to the matrix, where seating itself till the mouth of the womb\nbe dilated, it becomes corrupt and mortified; which may easily be,\nconsidering the heat and moistness of the place; and so this blood being\nout of its proper vessels, offends in quality.\n\n\n\nSECT. II.--_Of the Terms coming out of order, either before or after the\nusual Time._\n\nHaving, in the former part of this work, treated, of the suppression and\noverflowing of the monthly terms, I shall content myself with referring\nthe reader thereto, and proceed to speak of their coming out of order,\neither before or after the usual time.\n\nBoth these proceed from an ill constitution of body. Everything is\nbeautiful in its order, in nature as well as in morality; and if the\norder of nature be broken, it shows the body to be out of order. Of each\nof these effects briefly.\n\nWhen the monthly courses come before their time, showing a depraved\nexcretion, and flowing sometimes twice a month, the cause is in the\nblood, which stirs up the expulsive faculty of the womb, or else in the\nwhole body, and is frequently occasioned by the person's diet, which\nincreases the blood too much, making it too sharp or too hot. If the\nretentive faculty of the womb be weak, and the expulsive faculty strong,\nand of a quick sense, it brings them forth the sooner. Sometimes they\nflow sooner by reason of a fall, stroke or some violent passion, which\nthe parties themselves can best relate. If it be from heat, thin and\nsharp humours, it is known by the distemper of the whole body. The\nlooseness of the vessels and the weakness of the retentive faculty, is\nknown from a moist and loose habit of the body. It is more troublesome\nthan dangerous, but hinders conception, and therefore the cure is\nnecessary for all, but especially such as desire children. If it\nproceeds from a sharp blood, let her temper it by a good diet and\nmedicines. To which purpose, let her use baths of iron water, that\ncorrect the distemper of the bowels, and then evacuate. If it proceeds\nfrom the retentive faculty, and looseness of the vessels, it is to be\ncorrected with gentle astringents.\n\nAs to the courses flowing after the usual time, the causes are,\nthickness of the blood, and the smallness of its quantity, with the\nstoutness of the passage, and weakness of the expulsive faculties.\nEither of these singly may stop the courses, but if they all concur,\nthey render the distemper worse. If the blood abounds not in such a\nquantity as may stir up nature to expel it, its purging must necessarily\nbe deferred, till there be enough. And if the blood be thick, the\npassage stopped, and the expulsive faculty weak, the menses must needs\nbe out of order and the purging of them retarded.\n\nFor the cure of this, if the quantity of blood be small, let her use a\nlarger diet, and a very little exercise. If the blood be thick and foul,\nlet it be made thin, and the humours mixed therewith, evacuated. It is\ngood to purge, after the courses have done flowing, and to use calamint,\nand, indeed, the oftener she purges, the better. She may also use fumes\nand pessaries, apply cupping glasses without scarification to the inside\nof the thighs, and rub the legs and scarify the ankles, and hold the\nfeet in warm water four or five days before the courses come down. Let\nher also anoint the bottom of her belly with things proper to provoke\nthe terms.\n\n\n\n_Remedies for Diseases in Women's Paps._\n\nMake a cataplasm of bean meal and salad oil, and lay it to the place\nafflicted. Or anoint with the juice of papilaris. This must be done when\nthe papa are very sore.\n\nIf the paps be hard and swollen, take a handful of rue, colewort roots,\nhorehound and mint; if you cannot get all these conveniently, any two\nwill do; pound the handful in honey, and apply it once every day till\nhealed.\n\nIf the nipples be stiff and sore, anoint twice a day with Florence oil,\ntill healed. If the paps be flabby and hanging, bruise a little hemlock,\nand apply it to the breast for three days; but let it not stand above\nseven hours. Or, which is safer, rusae juice, well boiled, with a little\nsinapios added thereto, and anoint.\n\nIf the paps be hard and dead, make a plate of lead pretty thin, to\nanswer the breasts; let this stand nine hours each day, for three days.\nOr sassafras bruised, and used in like manner.\n\n\n\n_Receipt for Procuring Milk._\n\nDrink arpleui, drawn as tea, for twenty-one days. Or eat of aniseeds.\nAlso the juice of arbor vitae, a glassful once a day for eleven days, is\nvery good, for it quickens the memory, strengthens the body, and causeth\nmilk to flow in abundance.\n\n\n\n_Directions for Drawing of Blood._\n\nDrawing of blood was first invented for good and salutary purposes,\nalthough often abused and misapplied. To bleed in the left arm removes\nlong continued pains and headaches. It is also good for those who have\ngot falls and bruises.\n\nBleeding is good for many disorders, and generally proves a cure, except\nin some extraordinary cases, and in those cases bleeding is hurtful. If\na woman be pregnant, to draw a little blood will give her ease, good\nhealth, and a lusty child.\n\nBleeding is a most certain cure for no less than twenty-one disorders,\nwithout any outward or inward applications; and for many more with\napplication of drugs, herbs and flowers.\n\nWhen the moon is on the increase, you may let blood at any time day or\nnight; but when she is on the decline, you must bleed only in the\nmorning.\n\nBleeding may be performed from the month of March to November. No\nbleeding in December, January or February, unless an occasion require\nit. The months of March, April and November, are the three chief months\nof the year for bleeding in; but it may be performed with safety from\nthe ninth of March to the nineteenth of November.\n\nTo prevent the dangers that may arise from she unskilful drawing of\nblood, let none open a but a person of experience and practice.\n\nThere are three sorts of people you must not let draw blood; first\nignorant and inexperienced persons. Secondly, those who have bad sight\nand trembling hands, whether skilful or unskilled. For when the hand\ntrembles, the lance is apt to start from the vein, and the flesh be\nthereby damaged, which may hurt, canker, and very much torment the\npatient. Thirdly, let no woman bleed, but such as have gone through a\ncourse of midwifery at college, for those who are unskilful may cut an\nartery, to the great damage of the patient. Besides, what is still\nworse, those pretended bleeders, who take it up at their own hand,\ngenerally keep unedged and rusty lancets, which prove hurtful, even in a\nskilful hand. Accordingly you ought to be cautious in choosing your\nphysician; a man of learning knows what vein to open for each disorder;\nhe knows how much blood to take as soon as he sees the patient, and he\ncan give you suitable advice concerning your disorder.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nPART III\n\nARISTOTLE'S BOOK OF PROBLEMS\n\nWITH OTHER\n\nASTROMER, ASTROLOGERS AND\n\nPHYSICIANS,\n\nCONCERNING\n\nTHE STATE OF MAN'S BODY.\n\n\nQ. Among all living creatures, why hath man only his countenance lifted\nup towards Heaven. A. 1. From the will of the Creator. But although this\nanswer be true, yet it seemeth not to be of force, because that so all\nquestions might be easily resolved. Therefore, 2. I answer that, for the\nmost part, every workman doth make his first work worse, and then his\nsecond better! so God creating all other animals before man gave them\ntheir face looking down to the earth; and then secondly he created man,\nunto whom he gave an upright shape, lifted unto heaven, because it is\ndrawn from divinity, and it is derived from the goodness of God, who\nmaketh all his works both perfect and good. 3. Man only, among all\nliving creatures, is ordained to the kingdom of heaven, and therefore\nhath his face elevated and lifted up to heaven, because that despising\nearthly and worldly things, he ought often to contemplate on heavenly\nthings. 4. That the reasonable man is like unto angels, and finally\nordained towards God; and therefore he hath a figure looking upward. 5.\nMan is a microcosm, that is, a little world, and therefore he doth\ncommand all other living creatures and they obey him. 6. Naturally there\nis unto everything and every work, that form and figure given which is\nfit and proper for its motion; as unto the heavens, roundness, to the\nfire a pyramidical form, that is, broad beneath and sharp towards the\ntop, which form is most apt to ascend; and so man has his face towards\nheaven to behold the wonders of God's works.\n\nQ. Why are the heads of men hairy? A. The hair is the ornament of the\nhead, and the brain is purged of gross humours by the growing of the\nhair, from the highest to the lowest, which pass through the pores of\nthe exterior flesh, become dry, and are converted into hair. This\nappears to be the case, from the circumstance that in all man's body\nthere is nothing drier than the hair, for it is drier than the bones;\nand it is well known that some beasts are nourished with bones, as dogs,\nbut they cannot digest feathers or hair, but void them undigested, being\ntoo hot for nourishment. 2. It is answered, that the brain is purged in\nthree different ways; of superfluous watery humours by the eyes, of\ncholer by the nose, and of phlegm by the hair, which is the opinion of\nthe best physicians.\n\nQ. Why have men longer hair on their heads than any other living\ncreature? A. Arist. de Generat. Anim. says, that men have the moistest\nbrain of all living creatures from which the seed proceedeth which is\nconverted into the long hair of the head. 2. The humours of men are fat,\nand do not become dry easily; and therefore the hair groweth long on\nthem. In beasts, the humours easily dry, and therefore the hair groweth\nnot so long.\n\nQ. Why doth the hair take deeper root in man's skin than in that of any\nother living creatures? A. Because it has greater store of nourishment\nin man, and therefore grows more in the inward parts of man. And this is\nthe reason why in other creatures the hair doth alter and change with\nthe skin, and not in man, unless by a scar or wound.\n\nQ. Why have women longer hair than men? A. Because women are moister and\nmore phlegmatic than men, and therefore there is more matter for hair to\nthem, and, by consequence, the length also of their hair. And,\nfurthermore, this matter is more increased in women than men from their\ninterior parts, and especially in the time of their monthly terms,\nbecause the matter doth then ascend, whereby the humour that breedeth\nthe hair, doth increase. 2. Because women want beards; so the matter of\nthe beard doth go into that of the hair.\n\nQ. Why have some women soft hair and some hard? A. 1. The hair hath\nproportion with the skin; of which some is hard, some thick, some subtle\nand soft, some gross; therefore, the hair which grows out of thick,\ngross skin, is thick and gross; that which groweth out of a subtle and\nfine skin, is fine and soft; when the pores are open, then cometh forth\nmuch humour, and therefore hard hair is engendered; and when the pores\nare strait, then there doth grow soft and fine hair. This doth evidently\nappear in men, because women have softer hair than they; for in women\nthe pores are shut and strait, by reason of their coldness. 2. Because\nfor the most part, choleric men have harder and thicker hair than\nothers, by reason of their heat, and because their pores are always\nopen, and therefore they have beards sooner than others. For this reason\nalso, beasts that have hard hair are boldest, because such have\nproceeded from heat and choler, examples of which we have in the bear\nand the boar; and contrariwise, those beasts that have soft hair are\nfearful, because they are cold, as the hare and the hart. 3. From the\nclimate where a man is born; because in hot regions hard and gross hair\nis engendered, as appears in the Ethiopians, and the contrary is the\ncase is cold countries toward the north.\n\nQ. Why have some men curled hair, and some smooth? A. From the superior\ndegree of heat in some men, which makes the hair curl and grow upward;\nthis is proved by a man's having smooth hair when he goes into a hot\nbath, and it afterwards becomes curled. Therefore keepers of baths have\noften curled hair, as also Ethiopians and choleric men. But the cause of\nthis smoothness, is the abundance of moist humours.\n\nQ. Why do women show ripeness by hair in their privy parts, and not\nelsewhere, but men in their breasts? A. Because in men and women there\nis abundance of humidity in that place, but most in women, as men have\nthe mouth of the bladder in that place, where the urine is contained, of\nwhich the hair in the breast is engendered, and especially that about\nthe navel. But of women in general, it is said, that the humidity of the\nbladder of the matrix, or womb, is joined and meeteth in that lower\nsecret place, and therefore is dissolved and separated in that place\ninto vapours and fumes, which are the cause of hair. And the like doth\nhappen in other places, as in the hair under the arms.\n\nQ. Why have not women beards? A. Because they want heat; which is the\ncase with some effeminate men, who are beardless from the same cause, to\nhave complexions like women.\n\nQ. Why doth the hair grow on those that are hanged? A. Because their\nbodies are exposed to the sun, which, by its heat doth dissolve all\nmoisture into the fume or vapour of which the hair doth grow.\n\nQ. Why is the hair of the beard thicker and grosser than elsewhere; and\nthe more men are shaven, the harder and thicker it groweth? A. Because\nby so much as the humours or vapours of a liquid are dissolved and taken\naway, so much the more doth the humour remaining draw to the same; and\ntherefore the more the hair is shaven, the thicker the humours gather\nwhich engender the hair, and cause it to wax hard.\n\nQ. Why are women smooth and fairer than men? A. Because in women much of\nthe humidity and superfluity, which are the matter and cause of the hair\nof the body, is expelled with their monthly terms; which superfluity,\nremaining in men, through vapours passes into hair.\n\nQ. Why doth man, above all other creatures, wax hoary and gray? A.\nBecause man hath the hottest heart of all living creatures; and\ntherefore, nature being most wise, lest a man should be suffocated\nthrough the heat of his heart, hath placed the heart, which is most hot,\nunder the brain, which is most cold; to the end that the heat of the\nheart may be tempered by the coldness of the brain; and contrariwise,\nthat the coldness of the brain may be qualified by the heat of the\nheart; and thereby there might be a temperature in both. A proof of this\nis, that of all living creatures man hath the worst breath when he comes\nto full age. Furthermore, man doth consume nearly half his time in\nsleep, which doth proceed from the great excess of coldness and moisture\nin the brain, and from his wanting natural heat to digest and consume\nthat moisture, which heat he hath in his youth, and therefore, in that\nage is not gray, but in old age, when heat faileth; because then the\nvapours ascending from the stomach remain undigested and unconsumed for\nwant of natural heat, and thus putrefy, on which putrefaction of humours\nthat the whiteness doth follow, which is called grayness or hoariness.\nWhereby it doth appear, that hoariness is nothing but a whiteness of\nhair, caused by a putrefaction of the humours about the roots of the\nhair, through the want of natural heat in old age. Sometimes all\ngrayness is caused by the naughtiness of the complexion, which may\nhappen in youth: sometimes through over great fear and care as appeareth\nin merchants, sailors and thieves.\n\nQ. Why doth red hair grow white sooner than hair of any other colour? A.\nBecause redness is an infirmity of the hair; for it is engendered of a\nweak and infirm matter, that is, of matter corrupted with the flowers of\nthe woman; and therefore it waxes white sooner than any other colour.\n\nQ. Why do wolves grow grisly? A. To understand this question, note the\ndifference between grayness and grisliness; grayness is caused through\ndefect of natural heat, but grisliness through devouring and heat. The\nwolf being a devouring beast, he eateth gluttonously without chewing,\nand enough at once for three days; in consequence of which, gross\nvapours engendered in the wolf's body, which cause grisliness. Grayness\nand grisliness have this difference; grayness is only in the head, but\ngrisliness all over the body.\n\nQ. Why do horses grow grisly and gray? A. Because they are for the most\npart in the sun, and heat naturally causes putrefaction; therefore the\nmatter of hair doth putrefy, and in consequence they are quickly peeled.\n\nQ. Why do men get bald, and trees let fall their leaves in winter? A.\nThe want of moisture is the cause in both, which is proved by a man's\nbecoming bald through venery, because by that he lets forth his natural\nhumidity and heat; and by that excess in carnal pleasure the moisture is\nconsumed which is the nutriment of the hair. Thus, eunuchs and women do\nnot grow bald, because they do not part from this moisture; and\ntherefore eunuchs are of the complexion of women.\n\nQ. Why are not women bald? A. Because they are cold and moist, which are\nthe causes that the hair remaineth; for moistness doth give nutriment to\nthe hair, and coldness doth bind the pores.\n\nQ. Why are not blind men naturally bald? A. Because the eye hath\nmoisture in it, and that moisture which should pass through by the\nsubstance of the eyes, doth become a sufficient nutriment for the hair\nand therefore they are seldom bald.\n\nQ. Why doth the hair stand on end when men are afraid? A. Because in\ntime of fear the heat doth go from the outward parts of the body into\nthe inward to help the heart, and so the pores in which the hair is\nfastened are shut up, after which stopping and shutting up of the pores,\nthe standing up of the hair doth follow.\n\n\n\n_Of the Head._\n\nQ. Why is a man's head round? A. Because it contains in it the moistest\nparts of the living creature: and also that the brain may be defended\nthereby, as with a shield.\n\nQ. Why is the head not absolutely long but somewhat round? A. To the end\nthat the three creeks and cells of the brain might the better be\ndistinguished; that is, the fancy in the forehead, the discoursing or\nreasonable part in the middle, and memory in the hinder-most part.\n\nQ. Why doth a man lift up his head towards the heavens when he doth\nimagine? A. Because the imagination is in the fore part of the head or\nbrain, and therefore it lifteth up itself, that the creeks or cells of\nthe imagination may be opened, and that the spirits which help the\nimagination, and are fit for that purpose, having their concourse\nthither, may help the imagination.\n\nQ. Why doth a man, when he museth or thinketh of things past, look\ntowards the earth? A. Because the cell or creek which is behind, is the\ncreek or chamber of the memory; and therefore, that looketh towards\nheaven when the head is bowed down, and so the cell is open, to the end\nthat the spirits which perfect the memory should enter it.\n\nQ. Why is not the head fleshy, like other parts of the body? A. Because\nthe head would be too heavy, and would not stand steadily. Also, a head\nloaded with flesh, betokens an evil complexion.\n\nQ. Why is the head subject to aches and griefs? A. By reason that evil\nhumours, which proceed from the stomach, ascend up to the head and\ndisturb the brain, and so cause pain in the head; sometimes it proceeds\nfrom overmuch filling the stomach, because two great sinews pass from\nthe brain to the mouth of the stomach, and therefore these two parts do\nalways suffer grief together.\n\nQ. Why have women the headache oftener than men? A. By reason of their\nmonthly terms, which men are not troubled with, and by which a moist,\nunclean and venomous fume is produced, that seeks passage upwards, and\nso causes the headache.\n\nQ. Why is the brain white? A. 1. Because it is cold, and coldness is the\nmother of white. 2. Because it may receive the similitude and likeness\nof all colours, which the white colour can best do, because it is most\nsimple.\n\nQ. Why are all the senses in the head? A. Because the brain is there, on\nwhich all the senses depend, and are directed by it; and, consequently,\nit maketh all the spirits to feel, and governeth all the membranes.\n\nQ. Why cannot a person escape death if the brain or heart be hurt? A.\nBecause the brain and heart are the two principal parts which concern\nlife; and, therefore, if they be hurt, there is no remedy left for cure.\n\nQ. Why is the brain moist? A. Because it may easily receive an\nimpression, which moisture can best do, as it appeareth in wax, which\ndoth easily receive the print of the seal when soft.\n\nQ. Why is the brain cold? A. 1. Because that by this coldness it may\nclear the understanding of man and make it subtle. 2. That by the\ncoldness of the brain, the heat of the heart may be tempered.\n\n\n\n_Of the Eyes._\n\nQ. Why have you one nose and two eyes? A. Because light is more\nnecessary to us than smelling; and therefore it doth proceed from the\ngoodness of Nature, that if we receive any hurt or loss of one eye, the\nother should remain.\n\nQ. Why have children great eyes in their youth, which become small as\nthey grow up? A. It proceeds from the want of fire, and from the\nassemblage and meeting together of the light and humour; the eyes, being\nlightened by the sun, which doth lighten the easy humour thereof and\npurge them: and, in the absence of the sun, those humours become dark\nand black, and the sight not so good.\n\nQ. Why does the blueish grey eye see badly in the day-time and well in\nthe night? A. Because greyness is light and shining in itself, and the\nspirits with which we see are weakened in the day-time and strengthened\nin the night.