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diff --git a/12699.txt b/12699.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..19a9245 --- /dev/null +++ b/12699.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11730 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Works of Aristotle the Famous +Philosopher, by Anonymous + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +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 + + +Author: Anonymous + +Release Date: June 24, 2004 [EBook #12699] +Last Updated: February 18, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORKS OF ARISTOTLE *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + +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 + +COMPLETE EDITION, WITH ENGRAVINGS + + * * * * * + + + + +THE MIDWIFE'S VADE-MECUM + +Containing + +PARTICULAR DIRECTIONS FOR MIDWIVES, NURSES, ETC. + + * * * * * + +SOME GENUINE RECIPES FOR CAUSING SPEEDY DELIVERY. + + * * * * * + +APPROVED DIRECTIONS FOR NURSES. + + * * * * * + +[Illustration: Medical Knowledge] + +[Illustration] + + * * * * * + + + + +PART I.--BOOK I + +THE MASTERPIECE + + _On marriage and at what age young men and virgins are capable of + it: and why so much desire it. Also, how long men and women are + capable of it._ + + +There are very few, except some professional debauchees, who will not +readily agree that "Marriage is honourable to all," being ordained by +Heaven in Paradise; and without which no man or woman can be in a +capacity, honestly, to yield obedience to the first law of the creation, +"Increase and Multiply." And since it is natural in young people to +desire the embraces, proper to the marriage bed, it behoves parents to +look after their children, and when they find them inclinable to +marriage, not violently to restrain their inclinations (which, instead +of allaying them, makes them but the more impetuous) but rather provide +such suitable matches for them, as may make their lives comfortable; +lest the crossing of those inclinations should precipitate them to +commit those follies that may bring an indelible stain upon their +families. The inclination of maids to marriage may be known by many +symptoms; for when they arrive at puberty, which is about the fourteenth +or fifteenth year of their age, then their natural purgations begin to +flow; and the blood, which is no longer to augment their bodies, +abounding, stirs up their minds to venery. External causes may also +incline them to it; for their spirits being brisk and inflamed, when +they arrive at that age, if they eat hard salt things and spices, the +body becomes more and more heated, whereby the desire to veneral +embraces is very great, and sometimes almost insuperable. And the use of +this so much desired enjoyment being denied to virgins, many times is +followed by dismal consequences; such as the green weesel colonet, +short-breathing, trembling of the heart, etc. But when they are married +and their veneral desires satisfied by the enjoyment of their husbands, +these distempers vanish, and they become more gay and lively than +before. Also, their eager staring at men, and affecting their company, +shows that nature pushes them upon coition; and their parents +neglecting to provide them with husbands, they break through modesty and +satisfy themselves in unlawful embraces. It is the same with brisk +widows, who cannot be satisfied without that benevolence to which they +were accustomed when they had their husbands. + +At the age of 14, the menses, in virgins, begin to flow; then they are +capable of conceiving, and continue generally until 44, when they cease +bearing, unless their bodies are strong and healthful, which sometimes +enables them to bear at 65. But many times the menses proceed from some +violence done to nature, or some morbific matter, which often proves +fatal. And, hence, men who are desirous of issue ought to marry a woman +within the age aforesaid, or blame themselves if they meet with +disappointment; though, if an old man, if not worn out with diseases and +incontinency, marry a brisk, lively maiden, there is hope of him having +children to 70 or 80 years. + +Hippocrates says, that a youth of 15, or between that and 17, having +much vital strength, is capable of begetting children; and also that the +force of the procreating matter increases till 45, 50, and 55, and then +begins to flag; the seed, by degrees, becoming unfruitful, the natural +spirits being extinguished, and the humours dried up. Thus, in general, +but as to individuals, it often falls out otherwise. Nay, it is +reported by a credible author, that in Swedland, a man was married at +100 years of age to a girl of 30 years, and had many children by her; +but his countenance was so fresh, that those who knew him not, imagined +him not to exceed 50. And in Campania, where the air is clear and +temperate, men of 80 marry young virgins, and have children by them; +which shows that age in them does not hinder procreation, unless they be +exhausted in their youths and their yards be shrivelled up. + +If any would know why a woman is sooner barren than a man, they may be +assured that the natural heat, which is the cause of generation, is more +predominant in the man than in the woman; for since a woman is more +moist than a man, as her monthly purgations demonstrate, as also the +softness of her body; it is also apparent that he does not much exceed +her in natural heat, which is the chief thing that concocts the humours +in proper aliment, which the woman wanting grows fat; whereas a man, +through his native heat, melts his fat by degrees and his humours are +dissolved; and by the benefit thereof are converted into seed. And this +may also be added, that women, generally, are not so strong as men, nor +so wise or prudent; nor have so much reason and ingenuity in ordering +affairs; which shows that thereby the faculties are hindered in +operations. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER II + + _How to beget a male or female child; and of the Embryo and perfect + Birth; and the fittest time for the copula._ + + +When a young couple are married, they naturally desire children; and +therefore adopt the means that nature has appointed to that end. But +notwithstanding their endeavours they must know that the success of all +depends on the blessing of the Gods: not only so, but the sex, whether +male or female, is from their disposal also, though it cannot be denied, +that secondary causes have influence therein, especially two. First, the +general humour, which is brought by the arteria praeparantes to the +testes, in form of blood, and there elaborated into seed, by the +seminifical faculty residing in them. Secondly, the desire of coition, +which fires the imagination with unusual fancies, and by the sight of +brisk, charming beauty, may soon inflame the appetite. But if nature be +enfeebled, some meats must be eaten as will conduce to afford such +aliment as makes the seed abound, and restores the exhaustion of nature +that the faculties may freely operate, and remove impediments +obstructing the procreating of children. Then, since diet alters the +evil state of the body to a better, those subject to barrenness must eat +such meats as are juicy and nourish well, making the body lively and +full of sap; of which faculty are all hot moist meats. For, according to +Galen, seed is made of pure concocted and windy superfluity of blood, +whence we may conclude, that there is a power in many things, to +accumulate seed, and also to augment it; and other things of force to +cause desire, as hen eggs, pheasants, woodcocks, gnat-snappers, +blackbirds, thrushes, young pigeons, sparrows, partridges, capons, +almonds, pine nuts, raisins, currants, strong wines taken sparingly, +especially those made of the grapes of Italy. But erection is chiefly +caused by scuraum, eringoes, cresses, crysmon, parsnips, artichokes, +turnips, asparagus, candied ginger, acorns bruised to powder and drank +in muscadel, scallion, sea shell fish, etc. But these must have time to +perform their operation, and must be used for a considerable time, or +you will reap but little benefit from them. The act of coition being +over, let the woman repose herself on her right side, with her head +lying low, and her body declining, that by sleeping in that posture, +the cani, on the right side of the matrix, may prove the place of +conception; for therein is the greatest generative heat, which is the +chief procuring cause of male children, and rarely fails the +expectations of those that experience it, especially if they do but keep +warm, without much motion, leaning to the right, and drinking a little +spirit of saffron and juice of hissop in a glass of Malaga or Alicant, +when they lie down and arise, for a week. + +For a female child, let the woman lie on her left side, strongly +fancying a female in the time of procreation, drinking the decoction of +female mercury four days from the first day of purgation; the male +mercury having the like operation in case of a male; for this concoction +purges the right and left side of the womb, opens the receptacles, and +makes way for the seminary of generation. The best time to beget a +female is, when the moon is in the wane, in Libra or Aquaries. Advicenne +says, that when the menses are spent and the womb cleansed, which is +commonly in five or seven days at most, if a man lie with his wife from +the first day she is purged to the fifth, she will conceive a male; but +from the fifth to the eighth a female; and from the eighth to the +twelfth a male again: but after that perhaps neither distinctly, but +both in an hermaphrodite. In a word, they that would be happy in the +fruits of their labour, must observe to use copulation in due distance +of time, not too often nor too seldom, for both are alike hurtful; and +to use it immoderately weakens and wastes the spirits and spoils the +seed. And this much for the first particular. + +The second is to let the reader know how the child is formed in the +womb, what accidents it is liable to there, and how nourished and +brought forth. There are various opinions concerning this matter; +therefore, I shall show what the learned say about it. + +Man consists of an egg, which is impregnated in the testicles of the +woman, by the more subtle parts of the man's seed; but the forming +faculty and virtue in the seed is a divine gift, it being abundantly +imbued with vital spirit, which gives sap and form to the embryo, so +that all parts and bulk of the body, which is made up in a few months +and gradually formed into the likely figure of a man, do consist in, and +are adumbrated thereby (most sublimely expressed, Psalm cxxxix.: "I will +praise Thee, O Lord, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.") + +Physicians have remarked four different times at which a man is framed +and perfected in the womb; the first after coition, being perfectly +formed in the week if no flux happens, which sometimes falls out +through the slipperiness of the head of the matrix, that slips over like +a rosebud that opens suddenly. The second time of forming is assigned +when nature makes manifest mutation in the conception, so that all the +substance seems congealed, flesh and blood, and happens twelve or +fourteen days after copulation. And though this fleshy mass abounds with +inflamed blood, yet it remains undistinguishable, without form, and may +be called an embryo, and compared to seed sown in the ground, which, +through heat and moisture, grows by degrees to a perfect form in plant +or grain. The third time assigned to make up this fabric is when the +principal parts show themselves plain; as the heart, whence proceed the +arteries, the brain, from which the nerves, like small threads, run +through the whole body; and the liver, which divides the chyle from the +blood, brought to it by the vena porta. The two first are fountains of +life, that nourish every part of the body, in framing which the faculty +of the womb is bruised, from the conception of the eighth day of the +first month. The fourth, and last, about the thirtieth day, the outward +parts are seen nicely wrought, distinguished by joints, from which time +it is no longer an embryo, but a perfect child. + +Most males are perfect by the thirtieth day, but females seldom before +the forty-second or forty-fifth day, because the heat of the womb is +greater in producing the male than the female. And, for the same reason, +a woman going with a male child quickens in three months, but going with +a female, rarely under four, at which time its hair and nails come +forth, and the child begins to stir, kick and move in the womb, and then +the woman is troubled with a loathing for meat and a greedy longing for +things contrary to nutriment, as coals, rubbish, chalk, etc., which +desire often occasions abortion and miscarriage. Some women have been so +extravagant as to long for hob nails, leather, horse-flesh, man's flesh, +and other unnatural as well as unwholesome food, for want of which thing +they have either miscarried or the child has continued dead in the womb +for many days, to the imminent hazard of their lives. But I shall now +proceed to show by what means the child is maintained in the womb, and +what posture it there remains in. + +The learned Hippocrates affirms that the child, as he is placed in the +womb, has his hands on his knees, and his head bent to his feet, so that +he lies round together, his hands upon his knees and his face between +them, so that each eye touches each thumb, and his nose betwixt his +knees. And of the same opinion in this matter was Bartholinus. Columbus +is of opinion that the figure of the child in the womb is round, the +right arm bowed, the fingers under the ear, and about the neck, the head +bowed so that the chin touches the breast, the left arm bowed above both +breast and face and propped up by the bending of the right elbow; the +legs are lifted upwards, the right so much that the thigh touches the +belly, the knee the navel, the heel touches the left buttock, and the +foot is turned back and covers the secrets; the left thigh touches the +belly, and the leg lifted up to the breast. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER III + + _The reason why children are like their parents; and that the + Mother's imagination contributes thereto; and whether the man or + the woman is the cause of the male or female child._ + + +In the case of similitude, nothing is more powerful than the imagination +of the mother; for if she fix her eyes upon any object it will so +impress her mind, that it oftentimes so happens that the child has a +representation thereof on some part of the body. And, if in act of +copulation, the woman earnestly look on the man, and fix her mind on +him, the child will resemble its father. Nay, if a woman, even in +unlawful copulation, fix her mind upon her husband, the child will +resemble him though he did not beget it. The same effect has imagination +in occasioning warts, stains, mole-spots, and dartes; though indeed they +sometimes happen through frights, or extravagant longing. Many women, in +being with child, on seeing a hare cross the road in front of them, +will, through the force of imagination, bring forth a child with a hairy +lip. Some children are born with flat noses and wry mouths, great +blubber lips and ill-shaped bodies; which must be ascribed to the +imagination of the mother, who has cast her eyes and mind upon some +ill-shaped creature. Therefore it behoves all women with child, if +possible, to avoid such sights, or at least, not to regard them. But +though the mother's imagination may contribute much to the features of +the child, yet, in manners, wit, and propension of the mind, experience +tells us, that children are commonly of the condition with their +parents, and possessed of similar tempers. But the vigour or disability +of persons in the act of copulation many times cause it to be otherwise; +for children begotten through the heat and strength of desire, must +needs partake more of the nature and inclination of their parents, than +those begotten at a time when desires are weaker; and, therefore, the +children begotten by men in their old age are generally weaker than, +those begotten by them in their youth. As to the share which each of the +parents has in begetting the child, we will give the opinions of the +ancients about it. + +Though it is apparent that the man's seed is the chief efficient being +of the action, motion, and generation: yet that the woman affords seed +and effectually contributes in that point to the procreation of the +child, is evinced by strong reasons. In the first place, seminary +vessels had been given her in vain, and genital testicles inverted, if +the woman wanted seminal excrescence, for nature does nothing in vain; +and therefore we must grant, they were made for the use of seed and +procreation, and placed in their proper parts; both the testicles and +the receptacles of seed, whose nature is to operate and afford virtue to +the seed. And to prove this, there needs no stronger argument, say they, +than that if a woman do not use copulation to eject her seed, she often +falls into strange diseases, as appears by young men and virgins. A +second reason they urge is, that although the society of a lawful bed +consists not altogether in these things, yet it is apparent the female +sex are never better pleased, nor appear more blythe and jocund, than +when they are satisfied this way; which is an inducement to believe they +have more pleasure and titulation therein than men. For since nature +causes much delight to accompany ejection, by the breaking forth of the +swelling spirits and the swiftness of the nerves; in which case the +operation on the woman's part is double, she having an enjoyment both by +reception and ejection, by which she is more delighted in. + +Hence it is, they say, that the child more frequently resembles the +mother than the father, because the mother contributes more towards it. +And they think it may be further instanced, from the endeared affection +they bear them; for that, besides their contributing seminal matters, +they feed and nourish the child with the purest fountain of blood, until +its birth. Which opinion Galen affirms, by allowing children to +participate most of the mother; and ascribes the difference of sex to +the different operations of the menstrual blood; but this reason of the +likeness he refers to the power of the seed; for, as the plants receive +more nourishment from fruitful ground, than from the industry of the +husbandman, so the infant receives more abundance from the mother than +the father. For the seed of both is cherished in the womb, and then +grows to perfection, being nourished with blood. And for this reason it +is, they say, that children, for the most part, love their mothers best, +because they receive the most of their substance from their mother; for +about nine months she nourishes her child in the womb with the purest +blood; then her love towards it newly born, and its likeness, do clearly +show that the woman affords seed, and contributes more towards making +the child than the man. + +But in this all the ancients were very erroneous; for the testicles, so +called in women, afford not only seed, but are two eggs, like those of +fowls and other creatures; neither have they any office like those of +men, but are indeed the ovaria, wherein the eggs are nourished by the +sanguinary vessels disposed throughout them; and from thence one or more +as they are fecundated by the man's seed is separated and conveyed into +the womb by the ovaducts. The truth of this is plain, for if you boil +them the liquor will be of the same colour, taste and consistency, with +the taste of birds' eggs. If any object that they have no shells, that +signifies nothing: for the eggs of fowls while they are on the ovary, +nay, after they are fastened into the uterus, have no shell. And though +when they are laid, they have one, yet that is no more than a defence +with which nature has provided them against any outward injury, while +they are hatched without the body; whereas those of women being hatched +within the body, need no other fence than the womb, by which they are +sufficiently secured. And this is enough, I hope, for the clearing of +this point. + +As for the third thing proposed, as whence grow the kind, and whether +the man or the woman is the cause of the male or female infant--the +primary cause we must ascribe to God as is most justly His due, who is +the Ruler and Disposer of all things; yet He suffers many things to +proceed according to the rules of nature by their inbred motion, +according to usual and natural courses, without variation; though indeed +by favour from on high, Sarah conceived Isaac; Hannah, Samuel; and +Elizabeth, John the Baptist; but these were all extraordinary things, +brought to pass by a Divine power, above the course of nature. Nor have +such instances been wanting in later days; therefore, I shall wave them, +and proceed to speak of things natural. + +The ancient physicians and philosophers say that since these two +principles out of which the body of man is made, and which renders the +child like the parents, and by one or other of the sex, viz., seed +common to both sexes and menstrual blood, proper to the woman only; the +similitude, say they, must needs consist in the force of virtue of the +male or female, so that it proves like the one or the other, according +to the quantity afforded by either, but that the difference of sex is +not referred to the seed, but to the menstrual blood, which is proper to +the woman, is apparent; for, were that force altogether retained in the +seed, the male seed being of the hottest quality, male children would +abound and few of the female be propagated; wherefore, the sex is +attributed to the temperament or to the active qualities, which consists +in heat and cold and the nature of the matter under them--that is, the +flowing of the menstruous blood. But now, the seed, say they, affords +both force to procreate and to form the child, as well as matter for its +generation; and in the menstruous blood there is both matter and force, +for as the seed most helps the maternal principle, so also does the +menstrual blood the potential seed, which is, says Galen, blood well +concocted by the vessels which contain it. So that the blood is not only +the matter of generating the child, but also seed, it being impossible +that menstrual blood has both principles. + +The ancients also say that the seed is the stronger efficient, the +matter of it being very little in quantity, but the potential quality of +it is very strong; wherefore, if these principles of generation, +according to which the sex is made were only, say they, in the menstrual +blood, then would the children be all mostly females; as were the +efficient force in the seed they would be all males; but since both have +operation in menstrual blood, matter predominates in quantity and in the +seed force and virtue. And, therefore, Galen thinks that the child +receives its sex rather from the mother than the father, for though his +seed contributes a little to the natural principle, yet it is more +weakly. But for likeliness it is referred rather to the father than to +the mother. Yet the woman's seed receiving strength from the menstrual +blood for the space of nine months, overpowers the man's in that +particular, for the menstrual blood rather cherishes the one than the +other; from which it is plain the woman affords both matter to make and +force and virtue to perfect the conception; though the female's be fit +nutriment for the male's by reason of the thinness of it, being more +adapted to make up conception thereby. For as of soft wax or moist clay, +the artificer can frame what he intends, so, say they, the man's seed +mixing with the woman's and also with the menstrual blood, helps to +make the form and perfect part of man. + +But, with all imaginary deference to the wisdom of our fathers, give me +leave to say that their ignorance of the anatomy of man's body have led +them into the paths of error and ran them into great mistakes. For their +hypothesis of the formation of the embryo from commixture of blood being +wholly false, their opinion in this case must of necessity be likewise. +I shall therefore conclude this chapter by observing that although a +strong imagination of the mother may often determine the sex, yet the +main agent in this case is the plastic or formative principle, according +to those rules and laws given us by the great Creator, who makes and +fashions it, and therein determines the sex, according to the council of +his will. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + _That Man's Soul is not propagated by their parents, but is infused + by its Creator, and can neither die nor corrupt. At what time it is + infused. Of its immortality and certainty of its resurrection._ + + +Man's soul is of so divine a nature and excellency that man himself +cannot comprehend it, being the infused breath of the Almighty, of an +immortal nature, and not to be comprehended but by Him that gave it. For +Moses, relating the history of man, tells us that "God breathed into his +nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul." Now, as for +all other creatures, at His word they were made and had life, but the +creature that God had set over His works was His peculiar workmanship, +formed by Him out of the dust of the earth, and He condescended to +breathe into his nostrils the breath of life, which seems to denote both +care and, if we may so term it, labour, used about man more than about +all other living creatures, he only partaking and participating of the +blessed divine nature, bearing God's image in innocence and purity, +whilst he stood firm; and when, by his fall, that lively image was +defaced, yet such was the love of the Creator towards him that he found +out a way to restore him, the only begotten son of the Eternal Father +coming into the world to destroy the works of the devil, and to raise up +man from that low condition to which sin and his fall had reduced him, +to a state above that of the angels. + +If, therefore, man would understand the excellency of his soul, let him +turn his eyes inwardly and look unto himself and search diligently his +own mind, and there he shall see many admirable gifts and excellent +ornaments, that must needs fill him with wonder and amazement; as +reason, understanding, freedom of will, memory, etc., that clearly show +the soul to be descended from a heavenly original, and that therefore it +is of infinite duration and not subject to annihilation. + +Yet for its many operations and offices while in the body it goes under +several denominations: for when it enlivens the body it is called the +soul; when it gives knowledge, the judgment of the mind; and when it +recalls things past, the memory; when it discourses and discerns, +reason; when it contemplates, the spirit; when it is the sensitive part, +the senses. And these are the principal offices whereby the soul +declares its powers and performs its actions. For being seated in the +highest parts of the body it diffuses its force into every member. It is +not propagated from the parents, nor mixed with gross matter, but the +infused breath of God, immediately proceeding from Him; not passing from +one to another as was the opinion of Pythagoras, who held a belief in +transmigration of the soul; but that the soul is given to every infant +by infusion, is the most received and orthodox opinion. And the learned +do likewise agree that this is done when the infant is perfected in the +womb, which happens about the twenty-fourth day after conception; +especially for males, who are generally born at the end of nine months; +but in females, who are not so soon formed and perfected, through defect +of heat, until the fiftieth day. And though this day in either case +cannot be truly set down, yet Hippocrates has given his opinion, that it +is so when the child is formed and begins to move, when born in due +season. In his book of the nature of infants, he says, if it be a male +and be perfect on the thirtieth day, and move on the seventieth, he will +be born in the seventh month; but if he be perfectly formed on the +thirty-fifth day, he will move on the seventieth and will be born in the +eighth month. Again, if he be perfectly formed on the forty-fifth day, +he will move on the ninetieth and be born in the ninth month. Now from +these paring of days and months, it plainly appears that the day of +forming being doubled, makes up the day of moving, and the day, three +times reckoned, makes up the day of birth. As thus, when thirty-five +perfects the form, if you double it, makes seventy the day of motion; +and three times seventy amounts to two hundred and ten days; while +allowing thirty days to a month makes seven months, and so you must +consider the rest. But as to a female the case is different; for it is +longer perfecting in the womb, the mother ever going longer with a girl +than with a boy, which makes the account differ; for a female formed in +thirty days does not move until the seventieth day, and is born in the +seventh month; when she is formed on the fortieth day, she does not move +till the eightieth and is born in the eighth month; but, if she be +perfectly formed on the forty-fifth day she moves on the ninetieth, and +the child is born in the ninth month; but if she that is formed on the +sixtieth day, moves on the one hundred and tenth day, she will be born +in the tenth month. I treat the more largely of love that the reader may +know that the reasonable soul is not propagated by the parents, but is +infused by the Almighty, when the child has its perfect form, and is +exactly distinguished in its lineaments. + +Now, as the life of every other creature, as Moses shows, is in the +blood, so the life of man consists in the soul, which although subject +to passion, by reason of the gross composures of the body, in which it +has a temporary confinement, yet it is immortal and cannot in itself +corrupt or suffer change, it being a spark of the Divine Mind. And that +every man has a peculiar soul plainly appears by the vast difference +between the will, judgment, opinions, manners, and affections in men. +This David observes when he says: "God hath fashioned the hearts and +minds of men, and has given to every one his own being and a soul of its +own nature." Hence Solomon rejoiced that God had given him a soul, and a +body agreeable to it. It has been disputed among the learned in what +part of the body the soul resides; some are of opinion its residence is +in the middle of the heart, and from thence communicates itself to every +part, which Solomon (Prov. iv. 23) seems to confirm when he says: "Keep +thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." But +many curious physicians, searching the works of nature in man's anatomy, +do affirm that its chief seat is in the brain, from whence proceed the +senses, the faculties, and actions, diffusing the operations of the soul +through all parts of the body, whereby it is enlivened with heat and +force to the heart, by the arteries, corodities, or sleepy arteries, +which part upon the throat; which, if they happen to be broken or cut, +they cause barrenness, and if stopped an apoplexy; for there must +necessarily be ways through which the spirits, animal and vital, may +have intercourse and convey native heat from the soul. For though the +soul has its chief seat in one place, it operates in every part, +exercising every member which are the soul's instruments, by which she +discovers her power. But if it happen that any of the original parts are +out of tune, its whole work is confused, as appears in idiots and mad +men; though, in some of them, the soul, by a vigorous exertion of its +power, recovers its innate strength and they become right after a long +despondency in mind, but in others it is not recovered again in this +life. For, as fire under ashes, or the sun obscured from our sight by +thick clouds, afford not their native lustre, so the soul, overwhelmed +in moist or morbid matter, is darkened and reason thereby overclouded; +and though reason shines less in children than it does in such as are +arrived at maturity, yet no man must imagine that the soul of an infant +grows up with the child, for then would it again decay; but it suits +itself to nature's weakness, and the imbecility of the body wherein it +is placed, that it may operate the better. And as the body is more +capable of recovering its influence, so the soul does more and more +exert its faculties, having force and endowment at the time it enters +the form of a child in the womb; for its substance can receive nothing +less. And thus much to prove that the soul does not come from the +parents, but is infused by God. I shall next prove its immortality and +demonstrate the certainty of our resurrection. + + + +OF THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL + +That the soul of man is a Divine ray, infused by the Sovereign Creator, +I have already proved, and now come to show that whatever immediately +proceeds from Him, and participates of His nature, must be as immortal +as its original; for, though all other creatures are endowed with life +and motion, they yet lack a reasonable soul, and from thence it is +concluded that their life is in their blood, and that being corruptible +they perish and are no more; but man being endowed with a reasonable +soul and stamped with a Divine image, is of a different nature, and +though his body is corruptible, yet his soul being of an immortal nature +cannot perish; but at the dissolution of the body returns to God who +gave it, either to receive reward or punishment. Now, that the body can +sin of itself is impossible, because wanting the soul, which is the +principle of life, it cannot act nor proceed to anything either good or +evil; for could it do so, it might even sin in the grave. But it is +plain that after death there is a cessation; for as death leaves us so +judgment will find us. + +Now, reason having evidently demonstrated the soul's immortality, the +Holy Scriptures do abundantly give testimony of the truth of the +resurrection, as the reader may see by perusing the 14th and 19th +chapters of Job and 5th of John. I shall, therefore, leave the further +discussion of this matter to divines, whose province it is, and return +to treat of the works of nature. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER V + + _Of Monsters and Monstrous Births; and the several reasons thereof, + according to the opinions of the Ancients. Also, whether the + Monsters are endowed with reasonable Souls; and whether the Devils + can engender; is here briefly discussed._ + + +By the ancients, monsters are ascribed to depraved conceptions, and are +designated as being excursions of nature, which are vicious in one of +these four ways: either in figure, magnitude, situation, or number. + +In figure, when a man bears the character of a beast, as did the beast +in Saxony. In magnitude, when one part does not equalise with another; +as when one part is too big or too little for the other parts of the +body. But this is so common among us that I need not produce a +testimony. + +[Illustration: There was a Monster at Ravenna in Italy of this kind, in +the year 1512.] + +I now proceed to explain the cause of their generation, which is either +divine or natural. The divine cause proceeds from God's permissive will, +suffering parents to bring forth abominations for their filthy and +corrupt affections, which are let loose unto wickedness like brute +beasts which have no understanding. Wherefore it was enacted among the +ancient Romans that those who were in any way deformed, should not be +admitted into religious houses. And St. Jerome was grieved in his time +to see the lame and the deformed offering up spiritual sacrifices to God +in religious houses. And Keckerman, by way of inference, excludes all +that are ill-shapen from this presbyterian function in the church. And +that which is of more force than all, God himself commanded Moses not to +receive such to offer sacrifice among his people; and he also renders +the reason Leviticus, xxii. 28, "Lest he pollute my sanctuaries." +Because of the outward deformity, the body is often a sign of the +pollution of the heart, as a curse laid on the child for the +incontinency of its parents. Yet it is not always so. Let us therefore +duly examine and search out the natural cause of their generation, which +(according to the ancients who have dived into the secrets of nature) is +either in the mother or in the agent, in the seed, or in the womb. + +The matter may be in default two ways--by defect or by excess: by +defect, when the child has only one arm; by excess, when it has four +hands or two heads. Some monsters are begotten by a woman's unnatural +lying with beasts; as in the year 1603, there was a monster begotten by +a woman's generating with a dog; which from the navel upwards had the +perfect resemblance of its mother: but from its navel downwards it +resembled a dog. + +[Illustration] + +The agent or womb may be in fault three ways; firstly, the formative +faculty, which may be too strong or too weak, by which is procured a +depraved figure; secondly, to the instrument or place of conception, the +evil confirmation or the disposition whereof will cause a monstrous +birth; thirdly, in the imaginative power at the time of conception; +which is of such a force that it stamps the character of the thing +imagined on the child. Thus the children of an adulteress may be like +her husband, though begotten by another man, which is caused through the +force of imagination that the woman has of her own husband at the act +of coition. And I have heard of a woman, who, at the time of conception, +beholding the picture of a blackamoor, conceived and brought forth an +Ethiopian. I will not trouble you with more human testimonies, but +conclude with a stronger warrant. We read (Gen. xxx. 31) how Jacob +having agreed with Laban to have all the spotted sheep for keeping his +flock to augment his wages, took hazel rods and peeled white streaks on +them, and laid them before the sheep when they came to drink, which +coupling together there, whilst they beheld the rods, conceived and +brought forth young. + +[Illustration: + "Where children thus are born with hairy coats + Heaven's wrath unto the kingdom it denotes"] + +Another monster representing a hairy child. It was all covered with hair +like a beast. That which made it more frightful was, that its navel was +in the place where its nose should stand, and its eyes placed where the +mouth should have been, and its mouth placed in the chin. It was of the +male kind, and was born in France, in the year 1597, at a town called +Arles in Provence, and lived a few days, frightening all that beheld it. +It was looked upon as a forerunner of desolations which soon after +happened to that kingdom, in which men to each other were more like +brutes than human creatures. + +There was a monster born at Nazara in the year 1530. It had four arms +and four legs. + +The imagination also works on the child, after conception, of which we +have a pregnant instance. + +A worthy gentlewoman in Suffolk, who being with child and passing by a +butcher who was killing his meat, a drop of blood sprung on her face, +whereupon she said her child would have a blemish on its face, and at +the birth it was found marked with a red spot. + +[Illustration] + +Likewise in the reign of Henry III, there was a woman delivered of a +child having two heads and four arms, and the bodies were joined at the +back; the heads were so placed that they looked contrary ways; each had +two distinct arms and hands. They would both laugh, both speak, and +both cry, and be hungry together; sometimes the one would speak and the +other keep silence, and sometimes both speak together. They lived +several years, but one outlived the other three years, carrying the dead +one (for there was no parting them) till the survivor fainted with the +burden, and more with the stench of the dead carcase. + +[Illustration] + +It is certain that monstrous births often happen by means of undue +copulation; for some there are, who, having been long absent from one +another, and having an eager desire for enjoyment, consider not as they +ought, to do as their circumstances demand. And if it happen that they +come together when the woman's menses are flowing, and notwithstanding, +proceed to the act of copulation, which is both unclean and unnatural, +the issue of such copulation does often prove monstrous, as a just +punishment for doing what nature forbids. And, therefore, though men +should be ever so eager for it, yet women, knowing their own condition, +should at such times positively refuse their company. And though such +copulations do not always produce monstrous birth, yet the children, +thus begotten, are generally heavy, dull, and sluggish, besides +defective in their understandings, lacking the vivacity and loveliness +with which children begotten in proper season are endowed. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +In Flanders, between Antwerp and Mechlin, in a village called Uthaton, a +child was born which had two heads, four arms, seeming like two girls +joined together, having two of their arms lifted up between and above +their heads, the thighs being placed as it were across one another, +according to the figure on p. 39. How long they lived I had no account +of. + +By the figure on p. 40 you may see that though some of the members are +wanting, yet they are supplied by other members. + +It remains now that I make some inquiry whether those that are born +monsters have reasonable souls, and are capable of resurrection. And +here both divines and physicians are of opinion that those who, +according to the order of generations deduced from our first parents, +proceed by mutual means from either sex, though their outward shape be +deformed and monstrous, have notwithstanding a reasonable soul, and +consequently their bodies are capable of resurrection, as other men's +and women's are; but those monsters that are not begotten by men, but +are the product of women's unnatural lusts in copulating with other +creatures shall perish as the brute beasts by whom they were begotten, +not having a reasonable soul nor any breath of the Almighty infused into +them; and such can never be capable of resurrection. And the same is +also true of imperfect and abortive births. + +Some are of opinion that monsters may be engendered by some infernal +spirit. Of this mind was Adigus Fariur, speaking of a deformed monster +born at Craconia; and Hieronimus Cardamnus wrote of a maid that was got +with child by the devil, she thinking it had been a fair young man. The +like also is recorded by Vicentius, of the prophet Merlin, that he was +begotten by an evil spirit. But what a repugnance it would be both to +religion and nature, if the devils could beget men; when we are taught +to believe that not any was ever begotten without human seed, except the +Son of God. The devil then being a spirit and having no corporeal +substance, has therefore no seed of generation; to say that he can use +the act of generation effectually is to affirm that he can make +something out of nothing, and consequently to affirm the devil to be +God, for creation belongs to God only. Again, if the devil could assume +to himself a human body and enliven the faculties of it, and cause it to +generate, as some affirm he can, yet this body must bear the image of +the devil. And it borders on blasphemy to think that God should so far +give leave to the devil as out of God's image to raise his own +diabolical offspring. In the school of Nature we are taught the +contrary, viz., that like begets like; therefore, of a devil cannot man +be born. Yet, it is not denied, but the devils, transforming themselves +into human shapes, may abuse both men and women, and, with wicked +people, use carnal copulation; but that any unnatural conjunction can +bring forth a human creature is contrary to nature and all religion. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + _Of the happy state of matrimony, as it is appointed by God, the + true felicity that rebounds thereby to either sex; and to what end + it is ordained._ + + +Without doubt the uniting of hearts in holy wedlock is of all conditions +the happiest; for then a man has a second self to whom he can reveal his +thoughts, as well as a sweet companion in his labours, toils, trials, +and difficulties. He has one in whose breast, as in a safe cabinet, he +can confide his inmost secrets, especially where reciprocal love and +inviolable faith is centred; for there no care, fear, jealousy, mistrust +or hatred can ever interpose. For base is the man that hateth his own +flesh! And truly a wife, if rightly considered, as Adam well observed, +is or ought to be esteemed of every honest man as "Bone of his bone and +flesh of his flesh," etc. Nor was it the least care of the Almighty to +ordain so near a union, and that for two causes; the first, for the +increase of posterity; the second, to restrain man's wandering desires +and affections; nay, that they might be yet happier, when God has joined +them together, he "blessed them," as in Gen. ii. An ancient writer, +contemplating this happy state, says, in the economy of Xenophon, "that +the marriage bed is not only the most pleasant, but also profitable +course of life, that may be entered on for the preservation and increase +of posterity. Wherefore, since marriage is the most safe, and delightful +situation of man he does in no ways provide amiss for his own +tranquillity who enters into it, especially when he comes to maturity of +years." + +There are many abuses in marriage contrary to what is ordained, the +which in the ensuing chapter I shall expose to view. But to proceed: +Seeing our blessed Saviour and His holy apostles detested unlawful +lusts, and pronounced those to be excluded the kingdom of heaven that +polluted themselves with adultery and whoring, I cannot conceive what +face people have to colour their impieties, who hating matrimony, make +it their study how they may live licentiously: for, in so doing, they +take in themselves torment, enmity, disquietude, rather than certain +pleasure, not to mention the hazard of their immortal soul; and certain +it is that mercenary love (or as the wise man called it harlot-smiles) +cannot be true and sincere and therefore not pleasant, but rather a net +laid to betray such as trust in them with all mischief, as Solomon +observes of the young man void of understanding, who turned aside to the +harlot's house, "as a bird to the snare of the fowler, or as an ox to +the slaughter, till a dart was struck through his liver." Nor in this +case can they have children, those endearing pledges of conjugal +affection; or if they have, they will rather redound to their shame than +comfort, bearing the odious brand of bastards. Harlots, likewise are +like swallows, flying in the summer season of prosperity; but the black +stormy weather of adversity coming, they take wing and fly into other +regions--that is, seek other lovers; but a virtuous, chaste wife, fixing +her entire love upon her husband, and submitting to him as her head and +king, by whose directions she ought to steer in all lawful courses, +will, like a faithful companion, share patiently with him in all +adversities, run with cheerfulness through all difficulties and dangers, +though ever so hazardous, to preserve and assist him, in poverty, +sickness, or whatsoever misfortunes befall him, acting according to her +duty in all things; but a proud, imperious harlot will do no more than +she lists, in the sunshine of prosperity; and like a horse-leech, ever +craving, and never satisfied; still seeming displeased, if all her +extravagant cravings be not answered; not regarding the ruin and misery +she brings on him by those means, though she seems to doat upon him, +used to confirming her hypocrisy with crocodile tears, vows and +swoonings, when her cully has to depart awhile, or seems but to deny +immediate desires; yet this lasts no longer than she can gratify her +appetite, and prey upon his fortune. + +Now, on the contrary, a loving, chaste and even-tempered wife, seeks +what she may to prevent such dangers, and in every condition does all +she can to make him easy. And, in a word, as there is no content in the +embraces of a harlot, so there is no greater joy in the reciprocal +affection and endearing embraces of a loving, obedient, and chaste wife. +Nor is that the principal end for which matrimony was ordained, but that +the man might follow the law of his creation by increasing his kind and +replenishing the earth; for this was the injunction laid upon him in +Paradise, before his fall. To conclude, a virtuous wife is a crown and +ornament to her husband, and her price is above all rubies: but the +ways of a harlot are deceitful. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER VII + + _Of Errors in Marriages; Why they are, and the Injuries caused by + them._ + + +By errors in marriage, I mean the unfitness of the persons marrying to +enter into this state, and that both with respect to age and the +constitution of their bodies; and, therefore, those who design to enter +into that condition ought to observe their ability and not run +themselves into inconveniences; for those that marry too young may be +said to marry unseasonably, not considering their inability, nor +examining the forces of nature; for some, before they are ripe for the +consummation of so weighty a matter, who either rashly, of their own +accord, or by the instigation of procurers or marriage-brokers, or else +forced thereto by their parents who covet a large dower take upon them +this yoke to their prejudice; by which some, before the expiration of a +year, have been so enfeebled, that all their vital moisture has been +exhausted; which had not been restored again without great trouble and +the use of medicines. Therefore, my advice is: that it is not convenient +to suffer children, or such as are not of age, to marry, or get +children. + +He that proposes to marry, and wishes to enjoy happiness in that state, +should choose a wife descended from honest and temperate parents, she +being chaste, well bred, and of good manners. For if a woman has good +qualities, she has portion enough. That of Alcmena, in Plautus, is much +to the purpose, where he brings in a young woman speaking thus:-- + + "I take not that to be my dowry, which + The vulgar sort do wealth and honour call; + That all my wishes terminate in this:---- + I'll obey my husband and be chaste withall; + To have God's fear, and beauty in my mind, + To do those good who are virtuously inclined." + +And I think she was in the right, for such a wife is more precious than +rubies. + +It is certainly the duty of parents to bring up their children in the +ways of virtue, and to have regard to their honour and reputation; and +especially to virgins, when grown to be marriageable. For, as has been +noted, if through the too great severity of parents, they may be crossed +in their love, many of them throw themselves into the unchaste arms of +the first alluring tempter that comes in the way, being, through the +softness and flexibility of their nature, and the strong desire they +have after what nature strongly incites them to, easily induced to +believe men's false vows of promised marriage, to cover their shame: and +then too late, their parents repent of their severity which has brought +an indelible stain upon their families. + +[Illustration: + Conception + First Month + Second Month + Third Month + Fourth Month] + +[Illustration: + Fifth Month + Sixth Month + Seventh Month + Eighth Month + Ninth Month] + +Another error in marriage is, the inequality of years in the parties +married; such as for a young man, who, to advance his fortune, marries a +woman old enough to be his grandmother: between whom, for the most part, +strife, jealousies, and dissatisfaction are all the blessings which +crown the genial bed, is being impossible for such to have any children. +The like may be said, though with a little excuse, when an old doting +widower marries a virgin in the prime of her youth and her vigour, who, +while he vainly tries to please her, is thereby wedded to his grave. +For, as in green youth, it is unfit and unseasonable to think of +marriage, so to marry in old age is just the same; for they that enter +upon it too soon are soon exhausted, and fall into consumptions and +divers other diseases; and those who procrastinate and marry +unseemingly, fall into the like troubles; on the other side having only +this honour, if old men, they become young cuckolds, especially if their +wives have not been trained up in the paths of virtue, and lie too much +open to the importunity and temptation of lewd and debauched men. And +thus much for the errors of rash and inconsiderate marriages. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + _The Opinion of the Learned concerning Children conceived and born + within Seven Months; with Arguments upon the Subject to prevent + Suspicion of Incontinency, and bitter Contest on that Account. To + which are added Rules to Know the Disposition of Man's Body by the + Genital Parts._ + + +Many bitter quarrels happen between men and their wives upon the man's +supposition that the child comes too soon, and by consequence, that he +could not be the father; whereas, it is the want of understanding the +secrets of nature which brings the man into that error; and which, had +he known, might have cured him of his suspicion and jealousy. + +To remove which, I shall endeavour to prove, that it is possible, and +has been frequently known, that children have been born at seven months. +Paul, the Counsel, has this passage in the 19th Book of Pleadings, viz.: +"It is now a received truth, that a perfect child may be born in the +seventh month, by the authority of the learned Hippocrates; and +therefore, we must believe that a child born at the end of the seventh +month in lawful matrimony may be lawfully begotten." + +Galen is of opinion that there is no certain time set for the bearing of +children; and that from Pliny's authority, who makes mention of a woman +that went thirteen months with child; but as to what concerns the +seventh month, a learned author says, "I know several married people in +Holland that had twins born in the seventh month, who lived to old age, +having lusty bodies and lively minds. Wherefore their opinion is absurd, +who assert that a child at seven months cannot be perfect and long +lived; and that it cannot in all parts be perfect until the ninth +month." Thereupon the author proceeds to tell a passage from his own +knowledge, viz.: "Of late there happened a great disturbance among us, +which ended not without bloodshed; and was occasioned by a virgin, whose +chastity had been violated, descending from a noble family of unspotted +fame. Several charged the fact upon the Judge, who was president of a +city in Flanders, who firmly denied it, saying he was ready to take his +oath that he never had any carnal copulation with her, and that he would +not father that, which was none of his; and farther argued, that he +verily believed it was a child born in seven months, himself being many +miles distant from the mother of it when it was conceived. Upon which +the judges decreed that the child should be viewed by able physicians +and experienced women, and that they should make their report. They +having made diligent inquiry, all of them with one mind, concluded the +child, without discussing who was the father, was born within the space +of seven months, and that it was carried in the mother's womb but +twenty-seven weeks and some odd days; but if she should have gone full +nine months, the child's parts and limbs would have been more firm and +strong, and the structure of the body more compact; for the skin was +very loose, and the breast bone that defends the heart, and the gristles +that lay over the stomach, lay higher than naturally they should be, +not plain, but crooked and sharp, rigid or pointed, like those of a +young chicken hatched in the beginning of spring. And being a female, it +wanted nails upon the joints of the fingers; upon which, from the +masculous cartilaginous matter of the skin, nails that are very smooth +do come, and by degrees harden; she had, instead of nails, a thin skin +or film. As for her toes, there were no signs of nails upon them, +wanting the heat which was expanded to the fingers from the nearness of +the heart. All this was considered, and above all, one gentlewoman of +quality that assisted, affirming that she had been the mother of +nineteen children, and that divers of them had been born and lived at +seven months, though within the seventh month. For in such cases, the +revolution of the month ought to be observed, which perfects itself in +four bare weeks, or somewhat less than twenty-eight days; in which space +of the revolution, the blood being agitated by the force of the moon, +the courses of women flow from them; which being spent, and the matrix +cleansed from the menstruous blood which happens on the fourth day, +then, if a man on the seventh day lie with his wife, the copulation is +most natural, and then the conception is best: and the child thus +begotten may be born in the seventh month and prove very healthful. So +that on this report, the supposed father was pronounced innocent; the +proof that he was 100 miles distant all that month in which the child +was begotten; as for the mother she strongly denied that she knew the +father, being forced in the dark; and so, through fear and surprise, was +left in ignorance." + +As for coition, it ought not to be used unless the parties be in health, +lest it turn to the disadvantage of the children so begotten, creating +in them, through the abundance of ill humours, divers languishing +diseases. Wherefore, health is no better discerned than by the genitals +of the man; for which reasons midwives, and other skilful women, were +formerly wont to see the testicles of children, thereby to conjecture +their temperature and state of body; and young men may know thereby the +signs and symptoms of death; for if the cases of the testicles be loose +and feeble, which are the proofs of life, are fallen, but if the secret +parts are wrinkled and raised up, it is a sign that all is well, but +that the event may exactly answer the prediction, it is necessary to +consider what part of the body the disease possesseth; for if it chance +to be the upper part that is afflicted, as the head or stomach, then it +will not so then appear by the members, which are unconnected with such +grievances; but the lower part of the body exactly sympathising with +them, their liveliness, on the contrary, makes it apparent; for nature's +force, and the spirits that have their intercourse, first manifest +themselves therein; which occasions midwives to feel the genitals of +children, to know in what part the gulf is residing, and whether life or +death be portended thereby, the symptoms being strongly communicated to +the vessels, that have their intercourse with the principal seat of +life. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER IX + + _Of the Green-Sickness in Virgins, with its causes, signs and + cures; together with the chief occasions of Barrenness in Women, + and the Means to remove the Cause, and render them fruitful._ + + +The green-sickness is so common a complaint amongst virgins, especially +those of a phlegmatic complexion, that it is easily discerned, showing +itself by discolouring the face, making it look green, pale, and of a +dusty colour, proceeding from raw and indigested humours; nor doth it +only appear to the eye, but sensibly affects the person with difficulty +of breathing, pains in the head, palpitation of the heart, with unusual +beatings and small throbbings of the arteries in the temples, back and +neck, which often cast them into fevers when the humour is over vicious; +also loathing of meat and the distention of the hypochondriac part, by +reason of the inordinate effluxion of the menstruous blood of the +greater vessels; and from the abundance of humours, the whole body is +often troubled with swellings, or at least the thighs, legs and ankles, +all above the heels; there is also a weariness of the body without any +reason for it. + +The Galenical physicians affirm, that this distemper proceeds from the +womb; occasioned by the gross, vicious and rude humours arising from +several inward causes; but there are also outward causes which have a +share in the production of it; as taking cold in the feet, drinking of +water, intemperance of diet, eating things contrary to nature, viz., raw +or burnt flesh, ashes, coals, old shoes, chalk, wax, nutshells, mortar, +lime, oatmeal, tobacco pipes, etc., which occasion both a suppression of +the menses and obstructions through the whole body; therefore, the first +thing necessary to vindicate the cause, is matrimonial conjunction, and +such copulation as may prove satisfactory to her that is afflicted, for +then the menses will begin to flow according to their natural and due +course, and the humours being dispersed, will soon waste themselves; and +then no more matter being admitted to increase them, they will vanish +and a good temperament of body will return; but in case this best remedy +cannot be had soon enough, then let blood in the ankles, and if she be +about sixteen, you may likewise do it in the arm, but let her be bled +sparingly, especially if the blood be good. If the disease be of any +continuance, then it is to be eradicated by purging, preparation of the +humour being first considered, which may be done by the virgin's +drinking the decoction of guaiacum, with dittany of erete; but the best +purge in this case ought to be made of aloes, agaric, senna, rhubarb; +and for strengthening the bowels and removing obstructions, chaly-beate +medicines are chiefly to be used. The diet must be moderate, and sharp +things by all means avoided. + +And now, since barrenness daily creates discontent, and that discontent +breeds indifference between man and wife, or, by immediate grief, +frequently casts the woman into one or another distemper, I shall in the +next place treat thereof. + + + +OF BARRENNESS. + +Formerly, before women came to the marriage-bed, they were first +searched by the mid-wife, and those only which she allowed of as +fruitful were admitted. I hope, therefore, it will not be amiss to show +you how they may prove themselves and turn barren ground into fruitful +soil. Barrenness is a deprivation of the life and power which ought to +be in the seed to procreate and propagate; for which end men and women +were made. Causes of barrenness may be over much cold or heat, drying up +the seed and corrupting it, which extinguishes the life of the seed, +making it waterish and unfit for generation. It may be caused also, by +the not flowing or over-flowing of the courses by swellings, ulcers, and +inflammation of the womb, by an excrescence of flesh growing about the +mouth of the matrix, by the mouth of the matrix being turned up to the +back or side by the fatness of the body, whereby the mouth of the matrix +is closed up, being pressed with the omentum or caul, and the matter of +the seed is turned to fat; if she be a lean and dry body, and though she +do conceive, yet the fruit of her body will wither before it come to +perfection, for want of nourishment. One main cause of barrenness is +attributed to want of a convenient moderating quality, which the woman +ought to have with the man; as, if he be hot, she must be cold; if he be +dry, she must be moist; as, if they be both dry or both moist of +constitution, they cannot propagate; and yet, simply considering of +themselves, they are not barren, for she who was before as the barren +fig-tree being joined to an apt constitution becomes as the fruitful +vine. And that a man and woman, being every way of like constitution, +cannot create, I will bring nature itself for a testimony, who hath made +man of a better constitution than woman, that the quality of the one, +may moderate the quality of the other. + + + +SIGNS OF BARRENNESS. + +If barrenness proceeds from overmuch heat, if she is a dry body, subject +to anger, has black hair, quick pulse, and her purgations flow but +little, and that with pain, she loves to play in the courts of Venus. +But if it comes by cold, then the signs are contrary to the above +mentioned. If through the evil quality of the womb, make a suffumigation +of red styrax, myrrh, cassia-wood, nutmeg, and cinnamon; and let her +receive the fumes into her womb, covering her very close; and if the +odour so received passes through the body to the mouth and nostrils, +she is fruitful. But if she feels not the fumes in her mouth and +nostrils, it argues barrenness one of these ways--that the spirit of the +seed is either extinguished through cold, or dissipated through heat. If +any woman be suspected to be unfruitful, cast natural brimstone, such as +is digged out of mines, into her urine, and if worms breed therein, she +is not barren. + + + +PROGNOSTICS. + +Barrenness makes women look young, because they are free from those +pains and sorrows which other women are accustomed to. Yet they have not +the full perfection of health which other women enjoy, because they are +not rightly purged of the menstruous blood and superfluous seed, which +are the principal cause of most uterine diseases. + +First, the cause must be removed, the womb strengthened, and the spirits +of the seed enlivened. If the womb be over hot, take syrup of succory, +with rhubarb, syrup of violets, roses, cassia, purslain. Take of endive, +water-lilies, borage flowers, of each a handful; rhubarb, mirobalans, of +each three drachms; make a decoction with water, and to the straining of +the syrup add electuary violets one ounce, syrup of cassia half an +ounce, manna three drachms; make a potion. Take of syrup of mugwort one +ounce, syrup of maiden-hair two ounces, pulv-elect triasand one drachm; +make a julep. Take prus. salt, elect. ros. mesua, of each three drachms, +rhubarb one scruple, and make a bolus; apply to the loins and privy +parts fomentations of the juice of lettuce, violets, roses, malloes, +vine leaves and nightshade; anoint the secret parts with the cooling +unguent of Galen. + +If the power of the seed be extinguished by cold, take every morning two +spoonfuls of cinnamon water, with one scruple of mithridate. Take syrup +of calamint, mugwort and betony, of each one ounce; waters of +pennyroyal, feverfew, hyssop and sage, of each two ounces; make a julep. +Take oil of aniseed two scruples and a half; diacimini, +diacliathidiamosei and diagla-ongoe, of each one drachm, sugar four +ounces, with water of cinnamon, and make lozenges; take of them a drachm +and a half twice a day, two hours before meals; fasten cupping glasses +to the hips and belly. Take of styrax and calamint one ounce, mastick, +cinnamon, nutmeg, lign, aloes, and frankincense, of each half ounce; +musk, ten grains, ambergris, half a scruple; make a confection with +rosewater, divide it into four equal parts; one part make a pomatum +oderation to smell at if she be not hysterical; of the second, make a +mass of pills, and let her take three every other night: of the third +make a pessary, dip it in oil of spikenard, and put it up; of the +fourth, make a suffumigation for the womb. + +If the faculties of the womb be weakened, and the life of the seed +suffocated by over much humidity flowing to those parts: take of betony, +marjoram, mugwort, pennyroyal and balm, of each a handful; roots of alum +and fennel, of each two drachms; aniseed and cummin, of each one drachm, +with sugar and water a sufficient quantity; make a syrup, and take three +ounces every morning. + +Purge with the following things; take of the diagnidium, two grains, +spicierum of castor, a scruple, pill foedit two scruples, with syrup of +mugwort, make six pills. Take apeo, diagem. diamoser, diamb. of each one +drachm; cinnamon, one drachm and a half; cloves, mace and nutmeg, of +each half a drachm; sugar six ounces, with water of feverfew; make +lozenges, to be taken every morning. Take of decoction of sarsaparilla +and virga aurea, not forgetting sage, which Agrippa, wondering at its +operation, has honoured with the name of _sacra herba_, a holy herb. It +is recorded by Dodonoeus in the _History of Plants_, lib. ii. cap. 77, +that after a great mortality among the Egyptians, the surviving women, +that they might multiply quickly, were commanded to drink the juice of +sage, and to anoint the genitals with oil of aniseed and spikenard. Take +mace, nutmeg, cinnamon, styrax and amber, of each one drachm; cloves, +laudanum, of each half a drachm; turpentine, a sufficient quantity; +trochisks, to smooth the womb. Take roots of valerian and elecampane, of +each one pound; galanga, two ounces; origan lavender, marjoram, betony, +mugwort, bay leaves, calamint, of each a handful; make an infusion with +water, in which let her sit, after she hath her courses. + +If barrenness proceed from dryness, consuming the matter of the seed; +take every day almond milk, and goat's milk extracted with honey, but +often of the root satyrion, candied, and electuary of diasyren. Take +three wethers' heads, boil them until all the flesh comes from the +bones, then take melilot, violets, camomiles, mercury, orchia with their +roots, of each a handful; fenugreek, linseed, valerian roots, of each +one pound; let all these be decocted in the aforesaid broth, and let the +woman sit in the decoction up to the navel. + +If barrenness be caused by any proper effect of the womb, the cure is +set down in the second book. Sometimes the womb proves barren where +there is no impediment on either side, except only in the manner of the +act; as when in the emission of the seed, the man is quick and the woman +is slow, whereby there is not an emission of both seeds at the same +instant as the rules of conception require. Before the acts of coition, +foment the privy parts with the decoction of betony, sage, hyssop and +calamint and anoint the mouth and neck of the womb with musk and civet. + +The cause of barrenness being removed, let the womb be strengthened as +follows; Take of bay berries, mastic, nutmeg, frankincense, nuts, +laudanum, giapanum, of each one drachm, styracis liquid, two scruples, +cloves half a scruple, ambergris two grains, then make a pessary with +oil of spikenard. + +Take of red roses, lapididis hoematis, white frankincense, of each half +an ounce. Dragon's blood, fine bole, mastic, of each two drachms; +nutmeg, cloves, of each one drachm; spikenard, half a scruple, with oil +of wormwood; make a plaster for the lower part of the belly, then let +her eat candied eringo root, and make an injection only of the roots of +satyrion. + +The aptest time for conception is instantly after the menses have +ceased, because then the womb is thirsty and dry, apt both to draw the +seed and return it, by the roughness of the inward surface, and besides, +in some, the mouth of the womb is turned into the back or side, and is +not placed right until the last day of the courses. + +Excess in all things is to be avoided. Lay aside all passions of the +mind, shun study and care, as things that are enemies to conception, for +if a woman conceive under such circumstances, however wise the parents +may be, the children, at best, will be but foolish; because the mental +faculties of the parents, viz., the understanding and the rest (from +whence the child derives its reason) are, as it were, confused through +the multiplicity of cares and thought; of which we have examples in +learned men, who, after great study and care, having connection with +their wives, often beget very foolish children. A hot and moist air is +most suitable, as appears by the women in Egypt, who often bring forth +three or four children at one time. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER X + + _Virginity, what it is, in what it consists, and how vitiated; + together with the Opinions of the Learned about the Change of Sex + in the Womb, during the Operation of Nature in forming the Body._ + + +There are many ignorant people that boast of their skill in the +knowledge of virginity, and some virgins have undergone harsh censures +through their ignorant conclusions; I therefore thought it highly +necessary to clear up this point, that the towering imaginations of +conceited ignorance might be brought down, and the fair sex (whose +virtues are so illustriously bright that they excite our wonder and +command our imitation), may be freed from the calumnies and detractions +of ignorance and envy; and so their honour may continue as unspotted, as +they have kept their persons uncontaminated and free from defilement. + +Virginity, in a strict sense, signifies the prime, the chief, the best +of anything; and this makes men so desirous of marrying virgins, +imagining some secret pleasure is to be enjoyed in their embraces, more +than in those of widows, or of such as have been lain with before, +though not many years ago, a very great personage thought differently, +and to use his own expression:--"The getting a maidenhead was such a +piece of drudgery, that it was fitter for a coal heaver than a +prince."[1] But this was only his opinion, for I am sure that other men +think differently. + +The curious inquirers into the secrets of Nature, have observed, that in +young maidens in the _sinus pudoris_, or in what is called the neck of +the womb, is that wonderful production usually called the _hymen_, but +in French _bouton de rose_, or rosebud, because it resembles the +expanded bud of a rose or a gilly flower. From this the word _defloro_, +or, deflower, is derived, and hence taking away virginity is called +deflowering a virgin, most being of the opinion that the virginity is +altogether lost when this membrane is fractured and destroyed by +violence; when it is found perfect and entire, however, no penetration +has been effected; and in the opinion of some learned physicians there +is neither hymen nor expanded skin which contains blood in it, which +some people think, flows from the ruptured membrane at the first time of +sexual intercourse. + +Now this _claustrum virginale_, or flower, is composed of four little +buds like myrtle berries, which are full and plump in virgins, but hang +loose and flag in women; and these are placed in the four angles of the +_sinus pudoris_, joined together by little membranes and ligatures, like +fibres, each of them situated in the testicles, or spaces between each +bud, with which, in a manner, they are proportionately distended, and +when once this membrane is lacerated, it denotes _Devirgination_. Thus +many ignorant people, finding their wives defective in this respect on +the first night, have immediately suspected their chastity, concluding +that another man had been there before them, when indeed, such a rupture +may happen in several ways accidentally, as well as by sexual +intercourse, viz. by violent straining, coughing, or sneezing, the +stoppage of the urine, etc., so that the entireness or the fracture of +that which is commonly taken for a woman's virginity or maidenhead, is +no absolute sign of immorality, though it is more frequently broken by +copulation than by any other means.[2] + +And now to say something of the change of the sexes in the womb. The +genital parts of the sexes are so unlike each other in substance, +composition, situation, figure, action and use that nothing is more +unlike to each other than they are, and the more, all parts of the body +(the breasts excepted, which in women swell, because Nature ordained +them for suckling the infant) have an exact resemblance to each other, +so much the more do the genital parts of one sex differ, when compared +with the other, and if they be thus different in form, how much more are +they so in their use. + +The venereal feeling also proceeds from different causes; in men from +the desire of emission, and in women from the desire of reception. All +these things, then, considered I cannot but wonder, he adds, how any one +can imagine that the female genital organs can be changed into the male +organ, since the sexes can be distinguished only by those parts, nor +can I well impute the reason for this vulgar error to anything but the +mistake of inexpert midwives, who have been deceived by the faulty +conformation of those parts, which in some males may have happened to +have such small protrusions that they could not be seen, as appears by +the example of a child who was christened in Paris under the name of +_Ivan_, as a girl, and who afterwards turned out to be a boy, and on the +other hand, the excessive tension of the clytoris in newly-born female +infants may have occasioned similar mistakes. Thus far Pliny in the +negative, and notwithstanding what he has said, there are others, such +as Galen, who assert the affirmative. "A man," he says, "is different +from a woman, only by having his genitals outside his body, whereas a +woman has them inside her." And this is certain, that if Nature having +formed a male should convert him into a female, she has nothing else to +do but to turn his genitals inward, and again to turn a woman into a man +by a contrary operation. This, however, is to be understood of the child +whilst it is in the womb and not yet perfectly formed, for Nature has +often made a female child, and it has remained so for a month or two, in +its mother's womb; but afterwards the heat greatly increasing in the +genital organs, they have protruded and the child has become a male, but +nevertheless retained some things which do not befit the masculine sex, +such as female gestures and movements, a high voice, and a more +effeminate temper than is usual with men; whilst, on the other hand, the +genitals have become inverted through cold humours, but yet the person +retained a masculine air, both in voice and gesture. Now, though both +these opinions are supported by several reasons, yet I think the latter +are nearer the truth, for there is not that vast difference between the +genitals of the two sexes as Pliny asserts; for a woman has, in a way, +the same _pudenda_ as a man, though they do not appear outwardly, but +are inverted for the convenience of generation; one being solid and the +other porous, and that the principal reason for changing sexes is, and +must be attributed to heat or cold, which operates according to its +greater or lesser force. + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] Attributed to George IV (Translator). + +[2] A young man was once tried at Rutland Assizes for violating a +virgin, and after close questioning, the girl swearing positively in the +matter, and naming the time, place and manner of the action, it was +resolved that she should be examined by a skilful surgeon and two +midwives, who were to report on oath, which they did, and declared that +the membranes were intact and unlacerated, and that, in their opinion, +her body had not been penetrated. This had its due effect upon the jury, +and they acquitted the prisoner, and the girl afterwards confessed that +she swore it against him out of revenge, as he had promised to marry +her, and had afterwards declined. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XI + + _Directions and Cautions for Midwives; and, first, what ought to be + the qualifications of a midwife._ + + +A midwife who wishes to acquit herself well in her employment, ought +certainly not to enter upon it rashly or unadvisedly, but with all +imaginable caution, remembering that she is responsible for any mischief +which may happen through her ignorance or neglect. None, therefore, +should undertake that duty merely because of their age or because they +themselves have had many children, for, in such, generally, many things +will be found wanting, which she should possess. She ought to be neither +too old nor too young, neither very fat, nor so thin, as to be weak, but +in a good habit of body; not subject to illness, fears, nor sudden +frights; well-made and neat in her attire, her hands small and smooth, +her nails kept well-trimmed and without any rings on her fingers whilst +she is engaged in her work, nor anything upon her wrists that may +obstruct her. And to these ought to be added activity, and a due amount +of strength, with much caution and diligence, nor should she be given to +drowsiness or impatience. + +She should be polite and affable in her manners, sober and chaste, not +given to passion, liberal and compassionate towards the poor, and not +greedy of gain when she attends the rich. She should have a cheerful and +pleasant temper, so that she may be the more easily able to comfort her +patients during labour. She must never be in a hurry, though her +business may call her to some other case, lest she should thereby +endanger the mother or the child. + +She ought to be wary, prudent, and intelligent, but above all, she ought +to be possessed by the fear of God, which will give her both "knowledge +and discretion," as the wise man says. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XII + + _Further Directions to Midwives, teaching them what they ought to + do, and what to avoid._ + + +Since the duties of a midwife have such a great influence on the +well-doing or the contrary of both women and children, in the first +place, she must be diligent in gaining all such knowledge as may be +useful to her in her practice, and never to think herself so perfect, +but that it may be possible for her to add to her knowledge by study and +experience. She should, however, never try any experiments unless she +has tried them, or knows that they can do no harm; practising them +neither upon rich nor poor, but freely saying what she knows, and never +prescribing any medicines which will procure abortion, even though +requested; for this is wicked in the highest degree, and may be termed +murder. If she be sent for to people whom she does not know, let her be +very cautious before she goes, lest by attending an infectious woman, +she runs the danger of injuring others, as sometimes happens. Neither +must she make her dwelling a receiving-house for big-bellied women to +discharge their load, lest it get her a bad name and she by such means +loses her practice. + +In attending on women, if the birth happens to be difficult, she must +not seem to be anxious, but must cheer the woman up and do all she can +to make her labour easy. She will find full directions for this, in the +second part of this book. + +She must never think of anything but doing well, seeing that everything +that is required is in readiness, both for the woman and for receiving +the child, and above all, let her keep the woman from becoming unruly +when her pains come on, lest she endanger her own life, and the child's +as well. + +She must also take care not to be hurried over her business but wait +God's time for the birth, and she must by no means allow herself to be +upset by fear, even if things should not go well, lest that should make +her incapable of rendering that assistance which the woman in labour +stands in need of, for where there is the most apparent danger, there +the most care and prudence are required to set things right. + +And now, because she can never be a skilful midwife who knows nothing +but what is to be seen outwardly, I do not think it will be amiss but +rather very necessary, modestly to describe the generative parts of +women as they have been anatomised by learned men, and to show the use +of such vessels as contribute to generation. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + _The External, and Internal Organs of Generation in Women._ + + +If it were not for the public benefit, especially for that of the +professors and practitioners of the art of midwifery, I would refrain +from treating the secrets of Nature, because they may be turned to +ridicule by lascivious and lewd people. But as it is absolutely +necessary that they should be known for the public good, I will not omit +them because some may make a wrong use of them. Those parts which can be +seen at the lowest part of the stomach are the _fissure magna_, or the +_great cleft_, with its _labia_ or lips, the _Mons Veneris_, or Mountain +of Venus, and the hair. These together are called the _pudenda_, or +things to be ashamed of because when they are exposed they cause a woman +_pudor_, or shame. The _fissure magna_ reaches from the lower part of +the _os pubis_, to within an inch of the _anus_, but it is less and +closer in virgins than in those who have borne children, and has two +lips, which grow thicker and fuller towards the pubis, and meeting on +the middle of the _os pubis_, form that rising hill which is called the +_Mons Veneris_, or the Hill of Venus. + +Next come the _Nymphae_ and the _Clitoris_, the former of which is a +membrany and moist substance, spongy, soft and partly fleshy, of a red +colour and in the shape of two wings, which are joined at an acute angle +at their base, producing a fleshy substance there which covers the +clitoris, and sometimes they extend so far, that an incision is required +to make room for a man's instrument of generation. + +The _Clitoris_ is a substance in the upper part of the division where +the two wings meet, and the seat of venereal pleasure, being like a +man's _penis_ in situation, substance, composition and power of +erection, growing sometimes to the length of two inches out of the body, +but that never happens except through extreme lustfulness or some +extraordinary accident. This _clitoris_ consists of two spongy and +skinny bodies, containing a distinct original from the _os pubis_, its +tip being covered with a tender skin, having a hole or passage like a +man's yard or _penis_, although not quite through, in which alone, and +in its size it differs from it. + +The next things are the fleshy knobs of the great neck of the womb, and +these knobs are behind the wings and are four in number, resembling +myrtle berries, and being placed quadrangularly one against the other, +and here the orifice of the bladder is inserted, which opens into the +fissures, to evacuate the urine, and one of these knobs is placed before +it, and closes up the passage in order to secure it from cold, or any +suchlike inconvenience. + +The lips of the womb, which appear next, disclose its neck, if they are +separated, and two things may be observed in them, which are the neck +itself and the _hymen_, or more properly, the _claustrum virginale_, of +which I have spoken before. By the neck of the womb we must understand +the channel that lies between the above-mentioned knobs and the inner +bone of the womb, which receives the penis like a sheath, and so that it +may be more easily dilated by the pleasure of procreation, the substance +is sinewy and a little spongy. There are several folds or pleats in this +cavity, made by tunicles, which are wrinkled like a full blown rose. In +virgins they appear plainly, but in women who are used to copulation +they disappear, so that the inner side of the neck of the womb appears +smooth, but in old women it is more hard and gristly. But though this +channel is sometimes crooked and sinks down yet at the times of +copulation, labour, or of the monthly flow, it is erected or distended, +which overtension occasions the pain in childbirth. + +The hymen, or _claustrum virginale_, is that which closes the neck of +the womb, and is broken by the first act of copulation; its use being +rather to check the undue menstrual flow in virgins, rather than to +serve any other purpose, and usually when it is broken, either by +copulation, or by any other means, a small quantity of blood flows from +it, attended with some little pain. From this some observe that between +the folds of the two tunicles, which constitute the neck of the womb +there are many veins and arteries running along, and arising from, the +vessels on both sides of the thighs, and so passing into the neck of the +womb, being very large; and the reason for this is, that the neck of the +bladder requires to be filled with great vigour, so as to be dilated, in +order that it may lay hold of the penis better; for great heat is +required in such motions, and that becomes more intense by the act of +friction, and consumes a considerable amount of moisture, for supplying +which large vessels are absolutely necessary. + +Another cause of the largeness of the vessels is, that menses make their +way through them, which often occasions pregnant women to continue +menstruating: for though the womb be shut up, yet the passages in the +neck of the womb through which these vessels pass, are open. In this +case, we may further observe, that as soon as the _pudenda_ are +penetrated, there appear two little pits or holes which contain a +secretion, which is expelled during copulation, and gives the woman +great pleasure. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + + _A description of the Fabric of the Womb, the preparing Vessels and + Testicles in Women. Also of the Different and Ejaculatory Vessels._ + + +The womb is joined to its neck in the lower part of the _Hypogastrium_ +where the hips are the widest and broadest, as they are greater and +broader there than those of men, and it is placed between the bladder +and the straight gut, which keeps it from swaying, and yet gives it +freedom to stretch and dilate, and again to contract, as nature +requires. Its shape is somewhat round and not unlike a gourd, growing +smaller and more acute towards one end, being knit together by its +own ligaments; its neck likewise is joined by its own substance and by +certain membranes that fasten into the _os sacrum_ and the share-bone. +Its size varies much in different women, and the difference is +especially great between those who have borne children and those who +have had none. Its substance exceeds a thumb's breadth in thickness, and +so far from decreasing conception, it rather increases; and in order to +strengthen it it is interwoven with fibres which cross it from side to +side, some of which are straight and some winding, and its proper +vessels are veins, arteries and nerves. Amongst these there are two +small veins which pass into the womb from the spermatic vessels, and two +larger ones from the neck: the mouth of these veins pierces as far as +the inward cavity. + +[Illustration: Position of a Child in the Womb just before delivery.] + +[Illustration: The action of quickening] + +The womb has two arteries on both sides of the spermatic vessels and the +hypogastric, which accompany the veins; and besides these, there are +several little nerves in the form of a net, which extend throughout it, +from the bottom of the _pudenda_; their chief function is sensibility +and pleasure, as they move in sympathy between the head and the womb. + +It may be further noted that the womb is occasionally moveable by means +of the two ligaments that hang on either side of it, and often rises and +falls. The neck of the womb is extremely sensitive, so that if it be at +any time out of order through over fatness, moisture or relaxation, it +thereby becomes subject to barrenness. With pregnant women, a glutinous +matter is often found at the entrance to the womb so as to facilitate +the birth; for at the time of delivery, the mouth of the womb is opened +as wide as the size of the child requires, and dilates equally from top +to bottom. + +The spermatic vessels in women, consist of two veins and two arteries, +which differ from those of men only in size and the manner of their +insertion; for the number of veins and arteries is the same as in men, +the right vein issuing from the trunk of the hollow vein descending and +besides them there are two arteries, which flow from the aorta. + +These vessels are narrower and shorter in women than in men; but it must +be noticed that they are more intertwined and contorted than in men, and +shrink together by reason of their shortness that they may, by their +looseness, be better stretched out when necessary: and these vessels in +women are carried in an oblique direction through the lesser bowels and +testicles but are divided into two branches half way. The larger goes to +the stones and forms a winding body, and wonderfully inoculates the +lesser branches where it disperses itself, and especially at the higher +part of the bottom of the womb, for its nourishment, and that part of +the courses may pass through the vessels; and seeing that women's +testicles are situated near the womb, for that cause those vessels do +not fall from the peritoneum, nor do they make so much passage as in +men, as they do not extend to the share-bone. + +The stones of woman, commonly called _testicles_, do not perform the +same function as in men, for they are altogether different in position, +size, temperature, substance, form and covering. They are situated in +the hollow of the muscles of the loins, so that, by contracting greater +heat, they may be more fruitful, their office being to contain the ova +or eggs, one of which, being impregnated by the man's seed engenders the +child. They are, however, different from those of the male in shape, +because they are smaller and flatter at each end, and not so round or +oval; the external superficies is also more unequal, and has the +appearance of a number of knobs or kernels mixed together. + +There is a difference, also, in the substance, as they are much softer +and more pliable, and not nearly so compact. Their size and temperature +are also different for they are much colder and smaller than in men, and +their covering or enclosure is likewise quite different; for as men's +are wrapped in several covers, because they are very pendulous and would +be easily injured unless they were so protected by nature, so women's +stones, being internal and thus less subject to being hurt, are covered +by only one membrane, and are likewise half covered by the peritoneum. + +The ejaculatory vessels are two small passages, one on either side, +which do not differ in any respect from the spermatic veins in +substance. They rise in one place from the bottom of the womb, and do +not reach from their other extremity either to the stones or to any +other part, but are shut up and impassable, and adhere to the womb as +the colon does to the blind gut, and winding half way about; and though +the testicles are not close to them and do not touch them, yet they are +fastened to them by certain membranes which resemble the wing of a bat, +through which certain veins and arteries passing from the end of the +testicles may be said to have their passages going from the corners of +the womb to the testicles, and these ligaments in women are the +_cremasters_[3] in men, of which I shall speak more fully when I come to +describe the male parts of generation. + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[3] Muscles by which the testicles are drawn up. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XV + + _A Description of the Use and Action of the several Generative + Parts in Women._ + + +The external parts, commonly called the _pudenda_, are designed to cover +the great orifice and to receive the man's penis or yard in the act of +sexual intercourse, and to give passage to the child and to the urine. +The use of the wings and knobs, like myrtle berries, is for the security +of the internal parts, closing the orifice and neck of the bladder and +by their swelling up, to cause titillation and pleasure in those parts, +and also to obstruct the involuntary passage of the urine. + +The action of the clitoris in women is similar to that of the penis in +men, viz., _erection_; and its lower end is the glans of the penis, and +has the same name. And as the _glans_ of man are the seat of the +greatest pleasure in copulation, so is this in the woman. + +The action and use of the neck on the womb is the same as that of the +penis, viz., erection, brought about in different ways: first, in +copulation it becomes erect and made straight for the passage of the +penis into the womb; secondly, whilst the passage is filled with the +vital blood, it becomes narrower for embracing the penis; and the uses +of this erection are twofold:--first, because if the neck of the womb +were not erected, the man's yard could find no proper passage to the +womb, and, secondly, it hinders any damage or injury that might ensue +through the violent striking of the _penis_ during the act of +copulation. + +The use of the veins that pass through the neck of the womb, is to +replenish it with blood and vigour, that so, as the moisture is consumed +by the heat engendered by sexual intercourse, it may be renewed by those +vessels; but their chief business is to convey nutriment to the womb. + +The womb has many properties belonging to it: first, the retention of +the impregnated egg, and this is conception, properly so called; +secondly, to cherish and nourish it, until Nature has fully formed the +child, and brought it to perfection, and then it operates strongly in +expelling the child, when the time of its remaining has expired, +becoming dilated in an extraordinary manner and so perfectly removed +from the senses that they cannot injuriously affect it, retaining within +itself a power and strength to eject the foetus, unless it be rendered +deficient by any accident; and in such a case remedies must be applied +by skilful hands to strengthen it, and enable it to perform its +functions; directions for which will be given in the second book. + +The use of the preparing vessels is this; the arteries convey the blood +to the testicles; some part of it is absorbed in nourishing them, and in +the production of these little bladders (which resemble eggs in every +particular), through which the _vasa preparantia_ run, and which are +absorbed in them; and the function of the veins is to bring back +whatever blood remains from the above mentioned use. The vessels of this +kind are much shorter in women than in men, because they are nearer to +the testicles; this defect is, however, made good by the many intricate +windings to which those vessels are subject; for they divide themselves +into two branches of different size in the middle and the larger one +passes to the testicles. + +The stones in women are very useful, for where they are defective, the +work of generation is at an end. For though those bladders which are on +the outer surface contain no seed, as the followers of Galen and +Hippocrates wrongly believed, yet they contain several eggs, generally +twenty in each testicle; one of which being impregnated by the animated +part of the man's seed in the act of copulation, descends through the +oviducts into the womb, and thus in due course of time becomes a living +child. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + + _Of the Organs of Generation in Man._ + + +Having given a description of the organs of generation in women, with +the anatomy of the fabric of the womb, I shall now, in order to finish +the first part of this treatise, describe the organs of generation in +men, and how they are fitted for the use for which Nature intended them. + +The instrument of generation in men (commonly called the yard, in Latin, +_penis_, from _pendo_, to hang, because it hangs outside the belly), is +an organic part which consists of skin, tendons, veins, arteries, sinews +and great ligaments; and is long and round, and on the upper side +flattish, seated under the _os pubis_, and ordained by Nature partly for +the evacuation of urine, and partly for conveying the seed into the +womb; for which purpose it is full of small pores, through which the +seed passes into it, through the _vesicula seminalis_,[4] and discharges +the urine when they make water; besides the common parts, viz., the two +nervous bodies, the septum, the urethra, the glans, four muscles and the +vessels. The nervous bodies (so called) are surrounded with a thick +white, penetrable membrane, but their inner substance is spongy, and +consists chiefly of veins, arteries, and nervous fibres, interwoven like +a net. And when the nerves are filled with animal vigour and the +arteries with hot, eager blood, the penis becomes distended and erect; +also the neck of the _vesicula urinalis_,[5] but when the influx of +blood ceases, and when it is absorbed by the veins, the penis becomes +limp and flabby. Below those nervous bodies is the urethra, and whenever +they swell, it swells also. The penis has four muscles; two shorter ones +springing from the _Cox endix_ and which serve for erection, and on that +account they are called _erectores_; two larger, coming from _sphincters +ani_, which serve to dilate the urethra so as to discharge the semen, +and these are called dilatantes, or wideners. At the end of the penis is +the _glans_, covered with a very thin membrane, by means of which, and +of its nervous substance, it becomes most extremely sensitive, and is +the principal seat of pleasure in copulation. The outer covering of the +_glans_ is called the _preputium_ (foreskin), which the Jews cut off in +circumcision, and it is fastened by the lower part of it to the _glans_. +The penis is also provided with veins, arteries and nerves. + +The _testiculi_, stones or testicles (so called because they testify one +to be a man), turn the blood, which is brought to them by the spermatic +arteries into seed. They have two sorts of covering, common and proper; +there are two of the common, which enfold both the testes. The outer +common coat, consists of the _cuticula_, or true skin, and is called the +scrotum, and hangs from the abdomen like a purse; the inner is the +_membrana carnosa_. There are also two proper coats--the outer called +_cliotrodes_, or virginales; the inner _albugidia_; in the outer the +cremaster is inserted. The _epididemes_, or _prostatae_ are fixed to the +upper part of the testes, and from them spring the _vasa deferentia_, or +_ejaculatoria_, which deposit the seed into the _vesicule seminales_ +when they come near the neck of the bladder. There are two of these +_vesiculae_, each like a bunch of grapes, which emit the seed into the +urethra in the act of copulation. Near them are the _prostatae_, about +the size of a walnut, and joined to the neck of the bladder. Medical +writers do not agree about the use of them, but most are of the opinion +that they produce an oily and sloppy discharge to besmear the urethra so +as to defend it against the pungency of the seed and urine. But the +vessels which convey the blood to the testes, from which the seed is +made, are the _arteriae spermaticae_ and there are two of them also. +There are likewise two veins, which carry off the remaining blood, and +which are called _venae spermaticae_. + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[4] Seminal vesicle. + +[5] Urinary vesicle. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + + _A word of Advice to both Sexes, consisting of several Directions + with regard to Copulation._ + + +As Nature has a mutual desire for copulation in every creature, for the +increase and propagation of its kind, and more especially in man, the +lord of creation and the masterpiece of Nature, in order that such a +noble piece of divine workmanship should not perish, something ought to +be said concerning it, it being the foundation of everything that we +have hitherto been treating of, since without copulation there can be no +generation. Seeing, therefore, so much depends upon it, I have thought +it necessary, before concluding the first book, to give such directions +to both sexes, for the performance of that act, as may appear +efficacious to the end for which nature designed it, but it will be done +with such caution as not to offend the chastest ear, nor to put the fair +sex to the blush when they read it. + +In the first place, then, when a married couple from the desire of +having children are about to make use of those means that Nature has +provided for that purpose, it is well to stimulate the body with +generous restoratives, that it may be active and vigorous. And the +imagination should be charmed with sweet music, and if all care and +thoughts of business be drowned in a glass of rosy wine, so that their +spirit may be raised to the highest pitch of ardour, it would be as +well, for troubles, cares or sadness are enemies to the pleasures of +Venus. And if the woman should conceive when sexual intercourse takes +place at such times of disturbance, it would have a bad effect upon the +child. But though generous restoratives may be employed for invigorating +nature, yet all excess should be carefully avoided, for it will check +the briskness of the spirits and make them dull and languid, and as it +also interferes with digestion, it must necessarily be an enemy _to_ +copulation; for it is food taken moderately and that is well digested, +which enables a man to perform the dictates of Nature with vigour and +activity, and it is also necessary, that in their mutual embraces they +meet each other with equal ardour, for, if not, the woman either will +not conceive, or else the child may be weak bodily, or mentally +defective. I, therefore, advise them to excite their desires mutually +before they begin their conjugal intercourse, and when they have done +what nature requires, a man must be careful not to withdraw himself from +his wife's arms too soon, lest some sudden cold should strike into the +womb and occasion miscarriage, and so deprive them of the fruits of +their labour. + +And when the man has withdrawn himself after a suitable time, the woman +should quietly go to rest, with all calmness and composure of mind, free +from all anxious and disturbing thoughts, or any other mental worry. And +she must, as far as possible, avoid turning over from the side on which +she was first lying, and also keep from coughing and sneezing, because +as it violently shakes the body, it is a great enemy to conception. + + * * * * * + + + + +A + +PRIVATE LOOKING-GLASS + +FOR THE + +FEMALE SEX + + * * * * * + +PART II + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER I + + _Treating of the several Maladies incident to the womb, with proper + remedies for the cure of each._ + + +The womb is placed in the _hypogastrium_, or lower part of the body, in +the cavity called the _pelvis_, having the straight gut on one side to +protect it against the hardness of the backbone, and the bladder on the +other side to protect it against blows. Its form or shape is like a +virile member, with this exception, that the man's is outside, and the +woman's inside. + +It is divided into the neck and body. The neck consists of a hard fleshy +substance, much like cartilage, and at the end of it there is a membrane +placed transversely, which is called the hymen. Near the neck there is a +prominent pinnacle, which is called the door of the womb, because it +preserves the _matrix_ from cold and dust. The Greeks called it +_clitoris_, and the Latins _praeputium muliebre_, because the Roman +women abused these parts to satisfy their mutual unlawful lusts, as St. +Paul says, Romans 1. 26. + +The body of the womb is where the child is conceived, and this is not +altogether round, but dilates itself into two angles; the outward part +is full of sinews, which are the cause of its movements, but inside it +is fleshy. It is wrongly said, that in the cavity of the womb there are +seven divided cells or receptacles for the male seed, but anatomists +know that there are only two, and also that those two are not divided by +a partition, but only by a line or suture running through the middle of +it. + +At the bottom of the cavity there are little holes called +_cotyledones_, which are the ends of certain veins or arteries, and +serve breeding women to convey nourishment to the child, which is +received by the umbilical and other veins, to carry the courses to the +_matrix_. + +As to menstruation, it is defined as a monthly flow of bad and useless +blood, and of the super-abundance of it, for it is an excrement in +quality, though it is pure and incorrupt, like the blood in the veins. +And that the menstruous blood is pure in itself, and of the same quality +as that in the veins, is proved in two ways.--First, from the final +object of the blood, which is the propagation and preservation of +mankind, that man might be conceived; and that, being begotten, he might +be comforted and preserved both in and out of the womb, and all allow +that it is true that a child in the matrix is nourished by the blood. +And it is true that when it is out of it, it is nourished by the same; +for the milk is nothing but the menstruous blood made white in the +breast. Secondly, it is proved to be true by the way it is produced, as +it is the superfluity of the last aliment of the fleshy parts. + +The natural end of man and woman's being is to propagate. Now, in the +act of conception one must be an active agent and the other passive, for +if both were similarly constituted, they could not propagate. Man, +therefore, is hot and dry, whilst woman is cold and moist: he is the +agent, and she the passive or weaker vessel, that she may be subject to +the office of the man. It is necessary that woman should be of a cold +constitution, because a redundancy of Nature for the infant that depends +on her is required of her; for otherwise there would be no surplus of +nourishment for the child, but no more than the mother requires, and the +infant would weaken the mother, and like as in the viper, the birth of +the infant would be the death of the parent. + +The monthly purgations continue from the fifteenth to the forty-sixth or +fiftieth year; but a suppression often occurs, which is either natural +or morbid: the courses are suppressed naturally during pregnancy, and +whilst the woman is suckling. The morbid suppression remains to be +spoken of. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER II + + _Of the Retention of the Courses._ + + +The suppression of the menstrual periods, is an interruption of that +accustomed evacuation of blood, which comes from the matrix every month, +and the part affected is the womb. + + + +CAUSE. + +The cause of this suppression is either external or internal. The +external cause may be heat or dryness of air, want of sleep, too much +work, violent exercise, etc., whereby the substance is so consumed, and +the body so exhausted that nothing is left over to be got rid of, as is +recorded of the Amazons who, being active and constantly in motion, had +their courses very little, if at all. Or it may be brought about by cold +which is very frequent, as it vitiates and thickens the blood, and binds +up the passages, so that it cannot flow out. + +The internal cause is either instrumental or material; in the womb or in +the blood. In the womb, it may be in various ways; by humours, and +abscesses and ulcers, by the narrowness of the veins and passages, or by +the adipose membrane in fat bodies, pressing on the neck of the matrix, +but then they must have hernia, zirthilis, for in men the membrane does +not reach so low; by too much cold or heat, the one vitiating the +action, and the other consuming the matter through the wrong formation +of the uterine parts; by the neck of the womb being turned aside, and +sometimes, though rarely, by a membrane or excrescence of the flesh +growing at the mouth or neck of the womb. The blood may be in fault in +two ways, in quantity and in quality; in quantity, when it is so +consumed that no surplus is left over, as in viragoes or virile women, +who, through their heat and natural strength, consume it all in their +last nourishment; as Hippocrates writes of Prethusa, for when her +husband praised her overmuch, her courses were suppressed, her voice +changed and she got a beard with a manly face. But I think, rather that +these must be _Gynophagi_, or woman-eaters, rather than women-breeders, +because they consume one of the principles of generation, which gives a +being to the world, viz., the menstruous blood. The blood may likewise +be lost, and the courses checked by nosebleeding, by bleeding piles, by +dysentery, commonly called the bloody flux, by many other discharges, +and by chronic diseases. Secondly, the matter may be vitiated in +quality, and if it be sanguineous, sluggish, bilious or melancholy, and +any of these will cause an obstruction in the veins. + + + +SIGNS. + +Signs which manifest the disease are pains in the head, neck, back and +loins; weariness of the whole body (but especially of the hips and legs, +because the womb is near those parts); palpitation of the heart. The +following are particular signs:--If the suppression arises from a cold, +the woman becomes heavy, sluggish, pale and has a slow pulse; Venus' +combats are neglected, the urine is thick, the blood becomes watery and +great in quantity, and the bowels become constipated. If it arises from +heat, the signs are just the opposite. If the retention be natural and +arises from conception, this may be known by drinking hydromel, i.e., +water and honey, after supper, before going to bed, by the effect which +it has; for if after taking it, she feels a heating pain about the navel +and the lower parts of the abdomen, it is a sign that she has conceived, +and that the suppression is natural. + + + +PROGNOSTICS. + +The whole body is affected by any disorder of the womb, and especially +the heart, the liver and the brain, and there is a singular sympathy +between the womb and those three organs. Firstly, the womb communicates +with the heart by the mediation of those arteries which come from the +aorta. Hence, when menstruation is suppressed, fainting, swooning, a +very low pulse, and shortness of breath will ensue. Secondly, it +communicates with the liver by the veins derived from the hollow vein. +Obstructions, jaundice, dropsy, induration of the spleen will follow. +Thirdly, it communicates with the brain by the nerves and membranes of +the back; hence arise epilepsy, madness, fits of melancholy, pains in +the back of the head, unaccountable fears and inability to speak. I may, +therefore, well agree with Hippocrates that if menstruation be +suppressed, many dangerous diseases will follow. + + + +CURE. + +In the cure of this, and of all the other following cases, I shall +observe the following order:--The cures will be taken from surgical, +pharmaceutical and diuretical means. The suppression has a plethoric +effect, and must be removed by the evacuation; therefore we begin with +bleeding. In the middle of the menstrual period, open the liver vein, +and two days before, open the saphena in both feet; if the repletion is +not very great apply cupping glasses to the legs and thighs, although +there may be no hope of removing the suppression. As in some women, the +cotyledones are so closed up that nothing but copulation will open them, +yet it will be well to relieve the woman as much as possible by opening +the hemoroid veins by applying a leech. After bleeding let the place be +prepared and made flexible with syrup of stychas, calamint, betony, +hyssop, mugwort, horehound, fumitary, maidenhair. Bathe the parts with +camomiles, pennyroyal, savias, bay-leaves, juniper-berries, rue, +marjoram, feverfew. Take a handful each of nep, maidenhair, succory and +betony leaves and make a decoction, and take three ounces of it, syrup +of maidenhair, mugwort and succory, half an ounce of each. After she +comes out of her bath, let her drink it off. Purge with _Pill agaric, +fleybany, corb, feriae_. In this case, Galen recommends _pilulae of +caberica coloquintida_; for, as they are good for purging the bad +humours, so also they open the passages of the womb, and strengthen it +by their aromatic qualities. + +If the stomach be over-loaded, let her take an emetic, yet such a one as +may work both ways, lest if it only works upwards, it should check the +humours too much. Take two drachms of trochisks of agaric, infuse this +in two ounces of oxymel in which dissolve one scruple and a half of +_electuary dissarum_, and half an ounce of _benedic laxit_. Take this as +a purge. + +After the humour has been got rid of, proceed to more suitable and +stronger remedies. Take a drachm and a half of trochisk of myrrh; ten +grains of musk with the juice of smallage; make twelve pills and take +six every morning, or after supper, on going to bed. Take half an ounce +of cinnamon, two drachms each of smirutium, or rogos, valerin +aristolochia; two scruples each of astrumone root and saffron; two +drachms of spec. diambia; four scruples of trochisk of myrrh; two +scruples tartari vitriolari; make half into a powder; make lozenges with +mugwort water and sugar, and take one drachm of them every morning; or +mix a drachm of the powder with one drachm of sugar, and take it in +white wine. Take two drachms each of prepared steel and spec. hair; one +scruple each of borax and spec. of myrrh, with savine juice; make it up +into eighty-eight lozenges and take three every other day before dinner. +Take one scruple of castor, half a drachm of wild carrot seed with syrup +of mugwort, and make four pills, take them in the morning fasting, for +three days following, before the usual time of purging. Take five +drachms each of agaric, aristolochia, and juice of horehound; six +drachma each of rhubarb, spikenard, aniseed, guidanum, asafoetida, +mallow-root, gentian, of the three peppers and of liquorice: make an +electuary with honey, and take three drachms for a dose. For phlegmatic +constitutions nothing can be better than the decoction of guaiacum wood +with a little disclaim, taken fasting in the morning, for twelve days +consecutively, without producing sweating. + +Treat the lower parts of the body to suffumigating, pessaries, ointments +and injections; for fumigating use cinnamon, nutmeg, the berries of the +bay tree, mugwort, galbanum, molanthium, amber, etc. Make pessaries of +figs and the bruised leaves of dog's mercury, rolled up in lint, and if +a stronger one is required, make one of myrrh, opopanax, ammoniac, +galbanum, sagepanum, mithridate, agaric, coloquintida, tec. Make +injections of a decoction of origane mugwort, dog's mercury, betony, and +eggs; inject into the womb with a female syringe. Take half an ounce +each of oil of almonds, lilies, capers, camomiles; two drachms each of +laudanum and oil of myrrh; make a salve with wax, with which anoint the +place; make injections of fenugreek, camomiles, melilot, dill, marjoram, +pennyroyal, feverfew, juniper berries and calamint; but if the +suppression arises from a lack of matter, then the courses ought not to +be brought on until the spirits be raised and the amount of blood +increased; or if it arises from affections of the womb itself, as dropsy +or inflammation, then particular care must be used; but I will not lay +stress on this here, but will mention the remedies in their order. + +If the retention comes from repletion or fullness, if the air be hot and +dry, take moderate exercise before meals, and very light diet and +drinks, and with your food take garden savory--thyme and origane, if it +arises from emptiness and defect of matter: if the weather be moist and +moderately hot, avoid exercise and late hours; let your food be +nourishing and easy of digestion, such as raw eggs, lamb, chickens, +almonds, milk and the like. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER III + + _Of Excessive Menstruation._ + + +The learned say, that truth is manifested by comparing contraries, and +so, as I have above spoken of the suppression of menstruation, it is now +necessary that I should treat of excessive menstruation, which is no +less dangerous than the former. This immoderate monthly flow is defined +as a sanguineous discharge, as it consists merely of blood, wherein it +differs from the false courses or whites, of which I shall speak further +on. Secondly, it is said to proceed from the womb; for there are two +ways in which the blood issues forth; one by the internal veins of the +body of the womb (and this is properly called the monthly flow), the +other is by those veins which terminate in the neck of the matrix, which +Aetius calls haemorrhoids of the womb. In quantity, Hippocrates said, it +should be about eighteen ounces, and they should last about three days: +and when the faculties of the body are weakened by their flow, we may +take it that the discharge is inordinate. In bodies which abound in +gross humours, this immoderate flow sometimes unburdens nature of her +load and ought not to be checked without a physician's advice. + + + +CAUSE. + +The cause is either internal or external. The internal cause is +threefold; in the substance, the instrument or the power. The matter, +which is the blood, may be vitiated in two ways; first, by the heat of +the constitution, climate or season, heating the blood, whereby the +passages are dilated, and the power weakened so that it cannot retain +the blood. Secondly, by falls, blows, violent motions, rupture of the +veins, etc. The external cause may be the heat of the air, heavy +burdens, unnatural childbirth, etc. + + + +SIGNS. + +In this excessive flow the appetite is lessened, conception is checked +and all the functions weakened; the feet swell, the colour of the face +changes, and the whole body is weakened. If the flow comes from the +rupture of a vein, the body is sometimes cold, the blood flows out in +streams, suddenly, and causes great pain. If it arises from heat, and +the orifice of the vein is dilated, there is little or no pain, but yet +the blood flows faster than it does when caused by erosion, but not so +fast as it does in a rupture. If caused by erosion, the woman feels a +scalding of the passage, and it differs from the other two, in so much +as it does not flow so quickly or so freely as they do. If it is caused +by weakness of the womb, the woman feels a dislike for sexual +intercourse. Lastly, if it proceeds from the defective quality of the +blood let some of it drop into a cloth, and when it is dry, you may +judge, of the quality by the colour. If it be passionate it will be +yellow; if melancholy, it will be black, and if phlegmatic, it will be +waterish and whitish. + + + +PROGNOSTICS. + +If convulsions are joined to the flow, it is dangerous, because that +intimates that the noble parts are affected, convulsions caused by +emptiness are deadly. If they continue long, they will be very difficult +to cure, and it was one of the miracles which our Saviour Christ +wrought, to cure a woman of this disease of twelve years standing. + +To conclude, if the flow be excessive, many diseases will follow, which +will be almost impossible to cure; the blood, being consumed together +with the innate heat, either morbid, dropsical, or paralytical diseases +will follow. + + + +CURE. + +The cure consists in three particulars. First, in expelling and +carrying away the blood. Secondly, in connecting and removing the +fluxibility of the matter. Thirdly, in incorporating the veins and +faculties. For the first, to get rid of the superfluous blood, open a +vein in the arm, and draw off as much blood as the strength of the +patient will allow; not all at one time, but at intervals, for by those +means the spirits are less weakened, and the reaction so much the +greater. + +Apply cupping glasses to the breasts and also over the liver, and to +correct the flexibility of the matter, purgative means, moderated by +astringents, may be employed. + +If it is caused by erosion, and salt phlegm, prepare with syrup of +violets, wormwood, roses, citron peel, succory, etc. Then make the +following purge:--mirabolans, half an ounce; trochisks of agaric, one +drachm; make a decoction with the plantain-water, and add syrup of roses +lax. three ounces, and make a draught. + +If caused by any mental excitement, prepare the body by syrup of roses, +myrtles, sorrel and parsley, mixed with plantain-water, knot-grass and +endive. Then purge with the following draught:--Take one drachm each of +the void of mirabolans, and rhubarb, cinnamon fifteen grains; infuse for +a night in endive water; add to the strained water half an ounce of pulp +of tamarinds and of cassia, and make a draught. If the blood be +waterish as it is in dropsical subjects and flows out easily on account +of its thinness, it will be a good plan to draw off the water by purging +with agaric, elaterium and coloquintida. Sweating is also useful in this +case, as by it the noxious matter is carried off, and the motion of the +blood to other parts. To produce sweating, employ cardus water, and +mithridate, or a decoction of guaiacum and sarsaparilla. Gum guaiacum is +also a great producer of perspiration, and sarsaparilla pills, taken +every night before going to bed are also highly to be recommended. If +the blood pours out, without any evil quality in itself, then +strengthening means only should be employed, which is a thing to be done +in cases of inordinate discharge. + +Take one scruple of ol. ammoniac, one drachm of treacle, half an ounce +of conserve of roses and make an electuary with syrup of myrtle, or if +the discharge be of long standing take two drachms of matrix, one drachm +of olilanum troch. de carbara, a scruple of balustium; make into a +powder and form into pills with syrup of quinces, and take one before +every meal. Take two scruples each of troch. dechambede, scoriaferri, +coral and frankincense; pound these to a fine powder, and make into +lozenges with sugar and plantain water. Asses' dung is also approved +of, whether taken inwardly with syrup of quinces or applied outwardly +with steeled water. Galen by sending the juice of it into the womb by +means of a syringe for four days consecutively, cured this immediate +flow, which could not be checked in any other way. Let the patient take +one scruple and a half of pilon in water before going to bed; make a +fumigation for the womb of mastic, frankincense and burnt frogs, adding +the hoof of a mule. Take an ounce each of the juice of knot-grass, +comfoly and quinces; a drachm of camphor; dip a piece of silk or cotton +into it and apply it to the place. Take half an ounce each of oil of +mastic, myrtle, and quinces; a drachm each of fine bole and troch. +decardas, and a sufficient quantity of dragon's blood, make an ointment +and apply it before and behind. Take an ounce and a half each of +plantain, shepherd's purse and red rose leaves; an ounce of dried mint, +and three ounces of bean flour; boil all these in plantain water and +make two plasters:--apply one before and one behind. If the blood flows +from those veins which are terminated at the neck of the matrix, then it +is not called an undue discharge of the _menses_, but haemorrhoids of +the womb. The same remedy, however, will serve for both, only the +instrumental cure will be a little different; for in uterine +haemorrhoids, the ends of the veins hang over like teats, which must +be removed by cutting, and then the veins closed with aloes, fine bole, +burnt alum, myrrh, mastic, with comfoly-juice and knot grass, laid upon +it like a plaster. + +[Illustration: _Position of the Embryos in a plural conception_] + +[Illustration: Process of Delivery.] + +The air should be cold and dry, and all motion of the body should be +prohibited. Her diet should consist of pheasants, partridges, grouse, +rabbits, calves' feet, etc., and her drink should be mixed with the +juice of pomegranates and quinces. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + _Of the Weeping of the Womb._ + + +The weeping of the womb is an unnatural flow of blood, coming from it in +drops, like tears, and causing violent pains in it, and occurring at no +fixed period or time. By some it is supposed to be produced by the +excessive flow of the courses, as they flow copiously and freely; this +is continued, though only little at a time, and accompanied by great +pain and difficulty of passing it, and on this account it is compared +to the strangury. + +The cause is in the power, instrument or matter; in the power, on +account of its being enfeebled so that it cannot expel the blood, and +which, remaining there, makes that part of the womb grow hard, and +distends the vessels, and from that, pains in the womb arise. In the +instrument, from the narrowness of the passage. Lastly, it may be the +matter of the blood which is at fault, and which may be in too great +quantities; or the quality may be bad, so that it is thick and gross and +cannot flow out as it ought to do, but only in drops. The signs will +best be ascertained by the patient's own account, but there will be +pains in the head, stomach and back, with inflammation, difficulty of +breathing and excoriation of the matrix. If the patient's strength will +permit it, first open a vein in the arm, rub the upper parts and let a +cord be fastened tightly round the arm, so that the force of the blood +may be carried backward; then apply such things as may relax the womb, +and assuage the heat of the blood, as poultices made of bran, linseed, +mallows, dog's mercury and artiplex. If the blood be viscous and thick, +add mugwort, calamint, dictain and betony to it, and let the patient +take about the size of a nutmeg of Venic treacle, and syrup of mugwort +every morning; make an injection of aloes, dog's mercury, linseed, +groundsel, mugwort, fenugreek, with sweet almond oil. + +Sometimes it is caused by wind, and then bleeding must not be had +recourse to, but instead take one ounce of syrup of feverfew; half an +ounce each of honey, syrup of roses, syrup of stachus; an ounce each of +calamint water, mugwort, betony and hyssop, and make a julep. If the +pain continues, use this purge:--Take a drachm of spec. Hitrae, half an +ounce of diacatholicon, one ounce of syrup of roses and laxative, and +make a draught with a decoction of mugwort and the four cordial flowers. +If it proceeds from weakness, she must be strengthened, but if from +grossness of blood, let the quality of it be altered, as I have shown in +the preceding chapter. Lastly, if her bowels are confined, move them by +an injection of a decoction of camomiles, betony, feverfew, mallows, +linseed, juniper-berries, cumminseed, aniseed, melilot, and add to it +half an ounce of diacatholicon; two drachms of hiera piera, an ounce +each of honey and oil and a drachm and a half of sol. nitre. The patient +must abstain from salt, acid and windy food. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER V + + _The false Courses, or Whites._ + + +From the womb, not only the menstruous blood proceeds, but many +evacuations, which were summed up by the ancients under the title of +_rhoos gunaikeios_,[6] which is the distillation of a variety of corrupt +humours through the womb, which flow from the whole body or a part of +it, varying both in courses and colour. + + + +CAUSE. + +The cause is either promiscuously in the whole body, by a cacochymia; or +weakness of it, or in some of its parts, as in the liver, which by a +weakness of the blood producing powers, cause a production of corrupt +blood, which then is reddish. Sometimes, when the fall is sluggish in +its action, and does not get rid of those superfluities engendered in +the liver, the matter is yellowish. Sometimes it is in the spleen when +it does not cleanse the blood of the dregs and rejected particles, and +then the matter which flows forth is blackish. It may also come from a +cold in the head, or from any other decayed or corrupted member, but if +the discharge be white, the cause lies either in the stomach or loins. +In the stomach, by some crude substance there, and vitiated by grief, +melancholy or some other mental disturbance; for otherwise, if the +matter were only crude phlegm and noways corrupt, being taken into the +liver it might be converted into the blood; for phlegm in the ventricle +is called nourishment half digested; but being corrupt, though sent into +the liver it cannot be turned into nutriment, for the second decoction +in the stomach cannot correct that which the first corrupted; and +therefore the liver sends it to the womb, which can neither digest nor +reject it, and so it is voided out with the same colour which it had in +the ventricle. The cause may also be in the veins being overheated +whereby the spermatical matter flows out because of its thinness. The +external causes may be moistness of the air, eating bad food, anger, +grief, sloth, too much sleep, costiveness. + +The signs are bodily disturbances, shortness of breathing, and foul +breath, a distaste for food, swollen eyes and feet, and low spirits; +discharges of different colours, as red, black, green, yellow and white +from the womb. It differs from the flowing of the courses and from too +abundant menstruation, in so far as it keeps no certain period, and is +of many colours, all of which spring from blood. + +If the flux be phlegmatic, it will last long and be hard to cure, but if +sickness or diarrhoea supervene, it carries off the humour and cures the +disease. If it is abundant it does not last so long, but it is more +dangerous, for it will cause a cleft in the neck of the womb, and +sometimes also an excoriation of the matrix; if melancholy, it must be +dangerous and obstinate. The flux of the haemorrhoids, however, assists +the cure. + +If the matter which flows out be reddish, open a vein in the arm; if +not, apply ligatures to the arms and shoulders. Galen boasts that he +cured the wife of Brutus, who was suffering from this disease, by +rubbing the upper part with honey. + +If it is caused by the brain, take syrup of betony and marjoram. Give as +a purgative _Pill. coch._ or _Agaric_; make nasalia of sage, or hyssop +juice, betony, flagella, with one drop of oil of _Elect. Dianth. Rosat. +Diambrae, diamosci dulus_, one drachm of each, and make lozenges to be +taken every morning and evening. _Auri Alexandrina_, half a drachm at +night on going to bed. If these things have no effect, try suffumigation +and plasters, as they are prescribed above. + +If it arises from crudities of the stomach or from a cold, disordered +liver, take a decoction of _lignum sanctum_ every morning, purge with +_pill de agaric, de hermadact, de hiera, diacolinthis, foetid-agrigatio_; +take two drachms of elect. aromet-roses, one scruple each of dried +citron peel, nutmeg, long pepper; one drachm of draglanga; half a +scruple each of _fantalum album_, ling, aloes; six ounces of sugar, with +mint water: make lozenges of it, and take them before meals. If there be +repletion besides the rigidity of the liver, purging by means of an +emetic is to be recommended, for which take three drachms of the +electuary diasatu. Galen allows diuretical remedies, such as _aqua +petrofolma_. + +If the discharge be angry, treat it with syrup of roses, violets, endive +and succory; give a purge of mirabolans, manna, rhubarb, and cassia. +Take two drachms of rhubarb, one of aniseed, and one scruple and a half +of cinnamon; infuse them into six ounces of syrup of prunes, and add one +ounce of strained manna, and take it in the morning as required. Take +one drachm each of the following drugs: _diatonlanton, diacorant, +diarthod, abbaris, dyacydomei_, four ounces of sugar, and make into +lozenges with plantain water. If the gall be sluggish, and does not stir +the bowels, give warm injections of a decoction of the four mollifying +herbs, with honey of roses and aloes. + +If the flow be bilious, treat the patient with syrup of maiden-hair; +epithynium, polypody, borage, buglos, fumitary, hart's tongue and +syrups, bisantius, which must be made without vinegar, else it will +assist the disease instead of nature, for melancholy is increased by the +use of vinegar, and both Hippocrates, Silvius and Avenzoar reject it as +injurious for the womb, and therefore not to be used internally in +uterine diseases. _Pilulae sumariae, pilulae lud. delupina, lazuli +diosena_ and _confetio hamec_ are purges of bile. Take two ounces of +pounded prunes, one drachm of senna, a drachm and a half each of +epithimium, polypody and fumitary, and an ounce of sour dates, and make +a decoction with endive water; take four ounces of it and add three +drachms of hamesech and three of manna. Or take a scruple each of _pil. +indic. foetid, agarici, trochis ati_; one scruple of rhubarb pills, six +grains of lapis lazuli, make into pills with epithimium, and take them +once a week. Take three drachms of elect. loetificans. Galen three +drachms, a drachm each of _diamargaritum, calimi, diamosci dulus_; a +drachm of conserve of borage, violets and burglos; one drachm of candied +citron peel, seven ounces of sugar, and make into lozenges with rose +water. + +Lastly let the womb be cleansed of all corrupt matter, and then be +strengthened. In order to purify it, make injections of the decoction of +betony, feverfew, spikenard, bismust, mercury and sage, and add two +ounces each of sugar and sweet almond oil; pessaries may also be made of +silk or cotton, softened in the juice of the above mentioned herbs. + +You must prepare trochisks, thus, to strengthen the womb. Take one ounce +each of mugwort, feverfew, myrrh, amber, mace, storax, ling aloes and +red roses, and make lozenges or troches with mucilage of tragacanth; +throw one of them on to hot coals and fumigate the womb with red wine, +in which mastic, fine bole, malustia and red roots have been decocted; +anoint the matrix with oil of quinces and myrtles, and apply a plaster +to it, for the womb; and let the woman take _diamosdum dulco_, _aract_, +and _slemoticum_ every morning. + +A drying diet is recommended as best, because in these cases the body +abounds with phlegmatic and crude humours. On this account, Hippocrates +advises the patient to go to bed supperless. Her food should consist of +partridges, pheasant and grouse, roasted rather than boiled, too much +sleep must be prohibited whilst moderate exercise is very advisable. + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[6] The female flowing. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + _The Suffocation of the Mother._ + + +This, which if simply considered, will be found to be merely the cause +of an effect, is called in English, "the suffocation of the mother," not +because the womb is strangled, but because by its retraction towards the +midriff and stomach, which presses it up, so that the instrumental cause +of respiration, the midriff, is suffocated, and acting with the brain, +cause the animating faculty, the efficient cause of respiration, also to +be interrupted, when the body growing cold, and the action weakened, the +woman falls to the ground as if she were dead. + +Some women remain longer in those hysterical attacks than others, and +Rabbi Moses mentions some who lay in the fit for two days. Rufus writes +of one who continued in it for three days and three nights, and revived +at the end of the three days. And I will give you an example so that we +may take warning by the example of other men. Paroetus mentions a +Spanish woman who was suddenly seized with suffocation of the womb, and +was thought to be dead. Her friends, for their own satisfaction, sent +for a surgeon in order to have her opened, and as soon as he began to +make an incision, she began to move, and come to herself again with +great cries, to the horror and surprise of all those present. + +In order that the living may be distinguished from the dead, old writers +prescribe three experiments. The first is, to lay a feather on the +mouth, and by its movements you may judge whether the patient be alive +or dead; the second is, to place a glass of water on the breast, and if +it moves, it betokens life; the third is, to hold a bright, clean, +looking-glass to the mouth and nose, and if the glass be dimmed with a +little moisture on it, it betokens life. These three experiments are +good, but you must not depend upon them too much, for though the feather +and the glass do not move, and the looking-glass continues bright and +clear, yet it is not a necessary consequence that she is dead. For the +movement of the lungs, by which breathing is produced, may be checked, +so that she cannot breathe, and yet internal heat may remain, which is +not evident by the motion of the breast or lungs, but lies hidden in the +heart and arteries. + +Examples of this we find in flies and swallows, who seem dead to all +outward appearances, breathless and inanimate, and yet they live by that +heat which is stored up in the heart and inward arteries. At the +approach of summer, however, the internal heat, being restored to the +outer parts, they are then brought to life again, out of their sleeping +trance. + +Those women, therefore, who apparently die suddenly, and from no visible +cause, should not be buried until the end of three days, lest the living +be buried instead of the dead. + + + +CURE. + +The part affected is the womb, of which there are two motions--natural +and symptomatic. The natural motion is, when the womb attracts the male +seed, or expels the infant, and the symptomatical motion, of which we +are speaking, is a convulsive drawing up of the womb. + +The cause is usually in the retention of the seed, or in the suppression +of the menses, which causes a repletion of the corrupt humours of the +womb, from which a windy refrigeration arises, which produces a +convulsion of the ligaments of the womb. And just as it may arise from +humidity or repletion, so also, as it is a convulsion, it may be caused +by dryness or emptiness. Lastly also, it may arise from abortion or from +difficult childbirth. + + + +SIGNS. + +On the approach of suffocation of the womb the face becomes pale, there +is a weakness of the legs, shortness of breathing, frigidity of the +whole body, with a spasm in the throat, and then the woman falls down, +bereft of sense and motion; the mouth of the womb is closed up, and +feels hard when touched with the finger. When the paroxysm or the fit is +over, she opens her eyes, and as she feels an oppression of the stomach, +she tries to vomit. And lest any one should be deceived into taking one +disease for another, I will show how it may be distinguished from those +diseases which most resemble it. + +It differs from apoplexy, as it comes without the patient crying out; in +hysterical fits also the sense of feeling is not altogether destroyed +and lost, as it is in apoplexy; and it differs from epilepsy, as the +eyes are not distorted, and there is spongy froth from the mouth. That +convulsive motion also, which is frequently accompanied by symptoms of +suffocation, is not universal, as it is in epilepsy, but there is some +convulsion, but that without any violent agitation. In syncope both +breathing and the pulse fail, the face grows pale, and the woman faints +suddenly; but in hysterical attacks there are usually both breathing +and pulse, though these are indistinct; the face is red and she has a +forewarning of the approaching fit. It cannot, however, be denied that +syncope may accompany this feeling of suffocation. Lastly, it can be +distinguished from lethargy by the pulse, which is rapid in the former, +but weak in the latter. + + + +CURE. + +In the cure of this affection, two things must be taken care of:--_In +the first place_, nature must be stimulated to expel these hurtful +humours which obscure the senses, so that the woman may be brought back +from that sleepy fit. _Secondly_, during the intervals of the attack, +proper remedies must be employed, in order to remove the cause. + +To stimulate nature, apply cupping-glasses to the hips and navel: apply +ligatures to the thighs, rub the extremities with salt, mustard and +vinegar, and shout and make a great noise in her ears. Hold asafoetida +to the nose, or sacopenium steeped in vinegar; make her sneeze by +blowing castor-powder, white pepper and hellebore up her nose; hold +burnt feathers, hair, leather, or anything else with a strong, stinking +smell under her nose, for bad odours are unpleasant to nature, and the +animal spirits so strive against them, that the natural heat is restored +by their means. The brain is sometimes so oppressed, that it becomes +necessary to burn the outer skin of the head with hot oil, or with a hot +iron, and strong injections and suppositories are useful. Take a handful +each of sage, calamint, horehound, feverfew, marjoram, betony and +hyssop; half an ounce of aniseed; two drachma each of coloquintida, +white hellebore and salgem; boil these in two quarts of water till +reduced to half; add two ounces of castor oil and two drachms of hiera +piera and make an injection of it. Or take two ounces of boiled honey, +half a scruple of spurge, four grains of coloquint, two grains of +hellebore and drachm of salt; make a suppository. Hippocrates mentions a +hysterical woman who could only be relieved of the paroxysms by pouring +cold water on her: yet this is a strange cure, and should only be +administered in the heat of summer, when the sun is in the tropic of +Cancer. + +If it be caused by the retention and corruption of the seed, let the +mid-wife take oil of lilies, marjoram and bay leaves, and dissolve two +grains of civet in them, and the same quantity of musk, and at the +moment of the paroxysm let her dip her finger into the mixture and put +it into the neck of the womb, and tickle and rub it with it. + +When the fit is over, proceed to remove the cause. If it arises from +suppression of the menses, look in Chapter XI, p. 102, for the cure. If +it arises from the retention of the seed, a good husband will administer +the cure, but those who cannot honourably obtain that remedy, must use +such means as will dry up and diminish the seed, as diaciminum, +diacalaminthes, etc. The seed of the agnus castus is highly valued as a +draught, whether taken inwardly, applied outwardly or used as a +suffumigation. It was held in high esteem by the Athenian women, for by +its means they remained as pure vessels and preserved their chastity, by +only strewing it on the bed on which they lay, and hence the name of +_agnus castus_, which was given to it, as denoting its effects. Make an +issue on the inside of each leg, four inches below the knee, and then +make lozenges of two scruples of agric, half a scruple each of wild +carrot seed and ligne aloes; three drachms of washed turpentine, and +make a bolus with a conserve of flowers. Eight drachms of castor taken +in white wine are very useful in this case, or you may make pills of it +with dog's tooth, and take them on going to bed. Take an ounce of white +briony root dried and cut up like carrots, put it into a little wine and +place it on the fire, and drink when warm. Take one scruple each of +myrrh, castor and asafoetida; four grains each of saffron and rue-seed, +and make eight pills and take two every night on going to bed. + +Galen, from his own experience, recommends powdered agaric, of which he +frequently gave one scruple in white wine. Put a head of bruised garlic +on the navel at bed time, and fasten it with a swathing band. Make a +girdle for the waist of galbanum, and also a plaster for the stomach, +and put civet and musk on one part of it, which must be applied to the +navel. Take two drachms each of pulvis benedict, and of troches of +agaric, a sufficient quantity of mithridate, and make two pessaries, and +that will purge the matrix of wind and phlegm; foment the private parts +with salad oil in which some feverfew and camomiles have been boiled. +Take a handful of roseleaves and two scruples of cloves, sew them in a +little cloth and boil them for ten minutes in malmsey; then apply them, +as hot as they can be borne, to the mouth of the womb, but do not let +the smell go up her nose. A dry diet must still be adhered to and the +moderate use of Venus is advisable. Let her eat aniseed biscuits +instead of bread, and roast meat instead of boiled. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER VII + + _Of the Descending or Falling of the Womb._ + + +The descent of the womb is caused by a relaxation of the ligatures, +whereby the matrix is carried backward, and in some women it protrudes +to the size of an egg, and there are two kinds of this, distinguished by +a descending and a precipitation. The descending of the womb is, when it +sinks down to the entrance of the private parts, and appears either very +little or not at all, to the eye. Its precipitation is when it is turned +inside out like a purse, and hangs out between the thighs, like a +cupping glass. + + + +CAUSE. + +This is either external or internal. The external cause is difficult +childbirth, violent pulling away, or inexperience in drawing away the +child, violent coughing, sneezing, falls, blows, and carrying heavy +burdens. The internal cause, is generally the flow of too much moisture +into these parts, which hinders the operation of the womb, whereby the +ligaments by which the womb is supported are relaxed. The particular +cause, however, lies in the retention of the _semen_, or in the +suppression of the monthly courses. + + + +SIGNS. + +The principal gut and the bladder are often so crushed, that the passage +of both evacuations is hindered. If the urine flows out white and thick, +and the midriff is interfered with, the loins suffer, the private parts +are in pain, and the womb descends to them, or else comes clean out. + + + +PROGNOSTICS. + +If an old woman is thus affected, the cure is very difficult, because it +weakens the womb, and therefore, though it may be put back into its +proper place, yet it is apt to get displaced again, by a very slight +amount of illness. And also with younger women, if this disease is +inveterate, and if it is caused by putrefaction of the nerves, it is +incurable. + + + +CURE. + +The womb, being placed by nature between the straight gut and the +bladder, ought not to be put back again until the powers of both are +excited. Now that nature is relieved of her burden, let the woman be +laid on her back so that her legs may be higher than her head; let her +feet be drawn up towards her private parts, and her knees spread open. +Then apply oil of sweet almonds and lilies, or a decoction of mallows, +beet, fenugreek and linseed, to the swelling; when the inflammation is +reduced, let the midwife rub her hand with oil of mastic, and restore +the womb to its proper place. When the matrix is up, the patient's +position must be changed. Her legs must be put out quite straight and +laid together, and apply six cupping glasses to her breast and navel. +Boil feverfew, mugwort, red rose leaves and comfrey in red wine; make a +suffumigation for the matrix, and apply sweet scents to her nose. When +she comes out of her bath, give her an ounce of syrup of feverfew with a +drachm of dog's tooth (_mithridate_). Take three drachms each of +laudanum and mastic, and make a plaster for the navel of it, and then +make pessaries of asafoetida, saffron, comfrey, and mastic, adding a +little castor oil.--Parius in such cases makes his pessaries only of +cork, shaped like a small egg; he covered them with wax and mastic +dissolved together, and fastening them to a thread, he put them into the +womb. + +The immediate danger being now removed and the matrix returned to its +natural place the remote cause must be got rid of. If she be of full +habit of body open a vein, after preparing her with syrup of betony, +calamint, hyssop and feverfew. Give a purge, and if the stomach be +oppressed with any crude matter relieve it by emetics and by sudorifics +of lignum sanctum and sassafras taken twenty days consecutively, which +dry up the superfluous moisture, and consequently suppress the cause of +the disease. + +The air should be hot and dry, and her diet hot and attenuating. Let her +abstain from dancing, jumping, sneezing, as well as from all mental and +bodily emotions, eat sparingly, not drink much, and be moderate in her +sleep. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + _Of the Inflammation of the Womb._ + + +The phlegmon, or inflammation of the matrix, is a humour which affects +the whole womb, and is accompanied by unnatural heat, by obstruction and +by an accumulation of corrupt blood. + + + +CAUSE. + +The cause of this affection is suppression of the courses, fullness of +body, the immoderate use of sexual intercourse, frequent handling the +genitals, difficult child-birth, violent motions of the body, falls, +blows, to which may be added, the use of strong pessaries, whereby the +womb is frequently inflamed, cupping glasses, also, fastened to the +_pubis_ and _hypogastrium_, draw the humours of the womb. + + + +SIGNS. + +The signs are pains in the lower parts of the body and head, humours, +sickness, coldness in the knees, throbbing in the neck, palpitation of +the heart. Often, also, there is shortness of breath because of the +heart which is close to the midriff, and the breasts sympathising with +the swollen and painful womb. Besides this, if the front of the matrix +be inflamed, the privates suffer, and the urine is suppressed, or only +flows with difficulty. If the hinder part be inflamed, the loins and +back suffer, and the bowels are very costive; if the right side be +inflamed, the right hip suffers, and the right leg is heavy and moves +slowly, so that at times she seems almost lame. If, however, the left +side of the womb be inflamed, then the left hip suffers and the left leg +is weaker than the right. If the neck of the womb is affected, by +putting her finger in, the midwife feels that its mouth is contracted +and closed up, and that it is hard round it. + + + +CURE. + +In the cure, first of all, let the humours which flow to the womb be +expelled. To effect this, after the bowels have been loosened by cooling +clysters bleeding will be necessary. Therefore, open a vein in the arm, +if she is not with child; the day after strike the saphena in both feet, +fasten ligatures and cupping glasses to the arm, and rub the upper part. +Purge gently with cassia, rhubarb, senna and myrobalan. Take one drachm +of senna, a scruple of aniseed, myrobalan, half an ounce, with a +sufficient quantity of barley water. Make a decoction and dissolve syrup +of succory in it, and two ounces of rhubarb; pound half an ounce of +cassia with a few drops of oil of aniseed and make a draught. At the +commencement of the disease, anoint the private parts and loins with oil +of roses and quinces: make plasters of plantain, linseed, barley meal, +melilot, fenugreek, white of eggs, and if the pain be intense, a little +laudanum; foment the genitals with a decoction of poppy-heads, purslace, +knot-grass and water-lilies. Make injections of goat's milk, rose water, +clarified whey and honey of roses. When the disease is on a decline, use +injections of sage, linseed, mugwort, pennyroyal, horehound, fenugreek, +and anoint the lower parts of the stomach with oil of camomiles and +violets. + +Take four ounces each of lily and mallow roots, a handful of dog's +mercury, a handful and a half each of mugwort, feverfew, camomile +flowers and melilot, bruise the herbs and roots, and boil them in a +sufficient quantity of milk; then add two ounces each of fresh butter, +oil of camomiles and lilies, with a sufficient quantity of bran, make +two plasters, and apply one before and the other behind. + +If the tumour cannot be removed, but seems inclined to suppurate, take +three drachms each of fenugreek, mallow roots, boiled figs, linseed, +barley meal, dove's dung and turpentine; half a drachm of deer's suet, +half a scruple of opium and make a plaster of wax. + +Take bay leaves, sage, hyssop, camomiles, and mugwort, and make an +infusion in water. + +Take half a handful of wormwood and betony and half a pint each of white +wine and milk, boil them until reduced to half; then take four ounces of +this decoction and make an injection, but you must be careful that the +humours are not brought down into the womb. Take three drachms each of +roast figs, and bruised dog's mercury; three drachms each of turpentine +and duck's grease, and two grains of opium; make a pessary with wax. + +The room must be kept cool, and all motions of the body, especially of +the lower parts, must be prohibited. Wakefulness is to be recommended, +for humours are carried inward by sleep, and thus inflammation is +increased. Eat sparingly, and drink only barley water or clarified whey, +and eat chickens and chicken broth, boiled with endive, succory, sorrel, +bugloss and mallows. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER IX + + _Of Scirrhous Tumours, or Hardness of the Womb._ + + +A _scirrhus_, or a hard unnatural swelling of the matrix is generally +produced by neglected, or imperfectly cured phlegm, which, insensibly, +hinders the functions of the womb, and predisposes the whole body to +listlessness. + + + +CAUSE. + +One cause of this disease may be ascribed to want of judgment on the +part of the physician, as many empirics when attending to inflammation +of the womb, chill the humour so much that it can neither pass backward +nor forward, and hence, the matter being condensed, turns into a hard, +stony substance. Other causes may be suppression of the menses, +retention of the _Lochein_, commonly called the after purging; eating +decayed meat, as in the disordered longing after the _pleia_ to which +pregnant women are often subject. It may, however, also proceed from +obstructions and ulcers in the matrix or from some evil affections of +the stomach or spleen. + +If the bottom of the womb be affected, she feels, as it were, a heavy +burden representing a mole,[7] yet differing from it, in that the +breasts are attenuated, and the whole body grows less. If the neck of +the womb be affected, no outward humours will appear; its mouth is +retracted and feels hard to the touch, nor can the woman have sexual +intercourse without great pain. + + + +PROGNOSTICS. + +Confirmed scirrhus is incurable, and will turn to cancer or incurable +dropsy, and when it ends in cancer it proves fatal, because as the +innate heat of these parts is almost smothered, it can hardly be +restored again. + + + +CURE. + +Where there is repletion, bleeding is advisable, therefore open a vein +in one arm and in both feet, more especially if the menses are +suppressed. + +Treat the humours with syrup of borage, succory made with a poultice, +and then take the following pills, according to the patient's strength. + +Hiera piera six drachms, two and a half drachms each of black hellebore +and polypody; a drachm and a half each of agaric, lapis lazuli, sal +Indiae, coloquintida, mix them and make two pills. After purging, +mollify the hardness as follows:--the privy parts and the neck of the +womb with an ointment of decalthea and agrippa; or take two drachms each +of opopanax, bdellium, ammoniac and myrrh, and half a drachm of saffron; +dissolve the gum in oil of lilies and sweet almond and make an ointment +with wax and turpentine. Apply diacatholicon ferellia below the navel, +and make infusions of figs, mugwort, mallows, pennyroyal, althea, fennel +roots, melilot, fenugreek and the four mollifying herbs, with oil of +dill, camomiles and lilies dissolved in it. Take three drachms of gum +bdellium, put the stone pyrites on the coals, and let her take the fumes +into her womb. Foment the privy parts with a decoction of the roots and +leaves of dane wort. Take a drachm each of gum galbanum and opopanax, +half an ounce each of juice of dane wort and mucilage of fenugreek, an +ounce of calve's marrow, and a sufficient quantity of wax, and make a +pessary. Or make a pessary of lead only, dip it in the above mentioned +things, and put it up. + +The atmosphere must be kept temperate, and gross and salt meats such as +pork, bull beef, fish and old cheese, must be prohibited. + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[7] _Mole_: "A somewhat shapeless, compact fleshy mass occurring in the +uterus, due to the retention and continued life of the whole or a part +of the foetal envelopes, after the death of the foetus (a _maternal or +true mole_); or being some other body liable to be mistaken for this, or +perhaps a polypus or false mole." (_Whitney's Century Dictionary_.) + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER X + + _Of Dropsy of the Womb._ + + +Uterine dropsy is an unnatural swelling, caused by the collection of +wind or phlegm in the cavity, membranes or substance of the womb, on +account of the want of innate heat and of sufficient alimentation, and +so it turns into an excrescence. The causes are, too much cold and +moisture of the milt and liver, immoderate drinking, eating +insufficiently cooked meat, all of which by causing repletion, overpower +the natural heat. It may likewise be caused by undue menstruation, or by +any other immoderate evacuation. To these may be added abortions, +subcutaneous inflammations and a hardened swelling of the womb. + + + +SIGNS. + +The signs of this affection are as follows:--The lower parts of the +stomach, with the genitals, are swollen and painful; the feet swell, the +natural colour of the face is lost, the appetite becomes depraved, and +there is a consequent heaviness of the whole body. If the woman turns +over in bed a noise like flowing water is heard, and sometimes water is +discharged from the womb. If the swelling is caused by wind and the +stomach feels hot, it sounds like a drum; the bowels rumble, and the +wind escapes through the neck of the womb with a murmuring noise. This +affection may be distinguished from true conception in many ways, as +will be shown in the chapter on _conception_. It is distinguished from +common dropsy, by the lower parts of the stomach being most swollen. +Again, it does not appear so injurious in this blood-producing +capability, nor is the urine so pale, nor the face so altered. The upper +parts are also not so reduced, as in usual dropsy. + + + +PROGNOSTICS. + +This affection foretells the ruin of the natural functions, by that +peculiar sympathy it has with the liver, and that, therefore, +_kathydria_, or general dropsy will follow. + + + +CURE. + +In the cure of this disease, imitate the practice of Hippocrates, and +first mitigate the pain with fomentations of melilot, dog's mercury, +mallows, linseed, camomiles and althoea. Then let the womb be prepared +with syrup of stoebis, hyssop, calamint, mugwort, with distilled water, +a decoction of elder, marjoram, sage, origan, spearage, pennyroyal, and +betony. Purge with senna, agaric, rhubarb, and claterium. Take spicierum +hier, a scruple each of rhubarb, agaric lozenges, and make into pills +with iris juice. + +When diseases arise from moistness, purge with pills, and in those +affections which are caused by emptiness or dryness, purge by means of a +draught. Apply cupping glasses to the stomach and also to the navel, +especially if the swelling be flatulent. Put a seton on to the inside of +each leg, the width of a hand below the knee. Take two drachms each of +sparganium, diambrae, diamolet, diacaliminti, diacinamoni, myrrh +lozenges, and a pound of sugar; make these into lozenges with betony +water, and take them two hours before meals. Apply a little bag of +camomiles, cummin and melilot boiled in oil of rue, to the bottom of the +stomach as hot as it can be borne; anoint the stomach and the privates +with unguent agripp, and unguent aragon. Mix iris oil with it, and cover +the lower part of the stomach with a plaster of bay berries, or a +cataplasm made of cummin, camomiles, briony root, adding cows' and +goats' dung. + +Our modern medical writers ascribe great virtues to tobacco-water, +injected into the womb by means of a clyster. Take a handful each of +balm of southernwood, origanum, wormwood, calamint, bay berries and +marjoram, and four drachms of juniper berries; make a decoction of these +in water, and use this for fomentations and infusions. Make pessaries of +storax, aloes, with the roots of dictam, aristolochia and gentian, but +instead of this you may use the pessary prescribed at the end of Chapter +XVII. Let her take aromatic electuary, disatyrion and candied eringo +roots, every morning. + +The air must be hot and dry, moderate exercise is to be taken and too +much sleep prohibited. She may eat the flesh of partridges, larks, +grouse, hares, rabbits, etc., and let her drink diluted urine. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XI + + _Of Moles[8] and False Conceptions._ + + +This disease may be defined as an inarticulate shapeless piece of flesh, +begotten in the womb as if it were true conception. In this definition +we must note two things: (1) because a mole is said to be inarticulate +or jointless, and without shape, it differs from monstrosities which are +both _formata_ and _articulata_; (2) it is said to be, as it were a true +conception, which makes a difference between a true conception, and a +mole, and this difference holds good in three ways. First, in its genus, +because a mole cannot be said to be an animal: secondly, in the species, +because it has not a human figure and has not the character of a man; +thirdly, in the individual, for it has no affinity to the parent, either +in the whole body, or in any particular part of it. + + + +CAUSE. + +There is a great difference of opinion amongst learned writers as to the +cause of this affection. Some think, that if the woman's seed goes into +the womb, and not the man's, that the mole is produced thereby. Others +declare that it springs from the menstruous blood, but if these two +things were granted, then virgins, by having their courses or through +nocturnal pollutions, might be liable to the same things, which none +have ever been yet. The true cause of this fleshy mole is due both to +the man and from the menstruous blood in the woman both mixing together +in the cavity of the womb. Nature finding herself weak there (and yet +wishing to propagate her species), labours to bring forth a defective +conception rather than nothing and instead of a living creature produces +a lump of flesh. + + + +SIGNS. + +The signs of a mole are these. The _menses_ are suppressed, the appetite +becomes depraved, the breasts swell and the stomach becomes inflated and +hard. So far the symptoms in a pregnant woman and in one that has a mole +are the same, but now this is how they differ. The first sign of +difference is in the movements of a mole. It may be felt moving in the +womb before the third month, whereas an infant cannot be so felt; yet +this motion cannot proceed from any intelligent power in the mole, but +from the capabilities of the womb, and of the seminal vigour, +distributed through the substance of the mole, for it does not live an +animal, but a vegetable life, like a plant. _Secondly_, in a mole the +stomach swells suddenly, but in true conception it is first contracted, +and then rises by degrees. _Thirdly_, if the stomach is pressed with the +hand, the mole gives way, and returns to its former position as soon as +the hand is removed. But a child in the womb does not move immediately +though pressed with the hand, and when the hand is removed it returns +slowly or not at all. _Lastly_, no child continues in the womb more than +eleven months, but a mole continues for four or five years, more or +less, sometimes according as it is fastened to the matrix; and I have +known a mole pass away in four or five months. If, however, it remains +until the eleventh month, the woman's legs grow weak and the whole body +wastes away, but the stomach still increases, which makes some women +think that they are dropsical, though there is no reason for it, for in +dropsy the legs swell and grow big, but in a mole they wither and fall +away. + + + +CURE. + +In the school of Hippocrates we are taught that bleeding causes +abortion, by taking all the nourishment which should preserve the life +of the embryo. In order, therefore, that this faulty conception may be +deprived of that nourishing sap by which it lives, open the liver vein +and saphena in both feet, apply cupping glasses to the loins and sides +of the stomach, and when that has been done, let the uterine parts be +first softened, and then the expulsive powers be stimulated to get rid +of the burden. + +In order to relax the ligatures of the mole, take three handfuls of +mallows with their roots, two handfuls each of camomiles, melilot, +pellitory of the wall, violet leaves, dog's mercury, fennel roots, +parsley, and one pound each of linseed and fenugreek; boil them in oil +and let the patient sit in it up to her navel. When she comes out of her +bath, she should anoint her private parts and loins with the following +ointment:--"Take one ounce each of oil of camomiles, lilies and sweet +almonds: half an ounce each of fresh butter, laudanum and ammoniac, and +make an ointment with oil of lilies. Or, instead of this, you may use +unguentum agrippae or dialthea. Take a handful of dog's mercury and +althea roots; half a handful of flos brochae ursini; six ounces of +linseed and barley meal. Boil all these together in honey and water and +make a plaster, and make pessaries of gum galbanum, bdellium, ammoniac, +figs, pig's fat and honey. + +After the ligaments of the mole are loosened, let the expulsive powers +be stimulated to expel the mole, and for doing this, all those drugs may +be used which are adapted to bring on the courses. Take one ounce of +myrrh lozenges, half an ounce each of castor, astrolachia, gentian and +dittany and make them into a powder, and take one drachm in four ounces +of mugwort water. Take calamint, pennyroyal, betony, hyssop, sage, +horehound, valerian, madder and savine; make a decoction in water and +take three ounces of it, with one and a half ounces of feverfew. Take +three scruples each of mugwort, myrrh, gentian and pill. coch.; a drachm +each of rue, pennyroyal and opopanax, and the same of asafoetida, +cinnamon, juniper-berries and borage, and make into pills with savine +juice, to be taken every morning. Make an infusion of hyssop, bay +leaves, bay berries, calamint, camomiles, mugwort and savine. Take two +scruples each of sacopenium, mugwort, savine, cloves, nutmeg, bay +berries; one drachm of galbanum; one scruple each of hiera piera and +black hellebore, and make a pessary with turpentine. + +But if these medicaments are not procurable, then the mole must be +pulled out by means of an instrument called the _pes gryphis_,[9] which +may be done without much danger if it be performed by a skilful surgeon. +After she has been delivered of the mole (because the woman will have +lost much blood already), let the flow of blood be stopped as soon as +possible. + +Apply cupping glasses to the shoulders and ligatures to the arms, and if +this be not effective, open the liver vein in the arm. + +The atmosphere of the room must be kept tolerably dry and warm, and she +must be put on a dry diet, to soothe the system; she must, however, +drink white wine. + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[8] _Mole_: "A somewhat shapeless, compact fleshy mass occurring in the +uterus, due to the retention and continued life of the whole or a part +of the foetal envelopes, after the death of the foetus (_a maternal or +true mole_); or being some other body liable to be mistaken for this, or +perhaps a polypus or false mole." (_Whitney's Century Dictionary_.) + +[9] _Griffin's claw_, a peculiar hooked instrument. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XII + + _Of Conception and its Signs, and How a Woman may know whether it + be Male or Female._ + + +Ignorance often makes women the murderesses of the fruit of their own +body, for many, having conceived and finding themselves out of order, +and not rightly knowing the cause, go to the shop of their own conceit +and take whatever they think fit, or else (as the custom is) they send +to the doctor for a remedy, and he, not perceiving the cause of their +trouble, for nothing can be diagnosed accurately by the urine, +prescribes what he thinks best; perhaps some diuretic or cathartic, +which destroy the embryo. Therefore Hippocrates says, it is necessary +that women should be instructed in the signs of conception, so that the +parent as well as the child may be saved from danger. I shall, +therefore, lay down some rules, by which every woman may know whether +she is pregnant or not, and the signs will be taken from the woman, from +her urine, from the child and from experiments. + + + +SIGNS. + +The first day after conception, she feels a slight quivering and +chilliness throughout her body; there is a tickling of the womb and a +little pain in the lower parts of her stomach. Ten or twelve days after +she feels giddy and her eyes dim and with circles round them; the +breasts swell and grow hard, with some pain and pricking in them, whilst +the stomach rises and sinks again by degrees, and there is a hardness +about the navel. The nipples grow red, the heart beats unusually +strongly, the natural appetite abates, and the woman has a craving after +strange food. The neck of the womb is contracted, so that it can +scarcely be felt when the finger is put in. And the following is an +infallible sign; she is alternately in high spirits and melancholy; the +monthly courses cease without any apparent cause, the evacuations from +the bowels are retained unusually long, by the womb pressing on the +large gut, and her desire for sexual intercourse is diminished. The +surest sign is taken from the infant, which begins to move in the womb +in the third or fourth month, and not in the manner of a mole, mentioned +above, from side to side like a stone, but gently, as may be perceived +by applying the hand cold upon the stomach. + + + +SIGNS TAKEN FROM THE URINE. + +The best writers affirm that the water of a pregnant woman is white and +has little specks in it, like those in a sunbeam, ascending and +descending in it, of an opal colour, and when the sediment is disturbed +by shaking the urine, it looks like carded wool. In the middle of +gestation it turns yellow, then red and lastly black, with a red film. +At night on going to bed, let her drink water and honey, and if +afterwards she feels a beating pain in her stomach and about the navel, +she has conceived. Or let her take the juice of cardius, and if she +brings it up again, that is a sign of conception. Throw a clean needle +into the woman's urine, put it into a basin and let it stand all night. +If it is covered with red spots in the morning, she has conceived, but +if it has turned black and rusty, she has not. + + + +SIGNS TAKEN FROM THE SEX, TO SHOW WHETHER IT BE A MALE OR FEMALE. + +If it is a male, the right breast swells first, the right eye is +brighter than the left, the face is high-coloured, because the colour is +such as the blood is, and as the male is conceived of purer blood and of +more perfect seed than the female, red specks in the urine, and making a +sediment, show that a male has been conceived, but if they are white, a +female. Put the urine of the woman into a glass bottle, let it stand +tightly stoppered for two days, then strain it through a fine cloth, +and you will find little animals in it. If they are red, it is a male, +but if white, it is a female. + +The belly is rounder and lies higher with a boy than with a girl, and +the right breast is harder and plumper than the left, and the right +nipple redder, and the woman's colour is clearer than when she has +conceived a girl. + +To conclude, the most certain sign to give credit to, is the motion of +the child, for the male moves in the third month, and the female not +until the fourth. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + _Of Untimely Births._ + + +When the fruit of the womb comes forth before the seventh month (that +is, before it comes to maturity), it is said to be abortive; and, in +effect, the children prove abortive, that is, do not live, that are born +in the eighth month. Why children born in the seventh or ninth month +should live, and not those born in the eighth, may seem strange, and yet +it is true. The cause of it is ascribed by some to the planet under +which the child is born; for every month, from conception to birth, is +governed by its own planet, and in the eighth month Saturn predominates, +which is dry and cold; and coldness, being an utter enemy to life, +destroys the natural constitution of the child. Hippocrates gives a +better reason, viz.:--The infant, being every way perfect and complete +in the seventh month, wants more air and nourishment than it had before, +and because it cannot obtain this, it tries for a passage out. But if it +have not sufficient strength to break the membranes and to come out as +ordained by nature, it will continue in the womb until the ninth month, +so that by that time it may be again strengthened. But if it returns to +the attempt in the eighth month and be born, it cannot live, because the +day of its birth is either past or is to come. For in the eighth month +Avicunus says, it is weak and infirm, and therefore on being brought +into the cold air, its vitality must be destroyed. + + + +CURE. + +Untimely births may be caused by cold, for as it causes the fruit of the +tree to wither and fall before it is ripe, so it nips the fruit of the +womb before it comes to perfection, or makes it abortive;--sometimes by +humidity, which weakens its power, so that the fruit cannot be retained +until the proper time. It may be caused by dryness or emptiness, which +rob the child of its nourishment, or by an alvine discharge, by bleeding +or some other evacuation, by inflammation of the womb, and other severe +disease. Sometimes it is caused by joy, anger, laughter and especially +by fear, for then the heat forsakes the womb, and goes to the heart, and +so the cold sinks into the womb, whereby the ligaments are relaxed, and +so abortion follows. On this account, Plato recommended that the woman +should avoid all temptations to excessive joy and pleasure, as well as +all occasions for fear and grief. Abortion may also be caused by the +pollution of the air by filthy odours, and especially by the smell of +the smouldering wick of a candle, and also by falls, blows, violent +exercise, jumping, dancing, etc. + + + +SIGNS. + +Signs of coming abortion are a falling away of the breast, with a flow +of watery milk, pains in the womb, heaviness in the head, unusual +weariness in the hips and thighs, and a flowing of the courses. Signs +denoting that the fruit is dead in the womb are sunken eyes, pains in +the head, frights, paleness of the face and lips, gnawing at the +stomach, no movements of the infant; coldness and looseness of the +mouth of the womb. The stomach falls down, whilst watery and bloody +discharges come from the womb. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + + _Directions for Pregnant Women._ + + +The prevention of untimely births consists in removing the +aforementioned causes, which must be effected both before and after +conception. + +Before conception, if the body be too hot, dry or moist, employ such +treatment as to counteract the symptoms; if the blood be vitiated purify +it, if plethoric, open the liver vein; if gross, reduce it; if too thin +strengthen and nourish it. All the diseases of the womb must be removed +as I have shown. + +After conception, let the atmosphere be kept temperate, do not sleep too +much, avoid late hours, too much bodily exercise, mental excitement, +loud noises and bad smells, and sweet smells must also be avoided by +those who are hysterical. Refrain from all things that may provoke +either urine or menstruation, also salt, sour, and windy food, and keep +to a moderate diet. + +If the bowels are confined, relieve the stomach with injections made of +a decoction of mallows and violets, with sugar and salad oil; or make a +broth with borage, buglos, beetroot, and mallows, and add a little manna +to it. If, on the other hand, she be troubled with looseness of the +bowels, do not check it with medical advice, for all the uterine fluxes +have some bad qualities in them, which must be evacuated before the +discharge is stopped. + +A cough is another thing to which pregnant women are frequently liable, +and which causes them to run great danger of miscarrying, by the shock +and continual drain upon the vein. To prevent this shave off the hair +from the coronal commissures, and apply the following plaster to the +place. + +Take half an ounce of resin, a drachm of laudanum, a drachm each of +citron peel, lignaloes and galbanum, with a sufficient quantity of +liquid and dry styrax. Dissolve the gum in vinegar and make a plaster, +and at night let her inhale the fumes of these lozenges, thrown upon +bright coals. Take also a drachm and a half each of frankincense, styrax +powder and red roses: eight drachms of sandrich, a drachm each of +mastic, benjamin and amber; make into lozenges with turpentine, and +apply a cautery to the nape of the neck. And every night let her take +the following pills:--Half an ounce each of hypocistides, terrae +sigilatae and fine bole; two drachms each of bistort, alcatia, styrax +and calamint, and one drachm of cloves, and make into pills with syrup +of myrtles. + +In pregnant women, a corrupt matter is generated which, flowing to the +ventricle, spoils the appetite and causes sickness. As the stomach is +weak, and cannot digest this matter, it sometimes sends it to the bowels +which causes a flux of the stomach, which greatly adds to the weakness +of the womb. To prevent all these dangers the stomach must be +strengthened by the following means:--Take one drachm each of lignaloes +and nutmeg; a scruple each of mace, cloves, mastic, laudanum; an ounce +of oil of spikenard; two grains of musk, half an ounce each of oil of +mastic, quinces and wormwood, and make into an ointment for the stomach, +to be applied before meals. Instead of this, however, you may use +cerocum stomachile Galeni. Take half an ounce each of conserve of +borage, buglos and atthos; two drachms each of confection of hyacinths, +candied lemon peel, specierum, diamarg, pulo. de genunis: two scruples +each of nutmeg and diambra; two drachma each of peony roots and +diacoratum, and make into an electuary with syrup of roses, which she +must take twice a day before meals. Another affection which troubles a +pregnant woman is swelling of the legs, which happens during the first +three months, by the superfluous humours descending from the stomach and +liver. To cure this, take two drachms of oil of roses, and one drachm +each of salt and vinegar; shake them together until the salt is +dissolved, and anoint the legs with it hot, rubbing it well in with the +hand. It may be done without danger during the fourth, fifth and sixth +months of pregnancy; for a child in the womb is compared to an apple on +the tree. For the first three months it is a weak and tender subject, +like the apple, to fall away; but afterwards, when the membranes become +strengthened, the fruit remains firmly fastened to the womb, and not +subject to mischances, and so it remains, until the seventh month, until +when it is near the time, the ligaments are again relaxed (like the +apple that is almost ripe). + +They grow looser every day, until the appointed time for delivery; if, +therefore, the body is in real need of purging, the woman may do it +without danger in the fourth, fifth or sixth month, but neither before +nor after that unless in the case of some violent illness, in which it +is possible that both mother and child may perish. Apply plasters and +ointments to the loins in order to strengthen the fruit in the womb. +Take one drachm each of gum Arabic, galangale, bistort, hypocistid and +storax, a drachm and a half each of fine bole, nutmeg, mastic, balaust, +dragon's blood and myrtle berries, and a sufficient quantity of wax and +turpentine and make into a plaster. Apply it to the loins in the winter, +and remove it every twenty-four hours, lest the loins should become +overheated by it. In the interim, anoint the private parts and loins +with _countess' balsam_ but if it be summer time and the loins hot, the +following plaster will be more suitable. Take a pound of red roses, two +drachms each of mastic and red Sanders, one drachm each of bole ammoniac +and red coral, two drachms and a half each of pomegranate seed and +prepared coriander seed, two scruples of barberries, one ounce each of +oil of mastic and of quinces, and plantain-juice. + +Anoint the loins also with sandalwood ointment, and once a week wash +them with two parts of rose-water and one of white wine mixed together +and warmed at the fire. This will assuage the heat of the loins, get rid +of the oil of the plaster from the pores of the skin, and cause the +fresh ointment or plaster to penetrate more easily, and to strengthen +the womb. Some think that a load-stone laid upon the navel, keeps a +woman from abortion. The same thing is also stated of the stone called +_aetites_ or eagle-stone, if it is hung round the neck. Samian stone has +the same virtue. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XV + + _Directions for Women when they are taken in Labour, to ensure + their safe Delivery, and Directions for Midwives._ + + +Having thus given the necessary directions to pregnant women, how to +manage their health during their pregnancy, I will now add what is +necessary for them to do, in order that they may be safely delivered. + +When the time of birth draws near, the woman must be sure to send for a +skilful midwife, and that rather too soon than too late. She must have a +pallet bed ready to place it near the fire, so that the midwife and +those who are to help her, may be able to pass round it, and give +assistance on either side, as may be required. A change of linen must be +in readiness, and a small stool to rest her feet against, as she will +have more power when her legs are bent, than when they are straight. + +When everything is thus ready, and when the woman feels the pains coming +on, if the weather be not cold, she should walk about the room, rest on +the bed occasionally, waiting for the breaking of the waters, which is a +fluid contained in one of the outward membranes, and which flows out +thence, when the membrane is broken by the struggles of the child. There +is no special time for this discharge, though it generally takes place +about two hours before the birth. Movements will also cause the womb to +open and dilate, and when lying long in bed will be uncomfortable. If +she be very weak she may take some mild cordial to give her strength, if +her pain will permit her; and if the labour be tedious, she may be +revived with chicken or mutton broth, or she may take a poached egg; but +she must be very careful not to eat to excess. + +There are many postures in which women are delivered; some sitting in a +chair, supported by others, or resting on the bed; some again upon their +knees and resting on their arms; but the safest and most commodious way, +is in the bed, and then the midwife ought to observe the following +rules:--Let her lay the woman upon her back, with her head a little +raised by means of a pillow, with similar supports for her loins and +buttocks, which latter should also be raised, for if she lies low, she +cannot be delivered so easily. Then let her keep her knees and thighs as +far apart as she can, her legs bent inward towards each other, and her +buttocks, the soles of her feet and her heels being placed upon a small +rest, placed for the purpose, so that she may be able to strain the +stronger. In case her back should be very weak, a swathing band should +be placed under it, the band being doubled four times and about four +inches broad. This must be held by two persons who must raise her up a +little every time her pains come on, with steady hands and in even time, +but if they be not exact in their movements, they had better leave her +alone. At the same time two women must hold her shoulders so that she +may strain out the foetus more easily; and to facilitate this let one +stroke or press the upper part of her stomach gently and by degrees. The +woman herself must not be nervous or downhearted, but courageous, and +forcing herself by straining and holding her breath. + +When delivery is near, the midwife must wait patiently until the child's +head, or some limb, bursts the membranes, for if the midwife through +ignorance, or through haste to go to some other woman, as some have +done, tears the membrane with her nails, she endangers both the woman +and the child; for by lying dry and lacking that slipperiness which +should make it easy, it comes forth with severe pains. + +When the head appears, the midwife must hold it gently between her +hands, and draw the child, whenever the woman's pains are upon her, but +at no other times; slipping her forefingers under its armpits by +degrees, and not using a rough hand in drawing it out, lest the tender +infant might become deformed by such means. As soon as the child is +taken out, which is usually with its face downwards,--it should be laid +upon its back, that it may receive external respiration more freely; +then cut the navel string about three inches from the body, tying the +end which adheres to it with a silk string, as closely as you can; then +cover the child's head and stomach well, allowing nothing to touch its +face. + +When the child has been thus brought forth, if it be healthy lay it +aside, and let the midwife attend to the patient by drawing out the +afterbirth; and this she may do by wagging and stirring it up and down, +and afterwards drawing it out gently. And if the work be difficult, let +the woman hold salt in her hands, close them tightly and breathe hard +into them, and by that she will know whether the membranes are broken or +not. It may also be known by making her strain or vomit; by putting her +fingers down her throat, or by straining or moving her lower parts, but +let all be done immediately. If this should fail, let her take a draught +of elder water, or the yolk of a new laid egg, and smell a piece of +asafoetida, especially if she is troubled with a windy colic. If she +happen to take cold, it is a great obstruction to the afterbirth; in +such cases the midwife ought to chafe the woman's stomach gently, so as +to break, not only the wind, but also to force the secundine to come +down. But if these should prove ineffectual, the midwife must insert her +hand into the orifice of the womb and draw it out gently. + +Having thus discussed common births, or such as are generally easy, I +shall now give directions in cases of extremity. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + + _What ought to be done in cases of extremity, especially in women + who, in labour, are attacked by a flux of blood, convulsions and + fits of wind._ + + +If the woman's labour be hard and difficult, greater care must be taken +than at other times. And, first of all, the situation of the womb and +her position in lying must be across the bed, and she must be held by +strong persons to prevent her from slipping down or moving during the +surgeon's operations. Her thighs must be put as far apart as possible, +and held so, whilst her head must rest upon a bolster, and her loins be +supported in the same manner. After her rump and buttocks have been +raised, be careful to cover her stomach, belly and thighs with warm +clothes, to keep them from the cold. + +When the woman is in this position, let the operator put up his or her +hand, if the neck of the womb be dilated, and remove the coagulated +blood that obstructs the passage of the birth; and by degrees make way +gently, let him remove the infant tenderly, having first anointed his +hand with butter or some harmless salve. And if the waters have not come +down, they may then be let out without difficulty. Then, if the infant +should attempt to come out head foremost, or crosswise, he should turn +it gently, to find the feet. Having done this, let him draw out one and +fasten it with ribbon and then put it up again, and by degrees find the +other, bringing them as close together and as even as possible, and +between whiles let the woman breathe, and she should be urged to strain +so as to help nature in the birth, that it may be brought forth. And to +do this more easily, and that the hold may be surer, wrap a linen cloth +round the child's thighs, taking care to bring it into the hand face +downwards. + +In case of flux of blood, if the neck of the womb be open, it must be +considered whether the infant or the _secundine_, generally called the +afterbirth, comes first, and as the latter happens to do so +occasionally, it stops the mouth of the womb and hinders the birth, and +endangers both the woman's and the child's life. In this case the +afterbirth must be removed by a quick turn. They have deceived many +people, who, feeling their softness, have supposed that the womb was not +dilated, and by that means the woman and child, or at least the latter, +have been lost. When the afterbirth has been removed, the child must be +sought for and drawn out, as directed above; and if the woman or the +child die in such a case, the midwife or the surgeon are blameless +because they have used their best endeavours. + +If it appears upon examination that the afterbirth comes first, let the +woman be delivered as quickly as possible, because a great flow of blood +will follow, for the veins are opened, and on this account two things +have to be considered. + +_First_:--The manner in which the afterbirth advances, whether it be +much or little. If the former, and the head of the child appears first, +it may be guided and directed towards the neck of the womb, as in the +case of natural birth, but if there appears any difficulty in the +delivery, the best way is to look for the feet, and draw it out by them; +but if the latter, the afterbirth may be put back with a gentle hand, +and the child taken out first. But if the afterbirth has come so far +forward that it cannot be put back, and the child follows it closely, +then the afterbirth must be removed very carefully, and as quickly as +may be, and laid aside without cutting the entrail that is fastened to +it; for you may be guided to the infant by it, which must be drawn out +by the feet, whether it be alive or dead, as quickly as possible; though +this is not to be done except in cases of great necessity, for in other +cases the afterbirth ought to come last. + +In drawing out a dead child, these directions should be carefully +followed by the surgeon, viz.--If the child be found to be dead, its +head appearing first, the delivery will be more difficult; for it is an +evident sign that the woman's strength is beginning to fail her, that, +as the child is dead and has no natural power, it cannot be assisting in +its own delivery in any way. Therefore the most certain and the safest +way for the surgeon is, to put up his left hand, sliding it into the +neck of the womb, and into the lower part of it towards the feet, as +hollow in the palm as he can, and then between the head of the infant +and the neck of the womb. Then, having a forceps in the right hand, slip +it up above the left hand, between the head of the child and the flat of +the hand, fixing it in the bars of the temple near the eye. As these +cannot be got at easily in the occipital bone, be careful still to keep +the hand in its place, and gently move the head with it, and so with the +right hand and the forceps draw the child forward, and urge the woman to +exert all her strength, and continue drawing whenever her pains come on. +When the head is drawn out, he must immediately slip his hand under the +child's armpits, and take it quite out, and give the woman a piece of +toasted white bread, in a quarter of a pint of Hippocras wine. + +If the former application fails let the woman take the following potion +hot when she is in bed, and remain quiet until she begins to feel it +operating. + +Take seven blue figs, cut them into pieces and add five grains each of +fenugreek, motherwort and rue seed, with six ounces each of water of +pennyroyal and motherwort; reduce it to half the quantity by boiling and +after straining add one drachm of troches of myrrh and three grains of +saffron; sweeten the liquor with loaf sugar, and spice it with +cinnamon.--After having rested on this, let her strain again as much as +possible, and if she be not successful, make a fumigation of half a +drachm each of castor, opopanax, sulphur and asafoetida, pounding them +into a powder and wetting the juice of rue, so that the smoke or fumes +may go only into the matrix and no further. + +If this have not the desired effect, then the following plaster should +be applied:--Take an ounce and a half of balganum, two drachms of +colocynth, half an ounce each of the juice of motherwort and of rue, and +seven ounces of virgin bees' wax: pound and melt them together, +spreading them on a cere-cloth so that they may spread from the navel to +the os pubis and extending to the flanks, at the same time making a +pessary of wood, enclosing it in a silk bag, and dipping it in a +decoction of one drachm each of sound birthwort, savin colocinthis, +stavescare and black hellebore, with a small sprig or two of rue. + +But if these things have not the desired effect, and the woman's danger +increases, let the surgeon use his instruments to dilate and widen the +womb, for which purpose the woman must be placed on a chair, so that she +may turn her buttocks as far from its back as possible, at the same time +drawing up her legs as close as she can and spreading her thighs open as +wide as possible; or if she is very weak it may be better to lay her on +the bed with her head downwards, her buttocks raised and both legs drawn +up. Then the surgeon may dilate the womb with his speculum matrices and +draw out the child and the afterbirth together, if it be possible, and +when this is done, the womb must be well washed and anointed, and the +woman put back to bed and comforted with spices and cordials. This +course must be adopted in the case of dead children and moles, +afterbirths and false births, which will not come out of themselves, at +the proper time. If the aforementioned instrument will not widen the +womb sufficiently, then other instruments, such as the drake's bill, or +long pincers, ought to be used. + +If any inflammation, swelling or congealed blood happens to be +contracted in the womb under the film of these tumours, either before or +after the birth, let the midwife lance it with a penknife or any +suitable instrument, and squeeze out the matter, healing it with a +pessary dipped in oil of red roses. + +If the child happens at any time to be swollen through cold or violence, +or has contracted a watery humour, if it is alive, such means must be +used as are least injurious to the child or mother; but if it be dead, +the humours must be let out by incisions, to facilitate the birth. + +If, as often happens, the child is presented feet foremost, with the +hands spreading out from the hips, the midwife must in such a case be +provided with the necessary ointments to rub and anoint the child with, +to help it coming forth, lest it should turn into the womb again, +holding both the infant's arms close to the hips at the same time, that +it may come out in this manner; but if it proves too big, the womb must +be well anointed. The woman should also take a sneezing powder, to make +her strain; the attendant may also stroke her stomach gently to make the +birth descend, and to keep it from returning. + +It happens occasionally, that the child presenting itself with the feet +first, has its arms extended above its head; but the midwife must not +receive it so, but put it back into the womb, unless the passage be +extraordinarily wide, and then she must anoint both the child and the +womb, and it is not safe to draw it out, which must, therefore, be done +in this manner.--The woman must lie on her back with her head low and +her buttocks raised; and then the midwife must compress the stomach and +the womb with a gentle hand, and by that means put the child back, +taking care to turn the child's face towards the mother's back, raising +up its thighs and buttocks towards the navel, so that the birth may be +more natural. + +If the child happens to come out with one foot, with the arm extended +along the side and the other foot turned backwards; then the woman must +be immediately put to bed and laid in the above-described position; when +the midwife must immediately put back the foot which appears so, and the +woman must rock herself from side to side, until she finds that the +child has turned, but she must not alter her position nor turn upon her +face. After this she may expect her pains and must have great assistance +and cordials so as to revive and support her spirits. + +At other times it happens that the child lies across in the womb, and +falls upon its side; in this case the woman must not be urged in her +labour; therefore, the midwife when she finds it so, must use great +diligence to reduce it to its right form, or at least to such a form in +the womb as may make the delivery possible and most easy by moving the +buttocks and guiding the head to the passage; and if she be successful +in this, let the woman rock herself to and fro, and wait with patience +till it alters its way of lying. + +Sometimes the child hastens simply by expanding its legs and arms; in +which, as in the former case, the woman must rock herself, but not with +violence, until she finds those parts fall to their proper station; or +it may be done by a gentle compression of the womb; but if neither of +them avail, the midwife must close the legs of the infant with her hand, +and if she can get there, do the like by the arms, and so draw it forth; +but if it can be reduced of itself to the posture of a proper birth it +is better. + +If the infant comes forward, both knees forward, and the hands hanging +down upon the thighs, then the midwife must put both knees upward, till +the feet appear; taking hold of which with her left hand let her keep +her right hand on the side of the child, and in that posture endeavour +to bring it forth. But if she cannot do this, then also the woman must +rock herself until the child is in a more convenient posture for +delivery. + +Sometimes it happens that the child presses forward with one arm +extended on its thighs, and the other raised over its head, and the feet +stretched out at length in the womb. In such case, the midwife must not +attempt to receive the child in that posture, but must lay the woman on +the bed in the manner aforesaid, making a soft and gentle compression on +her belly, oblige the child to retire; which if it does not, then must +the midwife thrust it back by the shoulder, and bring the arm that was +stretched above the head to its right station; for there is most danger +in these extremities; and, therefore, the midwife must anoint her hands +and the womb of the woman with sweet butter, or a proper pomatum, and +thrust her hand as near as she can to the arm of the infant, and bring +it to the side. But if this cannot be done, let the woman be laid on the +bed to rest a while; in which time, perhaps, the child may be reduced to +a better posture; which the midwife finding, she must draw tenderly the +arms close to the hips and so receive it. + +If an infant come with its buttocks foremost, and almost double, then +the midwife must anoint her hand and thrust it up, and gently heaving up +the buttocks and back, strive to turn the head to the passage, but not +too hastily, lest the infant's retiring should shape it worse: and +therefore, if it cannot be turned with the hand, the woman must rock +herself on the bed, taking such comfortable things as may support her +spirits, till she perceives the child to turn. + +If the child's neck be bowed, and it comes forward with its shoulders, +as it sometimes doth, with the hands and feet stretched upwards, the +midwife must gently move the shoulders, that she may direct the head to +the passage; and the better to effect it, the woman must rock herself as +aforesaid. + +These and other like methods are to be observed in case a woman hath +twins, or three children at a birth, which sometimes happens: for as +the single birth hath but one natural and many unnatural forms, even so +it may be in a double and treble birth. + +Wherefore, in all such cases the midwife must take care to receive the +first which is nearest the passage; but not letting the other go, lest +by retiring it should change the form; and when one is born, she must be +speedy in bringing forth the other. And this birth, if it be in the +natural way, is more easy, because the children are commonly less than +those of single birth, and so require a less passage. But if this birth +come unnaturally, it is far more dangerous than the other. + +In the birth of twins, let the midwife be very careful that the +secundine be naturally brought forth, lest the womb, being delivered of +its burden, fall, and so the secundine continue longer there than is +consistent with the woman's safety. + +But if one of the twins happens to come with the head, and the other +with the feet foremost, then let the midwife deliver the natural birth +first; and if she cannot turn the other, draw it out in the posture in +which it presses forward; but if that with its feet downward be +foremost, she may deliver that first, turning the other aside. But in +this case the midwife must carefully see that it be not a monstrous +birth, instead of twins, a body with two heads, or two bodies joined +together, which she may soon know if both the heads come foremost, by +putting up her hand between them as high as she can; and then, if she +finds they are twins she may gently put one of them aside to make way +for the other, taking the first which is most advanced, leaving the +other so that it do not change its position. And for the safety of the +other child, as soon as it comes forth out of the womb, the midwife must +tie the navel-string, as has before been directed, and also bind, with a +large, long fillet, that part of the navel which is fastened to the +secundine, the more readily to find it. + +The second infant being born, let the midwife carefully examine whether +there be not two secundines, for sometimes it falls out, that by the +shortness of the ligaments it retires back to the prejudice of the +woman. Wherefore, lest the womb should close, it is most expedient to +hasten them forth with all convenient speed. + +If two infants are joined together by the body, as sometimes it +monstrously falls out, then, though the head should come foremost, yet +it is proper, if possible, to turn them and draw them forth by the feet, +observing, when they come to the hips, to draw them out as soon as may +be. And here great care ought to be used in anointing and widening the +passage. But these sort of births rarely happening, I need to say the +less of them, and, therefore, shall show how women should be ordered +after delivery. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + + _How child-bearing Women ought to be ordered after Delivery._ + + +If a woman has had very hard labour, it is necessary that she should be +wrapped up in a sheep's skin, taken off before it is cold, applying the +fleshy side to her veins and belly, or, for want of this, the skin of a +hare or coney, flayed off as soon as killed, may be applied to the same +parts, and in so doing, a dilation being made in the birth, and the +melancholy blood being expelled in these parts, continue these for an +hour or two. + +Let the woman afterwards be swathed with fine linen cloth, about a +quarter of a yard in breadth, chafing the belly before it is swathed, +with oil of St. John's wort; after that raise up the matrix with a linen +cloth, many times folded: then with a linen pillar or quilt, cover the +flanks, and place the swathe somewhat above the haunches, winding it +pretty stiff, applying at the same time a linen cloth to her nipples; do +not immediately use the remedies to keep back the milk, by reason the +body, at such a time, is out of frame; for there is neither vein nor +artery which does not strongly beat; and remedies to drive back the +milk, being of a dissolving nature, it is improper to apply them to the +breasts during such disorder, lest by doing so, evil humours be +contracted in the breast. Wherefore, twelve hours at least ought to be +allowed for the circulation and settlement of the blood, and what was +cast on the lungs by the vehement agitation during labour, to retire to +its proper receptacles. + +Some time after delivery, you may take a restrictive of the yolks of two +eggs, and a quarter of a pint of white wine, oil of St. John's wort, oil +of roses, plantain and roses water, of each an ounce, mix them together, +fold a linen cloth and apply it to the breast, and the pains of those +parts will be greatly eased. + +She must by no means sleep directly after delivery; but about four hours +after, she may take broth, caudle or such liquid victuals as are +nourishing; and if she be disposed to sleep it may be very safely +permitted. And this is as much, in the case of a natural birth, as ought +immediately to be done. + +But in case of an extremity or an unnatural birth, the following rules +ought to be observed:-- + +In the first place, let the-woman keep a temperate diet, by no means +overcharging herself after such an extraordinary evacuation, not being +ruled by giving credit to unskilful nurses, who admonish them to feed +heartily, the better to repair the loss of blood. For that blood is not +for the most part pure, but such as has been retained in the vessels or +membrane better voided, for the health of the woman, than kept, unless +there happen an extraordinary flux of the blood. For if her nourishment +be too much, which curding, very often turns to imposthumes. + +Therefore, it is requisite, for the first five days especially, that she +take moderately panado broth, poached eggs, jelly of chickens or calves' +feet or fresh barley broth; every day increasing the quantity a little. + +And if she intend to be a nurse to the child, she may take something +more than ordinary, to increase the milk by degrees, which must be of no +continuance, but drawn off by the child or otherwise. In this case +likewise, observe to let her have coriander or fennel seeds boiled in +barley broth; but by all means, for the time specified, let her abstain +from meat. If no fever trouble her, she may drink now and then a small +quantity of pure white wine or of claret, as also syrup of maidenhead or +any other syrup that is of an astringent quality, taken in a little +water well boiled. + +After the fear of fever or contraction of humour in the breast is over, +she may be nourished more plentifully with the broth of capons, pullets, +pigeons, mutton, veal, etc., which must not be until after eight days +from the time of delivery; at which time the womb, unless some accident +binds, has purged itself. It will then likewise be expedient to give +cold meats, but let it be sparingly, so that she may the better gather +strength. And let her, during the time, rest quietly and free from +disturbance, not sleeping in the day time, if she can avoid it. + +Take of both mallows and pellitory of the wall a handful; camomile and +melilot flowers, of each a handful; aniseed and fennel of each two +ounces; boil them in a decoction of sheep's head and take of this three +quarts, dissolving in it common honey, coarse sugar and fresh butter and +administer it clysterwise; but if it does not penetrate well take an +ounce of catholicon. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + + _Acute Pains after Delivery._ + + +These pains frequently afflict the woman no less than the pain of her +labour, and are, by the more ignorant, many times taken the one for the +other; and sometimes they happen both at the same instant; which is +occasioned by a raw, crude and watery matter in the stomach, contracted +through ill digestion; and while such pains continue, the woman's +travail is retarded. + +Therefore, to expel fits of the cholic, take two ounces of oil of sweet +almonds, and an ounce of cinnamon water, with three or four drops of +syrup of ginger; then let the woman drink it off. + +If this does not abate the pain, make a clyster of camomile, +balm-leaves, oil of olives and new milk, boiling the former in the +latter. Administer it as is usual in such cases. And then, fomentation +proper for dispelling the wind will not be amiss. + +If the pain produces a griping in the guts after delivery, then take of +the root of great comfrey, one drachm, nutmeg and peach kernels, of each +two scruples, yellow amber, eight drachms, ambergris, one scruple; +bruise them together, and give them to the woman as she is laid down, in +two or three spoonfuls of white wine; but if she be feverish, then let +it be in as much warm broth. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE + +FAMILY PHYSICIAN + + * * * * * + +BEING + +CHOICE AND APPROVED + +REMEDIES + +FOR SEVERAL DISEASES + +INCIDENTAL TO HUMAN BODIES + + * * * * * + + + +_For the Apoplexy._ + +Take man's skull prepared, and powder of male peony, of each an ounce +and a half, contrayerva, bastard dittany, angelica, zedvary, of each two +drachms, mix and make a powder, add thereto two ounces of candied +orange and lemon peel, beat all together to a powder, whereof you may +take half a drachm or a drachm. + + + +_A Powder for the Epilepsy or Falling Sickness._ + +Take of opopanax, crude antimony, castor, dragon's blood, peony seeds, +of each an equal quantity; make a subtle powder; the dose, half a drachm +of black cherry water. Before you take it, the stomach must be prepared +with some proper vomit, as that of Mynficht's emetic tartar, from four +grains to six; if for children, salts of vitrol, from a scruple to half +a drachm. + + + +_For a Headache of Long Standing._ + +Take the juice or powder in distilled water of hog lice and continue it. + + + +_For Spitting of Blood._ + +Take conserve of comfrey and of hips, of each an ounce and a half; +conserve of red roses, three ounces; dragon's blood, a drachm; spices of +hyacinths, two scruples; red coral, a drachm; mix and with syrup of +poppies make a soft electuary. Take the quantity of a walnut, night and +morning. + + + +_For a Looseness._ + +Take Venice treacle and diascordium, of each half a drachm, in warm ale +or water gruel, or what you like best, at night, going to bed. + + + +_For the Bloody Flux._ + +First take a drachm of powder of rhubarb in a sufficient quantity of +conserve of red roses, in the morning early; then at night, take of +tornified or roasted rhubarb, half a drachm; diascordium, a drachm and a +half; liquid laudanum cyclomated, a scruple: mix and make into a bolus. + + + +_For an Inflammation of the Lungs._ + +Take of cherious water, ten ounces; water of red poppies, three ounces; +syrup of poppies, an ounce; pearl prepared, a drachm; make julep, and +take six spoonfuls every fourth hour. + + + +_An Ointment for the Pleurisy._ + +Take oil of violets or sweet almonds, an ounce of each, with wax and a +little saffron, make an ointment, warm it and bathe it upon the parts +affected. + + + +_An Ointment for the Itch._ + +Take sulphur vive in powder, half an ounce, oil of tartar per deliquim, +a sufficient quantity, ointment of roses, four ounces; make a liniment, +to which add a scruple of rhodium to aromatize, and rub the parts +affected with it. + + + +_For Running Scab._ + +Take two pounds of tar, incorporate it into a thick mass with +well-sifted ashes; boil the mass in fountain-water, adding leaves of +ground-ivy, white horehound, fumitory roots, sharp-pointed dock and of +flocan pan, of each four handfuls; make a bath to be used with care of +taking cold. + + + +_For Worms in Children._ + +Take wormseed, half a drachm, flour of sulphur, a drachm; mix and make a +powder. Give as much as will lie on a silver threepence, night and +morning, in grocer's treacle or honey, or to grown up people, you may +add a sufficient quantity of aloe rosatum and so make them up into +pills; three or four may be taken every morning. + + + +_For Fevers in Children._ + +Take crab-eyes, a drachm, cream of tartar, half a drachm; white +sugar-candy finely powdered, weight of both; mix all well together and +give as much as will lie on a silver threepence, in a spoonful of +barley-water or sack whey. + + + +_A Quieting Night-Draught, when the Cough is Violent._ + +Take water of green wheat, six ounces, syrup diascordium, three ounces, +take two or three spoonfuls going to bed every night or every other +night. + + + +_An Electuary for the Dropsy._ + +Take best rhubarb, one drachm, gum lac, prepared, two drachms, +zyloaloes, cinnamon, long birthwort, half an ounce each, best English +saffron, half a scruple; with syrup of chicory and rhubarb make an +electuary. Take the quantity of a nutmeg or small walnut every morning +fasting. + + + +_For a Tympany Dropsy._ + +Take roots of chervil and candied eringo roots, half an ounce of each, +roots of butcher-broom, two ounces, grass-roots, three ounces, shavings +of ivory and hartshorn, two drachms and a half each; boil them in two or +three pounds of spring water. Whilst the strained liquor is hot, pour it +upon the leaves of watercresses and goose-grass bruised, of each a +handful, adding a pint of Rhenish wine. Make a close infusion for two +hours, then strain out the liquor again, and add to it three ounces of +magirtral water and earth worms and an ounce and a half of the syrup of +the five opening roots. Make an apozen, whereof take four ounces twice a +day. + + + +_For an Inward Bleeding._ + +Take leaves of plantain and stinging nettles, of each three handfuls, +bruise them well and pour on them six ounces of plantain water, +afterwards make a strong expression and drink the whole off. _Probatum +est._ + + * * * * * + + + + +GENERAL OBSERVATIONS + + _Worthy of Notice._ + + +WHEN YOU FIND + +A red man to be faithful, a tall man to be wise, a fat man to be swift +of foot, a lean man to be a fool, a handsome man not to be proud, a poor +man not to be envious, a knave to be no liar, an upright man not too +bold and hearty to his own loss, one that drawls when he speaks not to +be crafty and circumventing, one that winks on another with his eyes not +to be false and deceitful, a sailor and hangman to be pitiful, a poor +man to build churches, a quack doctor to have a good conscience, a +bailiff not to be a merciless villain, an hostess not to over-reckon +you, and an usurer to be charitable---- + +THEN SAY, + + _Ye have found a prodigy._ + +Men acting contrary to the common course of nature. + + * * * * * + + + + +PART II + + * * * * * + +THE + +EXPERIENCED MIDWIFE + + * * * * * + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +I have given this Part the title of The Experienced Midwife, because it +is chiefly designed for those who profess Midwifery, and contains +whatever is necessary for them to know in the practice thereof; and +also, because it is the result of many years' experience, and that in +the most difficult cases, and is, therefore, the more to be depended +upon. + +A midwife is the most necessary and honourable office, being indeed a +helper of nature; which therefore makes it necessary for her to be well +acquainted with all the operations of nature in the work of generation, +and instruments with which she works. For she that knows not the +operations of nature, nor with what tool she works, must needs be at a +loss how to assist therein. And seeing the instruments of operation, +both in men and women, are those things by which mankind is produced, it +is very necessary that all midwives should be well acquainted with them, +that they may better understand their business, and assist nature, as +there shall be occasion. + +The first thing then necessary as introductory to this treatise, is an +anatomical description of the several parts of generation both in men +and women; but as in the former part of this work I have treated at +large upon these subjects, being desirous to avoid tautology, I shall +not here repeat anything of what was then said, but refer the reader +thereto, as a necessary introduction to what follows. And though I shall +be necessitated to speak plainly so that I may be understood, yet I +shall do it with that modesty that none shall have need to blush unless +it be from something in themselves, rather than from what they shall +find here; having the motto of the royal garter for my defence, which +is:--"Honi soit qui mal y pense,"--"Evil be to him that evil thinks." + + * * * * * + + + + +A + +GUIDE TO CHILDBEARING + +WOMEN + + * * * * * + + + + +BOOK I + +CHAPTER I + + +SECTION I.--_Of the Womb._ + +In this chapter I am to treat of the womb, which the Latins call +_matrix_. Its parts are two; the mouth of the womb and the bottom of it. +The mouth is an orifice at the entrance into it, which may be dilated +and shut together like a purse; for though in the act of copulation it +is big enough to receive the glans of the yard, yet after conception, it +is so close and shut, that it will not admit the point of a bodkin to +enter; and yet again, at the time of a woman's delivery, it is opened to +such an extraordinary degree, that the child passeth through it into the +world; at which time this orifice wholly disappears, and the womb seems +to have but one great cavity from the bottom to the entrance of the +neck. When a woman is not with child, it is a little oblong, and of +substance very thick and close; but when she is with child it is +shortened, and its thickness diminished proportionably to its +distension; and therefore it is a mistake of anatomists who affirm, that +its substance waxeth thicker a little before a woman's labour; for any +one's reason will inform him, that the more distended it is, the thinner +it must be; and the nearer a woman is to the time of her delivery the +shorter her womb must be extended. As to the action by which this inward +orifice of the womb is opened and shut, it is purely natural; for were +it otherwise, there could not be so many bastards begotten as there are, +nor would any married women have so many children. Were it in their own +power they would hinder conception, though they would be willing enough +to use copulation; for nature has attended that action with so pleasing +and delightful sensations, that they are willing to indulge themselves +in the use thereof notwithstanding the pains they afterwards endure, and +the hazard of their lives that often follows it. And this comes to pass, +not so much from an inordinate lust in woman, as that the great Director +of Nature, for the increase and multiplication of mankind, and even all +other species in the elementary world, hath placed such a magnetic +virtue in the womb, that it draws the seed to it, as the loadstone draws +iron. + +The Author of Nature has placed the womb in the belly, that the heat +might always be maintained by the warmth of the parts surrounding it; it +is, therefore, seated in the middle of the hypogastrium (or lower parts +of the belly between the bladder and the belly, or right gut) by which +also it is defended from any hurt through the hardness of the bones, and +it is placed in the lower part of the belly for the convenience of +copulation, and of a birth being thrust out at full time. + +It is of a figure almost round, inclining somewhat to an oblong, in part +resembling a pear; for being broad at the bottom, it gradually +terminates in the point of the orifice which is narrow. + +The length, breadth and thickness of the womb differ according to the +age and disposition of the body. For in virgins not ripe it is very +small in all its dimensions, but in women whose terms flow in great +quantities, and such as frequently use copulation, it is much larger, +and if they have had children, it is larger in them than in such as have +had none; but in women of a good stature and well shaped, it is (as I +have said before), from the entry of the privy parts to the bottom of +the womb usually about eight inches; but the length of the body of the +womb alone, does not exceed three; the breadth thereof is near about the +same, and of the thickness of the little finger, when the womb is not +pregnant, but when the woman is with child, it becomes of a prodigious +greatness, and the nearer she is to delivery, the more the womb is +extended. + +It is not without reason then, that nature (or the God of Nature) has +made the womb of a membranous substance; for thereby it does the easier +open to conceive, is gradually dilated by the growth of the foetus or +young one, and is afterwards contracted or closed again, to thrust forth +both it and the after-burden, and then to retire to its primitive seat. +Hence also it is enabled to expel any noxious humours, which may +sometimes happen to be contained within it. + +Before I have done with the womb, which is the field of generation, and +ought, therefore, to be the more particularly taken care of (for as the +seeds of plants can produce no plants, nor sprig unless grown in ground +proper to excite and awaken their vegetative virtue so likewise the seed +of man, though potentially containing all the parts of the child, would +never produce so admissible an effect, if it were not cast into that +fruitful field of nature, the womb) I shall proceed to a more particular +description of its parts, and the uses for which nature has designed +them. + +The womb, then, is composed of various similar parts, that is of +membranes, veins, arteries and nerves. Its membranes are two and they +compose the principal parts of the body, the outermost of which ariseth +from the peritoneum or caul, and is very thin, without it is smooth, but +within equal, that it may the better cleave to the womb, as it is +fleshier and thicker than anything else we meet with within the body, +when the woman is not pregnant, and is interwoven with all sorts of +fibres or small strings that it may the better suffer the extension of +the child, and the water caused during pregnancy, and also that it may +the easier close again after delivery. + +The veins and arteries proceed both from the hypogastric and the +spermatic vessels, of which I shall speak by and by; all these are +inserted and terminated in the proper membranes of the womb. The +arteries supply it with food and nourishment, which being brought +together in too great a quantity, sweats through the substance of it, +and distils as it were a dew at the bottom of the cavity; from thence +proceed the terms in ripe virgins, and the blood which nourisheth the +embryo in breeding women. The branches which issue from the spermatic +vessels, are inserted on each side of the bottom of the womb, and are +much less than those which proceed from the hypogastrics, those being +greater and bedewing the whole substance of it. There are some other +small vessels, which arising the one from the other are conducted to the +internal orifice, and by these, those that are pregnant purge away the +superfluity of the terms when they happen to have more than is used in +the nourishment of the infant: by which means nature has taken so much +care of the womb, that during pregnancy it shall not be obliged to open +itself for passing away those excrementitious humours, which, should it +be forced to do, might often endanger abortion. + +As touching the nerves, they proceed from the brain, which furnishes all +the inner parts of the lower belly in them, which is the true reason it +hath so great a sympathy with the stomach, which is likewise very +considerably furnished from the same part; so that the womb cannot be +afflicted with any pain, but that the stomach is immediately sensible +thereof, which is the cause of those loathings or frequent vomitings +which happen to it. + +But beside all these parts which compose the womb, it has yet four +ligaments, whose office it is, to keep it firm in its place, and prevent +its constant agitation, by the continual motion of the intestines which +surround it, two of which are above and two below. Those above are +called the broad ligaments, because of their broad and membranous +figure, and are nothing else but the production of the peritoneum which +growing out of the sides of the loins towards the veins come to be +inserted in the sides of the bottom of the womb, to hinder the body from +bearing too much on the neck, and so from suffering a precipitation as +will sometimes happen when the ligaments are too much relaxed; and do +also contain the testicles, and as well, safely conduct the different +vessels, as the ejaculatories, to the womb. The lowermost are called +round ligaments, taking their origin from the side of the womb near the +horn, from whence they pass the groin, together with the production of +the peritoneum, which accompanies them through the rings of the oblique +and transverse muscles of the belly, by which they divide themselves +into many little branches resembling the foot of a goose, of which some +are inserted into the os pubis, the rest are lost and confounded with +the membranes which women and children feel in their thighs. These two +ligaments are long, round and nervous, and pretty big in their +beginning near the matrix, hollow in their rise, and all along the os +pubis, where they are a little smaller and become flat, the better to be +inserted in the manner aforesaid. It is by their means the womb is +hindered from rising too high. Now, although the womb is held in its +natural situation by means of these four ligaments, it has liberty +enough to extend itself when pregnant, because they are very loose, and +so easily yield to its distension. But besides these ligaments, which +keep the womb, as it were, in a poise, yet it is fastened for greater +security by its neck, both to the bladder and rectum, between which it +is situated. Whence it comes to pass, that if at any time the womb be +inflamed, it communicates the inflammation to the neighbouring part. + +Its use or proper action in the work of generation, is to receive and +retain the seed, and deduce from it power and action by its heat, for +the generation of the infant; and it is, therefore, absolutely necessary +for the conservation of the species. It also seems by accident to +receive and expel the impurities of the whole body, as when women have +abundance of whites, and to purge away, from time to time, the +superfluity of the blood, as when a woman is not with child. + + + +SECT. II.