\n\nQ. Why are men's eyes of diverse colours? A. By reason of diversity of\nhumours. The eye hath four coverings and three humours. The first\ncovering is called consolidative, which is the outermost, strong and\nfat. The second is called a horny skin or covering, of the likeness of\na horn; which is a clear covering. The third, uvea, of the likeness of a\nblack grape. The fourth is called a cobweb. The first humour is called\n_albuginous_, from its likeness unto the white of an egg. The second\nglarial; that is, clear, like unto crystalline. The third vitreous, that\nis, clear as glass. And the diversity of humours causeth the diversity\nof the eyes.\n\nQ. Why are men that have but one eye, good archers? and why do good\narchers commonly shut one? And why do such as behold the stars look\nthrough a trunk with one eye? A. This matter is handled in the\nperspective arts; and the reason is, as it doth appear in _The Book of\nCauses_, because that every virtue and strength united and knit\ntogether, is stronger than when dispersed and scattered. Therefore, all\nthe force of seeing dispersed in two eyes, the one being shut, is\ngathered into the other, and so the light is fortified in him; and by\nconsequence he doth see better and more certainly with one eye being\nshut, than when both are open.\n\nQ. Why do those that drink and laugh much, shed most tears? A. Because\nthat while they drink and laugh without measure the air which is drawn\nin doth not pass out through the windpipe, and so with force is\ndirected and sent to the eyes, and by their pores passing out, doth\nexpel the humours of the eyes; which humour being expelled, brings\ntears.\n\nQ. Why do such as weep much, urine but little? A. Because the radical\nhumidity of a tear and of urine are of one and the same nature, and,\ntherefore, where weeping doth increase, urine diminishes. And that they\nare of one nature is plain to the taste, because they are both salt.\n\nQ. Why do some that have clear eyes see nothing? A. By reason of the\noppilation and naughtiness of the sinews with which we see; for the\ntemples being destroyed, the strength of the light cannot be carried\nfrom the brain to the eye.\n\nQ. Why is the eye clear and smooth like glass? A. 1. Because the things\nwhich may be seen are better beaten back from a smooth thing than\notherwise, that thereby the sight should strengthen. 2. Because the eye\nis moist above all parts of the body, and of a waterish nature; and as\nthe water is clear and smooth, so likewise is the eye.\n\nQ. Why do men and beasts who have their eyes deep in their head best see\nfar off? A. Because the force and power by which we see is dispersed in\nthem, and both go directly to the thing which is seen. Thus, when a man\ndoth stand in a deep ditch or well, he doth see in the daytime the stars\nof the firmament; because then the power of the night and of the beams\nare not scattered.\n\nQ. Wherefore do those men who have eyes far out in their head not see\nfar distant? A. Because the beams of the sight which pass from the eye,\nare scattered on every side, and go not directly unto the thing that is\nseen, and therefore the sight is weakened.\n\nQ. Why are so many beasts born blind, as lions' whelps and dogs' whelps.\nA. Because such beasts are not yet of perfect ripeness and maturity, and\nthe course of nutriment doth not work in them. Thus the swallow, whose\neyes, if they were taken out when they are young in their nest, would\ngrow in again. And this is the case in many beasts who are brought forth\nbefore their time as it were dead, as bear's whelps.\n\nQ. Why do the eyes of a woman that hath her flowers, stain new glass?\nAnd why doth a basilisk kill a man with his sight? A. When the flowers\ndo run from a woman, then a most venomous air is distilled from them,\nwhich doth ascend into a woman's head; and she, having pain in her head,\ndoth wrap it up with a cloth or handkerchief; and because the eyes are\nfull of insensible holes, which are called pores, there the air seeketh\na passage, and infects the eyes, which are full of blood. The eyes also\nappear dropping and full of tears, by reason of the evil vapour that is\nin them; and these vapours are incorporated and multiplied till they\ncome to the glass before them; and by reason that such a glass is round,\nclear and smooth, it doth easily receive that which is unclean. 2. The\nbasilisk is a very venomous and infectious animal, and there pass from\nhis eyes vapours which are multiplied upon the thing which is seen by\nhim, and even unto the eye of man; the which venomous vapours or humours\nentering into the body, do infect him, and so in the end the man dieth.\nAnd this is also the reason why the basilisk, looking upon a shield\nperfectly well made with fast clammy pitch, or any hard smooth thing,\ndoth kill itself, because the humours are beaten back from the hard\nsmooth thing unto the basilisk, by which beating back he is killed.\n\nQ. Why is the sparkling in cats' eyes and wolves' eyes seen in the dark\nand not in the light? A. Because that the greater light doth darken the\nlesser; and therefore, in a greater light the sparkling cannot be seen;\nbut the greater the darkness, the easier it is seen, and is more strong\nand shining.\n\nQ. Why is the sight recreated and refreshed by a green colour? A.\nBecause green doth merely move the sight, and therefore doth comfort it;\nbut this doth not, in black or white colours, because these colours do\nvehemently stir and alter the organ and instrument of the sight, and\ntherefore make the greater violence; and by how much the more violent\nthe thing is which is felt or seen the more it doth destroy and weaken\nthe sense.\n\n\n\n_Of the Nose._\n\nQ. Why doth the nose stand out further than any other part of the body.\nA. 1. Because the nose is, as it were, the sink of the brain, by which\nthe phlegm of the brain is purged; and therefore it doth stand forth,\nlest the other parts should be defiled. 2. Because the nose is the\nbeauty of the face, and doth smell.\n\nQ. Why hath a man the worst smell of all creatures? A. Because man hath\nmost brains of all creatures; and, therefore, by exceeding coldness and\nmoisture, the brain wanteth a good disposition, and by consequence, the\nsmelling instrument is not good, yea, some men have no smell.\n\nQ. Why have vultures and cormorants a keen smell? A. Because they have a\nvery dry brain; and, therefore, the air carrying the smell, is not\nhindered by the humidity of the brain, but doth presently touch its\ninstrument; and, therefore, vultures, tigers and other ravenous beasts,\nhave been known to come five hundred miles after dead bodies.\n\nQ. Why did nature make the nostrils? A. 1. Because the mouth being shut\nwe draw breath in by the nostrils, to refresh the heart. 2. Because the\nair which proceedeth from the mouth doth savour badly, because of the\nvapours which rise from the stomach, but that which we breathe from the\nnose is not noisome. 3. Because the phlegm which doth proceed from the\nbrain is purged by them.\n\nQ. Why do men sneeze? A. That the expulsive virtue and power of the\nsight should thereby be purged, and the brain also from superfluities;\nbecause, as the lungs are purged by coughing, so is the sight and brain\nby sneezing; and therefore physicians give sneezing medicaments to purge\nthe brain; and thus it is, such sick persons as cannot sneeze, die\nquickly, because it is a sign their brain is wholly stuffed with evil\nhumours, which cannot be purged.\n\nQ. Why do such as are apoplectic sneeze, that is, such as are subject\neasily to bleed? A. Because the passages, or ventricles of the brain are\nstopped, and if they could sneeze, their apoplexy would be loosed.\n\nQ. Why does the heat of the sun provoke sneezing, and not the heat of\nthe fire? A. Because the heat of the sun doth dissolve, but not consume,\nand therefore the vapour dissolved is expelled by sneezing; but the heat\nof the fire doth dissolve and consume, and therefore doth rather hinder\nsneezing than provoke it.\n\n\n\n_Of the Ears._\n\nQ. Why do beasts move their ears, and not men? A. Because there is a\ncertain muscle near the under jaw which doth cause motion in the ear;\nand therefore, that muscle being extended and stretched, men do not move\ntheir ears, as it hath been seen in divers men; but all beasts do use\nthat muscle or fleshy sinew, and therefore do move their ears.\n\nQ. Why is rain prognosticated by the pricking up of asses' ears? A.\nBecause the ass is of a melancholic constitution, and the approach of\nrain produceth that effect on such a constitution. In the time of rain\nall beasts prick up their ears, but the ass before it comes.\n\nQ. Why have some animals no ears? A. Nature giveth unto everything that\nwhich is fit for it, but if she had given birds ears, their flying would\nhave been hindered by them. Likewise fish want ears, because they would\nhinder their swimming, and have only certain little holes through which\nthey hear.\n\nQ. Why have bats ears, although of the bird kind? A. Because they are\npartly birds in nature, in that they fly, by reason whereof they have\nwings; and partly they are hairy and seem to be of the nature of mice,\ntherefore nature hath given them ears.\n\nQ. Why have men only round ears? A. Because the shape of the whole and\nof the parts should be proportionable, and especially in all things of\none nature; for as a drop of water is round, so the whole water: and so,\nbecause a man's head is round, the ears incline towards the same figure;\nbut the heads of beasts are somewhat long, and so the ears are drawn\ninto length likewise.\n\nQ. Why hath nature given all living creatures ears? A. 1. Because with\nthem they should hear. 2. Because by the ear choleric superfluity is\npurged; for as the head is purged of phlegmatic superfluity by the nose,\nso from choleric, by the ears.\n\n\n\n_Of the Mouth._\n\nQ. Why hath the mouth lips to compass it? A. Because the lips cover and\ndefend the teeth; for it would be unseemly if the teeth were always\nseen. Also, the teeth being of a cold nature, would be soon hurt if they\nwere not covered with lips.\n\nQ. Why has a man two eyes and but one mouth? A. Because a man should\nspeak but little, and hear and see much. And by hearing and the light we\nsee difference of things.\n\nQ. Why hath a man a mouth? A. 1. Because the mouth is the gate and door\nof the stomach. 2. Because the meat is chewed in the mouth, and prepared\nand made ready for the first digestion. 3. Because the air drawn into\nthe hollow of the mouth for the refreshing of the heart, is made pure\nand subtle.\n\nQ. Why are the lips moveable? A. For the purpose of forming the voice\nand words which cannot be perfectly done without them. For as without\n_a, b, c_, there is no writing, so without the lips no voice can well be\nformed.\n\nQ. What causes men to yawn or gape? A. It proceeds from the thick fume\nand vapours that fill the jaws; by the expulsion of which is caused the\nstretching out and expansion of the jaws, and opening of the mouth.\n\nQ. Why doth a man gape when he seeth another do the same? A. It proceeds\nfrom the imagination. And this is proved by the similitude of the ass,\nwho by reason of his melancholy, doth retain his superfluity for a long\ntime, and would neither eat nor piss unless he should hear another\ndoing the like.\n\n\n\n_Of the Teeth._\n\nQ. Why do the teeth only, amongst all ether bones, experience the sense\nof feeling? A. That they may discern heat and cold, that hurt them,\nwhich other bones need not.\n\nQ. Why have men more teeth than women? A. By reason of the abundance of\nheat and cold which is more in men than in women.\n\nQ. Why do the teeth grow to the end of our life, and not the other\nbones? A. Because otherwise they would be consumed with chewing and\ngrinding.\n\nQ. Why do the teeth only come again when they fall, or be taken out, and\nother bones being taken away, grow no more? A. Because other bones are\nengendered of the humidity which is called radical, and so they breed in\nthe womb of the mother, but the teeth are engendered of nutritive\nhumidity, which is renewed and increased from day to day.\n\nQ. Why do the fore-teeth fall in youth, and grow again, and not the\ncheek teeth? A. From the defect of matter, and from the figure; because\nthe fore-teeth are sharp, and the others broad. Also, it is the office\nof the fore-teeth to cut the meat, and therefore they are sharp; and\nthe office of the others to chew the meat, and therefore they are broad\nin fashion, which is fittest for that purpose.\n\nQ. Why do the fore-teeth grow soonest? A. Because we want them sooner in\ncutting than the others in chewing.\n\nQ. Why do the teeth grow black in human creatures in their old age? A.\nIt is occasioned by the corruption of the meat, and the corruption of\nphlegm with a choleric humour.\n\nQ. Why are colts' teeth yellow, and of the colour of saffron, when they\nare young, and become white when they grow up? A. Because horses have\nabundance of watery humours in them, which in their youth are digested\nand converted into grossness; but in old age heat diminishes, and the\nwatery humours remain, whose proper colour is white.\n\nQ. Why did nature give living creatures teeth? A. To some to fight with,\nand for defence of their lives, as unto wolves and bears, unto some to\neat with, as unto horses, unto some for the forming of the voices, as\nunto men.\n\nQ. Why do horned beasts want their upper teeth? A. Horns and teeth are\ncaused by the same matter, that is, nutrimental humidity, and therefore\nthe matter which passeth into the horns turneth not into teeth,\nconsequently they want the upper teeth. And such beasts cannot chew\nwell; therefore, to supply the want of teeth, they have two stomachs,\nfrom whence it returns and they chew it again, then it goes into the\nother to be digested.\n\nQ. Why are some creatures brought forth with teeth, as kids and lambs;\nand some without, as men? A. Nature doth not want in necessary things,\nnor abound in things superfluous; and therefore, because these beasts,\nnot long after they are fallen, do need teeth, they are fallen with\nteeth; but men, being nourished by their mother, for a long time do not\nstand in need of teeth.\n\n\n\n_Of the Tongue._\n\nQ. Why is the tongue full of pores? A. Because the tongue is the means\nwhereby which we taste; and through the mouth, in the pores of the\ntongue, doth proceed the sense of tasting. Again, it is observed, that\nfrothy spittle is sent into the mouth by the tongue from the lungs,\nmoistening the meat and making it ready for digestion.\n\nQ. Why do the tongues of such as are sick of agues judge all things\nbitter? A. Because the stomachs of such persons are filled with\ncholeric humours; and choler is very bitter, as appeareth by the gall;\ntherefore this bitter fume doth infect their tongues; and so the tongue,\nbeing full of these tastes, doth judge everything bitter.\n\nQ. Why doth the tongue water when we hear sour and sharp things spoken\nof? A. Because the imaginative virtue or power is of greater force than\nthe power or faculty of tasting; and when we imagine a taste, we\nconceive the power of tasting as a swan; there is nothing felt by the\ntaste, but by means of the spittle the tongue doth water.\n\nQ. Why do some persons stammer and lisp? A. Sometimes through the\nmoistness of the tongue and brain, as in children, who cannot speak\nplainly nor pronounce many letters. Sometimes it happeneth by reason of\nthe shrinking of certain sinews which go to the tongue, which are\ncorrupted with phlegm.\n\nQ. Why are the tongues of serpents and mad dogs venomous? A. Because of\nthe malignity and tumosity of the venomous humour which predominates in\nthem.\n\nQ. Why is a dog's tongue good for medicine, and a horse's tongue\npestiferous? A. By reason of some secret property, or that the tongue of\na dog is full of pores, and so doth draw and take away the viscosity of\nthe wound. It is observed that a dog hath some humour in his tongue,\nwith which, by licking he doth heal; but the contrary effect is the lick\nof a horse's tongue.\n\nQ. Why is spittle white? A. By reason of the continual moving of the\ntongue, whereof heat is engendered, which doth make this superfluity\nwhite; as seen in the froth of water.\n\nQ. Why is spittle unsavoury and without taste? A. If it had a certain\ndeterminate taste, then the tongue would not taste at all, but only have\nthe taste of spittle, and could not distinguish others.\n\nQ. Why doth the spittle of one that is fasting heal an imposthume? A.\nBecause it is well digested and made subtle.\n\nQ. Why do some abound in spittle more than others? A. This doth proceed\nof a phlegmatic complexion, which doth predominate in them; and such are\nliable to a quotidian ague, which ariseth from the predominance of\nphlegm; the contrary in those that spit little, because heat abounds in\nthem, which consumes the humidity of the spittle; and so the defect of\nspittle is a sign of fever.\n\nQ. Why is the spittle of a man that is fasting more subtle than of one\nthat is full? A. Because the spittle is without the viscosity of meat,\nwhich is wont to make the spittle of one who is full, gross and thick.\n\nQ. From whence proceeds the spittle of a man? A. From the froth of the\nlungs, which according to the physicians, is the seat of the phlegm.\n\nQ. Why are beasts when going together for generation very full of froth\nand foam? A. Because then the lights and heart are in greater motion of\nlust; therefore there is engendered in them much frothy matter.\n\nQ. Why have not birds spittle? A. Because they have very dry lungs.\n\nQ. Why doth the tongue sometimes lose the use of speaking? A. It is\noccasioned by a palsy or apoplexy, which is a sudden effusion of blood,\nand by gross humours; and sometimes also by infection of _spiritus\nanimates_ in the middle cell of the brain which hinders the spirits from\nbeing carried to the tongue.\n\n\n\n_Of the Roof of the Mouth._\n\nQ. Why are fruits, before they are ripe, of a bitter and sour relish,\nand afterward sweet? A. A sour relish or taste proceeds from coldness\nand want of heat in gross and thick humidity; but a sweet taste is\nproduced by sufficient heat; therefore in the ripe fruit humidity is\nsubtle through the heat of the sun, and such fruit is commonly sweet;\nbut before it is ripe, as humidity is gross or subtle for want of heat,\nthe fruit is bitter or sour.\n\nQ. Why are we better delighted with sweet tastes than with bitter or any\nother? A. Because a sweet thing is hot and moist, and through its heat\ndissolves and consumes superfluous humidities, and by this humidity\nimmundicity is washed away; but a sharp, eager taste, by reason of the\ncold which predominates in it, doth bind overmuch, and prick and offend\nthe parts of the body in purging, and therefore we do not delight in\nthat taste.\n\nQ. Why doth a sharp taste, as that of vinegar, provoke appetite rather\nthan any other? A. Because it is cold, and doth cool. For it is the\nnature of cold to desire to draw, and therefore it is the cause of\nappetite.\n\nQ. Why do we draw in more air than we breathe out? A. Because much air\nis drawn in that is converted into nutriment, and with the vital spirits\nis contained in the lungs. Therefore a beast is not suffocated as long\nas it receives air with its lungs, in which some part of the air\nremaineth also.\n\nQ. Why doth the air seem to be expelled and put forth, seeing the air is\ninvisible, by reason of its variety and thinness? A. Because the air\nwhich is received in us, is mingled with vapours and fumes from the\nheart, by reason whereof it is made thick, and so is seen. And this is\nproved by experience, because that in winter, we see our breath, for the\ncoldness of the air doth bind the air mixed with fume, and so it is\nthickened and made gross, and by consequence is seen.\n\nQ. Why have some persons stinking breath? A. Because of the evil fumes\nthat arise from the stomach. And sometimes it doth proceed from the\ncorruption of the airy parts of the body, as the lungs. The breath of\nlepers is so infected that it would poison birds if near them, because\nthe inward parts are very corrupt.\n\nQ. Why are lepers hoarse? A. Because the vocal instruments are\ncorrupted, that is, the lights.\n\nQ. Why do persons become hoarse? A. Because of the rheum descending from\nthe brain, filling the conduit of the lights; and sometimes through\nimposthumes of the throat, or rheum gathering in the neck.\n\nQ. Why have the females of all living creatures the shrillest voices,\nthe crow only excepted, and a woman a shriller and smaller voice than a\nman? A. By reason of the composition of the veins and vocal arteries the\nvoice is formed, as appears by this similitude, that a small pipe\nsounds shriller than a great. Also in women, because the passage where\nthe voice is formed is made narrow and strait, by reason of cold, it\nbeing the nature of cold to bind; but in men, the passage is open and\nwider through heat, because it is the property of heat to open and\ndissolve. It proceedeth in women through the moistness of the lungs, and\nweakness of the heat. Young and diseased men have sharp and shrill\nvoices from the same cause.\n\nQ. Why doth the voice change in men at fourteen, and in women at twelve;\nin men they begin to yield seed, in women when their breasts begin to\ngrow? A. Because then the beginning of the voice is slackened and\nloosened; and this is proved by the similitude of the string of an\ninstrument let down or loosened, which gives a great sound, and also\nbecause creatures that are gelded, as eunuchs, capons., etc., have\nsofter and slenderer voices than others, by the want of their stones.\n\nQ. Why do small birds sing more and louder than great ones, as appears\nin the lark and nightingale? A. Because the spirits of small birds are\nsubtle and soft, and the organ conduit strait, as appeareth in a pipe;\ntherefore their notes following easily at desire, they sing very soft.\n\nQ. Why do bees, wasps, locusts and many other such like insects, make a\nnoise, seeing they have no lungs, nor instruments of music? A. Because\nin them there is a certain small skin, which, when struck by the air,\ncauseth a sound.\n\nQ. Why do not fish make a sound? A. Because they have no lungs, but only\ngills, nor yet a heart, and therefore they need not the drawing in of\nthe air, and by consequence they make no noise, because a voice is a\npercussion of the air which is drawing.\n\n\n\n_Of the Neck._\n\nQ. Why hath a living creature a neck? A. Because the neck is the\nsupporter of the head, and therefore the neck is in the middle between\nthe head and the body, to the intent that by it, and by its sinews,\nmotion and sense of the body might be conveyed through all the body; and\nthat by means of the neck, the heart, which is very hot, might be\nseparated from the brain.\n\nQ. Why do some creatures want necks, as serpents and fishes? A. Because\nthey want hearts, and therefore want that assistance which we have\nspoken of; or else they have a neck in some inward part of them, which\nis not distinguished outwardly.\n\nQ. Why is the neck full of bones and joints? A. That it may bear and\nsustain the head the better. Also, because the back bone is joined to\nthe brain in the neck, and from thence it receives marrow, which is of\nthe substance of the brain.\n\nQ. Why have some creatures long necks, as cranes, storks and such like?\nA. Because such birds seek their food at the bottom of waters. And some\ncreatures have short necks, as sparrows, hawks, etc., because such are\nravenous, and therefore for strength have short necks, as appeareth in\nthe ox, who has a short neck and strong.\n\nQ. Why is the neck hollow, and especially before, about the tongue? A.\nBecause there are two passages, whereof the one doth carry the meat to\nthe nutritive instrument, or stomach and liver, which is called by the\nGreeks _Aesophagus_; and the other is the windpipe.\n\nQ. Why is the artery made with rings and circle? A. The better to bow\nand give a good sounding.\n\n\n\n_Of the Shoulders and Arms._\n\nQ. Why hath a man shoulders and arms? A. To lift and carry burdens.\n\nQ. Why are the arms round? A. For the swifter and speedier work.\n\nQ. Why are the arms thick? A. That they may be strong to lift and bear\nburdens, and thrust and give a strong blow; so their bones are thick,\nbecause they contain much marrow, or they would be easily corrupted and\ninjured.\n\nQ. Why do the arms become small and slender in some diseases, as in mad\nmen, and such as are sick of the dropsy? A. Because all the parts of the\nbody do suffer the one with the other; and therefore one member being in\ngrief, all the humours do concur and run thicker to give succour and\nhelp to the aforesaid grief.\n\nQ. Why have brute beasts no arms? A. Their fore feet are instead of\narms, and in their place.\n\n\n\n_Of the Hands._\n\nQ. For what use hath a man hands, and an ape also, like unto a man? A.\nThe hand is an instrument a man doth especially make use of, because\nmany things are done by the hands, and not by any other part.\n\nQ. Why are some men ambo-dexter, that is, they use the left hand as the\nright? A. By reason of the great heat of the heart, and for the hot\nbowing of the same, for it is that which makes a man as nimble of the\nleft hand as of the right.\n\nQ. Why are the fingers full of joints? A. To be more fit and apt to\nreceive and keep what is put in them.\n\nQ. Why hath every finger three joints, and the thumb but two? A. The\nthumb hath three, but the third is joined to the arm, therefore is\nstronger than the other fingers; and is called pollex or polico, that\nis, to excel in strength.\n\nQ. Why are the fingers of the right hand nimbler than the fingers of the\nleft? A. It proceedeth from the heat that predominates in those parts,\nand causeth great agility.\n\n\n\n_Of the Nails._\n\nQ. From whence do nails proceed? A. Of the tumosity and humours, which\nare resolved and go into the extremities of the fingers; and they are\ndried through the power of the external air, and brought to the hardness\nof horn.\n\nQ. Why do the nails of old men grow black and pale? A. Because the heat\nof the heart decaying causeth their beauty to decay also.\n\nQ. Why are men judged to be good or evil complexioned by the colour of\nthe nails? A. Because they give witness of the goodness or badness of\ntheir heart, and therefore of the complexion, for if they be somewhat\nred, they betoken choler well tempered; but if they be yellowish or\nblack, they signify melancholy.\n\nQ. Why do white spots appear in the nails? A. Through mixture of phlegm\nwith nutriment.\n\n\n\n_Of the Paps and Dugs._\n\nQ. Why are the paps placed upon the breasts? A. Because the breast is\nthe seat of the heart, which is most hot; and therefore the paps grow\nthere, to the end that the menses being conveyed thither as being near\nthe heat of the heart, should the sooner be digested, perfected and\nconverted with the matter and substance of the milk.\n\nQ. Why are the paps below the breasts in beasts, and above the breast in\nwomen? A. Because woman goes upright, and has two legs only; and\ntherefore if her paps were below her breasts, they would hinder her\ngoing; but beasts having four feet prevents that inconveniency.\n\nQ. Whether are great, small or middle-sized paps best for children to\nsuck? A. In great ones the heat is dispersed, there is no good\ndigestion of the milk; but in small ones the power and force is strong,\nbecause a virtue united is strongest; and by consequence there is a good\ndigestion for the milk.\n\nQ. Why have not men as great paps and breasts as women? A. Because men\nhave not monthly terms, and therefore have no vessel deputed for them.\n\nQ. Why do the paps of young women begin to grow about thirteen or\nfifteen years of age? A. Because then the flowers have no course to the\nteats, by which the young one is nourished, but follow their ordinary\ncourse and therefore wax soft.\n\nQ. Why hath a woman who is with child of a boy, the right pap harder\nthan the left? A. Because the male child is conceived in the right side\nof the mother; and therefore the flowers do run to the right pap, and\nmake it hard.\n\nQ. Why doth it show weakness of the child, when the milk doth drop out\nof the paps before the woman is delivered? A. Because the milk is the\nproper nutriment of the child in the womb of its mother, therefore if\nthe milk run out, it is a token that the child is not nourished, and\nconsequently is weak.\n\nQ. Why do the hardness of the paps betoken the health of the child in\nthe womb? A. Because the flowers are converted into milk, and thereby\nstrength is signified.\n\nQ. Why are women's paps hard when they be with child, and soft at other\ntimes? A. Because they swell then, and are puffed, and the great\nmoisture which proceeds from the flowers doth run into the paps, which\nat other seasons remaineth in the matrix and womb, and is expelled by\nthe place deputed for that end.\n\nQ. By what means doth the milk of the paps come to the matrix or womb?\nA. There is a certain knitting and coupling of the paps with the womb,\nand there are certain veins which the midwives do cut in the time of the\nbirth of the child, and by those veins the milk flows in at the navel of\nthe child, and so it receives nourishment by the navel.\n\nQ. Why is it a sign of a male child in the womb when the milk that\nrunneth out of a woman's breast is thick, and not much, and of a female\nwhen it is thin? A. Because a woman that goeth with a boy hath a great\nheat in her, which doth perfect the milk and make it thick; but she who\ngoes with a girl hath not so much heat, and therefore the milk is\nundigested, imperfect, watery and thin, and will swim above the water if\nit be put into it.\n\nQ. Why is the milk white, seeing the flowers are red, of which it is\nengendered? A. Because blood which is well purged and concocted becomes\nwhite, as appeareth in flesh whose proper colour is white, and being\nboiled, is white. Also, because every humour which is engendered of the\nbody, is made like unto that part in colour where it is engendered as\nnear as it can be; but because the flesh of the paps is white, therefore\nthe colour of the milk is white.\n\nQ. Why doth a cow give milk more abundantly than other beasts? A.\nBecause she is a great eating beast, where there is much monthly\nsuperfluity engendered, there is much milk; because it is nothing else\nbut the blood purged and tried.\n\nQ. Why is not milk wholesome? A. 1. Because it curdeth in the stomach,\nwhereof an evil breath is bred. 2. Because the milk doth grow sour in\nthe stomach, where evil humours are bred, and infect the breath.\n\nQ. Why is milk bad for such as have the headache? A. Because it is\neasily turned into great fumosities, and hath much terrestrial substance\nin it, the which ascending, doth cause the headache.\n\nQ. Why is milk fit nutriment for infants? A. Because it is a natural and\nusual food, and they were nourished by the same in the womb.\n\nQ. Why are the white-meats made of a newly milked cow good? A. Because\nmilk at that time is very springy, expels fumosities, and, as it were,\npurges at that time.\n\nQ. Why is the milk naught for the child, if the woman giving suck uses\ncarnal copulation? A. Because in time of carnal copulation, the best\npart of the milk goes to the seed vessels, and to the womb, and the\nworst remain in the paps, which hurts the child.\n\nQ. Why do physicians forbid the eating of fish and milk at the same\ntime? A. Because they produce a leprosy, and because they are\nphlegmatic.\n\nQ. Why have not birds and fish milk and paps? A. Because paps would\nhinder the flight of birds. And although fish have neither paps nor\nmilk, the females cast much spawn, which the male touches with a small\ngut, and causes their kind to continue in succession.\n\n\n\n_Of the Back._\n\nQ. Why have beasts a back? A. 1. Because the back is the way and mien of\nthe body from which are extended and spread throughout, all the sinews\nof the backbone. 2. Because it should be a guard and defence for the\nsoft parts of the body, as for the stomach, liver, lights and such like.\n3. Because it is the foundation of all the bones, as the ribs, fastened\nto the back bone.\n\nQ. Why hath the back bone so many joints or knots, called _spondyli_? A.\nBecause the moving and bending it, without such joints, could not be\ndone; and therefore they are wrong who say that elephants have no such\njoints, for without them they could not move.\n\nQ. Why do fish die after their back bones are broken? A. Because in fish\nthe back bone is instead of the heart; now the heart is the first thing\nthat lives and the last that dies; and when that bone is broken, fish\ncan live no longer.\n\nQ. Why doth a man die soon after the marrow is hurt or perished? A.\nBecause the marrow proceeds from the brain, which is the principal part\nof a man.\n\nQ. Why have some men the piles? A. Those men are cold and melancholy,\nwhich melancholy first passes to the spleen, its proper seat, but there\ncannot be retained, for the abundancy of blood; for which reason it is\nconveyed to the back bone, where there are certain veins which terminate\nin the back, and receive the blood. When those veins are full of the\nmelancholy blood, then the conduits of nature are opened, and the blood\nissues out once a month, like women's terms. Those men who have this\ncourse of blood, are kept from many infirmities, such as dropsy, plague,\netc.\n\nQ. Why are the Jews much subject to this disease? A. Because they eat\nmuch phlegmatic and cold meats, which breed melancholy blood, which is\npurged with the flux. Another reason is, motion causes heat and heat\ndigestion; but strict Jews neither move, labour nor converse much, which\nbreeds a coldness in them, and hinders digestion, causing melancholic\nblood, which is by this means purged out.\n\n\n\n_Of the Heart._\n\nQ. Why are the lungs light, spongy and full of holes? A. That the air\nmay be received into them for cooling the heart, and expelling humours,\nbecause the lungs are the fan of the heart; and as a pair of bellows is\nraised up by taking in the air, and shrunk by blowing it out, so\nlikewise the lungs draw the air to cool the heart, and cast it out, lest\nthrough too much air drawn in, the heart should be suffocated.\n\nQ. Why is the flesh of the lungs white? A. Because they are in continual\nmotion.\n\nQ. Why have those beasts only lungs that have hearts? A. Because the\nlungs be no part for themselves, but for the heart, and therefore, it\nwere superfluous for those creatures to have lungs that have no hearts.\n\nQ. Why do such creatures as have no lungs want a bladder? A. Because\nsuch drink no water to make their meat digest and need no bladder for\nurine; as appears in such birds as do not drink at all, viz., the falcon\nand sparrow hawk.\n\nQ. Why is the heart in the midst of the body? A. That it may import life\nto all, parts of the body, and therefore it is compared to the sun,\nwhich is placed in the midst of the planets, to give light to them all.\n\nQ. Why only in men is the heart on the left side? A. To the end that the\nheat of the heart may mitigate the coldness of the spleen; for the\nspleen is the seat of melancholy, which is on the left side also.\n\nQ. Why is the heart first engendered; for the heart doth live first and\ndie last? A. Because the heart is the beginning and original of life,\nand without it no part can live. For of the seed retained in the matrix,\nthere is first engendered a little small skin, which compasses the seed;\nwhereof first the heart is made of the purest blood; then of blood not\nso pure, the liver; and of thick and cold blood the marrow and brain.\n\nQ. Why are beasts bold that have little hearts? A. Because in a little\nheart the heat is well united and vehement, and the blood touching it,\ndoth quickly heat it and is speedily carried to the other parts of the\nbody, which give courage and boldness.\n\nQ. Why are creatures with a large heart timorous, as the hare? A. The\nheart is dispersed in such a one, and not able to heat the blood which\ncometh to it; by which means fear is bred.\n\nQ. How is it that the heart is continually moving? A. Because in it\nthere is a certain spirit which is more subtle than air, and by reason\nof its thickness and rarefaction, seeks a larger space, filling the\nhollow room of the heart; hence the dilating and opening of the heart,\nand because the heart is earthly the thrusting and moving ceasing, its\nparts are at rest, tending downwards. As a proof of this, take an acorn,\nwhich, if put into the fire, the heat doth dissolve its humidity,\ntherefore occupies a greater space, so that the rind cannot contain it,\nbut puffs up, and throws it into the fire. The like of the heart.\nTherefore the heart of a living creature is triangular, having its least\npart towards its left side, and the greater towards the right; and doth\nalso open and shut in the least part, by which means it is in continual\nmotion; the first motion is called _diastole_, that is extending the\nheart or breast; the other _systole_, that is, shutting of the heart;\nand from these all the motions of the body proceed, and that of the\npulse which the physicians feel.\n\nQ. How comes it that the flesh of the heart is so compact and knit\ntogether? A. Because in thick compacted substances heat is commonly\nreceived and united. And because the heart with its heat should moderate\nthe coldness of the brain, it is made of that fat flesh apt to keep a\nstrong heat.\n\nQ. How comes the heart to be the hottest part of all living creatures?\nA. It is so compacted as to receive the heat best, and because it should\nmitigate the coldness of the brain.\n\nQ. Why is the heart the beginning of life? A. It is plain that in it the\nvital spirit is bred, which is the heat of life; and therefore the heart\nhaving two receptacles, viz., the right and the left the right hath more\nblood than spirits; which spirit is engendered to give life and vivify\nthe body.\n\nQ. Why is the heart long and sharp like a pyramid? A. The round figure\nhath an angle, therefore the heart is round, for fear any poison or\nhurtful matter should be retained in it; and because that figure is\nfittest for motion.\n\nQ. How comes the blood chiefly to be in the heart? A. The blood in the\nheart has its proper or efficient place, which some attribute to the\nliver; and therefore the heart doth not receive blood from any other\nparts but all other parts of it.\n\nQ. How happens it that some creatures want a heart? A. Although they\nhave no heart, yet they have somewhat that answers for it, as appears in\neels and fish that have the back bone instead of the heart.\n\nQ. Why does the heart beat in some creatures after the head is cut off,\nas in birds and hens? A. Because the heart lives first and dies last,\nand therefore beats longer than other parts.\n\nQ. Why doth the heat of the heart sometimes fail of a sudden, and in\nthose who have the falling sickness? A. This proceeds from the defect of\nthe heart itself, and of certain small skins with which it is covered,\nwhich, being infected and corrupted, the heart faileth on a sudden;\nsometimes only by reason of the parts adjoining; and therefore, when any\nvenomous humour goes out of the stomach that turns the heart and parts\nadjoining, that causeth this fainting.\n\n\n\n_Of the Stomach._\n\nQ. For what reason is the stomach large and wide? A. Because in it the\nfood is first concocted or digested as it were in a pot, to the end that\nwhich is pure should be separated from that which is not; and therefore,\naccording to the quantity of food, the stomach is enlarged.\n\nQ. How comes it that the stomach is round? A. Because if it had angles\nand corners, food would remain in them and breed ill-humours, so that a\nman would never want agues, which humours are evacuated and consumed,\nand not hid in any such corners, by the roundness of the stomach.\n\nQ. How comes the stomach to be full of sinews? A. Because the sinews can\nbe extended and enlarged, and so is the stomach when it is full; but\nwhen empty it is drawn together, and therefore nature provides the\nsinews.\n\nQ. How comes the stomach to digest? A. Because of the heat which is in\nit, and comes from the parts adjoining, that is, the liver and the\nheart. For as we see in metals the heat of the fire takes away the rust\nand dross from iron, the silver from tin, and gold from copper; so also\nby digestion the pure is separated from the impure.\n\nQ. For what reason doth the stomach join the liver? A. Because the liver\nis very hot, and with its heat helps digestion, and provokes appetite.\n\nQ. Why are we commonly cold after dinner? A. Because then the heat goes\nto the stomach to further digestion, and so the other parts grow cold.\n\nQ. Why is it hurtful to study soon after dinner? A. Because when the\nheat labours to help the imagination in study, it ceases from digesting\nthe food, which remains undigested; therefore people should walk\nsometimes after meals.\n\nQ. How cometh the stomach slowly to digest meat? A. Because it swims in\nthe stomach. Now, the best digestion is in the bottom of the stomach,\nbecause the fat descends not there; such as eat fat meat are very sleepy\nby reason that digestion is hindered.\n\nQ. Why is all the body wrong when the stomach is uneasy? A. Because the\nstomach is knit with the brain, heart and liver, which are the principal\nparts in man; and when it is not well, the others are indisposed.\nAgain, if the first digestion be hindered, the others are also\nhindered; for in the first digestion is the beginning of the infirmity\nin the stomach.\n\nQ. Why are young men sooner hungry than old men? A. Young men do digest\nfor three causes; 1. For growing; 2. For restoring life; and 3. For\nconservation of life. Also, young men are hot and dry, and therefore the\nheat doth digest more, and by consequence they desire more.\n\nQ. Why do physicians prescribe that men should eat when they have an\nappetite? A. Because much hunger and emptiness will fill the stomach\nwith naughty rotten humours, which are drawn in instead of meat; for, if\nwe fast over night we have an appetite to meat, but none in the morning;\nas then the stomach is filled with naughty humours, and especially its\nmouth, which is no true filling, but a deceitful one. And, therefore,\nafter we have eaten a little, our stomach comes to us again; for the\nfirst morsel, having made clean the mouth of the stomach, doth provoke\nthe appetite.\n\nQ. Why do physicians prescribe that we should not eat too much at a\ntime, but little by little? A. Because when the stomach is full, the\nmeat doth swim in it, which is a dangerous thing. Another reason is,\nthat as very green wood doth put out the fire, so much meat chokes the\nnatural heat and puts it out; and therefore the best physic is to use\ntemperance in eating and drinking.\n\nQ. Why do we desire change of meals according to the change of times; as\nin winter, beef, mutton; in summer light meats, as veal, lamb, etc.? A.\nBecause the complexion of the body is altered and changed according to\nthe time of year. Another reason is, that this proceeds from the quality\nof the season: because the cold in winter doth cause a better digestion.\n\nQ. Why should not the meat we eat be as hot as pepper and ginger? A.\nBecause as hot meat doth inflame the blood, and dispose it to a leprosy,\nso, on the contrary, meat too cold doth mortify and chill the blood. Our\nmeat should not be over sharp, because it wastes the constitution; too\nmuch sauce doth burn the entrails, and inclineth to too often drinking;\nraw meat doth the same; and over sweet meats to constipate and cling the\nveins together.\n\nQ. Why is it a good custom to eat cheese after dinner, and pears after\nall meat? A. Because, by reason of its earthliness and thickness it\ntendeth down towards the bottom of the stomach, and so put down the\nmeat; and the like of pears. Note, that new cheese is better than old,\nand that old soft cheese is very bad, and causeth the headache and\nstopping of the liver; and the older the worse. Whereof it is said that\ncheese digesteth all things but itself.\n\nQ. Why are nuts good after cheese, as the proverb is, \"After fish nuts,\nand after flesh cheese?