--_Of the difference between the ancient and modern Physicians, + touching the woman's contributing seed for the Formation of the + Child._ + +Our modern anatomists and physicians are of different sentiments from +the ancients touching the woman's contributing seed for the formation of +the child, as well as the man; the ancients strongly affirming it, but +our modern authors being generally of another judgment. I will not make +myself a party to this controversy, but set down impartially, yet +briefly, the arguments on each side, and leave the judicious reader to +judge for himself. + +Though it is apparent, say the ancients, that the seed of man is the +principal efficient and beginning of action, motion and generation, yet +the woman affords seed, and contributes to the procreation of the child, +it is evident from hence, that the woman had seminal vessels, which had +been given her in vain if she wanted seminal excretions; but since +nature forms nothing in vain, it must be granted that they were formed +for the use of the seed and procreation, and fixed in their proper +places, to operate and contribute virtue and efficiency to the seed; and +this, say they, is further proved from hence, that if women at years of +maturity use not copulation to eject their seed, they often fall into +strange diseases, as appears by young women and virgins, and also it +appears that, women are never better pleased than when they are often +satisfied this way, which argues, that the pleasure and delight, say +they, is double in women to what it is in men, for as the delight of men +in copulation consists chiefly in the emission of the seed, so women are +delighted, both in the emission of their own and the reception of the +man's. + +But against this, all our modern authors affirm that the ancients are +very erroneous, inasmuch as the testicles in women do not afford seed, +but are two eggs, like those of a fowl or other creatures; neither have +they any such offices as in men, but are indeed an ovarium, or +receptacle for eggs, wherein these eggs are nourished, by the sanguinary +vessels dispersed through them; and from hence one or more, as they are +fecundated by the man's seed, are conveyed into the womb by the +oviducts. And the truth of this, say they, is so plain, that if you boil +them, the liquor shall have the same taste, colour and consistency with +the taste of bird's eggs. And if it be objected that they have no +shells, the answer is easy; for the eggs of fowls while they are in the +ovary, nay, after they have fallen into the uterus, have no shell: and +though they have one when they are laid, yet it is no more than a fence +which nature has provided for them against outward injuries, they being +hatched without the body, but those of women being hatched within the +body have no need of any other fence than the womb to secure them. + +They also further say, that there are in the generation of the foetus, +or young ones, two principles, _active_ and _passive_; the _active_ is +the man's seed elaborated in the testicles out of the arterial blood and +animal spirits; the _passive_ principle is the ovum or egg, impregnated +by the man's seed; for to say that women have true seed, say they, is +erroneous. But the manner of conception is this; the most spirituous +part of the man's seed, in the act of copulation, reaching up to the +ovarium or testicles of the woman (which contains divers eggs, sometimes +fewer) impregnates one of them; which, being conveyed by the oviducts to +the bottom of the womb, presently begins to swell bigger and bigger, and +drinks in the moisture that is so plentifully sent hither, after the +same manner that the seed in the ground suck the fertile moisture +thereof, to make them sprout. + +But, notwithstanding what is here urged by modern anatomists, there are +some late writers of the opinion of the ancients, viz., that women both +have, and emit seed in the act of copulation; and even women themselves +take it ill to be thought merely passive in the act wherein they make +such vigorous exertions; and positively affirm, that they are sensible +of the emission of their seed in that action, and that in it a great +part of the delight which they take in that act, consists. I shall not, +therefore, go about to take away any of their happiness from them, but +leave them in possession of their imaginary felicity. + +Having thus laid the foundation of this work, I will now proceed to +speak of conception, and of those things which are necessary to be +observed by women from the time of their conception, to the time of +their delivery. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER II + + _Of Conception; what it is; how women are to order themselves after + Conception._ + + +SECTION I.--_What Conception is, and the qualifications requisite + thereto._ + +Conception is nothing but an action of the womb, by which the prolific +seed is received and retained, that an infant may be engendered and +formed out of it. There are two sorts of conception: the one according +to nature, which is followed by the generation of the infant in the +womb; the other false and wholly against nature, in which the seed +changes into water, and produces only false conceptions, moles, or other +strange matter. Now, there are three things principally necessary in +order to a true conception, so that generation may follow, viz., without +diversity of sex there can be no conception; for, though some will have +a woman to be an animal that can engender of herself, it is a great +mistake; there can be no conception without a man discharge his seed +into the womb. What they allege of pullets laying eggs without a cock's +treading them is nothing to the purpose, for those eggs should they be +set under a hen, will never become chickens because they never received +any prolific virtue from the male, which is absolutely necessary to this +purpose, and is sufficient to convince us, that diversity of the sex is +necessary even to those animals, as well as to the generation of man. +But diversity of sex, though it be necessary to conception, yet it will +not do alone; there must also be a congression of the different sexes; +for diversity of sex would profit little if copulation did not follow. I +confess I have heard of subtle women, who, to cover their sin and +shame, have endeavoured to persuade some peasants that they were never +touched by man to get them with child; and that one in particular +pretended to conceive by going into a bath where a man had washed +himself a little before and spent his seed in it, which was drawn and +sucked into her womb, as she pretended. But such stories as these are +only for such who know no better. Now that these different sexes should +be obliged to come to the touch, which we call copulation or coition, +besides the natural desire of begetting their like, which stirs up men +and women to it, the parts appointed for generation are endowed by +nature with a delightful and mutual itch, which begets in them a desire +to the action; without which, it would not be very easy for a man, born +for the contemplation of divine mysteries, to join himself, by the way +of coition, to a woman, in regard to the uncleanness of the part and the +action. And, on the other side, if the woman did but think of those +pains and inconveniences to which they are subject by their great +bellies, and those hazards of life itself, besides the unavoidable pains +that attend their delivery, it is reasonable to believe they would be +affrighted from it. But neither sex makes these reflections till after +the action is over, considering nothing beforehand but the pleasure of +the enjoyment, so that it is from this voluptuous itch that nature +obliges both sexes to this congression. Upon which the third thing +followeth of course, viz., the emission of seed into the womb in the act +of copulation. For the woman having received this prolific seed into her +womb, and retained it there, the womb thereupon becomes depressed, and +embraces the seed so closely, that being closed the point of a needle +cannot enter into it without violence. And now the woman may be said to +have conceived, having reduced by her heat from power into action, the +several faculties which are contained in the seed, making use of the +spirits with which the seed abounds, and which are the instruments which +begin to trace out the first lineaments of the parts, and which +afterwards, by making use of the menstruous blood flowing to it, give +it, in time, growth and final perfection. And thus much shall suffice to +explain what conception is. I shall next proceed to show + + + +SECT. II.--_How a Woman ought to order herself after Conception._ + +My design in this treatise being brevity, I shall bring forward a little +of what the learned have said of the causes of twins, and whether there +be any such things as superfoetations, or a second conception in a woman +(which is yet common enough), and as to twins, I shall have occasion to +speak of them when I come to show you how the midwife ought to proceed +in the delivery of the women that are pregnant with them. But having +already spoken of conception, I think it now necessary to show how such +as have conceived ought to order themselves during their pregnancy, that +they may avoid those inconveniences, which often endanger the life of +the child and many times their own. + +A woman, after conception, during the time of her being with child, +ought to be looked upon as indisposed or sick, though in good health; +for child bearing is a kind of nine months' sickness, being all that +time in expectation of many inconveniences which such a condition +usually causes to those that are not well governed during that time; and +therefore, ought to resemble a good pilot, who, when sailing on a rough +sea and full of rocks, avoids and shuns the danger, if he steers with +prudence, but if not, it is a thousand to one but he suffers shipwreck. +In like manner, a woman with child is often in danger of miscarrying and +losing her life, if she is not very careful to prevent those accidents +to which she is subject all the time of her pregnancy. All which time +her care must be double, first of herself, and secondly of the child +she goes with for otherwise, a single error may produce a double +mischief; for if she receives a prejudice, the child also suffers with +her. Let a woman, therefore, after conception, observe a good diet, +suitable to her temperament, custom, condition and quality; and if she +can, let the air where she ordinarily dwells be clear and well tempered, +and free from extremes, either of heat or cold; for being too hot, it +dissipateth the spirits too much and causes many weaknesses; and by +being too cold and foggy, it may bring down rheums and distillations on +the lungs, and so cause her to cough, which, by its impetuous motion, +forcing downwards, may make her miscarry. She ought alway to avoid all +nauseous and ill smells; for sometimes the stench of a candle, not well +put out, may cause her to come before time; and I have known the smell +of charcoal to have the same effect. Let her also avoid smelling of rue, +mint, pennyroyal, castor, brimstone, etc. + +But, with respect to their diet, women with child have generally so +great loathings and so many different longings, that it is very +difficult to prescribe an exact diet for them. Only this I think +advisable, that they may use those meats and drinks which are to them +most desirable, though, perhaps, not in themselves so wholesome as some +others, and, it may be not so pleasant; but this liberty must be made +use of with this caution, that what they desire be not in itself +unwholesome; and also that in everything they take care of excess. But, +if a child-bearing woman finds herself not troubled with such longings +as we have spoken of, let her take simple food, and in such quantity as +may be sufficient for herself and the child, which her appetite may in a +great measure regulate; for it is alike hurtful to her to fast too long +as to eat too much; and therefore, rather let her eat a little and +often; especially let her avoid eating too much at night, because the +stomach being too much filled, compresseth the diaphragm, and thereby +causeth difficulty of breathing. Let her meat be easy of digestion, such +as the tenderest parts of beef, mutton, veal, fowls, pullets, capons, +pigeons and partridges, either boiled or roasted, as she likes best, new +laid eggs are also very good for her; and let her put into her broth +those herbs that purify it, as sorrel, lettuce, succory and borage; for +they will purge and purify the blood. Let her avoid whatever is hot +seasoned, especially pies and baked meats, which being of hot digestion, +overcharge the stomach. If she desire fish let it be fresh, and such as +is taken out of rivers and running streams. Let her eat quinces and +marmalade, to strengthen her child: for which purpose sweet almonds, +honey, sweet apples, and full ripe grapes, are also good. Let her +abstain from all salt, sour, bitter and salt things, and all things that +tend to provoke the terms--such as garlic, onions, mustard, fennel, +pepper and all spices except cinnamon, which in the last three months is +good for her. If at first her diet be sparing, as she increases in +bigness, let her diet be increased, for she ought to consider that she +has a child as well as herself to nourish. Let her be moderate in her +drinking; and if she drinks wine, let it be rather claret than white +(for it will breed good blood, help the digestion, and comfort the +stomach, which is weakly during pregnancy); but white wine being +diuretic, or that which provokes urine, ought to be avoided. Let her be +careful not to take too much exercise, and let her avoid dancing, riding +in a coach, or whatever else puts the body into violent motion, +especially in the first month. But to be more particular, I shall here +set down rules proper for every month for the child-bearing woman to +order herself, from the time she first conceived, to the time of her +delivery. + + + +_Rules for the First Two Months._ + +As soon as a woman knows, or has reason to believe, that she has +conceived, she ought to abstain from all violent motions and exercise; +whether she walks afoot, or rides on horseback or in a coach, it ought +to be very gently. Let her also abstain from Venery (for which, after +conception, she has usually no great inclination), lest there be a mole +or superfoetation, which is the adding of one embryo to another. Let her +beware not to lift her arms too high, nor carry great burdens, nor +repose herself on hard and uneasy seats. Let her use moderately good, +juicy meat and easy of digestion, and let her wines be neither too +strong nor too sharp, but a little mingled with water; or if she be very +abstemious, she may use water wherein cinnamon has been boiled. Let her +avoid fastings, thirst, watchings, mourning, sadness, anger, and all +other perturbations of the mind. Let no one present any strange or +unwholesome thing to her, nor so much as name it, lest she should desire +it and not be able to get it, and so either cause her to miscarry, or +the child to have some deformity on that account. Let her belly be kept +loose with prunes, raisins or manna in her broth, and let her use the +following electuary, to strengthen the womb and the child-- + +"Take conserve of borage, buglos and roses, each two ounces; an ounce of +balm; an ounce each of citron peel and shreds, candied mirobalans, an +ounce each; extract of wood aloes a scruple; prepared pearl, half a +drachm; red coral and ivory, of each a drachm; precious stones each a +scruple; candied nutmegs, two drachms, and with syrup of apples and +quinces make an electuary." + + + +_Let her observe the following rules._ + +"Take pearls prepared, a drachm; red coral and ivory prepared, each half +a drachm, precious stones, each a scruple; yellow citron peel, mace, +cinnamon, cloves, each half a drachm; saffron, a scruple; wood aloes, +half a scruple; ambergris, six drachms; and with six ounces of sugar +dissolved in rosewater make rolls." Let her also apply strengtheners of +nutmeg, mace and mastich made up in bags, to the navel, or a toast +dipped in malmsey, or sprinkled with powdered mint. If she happens to +desire clay, chalk, or coals (as many women with child do), give her +beans boiled with sugar, and if she happens to long for anything that +she cannot obtain, let her presently drink a large draught of pure cold +water. + + + +_Rules for the Third Month._ + +In this month and the next, be sure to keep from bleeding; for though it +may be safe and proper at other times, yet it will not be so at the end +of the fourth month; and yet if blood abound, or some incidental disease +happens which requires evacuation, you may use a cupping glass, with +scarification, and a little blood may be drawn from the shoulders and +arms, especially if she has been accustomed to bleed. Let her also take +care of lacing herself too straitly, but give herself more liberty than +she used to do; for inclosing her belly in too strait a mould, she +hinders the infant from taking its free growth, and often makes it come +before its time. + + + +_Rules for the Fourth Month._ + +In this month also you ought to keep the child-bearing woman from +bleeding, unless in extraordinary cases, but when the month is passed, +blood-letting and physic may be permitted, if it be gentle and mild, and +perhaps it may be necessary to prevent abortion. In this month she may +purge, in an acute disease, but purging may only be used from the +beginning of this month to the end of the sixth; but let her take care +that in purging she use no vehement medicine, nor any bitter, as aloes, +which is disagreeable and hurtful to the child, and opens the mouth of +the vessels; neither let her use coloquintida, scammony nor turbith; she +may use cassia, manna, rhubarb, agaric and senna but dyacidodium +purgans is best, with a little of the electuary of the juice of roses. + + + +_Rules for the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Months._ + +In these months, child-bearing women are troubled with coughs, colds, +heart-beating, fainting, watching, pains in the loins and hips, and +bleeding. The cough is from a sharp vapour that comes to the jaws and +rough artery from the terms, or the thin part of that blood got less +into the reins of the breast; this endangers abortion, and strength +fails from watching: therefore, purge the humours that come to the +breast, with rhubarb and agaric, and strengthen the head as in a +catarrh, and give sweet lenitives as in a cough. Palpitation and +faintness arises from vapours that go to it by the arteries, or from +blood that abounds and cannot get out of the womb, but ascends and +oppresses the heart; and in this case cordials should be used both +inwardly and outwardly. Watching, is from sharp dry vapours that trouble +the animal spirits, and in this case use frictions, and let the woman +wash her feet at bed-time, and let her take syrup of poppies, dried +roses, emulsions of sweet almonds, and white poppy seed. If she be +troubled with pains in her loins and hips, as in those months she is +subject to be, from the weight of her child as it grows big and heavy, +and so stretches the ligaments of the womb and part adjacent, let her +hold it up with swathing bands about her neck. About this time also the +woman often happens to have a flux of blood, either at the nose, womb or +haemorrhoids, from plenty of blood, or from the weakness of the child +that takes it not in, or else from evil humour in the blood, that stirs +up nature and sends it forth. And sometimes it happens that the vessels +of the womb may be broken, either by some violent motion, fall, cough or +trouble of the mind (for any of these will work that effect), and this +is so dangerous, that in such a case the child cannot be well, but if it +be from blood only, the danger is less, provided it flows by the veins +of the neck of the womb, for then it prevents plethora and takes not +away the nourishment of the child; but if it proceeds from the weakness +of the child, that draws it not in, abortion of the child often follows, +or hard travail, or else she goes beyond her time. But if it flows from +the inward veins of the womb, there is more danger by the openness of +the womb, if it come from evil blood; the danger is alike from +cacochymy, which is like to fall upon both. If it arises from plethora, +open a vein, but with great caution, and use astringents, of which the +following will do well:--Take prepared pearls, a scruple; red coral, two +scruples; mace, nutmeg, each a drachm; cinnamon, half a drachm; make a +powder, or with white sugar make rolls. Or give this powder in +broth:--"Take red coral, a drachm; half a drachm precious stones; red +sander, half a drachm; bole, a drachm; scaled earth and tormental roots, +each two scruples, with sugar of roses and Manus Christi; with pearl, +five drachms; make a powder." You may also strengthen the child at the +navel, and if there be a cacochymy, alter the humours, and if you can do +it safely, evacuate; you may likewise use amulets on her hands and about +her neck. In a flux of haemorrhoids, wear off the pain, and let her +drink hot wine with a toasted nutmeg. In these months the belly is also +subject to be bound, but if it be without any apparent disease, the +broth of a chicken or veal, sodden with oil, or with the decoction of +mallows or marsh-mallows, mercury or linseed, put up in a clyster, will +not be amiss, but in less quantity than is given in other cases:--viz. +of the decoction, five ounces, of common oil, three ounces, of sugar, +two ounces, and of cassia fistula, one ounce. But if she will not take a +clyster, one or two yolks of new laid eggs, or a little peas-pottage +warm, a little salt and sugar, and supped a little before meat, will be +very convenient. But if her belly be distended and stretched with wind a +little fennel seed and aniseed reduced to a powder and mixed with honey +and sugar made after the manner of an electuary, will be very well Also, +if thighs and feet swell let them be anointed with erphodrinum (which is +a liquid medicine) made with vinegar and rose-water, mingled with salt. + + + +_Rules for the Eighth Month._ + +The eighth month is commonly called the most dangerous; therefore the +greatest care and caution ought to be used, the diet better in quality, +but no more, nor indeed, so much in quantity as before, but as she must +abate her diet, she must increase her exercise; and because then women +with child, by reason that sharp humours alter the belly, are accustomed +to weaken their spirits and strength, they may well take before meat, an +electuary of diarrhoden, or aromaticum rosatum or diamagarton; and +sometimes they may lick a little honey. As they will loathe, nauseate +their meat, they may take green ginger, candied with sugar, and the +rinds of citron and oranges candied; and let them often use honey for +strengthening the infant. When she is not very far from her labour, let +her eat every day seven roasted figs before her meat, and sometimes let +her lick a little honey. But let her beware of salt and powdered meat, +for it is neither good for her nor the child. + + + +_Rules for the Ninth Month._ + +In the ninth month let her have a care of lifting any great weight, but +let her move a little more, to dilate the parts, and stir up natural +heat. Let her take heed of stooping, and neither sit too much nor lie on +her sides, neither ought she to bend herself much enfolded in the +umbilical ligaments, by which means it often perisheth. Let her walk and +stir often, and let her exercise be, rather to go upwards than +downwards. Let her diet, now especially, be light and easy of digestion +and damask prunes with sugar, or figs with raisins, before meat, as also +the yolks of eggs, flesh and broth of chickens, birds, partridges and +pheasants; astringent and roasted meats, with rice, hard eggs, millet +and such like other things are proper. Baths of sweet water, with +emollient herbs, ought to be used by her this month with some +intermission, and after the baths let her belly be anointed with oil of +sweet roses and of violets; but for her privy parts, it is better to +anoint them with the fat of hens, geese or ducks, or with oil of +lilies, and the decoction of linseed and fenugreek, boiled with oil of +linseed and marshmallows, or with the following liniment:-- + +Take mallows and marshmallows, cut and shred, of each one ounce; of +linseed, one ounce; let them be boiled from twenty ounces of water to +ten; then let her take three ounces of the boiled broth, of oil of +almonds and oil of flower-de-luce, of each one ounce; of deer's suet, +three ounces. Let her bathe with this, and anoint herself with it, warm. + +If for fourteen days before the birth, she do every morning and evening +bathe and moisten her belly with muscadine and lavender water, the child +will be much strengthened thereby. And if every day she eat toasted +bread, it will hinder anything from growing to the child. Her privy +parts must be gently stroked down with this fomentation. + +"Take three ounces of linseed, and one handful each of mallows and +marshmallows sliced, then let them be put into a bag and immediately +boiled." Let the woman with child, every morning and evening, take the +vapour of this decoction in a hollow stool, taking great heed that no +wind or air come to her in-parts, and then let her wipe the part so +anointed with a linen cloth, and she may anoint the belly and groins as +at first. + +When she has come so near to her time, as to be ten or fourteen days +thereof, if she begins to feel any more than ordinary pain let her use +every day the following:--"Take mallows and marshmallows, of each a +handful; camomiles, hard mercury, maidenhair, of each a handful; of +linseed, four ounces; let them be boiled in a sufficient quantity of +water as to make a bath therewith." But let her not sit too hot upon the +seat, nor higher than a little above her navel; nor let her sit upon it +longer than about half an hour, lest her strength languish and decay, +for it is better to use it often than to stay too long in it. + +And thus have I shown how a child-bearing woman ought to govern herself +each month during her pregnancy. How she must order herself at her +delivery, shall be shown in another chapter, after I have first shown +the intended midwife how the child is first formed in the womb, and the +manner of its decumbiture there. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER III + + _Of the Parts proper to a Child in the womb; How it is formed + there, and the manner of its Situation therein._ + + +In the last chapter I treated of conception, showed what it was, how +accomplished and its signs, and how she who has conceived ought to order +herself during the time of her pregnancy. Now, before I come to speak of +her delivery, it is necessary that the midwife be first made acquainted +with the parts proper to a child in the womb, and also that she be shown +how it is formed, and the manner of its situation and decumbiture there; +which are so necessary to her, that without the knowledge thereof, no +one can tell how to deliver a woman as she ought. This, therefore, shall +be the work of this chapter. I shall begin with the first of these. + + + +SECTION I.--_Of the Parts proper to a Child in the Womb._ + +In this section, I must first tell you what I mean by the parts proper +to a child in the womb; and they are only those that either help or +nourish it; and whilst it is lodged in that dark repository of nature, +and that help to clothe and defend it there and are cast away, as of no +more use, after it is born, and these are two, viz., the umbilicars, or +navel vessels, and the secundinum. By the first it is nourished, and by +the second clothed and defended from wrong. Of each of these I shall +speak distinctly; and first, + + + +_Of the Umbilicars, or Navel Vessels._ + +These are four in number, viz.:--one vein, two arteries, and the vessel +which is called the urachos. + +(1) The vein is that on which the infant is nourished, from the time of +its conception till the time of its delivery; till being brought into +the light of the world, it has the same way of concocting the food we +have. This vein ariseth from the liver of the child, and is divided into +two parts when it has passed the navel; and these two are divided and +subdivided, the branches being upheld by the skin called _chorion_ (of +which I speak by and by), and are joined to the veins of the mother's +womb, from whence they have their blood for the nourishment of the +child. + +(2) The arteries are two on each side which proceed from the back +branches of the great artery of the mother, and the vital blood is +carried by those to the child being ready concocted by the mother. + +(3) A nervous or sinewy production is led from the bottom of the +bladder of the infant to the navel, and this is called _urachos_, and +its use is, to convey the urine of the infant from the bladder to the +alantois. Anatomists do very much vary in their opinion concerning this, +some denying any such thing to be in the delivery of the woman, and +others on the contrary affirming it; but experience has testified there +is such a thing, for Bartholomew Carbrolius, the ordinary doctor of +anatomy to the College of Physicians at Montpellier in France, records +the history of a maid, whose water being a long time stopped, at last +issued out through the navel. And Johannes Fernelius speaks of the same +thing that happened to a man of thirty years of age, who having a +stoppage at the neck of the bladder, his urine issued out of his navel +for many months together, and that without any prejudice at all to his +health, which he ascribes to the ill lying of his navel, whereby the +urachos was not well dried. And Volchier Coitas quotes such another +instance in a maid of thirty-four at Nuremburg in Germany. These +instances, though they happen but seldom, are sufficient to prove that +there is such a thing as anurachos in men. + +These four vessels before mentioned, viz., one vein, two arteries and +the urachos, join near the navel, and are united by a skin which they +have from the chorion and so become like a gut or rope, and are +altogether void of sensibility, and this is that which women call the +navel-string. The vessels are thus joined together, that so they may +neither be broken, severed nor entangled; and when the infant is born +are of no use save only to make up the ligament which stops the hole of +the navel and for some other physical use, etc. + + + +_Of the Secundine or After-birth._ + +Setting aside the name given to this by the Greeks and Latins, it is +called in English by the name of secundine, after-birth or after-burden; +which are held to be four in number. + +(1) The _first_ is called placenta, because it resembles the form of a +cake, and is knit both to the navel and chorion, and makes up the +greatest part of the secundine or after-birth. The flesh of it is like +that of the melt or spleen, soft, red and tending something to +blackness, and hath many small veins and arteries in it: and certainly +the chief use of it is, for containing the child in the womb. + +(2) The _second_ is the chorion. This skin and that called the amnios, +involve the child round, both above and underneath, and on both sides, +which the alantois does not. This skin is that which is most commonly +called the secundine, as it is thick and white garnished with many small +veins and arteries, ending in the placenta before named, being very +light and slippery. Its use is, not only to cover the child round about, +but also to receive, and safely bind up the roots of the veins and +arteries or navel vessels before described. + +(3) The _third_ thing which makes up the secundine in the alantois, of +which there is a great dispute amongst anatomists. Some say there is +such a thing, and others that there is not. Those who will have it to be +a membrane, say it is white, soft and exceedingly thin, and just under +the placenta, where it is knit to the urachos, from which it receives +the urine; and its office is to keep it separate from the sweat, that +the saltness of it may not offend the tender skin of the child. + +(4) The _fourth_, and last covering of the child is called amnios; and +it is white, soft and transparent, being nourished by some very small +veins and arteries. Its use is, not only to enwrap the child, but also +to retain the sweat of the child. + +Having thus described the parts proper to a child in the womb, I will +next proceed to speak of the formation of the child therein, as soon as +I have explained the hard terms of the section, that those for whose +help it is designed, may understand what they read. A _vein_ is that +which receives blood from the liver, and distributes in several branches +to all parts of the body. _Nerve_ is the same with _sinew_, and is that +by which the brain adds sense and motion to the body. _Placenta_, +properly signifies _sugar_ cake; but in this section it is used to +signify a spongy piece of flesh resembling a cake, full of veins and +arteries, and is made to receive a mother's blood appointed for the +infant's nourishment in the womb. The _chorion_ is an outward skin which +compasseth the child in the womb. The _amnios_ is the inner skin which +compasseth the child in the womb. The _alantois_ is the skin that holds +the urine of the child during the time that it abides in the womb. The +_urachos_ is the vessel that conveys the urine from the child in the +womb to the _alantois_. I now proceed to + + + +SECT. II.--_Of the Formation of the Child in the Womb._ + +To speak of the formation of the child in the womb, we must begin where +nature begins, and, that is at the act of coition, in which the womb +having received the generative seed (without which there can be no +conception), the womb immediately shuts up itself so close that the +point of a needle cannot enter the inward orifice; and this it does, +partly to hinder the issuing out of the seed again, and partly to +cherish it by an inward heat, the better to provoke it to action; which +is one reason why women's bellies are so lank at their first conception. +The woman having thus conceived, the first thing which is operative in +conception is the spirit whereof the seed is full, which, nature +quickening by the heat of the womb, stirs up the action. The internal +spirits, therefore, separate the parts that are less pure, which are +thick, cold and clammy, from those that are more pure and noble. The +less pure are cast to the outside, and with these seed is circled round +and the membrane made, in which that seed that is most pure is wrapped +round and kept close together, that it may be defended from cold and +other accidents, and operate the better. + +The first thing that is formed is the amnios; the next the chorion; and +they enwrap the seed round like a curtain. Soon after this (for the seed +thus shut up in the woman lies not idle), the navel vein is bred, which +pierceth those skins, being yet very tender, and carries a drop of blood +from the veins of the mother's womb to the seed; from which drop the +vena cava, or chief vein, proceeds, from which all the rest of the veins +which nourish the body spring; and now the seed hath something to +nourish it, whilst it performs the rest of nature's work, and also blood +administered to every part of it, to form flesh. + +This vein being formed, the navel arteries are soon after formed; then +the great artery, of which all the others are but branches; and then the +heart, for the liver furnisheth the arteries with blood to form the +heart, the arteries being made of seed, but the heart and the flesh, of +blood. After this the brain is formed, and then the nerves to give sense +and motion to the infant. Afterwards the bones and flesh are formed; and +of the bones, first of all, the vertebrae or chine bones, and then the +skull, etc. As to the time in which this curious part of nature's +workmanship is formed, having already in Chapter II of the former part +of this work spoken at large upon this point, and also of the +nourishment of the child in the womb, I shall here only refer the reader +thereto, and proceed to show the manner in which the child lies in the +womb. + + + +SECT. III.--_Of the manner of the Child's lying in the Womb._ + +This is a thing so essential for a midwife to know, that she can be no +midwife who is ignorant of it; and yet even about this authors +extremely differ; for there are not two in ten that agree what is the +form that the child lies in the womb, or in what fashion it lies there; +and yet this may arise in a great measure from the different times of +the women's pregnancy; for near the time of its deliverance out of those +winding chambers of nature it oftentimes changes the form in which it +lay before, for another. + +I will now show the several situations of the child in the mother's +womb, according to the different times of pregnancy, by which those that +are contrary to nature, and are the chief cause of ill labours, will be +more easily conceived by the understanding midwife. It ought, therefore, +in the first place to be observed, that the infant, as well male as +female, is generally situated in the midst of the womb; for though +sometimes, to appearance a woman's belly seems higher on one side than +the other, yet it is so with respect to the belly only, and not to her +womb, in the midst of which it is always placed. + +But, in the second place, a woman's great belly makes different figures, +according to the different times of pregnancy; for when she is young +with child, the embryo is always found of a round figure, a little long, +a little oblong, having the spine moderately turned inwards, and the +thighs folded, and a little raised, to which the legs are so raised, +that the heels touch the buttocks; the arms are bending, and the hands +placed upon the knees, towards which part of the body, the head is +turned downwards towards the inward orifice of the womb, tumbling as it +were over its head so that then the feet are uppermost, and the face +towards the mother's great gut; and this turning of the infant in this +manner, with its head downwards, towards the latter end of a woman's +reckoning, is so ordered by nature, that it may be thereby the better +disposed of its passage into the world at the time of its mother's +labour, which is not then far off (and indeed some children turn not at +all until the very time of birth); for in this posture all its joints +are most easily extended in coming forth; for by this means its arms and +legs cannot hinder its birth, because they cannot be bent against the +inner orifice of the womb and the rest of the body, being very supple, +passeth without any difficulty after the head, which is hard and big; +being passed the head is inclined forward, so that the chin toucheth the +breast, in which posture, it resembles one sitting to ease nature, and +stooping down with the head to see what comes from him. The spine of the +back is at that time placed towards the mother's, the head uppermost, +the face downwards; and proportionately to its growth, it extends its +members by little and little, which were exactly folded in the first +month. In this posture it usually keeps until the seventh or eighth +month, and then by a natural propensity and disposition of the upper +first. It is true there are divers children, that lie in the womb in +another posture, and come to birth with their feet downwards, especially +if there be twins; for then, by their different motions they do so +disturb one another, that they seldom come both in the same posture at +the time of labour, but one will come with the head, and another with +the feet, or perhaps lie across; but sometimes neither of them will come +right. But, however the child may be situated in the womb, or in +whatever posture it presents itself at the time of birth, if it be not +with its head forwards, as I have before described, it is always against +nature, and the delivery will occasion the more pain and danger, and +require greater care and skill from the midwife, than when the labour is +more natural. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + _A Guide for Women in Travail, showing what is to be done when they + fall in Labour, in order to their Delivery._ + + +The end of all that we have been treating of is, the bringing forth of a +child into the world with safety both to the mother and the infant, as +the whole time of a woman's pregnancy may be termed a kind of labour; +for, from the time of the conception to the time of her delivery, she +labours under many difficulties, is subject to many distempers, and in +continual danger, from one affection or other, till the time of birth +comes; and when that comes, the greatest labour and travail come along +with it, insomuch that then all the other labours are forgotten, and +that only is called the time of her labours, and to deliver her safely +is the principal business of the midwife; and to assist therein, shall +be the chief design of this chapter. The time of the child's being ready +for its birth, when nature endeavours to cast it forth, is that which is +properly the time of a woman's labour; nature then labouring to be eased +of its burden. And since many child-bearing women, (especially the first +child) are often mistaken in their reckoning and so, when they draw near +their time take every pain they meet with for their labour, which often +proves prejudicial and troublesome to them, when it is not so, I will in +the first section of this chapter, set down some signs, by which a woman +may know when the true time of her labour is come. + + + +SECTION I.--_The Signs of the true Time of a Woman's Labour._ + +When women with child, especially of their first, perceive any +extraordinary pains in the belly, they immediately send for their +midwife, as taking it for their labour; and then if the midwife be not a +skilful and experienced woman, to know the time of labour, but takes it +for granted without further inquiry (for some such there are), and so +goes about to put her into labour before nature is prepared for it, she +may endanger the life of both mother and child, by breaking the amnios +and chorion. These pains, which are often mistaken for labour, are +removed by warm clothes laid to the belly, and the application of a +clyster or two, by which those pains which precede a true labour, are +rather furthered than hindered. There are also other pains incident to a +woman in that condition from the flux of the belly, which are easily +known by the frequent stools that follow them. + +The signs, therefore, of labour, some few days before, are that the +woman's belly, which before lay high, sinks down, and hinders her from +walking so easily as she used to do; also there flow from the womb slimy +humours, which nature has appointed to moisten and smooth the passage +that its inward orifice may be the more easily dilated when there is +occasion; which beginning to open at this time, suffers that slime to +flow away, which proceeds from the Glandules called _prostata_. These +are signs preceding the labour; but when she is presently falling into +labour, the signs are, great pains about the region of the reins and +loins, which coming and retreating by intervals, are answered in the +bottom of the belly by congruous throes, and sometimes the face is red +and inflamed, the blood being much heated by the endeavours a woman +makes to bring forth her child; and likewise, because during these +strong throes her respiration is intercepted, which causes the blood to +have recourse to her face; also her privy parts are swelled by the +infant's head lying in the birth, which, by often thrusting, causes +those parts to descend outwards. She is much subject to vomiting, which +is a good sign of good labour and speedy delivery, though by ignorant +people thought otherwise; for good pains are thereby excited and +redoubled; which vomiting is excited by the sympathy there is between +the womb and the stomach. Also, when the birth is near, women are +troubled with a trembling in the thighs and legs, not with cold, like +the beginning of an ague fit, but with the heat of the whole body, +though it must be granted, this does not happen always. Also, if the +humours which then flow from the womb are discoloured with the blood, +which the midwives call _shows_, it is an infallible mark of the birth +being near. And if then the midwife puts up her fingers into the neck of +the womb, she will find the inner orifice dilated; at the opening of +which the membranes of the infant, containing the waters, present +themselves and are strongly forced down with each pain she hath; at +which time one may perceive them sometimes to resist, and then again +press forward the finger, being more or less hard and extended, +according as the pains are stronger or weaker. These membranes, with the +waters in them, when they are before the head of the child, midwives +call _the gathering of the waters_, resemble to the touch of the fingers +those eggs which have no shell, but are covered only with a simple +membrane. After this, the pains still redoubling the membranes are +broken by a strong impulsation of these waters, which flow away, and +then the head of the infant is presently felt naked, and presents +itself at the inward orifice of the womb. When these waters come thus +away, then the midwife may be assured the birth is very near, this being +the most certain sign that can be; for the _amnios alantois_, which +contained these waters, being broken by the pressing forward of the +birth, the child is no better able to subsist long in the womb +afterwards than a naked man in a heap of snow. Now, these waters, if the +child comes presently after them, facilitate the labour by making the +passage slippery; and therefore, let no midwife (as some have foolishly +done) endeavour to force away the water, for nature knows best when the +true time of birth is, and therefore retains the waters till that time. +But if by accident the water breaks away too long before the birth, then +such things as will hasten it, may be safely administered, and what +these are, I will show in another section. + + + +SECT. II.--_How a Woman ought to be ordered when the time of her labour + is come._ + +When it is known that the true time of her labour is come by the signs +laid down in the foregoing, of which those most to be relied upon are +pains and strong throes in the belly, forcing downwards towards the +womb, and a dilation of the inward orifice, which may be perceived by +touching it with the finger, and the gathering of the waters before the +head of the child, and thrusting down the membranes which contain them; +through which, between the pains, one may in some manner with the finger +discover the part which presents itself (as we have said before), +especially if it be the head of the child, by its roundness and +hardness; I say, if these things concur and are evident, the midwife may +be sure it is the time of the woman's labour, and care must be taken to +get all those things that are necessary to comfort her at that time. And +the better to help her, be sure to see that she is not tightly laced; +you must also give her one strong clyster or more, if there be occasion, +provided it be done at the beginning, and before the child be too +forward, for it will be difficult for her to receive them afterwards. +The benefit accruing therefrom will be, that they excite the gut to +discharge itself of its excrements, so that the rectum being emptied +there may be the more space for the dilation of the passage; likewise to +cause the pains to bear the more downward, through the endeavours she +makes when she is at stool, and in the meantime, all other necessary +things for her labour should be put in order, both for the mother and +the child. To this end, some get a midwife's; but a pallet bed, girded, +is much the best way, placed near the fire, if the season so require, +which pallet ought to be so placed, that there may be easy access to it +on every side, that the woman may be the more easily assisted, as there +is occasion. + +If the woman abounds with blood, to bleed her a little more may not be +improper, for thereby she will both breathe the better, and have her +breasts more at liberty, and likewise more strength to bear down her +pains; and this may be done without danger because the child being about +ready to be born, has no more need of the mother's blood for its +nourishment; besides, this evacuation does many times prevent her having +a fever after delivery. Also, before her delivery, if her strength will +permit, let her walk up and down her chamber; and that she may have +strength so to do, it will be necessary to give her good strengthening +things, such as jelly, broth, new laid eggs, or some spoonfuls of burnt +wine; and let her by all means hold out her pains, bearing them down as +much as she can, at the time when they take her; and let the midwife +from time to time touch the inward orifice with her finger, to know +whether the waters are ready to break and whether the birth will follow +soon after. Let her also anoint the woman's privities with emollient +oil, hog's grease, and fresh butter, if she find they are hard to be +dilated. Let the midwife, likewise, all the time be near the labouring +woman, and diligently observe her gestures, complaints, and pains, for +by this she may guess pretty well how far her labour advanceth, because +when she changeth her ordinary groans into loud cries, it is a sign that +the child is near the birth; for at the time her pains are greater and +more frequent. Let the woman likewise, by intervals, rest herself upon +the bed to regain her strength, but not too long, especially if she be +little, short and thick, for such women have always worse labour if they +lie long on their beds in their travail. It is better, therefore, that +she walk about her chamber as long as she can, the woman supporting her +under the arms, if it be necessary; for by this means, the weight of the +child causes the inward orifices of the womb to dilate the sooner than +in bed, and if her pains be stronger and more frequent, her labour will +not be near so long. Let not the labouring woman be concerned at those +qualms and vomitings which, perhaps, she may find come upon her, for +they will be much for her advantage in the issue, however uneasy she may +be for a time, as they further her pains and throes by provoking +downward. + +When the waters of the child are ready and gathered (which may be +perceived through the membranes presenting themselves to the orifice) +to the bigness of the whole dilatation, the midwife ought to let them +break of themselves, and not, like some hasty midwives, who being +impatient of the woman's long labour, break them, intending thereby to +hasten their business, when instead thereof, they retard it; for by the +too hasty breaking of these waters (which nature designed to make the +child slip more easy), the passage remains dry by which means the pains +and throes of the labouring woman are less efficacious to bring forth +the infant than they would otherwise have been. It is, therefore, much +the better way to let the waters break of themselves; after which the +midwife may with ease feel the child by that part which first presents, +and thereby discern whether it comes right, that is, with the head +foremost, for that is the proper and most natural way of the birth. If +the head comes right, she will find it big, round, hard and equal; but +if it be any other part, she will find it rugged, unequal, soft and +hard, according to the nature of the part it is. And this being the true +time when a woman ought to be delivered, if nature be not wanting to +perform its office, therefore, when the midwife finds the birth thus +coming forward let her hasten to assist and deliver it, for it +ordinarily happens soon after, if it be natural. + +But if it happens, as it sometimes may, that the waters break away too +long before the birth, in such a case, those things which hasten nature +may safely be administered. For which purpose make use of pennyroyal, +dittany, juniper berries, red coral, betony and feverfew, boiled in +white wine, and give a drachm of it, or it would be much better to take +the juice of it when it is in its prime, which is in May, and having +clarified it, make it into a syrup with double its weight of sugar, and +keep it all the year, to use when occasion calls for it; mugwort used in +the same manner is also good in this case; also a drachm of cinnamon +powder given inwardly profits much in this case; and so does tansey +broiled and applied to the privities; or an oil of it, so, made and +used, as you were taught before. The stone _aetites_ held to the +privities, is of extraordinary virtue, and instantly draws away, both +child and after-burden; but great care must be taken to remove it +presently, or it will draw forth womb and all; for such is the magnetic +virtue of this stone that both child and womb follow it as readily as +iron doth the load-stone or the load-stone the north star. + +There are many things that physicians affirm are good in this case; +among which are an ass's or horse's hoof, hung near the privities; a +piece of red coral hung near the said place. A load-stone helps very +much, held in the woman's left hand; or the skin cut off a snake, girt +about the middle, next to the skin. These things are mentioned by +Mizaldus, but setting those things aside, as not so certain, +notwithstanding Mizaldus quotes them, the following prescriptions are +very good to speedy deliverance to women in travail. + +(1) A decoction of white wine made in savory, and drank. + +(2) Take wild tansey, or silver weed, bruise it, and apply to the +woman's nostrils. + +(3) Take date stones, and beat them to powder, and let her take half a +drachm of them in white wine at a time. + +(4) Take parsley and bruise it and press out the juice, and dip a linen +cloth in it, and put it so dipped into the mouth of the womb; it will +presently cause the child to come away, though it be dead, and it will +bring away the after-burden. Also the juice of the parsley is a thing of +so great virtue (especially stone parsley) that being drank by a woman +with child, it cleanseth not only the womb, but also the child in the +womb, of all gross humours. + +(5) A scruple of castorum in powder, in any convenient liquor, is very +good to be taken in such a case, and so also is two or three drops of +castorum in any convenient liquor; or eight or nine drops of spirits of +myrrh given in any convenient liquor, gives speedy deliverance. + +(6) Give a woman in such a case another woman's milk to drink; it will +cause speedy delivery, and almost without pain. + +(7) The juice of leeks, being drunk with warm water, highly operates to +cause speedy delivery. + +(8) Take peony seeds and beat them into a powder, and mix the powder +with oil, with which oil anoint the privities of the woman and child; it +will give her deliverance speedily, and with less pain than can be +imagined. + +(9) Take a swallow's nest and dissolve it in water, strain it, and drink +it warm, it gives delivery with great speed and much ease. + +Note this also in general, that all that move the terms are good for +making the delivery easy, such as myrrh, white amber in white wine, or +lily water, two scruples or a drachm; or cassia lignea, dittany, each a +drachm; cinnamon, half a drachm, saffron, a scruple; give a drachm, or +take borax mineral, a drachm, and give it in sack; or take cassia +lignea, a drachm; dittany, amber, of each a drachm; cinnamon, borax, of +each a drachm and a half; saffron, a scruple, and give her half a +drachm; or give her some drops of oil of hazel in convenient liquor; or +two or three drops of oil of cinnamon in vervain water. Some prepare +the secundine thus:--Take the navel-string and dry it in an oven, take +two drachms of the powder, cinnamon a drachm, saffron half a scruple, +with the juice of savin make trochisks; give two drachms; or wash the +secundine in wine and bake it in a pot; then wash it in endive water and +wine, take half a drachm of it; long pepper, galangal, of each half a +drachm; plantain and endive seed, of each half a drachm; lavender seed, +four scruples; make a powder, or take laudanum, two drachms; storax, +calamite, benzoin, of each half a drachm; musk, ambergris each six +grains, make a powder or trochisks for a fume. Or use pessaries to +provoke the birth; take galbanum dissolved in vinegar, an ounce; myrrh, +two drachms, with oil of oat make a pessary. + + + +_An Ointment For the Navel._ + +Take oil of keir, two ounces, juice of savine an ounce, of leeks and +mercury, each half an ounce; boil them to the consumption of the juice; +add galbanum dissolved in vinegar, half an ounce, myrrh, two drachms, +storax liquid a drachm, round bitwort, sowbread, cinnamon, saffron, a +drachm, with wax make an ointment and apply it. + +If the birth be retarded through the weakness of the mother, refresh +her by applying wine and soap to the nose, confect. alkermas. diamarg. + +These things may be applied to help nature in her delivery when the +child comes to the birth the right way, and yet the birth be retarded; +but if she finds the child comes the wrong way, and that she is not able +to deliver the woman as she ought to be, by helping nature, and saving +both mother and child (for it is not enough to lay a woman if it might +be done any other way with more safety and ease, and less hazard to +woman and child), then let her send speedily for the better and more +able to help; and not as I once knew a midwife do, who, when a woman she +was to deliver had hard labour, rather than a man-midwife should be sent +for, undertook to deliver the woman herself (though told it was a man's +business), and in her attempting it, brought away the child, but left +the head in the mother's womb; and had not a man midwife been presently +sent for, the mother had lost her life as well as the child; such +persons may rather be termed butchers than midwives. But supposing the +woman's labour to be natural, I will next show what the midwife ought to +do, in order of her delivery. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER V + + _Of Natural Labour; What it is and what the Midwife is to do in + such Labour._ + + +SECTION I.--_What Natural Labour is._ + +There are four things which denominate a woman's natural labour; the +first is, that it be at the full time, for if a woman comes before her +time, it cannot be termed natural labour, neither will it be so easy as +though she had completed her nine months. The second thing is, that it +be speedy, and without any ill accident; for when the time of her birth +come, nature is not dilatory in the bringing it forth, without some ill +accident intervene, which renders it unnatural. + +The third is, that the child be alive; for all will grant, that the +being delivered of a dead child is very unnatural. The fourth is, that +the child come right, for if the position of the child in the womb be +contrary to that which is natural, the event will prove it so, by making +that which should be a time of life, the death both of the mother and +the child. + +Having thus told you what I mean by natural labour, I shall next show +how the midwife is to proceed therein, in order to the woman's +delivery. When all the foregoing requisites concur, and after the +waters be broken of themselves, let there rather a quilt be laid upon +the pallet bedstead than a feather bed, having there-on linen and cloths +in many folds, with such other things as are necessary, and that may be +changed according to the exigency requiring it, so that the woman may +not be incommoded with the blood, waters and other filth which are +voided in labour. The bed ought to be ordered, that the woman being +ready to be delivered, should lie on her back upon it, having her body +in a convenient posture; this is, her head and breast a little raised, +so that she may be between lying and sitting, for being so placed, she +is best capable of breathing, and, likewise, will have more strength to +bear her pains than if she lay otherwise, or sunk down in her bed. Being +so placed, she must spread her thighs abroad, folding her legs a little +towards her buttocks, somewhat raised by a little pillow underneath, to +the end that her rumps should have more liberty to retire back; and let +her feet be stayed against some firm thing; besides this, let her take +firm hold of some of the good women attending her, with her hands, that +she may the better stay herself during her pains. She being thus placed +at her bed, having her midwife at hand, the better to assist as nature +may require, let her take courage, and help her pains as best she can, +bearing them down when they take her, which she must do by holding her +breath, and forcing them as much as possible, in like manner as when she +goes to stool, for by such straining, the diaphragm, or midriff, being +strongly thrust downward, necessarily forces down the womb and the child +in it. In the meantime, let the midwife endeavour to comfort her all she +can, exhorting her to bear her labour courageously, telling her it will +be quickly over, and that there is no fear but that she will have a +speedy delivery. Let the midwife also, having no rings on her fingers, +anoint them with oil of fresh butter, and therewith dilate gently the +inward orifice of the womb putting her finger ends into the entry +thereof, and then stretch them one from the other, when her pains take +her; by this means endeavouring to help forward the child, and thrusting +by little and little, the sides of the orifice towards the hinder part +of the child's head, anointing it with fresh butter if it be necessary. + +When the head of the infant is a little advanced into the inward +orifice, the midwife's phrase is:--"It is crowned"; because it girds and +surrounds it just as a crown; but when it is so far that the extremities +begin to appear without the privy parts, then they say, "The infant is +in the passage"; and at this time the woman feels herself as if it were +scratched, or pricked with pins, and is ready to imagine that the +midwife hurts her, when it is occasioned by the violent distension of +those parts and the laceration which sometimes the bigness of the +child's head causeth there. When things are in this posture, let the +midwife seat herself conveniently to receive the child, which will come +quickly, and with her finger ends (which she must be sure to keep close +pared) let her endeavour to thrust the crowning of the womb (of which I +have spoken before), back over the head of the child, and as soon as it +is advanced as far as the ears, or thereabouts, let her take hold of the +two sides with her two hands, that when a good pain comes she may +quickly draw forth the child, taking care that the navel-string be not +entangled about the neck or any part, as sometimes it is, lest thereby +the after-burden be pulled with violence, and perhaps the womb also, to +which it is fastened, and so either cause her to flood or else break the +strings, both which are of bad consequence to the woman, whose delivery +may thereby be rendered the more difficult. It must also be carefully +observed that the head be not drawn forth straight, but shaking it a +little from one side to the other, that the shoulders may sooner and +easier take their places immediately after it is past, without losing +time, lest the head being past, the child be stopped there by the +largeness of the shoulders, and so come in danger of being suffocated +and strangled in the passage, as it sometimes happens, for the want of +care therein. But as soon as the head is born, if there be need, she may +slide her fingers under the armpits, and the rest of the body will +follow without any difficulty. + +As soon as the midwife hath in this manner drawn forth the child, let +her put it on one side, lest the blood and water which follows +immediately, should do it any injury by running into its mouth and nose, +as they would do, if it lay on its back; and so endanger the choking of +it. The child being thus born, the next thing requisite is, to bring +away the after-burden, but before that let the midwife be very careful +to examine whether there be more children in the womb; for sometimes a +woman may have twins that expected it not; which the midwife may easily +know by the continuance of the pains after the child is born, and the +bigness of the mother's belly. But the midwife may be sure of it, if she +puts her hand up to the entry of the womb, and finds there another +watery gathering, and the child in it presenting to the passage, and if +she find it so, she must have a care of going to fetch the after-birth, +till the woman be delivered of all the children she is pregnant with. +Wherefore the first string must be cut, being first tied with a thread +three or four times double, and fasten the other end with string to the +woman's thighs, to prevent the inconvenience it may cause by hanging +between the thighs; and then removing the child already born, she must +take care to deliver her of the rest, observing all the circumstances as +with the first; after which, it will be necessary to fetch away the +after-birth, or births. But of that I shall treat in another section, +and first show what is to be done to the new-born infant. + + + +SECT. II.--_Of the Cutting of the Child's Navel String._ + +Though this is accounted by many but as a trifle, yet great care is to +be taken about it, and it shows none of the least art and skill of a +midwife to do it as it should be; and that it may be so done, the +midwife should observe: (1) The time. (2) The place. (3) The manner. (4) +The event. + +(1) The time is, as soon as ever the infant comes out of the womb, +whether it brings part of the after-burden with it or not; for +sometimes the child brings into the world a piece of the amnios upon its +head, and is what mid wives call the _caul_, and ignorantly attribute +some extraordinary virtue to the child so born; but this opinion is only +the effect of their ignorance; for when a child is born with such a +crown (as some call it) upon its brows, it generally betokens weakness +and denotes a short life. But to proceed to the matter in hand. As soon +as the child comes into the world, it should be considered whether it is +weak or strong; and if it be weak, let the midwife gently put back part +of the natural and vital blood into the body of the child by its navel; +for that recruits a weak child (the vital and natural spirits being +communicated by the mother to the child by its navel-string), but if the +child be strong, the operation is needless. Only let me advise you, that +many children that are born seemingly dead, may soon be brought to life +again, if you squeeze six or seven drops of blood out of that part of +the navel-string which is cut off, and give it to the child inwardly. + +(2) As to the place in which it should be cut, that is, whether it +should be cut long or short, it is that which authors can scarcely agree +in, and which many midwives quarrel about; some prescribing it to be cut +at four fingers' breadth, which is, at best, but an uncertain rule, +unless all fingers were of one size. It is a received opinion, that the +parts adapted to the generation are contracted and dilated according to +the cutting of the navel-string, and this is the reason why midwives are +generally so kind to their own sex, that they leave a longer part of the +navel-string of a male than female, because they would have the males +well provided for the encounters of Venus; and the reason they give, why +they cut that of the female shorter is, because they believe it makes +them more acceptable to their husbands. Mizaldus was not altogether of +the opinion of these midwives, and he, therefore, ordered the navel +string to be cut long both in male and female children; for which he +gives the following reason, that the instrument of generation follows +the proportion of it; and therefore, if it be cut too short in a female, +it will be a hindrance to her having children. I will not go about to +contradict the opinions of Mizaldus; these, experience has made +good:--That one is, that if the navel-string of a child, after it be +cut, be suffered to touch the ground, the child will never hold its +water, either sleeping or waking, but will be subjected to an +involuntary making of water all its lifetime. The other is, that a piece +of a child's navel-string carried about one, so that it touch his skin, +defends him that wears it from the falling sickness and convulsions. + +(3) As to the manner it must be cut, let the midwife take a brown +thread, four or five times double, of an ell long, or thereabouts, tied +with a single knot at each of the ends, to prevent their entangling; and +with this thread so accommodated (which the woman must have in readiness +before the woman's labour, as also a good pair of scissors, that no time +may be lost) let her tie the string within an inch of the belly with a +double knot, and turning about the end of the thread, let her tie two +more on the other side of the string, reiterating it again, if it be +necessary; then let her cut off the navel-string another inch below the +ligatures, towards the after-birth, so that there only remains but two +inches of the string, in the midst of which will be the knot we speak +of, which must be so close knit, as not to suffer a drop of blood to +squeeze out of the vessels, but care must be taken, not to knit it so +strait, as to out it in two, and therefore the thread must be pretty +thick and pretty strait cut, it being better too strait than too loose; +for some children have miserably lost their lives, with all their blood, +before it was discovered, because the navel-string was not well tied, +therefore great care must be taken that no blood squeeze through; for if +there do, a new knot must be made with the rest of the string. You need +not fear to bind the navel-string very hard because it is void of sense, +and that part which you leave, falls off in a very few days, sometimes +in six or seven, or sooner, but never tarries longer than eight or nine. +When you have thus cut the navel-string, then take care the piece that +falls off touch not the ground, for the reason I told you Mizaldus gave, +which experience has justified. + +(4) The last thing I mentioned, was the event or consequence, or what +follows cutting the navel-string. As soon as it is cut, apply a little +cotton or lint to the place to keep it warm, lest the cold enter into +the body of the child, which it most certainly will do, if you have not +bound it hard enough. If the lint or cotton you apply to it, be dipped +in oil of roses, it will be the better, and then put another small rag +three or four times double upon the belly; upon the top of all, put +another small bolster, and then swathe it with a linen swathe, four +fingers broad, to keep it steady, lest by moving too much, or from being +continually stirred from side to side, it comes to fall off before the +navel-string, which you left remaining, is fallen off. + +It is the usual custom of midwives to put a piece of burnt rag to it, +which we commonly call tinder; but I would rather advise them to put a +little ammoniac to it, because of its drying qualities. + + + +SECT. III.--_How to bring away the After-burden._ + +A woman cannot be said to be fairly delivered, though the child be born, +till the after-burden be also taken from her; herein differing from most +animals, who, when they have brought forth their young, cast forth +nothing else but some water, and the membranes which contained them. But +women have an after-labour, which sometimes proves more dangerous than +the first; and how to bring it safely away without prejudice to her, +shall be my business to show in this section. + +As soon as the child is born, before the midwife either ties or cuts the +navel-string, lest the womb should close, let her take the string and +wind it once or twice about one or two fingers on her left hand joined +together, the better to hold it, with which she may draw it moderately, +and with the right hand, she may only take a single hold of it, above +the left, near the privities, drawing likewise with that very gently, +resting the while the forefinger of the same hand, extended and +stretched forth along the string towards the entrance of the vagina, +always observing, for the greater facility, to draw it from the side +where the burden cleaves least; for in so doing, the rest will separate +the better; and special care must be taken that it be not drawn forth +with too much violence, lest by breaking the string near the burden, the +midwife be obliged to put the whole hand into the womb to deliver the +woman; and she need to be a very skilful person that undertakes it, lest +the womb, to which the burden is sometimes very strongly fastened, be +drawn away with it, as has sometimes happened. It is, therefore, best to +use such remedies as may assist nature. And here take notice, that what +brings away the birth, will also bring away the after-birth. And +therefore, for effecting this work, I will lay down the following rules. + +(1) Use the same means of bringing away the after-birth, that you made +use of to bring away the birth; for the same care and circumspection are +needful now that there were then. + +(2) Considering that the labouring woman cannot but be much spent by +what she has already undergone in bringing forth the infant, be +therefore sure to give her something to comfort her. And in this case +good jelly broths, also a little wine and toast in it, and other +comforting things, will be necessary. + +(3) A little hellebore in powder, to make her sneeze, is in this case +very proper. + +(4) Tansey, and the stone aetites, applied as before directed, are also +of good use in this case. + +(5) If you take the herb vervain, and either boil it in wine, or a syrup +with the juice of it, which you may do by adding to it double its weight +of sugar (having clarified the juice before you boil it), a spoonful of +that given to the woman is very efficacious to bring away the secundine; +and feverfew and mugwort have the same operation taken as the former. + +(6) Alexanders[10] boiled in wine, and the wine drank, also sweet +servile, sweet cicily, angelica roots, and musterwort, are excellent +remedies in this case. + +(7) Or, if this fail, the smoke of marigolds, received up a woman's +privities by a funnel, have been known to bring away the after-birth, +even when the midwife let go her hold. + +(8) Boil mugwort in water till it be very soft, then take it out, and +apply it in the manner of a poultice to the navel of the labouring +woman, and it instantly brings away the birth. But special care must be +taken to remove it as soon as they come away, lest by its long tarrying +it should draw away the womb also. + + + +SECT. IV.--_Of Laborious and Difficult Labours and how the Midwife is + to proceed therein._ + +There are three sorts of bad labours, all painful and difficult, but not +all properly unnatural. It will be necessary, therefore, to distinguish +these. + +The _first_ of these labours is that when the mother and child suffer +very much extreme pain and difficulty, even though the child come right; +and this is distinguishably called the laborious labour. + +The _second_ is that which is difficult and differs not much from the +former, except that, besides those extraordinary pains, it is generally +attended with some unhappy accident, which, by retarding the birth, +causes the difficulty; but these difficulties being removed, it +accelerates the birth, and hastens the delivery. + +Some have asked, what is the reason that women bring forth their +children with so much pain? I answer, the sense of feeling is +distributed to the whole body by the nerves, and the mouth of the womb +being so narrow, that it must of necessity be dilated at the time of the +woman's delivery, the dilating thereof stretches the nerves, and from +thence comes the pain. And therefore the reason why some women have more +pain in their labour than others, proceeds from their having the mouth +of the matrix more full of nerves than others. The best way to remove +those difficulties that occasion hard pains and labour, is to show first +from whence they proceed. Now the difficulty of labour proceeds either +from the mother, or child, or both. + +From the mother, by reason of the indisposition of the body, or from +some particular part only, and chiefly the womb, as when the woman is +weak, and the mother is not active to expel the burden, or from +weakness, or disease, or want of spirits; or it may be from strong +passion of the mind with which she was once possessed; she may also be +too young, and so may have the passage too narrow; or too old, and then, +if it be her first child, because her pains are too dry and hard, and +cannot be easily dilated, as happens also to them which are too lean; +likewise those who are small, short or deformed, as crooked women who +have not breath enough to help their pains, and to bear them down, +persons that are crooked having sometimes the bones of the passage not +well shaped. The colic also hinders labour, by preventing the true +pains; and all great and active pains, as when the woman is taken with a +great and violent fever, a great flooding, frequent convulsions, bloody +flux, or any other great distemper. Also, excrements retained cause +great difficulty, and so does a stone in the bladder: or when the +bladder is full of urine, without being able to void it, or when the +woman is troubled with great and painful piles. It may also be from the +passages, when the membranes are thick, the orifice too narrow, and the +neck of the womb not sufficiently open, the passages strained and +pressed by tumours in the adjacent parts, or when the bones are too +firm, and will not open, which very much endangers the mother and the +child; or when the passages are not slippery, by reason of the waters +having broken too soon, or membranes being too thin. The womb may also +be out of order with regard to its bad situation or conformation, having +its neck too narrow, hard and callous, which may easily be so naturally, +or may come by accident, being many times caused by a tumour, an +imposthume, ulcer or superfluous flesh. + +As to hard labour occasioned by the child, it is when the child happens +to stick to a mole, or when it is so weak it cannot break the membranes; +or if it be too big all over, or in the head only; or if the natural +vessels are twisted about its neck; when the belly is hydropsical; or +when it is monstrous, having two heads, or joined to another child, +also, when the child is dead or so weak that it can contribute nothing +to its birth; likewise when it comes wrong, or there are two or more. +And to all these various difficulties there is oftentimes one more, and +that is, the ignorance of the midwife, who for want of understanding in +her business, hinders nature in her work instead of helping her. + +Having thus looked into the cause of hard labour, I will now show the +industrious midwife how she may minister some relief to the labouring +woman under these difficult circumstances. But it will require judgment +and understanding in the midwife, when she finds a woman in difficult +labour, to know the particular obstruction, or cause thereof, that so a +suitable remedy may be applied; as for instance, when it happens by the +mother's being too young and too narrow, she must be gently treated, and +the passages anointed with oil, hog's lard, or fresh butter, to relax +and dilate them the easier, lest there should happen a rupture of any +part when the child is born; for sometimes the peritoneum breaks, with +the skin from the privities to the fundament. + +But if the woman be in years with her first child, let her lower parts +be anointed to mollify the inward orifice, which in such a case being +more hard and callous, does not easily yield to the distention of +labour, which is the true cause why such women are longer in labour, and +also why their children, being forced against the inward orifice of the +womb (which, as I have said, is a little callous) are born with great +bumps and bruises on their heads. + +Those women who are very small and mis-shaped, should not be put to bed, +at least until the waters are broken, but rather kept upright and +assisted to walk about the chamber, by being supported under the arms; +for by that means, they will breathe more freely, and mend their pains +better than on the bed, because there they lie all of a heap. As for +those that are very lean, and have hard labour from that cause, let them +moisten the parts with oil and ointments, to make them more smooth and +slippery, that the head of the infant, and the womb be not so compressed +and bruised by the hardness of the mother's bones which form the +passage. If the cause be weakness, she ought to be strengthened, the +better to support her pains, to which end give her good jelly broths, +and a little wine with a toast in it. If she fears her pains, let her be +comforted, assuring her that she will not endure any more, but be +delivered in a little time. But if her pains be slow and small, or none +at all, they must be provoked by frequent and pretty strong clysters; +let her walk about her chamber, so that the weight of the child may help +them forward. If she flood or have strong convulsions she must then be +helped by a speedy delivery; the operation I shall relate in this +section of unnatural labours. If she be costive, let her use clysters, +which may also help to dispel colic, at those times very injurious +because attended with useless pains, and because such bear not downward, +and so help not to forward the birth. If she find an obstruction or +stoppage of the urine, by reason of the womb's bearing too much on the +bladder, let her lift up her belly a little with her hands, and try if +by that she receives any benefit; if she finds she does not, it will be +necessary to introduce a catheter into her bladder, and thereby draw +forth her urine. If the difficulty be from the ill posture of the woman, +let her be placed otherwise, in a posture more suitable and convenient +for her; also if it proceeds from indispositions of the womb, as from +its oblique situation, etc., it must be remedied, as well as it can be, +by the placing her body accordingly; or, if it be a vicious +conformation, having the neck too hard, too callous, too straight, it +must be anointed with oil and ointments, as before directed. If the +membranes be so strong that the waters do not break in due time, they +may be broken with the fingers, if the midwife be first well assured +that the child is come forward into the passage, and ready to follow +presently after; or else, by the breaking of the waters too soon, the +child may be in danger of remaining dry a long time; to supply which +defect, you may moisten the parts with fomentations, decoctions, and +emollient oils; which yet is not half so well as when nature does her +work in her own time, with the ordinary slime and waters. The membranes +sometimes do press forth with the waters, three or four fingers' breadth +out of the body before the child resembling a bladder full of water; but +there is no great danger in breaking them, if they be not already +broken; for when the case is so, the child is always in readiness to +follow, being in the passage, but let the midwife be very careful not to +pull it with her hand, lest the after-burden be thereby loosened before +its time, for it adheres thereto very strongly. If the navel-string +happen to come first, it must presently be put up again, and kept so, if +possible, or otherwise, the woman must be immediately delivered. But if +the after-burden should come first, it must not be put up again by any +means; for the infant having no further occasion for it, it would be but +an obstacle if it were put up; in this case, it must be cut off, having +tied the navel-string, and afterwards draw forth the child with all +speed that may be, lest it be suffocated. + + + +SECT. V.--_Of Women labouring of a dead Child._ + +When the difficulty of labour arises from a dead child, it is a great +danger to a mother and great care ought to be taken therein; but before +anything be done, the midwife ought to be well assured that the child is +dead indeed, which may be known by these signs. + +(1) The breast suddenly slacks, or falls flat, or bags down. (2) A great +coldness possesses the belly of the mother, especially about the navel. +(3) Her urine is thick, with a filthy stinking settling at the bottom. +(4) No motion of the child can be perceived; for the trial whereof, let +the midwife put her hand into warm water, and lay it upon the belly, for +that, if it is alive, will make it stir. (5) She is very subject to +dreams of dead men, and affrighted therewith. (6) She has extraordinary +longings to eat such things as are contrary to nature. (7) Her breath +stinks, though not used so to do. (8) When she turns herself in her bed, +the child sways that way like a lump of lead. + +These things being carefully observed, the midwife may make a judgment +whether the child be alive or dead, especially if the woman take the +following prescription:--"Take half a pint of white wine and burn it, +and add thereto half an ounce of cinnamon, but no other spices +whatever, and when she has drunk it, if her travailing pains come upon +her, the child is certainly dead; but if not, the child may possibly be +either weak or sick, but not dead. This will bring her pains upon her if +it be dead, and will refresh the child and give her ease if it be +living; for cinnamon refresheth and strengtheneth the child. + +Now, if upon trial it be found the child is dead, let the mother do all +she can to forward the delivery, because a dead child can in no wise be +helpful therein. It will be necessary, therefore, that she take some +comfortable things to prevent her fainting, by reason of the putrid +vapours arising from the dead child. And in order to her delivery let +her take the following herbs boiled in white wine (or at least as many +of them as you can get), viz., dittany, betony, pennyroyal, sage, +feverfew, centaury, ivy leaves and berries. Let her also take sweet +basil in powder, and half a drachm at a time in white wine; let her +privities also be anointed with the juice of the garden tansey. Or take +the tansey in the summer when it can most plentifully be had, and before +it runs up to flower, and having bruised it well, boil it in oil until +the juice of it be consumed. If you set it in the sun, after you have +mixed it with oil, it will be more effectual. This, an industrious +midwife, who would be prepared against all events, ought to have always +by her. As to the manner of her delivery, the same methods must be used +as are mentioned in the section of natural labour. And here again, I +cannot but commend the stone aetites, held near the privities, whose +magnetic virtue renders it exceedingly necessary on this occasion, for +it draws the child any way with the same facility that the load-stone +draws iron. + +Let the midwife also make a strong decoction of hyssop with water, and +let the woman drink it very hot, and it will in a little time bring away +the dead child. + +If, as soon as she is delivered of the dead child, you are in doubt that +part of the afterbirth is left behind in the body (for in such cases as +these many times it rots, and comes away piece-meal), let her continue +drinking the same decoction until her body be cleansed. + +A decoction made of herbs, muster-wort, used as you did the decoction of +hyssop, works the effect. Let the midwife also take the roots of +pollodum and stamp them well; warm them a little and bind them on the +sides of her feet, and it will soon bring away the child either dead or +alive. + +The following medicines also are such as stir up the expulsive faculty, +but in this case they must be stronger, because the motion of the child +ceases. + +Take savine, round birthwort, trochisks of myrrh, castor, cinnamon and +saffron, each half a drachm; make a powder, give a drachm. + +Or she may purge first, and then apply an emollient, anointing her about +the womb with oil of lilies, sweet almonds, camomiles, hen and +goose-grease. Also foment to get out the child, with a decoction of +mercury, orris, wild cucumbers, saecus, broom flowers. Then anoint the +privities and loins with ointment of sow-bread. Or, take coloquintida, +agaric, birthwort, of each a drachm; make a powder, add ammoniacum +dissolved in wine, ox-gall, each two drachms. Or make a fume with an +ass's hoof burnt, or gallianum, or castor, and let it be taken in with a +funnel. + +To take away pains and strengthen the parts, foment with the decoction +of mugwort, mallows, rosemary, with wood myrtle, St. John's wort, each +half an ounce, spermaceti two drachms, deer's suet, an ounce; with wax +make an ointment. Or take wax six ounces, spermaceti an ounce; melt +them, dip flux therein, and lay it all over her belly. + +If none of these things will do, the last remedy is to try surgery, and +then the midwife ought without delay to send for an expert and able +man-midwife, to deliver her by manual operation, of which I shall treat +more at large in the next chapter. + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[10] Horse-parsley. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + _Of Unnatural Labour._ + + +In showing the duty of a midwife, when the child-bearing woman's labour +is unnatural, it will be requisite to show, in the first place, what I +mean by unnatural labour, for that women do bring forth in pain and +sorrow is natural and common to all. Therefore, that which I call +unnatural is, when the child comes to the birth in a contrary posture to +that which nature ordained, and in which the generality of the children +come into the world. + +The right and natural birth is when the child comes with its head first; +and yet this is too short a definition of a natural birth; for if any +part of the head but the crown comes first, so that the body follows not +in a straight line, it is a wrong and difficult birth, even though the +head comes first. Therefore, if the child comes with its feet first, or +with the side across, it is quite contrary to nature, or to speak more +plainly, that which I call unnatural. + +Now, there are four general ways a child may come wrong. (1) When any of +the foreparts of the body first present themselves. (2) When by an +unhappy transposition, any of the hinder parts of the body first present +themselves. (3) When either of the sides, or, (4) the feet present +themselves first. To these, the different wrong postures that a child +can present itself in, may be reduced. + + + +SECTION I.--_How to deliver a Woman of a Dead Child by Manual + Operation._ + +When manual operation is necessary, let the operator acquaint the woman +of the absolute necessity there is for such an operation; and that, as +the child has already lost its life, there is no other way left for the +saving hers. Let him also inform her, for her encouragement, that he +doubts not, with the divine blessing, to deliver her safely, and that +the pains arising therefrom will not be so great as she fears. Then let +him stir up the woman's pains by giving her some sharp clyster, to +excite her throes to bear down, and bring forth the child. And if this +prevails not, let him proceed with the manual operation. + +First, therefore, let her be placed across the bed that he may operate +the easier; and let her lie on her back, with her hips a little higher +than her head, or at least the body equally placed, when it is necessary +to put back or turn the infant to give it a better posture. Being thus +situated, she must fold her legs so as her heels be towards her +buttocks, and her thighs spread, and so held by a couple of strong +persons, there must be others also to support her under her arms, that +the body may not slide down when the child is drawn forth; for which +sometimes great strength is required. Let the sheets and blankets cover +her thighs for decency's sake, and with respect to the assistants, and +also to prevent her catching cold; the operator herein governing himself +as well with respect to his convenience, and the facility and surety of +the operation, as to other things. Then let him anoint the entrance to +the womb with oil or fresh butter, if necessary, that with so more ease +he may introduce his hand, which must also be anointed, and having by +the signs above mentioned, received satisfaction that the child is dead, +he must do his endeavours to fetch it away as soon as he possibly can. +If the child offer the head first, he must gently put it back until he +hath liberty to introduce his hand quite into the womb; then sliding it +along, under the belly, to find the feet, let him draw it forth by +them, being very careful to keep the head from being locked into the +passage; and that it be not separated from the body; which may be +effected the more easily, because the child being very rotten and +putrefied, the operator need not be so mindful to keep the breast and +face downwards as he is in living births. But if notwithstanding all +these precautions, by reason of the child's putrefaction, the head +should be separated and left behind in the womb, it must be drawn forth +according to the directions which have been given in the third section +of this chapter. But when the head, coming first, is so far advanced +that it cannot well be put back, it is better to draw it forth so, than +to torment the woman too much by putting it back to turn it, and bring +it by the feet; but the head being a part round and slippery, it may +also happen that the operator cannot take hold of it with his fingers by +reason of its moisture, nor put them up to the side of it, because the +passage is filled with its bigness; he must, therefore, take a proper +instrument, and put it up as far as he can without violence, between the +womb and the child's head (for the child being dead before, there can be +no danger in the operation), and let him fasten it there, giving it hold +upon one of the bones of the skull, that it may not slide, and after it +is well fixed in the head, he may therewith draw it forth, keeping the +ends of the fingers of his left hand flat upon the opposite side, the +better to help to disengage it, and by wagging it a little, to conduct +it directly out of the passage, until the head be quite born; and then, +taking hold of it with his hands only, the shoulders being drawn into +the passage, and so sliding the fingers of both hands under the armpits, +the child may be quite delivered, and then the after-burden fetched, to +finish the operation, being careful not to pluck the navel-string too +hard lest it break, as often happens when it is corrupt. + +If the dead child comes with the arm up to the shoulders so extremely +swelled that the woman must suffer too great violence to have it put +back, it is then (being first well assured the child is dead) best to +take it off by the shoulder joints, by twisting three or four times +about, which is very easily done by reason of the softness and +tenderness of the body. After the arm is so separated, and no longer +possesses the passage, the operator will have more room to put up his +hand into the womb, to fetch the child by the feet and bring it away. + +But although the operator is sure the child is dead in the womb, yet he +must not therefore presently use instruments because they are never to +be used but when hands are not sufficient, and there is no other remedy +to prevent the woman's danger, or to bring forth the child any other +way; and the judicious operator will choose that way which is the least +hazardous, and most safe. + + + +SECT. II.--_How a Woman must be Delivered when the Child's Feet come + first._ + +There is nothing more obvious to those whose business it is to assist +labouring women, than that the several unnatural postures in which +children present themselves at the birth are the occasions of most of +the bad labours and ill accidents that happen to them in that condition. + +And since midwives are often obliged, because of their unnatural +situations, to draw the children forth by the feet, I conceive it to be +most proper first to show how a child must be brought forth that +presents itself in that posture, because it will be a guide to several +of the rest. + +I know indeed in this case it is the advice of several authors to change +the figure, and place the head so that it may present to the birth, and +this counsel I should be very much inclined to follow, could they but +also show how it may be done. But it will appear very difficult, if not +impossible to be performed, if we would avoid the danger that by such +violent agitations both the mother and the child must be put into, and +therefore my opinion is, that it is better to draw forth by the feet, +when it presents itself in that posture, than to venture a worse +accident by turning it. + +As soon, therefore, as the waters are broken, and it is known that the +child come thus and that the womb is open enough to admit the midwife's +or operator's hand into it, or else by anointing the passage with oil or +hog's grease, to endeavour to dilate it by degrees, using her fingers to +this purpose, spreading them one from the other, after they are together +entered, and continue to do so until they be sufficiently dilated, then +taking care that her nails be well pared, no rings on her fingers and +her hands well anointed with oil or fresh butter, and the woman placed +in the manner directed in the former section, let her gently introduce +her hand into the entrance of the womb, where finding the child's feet, +let her draw it forth in the manner I shall presently direct; only let +her first see whether it presents one foot or both, and if but one foot, +she ought to consider whether it be the right foot or the left, and also +in what fashion it comes; for by that means she will soon come to know +where to find the other, which as soon as she knows and finds, let her +draw it forth with the other; but of this she must be specially careful, +viz., that the second be not the foot of another child; for if so, it +may be of the utmost consequence, for she may sooner split both mother +and child, than draw them forth. But this may be easily prevented if she +but slide the hand up by the first leg and thigh to the waist, and there +finding both thighs joined together, and descending from one and the +same body. And this is also the best means to find the other foot, when +it comes but with one. + +As soon as the midwife has found both the child's feet, she may draw +them forth, and holding them together, may bring them little by little +in this manner, taking afterwards hold of the arms and thighs, as soon +as she can come at them, drawing them so till the hips come forth. While +this is doing, let her observe to wrap the parts in a single cloth, so +that her hands being always greasy slide not in the infant's body, which +is very slippery, because of the vicious humours which are all over it; +which being done, she may take hold under the hips, so as to draw it +forth to the beginning of the breast; and let her on both sides with her +hand bring down the child's hand along its body, which she may easily +find; and then let her take care that the belly and face of the child be +downwards; for if they should be upwards, there would be the same danger +of its being stopped by the chin, over the share-bone, and therefore, if +it be not so she must turn it to that posture; which may easily be done +if she takes a proper hold of the body when the breasts and arms are +forth, in the manner we have said, and draw it, turning it in proportion +on that side it most inclines to, till it be turned with the face +downwards, and so, having brought it to the shoulders, let her lose no +time, desiring the woman at the same time to bear down, that so drawing +the head at that instant may take its place, and not be stopped in the +passage, though the midwife takes all possible care to prevent it. And +when this happens, she must endeavour to draw forth the child by the +shoulders (taking care that she separate not the body from the head, as +I have known it done by the midwife), discharging it by little and +little from the bones in the passage with the fingers of each hand, +sliding them on each side opposite the other, sometimes above and +sometimes under, till the work be ended; endeavouring to dispatch it as +soon as possible, lest the child be suffocated, as it will unavoidably +be, if it remain long in that posture; and this being well and +carefully effected, she may soon after fetch away the after-birth, as I +have before directed. + + + +SECT. III.--_How to bring away the Head of the Child, when separated + from the Body, and left behind in the Womb._ + +Though the utmost care be taken in bringing away the child by the feet, +yet if it happen to be dead, it is sometimes so putrid and corrupt, that +with the least pull the head separates from the body and remains alone +in the womb, and cannot be brought away but with a manual operation and +great difficulty, it being extremely slippery, by reason of the place +where it is, and from the roundness of its figure, on which no hold can +well be taken; and so very great is the difficulty in this case that +sometimes two or three very able practitioners in midwifery have, one +after the other, left the operation unfinished, as not able to effect +it, after the utmost industry, skill and strength; so that the woman, +not being able to be delivered, perished. To prevent which fatal +accident, let the following operation be observed. + +When the infant's head separates from the body, and is left alone +behind, whether owing to putrefaction or otherwise, let the operator +immediately, without any delay, while the womb is yet open, direct up +his right hand to the mouth of the head (for no other hole can there be +had), and having found it let him put one or two of his fingers into it, +and the thumb under its chin; then let him draw it little by little, +holding it by the jaws; but if that fails, as sometimes it will when +putrefied, then let him pull off the right hand and slide up his left, +with which he must support the head, and with the right hand let him +take a narrow instrument called a _crochet_, but let it be strong and +with a single branch, which he must guide along the inside of his hand, +with the point of it towards it, for fear of hurting the womb; and +having thus introduced it, let him turn it towards the head to strike +either in an eyehole, or the hole of the ear, or behind the head, or +else between the sutures, as he finds it most convenient and easy; and +then draw forth the head so fastened with the said instrument, still +helping to conduct it with his left hand; but when he hath brought it +near the passage, being strongly fastened to the instrument, let him +remember to draw forth his hand, that the passage not being filled with +it, may be larger and easier, keeping still a finger or two on the side +of the head, the better to disengage it. + +There is also another method, with more ease and less hardship than the +former; let the operator take a soft fillet or linen slip, of about four +fingers' breadth, and the length of three quarters of an ell or +thereabouts, taking the two ends with the left hand, and the middle with +the right, and let him so put it up with his right, as that it may be +beyond the head, to embrace it as a sling does a stone, and afterwards +draw forth the fillet by the two ends together; it will thus be easily +drawn forth, the fillet not hindering the least passage, because it +takes up little or no space. + +When the head is fetched out of the womb care must be taken that not the +least part of it be left behind, and likewise to cleanse the womb of the +after-burden, if yet remaining. If the burden be wholly separated from +the side of the womb, that ought to be first brought away, because it +may also hinder the taking hold of the head. But if it still adheres to +the womb, it must not be meddled with till the head be brought away; for +if one should endeavour to separate it from the womb, it might then +cause a flooding, which would be augmented by the violence of the +operation, the vessels to which it is joined remaining for the most part +open as long as the womb is distended, which the head causeth while it +is retained in it, and cannot be closed until this strange body be +voided, and this it doth by contracting and compressing itself +together, as has been more fully before explained. Besides, the +after-birth remaining thus cleaving to the womb during the operation, +prevents it from receiving easily either bruise or hurt. + + + +SECT. IV.--_How to deliver a Woman when the child's head is presented to + the birth._ + +Though some may think it a natural labour when the child's head come +first, yet, if the child's head present not the right way, even that is +an unnatural labour; and therefore, though the head comes first, yet if +it be the side of the head instead of the crown, it is very dangerous +both to the mother and the child, for the child's neck would be broken, +if born in that manner, and by how much the mother's pains continue to +bear the child, which is impossible unless the head be rightly placed, +the more the passages are stopped. Therefore, as soon as the position of +the child is known, the woman must be laid with all speed, lest the +child should advance further than this vicious posture, and thereby +render it more difficult to thrust it back, which must be done, in order +to place the head right in the passage, as it ought to be. + +To this purpose, therefore, place the woman so that her buttocks may be +a little higher than her head and shoulders, causing her to lean a +little to the opposite side to the child's ill posture; then let the +operator slide up his hand, well anointed with oil, by the side of the +child's head; to bring it right gently, with his fingers between the +head and the womb; but if the head be so engaged that it cannot be done +that way, he must then put up his hand to the shoulders, that by so +thrusting them back a little into the womb, sometimes on the one side, +and sometimes on the other, he may, little by little, give a natural +position. I confess it would be better if the operator could put back +the child by its shoulders with both hands, but the head takes up so +much room, that he will find much ado to put up one, with which he must +perform this operation, and, with the help of the finger-ends of the +other hand put forward the child's birth as in natural labour. + +Some children present their face first, having their hands turned back, +in which posture it is extremely difficult for a child to be born; and +if it continues so long, the face will be swelled and become black and +blue, so that it will at first appear monstrous, which is occasioned as +well by the compression of it in that place, as by the midwife's fingers +in handling it, in order to place it in a better posture. But this +blackness will wear away in three or four days' time, by anointing it +often with oil of sweet almonds. To deliver the birth, the same +operation must be used as in the former, when the child comes first with +the side of the head; only let the midwife or operator work very gently +to avoid as much as possible the bruising the face. + + + +SECT. V.--_How to Deliver a Woman when the Child presents one or both + Hands together with the Head._ + +Sometimes the infant will present some other part together with its +head; which if it does, it is usually with one or both of its hands; and +this hinders the birth, because the hands take up part of that passage +which is little enough for the head alone; besides that, when this +happens, they generally cause the head to lean on one side; and +therefore this position may be well styled unnatural. When the child +presents thus, the first thing to be done after it is perceived, must +be, to prevent it from coming down more, or engaging further in the +passage; and therefore, the operator having placed the woman on the bed, +with her head lower than her buttocks, must guide and put back the +infant's hand with his own as much as may be, or both of them, if they +both come down, to give way to the child's head; and this being done, +if the head be on one side, it must be brought into its natural posture +in the middle of the passage, that it may come in a straight line, and +then proceed as directed in the foregoing section. + + + +SECT. VI.--_How a Woman ought to be delivered, when the Hands and Feet + of the Infant come together._ + +There are none but will readily grant, that when the hands and feet of +an infant present together, the labour must be unnatural, because it is +impossible a child should be born in that manner. In this case, +therefore, when the midwife guides her hand towards the orifice of the +womb she will perceive only many fingers close together, and if it be +not sufficiently dilated, it will be a good while before the hands and +feet will be exactly distinguished; for they are sometimes so shut and +pressed together, that they seem to be all of one and the same shape, +but where the womb is open enough to introduce the hand into it, she +will easily know which are the hands and which are the feet; and having +taken particular notice thereof, let her slide up her hand and presently +direct it towards the infant's breast, which she will find very near, +and then let her gently thrust back the body towards the bottom of the +womb, leaving the feet in the same place where she found them. And then, +having placed the woman in a convenient posture, that is to say, her +buttocks a little raised above her breast (and which situation ought +also to be observed when the child is to be put back into the womb), let +the midwife afterwards take hold of the child by the feet, and draw it +forth, as is directed in the second section. + +This labour, though somewhat troublesome, yet is much better than when +the child presents only its hands; for then the child must be quite +turned about before it can be drawn forth; but in this they are ready, +presenting themselves, and there is little to do, but to lift and thrust +back the upper part of the body, which is almost done of itself, by +drawing it by the feet alone. + +I confess there are many authors that have written of labours, who would +have all wrong births reduced to a natural figure, which is, to turn it +that it may come with the head first. But those that have written thus, +are such as never understood the practical part, for if they had the +least experience therein, they would know that it is impossible; at +least, if it were to be done, that violence must necessarily be used in +doing it, that would probably be the death both of mother and child in +the operation. I would, therefore, lay down as a general rule, that +whenever a child presents itself wrong to the birth, in what posture so +ever, from the shoulders to the feet, it is the way, and soonest done, +to draw it out by the feet; and that it is better to search for them, if +they do not present themselves, than to try and put them in their +natural posture, and place the head foremost; for the great endeavours +necessary to be used in turning the child in the womb, do so much weaken +both the mother and the child, that there remains not afterwards +strength enough to commit the operation to the work of nature; for, +usually, the woman has no more throes or pains fit for labour after she +has been so wrought upon; for which reason it would be difficult and +tedious at best; and the child, by such an operation made very weak, +would be in extreme danger of perishing before it could be born. It is, +therefore, much better in these cases to bring it away immediately by +the feet, searching for them as I have already directed, when they do +not present themselves; by which the mother will be prevented a tedious +labour, and the child be often brought alive into the world, who +otherwise could hardly escape death. + + + +SECT. VII.