\" A. Because fish is of hard digestion, and doth\neasily putrefy and corrupt; and nuts are a remedy against poison.\n\nQ. Why is it unwholesome to wait long for one dish after another, and to\neat of divers kinds of meat? A. Because the first begins to digest when\nthe last is eaten, and so digestion is not equally made. But yet this\nrule is to be noted; dishes light of digestion, as chickens, kids, veal,\nsoft eggs and such like, should be first eaten; because, if they should\nbe first served and eaten and were digested, they would hinder the\ndigestion of the others; and the light meats not digested would be\ncorrupted in the stomach and kept in the stomach violently, whereof\nwould follow belching, loathing, headache, bellyache and great thirst.\nIt is very hurtful too, at the same meal to drink wine and milk, because\nthey are productive of leprosy.\n\nQ. Whether is meat or drink best for the stomach? A. Drink is sooner\ndigested than meat, because meat is of greater substance, and more\nmaterial than drink, and therefore meat is harder to digest.\n\nQ. Why is it good to drink after dinner? A. Because the drink will make\nthe meat readier to digest. The stomach is like unto a pot which doth\nboil meat, and therefore physicians do counsel to drink at meals.\n\nQ. Why is it good to forbear a late supper? A. Because there is little\nmoving or stirring after supper, and so the meat is not sent down to the\nbottom of the stomach, but remaineth undigested, and so breeds hurts;\ntherefore a light supper is best.\n\n\n\n_Of the Blood._\n\nQ. Why is it necessary that every living creature that hath blood have\nalso a liver? A. Because the blood is first made in the liver, its seat,\nbeing drawn from the stomach by certain principal veins, and so\nengendered.\n\nQ. Why is the blood red? A. 1. It is like the part in which it is made,\nviz., the liver, which is red. 2. It is likewise sweet, because it is\nwell digested and concocted; but if it hath a little earthly matter\nmixed with it, that makes it somewhat salt.\n\nQ. How is women's blood thicker than men's? Their coldness thickens,\nbinds, congeals, and joins together.\n\nQ. How comes the blood to all parts of the body through the liver, and\nby what means? A. Through the principal veins, as the veins of the head,\nliver, etc., to nourish the body.\n\n\n\n_Of the Urine._\n\nQ. How doth the urine come into the bladder, seeing the bladder is shut?\nA. Some say sweatings; others, by a small skin in the bladder, which\nopens and lets in the urine. Urine is a certain and not deceitful\nmessenger of the health or infirmity of man. Men make white urine in the\nmorning, and before dinner red, but after dinner pale, and also after\nsupper.\n\nQ. Why is it hurtful to drink much cold water? A. Because one contrary\ndoth hinder and expel another; water is very cold, and lying so in the\nstomach, doth hinder digestion.\n\nQ. Why is it unwholesome to drink new wine? A. 1. It cannot be digested;\ntherefore it causeth the belly to swell, and a kind of bloody flux. 2.\nIt hinders making water.\n\nQ. Why do physicians forbid us to labour presently after dinner? A. 1.\nBecause the motion hinders the virtue and power of digestion. 2.\nBecause stirring immediately after dinner causes the different parts of\nthe body to draw the meat to them, which often breeds sickness. 3.\nBecause motion makes the food descend before it is digested. And after\nsupper it is good to walk a little, that the food may go to the bottom\nof the stomach.\n\nQ. Why is it good to walk after dinner? A. Because it makes a man well\ndisposed, and fortifies and strengthens the natural heat, causing the\nsuperfluity of the stomach to descend.\n\nQ. Why is it wholesome to vomit? A. It purges the stomach of all naughty\nhumours, expelling them, which would breed again if they should remain\nin it; and purges the eyes and head, clearing the brain.\n\nQ. How comes sleep to strengthen the stomach and the digestive faculty?\nA. Because in sleep the heat draws inwards, and helps digestion; but\nwhen we awake, the heat returns, and is dispersed through the body.\n\n\n\n_Of the Gall and Spleen._\n\nQ. How come living creatures to have a gall? A. Because choleric humours\nare received into it, which through their acidity helps the guts to\nexpel superfluities; also it helps digestion.\n\nQ. How comes the jaundice to proceed from the gall? A. The humour of the\ngall is bluish and yellow; therefore when its pores are stopped the\nhumour cannot go into the sack thereof, but are mingled with the blood,\nwandering throughout all the body and infecting the skin.\n\nQ. Why hath a horse, mule, ass or cow a gall? A. Though these creatures\nhave no gall in one place, as in a purse or vessel, yet they have one\ndispersed in small veins.\n\nQ. How comes the spleen to be black? A. It is occasioned by terrestrial\nand earthy matter of a black colour. According to physicians, the spleen\nis the receptacle of melancholy, and that is black.\n\nQ. Why is he lean who hath a large spleen? A. Because the spleen draws\nmuch water to itself, which would turn to fat; therefore, men that have\na small spleen are fat.\n\nQ. Why does the spleen cause men to laugh, as says Isidorus; \"We laugh\nwith the spleen, we are angry with the gall, we are wise with the heart,\nwe love with the liver, we feel with the brain, and speak with the\nlungs\"? A. The reason is, the spleen draws much melancholy to it, being\nits proper seat, the which melancholy proceeds from sadness, and is\nthere consumed; and the cause failing, the effect doth so likewise. And\nby the same reason the gall causes anger, for choleric men are often\nangry, because they have much gall.\n\n\n\n_Of Carnal Copulation._\n\nQ. Why do living creatures use carnal copulation? A. Because it is most\nnatural in them to get their like.\n\nQ. What is carnal copulation? A. It is a mutual action of male and\nfemale, with instruments ordained for that purpose to propagate their\nkind.\n\nQ. Why is this action good in those that use it lawfully and moderately?\nA. Because it eases and lightens the body, clears the mind, comforts the\nhead and senses, and expels melancholy.\n\nQ. Why is immoderate carnal copulation hurtful? A. Because it destroys\nthe sight, dries the body, and impairs the brain, often causes fevers\nand shortens life also.\n\nQ. Why doth carnal copulation injure melancholic or choleric men,\nespecially thin men? A. Because it dries the bones much which are\nnaturally so. On the contrary, it is good for the phlegmatic and\nsanguine, because they abound with that substance which by nature, is\nnecessarily expelled.\n\nQ. Why should not the act be used when the body is full? A. Because it\nhinders digestion; and it is not good for a hungry belly, because it\nweakens.\n\nQ. Why is it not good soon after a bath? A. Because then the pores are\nopen, and the heat dispersed through the body: for after bathing, it\ncools the body too much.\n\nQ. Why is it not proper after vomiting or looseness? A. Because it is\ndangerous to purge twice a day; for in this act the veins are purged,\nand the guts by the vomit.\n\nQ. Why is there such delight in the act of venery? A. Because this act\nis such a contemptible thing in itself, that all creatures would\nnaturally abhor it were there no pleasure in it; and therefore nature\nreadily uses it, that all kinds of living things should be maintained\nand kept up.\n\nQ. Why do such as use it often take less delight in it than those who\ncome to it seldom? A. 1. The passages of the seed are over large and\nwide; and therefore it makes no stay there, which would cause the\ndelight. 2. Through often evacuation there is little seed left, and\ntherefore no delight. 3. Because such, instead of seed there is cast out\nblood, undigested and raw, or some other watery substance, which is not\nhot, and therefore affords no delight.\n\n\n\n_Of the Seed of Man and Beasts._\n\nQ. How, and of what cometh the seed of man? A. Some philosophers and\nphysicians say, it is superfluous humours; others say, that the seed is\npure blood, flowing from the brain, concocted and whitened in the\ntesticles; but sweat, urine, spittle, phlegm, choler, and the like, and\nblood dispersed throughout the whole body, come chiefly from the heart,\nliver and brain, because those parts are greatly weakened by casting\nseed; and therefore it appears that frequent carnal copulation is not\ngood.\n\nQ. Why is a man's seed white, and a woman's red? A. It is white in men\nby reason of great heat and quick digestion, because it is rarefied in\nthe testicles; but a woman's is red, because her terms corrupt the\nundigested blood, and it hath its colour.\n\nQ. How come females to have monthly courses? A. Because they are cold in\nrespect of men, and because all their nourishment cannot be converted\ninto blood, a great part of which turns to menses, which are monthly\nexpelled.\n\nQ. For what reason do the menses not come down in females before the age\nof thirteen? A. Because young women are hot, and digest all their\nnourishment.\n\nQ. For what reason do they leave off at about fifty? A. Because nature\nis then so exhausted, they cannot expel them by reason of weakness.\n\nQ. Why have not breeding women the menses? A. Because that then they\nturn into milk, and into the nourishment of the child: for if a woman\nwith child have them, it is a sign that she will miscarry.\n\nQ. Why are they termed _menstrua_, from the word _mensis_, a month? A.\nBecause it is a space of time that measures the moon, as she ends her\ncourse in twenty-nine days, and fourteen hours.\n\nQ. Why do they continue longer with some than others, as with some six\nor seven, but commonly with all three days? A. The first are cold,\ntherefore they increase most in them, and consequently are longer\nexpelling; other women are hot, and therefore have fewer and are sooner\nexpelled.\n\nQ. Are the menses which are expelled, and those by which the child is\nengendered, all one? A. No, because the one are unclean, and unfit for\nthat purpose; but the other very pure and clear, therefore the fittest\nfor generation.\n\nQ. Why have not women their menses all one and the same time, but some\nin the new moon, some in the full, and others at the wane? A. From their\nseveral complexions, and though all women (in respect of men) are\nphlegmatic, yet some are more sanguine than others, some more choleric;\nand as the moon hath her quarters, so have women their complexions; the\nfirst sanguine, the second choleric.\n\nQ. Why do women easily conceive after their menses? A. Because the womb\nbeing cleansed, they are better prepared for conception.\n\nQ. Why do women look pale when they first have their menses upon them?\nA. Because the heat goes from the outward parts of the body to the\ninward, to help nature to expel their terms, which deprivation of heat\ndoth cause a paleness in the face. Or, because that flux is caused of\nraw humours, which, when they run, make the face colourless.\n\nQ. Why do they at that time abhor their meat? A. Because nature labours\nmore to expel their terms than digest; and, therefore, if they should\neat, their food would remain raw in the stomach.\n\nQ. Why are some women barren and do not conceive? A. 1. It proceeds\nsometimes from the man who may be of a cold nature, so that his seed is\nunfit for generation. 2. Because it is waterish, and so doth not stay in\nthe womb. 3. By reason that the seed of them both hath not a like\nproportion, as if the man be melancholy and the woman sanguine, or the\nman choleric and the woman phlegmatic.\n\nQ. Why do fat women seldom conceive? A. Because they have a slippery\nwomb, and the seed will not stay in it. Or, because the mouth of the\nmatrix is very strait, and the seed cannot enter it, or, if it does, it\nis so very slowly that it grows cold and unfit for generation.\n\nQ. Why do those of a hot constitution seldom conceive? A. Because the\nseed in them is extinguished or put out, as water cast into fire;\nwhereof we find that women who vehemently desire the flesh seldom\nconceive.\n\nQ. Why are whores never with child? A. By reason of divers seeds, which\ncorrupt and spoil the instruments of conception, for it makes them so\nslippery, that they cannot retain seed. Or, else, it is because one\nman's seed destroys another's, so neither is good for generation.\n\nQ. Why do women conceive twins? A. Because there are seven cells or\nreceptacles in the womb; wherefore they may naturally have so many\nchildren at once as there falls seed into these cells.\n\nQ. Why are twins but half men, and not so strong as others? A. The seed\nthat should have been for one, is divided into two and therefore they\nare weakly and seldom live long.\n\n\n\n_Of Hermaphrodites._\n\nQ. How are hermaphrodites begotten? A. Nature doth always tend to that\nwhich is best, and always intendeth to beget the male and not the\nfemale, because the female is only for the male's mate. Therefore the\nmale is sometimes begotten in all its principal parts; and, yet, through\nthe indisposition of the womb and object, and inequality of the seeds,\nwhen nature cannot perfect the male, she brings forth the female too.\nAnd therefore natural philosophers say, that an hermaphrodite is\nimpotent in the privy parts of a man, as appears by experience.\n\nQ. Is an hermaphrodite accounted a man or a woman? A. It is to be\nconsidered in which member he is fittest for copulation; if he be\nfittest in the woman's, then he is a woman; if in a man's, then he is a\nman.\n\nQ. Should he be baptized in the name of a man or a woman? A. In the\nname of a man, because names are given _ad placitum_, and therefore he\nshould be baptized, according to the worthiest name, because every agent\nis worthier than its patient.\n\n\n\n_Of Monsters._\n\nQ. Doth nature make any monsters? A. She doth; if she did not, then\nwould she be deprived of her end. For of things possible, she doth\nalways propose to bring forth that which is most perfect and best; but\nin the end, through the evil disposition of the matter, not being able\nto bring forth that which she intended, she brings forth that which she\ncan. As it happened in Albertus's time, when in a certain village, a cow\nbrought forth a calf, half a man; then the countrymen suspecting a\nshepherd, would have burnt him with the cow; but Albertus, being skilled\nin astronomy, said that this did proceed from a certain constellation,\nand so delivered the shepherd from their hands.\n\nQ. Are they one or two? A. To find out, you must look into the heart, if\nthere be two hearts, there be two men.\n\nQ. Why are some children like their father, some like their mother, some\nto both and some to neither? A. If the seed of the father wholly\novercome that of the mother the child doth resemble the father; but if\nthe mother's predominate, then it is like the mother; but if he be like\nneither, that doth sometimes happen through the four qualities,\nsometimes through the influence of some heavenly constellation.\n\nQ. Why are children oftener like the father than the mother? A. It\nproceeds from the imagination of the mother in the act of copulation, as\nappeared in a queen who had her imagination on a blackamoor; and in the\nEthiopian queen who brought forth a white child, because her imagination\nwas upon a white colour; as is seen in Jacob's skill in casting rods of\ndivers colours into the water, when his sheep went to ram.\n\nQ. Why do children born in the eighth month for the most part die\nquickly, and why are they called the children of the moon? A. Because\nthe moon is a cold planet, which has dominion over the child, and\ntherefore doth bind it with coldness, which is the cause of its death.\n\nQ. Why doth a child cry as soon as it is born? A. Because of the sudden\nchange from heat to cold: which cold doth affect its tenderness. Another\nreason is, because the child's soft and tender body is wringed and put\ntogether coming out of the narrow and strait passage of the matrix, and\nespecially, the brain being moist, and the head being pressed and\nwrinkled together, is the cause that some humours distil by the eyes,\nwhich are the cause of tears and weeping.\n\nQ. Why doth the child put its fingers into its mouth as soon as it\ncometh into the world? A. Because that coming out of the womb it cometh\nout of a hot bath, and entering into the cold, puts them into its mouth\nfor want of heat.\n\n\n\n_Of the Child in the Womb._\n\nQ. How is the child engendered in the womb? A. The first six days the\nseed hath this colour of milk, but in the six following a red colour,\nwhich is near unto the disposition of the flesh; and then it is changed\ninto a thick substance of blood. But in the twelve days following, this\nsubstance becomes so thick and round that it is capable of receiving\nshape and form.\n\nQ. Doth the child in the womb void excrements or make water? No. Because\nit hath not the first digestion which is in the stomach. It receives no\nfood by the mouth, but by the navel; therefore, makes no urine but\nsweats, which is but little, and is received in a skin in the matrix,\nwhich at the birth is cast out.\n\n\n\n_Of Abortion and Untimely Birth._\n\nQ. Why do women that eat unwholesome meats, easily miscarry? A. Because\nthey breed putrefied seed, which the mind abhorring doth cast it out of\nthe womb as unfit for the shape which is adapted to receive the soul.\n\nQ. Why doth wrestling and leaping cause the casting of the child, as\nsome subtle women do on purpose? A. The vapour is burning, and doth\neasily hurt the tender substance of the child, entering in at the pores\nof the matrix.\n\nQ. Why doth much joy cause a woman to miscarry? A. Because in the time\nof joy, a woman is destitute of heat, and so a miscarriage doth follow.\n\nQ. Why do women easily miscarry when they are first with child, viz.,\nthe first, second or third month? A. As apples and pears easily fall at\nfirst, because the knots and ligaments are weak, so it is with a child\nin the womb.\n\nQ. Why is it hard to miscarry in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth\nmonth? A. Because the ligaments are stronger and well fortified.\n\n\n\n_Of Divers Matters._\n\nQ. Why has not a man a tail like a beast? A. Because man is a noble\ncreature, whose property is to sit; which a beast, having a tail,\ncannot.\n\nQ. Why does hot water freeze sooner than cold? A. Hot water is thinner,\nand gives better entrance to the frost.\n\nQ. Why is every living creature dull after copulation? A. By reason that\nthe act is filthy and unclean; and so every living creature abhors it.\nWhen men do think upon it, they are ashamed and sad.\n\nQ. Why cannot drunken men judge of taste as well as sober men? A.\nBecause the tongue, being full of pores and spongy, receives more\nmoisture into it, and more in drunken men than in sober; therefore, the\ntongue, through often drinking, is full of bad humours, and so the\nfaculty of tasting is rendered out of order; also, through the\nthickening of the taste itself, drink taken by drunkards is not\npresently felt. And by this may also be understood why drunkards have\nnot a perfect speech.\n\nQ. Why have melancholy beasts long ears? A. The ears proceed from a dry\nand cold substance, called gristle, which is apt to become bone; and\nbecause melancholy beasts do abound with this kind of substance, they\nhave long ears.\n\nQ. Why do hares sleep with their eyes open? A. 1. They have their eyes\nstanding out, and their eyelids short, therefore, never quite shut. 2.\nThey are timorous, and as a safe-guard to themselves, sleep with their\neyes open.\n\nQ. Why do not crows feed their young till they be nine days old? A.\nBecause seeing them of another colour, they think they are of another\nkind.\n\nQ. Why are sheep and pigeons mild? A. They want galls, the cause of\nanger.\n\nQ. Why have birds their stones inward? A. Because if outward, they would\nhinder their flying and lightness.\n\nQ. How comes it that birds do not piss? A. Because that superfluity\nwhich would be converted into urine, is turned into feathers.\n\nQ. Why do we hear better in the night than by day? A. Because there is a\ngreater quietness in the night than in the day, for the sun doth not\nexhale the vapours by night, but it doth in the day, therefore the moon\nis more fit than in the day; and the moon being fit, the motion is\nbetter received, which is said to be caused by a sound.\n\nQ. For what reason doth a man laugh sooner when touched in the armpits\nthan in any other part of the body? A. Because there is in that place a\nmeeting of many sinews, and the mean we touch, which is the flesh, is\nmore subtle than in other parts, and therefore of finer feeling. When a\nman is moderately and gently touched there the spirits that are\ndispersed run into the face and causes laughter.\n\nQ. Why do some women love white men and some black men? A. 1. Some have\nweak sight, and such delight in black, because white doth hurt the sight\nmore than black. 2. Because like delight in like; but some women are of\na hot nature, and such are delighted with black, because blackness\nfolloweth heat; and others are of a cold nature, and those are delighted\nwith white, because cold produces white.\n\nQ. Why do men incline to sleep after labour? A. Because, through\ncontinual moving, the heat is dispersed to the external parts of the\nbody, which, after labour, is gathered together in the internal parts,\nthere to digest; and from digestion, vapours arise from the heart to the\nbrain, which stop the passage by which the natural heat should be\ndispersed to the external part; and then, the external parts being cold\nand thick, by reason of the coldness of the brain sleep is easily\nprocured. By this it appeareth that such as eat and drink too much, do\nsleep much and long, because there are great store of humours and\nvapours bred in such persons which cannot be consumed and digested by\nthe natural heat.\n\nQ. Why are such as sleep much, evil disposed and ill-coloured? A.\nBecause in too much sleep moisture is gathered together, which cannot be\nconsumed, and so it doth covet to go out through the superficial parts\nof the body, and especially it resorts to the face, and therefore is the\ncause of bad colours, as appeareth in such as are phlegmatic and who\ndesire more sleep than others.\n\nQ. Why do some imagine in their sleep that they eat and drink sweet\nthings? A. Because the phlegm drawn up by the jaws doth distil and drop\nto the throat; and this phlegm is sweet after a sore sweat, and that\nseemeth so to them.\n\nQ. Why do some dream in their sleep that they are in the water and\ndrowned, and some that they were in the water and not drowned;\nespecially such as are phlegmatic? A. Because when the phlegmatic\nsubstance doth turn to the high parts of the body, then many think they\nare in the water and drowned; but when that substance draweth into the\ninternal parts, then they think they escape. Another reason may be,\novermuch repletion and drunkenness: and therefore, when men are overmuch\nfilled with meat, the fumes and vapours ascend and gather together, and\nthey think they are drowned and strangled; but if they cannot ascend so\nhigh then they seem to escape.\n\nQ. May a man procure a dream by an external cause? A. It may be done. If\na man speak softly in another man's ear and awake him not, then of his\nstirring of the spirits there are thunderings and buzzings in the head,\nwhich cause dreamings.\n\nQ. How many humours are there in a man's body? A. Four, whereof every\none hath its proper place. The first is choler, called by physicians\n_flava bilis_, which is placed in the liver. The second is melancholy,\ncalled _atra bilis_, whose seat is in the spleen. The third is phlegm,\nwhose place is in the head. The fourth is blood, whose place is in the\nheart.\n\nQ. What condition and quality hath a man of a sanguine complexion? A. It\nis fair and beautiful; hath his hair for the most part smooth; is bold;\nretaineth that which he hath conceived; is shame-faced, given to music,\na lover of sciences, liberal, courteous, and not desirous of revenge.\n\nQ. What properties do follow those of a phlegmatic complexion? A. They\nare dull of wit, their hair never curls, they are seldom very thirsty,\nmuch given to sleep, dream of things belonging to water, are fearful,\ncovetous, given to heap up riches, and are weak in the act of venery.\n\nQ. What are the properties of a choleric man? A. He is brown in\ncomplexion, unquiet, his veins hidden, eateth little and digesteth less,\ndreameth of dark and confused things, is sad, fearful, exceedingly\ncovetous, and incontinent.\n\nQ. What dreams do follow these complexions? A. Pleasant, merry dreams do\nfollow the sanguine; fearful dreams, the melancholic; the choleric dream\nof children fighting and fire; the phlegmatic dream of water. This is\nthe reason why a man's complexion is said to be known by his dreams.\n\nQ. What is the reason that if you cover an egg over with salt, and let\nit lie in it a few days, all the meat within is consumed? A. A great\ndryness of the salt consumes the substance of the egg.\n\nQ. Why is the melancholic complexion the worst? A. Because it proceeds\nfrom the dregs of the blood, is an enemy to mirth and bringeth on aged\nappearance and death, being cold and dry.\n\nQ. What is the cause that some men die joyful, and some in extreme\ngrief? A. Over-great joy doth overmuch heat the internal parts of the\nbody; and overmuch grief doth drown and suffocate the heart, which\nfailing, a man dieth.\n\nQ. Why hath a man so much hair on his head? A. The hair on his head\nproceeds from the vapours which arise from the stomach, and ascend to\nthe head, and also of the superfluities which are in the brain; and\nthose two passing through the pores of the head are converted into hair,\nby reason of the heat and dryness of the head. And because man's body is\nfull of humours, and he hath more brains than any other living\ncreatures.\n\nQ. How many ways is the brain purged and other hidden places of the\nbody? A. Four; the watery and gross humours are purged by the eyes,\nmelancholy by the ears, choler by the nose, and phlegm by the hair.\n\nQ. What is the reason that such as are very fat in their youth, are in\ndanger of dying on a sudden? A. Such have very small and close veins, by\nreason of their fatness, so that the air and the breath can hardly have\nfree course in them; and thereupon the natural heat wanting the\nrefreshment of air, is put out, and as it were, quenched.\n\nQ. Why do garlic and onions grow after they are gathered? A. It\nproceedeth from the humidity that is in them.\n\nQ. Why do men feel cold sooner than women? A. Because men, being more\nhot than women, have their pores more open, and therefore it doth sooner\nenter into them than women.\n\nQ. Why are not old men so subject to the plague as young men and\nchildren? A. They are cold, and their pores are not so open as in youth;\nand therefore the infecting air doth not penetrate so soon by reason of\ntheir coldness.\n\nQ. Why do we cast water in a man's face when he swooneth? A. Because\nthrough the coldness of water the heat may run to the heart, and so give\nstrength.\n\nQ. Why are those waters best and most delicate which run towards the\nrising sun? A. Because they are soonest stricken with the sunbeams, and\nmade pure and subtle, the sun having them under it, and by that means\ntaking off the coldness and gross vapours which they gather from the\nground they run through.\n\nQ. Why have women such weak and small voices? A. Because their\ninstruments and organs of speaking, by reason of their coldness, are\nsmall and narrow; and therefore, receiving but little air, cause the\nvoice to be effeminate.\n\nQ. Whereof doth it proceed that want of sleep doth weaken the brain and\nbody? A. Much watching doth engender choler, the which being hot both\ndry up and lessen the humours which serve the brain, the head, and other\nparts of the body.\n\nQ. Wherefore doth vinegar so readily staunch blood? A. From its cold\nvirtue, for all cold is naturally binding, and vinegar being cold, hath\nthe like property.\n\nQ. Why is sea-water salter in summer than in winter? A. From the heat of\nthe sun, seeing by experiment that a salt thing being heated becometh\nmore salt.\n\nQ. Why do men live longer in hot regions than in cold? A. Because they\nmay be more dry, and by that means the natural heat is better preserved\nin them than in cold countries.\n\nQ. Why is well-water seldom or ever good? A. All water which standeth\nstill in the spring and is never heated by the sunbeams, is very heavy,\nand hath much matter in it, and therefore wanting the heat of the sun,\nis naught.\n\nQ. Why do men sleep better and more at ease on the right side than on\nthe left? A. Because when they be on the left side, the lungs do lie\nupon and cover the heart, which is on that side under the pap; now the\nheart, the fountain of life, being thus occupied and hindered with the\nlungs, cannot exercise its own proper operation, as being overmuch\nheated with the lungs lying upon it, and therefore wanting the\nrefreshment of the air which the lungs do give it, like the blowing of a\npair of bellows, is choked and suffocated, but by lying on the right\nside, those inconveniences are avoided.\n\nQ. What is the reason that old men sneeze with great difficulty? A.\nBecause that through their coldness their arteries are very narrow and\nclose, and therefore the heat is not of force to expel the cold.\n\nQ. Why doth a drunken man think that all things about him do turn round?\nA. Because the spirits which serve the sight are mingled with vapours\nand fumes, arising from the liquors he has drunk; the overmuch heat\ncauseth the eye to be in continual motion, and the eye being round,\ncauseth all things about it to seem to go round.\n\nQ. Wherefore doth it proceed, that bread which is made with salt is\nlighter than that which is made without it, considering that salt is\nvery heavy of itself? A. Although bread is very heavy of itself, yet the\nsalt dries it and makes it light, by reason of the heat which it hath;\nand the more heat there is in it, the better the bread is, and the\nlighter and more wholesome for the body.\n\nQ. Why is not new bread good for the stomach? A. Because it is full of\nmoistness, and thick, hot vapours, which do corrupt the blood, and hot\nbread is blacker than cold, because heat is the mother of blackness, and\nbecause the vapours are not gone out of it.\n\nQ. Why do lettuces make a man sleep? A. Because they engender gross\nvapours.\n\nQ. Why do the dregs of wine and oil go to the bottom, and those of honey\nswim uppermost? A. Because the dregs of wine and oil are earthly, and\ntherefore go to the bottom; but honey is a liquid that cometh from the\nstomach and belly of the bee; and is there in some sort putrefied and\nmade subtle; on which account the dregs are most light and hot, and\ntherefore go uppermost.\n\nQ. Why do cats' and wolves' eyes shine in the night, and not in the day?\nA. The eyes of these beasts are by nature more crystalline than the eyes\nof other beasts, and therefore do so shine in darkness; but the\nbrightness of the sun doth hinder them from being seen in the day-time.\n\nQ. What is the reason that some men, if they see others dance, do the\nlike with their hands and feet, or by other gestures of the body? A.\nBecause the sight having carried and represented unto the mind that\naction, and judging the same to be pleasant and delightful, and\ntherefore the imagination draweth the like of it in conceit and stirs up\nthe body by the gestures.\n\nQ. Why does much sleep cause some to grow fat and some lean? A. Those\nwho are of ill complexion, when they sleep, do consume and digest the\nsuperfluities of what they have eaten, and therefore become fat. But\nsuch as are of good complexion, when they sleep are more cold, and\ndigest less.\n\nQ. How much, and from what cause do we suffer hunger better than thirst?\nA. When the stomach hath nothing else to consume, it consumeth the\nphlegm and humours which it findeth most ready and most at hand; and\ntherefore we suffer hunger better than thirst, because the heat hath\nnothing to refresh itself with.\n\nQ. Why doth the hair fall after a great sickness? A. Where the sickness\nis long, as in the ague, the humours of the head are dried up through\novermuch heat, and, therefore, wanting nourishment, the hair falls.\n\nQ. Why doth the hair of the eyebrows grow long in old men? A. Because\nthrough their age the bones are thin through want of heat, and therefore\nthe hair doth grow there, by reason of the rheum of the eye.\n\nQ. Whereof proceedeth gaping? A. Of gross vapours, which occupy the\nvital spirits of the head, and of the coldness of the senses causing\nsleepiness.\n\nQ. What is the reason that some flowers do open with the sun rising, and\nshut with the sun setting? A. Cold doth close and shut, as hath been\nsaid, but the heat of the sun doth open and enlarge. Some compare the\nsun to the soul of the body; for as the soul giveth life, so the sun\ndoth give life, and vivificate all things; but cold bringeth death,\nwithering and decaying all things.\n\nQ. Why doth grief cause men to grow old and grey? A. Age is nothing else\nbut dryness and want of humours in the body; grief then causeth\nalteration, and heat dryness; age and greyness follow immediately.\n\nQ. Why are gelded beasts weaker than such as are not gelded? A. Because\nthey have less heat, and by that means less force and strength.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROBLEMS OF\n\nMARCUS ANTONINUS SANCTIPERTIAS\n\n\nQ. Why is it esteemed, in the judgment of the most wise, the hardest\nthing to know a man's self? A. Because nothing can be known that is of\nso great importance to man for the regulation of his conduct in life.\nWithout this knowledge, man is like the ship without either compass or\nrudder to conduct her to port, and is tossed by every passion and\nprejudice to which his natural constitution is subjected. To know the\nform and perfection of man's self, according to the philosophers, is a\ntask too hard; and a man, says Plato, is nothing, or if he be anything,\nhe is nothing, but his soul.\n\nQ. Why is a man, though endowed with reason, the most unjust of all\nliving creatures? A. Because only man is desirous of honour; and so it\nhappens that every one covets to seem good, and yet naturally shuns\nlabour, though he attain no virtue by it.\n\nQ. Why doth immoderate copulation do more hurt than immoderate letting\nof blood? A. The seed is full of nutriment, and better prepared for the\nnurture of the body, than the blood; for the blood is nourished by the\nseed.\n\nQ. What is the reason that those that have long yards cannot beget\nchildren? A. The seed, in going a long distance, doth lose the spirit,\nand therefore becomes cold and unfit.\n\nQ. Why do such as are corpulent cast forth but little seed in the act of\ncopulation, and are often barren? A. Because the seed of such goeth to\nnourish the body. For the same reason corpulent women have but few\nmenses.\n\nQ. How come women to be prone to venery in the summer time and men in\nthe winter? A. In summer the man's testicles hang down and are feebler\nthan in winter, or because hot natures become more lively in the cold\nseason; for a man is hot and dry, and a woman cold and moist; and\ntherefore in summer the strength of men decays, and that of women\nincreases, and they grow livelier by the benefit of the contrary\nquality.\n\nQ. Why is man the proudest of all living creatures? A. By reason of his\ngreat knowledge; or, as philosophers say, all intelligent beings having\nunderstanding, nothing remains that escapes man's knowledge in\nparticular; or it is because he hath rule over all earthly creatures,\nand all things seem to be brought under his dominion.\n\nQ. Why have beasts their hearts in the middle of their breasts, and man\nhis inclining to the left? A. To moderate the cold on that side.\n\nQ. Why doth the woman love the man best who has got her maidenhead? A.\nBy reason of shame-facedness; Plato saith, shame-facedness doth follow\nlove, or, because it is the beginning of great pleasure, which doth\nbring a great alteration in the whole body, whereby the powers of the\nmind are much delighted, and stick and rest immoveable in the same.\n\nQ. How come hairy people to be more lustful than any other? A. Because\nthey are said to have greater store of excrements and seed as\nphilosophers assert.\n\nQ. What is the cause that the suffocation of the matrix, which happens\nto women through strife and contention, is more dangerous than the\ndetaining of the flowers? A. Because the more perfect an excrement is in\nits natural disposition, the worse it is when it is altered from that\ndisposition, and drawn to the contrary quality; as is seen in vinegar,\nwhich is sharpest when it is made of the best wine. And so it happens\nthat the more men love one another the more they fall into variance and\ndiscord.\n\nQ. How come women's bodies to be looser, softer and less than man's; and\nwhy do they want hair? A. By reason of their menses; for with them their\nsuperfluities go away, which would produce hair; and thereby the flesh\nis filled, consequently the veins are more hid in women than in men.\n\nQ. What is the reason that when we think upon a horrible thing, we are\nstricken with fear? A. Because the conceit or imagination of things has\nforce and virtue. For Plato saith, the fancy of things has some affinity\nwith things themselves; for the image and representation of cold and\nheat is such as the nature of things are. Or it is this, because when we\ncomprehend any dreadful matter, the blood runneth to the internal parts;\nand therefore the external parts are cold and shake with fear.\n\nQ. Why doth a radish root help digestion and yet itself remaineth\nundigested? A. Because the substance consisteth of divers parts; for\nthere are some thin parts in it, which are fit to digest meat, the which\nbeing dissolved, there doth remain some thick and close substance in it,\nwhich the heat cannot digest.\n\nQ. Why do such as cleave wood, cleave it easier in the length than\nathwart? A. Because in the wood there is a grain, whereby, if it be cut\nin length, in the very cutting, one part naturally separateth from\nanother.\n\nQ. What is the reason, that if a spear be stricken on the end, the sound\ncometh sooner to one who standeth near, than to him who striketh? A.\nBecause, as hath been said, there is a certain long grain in wood,\ndirectly forward, filled with air, but on the other side there is none,\nand therefore a beam or spear being stricken on the end, the air which\nis hidden receiveth a sound in the aforesaid grain which serveth for its\npassage; and, seeing the sound cannot go easily out of it is carried\ninto the ear of him who is opposite; as those passages do not go from\nside to side, a sound cannot be distinctly heard there.\n\nQ. Why are the thighs and calves of the legs of men flesh, seeing the\nlegs of beasts are not so? A. Because men only go upright; and therefore\nnature hath given the lower parts corpulency, and taken it away from the\nupper; and thus she hath made the buttocks, the thighs, and calves of\nthe legs fleshy.\n\nQ. Why are the sensible powers in the heart; yet if the hinder part of\nthe brain be hurt, the memory suffereth by it; if the forepart, the\nimagination; if the middle, the cogitative part? A. It is because the\nbrain is appointed by nature to cool the blood of the heart; whereof it\nis, that in divers of its parts it serveth the powers and instruments\nwith their heart, for every action of the soul doth not proceed from one\nmeasure of heat.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROBLEMS OF\n\nALEXANDER APHRODISEUS\n\n\nQ. Why doth the sun make a man black and dirt white, wax soft and dirt\nhard? A. By reason of the disposition of the substance that doth suffer.\nAll humours, phlegm excepted, when heated above measure, do seem black\nabout the skin; and dirt, being full either of saltpetre, or salt\nliquor, when the sun hath consumed its dregs and filth, doth become\nwhite again. When the sun hath stirred up and drawn the humidity of the\nwax, it is softened; but in the dirt, the sun doth consume the humidity,\nwhich is very much and makes it hard.\n\nQ. Why are round ulcers hard to be cured? A. Because they are bred of a\nsharp choler, which eats and gnaws; and because it doth run, dropping\nand gnawing, it makes a round ulcer; for which reason it requires dry\nmedicines, as physicians assert.\n\nQ. Why is honey sweet to all men, but to such as have jaundice? A.\nBecause they have much bitter choler all over their bodies, which\nabounds in the tongue; whence it happens when they eat honey the humours\nare stirred, and the taste itself, by the bitterness of choler, causes\nan imagination that the honey is bitter.\n\nQ. Why doth water cast on serpents, cause them to fly? A. Because they\nare dry and cold by nature, having but little blood, and therefore fly\nfrom excessive coldness.\n\nQ. Why doth an egg break if roasted, and not if boiled? A. When moisture\ncomes near the fire, it is heated very much, and so breeds wind, which\nbeing put up in little room, forces its way out, and breaks the shell:\nthe like happens in tubs or earthen vessels when new wine is put into\nthem; too much phlegm breaks the shell of an egg in roasting; it is the\nsame with earthen pots too much heated; wherefore some people wet an egg\nwhen they intend to roast it. Hot water, by its softness, doth dissipate\nits humidity by little and little, and dissolves it through the thinness\nand passages of the shell.\n\nQ. Why do men wink in the act of copulation, and find a little\nalteration in all other senses? A. Because, being overcome by the effect\nof that pleasure, they do comprehend it the better.\n\nQ. Why have children gravel breeding in their bladders, and old men in\ntheir kidneys and veins? A. Because children have straight passages in\ntheir kidneys, and an earthly thick humour is thrust with violence by\nthe urine to the bladder, which hath wide conduits or passages, that\ngive room for the urine and humour whereof gravel is engendered, which\nwaxes thick, and seats itself, as the manner of it is. In old men it is\nthe reverse, for they have wide passages of the veins, back and kidneys,\nthat the urine may pass away, and the earthly humour congeal and sink\ndown; the colour of the gravel shows the humour whereof the stone comes.\n\nQ. Why is it, if the stone do congeal and wax hard through heat, we use\nnot contrary things to dissolve it by coldness, but light things, as\nparsley, fennel and the like? A. It is thought, to fall out by an\nexcessive scorching heat, by which the stones do crumble into sand, as\nin the manner of earthen vessels, which, when they are overheated or\nroasted, turn to sand. And by this means it happens that small stones\nare avoided, together with sand, in making water. Sometimes cold drink\nthrusts out the stone, the kidneys being stretched and casting it out by\na great effort; thus easing the belly of its burden. Besides, it often\nhappens that immoderate heat of the kidneys, or of the veins of the back\n(through which the stone doth grow) is quenched with coldness.\n\nQ. Why is the curing of an ulcer or bile in the kidneys or bladder very\nhard? A. Because the urine being sharp, doth ulcerate the sore. Ulcers\nare worse to cure in the bladder than in the kidneys, because urine\nstays in the former, but runs away from the latter.\n\nQ. Why do chaff and straw keep water hot, but make snow cold? A. Because\nthe nature of chaff wants a manifest quantity; seeing, therefore that of\nits own nature, it can easily be mingled, and consumed by that which it\nis annexed onto, it easily assumes the same nature, and being put into\nhot things, it is easily hot, heats again, and keeps hot; and on the\ncontrary, being made cold by the snow, and making the snow cold it keeps\nin its coldness.\n\nQ. Why have we oftentimes a pain in making water? A. Because sharp\ncholer issuing out, and pricking the bladder of the urine, doth provoke\nand stir up the whole body to ease the part offended, and to expel the\nhumour moderately. This doth happen most of all unto children, because\nthey have moist excrements by reason of their often drinking.