--_How a Woman should be delivered that has twins, which + present themselves in different postures._ + +We have already spoken something of the birth of twins in the chapter of +natural labour, for it is not an unnatural labour barely to have twins, +provided they come in the right position to the birth. But when they +present themselves in different postures, they come properly under the +denomination of unnatural labours; and if when one child presents itself +in a wrong figure, it makes the labour dangerous and unnatural, it must +needs make it much more so when there are several, and render it not +only more painful to the mother and children, but to the operator also; +for they often trouble each other and hinder both their births. Besides +which the womb is so filled with them, that the operator can hardly +introduce his hand without much violence, which he must do, if they are +to be turned or thrust back, to give them a better position. + +When a woman is pregnant with two children, they rarely present to the +birth together, the one being generally more forward than the other; and +that is the reason that but one is felt, and that many times the midwife +knows not that there are twins until the first is born, and that she is +going to fetch away the afterbirth. In the first chapter, wherein I +treated of natural labour, I have showed how a woman should be delivered +of twins, presenting themselves both right; and before I close the +chapter of unnatural labour, it only remains that I show what ought to +be done when they either both come wrong or one of them only, as for the +most part it happens; the first generally coming right, and the second +with the feet forward, or in some worse posture. In such a case, the +birth of the first must be hastened as much as possible and to make way +for the second, which is best brought away by the feet, without +endeavouring to place it right, because it has been, as well as the +mother, already tired and weakened by the birth of the first, and there +would be greater danger to its death, than likelihood of its coming out +of the womb that way. + +But if, when the first is born naturally, the second should likewise +offer its head to the birth, it would then be best to leave nature to +finish what she has so well begun, and if nature should be too slow in +her work, some of those things mentioned in the fourth chapter to +accelerate the birth, may be properly enough applied, and if, after +that, the second birth should be delayed, let a manual operation be +delayed no longer, but the woman being properly placed, as has been +before directed, let the operator direct his hand gently into the womb +to find the feet, and so draw forth the second child, which will be the +more easily effected, because there is a way made sufficiently by the +birth of the first; and if the waters of the second child be not broke, +as it often happens, yet, intending to bring it by its feet, he need not +scruple to break the membranes with his fingers; for though, when the +birth of a child is left to the operation of nature, it is necessary +that the waters should break of themselves, yet when the child is +brought out of the womb by art, there is no danger in breaking them, +nay, on the contrary it becomes necessary; for without the waters are +broken, it will be almost impossible to turn the child. + +But herein principally lies the care of the operator, that he be not +deceived, when either the hands or feet of both children offer +themselves together to the birth; in this case he ought well to consider +the operation, of whether they be not joined together, or any way +monstrous, and which part belongs to one child and which to the other; +so that they may be fetched one after the other, and not both together, +as may be, if it were not duly considered, taking the right foot of one +and the left of the other, and so drawing them together, as if they +both belonged to one body, because there is a left and a right, by which +means it would be impossible to deliver them. But a skilful operator +will easily prevent this, if, after having found two or three of several +children presenting together in the passage, and taking aside two of the +forwardest, a right and a left, and sliding his arm along the legs and +thighs up to the wrist, if forward, or to the buttocks, if backwards, he +finds they both belong to one body; of which being thus assured, he may +begin to draw forth the nearest, without regarding which is the +strongest or weakest, bigger or less, living or dead, having first put +aside that part of the other child which offers to have the more way, +and so dispatch the first as soon as may be, observing the same rules as +if there were but one, that is keeping the breast and face downwards, +with every circumstance directed in that section where the child comes +with its feet first, and not fetch the burden till the second child is +born. And therefore, when the operator hath drawn forth one child, he +must separate it from the burden, having tied and cut the navel-string, +and then fetch the other by the feet in the same manner, and afterwards +bring away the after-burden with the two strings as hath been before +showed. If the children present any other part but the feet, the +operator may follow the same method as directed in the foregoing +section, where the several unnatural positions are fully treated of. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER VII + + _Directions for Child-bearing Women in their Lying-in._ + + +SECTION I.--_How a Woman newly Delivered ought to be ordered._ + +As soon as she is laid in her bed, let her be placed in it conveniently +for ease and rest, which she stands in great need of to recover herself +of the great fatigue she underwent during her travail, and that she may +lie the more easily let her hands and body be a little raised, that she +may breathe more freely, and cleanse the better, especially of that +blood which then comes away, that so it may not clot, which being +retained causeth great pain. + +Having thus placed her in bed, let her take a draught of burnt white +wine, having a drachm of spermaceti melted therein. The best vervain is +also singularly good for a woman in this condition, boiling it in what +she either eats or drinks, fortifying the womb so exceedingly that it +will do it more good in two days, than any other thing does in double +that time, having no offensive taste. And this is no more than what she +stands in need of; for her lower parts being greatly distended until the +birth of the infant, it is good to endeavour the prevention of an +inflammation there. Let there also be outwardly applied, all over the +bottom of her belly and privities, the following anodyne and +cataplasm:--Take two ounces of oil of sweet almonds, and two or three +new laid eggs, yolks and whites, stirring them together in an earthen +pipkin over hot embers till they come to the consistence of a poultice; +which being spread upon a cloth, must be applied to those parts +indifferently warm, having first taken away the closures (which were put +to her presently after her delivery), and likewise such clots of blood +as were then left. Let this lie on for five or six hours, and then renew +it again when you see cause. + +Great care ought to be taken at first, that if her body be very weak, +she be not kept too hot, for extremity of heat weakens nature and +dissolves the strength; and whether she be weak or strong, be sure that +no cold air comes near her at first; for cold is an enemy to the +spermatic parts; if it get into the womb it increases the after pains, +causes swelling in the womb and hurts the nerves. As to her diet, let it +be hot, and let her eat but little at a time. Let her avoid the light +for the first three days, and longer if she be weak, for her labour +weakens her eyes exceedingly, by a harmony between the womb and them. +Let her also avoid great noise, sadness and trouble of mind. + +If the womb be foul, which may easily be perceived by the impurity of +the blood (which will then easily come away in clots or stinking, or if +you suspect any of the after-burden to be left behind, which may +sometimes happen), make her drink a feverfew, mugwort, pennyroyal and +mother of thyme, boiled in white wine and sweetened with sugar. + +Panado and new laid eggs are the best meat for her at first, of which +she may eat often, but not too much at a time. And let her nurse use +cinnamon in all her meats and drinks, for it generally strengthens the +womb. + +Let her stir as little as may be until after the fifth, sixth, or +seventh day after her delivery, if she be weak; and let her talk as +little as possible, for that weakens her very much. + +If she goes not well to stool, give a clyster made only of the +decoction of mallows and a little brown sugar. + +When she hath lain in a week or more, let her use such things as close +the womb, of which knot-grass and comfrey are very good, and to them you +may add a little polypodium, for it will do her good, both leaves and +root being bruised. + + + +SECT. II.--_How to remedy those Accidents which a Lying-in Woman is + subject to._ + +I. The first common and usual accident that troubles women in their +lying-in is after-pains. They proceed from cold and wind contained in +the bowels, with which they are easily filled after labour, because then +they have more room to dilate than when the child was in the womb, by +which they were compressed; and also, because nourishment and matter, +contained as well in them as in the stomach, have been so confusedly +agitated from side to side during the pains of labour, by the throes +which always must compress the belly, that they could not be well +digested, whence the wind is afterwards generated and, by consequence, +the gripes which the woman feels running into her belly from side to +side, according as the wind moves more or less, and sometimes likewise +from the womb, because of the compression and commotion which the +bowels make. This being generally the case, let us now apply a suitable +remedy. + +1. Boil an egg soft, and pour out the yolk of it, with which mix a +spoonful of cinnamon water, and let her drink it; and if you mix in it +two grains of ambergris, it will be better; and yet vervain taken in +anything she drinks, will be as effectual as the other. + +2. Give a lying-in woman, immediately after delivery, oil of sweet +almonds and syrup of maiden-hair mixed together. Some prefer oil of +walnuts, provided it be made of nuts that are very good; but it tastes +worse than the other at best. This will lenify the inside of the +intestines by its unctuousness, and by that means bring away that which +is contained in them more easily. + +3. Take and boil onions well in water, then stamp them with oil of +cinnamon, spread them on a cloth, and apply them to the region of the +womb. + +4. Let her be careful to keep her belly warm, and not to drink what is +too cold; and if the pain prove violent, hot cloths from time to time +must be laid on her belly, or a pancake fried in walnut oil may be +applied to it, without swathing her belly too strait. And for the better +evacuating the wind out of the intestines, give her a clyster, which +may be repeated as often as necessity requires. + +5. Take bay-berries, beat them to a powder, put the powder upon a +chafing-dish of coals, and let her receive the smoke of them up her +privities. + +6. Take tar and bear's grease, of each an equal quantity, boil them +together, and whilst it is boiling, add a little pigeon's dung to it. +Spread some of this upon a linen cloth, and apply it to the veins of the +back of her that is troubled with afterpains, and it will give her +speedy ease. + +Lastly, let her take half a drachm of bay-berries beaten into a powder, +in a drachm of muscadel or teat. + +II. Another accident to which women in child-bed are subject is +haemorrhoids or piles, occasioned through the great straining in +bringing the child into the world. To cure this, + +1. Let her be let blood in the saphoena vein. + +2. Let her use polypodium in her meat, and drink, bruised and boiled. + +3. Take an onion, and having made a hole in the middle, of it, fill it +full of oil, roast it and having bruised it all together, apply it to +the fundament. + +4. Take a dozen of snails without shells, if you can get them, or else +so many shell snails, and pull them out, and having bruised them with a +little oil, apply them warm as before. + +5. If she go not well to stool, let her take an ounce of cassia fistula +drawn at night, going to bed; she needs no change of diet after. + +III. Retention of the menses is another accident happening to women in +child-bed, and which is of so dangerous a consequence, that, if not +timely remedied, it proves mortal. When this happens, + +1. Let the woman take such medicines as strongly provoke the terms, such +as dittany, betony, pennyroyal, feverfew, centaury, juniper-berries, +peony roots. + +2. Let her take two or three spoonfuls of briony water each morning. + +3. Gentian roots beaten into a powder, and a drachm of it taken every +morning in wine, are an extraordinary remedy. + +4. The roots of birthwort, either long or round, so used and taken as +the former, are very good. + +5. Take twelve peony seeds, and beat them into a very fine powder, and +let her drink them in a draught of hot cardus posset, and let her sweat +after. And if the last medicine do not bring them down the first time +she takes it, let her take as much more three hours after, and it seldom +fails. + +IV. Overflowing of the menses is another accident incidental to +child-bed women. For which, + +1. Take shepherd's purse, either boiled in any convenient liquor, or +dried and beaten into a powder, and it will be an admirable remedy to +stop them, this being especially appropriated to the privities. + +2. The flower and leaves of brambles or either of them, being dried and +beaten into a powder, and a drachm of them taken every morning in a +spoonful of red wine, or in a decoction of leaves of the same (which, +perhaps, is much better), is an admirable remedy for the immoderate +flowing of the term in women. + +V. Excoriations, bruises, and rents in the lower part of the womb are +often occasioned by the violent distention and separation of the +caruncles in a woman's labour. For the healing whereof, + +As soon as the woman is laid, if there be only simple contusions and +excoriations, then let the anodyne cataplasm, formerly directed, be +applied to the lower parts to ease the pain, made of the yolks and +whites of new laid eggs, and oil of roses, boiled a little over warm +embers, continually stirring it until it be mixed, and then spread on a +fine cloth; it must be applied very warm to the bearing place for five +or six hours, and when it is taken away, lay some fine rags, dipped in +oil of St. John's wort twice or thrice a day; also foment the parts with +barley water and honey of roses, to cleanse them from the excrements +which pass. When the woman makes water, let them be defended with fine +rags, and thereby hinder the urine from causing smart or pain. + +VI. The curding and clotting of the milk is another accident that +happens to women in child-bed, for in the beginning of child-bed, the +woman's milk is not purified because of the great commotions her body +suffered during her labour, which affected all the parts, and it is then +affected with many humours. Now this clotting of the milk does, for the +most part, proceed from the breasts not being fully drawn, and that, +either because she has too much milk, and that the infant is too small +and weak to suck it all, or because she doth not desire to be a nurse, +for the milk in those cases remaining in the breasts after concoction, +without being drawn, loses its sweetness and the balsamic qualities it +had, and by reason of the heat it requires, and the too long stay it +makes there, is sours, curds and clots, in like manner as we see rennet +put into ordinary milk to turn it into curds. The curding of the milk +may also be caused by having taken a great cold, and not keeping the +breasts well covered. + +But from what cause so ever this curding of the milk proceeds, the most +certain remedy is, to draw the breasts until it is emitted and dried. +But in regard that the infant by reason of weakness, cannot draw +strength enough, the woman being hard marked when her milk is curded, it +will be most proper to get another woman to draw her breasts until the +milk comes freely, and then she may give her child suck. And that she +may not afterwards be troubled with a surplus of milk, she must eat such +diet as give but little nourishment, and keep her body open. + +But if the case be such that the woman neither can nor will be a nurse, +it is necessary to apply other remedies for the curing of this +distemper; for then it will be best not to draw the breasts, for that +will be the way to bring more milk into them. For which purpose it will +be necessary to empty the body by bleeding the arms, besides which, let +the humours be drawn down by strong clysters and bleeding at the foot; +nor will it be amiss to purge gently, and to digest, dissolve and +dissipate the curded milk, four brans dissolved in a decoction of sage, +milk, smallage and fennel, mixing with it oil of camomile, with which +oil let the breasts be well anointed. The following liniment is also +good to scatter and dissipate the milk. + + + +_A Liniment to Scatter and Dissipate the Milk._ + +That the milk flowing back to the breast may without offence be +dissipated, you must use this ointment:--"Take pure wax, two ounces, +linseed, half a pound; when the wax is melted, let the liniment be made, +wherein linen cloths must be clipped, and, according to their largeness, +be laid upon the breasts; and when it shall be dispersed, and pains no +more, let other linen cloths be laid in the distilled water of acorns, +and put upon them. + +_Note._--That the cloths dipped into distilled water of acorns must be +used only by those who cannot nurse their own children; but if a +swelling in the breast of her who gives such do arise, from abundance of +milk, threatens an inflammation, let her use the former ointment, but +abstain from using the distilled water of acorns. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + _Directions for the Nurses, in ordering Newly-born Children._ + + +When the child's navel-string hath been cut according to the rules +prescribed, let the midwife presently cleanse it from the excrements and +filth it brings into the world with it; of which some are within the +body, as the urine in the bladder, and the excrements found in the guts; +and the others without, which are thick, whitish and clammy, proceeding +from the sliminess of the waters. There are sometimes children covered +all over with this, that one would think they were rubbed over with soft +cheese, and some women are of so easy a belief, that they really think +it so, because they have eaten some while they were with child. From +these excrements let the child be cleansed with wine and water a little +warmed, washing every part therewith, but chiefly the head because of +the hair, also the folds of the groin, and the cods or privities; which +parts must be gently cleansed with a linen rag, or a soft sponge dipped +in lukewarm wine. If this clammy or viscous excrement stick so close +that it will not easily be washed off from those places, it may be +fetched off with oil of sweet almond, or a little fresh butter melted +with wine, and afterwards well dried off; also make tents of fine rags, +and wetting them in this liquor, clear the ears and nostrils; but for +the eyes, wipe them only with a dry, soft rag, not dipping it in the +wine, lest it should make them smart. + +The child being washed, and cleansed from the native blood and +impurities which attend it into the world, it must in the next place be +searched to see whether all things be right about it, and that there is +no fault nor dislocation; whether its nose be straight, or its tongue +tied, or whether there be any bruise or tumour of the head; or whether +the mold be not over shot; also whether the scrotum (if it be a male) be +not blown up and swelled, and, in short, whether it has suffered any +violence by its birth, in any part of its body, and whether all the +parts be well and duly shaped; that suitable remedies may be applied if +anything be found not right. Nor is it enough to see that all be right +without, and that the outside of the body be cleansed, but she must also +observe whether it dischargeth the excrements contained within, and +whether the passage be open; for some have been born without having been +perforated. Therefore, let her examine whether the conduits of the urine +and stool be clear, for want of which some have died, not being able to +void their excrements, because timely care was not taken at first. As to +the urine all children, as well males as females, do make water as soon +as they are born, if they can, especially if they feel the heat of the +fire, and also sometimes void the excrements, but not so soon as the +urine. If the infant does not ordure the first day, then put into its +fundament a small suppository, to stir it up to be discharged, that it +may not cause painful gripes, by remaining so long in the belly. A sugar +almond may be proper for this purpose, anointed all over with a little +boiled honey; or else a small piece of castile-soap rubbed over with +fresh butter; also give the child for this purpose a little syrup of +roses or violets at the mouth, mixed with some oil of sweet almonds, +drawn without a fire, anointing the belly also, with the same oil or +fresh butter. + +The midwife having thus washed and cleansed the child, according to the +before mentioned directions, let her begin to swaddle it in swathing +clothes, and when she dresses the head, let her put small rags behind +the ears, to dry up the filth which usually engenders there, and so let +her do also in the folds of the armpits and groins, and so swathe it; +then wrap it up warm in a bed with blankets, which there is scarcely any +woman so ignorant but knows well enough how to do; only let me give +them this caution, that they swathe not the child too tightly in its +blankets, especially about the breast and stomach, that it may breathe +the more freely, and not be forced to vomit up the milk it sucks, +because the stomach cannot be sufficiently distended to contain it; +therefore let its arms and legs be wrapped in its bed, stretched and +straight and swathed to keep them so, viz., the arms along its sides, +and its legs equally both together with a little of the bed between +them, that they may not be galled by rubbing each other; then let the +head be kept steady and straight, with a stay fastened each side of the +blanket, and then wrap the child up in a mantle and blankets to keep it +warm. Let none think this swathing of the infant is needless to set +down, for it is necessary it should be thus swaddled, to give its little +body a straight figure, which is most proper and decent for a man, and +to accustom him to keep upon his feet, who otherwise would go upon all +fours, as most animals do. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER IX + + +SECTION I.--_Of Gripes and Pains in the, Bellies of Young Children._ + +This I mention first, as it is often the first and most common distemper +which happens to little infants, after their birth; many children being +so troubled therewith, that it causes them to cry day and night and at +last die of it. The cause of it for the most part comes from the sudden +change of nourishment, for having always received it from the umbilical +vessel whilst in the mother's womb, they come on a sudden not only to +change the manner of receiving it, but the nature and quality of what +they received, as soon as they are born; for instead of purified blood +only, which was conveyed to them by means of the umbilical vein, they +are now obliged to be nourished by their mother's milk, which they suck +with their mouths, and from which are engendered many excrements, +causing gripes and pains; and not only because it is not so pure as the +blood with which it was nourished in the womb, but because the stomach +and the intestines cannot make a good digestion, being unaccustomed to +it. It is sometimes caused also by a rough phlegm, and sometimes by +worms; for physicians affirm that worms have been bred in children even +in their mother's belly. + +_Cure_. The remedy must be suited to the cause. If it proceed from the +too sudden change of nourishment, the remedy must be to forbear giving +the child suck for some days, lest the milk be mixed with phlegm, which +is then in the stomach corrupt; and at first it must suck but little, +until it is accustomed to digest it. If it be the excrements in the +intestines, which by their long stay increase their pains, give them at +the month a little oil of sweet almonds and syrup of roses; if it be +worms, lay a cloth dipped in oil of wormwood mixed with ox-gall, upon +the belly, or a small cataplasm, mixed with the powder of rue, wormwood, +coloquintida, aloes, and the seeds of citron incorporated with ox-gall +and the powder of lupines. Or give it oil of sweet almonds and syrup of +roses; if it be worms, lay a cloth, dipped in oil of wormwood mixed with +ox-gall, upon the belly, or a small cataplasm mixed with the powder of +rue, wormwood, coloquintida, aloes, and the seeds of citron incorporated +with ox-gall and the powder of lupines. Or give it oil of sweet almonds +with sugar-candy, and a scruple of aniseed; it purgeth new-born babes +from green cholera and stinking phlegm, and, if it be given with +sugar-pap, it allays the griping pains of the belly. Also anoint the +belly with oil of dill, or lay pelitory stamped with oil of camomile to +the belly. + + + +SECT. II.--_Of Weakness In Newly-born Infants._ + +Weakness is an accident that many children bring into the world along +with them, and is often occasioned by the labour of the mother; by the +violence and length whereof they suffer so much, that they are born with +great weakness, and many times it is difficult to know whether they are +alive or dead, their body appearing so senseless, and their face so blue +and livid, that they seem to be quite choked; and even after some hours, +then-showing any signs of life is attended with weakness, that it looks +like a return from death, and that they are still in a dying condition. + +_Cure_. Lay the infant speedily in a warm blanket, and carry it to the +fire, and then let the midwife take a little wine in her mouth and spout +it into its mouth, repeating it often, if there be occasion. Let her +apply linen dipped in urine to the breast and belly, and let the face be +uncovered, that it may breathe the more freely; also, let the midwife +keep its mouth a little open, cleanse the nostrils with small linen +tents[11] dipt in white wine, that so it may receive the smell of it; +and let her chafe every part of its body well with warm cloths, to bring +back its blood and spirits, which being retired inwards through +weakness, often puts him in danger of being choked. By the application +of these means, the infant will gradually recover strength, and begin to +stir its limbs by degrees, and at length to cry; and though it be but +weakly at first, yet afterwards, as it breathes more freely, its cry +will become more strong. + + + +SECT. III.--_Of the Fundament being closed up in a newly-born Infant._ + +Another defect that new-born infants are liable to is, to have their +fundaments closed up, by which they can neither evacuate the new +excrements engendered by the milk they suck, nor that which was amassed +in their intestines before birth, which is certainly mortal without a +speedy remedy. There have been some female children who have their +fundaments quite closed, and yet have voided the excrements of the guts +by an orifice which nature, to supply the defect, had made within the +neck of the womb. + +_Cure_. Here we must take notice, that the fundament is closed two ways; +either by a single skin, through which one may discover some black and +blue marks, proceeding from the excrements retained, which, if one touch +with the finger, there is a softness felt within, and thereabout it +ought to be pierced; or else it is quite stopped by a thick, fleshy +substance, in such sort that there appears nothing without, by which its +true situation may be known. When there is nothing but the single skin +which makes the closure, the operation is very easy, and the children +may do very well; for then an aperture or opening may be made with a +small incision-knife, cross-ways, that it may the better receive a round +form, and that the place may not afterwards grow together, taking care +not to prejudice the sphincter or muscle of the rectum. The incision +being thus made, the excrements will certainly have issue. But if, by +reason of their long stay in the belly, they become so dry that the +infant cannot void them, then let a clyster be given to moisten and +bring them away; afterwards put a linen tent into the new-made +fundament, which at first had best be anointed with honey of roses, and +towards the end, with a drying, cicatrizing ointment, such as unguentum +album or ponphilex, observing to cleanse the infant of its excrement, +and dry it again as soon and as often as it evacuates them, that so the +aperture may be prevented from turning into a malignant ulcer. + +But if the fundament be stopped up in such a manner, that neither mark +nor appearance of it can be seen or felt, then the operation is much +more difficult, and, even when it is done, the danger is much greater +that the infant will not survive it. Then, if it be a female, and it +sends forth its excrements by the way I mentioned before, it is better +not to meddle than, by endeavouring to remedy an inconvenience, run an +extreme hazard of the infant's death. But when there is no vent for the +excrements, without which death is unavoidable, then the operation is +justifiable. + +_Operation_. Let the operator, with a small incision-knife that hath but +one edge, enter into the void place, and turning the back of it upwards, +within half a finger's breadth of the child's rump, which is the place +where he will certainly find the intestines, let him thrust it forward, +that it may be open enough to give free vent to matter there contained, +being especially careful of the sphincter; after which, let the wound +be dressed according to the method directed. + + + +SECT. IV.--_Of the Thrush, or Ulcers In the Mouth of the Infant._ + +The thrush is a distemper that children are very subject to, and it +arises from bad milk, or from foul humour in the stomach; for sometimes, +though there be no ill humour in the milk itself, yet it may corrupt the +child's stomach because of its weakness or some other indisposition; in +which, acquiring an acrimony, instead of being well digested, there +arise from it thrice biting vapours, which forming a thick viscosity, do +thereby produce this distemper. + +_Cure_. It is often difficult, as physicians tell us, because it is +seated in hot and moist places, where the putrefaction is easily +augmented; and because the remedies applied cannot lodge there, being +soon washed with spittle. But if it arises from too hot quality in the +nurse's milk, care must be taken to temper and cool, prescribing her +cool diet, bleeding and purging her also, if there be occasion. + +Take lentils, husked, powder them, and lay a little of them upon the +child's gums. Or take bdellium flowers, half an ounce, and with oil of +roses make a liniment. Also wash the child's mouth with barley and +plantain-water, and honey of roses, mixing with them a little verjuice +of lemons, as well to loosen and cleanse the vicious humours which +cleave to the inside of the infant's mouth, as to cool those parts which +are already over-heated. It may be done by means of a small fine rag, +fastened to the end of a little stick, and dipped therein, wherewith the +ulcers may be gently rubbed, being careful not to put the child in too +much pain, lest an inflammation make the distemper worse. The child's +body must also be kept open, that the humours being carried to the lower +parts, the vapours may not ascend, as is usual for them to do when the +body is costive, and the excrements too long retained. + +If the ulcers appear malignant, let such remedies be used as do their +work speedily, that the evil qualities that cause them, being thereby +instantly corrected, their malignity may be prevented; and in this case, +touch the ulcers with plantain water, sharpened with spirits of vitriol; +for the remedy must be made sharp, according to the malignity of the +distemper. It will be necessary to purge these ill humours out of the +whole habit of the child, by giving half an ounce of succory and +rhubarb. + + + +SECT. V.--_Of Pains in the Ears, Inflammation, Moisture, etc._ + +The brain in infants is very moist, and hath many excrements which +nature cannot send out at the proper passages; they get often to the +ears, and there cause pains, flux of blood, with inflammation and matter +with pain; this in children is hard to be known as they have no other +way to make it known but by constant crying; you will perceive them +ready to feel their ears themselves, but will not let others touch them, +if they can prevent; and sometimes you may discern the parts about the +ears to be very red. + +These pains, if let alone, are of dangerous consequences, because they +may bring forth watchings and epilepsy; for the moisture breeds worms +there, and fouls the spongy bones, and by degrees causes incurable +deafness. + +_Cure_. Allay the pain with all convenient speed, but have a care of +using strong remedies. Therefore, only use warm milk about the ears, +with the decoction of poppy tops, or oil of violets; to take away the +moisture, use honey of roses, and let aqua mollis be dropped into the +ears; or take virgin honey, half an ounce; red wines two ounces; alum, +saffron, saltpetre, each a drachm, mix them at the fire; or drop in +hemp seed oil with a little wine. + + + +SECT. VI.--_Of Redness and Inflammation of the Buttocks, Groin and the + Thighs of a Young Child._ + +If there be no great care taken to change and wash the child's bed as +soon as it is fouled with the excrements, and to keep the child very +clean, the acrimony will be sure to cause redness, and beget a smarting +in the buttocks, groin and thighs of the child, which, by reason of the +pain, will afterwards be subject to inflammations, which follow the +sooner, through the delicacy and tenderness of their skin, from which +the outward skin of the body is in a short time separated and worn away. + +_Cure_. First, keep the child cleanly, and secondly, take off the +sharpness of its urine. As to keeping it cleanly, she must be a sorry +nurse who needs to be taught how to do it; for if she lets it but have +dry, warm and clean beds and cloths, as often and as soon as it has +fouled and wet them, either by its urine or its excrements, it will be +sufficient. And as to taking off the sharpness of the child's urine, +that must be done by the nurse's taking a cool diet, that her milk may +have the same quality; and, therefore, she ought to abstain from all +things that may tend to heat it. + +But besides these, cooling and drying remedies are requisite to be +applied to the inflamed parts; therefore let the parts be bathed in +plantain-water, with a fourth of lime water added to it, each time the +child's excrements are wiped off; and if the pain be very great, let it +only be fomented with lukewarm milk. The powder of a post to dry it, or +a little mill-dust strewed upon the parts affected, may be proper +enough, and is used by many women. Also, unguentum album, or +diapompholigos, spread upon a small piece of leather in form of a +plaster, will not be amiss. + +But the chief thing must be, the nurse's taking great care to wrap the +inflamed parts with fine rags when she opens the child, that these parts +may not gather and be pained by rubbing together. + + + +SECT. VII.--_Of Vomiting in Young Children._ + +Vomiting in young children proceeds sometimes from too much milk, and +sometimes from bad milk, and as often from a moist, loose stomach; for +as dryness retains so looseness lets go. This is, for the most part, +without danger in children; for they that vomit from their birth are +the lustiest; for the stomach not being used to meat, and milk being +taken too much, crudities are easily bred, or the milk is corrupted; and +it is better to vomit these up than to keep them in; but if vomiting +last long, it will cause an atrophy or consumption, for want of +nourishment. + +_Cure_. If this be from too much milk, that which is emitted is yellow +and green, or otherwise ill-coloured and stinking; in this case, mend +the milk, as has been shown before; cleanse the child with honey of +roses, and strengthen its stomach with syrup of milk and quinces, made +into an electuary. If the humours be hot and sharp, give the syrup of +pomegranates, currants and coral, and apply to the belly the plaster of +bread, the stomach cerate, or bread dipped in hot wine; or take oil of +mastich, quinces, mint, wormwood, each half an ounce; of nutmegs by +expression, half a drachm; chemical oil of mint, three drops. Coral hath +an occult property to prevent vomiting, and is therefore hung about the +neck. + + + +SECT. VIII--_Of Breeding Teeth in Young Children._ + +This is a very great and yet necessary evil in all children, having +variety of symptoms joined with it. They begin to come forth, not all +at once, but one after the other, about the sixth or seventh month; the +fore-teeth coming first, then the eye-teeth, and last of all the +grinders. The eye-teeth cause more pain to the child than any of the +rest, because they have a deep root, and a small nerve which has +communication with that which makes the eye move. + +[Illustration] + +In the breeding of the teeth, first they feel an itching in their gums, +then they are pierced as with a needle, and pricked by the sharp bones, +whence proceed great pains, watching, inflammation of the gums, fever, +looseness and convulsions, especially when they breed their eye-teeth. + +The signs when children breed their eye-teeth are these: + +1. It is known by the time, which is usually about the seventh month. + +2. Their gums are swelled, and they feel a great heat there with an +itching, which makes them put their fingers into their mouths to rub +them; a moisture also distils from the gums into the mouth, because of +the pain they feel there. + +3. They hold the nipple faster than before. + +4. The gums are white when the teeth begin to come, and the nurse, in +giving them suck, finds the mouth hotter, and that they are much +changed, crying every moment, and cannot sleep, or but very little at a +time. + +The fever that follows breeding of teeth comes from choleric humours, +inflamed by watching, pain and heat. And the longer teeth are breeding, +the more dangerous it is; so that many in the breeding of them, die of +fevers and convulsions. + +_Cure_. Two things are to be regarded:--one is, to preserve the child +from the evil accidents that may happen to it by reason of the great +pain; the other, to assist as much as may be, the cutting of the teeth, +when they can hardly cut the gums themselves. + +For the first of these, viz., the preventing of those accidents to the +child, the nurse ought to take great care to keep a good diet, and to +use all things that may cool and temper her milk, that so a fever may +not follow the pain of the teeth. And to prevent the humour falling too +much upon the inflamed gums, let the child's belly be always kept loose +by gentle clysters, if he be bound; though oftentimes there is no need +of them, because they are at those times usually troubled with a +looseness; and yet, for all that, clysters may not be improper. + +As to the other, which is to assist it cutting the teeth, that the nurse +must do from time to time by mollifying and loosening them, and by +rubbing them with her finger dipped in butter or honey; or let the child +have a virgin-wax candle to chew upon; or anoint the gums with the +mucilage of quince made with mallow-water, or with the brains of a hare; +also foment the cheeks with the decoction of althoea, and camomile +flowers and dill, or with the juice of mallows and fresh butter. If the +gums are inflamed, add juice of nightshade and lettuce. I have already +said, the nurse ought to take a temperate diet; I shall now only add, +that barley-broth, water-gruel, raw eggs, prunes, lettuce and endive, +are good for her; but let her avoid salt, sharp, biting and peppered +meats, and wine. + + + +SECT. IX.--_Of the Flux of the Belly, or Looseness in Infants._ + +It is very common for infants to have the flux of the belly, or +looseness, especially upon the least indisposition; nor is it to be +wondered at, seeing their natural moistness contributes so much thereto; +and even if it be extraordinarily violent, such are in a better state of +health than those that are bound. The flux, if violent, proceeds from +divers causes, as 1. From breeding of the teeth, and is then commonly +attended with a fever in which the concoction is hindered, and the +nourishment corrupted. 2. From watching. 3. From pain. 4. From stirring +up of the humours by a fever. 5. When they suck or drink too much in a +fever. Sometimes they have a flux without breeding of teeth, from inward +cold in the guts or stomach that obstructs concoction. If it be from the +teeth, it is easily known; for the signs of breeding in teeth will +discover it. If it be from external cold, there are signs of other +causes. If from a humour flowing from the head there are signs of a +catarrh, and the excrements are frothy. If crude and raw humours are +voided, and there be wind, belching, and phlegmatic excrements, or if +they be yellow, green and stink, the flux is from a hot and sharp +humour. It is best in breeding of teeth when the belly is loose, as I +have said before; but if it be too violent, and you are afraid it may +end in a consumption, it must be stopped; and if the excrements that are +voided be black, and attended with a fever, it is very bad. + +_Cure_. The remedy in this case, is principally in respect to the nurse, +and the condition of the milk must be chiefly observed; the nurse must +be cautioned that she eat no green fruit, nor things of hard concoction. +If the child suck not, remove the flux with such purges as leave a +cooling quality behind them, as syrup of honey or roses, or a clyster. +Take the decoction of millium, myrobolans, of each two or three ounces, +with an ounce or two of syrup of roses, and make a clyster. After +cleansing, if it proceed from a hot cause, give syrup of dried roses, +quinces, myrtles and a little sanguis draconis. Also anoint with oil of +roses, myrtles, mastich, each two drachms; with oil of myrtles and wax +make an ointment. Or take red roses and moulin, of each a handful; +cypress roots two drachms; make a bag, boil it in red wine and apply it +to the belly. Or use the plaster bread or stomach ointment. If the cause +be cold, and the excrements white give syrup of mastich and quinces, +with mint-water. Use outwardly, mint, mastich, cummin; or take rose +seeds, an ounce, cummin, aniseed, each two drachms; with oil of mastich, +wormwood and wax, make an ointment. + + + +SECT. X.--_Of the Epilepsy and Convulsions in Children._ + +This is a distemper that is often fatal to young children, and +frequently proceeds from the brain, originating either from the parents, +or from vapours, or bad humours that twitch the membranes of the brain; +it is also sometimes caused by other distempers and by bad diet; +likewise, the toothache, when the brain consents, causes it, and so does +a sudden fright. As to the distemper itself, it is manifest and well +enough known where it is; and as to the cause whence it comes, you may +know by the signs of the disease, whether it comes from bad milk, or +worms, or teeth; if these are all absent, it is certain that the brain +is first affected; if it come with the small-pox or measles, it ceaseth +when they come forth, if nature be strong enough. + +_Cure_. For the remedy of this grievous, and often mortal distemper, +give the following powder to prevent it, to a child as soon as it is +born:--Take male peony roots, gathered in the decrease of the moon, a +scruple; with leaf gold make a powder; or take peony roots, a drachm; +peony seeds, mistletoe of the oak, elk's hoof, man's skull, amber, each +a scruple; musk, two grains; make a powder. The best part of the cure is +taking care of the nurse's diet, which must be regular, by all means. If +it be from corrupt milk, provoke a vomit; to do which, hold down the +tongue, and put a quill dipped in sweet almonds, down the throat. If it +come from the worms, give such things as will kill the worms. If there +be a fever, with respect to that also, give coral smaragad and elk's +hoof. In the fit, give epileptic water, as lavender water, and rub with +oil of amber, or hang a peony root, and elk's hoof smaragad, about the +child's neck. + +As to a convulsion, it is when the brain labours to cast out that which +troubles it; the mariner is in the marrow of the back, and fountain of +the nerves; it is a stubborn disease, and often kills. + +Wash the body, when in the fit, with decoction of althoea, lily roots, +peony and camomile flowerets, and anoint it with man's and goose's +grease, oils of worms, orris, lilies, foxes, turpentine, mastich, storax +and calamint. The sun flower is also very good, boiled in water, to wash +the child. + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[11] Tent (_surgical_). A bunch of some fibre such as sponge or +horsehair introduced into an opening, natural or artificial, to keep it +open, or increase its calibre. + + * * * * * + + + + +PROPER AND SAFE REMEDIES + +FOR + +CURING ALL THOSE DISTEMPERS + +THAT ARE PECULIAR + +TO THE FEMALE SEX + +AND ESPECIALLY THOSE OBSERVATIONS + +TO BEARING OF CHILDREN + + * * * * * + +BOOK II + + * * * * * + +Having finished the first part of this book, and wherein, I hope, amply +made good my promise to the reader, I am now come to treat only of those +distempers to which they are more subject when in a breeding condition, +and those that keep them from being so; together with such proper and +safe remedies as may be sufficient to repel them. And since amongst all +the diseases to which human nature is subject, there is none that more +diametrically opposes the very end of our creation, and the design of +nature in the formation of different sexes, and the power thereby given +us for the work of generation, than that of sterility or barrenness +which, where it prevails, renders the most accomplished midwife but a +useless person, and destroys the design of our book; I think, therefore, +that barrenness is an effect that deserves our first and principal +consideration. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER I + + _Of Barrenness; its several Kinds; with the proper Remedies for it; + and the Signs of Insufficiency both in Men and Women._ + + +SECTION I.--_Of Barrenness in General._ + +Barrenness is either natural or artificial. + +Natural barrenness is when a woman is barren, though the instruments of +generation are perfect both in herself and in her husband, and no +preposterous or diabolical course used to it, and neither age, nor +disease, nor any defect hindering, and yet the woman remains naturally +barren. + +Now this may proceed from a natural cause, for if the man and woman be +of one complexion, they seldom have children, and the reason is clear, +for the universal course of nature being formed of a composition of +contraries, cannot be increased by a composition of likes; and, +therefore, if the constitution of the woman be hot and dry, as well as +the man's there can be no conception; and if, on the contrary, the man +should be of a cold and moist constitution, as well as the woman, the +effect would be the same; and this barrenness is purely natural. The +only way to help this is, for people, before they marry, to observe each +others constitution and complexion, if they design to have children. If +their complexions and constitutions be alike, they are not fit to come +together, for discordant natures only, make harmony in the work of +generation. + +Another natural cause of barrenness, is want of love between man and +wife. Love is that vivid principle that ought to inspire each organ in +the act of generation, or else it will be spiritless and dull; for if +their hearts be not united in love, how should their seed unite to cause +Conception? And this is sufficiently evinced, in that there never +follows conception on a rape. Therefore, if men and women design to have +children, let them live so, that their hearts as well as their bodies +may be united, or else they may miss their expectations. + +A third cause of natural barrenness, is the letting virgins blood in the +arm before their natural courses are come down, which is usually in the +fourteenth and fifteenth year of their age; sometimes, perhaps before +the thirteenth, but never before the twelfth. And because usually, they +are out of order, and indisposed before their purgations come down, +their parents run to the doctor to know what is the matter; and he, if +not skilled, will naturally prescribe opening a vein in the arm, +thinking fullness of blood the cause; and thus she seems recovered for +the present: and when the young virgin happens to be in the same +disorder, the mother applies again to the surgeon, who uses the same +remedy; and by these means the blood is so diverted from its proper +channel, that it comes not down the womb as usual, and so the womb dries +up, and she is for ever barren. To prevent this, let no virgin blood in +the arm before her courses come down well; for that will bring the blood +downwards, and by that means provoke the _menstrua_ to come down. + +Another cause of natural barrenness, is debility in copulation. If +persons perform not that act with all the bent and ardour that nature +requires, they may as well let it alone; for frigidity and coldness +never produces conception. Of the cure of this we will speak by and by, +after I have spoken of accidental barrenness, which is occasioned by +some morbific matter or infirmity in the body, either of the man or of +the woman, which being removed they become fruitful. And since, as I +have before noted, the first and great law of creation, was to increase +and multiply, and barrenness is in direct opposition to that law, and +frustrates the end of our creation, and often causes man and wife to +have hard thoughts one of another, I shall here, for the satisfaction of +well meaning people, set down the signs and causes of insufficiency both +in men and women; premising first that when people have no children, +they must not presently blame either party, for neither may be in fault. + + + +SECT. II.--_Signs and Causes of Insufficiency in Men._ + +One cause may be in some viciousness of the yard, as if the same be +crooked, or any ligaments thereof distorted and broken, whereby the ways +and passages, through which the seed should flow, come to be stopped or +vitiated. + +Another cause may be, too much weakness of the yard, and tenderness +thereof, so that it is not strong enough erected to inject seed into the +womb; for the strength and stiffness of the yard very much conduces to +conception, by reason of the forcible injection of the seed. + +Also, if the stones have received any hurt, so that they cannot exercise +the proper gift in producing seed, or if they be oppressed with an +inflammation, tumour, wound or ulcer, or drawn up within the belly, and +not appearing outwardly. + +Also, a man may be barren by reason of the defect of seed, as first, if +he cast forth no seed at all, or less in substance than is needful. Or, +secondly, if the seed be vicious, or unfit for generation; as on the one +side, it happens in bodies that are gross and fat, the matter of it +being defective; and on the other side, too much leanness, or continual +wasting or consumption of the body, destroys seed; nature turning all +the matter and substance thereof into the nutriment of the body. + +Too frequent copulation is also one great cause of barrenness in men; +for it attracteth the seminal moisture from the stones, before it is +sufficiently prepared and concocted. So if any one, by daily +copulation, do exhaust and draw out all their moisture of the seed, then +do the stones draw the moist humours from the superior veins unto +themselves; and so, having but a little blood in them, they are forced +of necessity to cast it out raw and unconcocted, and thus the stones are +violently deprived of the moisture of their veins, and the superior +veins, and all the other parts of the body, of their vital spirits; +therefore it is no wonder that those who use immoderate copulation are +very weak in their bodies, seeing their whole body is deprived of the +best and purest blood, and of the spirit, insomuch that many who have +been too much addicted to that pleasure, have killed themselves in the +very act. + +Gluttony, drunkenness, and other excesses, do so much hinder men from +fruitfulness, that it makes them unfit for generation. + +But among other causes of barrenness of men, this also is one, and makes +them almost of the nature of eunuchs, and that is the incision or the +cutting of the veins behind their ears, which in case of distempers is +oftentimes done; for, according to the opinions of most physicians and +anatomists, the seed flows from the brain by those veins behind the +ears, more than any part of the body. From whence it is very probable, +that the transmission of the seed is hindered by the cutting of the +veins behind the ears, so that it cannot descend to the testicles, or +may come thither very crude and raw. + + + +SECT. III.