\n\nQ. Why have some medicines of one kind contrary effects, as experience\nproves; for mastich doth expel, dissolve and also knit; and vinegar\ncools and heats? A. Because there are some small invisible bodies in\nthem, not in confusion, but by interposition; as sand moistened doth\nclog together and seem to be but one body, though indeed there are many\nsmall bodies in sand. And since this is so, it is not absurd that the\ncontrary qualities and virtues should be hidden in mastich, and that\nnature hath given that virtue to these bodies.\n\nQ. Why do nurses rock and move their children when they would rock them\nto sleep? A. To the end that the humours being scattered by moving, may\nmove the brains; but those of more years cannot endure this.\n\nQ. Why doth oil, being drunk, cause one to vomit, and especially yellow\ncholer? A. Because being light, and ascending upwards it provoketh the\nnutriment in the stomach, and lifteth it up; and so, the stomach being\ngrieved, summoneth the ejective virtue to vomit, and especially choler,\nbecause that is light and consisteth of subtle parts, and therefore the\nsooner carried upward; for when it is mingled with any moist thing, it\nrunneth into the highest room.\n\nQ. Why doth not oil mingle with moist things? A. Because, being pliant,\nsoft and thick in itself, it cannot be divided into parts, and so cannot\nbe mingled; neither if it be put on the earth can it enter into it.\n\nQ. Why are water and oil frozen in cold weather, and wine and vinegar\nnot? A. Because that oil being without quality, and fit to be compounded\nwith anything, is cold quickly and so extremely that it is most cold.\nWater being cold of nature, doth easily freeze when it is made colder\nthan its own nature. Wine being hot, and of subtle parts, suffereth no\nfreezing.\n\nQ. Why do contrary things in quality bring forth the same effect? A.\nThat which is moist is hardened and bound alike by heat and cold. Snow\nand liquid do freeze with cold; a plaster and gravel in the bladder are\nmade dry with heat. The effect indeed is the same, but by two divers\nactions; the heat doth consume and eat the abundance of moisture; but\nthe cold stopping and shutting with its over much thickness, doth wring\nout the filthy humidity, like as a sponge wrung with the hand doth cast\nout the water which it hath in the pores and small passages.\n\nQ. Why doth a shaking or quivering seize us oftentimes when any fearful\nmatter doth happen, as a great noise or a crack made, the sudden\ndownfall of water, or the fall of a large tree? A. Because that\noftentimes the humours being digested and consumed by time and made thin\nand weak, all the heat vehemently, suddenly and sharply flying into the\ninward part of the body, consumeth the humours which cause the disease.\nSo treacle hath this effect, and many such like, which are hot and dry\nwhen taken after connexion.\n\nQ. Why do steel glasses shine so clearly? A. Because they are lined in\nthe inside with white lead, whose nature is shining, and being put to\nglass, which is lucid and transparent, doth shine much more; and casts\nits beams through its passages, and without the body of the glass; and\nby that means the glass is very shining and clear.\n\nQ. Why do we see ourselves in glasses and clear water? A. Because the\nquality of the sight, passing into the bright bodies by reflection, doth\nreturn again on the beam of the eyes, as the image of him who looketh on\nit.\n\nQ. What is the reason that if you cast a stone in standing water which\nis near the surface of the earth, it causes many circles, and not if the\nwater be deep in the earth? A. Because the stone, with the vehemence of\nthe cast, doth agitate the water in every part of it, until it come to\nthe bottom; and if there be a very great vehemence in the throw, the\ncircle is still greater, the stone going down to the bottom causing many\ncircles. For, first of all, it doth divide the outermost and superficial\nparts of the water in many parts, and so, always going down to the\nbottom, again dividing the water, it maketh another circle, and this is\ndone successively until the stone resteth; and because the vehemence of\nthe stone is slackened, still as it goes down, of necessity the last\ncircle is less than the first, because by that and also by its force the\nwater is divided.\n\nQ. Why are such as are deaf by nature, dumb? A. Because they cannot\nspeak and express that which they never hear. Some physicians do say,\nthat there is one knitting and uniting of sinews belonging to the like\ndisposition. But such as are dumb by accident are not deaf at all, for\nthen there ariseth a local passion.\n\nQ. Why doth itching arise when an ulcer doth wax whole and phlegm\nceases? A. Because the part which is healed and made sound doth pursue\nthe relic of the humours which remained there against nature, and which\nwas the cause of the bile, and so going out through the skin, and\ndissolving itself, doth originally cause the itch.\n\nQ. How comes a man to sneeze oftener and more vehemently than a beast?\nA. Because he uses more meats and drinks, and of more different sorts,\nand that more than is requisite; the which, when he cannot digest as he\nwould, he doth gather together much air and spirit, by reason of much\nhumidity; the spirits then very subtle, ascending into the head, often\nforce a man to void them, and so provoke sneezing. The noise caused\nthereby proceeds from a vehement spirit or breath passing through the\nconduit of the nostrils, as belching doth from the stomach or farting by\nthe fundament, the voice by the throat, and a sound by the ear.\n\nQ. How come the hair and nails of dead people to grow? A. Because the\nflesh rotting, withering and falling away, that which was hidden about\nthe root of the hair doth now appear as growing. Some say that it grows\nindeed, because carcasses are dissolved in the beginning to many\nexcrements and superfluities by putrefaction. These going out at the\nuppermost parts of the body by some passages, do increase the growth of\nthe hair.\n\nQ. Why does not the hair of the feet soon grow grey? A. For this reason,\nbecause that through great motion they disperse and dissolve the\nsuperfluous phlegm that breeds greyness. The hair of the secrets grows\nvery late, because of the place, and because that in carnal copulation\nit dissolves the phlegm also.\n\nQ. Why, if you put hot burnt barley upon a horse's sore, is the hair\nwhich grows upon the sore not white, but like the other hair? A. Because\nit hath the force of expelling; and doth drive away and dissolve the\nphlegm, as well as all other unprofitable matter that is gathered\ntogether through the weakness of the parts, or condity of the sore.\n\nQ. Why doth the hair never grow on an ulcer or bile? A. Because man hath\na thick skin, as is seen by the thickness of his hair; and if the scar\nbe thicker than the skin itself, it stops the passages from whence the\nhair should grow. Horses have thinner skins, as is plain by their hair;\ntherefore all passages are not stopped in their wounds and sores; and\nafter the excrements which were gathered together have broken a passage\nthrough those small pores the hair doth grow.\n\nQ. Why is Fortune painted with a double forehead, the one side bald and\nthe other hairy? A. The baldness signifies adversity, and hairiness\nprosperity, which we enjoy when it pleaseth her.\n\nQ. Why have some commended flattery? A. Because flattery setteth forth\nbefore our eyes what we ought to be, though not what we are.\n\nQ. Wherefore should virtue be painted girded? A. To show that virtuous\nmen should not be slothful, but diligent and always in action.\n\nQ. Why did the ancients say it was better to fall into the hands of a\nraven than a flatterer? A. Because ravens do not eat us till we be dead,\nbut flatterers devour us alive.\n\nQ. Why have choleric men beards before others? A. Because they are hot,\nand their pores large.\n\nQ. How comes it that such as have the hiccups do ease themselves by\nholding their breath? A. The breath retained doth heat the interior\nparts of the body, and the hiccups proceeds from cold.\n\nQ. How comes it that old men remember well what they have seen and done\nin their youth, and forget such things as they see and do in their old\nage? A. Things learned in youth take deep root and habitude in a person,\nbut those learned in age are forgotten because the senses are then\nweakened.\n\nQ. What kind of covetousness is best? A. That of time when employed as\nit ought to be.\n\nQ. Why is our life compared to a play? A. Because the dishonest do\noccupy the place of the honest, and the worst sort the room of the good.\n\nQ. Why do dolphins, when they appear above the water, denote a storm or\ntempest approaching? A. Because at the beginning of a tempest there do\narise from the bottom of the sea, certain hot exhalations and vapours\nwhich heat the dolphins, causing them to rise up for cold air.\n\nQ. Why did the Romans call Fabius Maximus the target of the people, and\nMarcellus the sword? A. Because the one adapted himself to the service\nof the commonwealth, and the other was very eager to revenge the\ninjuries of his country; and yet they were in the senate joined\ntogether, because the gravity of the one would moderate the courage and\nboldness of the other.\n\nQ. Why doth the shining of the moon hurt the head? A. Because it moves\nthe humours of the brain, and cannot afterwards dissolve them.\n\nQ. If water do not nourish, why do men drink it? A. Because water\ncauseth the nutriment to spread through the body.\n\nQ. Why is sneezing good? A. Because it purgeth the brain as milk is\npurged by the cough.\n\nQ. Why is hot water lighter than cold? A. Because boiling water has less\nventosity and is more light and subtle, the earthly and heavy substance\nbeing separated from it.\n\nQ. How comes marsh and pond water to be bad? A. By reason they are\nphlegmatic, and do corrupt in summer; the fineness of water is turned\ninto vapours, and the earthiness doth remain.\n\nQ. Why are studious and learned men soonest bald? A. It proceeds from a\nweakness of the spirits, or because warmth of digestion cause phlegm to\nabound in them.\n\nQ. Why doth much watching make the brain feeble? A. Because it increases\ncholer, which dries and extenuates the body.\n\nQ. Why are boys apt to change their voices about fourteen years of age?\nA. Because that then nature doth cause a great and sudden change of\nvoice; experience proves this to be true; for at that time we may see\nthat women's paps do grow great, do hold and gather milk, and also those\nplaces that are above their hips, in which the young fruit would remain.\nLikewise men's breasts and shoulders, which then can bear great and\nheavy burdens; also their stones in which their seed may increase and\nabide, and in their privy members, to let out the seed with ease.\nFurther all the body is made bigger and dilated, as the alteration and\nchange of every part doth testify, and the harshness of the voice and\nhoarseness; for the rough artery, the wind pipe, being made wide in the\nbeginning, and the exterior and outward part being unequal to the\nthroat, the air going out the rough, unequal and uneven pipe doth then\nbecome unequal and sharp, and after, hoarse, something like unto the\nvoice of a goat, wherefore it has its name called Bronchus. The same\ndoth also happen to them unto whose rough artery distillation doth\nfollow; it happens by reason of the drooping humidity that a slight\nsmall skin filled unequally causes the uneven going forth of the spirit\nand air. Understand, that the windpipe of goats is such by reason of the\nabundance of humidity. The like doth happen unto all such as nature hath\ngiven a rough artery, as unto cranes. After the age of fourteen they\nleave off that voice, because the artery is made wider and reacheth its\nnatural evenness and quality.\n\nQ. Why do hard dens, hollow and high places, send back the likeness and\nsound of the voice? A. Because that in such places also by reflection do\nreturn back the image of a sound, for the voice doth beat the air, and\nthe air the place, which the more it is beaten the more it doth bear,\nand therefore doth cause the more vehement sound of the voice; moist\nplaces, and as it were, soft, yielding to the stroke, and dissolving it,\ngive no sound again; for according to the quantity of the stroke, the\nquality and quantity of the voice is given, which is called an echo.\nSome do idly fable that she is a goddess; some say that Pan was in love\nwith her, which without doubt is false. He was some wise man, who did\nfirst desire to search out the cause of the voice, and as they who love,\nand cannot enjoy that love, are grieved, so in like manner was he very\nsorry until he found out the solution of that cause; as Endymion also,\nwho first found out the course of the moon, watching all night, and\nobserving her course, and searching her motion, did sleep in the\ndaytime, and that she came to him when he was asleep, because she did\ngive the philosopher the solution of the course herself. They say also\nthat he was a shepherd, because that in the desert and high places, he\ndid mark the course of the moon. And they gave him also the pipe because\nthat the high places are blown with wind, or else because he sought out\nthe consonancy of figures. Prometheus also, being a wise man, sought the\ncourse of the star, which is called the eagle in the firmament, his\nnature and place; and when he was, as it were, wasted with the desire of\nlearning, then at last he rested, when Hercules did resolve unto him all\ndoubts with his wisdom.\n\nQ. Why do not swine cry when they are carried with their snouts upwards?\nA. Because that of all other beasts they bend more to the earth. They\ndelight in filth, and that they seek, and therefore in the sudden change\nof their face, they be as it were strangers, and being amazed with so\nmuch light do keep that silence; some say the windpipe doth close\ntogether by reason of the straitness of it.\n\nQ. Why do swine delight in dirt? A. As physicians do say, they are\nnaturally delighted with it, because they have a great liver, in which\ndesire it, as Aristotle saith, the wideness of their snout is the case,\nfor he that hath smelling which doth dissolve itself, and as it were\nstrive with stench.\n\nQ. Why do many beasts when they see their friends, and a lion and a\nbull beat their sides when they are angry? A. Because they have the\nmarrow of their backs reaching to the tail, which hath the force of\nmotion in it, the imagination acknowledging that which is known to them,\nas it were with the hand, as happens to men, doth force them to move\ntheir tails. This doth manifestly show some secret force to be within\nthem, which doth acknowledge what they ought. In the anger of lions and\nbulls, nature doth consent to the mind, and causeth it to be greatly\nmoved, as men do sometimes when they are angry, beating their hands on\nother parts; when the mind cannot be revenged on that which doth hurt,\nit presently seeks out some other source, and cures the malady with a\nstroke or blow.\n\nQ. How come steel glasses to be better for the sight than any other\nkind? A. Because steel is hard, and doth present unto us more\nsubstantially the air that receiveth the light.\n\nQ. How doth love show its greater force by making the fool to become\nwise, or the wise to become a fool? A. In attributing wisdom to him that\nhas it not; for it is harder to build than to pull down; and ordinarily\nlove and folly are but an alteration of the mind.\n\nQ. How comes much labour and fatigue to be bad for the sight? A.\nBecause it dries the blood too much.\n\nQ. Why is goat's milk reckoned best for the stomach? A. Because it is\nthick, not slimy, and they feed on wood and boughs rather than on grass.\n\nQ. Why do grief and vexation bring grey hairs? A. Because they dry,\nwhich bringeth on greyness.\n\nQ. How come those to have most mercy who have the thickest blood? A.\nBecause the blood which is fat and thick makes the spirits firm and\nconstant, wherein consists the force of all creatures.\n\nQ. Whether it is hardest, to obtain a person's love, or to keep it when\nobtained? A. It is hardest to keep it, by reason of the inconstancy of\nman, who is quickly angry, and soon weary of a thing; hard to be gained\nand slippery to keep.\n\nQ. Why do serpents shun the herb rue? A. Because they are cold, dry and\nfull of sinews, and that herb is of a contrary nature.\n\nQ. Why is a capon better to eat than a cock? A. Because a capon loses\nnot his moisture by treading of the hens.\n\nQ. Why is our smell less in winter than in summer? A. Because the air is\nthick, and less moveable.\n\nQ. Why does hair burn so quickly? A. Because it is dry and cold.\n\nQ. Why is love compared to a labyrinth? A. Because the entry and coming\nin is easy, and the going out almost impossible or hard.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nPART IV\n\nDISPLAYING THE SECRETS OF\n\nNATURE\n\nRELATING TO\n\nPHYSIOGNOMY\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\n\nSECTION 1.--_Of Physiognomy, showing what it is, and whence it is\nderived._\n\nPhysiognomy is an ingenious science, or knowledge of nature, by which\nthe inclinations and dispositions of every creature are understood, and\nbecause some of the members are uncompounded, and entire of themselves,\nas the tongue, the heart, etc., and some are of a mixed nature, as the\neyes, the nose and others, we therefore say that there are signs which\nagree and live together, which inform a wise man how to make his\njudgment before he be too rash to deliver it to the world.\n\nNor is it to be esteemed a foolish or idle art, seeing it is derived\nfrom the superior bodies; for there is no part of the face of man but\nwhat is under the peculiar influence or government, not only of the\nseven planets but also of the twelve signs of Zodiac; and the\ndispositions, vices, virtues and fatality, either of a man or woman are\nplainly foretold, if the person pretending to the knowledge thereof be\nan artist, which, that my readers may hereby attain it I shall set these\nthings in a clearer light.\n\nThe reader should remember that the forehead is governed by Mars; the\nright eye is under the domination of Sol; the left is ruled by the Moon;\nthe right ear is under Jupiter; the left, Saturn, the rule of the nose\nis claimed by Venus, which, by the way, is one reason that in all\nunlawful venereal encounters, the nose is too subject to bear the scars\nthat are gotten in those wars; and nimble Mercury, the significator of\neloquence claims the dominion of the mouth, and that very justly.\n\nThus have the seven planets divided the face among them, but not with so\nabsolute a way but that the twelve signs of the Zodiac do also come in\nwith a part (see the engraving) and therefore the sign Cancer presides\nin the upper part of the forehead, and Leo attends upon the right\neyebrow, as Saggittarius does upon the right eye, and Libra upon the\nright ear, upon the left eyebrow you will find Aquarius; and Gemini and\nAries taking care of the left ear; Taurus rules in the middle of the\nforehead, and Capricorn the chin; Scorpio takes upon him the protection\nof the nose; Virgo claims the precedence of the right cheek, Pisces the\nleft. And thus the face of man is cantoned out amongst the signs and\nplanets; which being carefully attended to, will sufficiently inform\nthe artist how to pass a judgment. For according to the sign or planet\nruling so also is the judgment to be of the part ruled, which all those\nthat have understanding know easily how to apply.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nIn the judgment that is to be made from physiognomy, there is a great\ndifference betwixt a man and a woman; the reason is, because in respect\nof the whole composition men more fully comprehend it than women do, as\nmay evidently appear by the manner and method we shall give. Wherefore\nthe judgments which we shall pass in every chapter do properly concern a\nman, as comprehending the whole species, and but improperly the woman,\nas being but a part thereof, and derived from the man, and therefore,\nwhoever is called to give judgment on such a face, ought to be wary\nabout all the lines and marks that belong to it, respect being also had\nto the sex, for when we behold a man whose face is like unto a woman's\nand we pass a judgment upon it, having diligently observed it, and not\non the face only, but on other parts of the body, as hands, etc., in\nlike manner we also behold the face of a woman, who in respect to her\nflesh and blood is like unto a man, and in the disposure also of the\ngreatest part of the body. But does physiognomy give the same judgment\non her, as it does of a man that is like unto her? By no means, but far\notherwise, in regard that the conception of the woman is much different\nfrom that of a man, even in those respects which are said to be common.\nNow in those common respects two parts are attributed to a man, and a\nthird part to a woman.\n\nWherefore it being our intention to give you an exact account, according\nto the rule of physiognomy of all and every part of the members of the\nbody, we will begin with the head, as it hath relation only to man and\nwoman, and not to any other creature, that the work may be more obvious\nto every reader.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\n     _Of the Judgment of Physiognomy._\n\n\nHair that hangs down without curling, if it be of a fair complexion,\nthin and soft withal, signifies a man to be naturally faint-hearted, and\nof a weak body, but of a quiet and harmless disposition. Hair that is\nbig, and thick and short withal, denotes a man to be of a strong\nconstitution, secure, bold, deceitful and for the most part, unquiet and\nvain, lusting after beauty, and more foolish than wise, though fortune\nmay favour him. He whose hair is partly curled and partly hanging down,\nis commonly wise or a very great fool, or else as very a knave as he is\na fool. He whose hair grows thick on his temples and his brow, one may\ncertainly at first sight conclude that such a man is by nature simple,\nvain, luxurious, lustful, credulous, clownish in his speech and\nconversation and dull in his apprehension. He whose hair not only curls\nvery much, but bushes out, and stands on end, if the hair be white or of\na yellowish colour, he is by nature proud and bold, dull of\napprehension, soon angry, and a lover of venery, and given to lying,\nmalicious and ready to do any mischief. He whose hair arises in the\ncorners of the temples, and is gross and rough withal, is a man highly\nconceited of himself, inclined to malice, but cunningly conceals it, is\nvery courtly and a lover of new fashions. He who hath much hair, that is\nto say, whose hair is thick all over his head, is naturally vain and\nvery luxurious, of a good digestion, easy of belief, and slow of\nperformance, of a weak memory and for the most part unfortunate. He\nwhose hair is of a reddish complexion, is for the most part, if not\nalways, proud, deceitful, detracting and full of envy. He whose hair is\nextraordinarily fair, is for the most part a man fit for the most\npraiseworthy enterprises, a lover of honour, and much more inclined to\ndo good than evil; laborious and careful to perform whatsoever is\ncommitted to his care, secret in carrying on any business, and\nfortunate. Hair of a yellowish colour shows a man to be good\nconditioned, and willing to do anything, fearful, shamefaced and weak of\nbody, but strong in the abilities of the mind, and more apt to remember,\nthan to avenge an injury. He whose hair is of a brownish colour, and\ncurled not too much nor too little, is a well-disposed man, inclined to\nthat which is good, a lover of peace, cleanliness and good manners. He\nwhose hair turns grey or hoary in the time of his youth, is generally\ngiven to women, vain, false, unstable, and talkative. [Note. That\nwhatever signification the hair has in men, it has the same in women\nalso.]\n\nThe forehead that riseth in a round, signifies a man liberally merry, of\na good understanding, and generally inclined to virtue. He whose\nforehead is fleshy, and the bone of the brow jutting out, and without\nwrinkles, is a man much inclined to suits of law, contentious, vain,\ndeceitful, and addicted to follow ill courses. He whose forehead is\nvery low and little, is of a good understanding, magnanimous, but\nextremely bold and confident, and a great pretender to love and honour.\nHe whose forehead seems sharp, and pointed up in the corners of his\ntemples, so that the bone seems to jut forth a little, is a man\nnaturally weak and fickle, and weak in the intellectuals. He whose brow\nupon the temples is full of flesh, is a man of a great spirit, proud,\nwatchful and of a gross understanding. He whose brow is full of\nwrinkles, and has as it were a seam coming down the middle of the\nforehead, so that a man may think he has two foreheads, is one that is\nof a great spirit, a great wit, void of deceit, and yet of a hard\nfortune. He who has a full, large forehead, and a little round withal,\ndestitute of hair, or at least that has little on it is bold, malicious,\nfull of choler and apt to transgress beyond all bounds, and yet of a\ngood wit and very apprehensive. He whose forehead is long and high and\njutting forth, and whose face is figured, almost sharp and peaked\ntowards the chin, is one reasonably honest, but weak and simple, and of\na hard fortune.\n\nThose eyebrows that are much arched, whether in man or woman, and which\nby frequent motion elevate themselves, show the person to be proud,\nhigh-spirited, vain-glorious, bold and threatening, a lover of beauty,\nand indifferently inclined to either good or evil. He whose eyelids bend\ndown when he speaks to another or when he looks upon him, and who has a\nkind of skulking look, is by nature a penurious wretch, close in all his\nactions, of a very few words, but full of malice in his heart. He whose\neyebrows are thick, and have but little hair upon them, is but weak in\nhis intellectuals, and too credulous, very sincere, sociable, and\ndesirous of good company. He whose eyebrows are folded, and the hair\nthick and bending downwards, is one that is clownish and unlearned,\nheavy, suspicious, miserable, envious, and one that will cheat and cozen\nyou if he can. He whose eyebrows have but short hair and of a whitish\ncolour is fearful and very easy of belief, and apt to undertake\nanything. Those, on the other side, whose eyebrows are black, and the\nhair of them thin, will do nothing without great consideration, and are\nbold and confident of the performance of what they undertake; neither\nare they apt to believe anything without reason for so doing.\n\nIf the space between the eyebrows be of more than the ordinary distance,\nit shows the person to be hard-hearted, envious, close, cunning,\napprehensive, greedy of novelties, of a vain fortune, addicted to\ncruelty more than love. But those men whose eyebrows are at a lesser\ndistance from each other, are for the most part of a dull understanding;\nyet subtle enough in their dealings, and of an uncommon boldness, which\nis often attended with great felicity; but that which is most\ncommendable in them is, that they are most sure and constant in their\nfriendship.\n\nGreat and full eyes in either man or woman, show the person to be for\nthe most part slothful, bold, envious, a bad concealer of secrets,\nmiserable, vain, given to lying, and yet a bad memory, slow in\ninvention, weak in his intellectuals, and yet very much conceited of\nthat little knack of wisdom he thinks himself master of. He whose eyes\nare hollow in his head, and therefore discerns well at a great distance,\nis one that is suspicious, malicious, furious, perverse in his\nconversation, of an extraordinary memory, bold, cruel, and false, both\nin words and deeds, threatening, vicious, luxurious, proud, envious and\ntreacherous; but he whose eyes are, as it were, starting out of his\nhead, is a simple, foolish person, shameless, very fertile and easy to\nbe persuaded either to vice or virtue. He who looks studiously and\nacutely, with his eyes and eyelids downwards, denotes thereby to be of a\nmalicious nature, very treacherous, false, unfaithful, envious,\nmiserable, impious towards God, and dishonest towards men. He whose\neyes are small and conveniently round, is bashful and weak, very\ncredulous, liberal to others, and even in his conversation. He whose\neyes look asquint, is thereby denoted to be a deceitful person, unjust,\nenvious, furious, a great liar, and as the effect of all that is\nmiserable. He who hath a wandering eye and which is rolling up and down,\nis for the most part a vain, simple, deceitful, lustful, treacherous, or\nhigh-minded man, an admirer of the fair sex, and one easy to be\npersuaded to virtue or vice. He or she whose eyes are twinkling, and\nwhich move forward or backward, show the person to be luxurious,\nunfaithful and treacherous, presumptuous, and hard to believe anything\nthat is spoken. If a person has any greenness mingled with the white of\nhis eye, such is commonly silly, and often very false, vain and\ndeceitful, unkind to his friends, a great concealer of his own secrets,\nand very choleric. Those whose eyes are every way rolling up and down,\nor they who seldom move their eyes, and when they do, as it were, draw\ntheir eyes inwardly and accurately fasten them upon some object, such\nare by their inclinations very malicious, vain-glorious, slothful,\nunfaithful, envious, false and contentious. They whose eyes are addicted\nto blood-shot, are naturally proud, disdainful, cruel, without shame,\nperfidious and much inclined to superstition. But he whose eyes are\nneither too little nor too big, and inclined to black, do signify a man\nmild, peaceable, honest, witty, and of a good understanding; and one\nthat, when need requires, will be serviceable to his friends.\n\nA long and thin nose, denotes a man bold, furious, angry, vain, easy to\nbe persuaded either to good or evil, weak and credulous. A long nose\nextended, the tip of it bending downwards, shows the person to be wise,\ndiscreet, secret and officious, honest, faithful and one that will not\nbe over-reached in bargaining.\n\nA bottle-nose is what denotes a man to be impetuous in the obtaining of\nhis desires, also a vain, false, luxurious, weak and uncertain man; apt\nto believe and easy to be persuaded. A broad nose in the middle, and\nless towards the end, denotes a vain, talkative person, a liar, and one\nof hard fortune. He who hath a long and great nose is an admirer of the\nfair sex, and well accomplished for the wars of Venus, but ignorant of\nthe knowledge of anything that is good, extremely addicted to vice;\nassiduous in the obtaining what he desires, and very secret in the\nprosecution of it; and though very ignorant, would fain be thought very\nknowing.\n\nA nose very sharp on the tip of it, and neither too long nor too short,\ntoo thick nor too thin, denotes the person, if a man, to be of a fretful\ndisposition, always pining and peevish; and if a woman, a scold, or\ncontentious, wedded to her own humours, of a morose and dogged carriage,\nand if married, a plague to her husband. A nose very round at the end of\nit, and having but little nostrils, shows the person to be munificent\nand liberal, true to his trust, but withal, very proud, credulous and\nvain. A nose very long and thin at the end of it, and something round,\nwithal, signifies one bold in his discourse, honest in his dealings,\npatient in receiving, and slow in offering injuries, but yet privately\nmalicious. He whose nose is naturally more red than any other part of\nhis face, is thereby denoted to be covetous, impious, luxurious, and an\nenemy to goodness. A nose that turns up again, and is long and full at\nthe tip of it, shows the person that has it to be bold, proud, covetous,\nenvious, luxurious, a liar and deceiver, vain, glorious, unfortunate and\ncontentious. He whose nose riseth high in the middle, is prudent and\npolite, and of great courage, honourable in his actions, and true to his\nword. A nose big at the end shows a person to be of a peaceable\ndisposition, industrious and faithful, and of a good understanding. A\nvery wide nose, with wide nostrils, denotes a man dull of apprehension,\nand inclined more to simplicity than wisdom, and withal vain,\ncontentious and a liar.\n\nWhen the nostrils are close and thin, they denote a man to have but\nlittle testicles, and to be very desirous of the enjoyment of women, but\nmodest in his conversation. But he whose nostrils are great and wide, is\nusually well hung and lustful; but withal of an envious, bold and\ntreacherous disposition and though dull of understanding, yet confident\nenough.\n\nA great and wide mouth shows a man to be bold, warlike, shameless and\nstout, a great liar and as great a talker, also a great eater, but as to\nhis intellectuals, he is very dull, being for the most part very simple.\n\nA little mouth shows the person to be of a quiet and pacific temper,\nsomewhat reticent, but faithful, secret, modest, bountiful, and but a\nlittle eater.\n\nHe whose mouth smells of a bad breath, is one of a corrupted liver and\nlungs, is oftentimes vain, wanton, deceitful, of indifferent intellect,\nenvious, covetous, and a promise-breaker. He that has a sweet breath, is\nthe contrary.\n\nThe lips, when they are very big and blubbering, show a person to be\ncredulous, foolish, dull and stupid, and apt to be enticed to anything.\nLips of a different size denote a person to be discreet, secret in all\nthings, judicious and of a good wit, but somewhat hasty. To have lips,\nwell coloured and more thin than thick, shows a person to be\ngood-humoured in all things and more easily persuaded to good than evil.\nTo have one lip bigger than the other, shows a variety of fortunes, and\ndenotes the party to be of a dull, sluggish temper, but of a very\nindifferent understanding, as being much addicted to folly.\n\nWhen the teeth are small, and but weak in performing their office, and\nespecially if they are short and few, though they show the person to be\nof a weak constitution, yet they denote him to be of a meek disposition,\nhonest, faithful and secret in whatsoever he is intrusted with. To have\nsome teeth longer and shorter than others, denotes a person to be of a\ngood apprehension, but bold, disdainful, envious and proud. To have the\nteeth very long, and growing sharp towards the end, if they are long in\nchewing, and thin, denotes the person to be envious, gluttonous, bold,\nshameless, unfaithful and suspicious. When the teeth look very brown or\nyellowish, whether they be long or short, it shows the person to be of a\nsuspicious temper, envious, deceitful and turbulent. To have teeth\nstrong and close together, shows the person to be of a long life, a\ndesirer of novelties, and things that are fair and beautiful, but of a\nhigh spirit, and one that will have his humour in all things; he loves\nto hear news, and to repeat it afterwards, and is apt to entertain\nanything on his behalf. To have teeth thin and weak, shows a weak,\nfeeble man, and one of a short life, and of a weak apprehension; but\nchaste, shame-faced, tractable and honest.\n\nA tongue to be too swift of speech shows a man to be downright foolish,\nor at best but a very vain wit. A stammering tongue, or one that\nstumbles in the mouth, signifies a man of a weak understanding, and of a\nwavering mind, quickly in a rage, and soon pacified. A very thick and\nrough tongue denotes a man to be apprehensive, subtle and full of\ncompliments, yet vain and deceitful, treacherous, and prone to impiety.\nA thin tongue shows a man of wisdom and sound judgment, very ingenious\nand of an affable disposition, yet somewhat timorous and too credulous.\n\nA great and full voice in either sex shows them to be of a great spirit,\nconfident, proud and wilful. A faint and weak voice, attended with but\nlittle breath, shows a person to be of good understanding, a nimble\nfancy, a little eater, but weak of body, and of a timorous disposition.\nA loud and shrill voice, which sounds clearly denotes a person\nprovident, sagacious, true and ingenious, but withal capricious, vain,\nglorious and too credulous. A strong voice when a man sings denotes him\nto be of a strong constitution, and of a good understanding, a nimble\nfancy, a little eater, but weak of body, and of a timorous disposition.\n\nA strong voice when a man sings, denotes him to be of a strong\nconstitution, and of a good understanding, neither too penurious nor too\nprodigal, also ingenious and an admirer of the fair sex. A weak and\ntrembling voice shows the owner of it to be envious, suspicious, slow in\nbusiness, feeble and fearful. A loud, shrill and unpleasant voice,\nsignifies one bold and valiant, but quarrelsome and injurious and\naltogether wedded to his own humours, and governed by his own counsels.\nA rough and hoarse voice, whether in speaking or singing, declares one\nto be a dull and heavy person, of much guts and little brains. A full\nand yet mild voice, and pleasing to the hearer, shows the person to be\nof a quiet and peaceable disposition (which is a great virtue and rare\nto be found in a woman), and also very thrifty and secret, not prone to\nanger, but of a yielding temper. A voice beginning low or in the bass,\nand ending high in the treble, denotes a person to be violent, angry,\nbold and secure.\n\nA thick and full chin abounding with too much flesh, shows a man\ninclined to peace, honest and true to his trust, but slow in invention,\nand easy to be drawn either to good or evil. A peaked chin and\nreasonably full of flesh, shows a person to be of a good understanding,\na high spirit and laudable conversation. A double chin shows a peaceable\ndisposition, but dull of apprehension, vain, credulous, a great\nsupplanter, and secret in all his actions. A crooked chin, bending\nupwards, and peaked for want of flesh, is by the rules of physiognomy,\naccording to nature, a very bad man, being proud, imprudent, envious,\nthreatening, deceitful, prone to anger and treachery, and a great thief.\n\nThe hair of young men usually begins to grow down upon their chins at\nfifteen years of age, and sometimes sooner. These hairs proceed from the\nsuperfluity of heat, the fumes whereof ascend to their chin, like smoke\nto the funnel of a chimney; and because it cannot find an open passage\nby which it may ascend higher, it vents itself forth in the hairs which\nare called the beard. There are very few, or almost no women at all,\nthat have hairs on their cheeks; and the reason is, that those humours\nwhich cause hair to grow on the cheeks of a man are by a woman\nevacuated in the monthly courses, which they have more or less,\naccording to the heat or coldness of their constitution, and the age and\nmotion of the moon, of which we have spoken at large in the first part\nof this book. Yet sometimes women of a hot constitution have hair to be\nseen on their cheeks, but more commonly on their lips, or near their\nmouths, where the heat most aboundeth. And where this happens, such\nwomen are much addicted to the company of men, and of a strong and manly\nconstitution. A woman who hath little hair on her cheeks, or about her\nmouth and lips, is of a good complexion, weak constitution, shamefaced,\nmild and obedient, whereas a woman of a more hot constitution is quite\notherwise. But in a man, a beard well composed and thick of hair,\nsignifies a man of good nature, honest, loving, sociable and full of\nhumanity; on the contrary, he that hath but a little beard, is for the\nmost part proud, pining, peevish and unsociable. They who have no\nbeards, have always shrill and a strange kind of squeaking voices, and\nare of a weak constitution, which is apparent in the case of eunuchs,\nwho, after they are deprived of their virility are transformed from the\nnature of men into the condition of women.\n\nGreat and thick ears are a certain sign of a foolish person, or a bad\nmemory and worse understanding. But small and thin ears show a person to\nbe of a good wit, grave, sweet, thrifty, modest, resolute, of a good\nmemory, and one willing to serve his friend. He whose ears are longer\nthan ordinary, is thereby signified to be a bold man, uncivil, vain,\nfoolish, serviceable to another more than to himself, and a man of small\nindustry, but of a great stomach.\n\nA face apt to sweat on every motion, shows a person to be of a very hot\nconstitution, vain and luxurious, of a good stomach, but of a bad\nunderstanding, and a worse conversation. A very fleshy face shows the\nperson to be of a fearful disposition, but a merry heart, and withal\nbountiful and discreet, easy to be entreated, and apt to believe\neverything. A lean face, by the rules of physiognomy, denotes the person\nto be of a good understanding, but somewhat capricious and disdainful in\nhis conversation. A little and round face, shows a person to be simple,\nvery fearful, of a bad memory, and a clownish disposition. A plump face,\nfull of carbuncles, shows a man to be a great drinker of wine, vain,\ndaring, and soon intoxicated. A face red or high coloured, shows a man\nmuch inclined to choler, and one that will be soon angry and not easily\npacified. A long and lean face, shows a man to be both bold, injurious\nand deceitful. A face every way of a due proportion, denotes an\ningenious person, one fit for anything and very much inclined to what is\ngood. One of a broad, full, fat face is, by the rules of physiognomy, of\na dull, lumpish, heavy constitution, and that for one virtue has three\nvices. A plain, flat face, without any rising shows a person to be very\nwise, loving and courtly in his carriage, faithful to his friend and\npatient in adversity. A face sinking down a little, with crosses in it,\ninclining to leanness, denotes a person to be very laborious, but\nenvious, deceitful, false, quarrelsome, vain and silly, and of a dull\nand clownish behaviour. A face of a handsome proportion, and more\ninclining to fat than lean, shows a person just in his actions, true to\nhis word, civil, and respectful in his behaviour, of an indifferent\nunderstanding, and of an extraordinary memory. A crooked face, long and\nlean, denotes a man endued with as bad qualities as the face is with ill\nfeatures. A face broad about the brows, and sharper and less as it grows\ntowards the chin, shows a man simple and foolish in managing his\naffairs, vain in his discourse, envious in his nature, deceitful,\nquarrelsome and rude in his conversation. A face well-coloured, full of\ngood features, and of an exact symmetry, and a just proportion in all\nits parts, and which is delightful to look upon, is commonly the index\nof a fairer mind and shows a person to be well disposed; but withal\ndeclares that virtue is not so impregnably seated there, but that by\nstrong temptations (especially by the fair sex) it may be supplanted and\novercome by vice. A pale complexion, shows the person not only to be\nfickle, but very malicious, treacherous, false, proud, presumptuous, and\nextremely unfaithful. A face well-coloured, shows the person to be of a\npraiseworthy disposition and a sound complexion, easy of belief, and\nrespectful to his friend, ready to do a courtesy, and very easy to be\ndrawn to anything.\n\nA great head, and round, withal, denotes the person to be secret, and of\ngreat application in carrying on business, and also ingenious and of a\nlarge imaginative faculty and invention; and likewise laborious,\nconstant and honest. The head whose gullet stands forth and inclines\ntowards the earth, signifies a person thrifty, wise, peaceable, secret,\nof a retired temper, and constant in the management of his affairs. A\nlong head and face, and great, withal, denotes a vain, foolish, idle and\nweak person, credulous and very envious. To have one's head always\nshaking and moving from side to side, denotes a shallow, weak person,\nunstable in all his actions, given to lying, a great deceiver, a great\ntalker, and prodigal in all his fortunes. A big head and broad face,\nshows a man to be very courageous, a great hunter after women, very\nsuspicious, bold and shameless. He who hath a very big head, but not so\nproportionate as it ought to be to the body, if he hath a short neck and\ncrooked gullet is generally a man of apprehension, wise, secret,\ningenious, of sound judgment, faithful, true and courteous to all. He\nwho hath a little head, and long, slender throat, is for the most part a\nman very weak, yet apt to learn, but unfortunate in his actions. And so\nmuch shall suffice with respect to judgment from the head and face.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\n     _Of Judgments drawn from several other parts of Man's Body._\n\n\nIn the body of man the head and feet are the principal parts, being the\nindex which heaven has laid open to every one's view to make a judgment\ntherefrom, therefore I have been the larger in my judgment from the\nseveral parts thereof. But as to the other parts, I shall be much more\nbrief as not being so obvious to the eyes of men; yet I would proceed in\norder.\n\nThe throat, if it be white, whether it be fat or lean, shows a man to be\nvain-glorious, timorous, wanton, and very much subject to choler. If the\nthroat be so thin and lean that the veins appear, it shows a man to be\nweak, slow, and a dull and heavy constitution.\n\nA long neck shows one to have a long and slender foot, and that the\nperson is stiff and inflexible either to good or evil. A short neck\nshows one to be witty and ingenious, but deceitful and inconstant, well\nskilled in the use of arms, and yet cares not to use them, but is a\ngreat lover of peace and quietness.\n\nA lean shoulder bone, signifies a man to be weak, timorous, peaceful,\nnot laborious, and yet fit for any employment. He whose shoulder bones\nare of a great bigness is commonly, by the rule of physiognomy, a strong\nman, faithful but unfortunate; somewhat dull of understanding, very\nlaborious, a great eater and drinker, and one equally contented in all\nconditions. He whose shoulder bone seems to be smooth, is by the rule of\nnature, modest in his look, and temperate in all his actions, both at\nbed and board. He whose shoulder bone bends, and is crooked inwardly, is\ncommonly a dull person and deceitful.\n\nLong arms, hanging down and touching the knees, though such arms are\nrarely seen, denotes a man liberal, but withal vain-glorious, proud and\ninconstant. He whose arms are very short in respect to the stature of\nhis body, is thereby signified to be a man of high and gallant spirit,\nof a graceful temper, bold and warlike. He whose arms are full of bones,\nsinews and flesh, is a great desirer of novelties and beauties, and one\nthat is very credulous and apt to believe anything. He whose arms are\nvery hairy, whether they be lean or fat, is for the most part a\nluxurious person, weak in body and mind, very suspicious and malicious\nwithal. He whose arms have no hair on them at all, is of a weak\njudgment, very angry, vain, wanton, credulous, easily deceived himself,\nyet a great deceiver of others, no fighter, and very apt to betray his\ndearest friends.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\n     _Of Palmistry, showing the various Judgments drawn from the Hand._\n\n\nBeing engaged in this fourth part to show what judgment may be drawn,\naccording to physiognomy, from the several parts of the body, and coming\nin order to speak of the hands, it has put me under the necessity of\nsaying something about palmistry, which is a judgment made of the\nconditions, inclinations, and fortunes of men and women, from the\nvarious lines and characters nature has imprinted in their hands, which\nare almost as serious as the hands that have them.\n\nThe reader should remember that one of the lines of the hand, and which\nindeed is reckoned the principal, is called the line of life; this line\nencloses the thumb, separating it from the hollow of the hand. The next\nto it, which is called the natural line, takes its beginning from the\nrising of the forefinger, near the line of life, and reaches to the\ntable line, and generally makes a triangle. The table line, commonly\ncalled the line of fortune, begins under the little finger, and ends\nnear the middle finger. The girdle of Venus, which is another line so\ncalled begins near the first joint of the little finger, and ends\nbetween the fore-finger and the middle finger. The line of death is that\nwhich plainly appears in a counter line to that of life, and is called\nthe sister line, ending usually as the other ends; for when the line of\nlife is ended, death comes, and it can go no farther. There are lines in\nthe fleshy parts, as in the ball of the thumb, which is called the mount\nof Venus; under each of the fingers are also mounts, which are governed\nby several planets; and the hollow of the hand is called the plain of\nMars.\n\nI proceed to give judgment from these several lines:--In palmistry, the\nleft hand is chiefly to be regarded, because therein the lines are most\nvisible, and have the strictest communication with the heart and brain.\nIn the next place, observe the line of life, and if it be fair, extended\nto its full length, and not broken with an intermixture of cross lines,\nit shows long life and health, and it is the same if a double line\nappears, as there sometimes does. When the stars appear in this line, it\nis a signification of great losses and calamities; if on it there be the\nfigures of two O's or a Q, it threatens the person with blindness; if it\nwraps itself about the table line, then does it promise wealth and\nhonour to be attended by prudence and industry. If the line be cut and\njagged at the upper end, it denotes much sickness; if this line be cut\nby any lines coming from the mount of Venus, it declares the person to\nbe unfortunate in love and business also, and threatens him with sudden\ndeath. A cross below the line of life and the table line, shows the\nperson to be very liberal and charitable, one of a noble spirit. Let us\nnow see the signification of the table line.\n\nThe table line, when broad and of a lively colour, shows a healthful\nconstitution, and a quiet contented mind, and a courageous spirit, but\nif it has crosses towards the little finger, it threatens the party with\nmuch affliction by sickness. If the line be double, or divided into\nthree parts at any of the extremities, it shows the person to be of a\ngenerous temper, and of a good fortune to support it; but if this line\nbe forked at the end, it threatens the person shall suffer by jealousies\nand doubts, and loss of riches gotten by deceit. If three points such as\nthese\n\n    * *\n     *\n\nare found in it, they denote the person prudent and liberal, a lover of\nlearning, and of a good temper, if it spreads towards the fore and\nmiddle finger and ends blunt, it denotes preferment. Let us now see what\nis signified by the middle line. This line has in it oftentimes (for\nthere is scarce a hand in which it varies not) divers very significant\ncharacters. Many small lines between this and the table line threaten\nthe party with sickness, and also gives him hopes of recovery. A half\ncross branching into this line, declares the person shall have honour,\nriches, and good success in all his undertakings. A half moon denotes\ncold and watery distempers; but a sun or star upon this line, denotes\nprosperity and riches; this line, double in a woman, shows she will have\nseveral husbands, but no children.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe line of Venus, if it happens to be cut or divided near the\nforefinger, threatens ruin to the party, and that it shall befall him by\nmeans of lascivious women and bad company. Two crosses upon the line,\none being on the forefinger and the other bending towards the little\nfinger, show the party to be weak, and inclined to modesty and virtue,\nindeed it generally denotes modesty in women; and therefore those who\ndesire such, usually choose them by this standard.\n\nThe liver line, if it be straight and crossed by other lines, shows the\nperson to be of a sound judgment, and a piercing understanding, but if\nit be winding, crooked and bending outward, it draws deceit and\nflattery, and the party is not to be trusted. If it makes a triangle or\nquadrangle, it shows the person to be of a noble descent, and ambitious\nof honour and promotion. If it happens that this line and the middle\nline begin near each other, it denotes a person to be weak in his\njudgment, if a man; but if a woman, in danger by hard labour.\n\nThe plain of Mars being in the hollow of the hand, most of the lines\npass through it, which renders it very significant. This plain being\ncrooked and distorted, threatens the party to fall by his enemies. When\nthe lines beginning at the wrist are long within the plain, reaching to\nthe brawn of the hand, that shows the person to be much given to\nquarrelling, often in broils and of a hot and fiery spirit, by which he\nsuffers much damage. If deep and long crosses be in the middle of the\nplain, it shows the party shall obtain honour by martial exploits; but\nif it be a woman, she shall have several husbands and easy labour with\nher children.\n\nThe line of Death is fatal, when crosses or broken lines appear in it;\nfor they threaten the person with sickness and a short life. A clouded\nmoon appearing therein, threatens a child-bed woman with death. A bloody\nspot in the line, denotes a violent death. A star like a comet,\nthreatens ruin by war, and death by pestilence. But if a bright sun\nappears therein, it promises long life and prosperity.\n\nAs for the lines of the wrist being fair, they denote good fortune; but\nif crossed and broken, the contrary.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\n     _Judgments according to Physiognomy, drawn from the several parts\n     of the Body, from the Hands to the Feet._\n\n\nA large and full breast, shows a man valiant and courageous, but withal\nproud and hard to deal with, quickly angry, and very apprehensive of an\ninjury; he whose breast is narrow, and which riseth a little in the\nmiddle of it, is, by the best rule of physiognomy, of a clear spirit, of\na great understanding, good in counsel, very faithful, clean both in\nmind and body, yet as an enemy to this, he is soon angry, and inclined\nlong to keep it. He whose breast is somewhat hairy, is very luxurious,\nand serviceable to another. He who hath no hair upon his breast, is a\nman weak by nature, of a slender capacity and very timorous, but of a\nlaudable life and conversation, inclined to peace, and much retired to\nhimself.\n\nThe back of the chin bone, if the flesh be anything hairy and lean, and\nhigher than any other part that is behind, signifies a man shameless,\nbeastly and withal malicious. He whose back is large, big and fat, is\nthereby denoted to be a strong and stout man, but of a heavy\ndisposition, vain, slow and full of deceit.\n\nHe or she whose belly is soft over all the body, is weak, lustful, and\nfearful upon little or no occasion, of a good understanding, and an\nexcellent invention, but little eaters, faithful, but of various\nfortune, and meet with more adversity than prosperity. He whose flesh is\nrough and hard, is a man of strong constitution and very bold, but vain,\nproud and of a cruel temper. A person whose skin is smooth, fat and\nwhite, is a person, curious, vain-glorious, timorous, shame-faced,\nmalicious, false, and too wise to believe all he hears.\n\nA thigh, full of strong, bristly hair, and the hair inclined to curl,\nsignifies one lustful, licentious, and fit for copulation. Thighs with\nbut little hair, and those soft and slender, show the person to be\nreasonably chaste, and one that has no great desire to coition, and who\nwill have but few children.\n\nThe legs of both men and women have a fleshy substance behind, which are\ncalled calves, which nature hath given them (as in our book of living\ncreatures we have observed), in lieu of those long tails which other\ncreatures have pendant behind. Now a great calf, and he whose legs are\nof great bone, and hair withal, denotes the person to be strong, bold,\nsecure, dull in understanding and slow in business, inclined to\nprocreation, and for the most part fortunate in his undertakings.\nLittle legs, and but little hair on them, show the person to be weak,\nfearful, of a quick understanding, and neither luxurious at bed nor\nboard. He whose legs do much abound with hair, shows he has great store\nin another place, and that he is lustful and luxurious, strong, but\nunstable in his resolution, and abounding with ill humours.\n\nThe feet of either men or women, if broad and thick with flesh, and long\nin figure, especially if the skin feels hard, they are by nature of a\nstrong constitution, and gross nutriment, but of weak intellect, which\nrenders the understanding vain. But feet that are thin and lean, and of\na soft skin, show the person to be but weak of body, but of a strong\nunderstanding and an excellent wit.\n\nThe soles of the feet do administer plain and evident signs, whereby the\ndisposition and constitution of men and women may be known, as do the\npalms of their hands, as being full of lines, by which lines all the\nfortunes and misfortunes of men and women may be known, and their\nmanners and inclinations made plainly to appear. But this in general we\nmay take notice, as that many long lines and strokes do presage great\naffliction, and a very troublesome life, attended with much grief and\ntoil, care, poverty, and misery; but short lines, if they are thick and\nfull of cross lines, are yet worse in every degree. Those, the skin of\nwhose soles is very thick and gross, are, for the most part, able,\nstrong and venturous. Whereas, on the contrary, those the skin of whose\nsoles of their feet is thin, are generally weak and timorous.\n\nI shall now, before I conclude (having given an account of what\njudgments may be made by observing the several parts of the body, from\nthe crown of the head to the soles of the feet), give an account of what\njudgments may be drawn by the rule of physiognomy from things extraneous\nwhich are found upon many, and which indeed to them are parts of the\nbody, but are so far from being necessary parts that they are the\ndeformity and burden of it, and speak of the habits of the body, as they\ndistinguish persons.\n\n\n\n_Of Crooked and Deformed Persons._\n\nA crooked breast and shoulder, or the exuberance of flesh in the body\neither of man or woman, signifies the person to be extremely\nparsimonious and ingenious, and of a great understanding, but very\ncovetous and scraping after the things of the world, attended also with\na very bad memory, being also very deceitful and malicious; they are\nseldom in a medium, but either virtuous or extremely vicious. But if\nthe person deformed hath an excrescence on his breast instead of on the\nback, he is for the most part of a double heart, and very mischievous.\n\n\n\n_Of the divers Manners of going, and particular Posture both of Men and\nWomen._\n\nHe or she that goes slowly, making great steps as they go, are generally\npersons of bad memory, and dull of apprehension, given to loitering, and\nnot apt to believe what is told them. He who goes apace, and makes short\nsteps, is most successful in all his undertakings, swift in his\nimagination, and humble in the disposition of his affairs. He who makes\nwide and uneven steps, and sidelong withal, is one of a greedy, sordid\nnature, subtle, malicious, and willing to do evil.\n\n\n\n_Of the Gait or Motion in Men and Women._\n\nEvery man hath a certain gait or motion, and so in like manner hath\nevery woman; for a man to be shaking his head, or using any light motion\nwith his hands or feet, whether he stands or sits, or speaks, is always\naccompanied with an extravagant motion, unnecessary, superfluous and\nunhandsome. Such a man, by the rule of physiognomy is vain, unwise,\nunchaste, a detractor, unstable and unfaithful. He or she whose motion\nis not much when discoursing with any one, is for the most part wise and\nwell bred, and fit for any employment, ingenious and apprehensive,\nfrugal, faithful and industrious in business. He whose posture is\nforwards and backwards, or, as it were, whisking up and down, mimical,\nis thereby denoted to be a vain, silly person, of a heavy and dull wit,\nand very malicious. He whose motion is lame and limping, or otherwise\nimperfect, or that counterfeits an imperfection is denoted to be\nenvious, malicious, false and detracting.\n\n\n\n_Judgment drawn from the Stature of Man._\n\nPhysiognomy draws several judgments also from the stature of man, which\ntake as followeth; if a man be upright and straight, inclined rather to\nleanness than fat, it shows him to be bold, cruel, proud, clamorous,\nhard to please, and harder to be reconciled when displeased, very\nfrugal, deceitful, and in many things malicious. To be of tall stature\nand corpulent with it, denotes him to be not only handsome but valiant\nalso, but of no extraordinary understanding, and which is worst of all,\nungrateful and trepanning. He who is extremely tall and very lean and\nthin is a projecting man, that designs no good to himself, and suspects\nevery one to be as bad as himself, importunate to obtain what he\ndesires, and extremely wedded to his own humour. He who is thick and\nshort, is vain, envious, suspicious, and very shallow of apprehension,\neasy of belief, but very long before he will forget an injury. He who is\nlean and short but upright withal, is, by the rules of physiognomy, wise\nand ingenious, bold and confident, and of a good understanding, but of a\ndeceitful heart. He who stoops as he goes, not so much by age as custom,\nis very laborious, a retainer of secrets, but very incredulous and not\neasy to believe every vain report he hears. He that goes with his belly\nstretching forth, is sociable, merry, and easy to be persuaded.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\n     _Of the Power of the Celestial Bodies over Men and Women._\n\n\nHaving spoken thus largely of Physiognomy, and the judgment given\nthereby concerning the dispositions and inclinations of men and women,\nit will be convenient here to show how all these things come to pass;\nand how it is that the secret inclinations and future fate of men and\nwomen may be known from the consideration of the several parts of the\nbodies. They arise from the power and dominion of superior powers to\nunderstand the twelve signs of the Zodiac, whose signs, characters and\nsignifications are as follows:--\n\n[Illustration]\n\n_Aries_, the Ram, which governs the head and face.\n\n_Taurus_, the Bull, which governs the neck.\n\n_Gemini_, the Twins, which governs the hands and arms.\n\n_Cancer_, the Crab, governs the breast and stomach.\n\n_Leo_, the Lion, governs the back and heart\n\n_Virgo_, the Virgin, governs the belly and bowels.\n\n_Libra_, the Balance, governs the veins and loins.\n\n_Scorpio_, the Scorpion, governs the secret parts.\n\n_Sagittary_, the Centaur, governs the thighs.\n\n_Capricorn_, the Goat, governs the knees.\n\n_Aquarius_, the Water-Bearer, governs the legs and ankles.\n\n_Pisces_, the Fish, governs the feet.\n\nIt is here furthermore necessary to let the reader know, that the\nancients have divided the celestial sphere into twelve parts, according\nto the number of these signs, which are termed houses; as in the first\nhouse, Aries, in the second Taurus, in the third Gemini, etc. And\nbesides their assigning the twelve signs of the twelve houses, they\nallot to each house its proper business.\n\nTo the first house they give the signification of life.\n\nThe second house has the signification of wealth, substances, or riches.\n\nThe third is the mansion of brethren.\n\nThe fourth, the house of parentage.\n\nThe fifth is the house of children.\n\nThe sixth is the house of sickness or disease.\n\nThe seventh is the house of wedlock, and also of enemies, because\noftentimes a wife or husband proves the worst enemy.\n\nThe eighth is the house of death.\n\nThe ninth is the house of religion.\n\nThe tenth is the signification of honours.\n\nThe eleventh of friendship.\n\nThe twelfth is the house of affliction and woe.\n\nNow, astrologically speaking, a house is a certain place in the heaven\nor firmament, divided by certain degrees, through which the planets have\ntheir motion, and in which they have their residence and are situated.\nAnd these houses are divided by thirty degrees, for every sign has so\nmany degrees. And these signs or houses are called the houses of such\nand such planets as make their residence therein, and are such as\ndelight in them, and as they are deposited in such and such houses are\nsaid to be either dignified or debilitated. For though the planets in\ntheir several revolutions go through all the houses, yet there are some\nhouses which they are more properly said to delight in. As for instance,\nAries and Scorpio are the houses of Mars; Taurus and Libra of Venus;\nGemini and Virgo of Mercury; Sagittarius and Pisces are the houses of\nJupiter; Capricorn and Aquarius are the houses of Saturn; Leo is the\nhouse of the Sun; and Cancer is the house of the Moon.\n\nNow to sum up the whole, and show how this concerns Physiognomy, is\nthis:--as the body of man, as we have shown, is not only governed by the\nsigns and planets, but every part is appropriated to one or another of\nthem, so according to the particular influence of each sign and planet,\nso governing is the disposition, inclination, and nature of the person\ngoverned. For such and such tokens and marks do show a person to be born\nunder such and such a planet; so according to the nature, power and\ninfluences of the planets, is the judgment to be made of that person. By\nwhich the reader may see that the judgments drawn from physiognomy are\ngrounded upon a certain verity.","title":"The Works of Aristotle the Famous Philosopher: Containing his Complete Masterpiece and Family Physician; his Experienced Midwife, his Book of Problems and his Remarks on Physiognomy","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":108631}