--_Signs and Causes of Insufficiency or Barrenness in Women._ + +Although there are many causes of the barrenness of women, yet the chief +and principal are internal, respecting either the privy parts, the womb +or menstruous blood. + +Therefore, Hippocrates saith (speaking as well of easy as difficult +conception in women) the first consideration is to be had of their +species; for little women are more apt to conceive than great, slender +than gross, white and fair than ruddy and high coloured, black than wan, +those that have their veins conspicuous, than others; but to be very +fleshy is evil, and to have great swelled breasts is good. + +The next thing to be considered is, the monthly purgations, whether they +have been duly every month, whether they flow plentifully, are of a good +colour, and whether they have been equal every month. + +Then the womb, or place of conception, is to be considered. It ought to +be clean and sound, dry and soft, not retracted or drawn up; not prone +or descending downward; nor the mouth thereof turned away, nor too +close shut up. But to speak more particularly:-- + +The first parts to be spoken of are the _pudenda_, or privities, and the +womb; which parts are shut and enclosed either by nature or against +nature; and from hence, such women are called _imperforate_; as in some +women the mouth of their womb continues compressed, or closed up, from +the time of their birth until the coming down of their courses, and +then, on a sudden, when their terms press forward to purgation, they are +molested with great and unusual pains. Sometimes these break of their +own accord, others are dissected and opened by physicians; others never +break at all, which bring on disorders that end in death. + +All these _Aetius_ particularly handles, showing that the womb is shut +three manner of ways, which hinders conception. And the first is when +the _pudenda_ grow and cleave together. The second is, when these +certain membranes grow in the middle part of the matrix within. The +third is, when (though the lips and bosom of the _pudenda_ may appear +fair and open), the mouth of the womb may be quite shut up. All which +are occasions of barrenness, as they hinder the intercourse with man, +the monthly courses, and conception. + +But amongst all causes of barrenness in women, the greatest is in the +womb, which is the field of generation; and if this field is corrupt, it +is in vain to expect any fruit, be it ever so well sown. It may be unfit +for generation by reason of many distempers to which it is subject; as +for instance, overmuch heat and overmuch cold; for women whose wombs are +too thick and cold, cannot conceive, because coldness extinguishes the +heat of the human seed. Immoderate moisture of the womb also destroys +the seed of man, and makes it ineffectual, as corn sown in ponds and +marshes; and so does overmuch dryness of the womb, so that the seed +perisheth for want of nutriment. Immoderate heat of the womb is also a +cause of barrenness for it scorcheth up the seed as corn sown in the +drought of summer; for immoderate heat burns all parts of the body, so +that no conception can live in the womb. + +When unnatural humours are engendered, as too much phlegm, tympanies, +wind, water, worms, or any other evil humour abounding contrary to +nature, it causes barrenness as do all terms not coming down in due +order. + +A woman may also have accidental causes of barrenness (at least such as +may hinder her conception), as sudden frights, anger, grief and +perturbation of mind; too violent exercises, as leaping, dancing, +running, after copulation, and the like. But I will now add some signs, +by which these things may be known. + +If the cause of barrenness be in the man, through overmuch heat in the +seed, the woman may easily feel that in receiving it. + +If the nature of the woman be too hot, and so unfit for conception, it +will appear by her having her terms very little, and the colour +inclining to yellowness; she is also very hasty, choleric and crafty; +her pulse beats very swift, and she is very desirous of copulation. + +To know whether the fault is in the man or in the woman, sprinkle the +man's urine upon a lettuce leaf, and the woman's urine upon another, and +that which dries away first is unfruitful. Also take five wheaten corns +and seven beans, put them into an earthen pot, and let the party make +water therein; let this stand seven days, and if in that time they begin +to sprout, then the party is fruitful; but if they sprout not, then the +party is barren, whether it be the man or the woman; this is a certain +sign. + +There are some that make this experiment of a woman's fruitfulness; take +myrrh, red storax and some odoriferous things, and make a perfume of +which let the woman receive into the neck of the womb through a funnel; +if the woman feels the smoke ascend through her body to the nose, then +she is fruitful; otherwise she is barren. Some also take garlic and +beer, and cause the woman to lie upon her back upon it, and if she feel +the scent thereof in her nose, it is a sign of her being fruitful. + +Culpepper and others also give a great deal of credit to the following +experiment. Take a handful of barley, and steep half of it in the urine +of a man, and the other half in the urine of the woman, for the space of +twenty-four hours; then take it out, and put the man's by itself, and +the woman's by itself; set it in a flower-pot, or some other thing, +where let it dry; water the man's every morning with his own urine, and +the woman's with hers, and that which grows first is the most fruitful; +but if they grow not at all, they are both naturally barren. + +_Cure_. If the barrenness proceeds from stoppage of the menstrua, let +the woman sweat, for that opens the parts; and the best way to sweat is +in a hot-house. Then let the womb be strengthened by drinking a draught +of white wine, wherein a handful of stinking arrach, first bruised, has +been boiled, for by a secret magnetic virtue, it strengthens the womb, +and by a sympathetic quality, removes any disease thereof. To which add +also a handful of vervain, which is very good to strengthen both the +womb and the head, which are commonly afflicted together by sympathy. +Having used these two or three days, if they come not down, take of +calamint, pennyroyal, thyme, betony, dittany, burnet, feverfew, mugwort, +sage, peony roots, juniper berries, half a handful of each, or as many +as can be got; let these be boiled in beer, and taken for her drink. + +Take one part of gentian-root, two parts of centaury, distil them with +ale in an alembic after you have bruised the gentian-roots and infused +them well. This water is an admirable remedy to provoke the terms. But +if you have not this water in readiness, take a drachm of centaury, and +half a drachm of gentian-roots bruised, boiled in posset drink, and +drink half a drachm of it at night going to bed. Seed of wild navew +beaten to powder, and a drachm of it taken in the morning in white wine, +also is very good; but if it answers not, she must be let blood in the +legs. And be sure you administer your medicines a little before the full +of the moon, by no means in the wane of the moon; if you do, you will +find them ineffectual. + +If barrenness proceed from the overflowing of the menstrua, then +strengthen the womb as you were taught before; afterwards anoint the +veins of the back with oil of roses, oil of myrtle and oil of quinces +every night, and then wrap a piece of white baise about your veins, the +cotton side next to the skin and keep the same always to it. But above +all, I recommend this medicine to you. Take comfrey-leaves or roots, and +clown woundwort, of each a handful; bruise them well, and boil them in +ale, and drink a good draught of it now and then. Or take cinnamon, +cassia lignea, opium, of each two drachms; myrrh, white pepper, +galbanum, of each one drachm; dissolve the gum and opium in white wine; +beat the rest into powder and make pills, mixing them together exactly, +and let the patient take two each night going to bed; but let the pills +not exceed fifteen grains. + +If barrenness proceed from a flux in the womb, the cure must be +according to the cause producing it, or which the flux proceeds from, +which may be known by signs; for a flux of the womb, being a continual +distillation from it for a long time together, the colour of what is +voided shows what humour it is that offends; in some it is red, and that +proceeds from blood putrified, in some it is yellow, and that denotes +choler; in others white and pale, and denotes phlegm. If pure blood +comes out, as if a vein were opened, some corrosion or gnawing of the +womb is to be feared. All these are known by the following signs: + +The place of conception is continually moist with the humours, the face +ill-coloured, the party loathes meat and breathes with difficulty, the +eyes are much swollen, which is sometimes without pain. If the offending +humour be pure blood, then you must let blood in the arm, and the +cephalic vein is fittest to draw back the blood; then let the juice of +plantain and comfrey be injected into the womb. If phlegm be a cause, +let cinnamon be a spice used in all her meats and drinks, and let her +take a little Venice treacle or mithridate every morning. Let her boil +burnet, mugwort, feverfew and vervain in all her broths. Also, half a +drachm of myrrh, taken every morning, is an excellent remedy against +this malady. If choler be the cause, let her take burrage, buglos, red +roses, endive and succory roots, lettuce and white poppy-seed, of each a +handful; boil these in white wine until one half be wasted; let her +drink half a pint every morning to which half pint add syrup of chicory +and syrup of peach-flowers, of each an ounce, with a little rhubarb, and +this will gently purge her. If it proceed from putrified blood, let her +be bled in the foot, and then strengthen the womb, as I have directed in +stopping the menstrua. + +If barrenness be occasioned by the falling out of the womb, as sometimes +it happens, let her apply sweet scents to the nose, such as civet, +galbanum, storax, calamitis, wood of aloes; and such other things as +are of that nature; and let her lay stinking things to the womb, such as +asafoetida, oil of amber, or the smoke of her own hair, being burnt; for +this is a certain truth, that the womb flies from all stinking, and to +all sweet things. But the most infallible cure in this case is; take a +common burdock leaf (which you may keep dry, if you please, all the +year), apply this to her head and it will draw the womb upwards. In fits +of the mother, apply it to the soles of the feet, and it will draw the +womb downwards. But seed beaten into a powder, draws the womb which way +you please, accordingly as it is applied. + +If barrenness in the woman proceed from a hot cause, let her take whey +and clarify it; then boil plantain leaves and roots in it, and drink it +for her ordinary drink. Let her inject plantain juice into her womb with +a syringe. If it be in the winter, when you cannot get the juice, make a +strong decoction of the leaves and roots in water, and inject that up +with a syringe, but let it be blood warm, and you will find this +medicine of great efficacy. And further, to take away barrenness +proceeding from hot causes, take of conserve of roses, cold lozenges, +make a tragacanth, the confections of trincatelia; and use, to smell to, +camphor, rosewater and saunders. It is also good to bleed the basilica +or liver vein, and take four or five ounces of blood, and then take this +purge; take electuarium de epithymo de succo rosarum, of each two +drachms and a half; clarified whey, four ounces; mix them well together, +and take it in the morning fasting; sleep after it about an hour and a +half, and fast for four hours after; and about an hour before you eat +anything, drink a good draught of whey. Also take lilywater, four +ounces; mandragore water, one ounce; saffron, half a scruple; beat the +saffron to a powder, and mix it with waters, drink them warm in the +morning; use these eight days together. + + + +_Some apparent Remedy against Barrenness and to cause Fruitfulness._ + +Take broom flowers, smallage, parsley seed, cummin, mugwort, feverfew, +of each half a scruple; aloes, half an ounce; Indian salt, saffron, of +each half a drachm; beat and mix them together, and put it to five +ounces of feverfew water warm; stop it up, and let it stand and dry in a +warm place, and this do, two or three times, one after the other; then +make each drachm into six pills, and take one of them every night before +supper. + +For a purging medicine against barrenness, take conserve of benedicta +lax, a quarter of an ounce; depsillo three drachms, electuary de +rosarum, one drachm; mix them together with feverfew water, and drink it +in the morning betimes. About three days after the patient hath taken +this purge, let her be bled, taking four or five ounces from the median, +or common black vein in the foot; and then give for five successive +days, filed ivory, a drachm and a half, in feverfew water; and during +the time let her sit in the following bath an hour together, morning and +night. Take mild yellow sapes, daucas, balsam wood and fruit, ash-keys, +of each two handfuls, red and white behen, broom flowers, of each a +handful; musk, three grains; amber, saffron, of each a scruple; boiled +in water sufficiently; but the musk, saffron, amber and broom flowers +must be put into the decoction, after it is boiled and strained. + + + +_A Confection very good against Barrenness._ + +Take pistachia, eringoes, of each half an ounce; saffron, one drachm; +lignum aloes, galengal, mace, coriophilla, balm flowers, red and white +behen, of each four scruples; syrup of confected ginger, twelve ounces; +white sugar, six ounces, decoct all these in twelve ounces of balm +water, and stir them well together; then put in it musk and amber, of +each a scruple; take thereof the quantity of a nutmeg three times a day; +in the morning, an hour before noon and an hour after supper. + +But if the cause of barrenness, either in man or woman, be through +scarcity or diminution of the natural seed, then such things are to be +taken as do increase the seed, and incite to stir up to venery, and +further conception; which I shall here set down, and then conclude the +chapter concerning barrenness. + +For this, yellow rape seed baked in bread is very good; also young, fat +flesh, not too much salted; also saffron, the tails of stincus, and long +pepper prepared in wine. But let such persons eschew all sour, sharp, +doughy and slimy meats, long sleep after meat, surfeiting and +drunkenness, and so much as they can, keep themselves from sorrow, +grief, vexation and anxious care. + +These things following increase the natural seed, stir up the venery and +recover the seed again when it is lost, viz., eggs, milk, rice, boiled +in milk, sparrows' brains, flesh, bones and all; the stones and pizzles +of bulls, bucks, rams and bears, also cocks' stones, lambs' stones, +partridges', quails' and pheasants' eggs. And this is an undeniable +aphorism, that whatever any creature is addicted unto, they move or +incite the man or the woman that eats them, to the like, and therefore +partridges, quails, sparrows, etc., being extremely addicted to venery, +they work the same effect on those men and women that eat them. Also, +take notice, that in what part of the body the faculty that you would +strengthen, lies, take that same part of the body of another creature, +in whom the faculty is strong, as a medicine. As for instance, the +procreative faculty lies in the testicles; therefore, cocks' stones, +lambs' stones, etc., are proper to stir up venery. I will also give you +another general rule; all creatures that are fruitful being eaten, make +them fruitful that eat them, as crabs, lobsters, prawns, pigeons, etc. +The stones of a fox, dried and beaten to a powder, and a drachm taken in +the morning in sheep's milk, and the stones of a boar taken in like +manner, are very good. The heart of a male quail carried about a man, +and the heart of a female quail carried about a woman, causes natural +love and fruitfulness. Let them, also, that would increase their seed, +eat and drink of the best, as much as they can; for _sine Cerere el +Libero, friget Venus_, is an old proverb, which is, "without good meat +and drink, Venus will be frozen to death." + +Pottages are good to increase the seed; such as are made of beans, peas, +and lupins, mixed with sugar. French beans, wheat sodden in broth, +aniseed, also onions, stewed garlic, leeks, yellow rapes, fresh mugwort +roots, eringo roots confected, ginger connected, etc. Of fruits, hazel +nuts, cyprus nuts, pistachio, almonds and marchpanes thereof. Spices +good to increase seed are cinnamon, galengal, long pepper, cloves, +ginger, saffron and asafoetida, a drachm and a half taken in good wine, +is very good for this purpose. + +The weakness and debility of a man's yard, being a great hindrance to +procreation let him use the following ointment to strengthen it: Take +wax, oil of beaver-cod, marjoram, gentle and oil of costus, of each a +like quantity, mix them into an ointment, and put it to a little musk, +and with it anoint the yard, cods, etc. Take of house emmets, three +drachms, oil of white safannum, oil of lilies, of each an ounce; pound +and bruise the ants, and put them to the oil and let them stand in the +sun six days; then strain out the oil and add to it euphorbium one +scruple, pepper and rue, of each one drachm, mustard seed half a drachm, +set this altogether in the sun two or three days, then anoint the +instrument of generation therewith. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER II + + _The Diseases of the Womb._ + + +I have already said, that the womb is the field of generation; and if +this field be corrupted, it is vain to expect any fruit, although it be +ever so well sown. It is, therefore, not without reason that I intend in +this chapter to set down the several distempers to which the womb is +obnoxious, with proper and safe remedies against them. + + + +SECTION I.--_Of the Hot Distemper of the Womb._ + +The distemper consists in excess of heat; for as heat of the womb is +necessary for conception, so if it be too much, it nourisheth not the +seed, but it disperseth its heat, and hinders the conception. This +preternatural heat is sometimes from the birth, and causeth barrenness, +but if it be accidental, it is from hot causes, that bring the heat and +the blood to the womb; it arises also from internal and external +medicines, and from too much hot meat, drink and exercise. Those that +are troubled with this distemper have but few courses, and those are +yellow, black, burnt or sharp, have hair betimes on their privities, are +very prone to lust, subject to headache, and abound with choler, and +when the distemper is strong upon them, they have but few terms, which +are out of order, being bad and hard to flow, and in time they become +hypochondriacal, and for the most part barren, having sometimes a +phrenzy of the womb. + +_Cure_. The remedy is to use coolers, so that they offend not the +vessels that most open for the flux of the terms. Therefore, take the +following inwardly; succory, endive, violets, water lilies, sorrel, +lettuce, saunders and syrups and conserve made thereof. Also take a +conserve of succory, violets, water-lilies, burrage, each an ounce; +conserve of roses, half an ounce, diamargation frigid, diatriascantal, +each half a drachm; and with syrup of violets, or juice of citrons, make +an electuary. For outward applications, make use of ointment of roses, +violets, water-lilies, gourd, Venus navel, applied to the back and +loins. + +Let the air be cool, her garments thin, and her food endive, lettuce, +succory and barley. Give her no hot meats, nor strong wine, unless mixed +with water. Rest is good for her, but she must abstain from copulation, +though she may sleep as long as she pleases. + + + +SECT. II.--_Of the Cold Distempers of the Womb._ + +This distemper is the reverse of the foregoing, and equally an enemy to +generation, being caused by a cold quality abounding to excess, and +proceeds from a too cold air, rest, idleness and cooling medicines. It +may be known by an aversion to venery, and taking no pleasure in the act +of copulation when the seed is spent; the terms are phlegmatic, thick +and slimy, and do not flow as they should; the womb is windy and the +seed crude and waterish. It is the cause of obstructions and barrenness, +and is hard to be cured. + +_Cure_. Take galengal, cinnamon, nutmeg mace, cloves, ginger, cububs, +cardamom, grains of paradise, each an ounce and a half, galengal, six +drachms, long pepper, half an ounce, Zedoary five drachms; bruise them +and add six quarts of wine, put them into a cellar nine days, daily +stirring them; then add of mint two handfuls, and let them stand +fourteen days, pour off the wine and bruise them, and then pour on the +wine again, and distil them. Also anoint with oil of lilies, rue, +angelica, cinnamon, cloves, mace and nutmeg. Let her diet and air be +warm, her meat of easy concoction, seasoned with ant-seed, fennel and +thyme; and let her avoid raw fruits and milk diets. + + + +SECT. III.--_Of the Inflation of the Womb._ + +The inflation of the womb is a stretching of it by wind, called by some +a windy mole; the wind proceeds from a cold matter, whether thick or +thin, contained in the veins of the womb, by which the heat thereof is +overcome, and which either flows thither from other parts, or is +gathered there by cold meats and drinks. Cold air may be a producing +cause of it also, as women that lie in are exposed to it. The wind is +contained either in the cavity of the vessels of the womb, or between +the tumicle, and may be known by a swelling in the region of the womb, +which sometimes reaches to the navel, loins and diaphragm, and rises and +abates as the wind increaseth or decreaseth. It differs from the dropsy, +in that it never swells so high. That neither physician nor midwife may +take it for dropsy, let them observe the signs of the woman with the +child laid down in a former part of this work; and if any sign be +wanting, they may suspect it to be an inflation; of which it is a +further sign, that in conception the swelling is invariable; also if you +strike upon the belly, in an inflation, there will be noise, but not so +in case there be a conception. It also differs from a mole, because in +that there is a weight and hardness of the belly, and when the patient +moves from one side to the other she feels a great weight which moveth, +but not so in this. If the inflation continue without the cavity of the +womb, the pain is greater and more extensive, nor is there any noise, +because the wind is more pent up. + +_Cure_. This distemper is neither of a long continuance nor dangerous, +if looked after in time; and if it be in the cavity of the womb it is +more easily expelled. To which purpose give her diaphnicon, with a +little castor and sharp clysters that expel the wind. If this distemper +happen to a woman in travail let her not purge after delivery, nor +bleed, because it is from a cold matter; but if it come after +child-bearing, and her terms come down sufficiently, and she has +fullness of blood, let the saphoena vein be opened, after which, let her +take the following electuary: take conserve of betony and rosemary, of +each an ounce and a half; candied eringoes, citron peel candied, each +half an ounce; diacimium, diagenel, each a drachm; oil of aniseed, six +drops, and with syrup of citrons make an electuary. For outward +application make a cataplasm of rue, mugwort, camomile, dill, calamint, +new pennyroyal, thyme, with oil of rue, keir and camomile. And let the +following clyster to expel the wind be put into the womb: Take agnus +castus, cinnamon, each two drachms, boil them in wine to half a pint. +She may likewise use sulphur, Bath and Spa waters, both inward and +outward, because they expel the wind. + + + +SECT. IV.--_Of the Straitness of the Womb and its Vessels._ + +This is another effect of the womb, which is a very great obstruction to +the bearing of children, hindering both the flow of the menses and +conception, and is seated in the vessel of the womb, and the neck +thereof. The causes of this straitness are thick and rough humours, that +stop the mouths of the veins and arteries. These humours are bred either +by gross or too much nourishment, when the heat of the womb is so weak +that it cannot attenuate the humours, which by reason thereof, either +flow from the whole body, or are gathered into the womb. Now the vessels +are made straiter or closer several ways; sometimes by inflammation, +scirrhous or other tumours; sometimes by compressions, scars, or by +flesh or membranes that grow after a wound. The signs by which this is +known are, the stoppage of the terms, not conceiving, and condities +abounding in the body which are all shown by particular signs, for if +there is a wound, or the secundine be pulled out by force phlegm comes +from the wound; if stoppage of the terms be from an old obstruction of +humours, it is hard to be cured; if it be only from the disorderly use +of astringents, it is more curable; if it be from a scirrhous, or other +tumours that compress or close the vessel, the disease is incurable. + +_Cure_. For the cure of that which is curable, obstructions must be +taken away, phlegm must be purged, and she must be let blood, as will be +hereafter directed in the stoppage of the terms. Then use the following +medicines: Take of aniseed and fennel seed, each a drachm; rosemary, +pennyroyal, calamint, betony flowers, each an ounce; castus, cinnamon, +galengal, each half an ounce; saffron half a drachm, with wine. Or take +asparagus roots, parsley roots, each an ounce; pennyroyal, calamint, +each a handful; wallflowers, gilly-flowers, each two handfuls; boil, +strain and add syrup of mugwort, an ounce and a half. For a fomentation, +take pennyroyal, mercury, calamint, marjoram, mugwort, each two +handfuls, sage, rosemary bays, camomile-flowers, each a handful, boil +them in water and foment the groin and the bottom of the belly; or let +her sit up to the navel in a bath, and then anoint about the groin with +oil of rue, lilies, dill, etc. + + + +SECT. V.--_Of the falling of the Womb._ + +This is another evil effect of the womb which is both very troublesome, +and also a hindrance to conception. Sometimes the womb falleth to the +middle of the thighs, nay, almost to the knees, and may be known then by +its hanging out. Now, that which causeth the womb to change its place +is, that the ligaments by which it is bound to the other parts, are not +in order; for there are four ligaments, two above, broad and membranous, +round and hollow; it is also bound to the great vessels by veins and +arteries, and to the back by nerves; but the place is changed when it is +drawn another way, or when the ligaments are loose, and it falls down by +its own weight. It is drawn on one side when the menses are hindered +from flowing, and the veins and arteries are full, namely, those that go +to the womb. If it be a mole on one side, the liver and spleen cause it; +by the liver vein on the right side, and the spleen on the left, as they +are more or less filled. Others are of opinion, it comes from the +solution of the connexion of the fibrous neck and the parts adjacent; +and that it is from the weight of the womb descending; this we deny not, +but the ligaments must be loose or broken. But women with a dropsy could +not be said to have the womb fallen down, if it came only from +looseness; but in them it is caused by the saltness of the water, which +dries more than it moistens. Now, if there be a little tumour, within or +without the privities, it is nothing else but a descent of the womb, but +if there be a tumour like a goose's egg and a hole at the bottom and +there is at first a great pain in the parts to which the womb is +fastened, as the loins, the bottom of the belly, and the os sacrum, it +proceeds from the breaking or stretching of the ligaments; and a little +after the pain is abated, and there is an impediment in walking, and +sometimes blood comes from the breach of the vessels, and the excrements +and urine are stopped, and then a fever and convulsion ensueth, +oftentimes proving mortal, especially if it happen to women with child. + +_Cure_. For the cure of this distemper, first put up the womb before the +air alter it, or it be swollen or inflamed; and for this purpose give a +clyster to remove the excrements, and lay her upon her back, with her +legs abroad, and her thighs lifted up and her head down; then take the +tumour in your hand and thrust it in without violence; if it be swelled +by alteration and cold, foment it with the decoction of mallows, +althoea, lime, fenugreek, camomile flowers, bay-berries, and anoint it +with oil of lilies, and hen's grease. If there be an inflammation, do +not put it up, but fright it in, by putting a red-hot iron before it +and making a show as if you intended to burn it; but first sprinkle upon +it the powder of mastich, frankincense and the like; thus, take +frankincense, mastich, each two drachms; sarcocol steeped in milk, +drachm; mummy, pomegranate flowers, sanguisdraconis, each half a drachm. +When it is put up, let her lie with her legs stretched, and one upon the +other, for eight or ten days, and make a pessary in the form of a pear, +with cork or sponge, and put it into the womb, dipped in sharp wine, or +juice of acacia, with powder of sanguis, with galbanum and bdellium. +Apply also a cupping-glass, with a great flame, under the navel or paps, +or both kidneys, and lay this plaster to the back; take opopanax, two +ounces, storax liquid, half an ounce; mastich, frankincense, pitch, +bole, each two drachms; then with wax make a plaster; or take laudanum, +a drachm and a half; mastich, and frankincense, each half a drachm, wood +aloes, cloves, spike, each a drachm; ash-coloured ambergris, four +grains: musk, half a scruple; make two round plasters to be laid on each +side of the navel; make a fume of snails' skins salted, or of garlic, +and let it be taken in by the funnel. Use also astringent fomentations +of bramble leaves, plantain, horse-tails, myrtles, each two handfuls; +wormseed, two handfuls; pomegranate flowers, half an ounce; boil them in +wine and water. For an injection take comfrey root, an ounce; +rupturewort, two drachms; yarrow, mugwort, each half an ounce; boil them +in red wine, and inject with a syringe. To strengthen the womb, take +hartshorn, bays, of each half a drachm; myrrh half a drachm; make a +powder of two doses, and give it with sharp wine. Or you may take +Zedoary, parsnip seed, crabs' eyes prepared, each a drachm, nutmeg, half +a drachm; and give a drachm, in powder; but astringents must be used +with great caution, lest by stopping the courses a worse mischief +follow. To keep in its place, make rollers and ligatures as for a +rupture; and put pessaries into the bottom of the womb, that may force +it to remain. Let the diet be such as has drying, astringent and glueing +qualities, as rice, starch, quinces, pears and green cheese; but let the +summer fruits be avoided; and let her wine be astringent and red. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER III + + _Of Diseases Relating to Women's Monthly Courses._ + + +SECTION I.--_Of Women's Monthly Courses in General._ + +That divine Providence, which, with a wisdom peculiar to itself, has +appointed woman to conceive by coition with man, and to bear and bring +forth children, has provided for nourishment of children during their +recess in the womb of their mother, by that redundancy of the blood +which is natural to all women; and which, flowing out at certain periods +of time (when they are not pregnant) are from thence called _terms_ and +_menses_, from their monthly flux of excrementitious and unprofitable +blood. Now, that the matter flowing forth is excrementitious, is to be +understood only with respect to the redundancy and overplus thereof, +being an excrement only with respect to its quantity; for as to its +quality, it is as pure and incorrupt as any blood in the veins; and this +appears from the final cause of it, which is the propagation and +conservation of mankind, and also from the generation of it, being +superfluity of the last aliment of the fleshy parts. If any ask, if the +menses be not of hurtful quality, how can they cause such venomous +effects; if they fall upon trees and herbs, they make the one barren +and mortify the other: I answer, this malignity is contracted in the +womb, for the woman, wanting native heat to digest the superfluity, +sends it to the matrix, where seating itself till the mouth of the womb +be dilated, it becomes corrupt and mortified; which may easily be, +considering the heat and moistness of the place; and so this blood being +out of its proper vessels, offends in quality. + + + +SECT. II.--_Of the Terms coming out of order, either before or after the +usual Time._ + +Having, in the former part of this work, treated, of the suppression and +overflowing of the monthly terms, I shall content myself with referring +the reader thereto, and proceed to speak of their coming out of order, +either before or after the usual time. + +Both these proceed from an ill constitution of body. Everything is +beautiful in its order, in nature as well as in morality; and if the +order of nature be broken, it shows the body to be out of order. Of each +of these effects briefly. + +When the monthly courses come before their time, showing a depraved +excretion, and flowing sometimes twice a month, the cause is in the +blood, which stirs up the expulsive faculty of the womb, or else in the +whole body, and is frequently occasioned by the person's diet, which +increases the blood too much, making it too sharp or too hot. If the +retentive faculty of the womb be weak, and the expulsive faculty strong, +and of a quick sense, it brings them forth the sooner. Sometimes they +flow sooner by reason of a fall, stroke or some violent passion, which +the parties themselves can best relate. If it be from heat, thin and +sharp humours, it is known by the distemper of the whole body. The +looseness of the vessels and the weakness of the retentive faculty, is +known from a moist and loose habit of the body. It is more troublesome +than dangerous, but hinders conception, and therefore the cure is +necessary for all, but especially such as desire children. If it +proceeds from a sharp blood, let her temper it by a good diet and +medicines. To which purpose, let her use baths of iron water, that +correct the distemper of the bowels, and then evacuate. If it proceeds +from the retentive faculty, and looseness of the vessels, it is to be +corrected with gentle astringents. + +As to the courses flowing after the usual time, the causes are, +thickness of the blood, and the smallness of its quantity, with the +stoutness of the passage, and weakness of the expulsive faculties. +Either of these singly may stop the courses, but if they all concur, +they render the distemper worse. If the blood abounds not in such a +quantity as may stir up nature to expel it, its purging must necessarily +be deferred, till there be enough. And if the blood be thick, the +passage stopped, and the expulsive faculty weak, the menses must needs +be out of order and the purging of them retarded. + +For the cure of this, if the quantity of blood be small, let her use a +larger diet, and a very little exercise. If the blood be thick and foul, +let it be made thin, and the humours mixed therewith, evacuated. It is +good to purge, after the courses have done flowing, and to use calamint, +and, indeed, the oftener she purges, the better. She may also use fumes +and pessaries, apply cupping glasses without scarification to the inside +of the thighs, and rub the legs and scarify the ankles, and hold the +feet in warm water four or five days before the courses come down. Let +her also anoint the bottom of her belly with things proper to provoke +the terms. + + + +_Remedies for Diseases in Women's Paps._ + +Make a cataplasm of bean meal and salad oil, and lay it to the place +afflicted. Or anoint with the juice of papilaris. This must be done when +the papa are very sore. + +If the paps be hard and swollen, take a handful of rue, colewort roots, +horehound and mint; if you cannot get all these conveniently, any two +will do; pound the handful in honey, and apply it once every day till +healed. + +If the nipples be stiff and sore, anoint twice a day with Florence oil, +till healed. If the paps be flabby and hanging, bruise a little hemlock, +and apply it to the breast for three days; but let it not stand above +seven hours. Or, which is safer, rusae juice, well boiled, with a little +sinapios added thereto, and anoint. + +If the paps be hard and dead, make a plate of lead pretty thin, to +answer the breasts; let this stand nine hours each day, for three days. +Or sassafras bruised, and used in like manner. + + + +_Receipt for Procuring Milk._ + +Drink arpleui, drawn as tea, for twenty-one days. Or eat of aniseeds. +Also the juice of arbor vitae, a glassful once a day for eleven days, is +very good, for it quickens the memory, strengthens the body, and causeth +milk to flow in abundance. + + + +_Directions for Drawing of Blood._ + +Drawing of blood was first invented for good and salutary purposes, +although often abused and misapplied. To bleed in the left arm removes +long continued pains and headaches. It is also good for those who have +got falls and bruises. + +Bleeding is good for many disorders, and generally proves a cure, except +in some extraordinary cases, and in those cases bleeding is hurtful. If +a woman be pregnant, to draw a little blood will give her ease, good +health, and a lusty child. + +Bleeding is a most certain cure for no less than twenty-one disorders, +without any outward or inward applications; and for many more with +application of drugs, herbs and flowers. + +When the moon is on the increase, you may let blood at any time day or +night; but when she is on the decline, you must bleed only in the +morning. + +Bleeding may be performed from the month of March to November. No +bleeding in December, January or February, unless an occasion require +it. The months of March, April and November, are the three chief months +of the year for bleeding in; but it may be performed with safety from +the ninth of March to the nineteenth of November. + +To prevent the dangers that may arise from she unskilful drawing of +blood, let none open a but a person of experience and practice. + +There are three sorts of people you must not let draw blood; first +ignorant and inexperienced persons. Secondly, those who have bad sight +and trembling hands, whether skilful or unskilled. For when the hand +trembles, the lance is apt to start from the vein, and the flesh be +thereby damaged, which may hurt, canker, and very much torment the +patient. Thirdly, let no woman bleed, but such as have gone through a +course of midwifery at college, for those who are unskilful may cut an +artery, to the great damage of the patient. Besides, what is still +worse, those pretended bleeders, who take it up at their own hand, +generally keep unedged and rusty lancets, which prove hurtful, even in a +skilful hand. Accordingly you ought to be cautious in choosing your +physician; a man of learning knows what vein to open for each disorder; +he knows how much blood to take as soon as he sees the patient, and he +can give you suitable advice concerning your disorder. + + * * * * * + + + + +PART III + +ARISTOTLE'S BOOK OF PROBLEMS + +WITH OTHER + +ASTROMER, ASTROLOGERS AND + +PHYSICIANS, + +CONCERNING + +THE STATE OF MAN'S BODY. + + +Q. Among all living creatures, why hath man only his countenance lifted +up towards Heaven. A. 1. From the will of the Creator. But although this +answer be true, yet it seemeth not to be of force, because that so all +questions might be easily resolved. Therefore, 2. I answer that, for the +most part, every workman doth make his first work worse, and then his +second better! so God creating all other animals before man gave them +their face looking down to the earth; and then secondly he created man, +unto whom he gave an upright shape, lifted unto heaven, because it is +drawn from divinity, and it is derived from the goodness of God, who +maketh all his works both perfect and good. 3. Man only, among all +living creatures, is ordained to the kingdom of heaven, and therefore +hath his face elevated and lifted up to heaven, because that despising +earthly and worldly things, he ought often to contemplate on heavenly +things. 4. That the reasonable man is like unto angels, and finally +ordained towards God; and therefore he hath a figure looking upward. 5. +Man is a microcosm, that is, a little world, and therefore he doth +command all other living creatures and they obey him. 6. Naturally there +is unto everything and every work, that form and figure given which is +fit and proper for its motion; as unto the heavens, roundness, to the +fire a pyramidical form, that is, broad beneath and sharp towards the +top, which form is most apt to ascend; and so man has his face towards +heaven to behold the wonders of God's works. + +Q. Why are the heads of men hairy? A. The hair is the ornament of the +head, and the brain is purged of gross humours by the growing of the +hair, from the highest to the lowest, which pass through the pores of +the exterior flesh, become dry, and are converted into hair. This +appears to be the case, from the circumstance that in all man's body +there is nothing drier than the hair, for it is drier than the bones; +and it is well known that some beasts are nourished with bones, as dogs, +but they cannot digest feathers or hair, but void them undigested, being +too hot for nourishment. 2. It is answered, that the brain is purged in +three different ways; of superfluous watery humours by the eyes, of +choler by the nose, and of phlegm by the hair, which is the opinion of +the best physicians. + +Q. Why have men longer hair on their heads than any other living +creature? A. Arist. de Generat. Anim. says, that men have the moistest +brain of all living creatures from which the seed proceedeth which is +converted into the long hair of the head. 2. The humours of men are fat, +and do not become dry easily; and therefore the hair groweth long on +them. In beasts, the humours easily dry, and therefore the hair groweth +not so long. + +Q. Why doth the hair take deeper root in man's skin than in that of any +other living creatures? A. Because it has greater store of nourishment +in man, and therefore grows more in the inward parts of man. And this is +the reason why in other creatures the hair doth alter and change with +the skin, and not in man, unless by a scar or wound. + +Q. Why have women longer hair than men? A. Because women are moister and +more phlegmatic than men, and therefore there is more matter for hair to +them, and, by consequence, the length also of their hair. And, +furthermore, this matter is more increased in women than men from their +interior parts, and especially in the time of their monthly terms, +because the matter doth then ascend, whereby the humour that breedeth +the hair, doth increase. 2. Because women want beards; so the matter of +the beard doth go into that of the hair. + +Q. Why have some women soft hair and some hard? A. 1. The hair hath +proportion with the skin; of which some is hard, some thick, some subtle +and soft, some gross; therefore, the hair which grows out of thick, +gross skin, is thick and gross; that which groweth out of a subtle and +fine skin, is fine and soft; when the pores are open, then cometh forth +much humour, and therefore hard hair is engendered; and when the pores +are strait, then there doth grow soft and fine hair. This doth evidently +appear in men, because women have softer hair than they; for in women +the pores are shut and strait, by reason of their coldness. 2. Because +for the most part, choleric men have harder and thicker hair than +others, by reason of their heat, and because their pores are always +open, and therefore they have beards sooner than others. For this reason +also, beasts that have hard hair are boldest, because such have +proceeded from heat and choler, examples of which we have in the bear +and the boar; and contrariwise, those beasts that have soft hair are +fearful, because they are cold, as the hare and the hart. 3. From the +climate where a man is born; because in hot regions hard and gross hair +is engendered, as appears in the Ethiopians, and the contrary is the +case is cold countries toward the north. + +Q. Why have some men curled hair, and some smooth? A. From the superior +degree of heat in some men, which makes the hair curl and grow upward; +this is proved by a man's having smooth hair when he goes into a hot +bath, and it afterwards becomes curled. Therefore keepers of baths have +often curled hair, as also Ethiopians and choleric men. But the cause of +this smoothness, is the abundance of moist humours. + +Q. Why do women show ripeness by hair in their privy parts, and not +elsewhere, but men in their breasts? A. Because in men and women there +is abundance of humidity in that place, but most in women, as men have +the mouth of the bladder in that place, where the urine is contained, of +which the hair in the breast is engendered, and especially that about +the navel. But of women in general, it is said, that the humidity of the +bladder of the matrix, or womb, is joined and meeteth in that lower +secret place, and therefore is dissolved and separated in that place +into vapours and fumes, which are the cause of hair. And the like doth +happen in other places, as in the hair under the arms. + +Q. Why have not women beards? A. Because they want heat; which is the +case with some effeminate men, who are beardless from the same cause, to +have complexions like women. + +Q. Why doth the hair grow on those that are hanged? A. Because their +bodies are exposed to the sun, which, by its heat doth dissolve all +moisture into the fume or vapour of which the hair doth grow. + +Q. Why is the hair of the beard thicker and grosser than elsewhere; and +the more men are shaven, the harder and thicker it groweth? A. Because +by so much as the humours or vapours of a liquid are dissolved and taken +away, so much the more doth the humour remaining draw to the same; and +therefore the more the hair is shaven, the thicker the humours gather +which engender the hair, and cause it to wax hard. + +Q. Why are women smooth and fairer than men? A. Because in women much of +the humidity and superfluity, which are the matter and cause of the hair +of the body, is expelled with their monthly terms; which superfluity, +remaining in men, through vapours passes into hair. + +Q. Why doth man, above all other creatures, wax hoary and gray? A. +Because man hath the hottest heart of all living creatures; and +therefore, nature being most wise, lest a man should be suffocated +through the heat of his heart, hath placed the heart, which is most hot, +under the brain, which is most cold; to the end that the heat of the +heart may be tempered by the coldness of the brain; and contrariwise, +that the coldness of the brain may be qualified by the heat of the +heart; and thereby there might be a temperature in both. A proof of this +is, that of all living creatures man hath the worst breath when he comes +to full age. Furthermore, man doth consume nearly half his time in +sleep, which doth proceed from the great excess of coldness and moisture +in the brain, and from his wanting natural heat to digest and consume +that moisture, which heat he hath in his youth, and therefore, in that +age is not gray, but in old age, when heat faileth; because then the +vapours ascending from the stomach remain undigested and unconsumed for +want of natural heat, and thus putrefy, on which putrefaction of humours +that the whiteness doth follow, which is called grayness or hoariness. +Whereby it doth appear, that hoariness is nothing but a whiteness of +hair, caused by a putrefaction of the humours about the roots of the +hair, through the want of natural heat in old age. Sometimes all +grayness is caused by the naughtiness of the complexion, which may +happen in youth: sometimes through over great fear and care as appeareth +in merchants, sailors and thieves. + +Q. Why doth red hair grow white sooner than hair of any other colour? A. +Because redness is an infirmity of the hair; for it is engendered of a +weak and infirm matter, that is, of matter corrupted with the flowers of +the woman; and therefore it waxes white sooner than any other colour. + +Q. Why do wolves grow grisly? A. To understand this question, note the +difference between grayness and grisliness; grayness is caused through +defect of natural heat, but grisliness through devouring and heat. The +wolf being a devouring beast, he eateth gluttonously without chewing, +and enough at once for three days; in consequence of which, gross +vapours engendered in the wolf's body, which cause grisliness. Grayness +and grisliness have this difference; grayness is only in the head, but +grisliness all over the body. + +Q. Why do horses grow grisly and gray? A. Because they are for the most +part in the sun, and heat naturally causes putrefaction; therefore the +matter of hair doth putrefy, and in consequence they are quickly peeled. + +Q. Why do men get bald, and trees let fall their leaves in winter? A. +The want of moisture is the cause in both, which is proved by a man's +becoming bald through venery, because by that he lets forth his natural +humidity and heat; and by that excess in carnal pleasure the moisture is +consumed which is the nutriment of the hair. Thus, eunuchs and women do +not grow bald, because they do not part from this moisture; and +therefore eunuchs are of the complexion of women. + +Q. Why are not women bald? A. Because they are cold and moist, which are +the causes that the hair remaineth; for moistness doth give nutriment to +the hair, and coldness doth bind the pores. + +Q. Why are not blind men naturally bald? A. Because the eye hath +moisture in it, and that moisture which should pass through by the +substance of the eyes, doth become a sufficient nutriment for the hair +and therefore they are seldom bald. + +Q. Why doth the hair stand on end when men are afraid? A. Because in +time of fear the heat doth go from the outward parts of the body into +the inward to help the heart, and so the pores in which the hair is +fastened are shut up, after which stopping and shutting up of the pores, +the standing up of the hair doth follow. + + + +_Of the Head._ + +Q. Why is a man's head round? A. Because it contains in it the moistest +parts of the living creature: and also that the brain may be defended +thereby, as with a shield. + +Q. Why is the head not absolutely long but somewhat round? A. To the end +that the three creeks and cells of the brain might the better be +distinguished; that is, the fancy in the forehead, the discoursing or +reasonable part in the middle, and memory in the hinder-most part. + +Q. Why doth a man lift up his head towards the heavens when he doth +imagine? A. Because the imagination is in the fore part of the head or +brain, and therefore it lifteth up itself, that the creeks or cells of +the imagination may be opened, and that the spirits which help the +imagination, and are fit for that purpose, having their concourse +thither, may help the imagination. + +Q. Why doth a man, when he museth or thinketh of things past, look +towards the earth? A. Because the cell or creek which is behind, is the +creek or chamber of the memory; and therefore, that looketh towards +heaven when the head is bowed down, and so the cell is open, to the end +that the spirits which perfect the memory should enter it. + +Q. Why is not the head fleshy, like other parts of the body? A. Because +the head would be too heavy, and would not stand steadily. Also, a head +loaded with flesh, betokens an evil complexion. + +Q. Why is the head subject to aches and griefs? A. By reason that evil +humours, which proceed from the stomach, ascend up to the head and +disturb the brain, and so cause pain in the head; sometimes it proceeds +from overmuch filling the stomach, because two great sinews pass from +the brain to the mouth of the stomach, and therefore these two parts do +always suffer grief together. + +Q. Why have women the headache oftener than men? A. By reason of their +monthly terms, which men are not troubled with, and by which a moist, +unclean and venomous fume is produced, that seeks passage upwards, and +so causes the headache. + +Q. Why is the brain white? A. 1. Because it is cold, and coldness is the +mother of white. 2. Because it may receive the similitude and likeness +of all colours, which the white colour can best do, because it is most +simple. + +Q. Why are all the senses in the head? A. Because the brain is there, on +which all the senses depend, and are directed by it; and, consequently, +it maketh all the spirits to feel, and governeth all the membranes. + +Q. Why cannot a person escape death if the brain or heart be hurt? A. +Because the brain and heart are the two principal parts which concern +life; and, therefore, if they be hurt, there is no remedy left for cure. + +Q. Why is the brain moist? A. Because it may easily receive an +impression, which moisture can best do, as it appeareth in wax, which +doth easily receive the print of the seal when soft. + +Q. Why is the brain cold? A. 1. Because that by this coldness it may +clear the understanding of man and make it subtle. 2. That by the +coldness of the brain, the heat of the heart may be tempered. + + + +_Of the Eyes._ + +Q. Why have you one nose and two eyes? A. Because light is more +necessary to us than smelling; and therefore it doth proceed from the +goodness of Nature, that if we receive any hurt or loss of one eye, the +other should remain. + +Q. Why have children great eyes in their youth, which become small as +they grow up? A. It proceeds from the want of fire, and from the +assemblage and meeting together of the light and humour; the eyes, being +lightened by the sun, which doth lighten the easy humour thereof and +purge them: and, in the absence of the sun, those humours become dark +and black, and the sight not so good. + +Q. Why does the blueish grey eye see badly in the day-time and well in +the night? A. Because greyness is light and shining in itself, and the +spirits with which we see are weakened in the day-time and strengthened +in the night. + +Q. Why are men's eyes of diverse colours? A. By reason of diversity of +humours. The eye hath four coverings and three humours. The first +covering is called consolidative, which is the outermost, strong and +fat. The second is called a horny skin or covering, of the likeness of +a horn; which is a clear covering. The third, uvea, of the likeness of a +black grape. The fourth is called a cobweb. The first humour is called +_albuginous_, from its likeness unto the white of an egg. The second +glarial; that is, clear, like unto crystalline. The third vitreous, that +is, clear as glass. And the diversity of humours causeth the diversity +of the eyes. + +Q. Why are men that have but one eye, good archers? and why do good +archers commonly shut one? And why do such as behold the stars look +through a trunk with one eye? A. This matter is handled in the +perspective arts; and the reason is, as it doth appear in _The Book of +Causes_, because that every virtue and strength united and knit +together, is stronger than when dispersed and scattered. Therefore, all +the force of seeing dispersed in two eyes, the one being shut, is +gathered into the other, and so the light is fortified in him; and by +consequence he doth see better and more certainly with one eye being +shut, than when both are open. + +Q. Why do those that drink and laugh much, shed most tears? A. Because +that while they drink and laugh without measure the air which is drawn +in doth not pass out through the windpipe, and so with force is +directed and sent to the eyes, and by their pores passing out, doth +expel the humours of the eyes; which humour being expelled, brings +tears. + +Q. Why do such as weep much, urine but little? A. Because the radical +humidity of a tear and of urine are of one and the same nature, and, +therefore, where weeping doth increase, urine diminishes. And that they +are of one nature is plain to the taste, because they are both salt. + +Q. Why do some that have clear eyes see nothing? A. By reason of the +oppilation and naughtiness of the sinews with which we see; for the +temples being destroyed, the strength of the light cannot be carried +from the brain to the eye. + +Q. Why is the eye clear and smooth like glass? A. 1. Because the things +which may be seen are better beaten back from a smooth thing than +otherwise, that thereby the sight should strengthen. 2. Because the eye +is moist above all parts of the body, and of a waterish nature; and as +the water is clear and smooth, so likewise is the eye. + +Q. Why do men and beasts who have their eyes deep in their head best see +far off? A. Because the force and power by which we see is dispersed in +them, and both go directly to the thing which is seen. Thus, when a man +doth stand in a deep ditch or well, he doth see in the daytime the stars +of the firmament; because then the power of the night and of the beams +are not scattered. + +Q. Wherefore do those men who have eyes far out in their head not see +far distant? A. Because the beams of the sight which pass from the eye, +are scattered on every side, and go not directly unto the thing that is +seen, and therefore the sight is weakened. + +Q. Why are so many beasts born blind, as lions' whelps and dogs' whelps. +A. Because such beasts are not yet of perfect ripeness and maturity, and +the course of nutriment doth not work in them. Thus the swallow, whose +eyes, if they were taken out when they are young in their nest, would +grow in again. And this is the case in many beasts who are brought forth +before their time as it were dead, as bear's whelps. + +Q. Why do the eyes of a woman that hath her flowers, stain new glass? +And why doth a basilisk kill a man with his sight? A. When the flowers +do run from a woman, then a most venomous air is distilled from them, +which doth ascend into a woman's head; and she, having pain in her head, +doth wrap it up with a cloth or handkerchief; and because the eyes are +full of insensible holes, which are called pores, there the air seeketh +a passage, and infects the eyes, which are full of blood. The eyes also +appear dropping and full of tears, by reason of the evil vapour that is +in them; and these vapours are incorporated and multiplied till they +come to the glass before them; and by reason that such a glass is round, +clear and smooth, it doth easily receive that which is unclean. 2. The +basilisk is a very venomous and infectious animal, and there pass from +his eyes vapours which are multiplied upon the thing which is seen by +him, and even unto the eye of man; the which venomous vapours or humours +entering into the body, do infect him, and so in the end the man dieth. +And this is also the reason why the basilisk, looking upon a shield +perfectly well made with fast clammy pitch, or any hard smooth thing, +doth kill itself, because the humours are beaten back from the hard +smooth thing unto the basilisk, by which beating back he is killed. + +Q. Why is the sparkling in cats' eyes and wolves' eyes seen in the dark +and not in the light? A. Because that the greater light doth darken the +lesser; and therefore, in a greater light the sparkling cannot be seen; +but the greater the darkness, the easier it is seen, and is more strong +and shining. + +Q. Why is the sight recreated and refreshed by a green colour? A. +Because green doth merely move the sight, and therefore doth comfort it; +but this doth not, in black or white colours, because these colours do +vehemently stir and alter the organ and instrument of the sight, and +therefore make the greater violence; and by how much the more violent +the thing is which is felt or seen the more it doth destroy and weaken +the sense. + + + +_Of the Nose._ + +Q. Why doth the nose stand out further than any other part of the body. +A. 1. Because the nose is, as it were, the sink of the brain, by which +the phlegm of the brain is purged; and therefore it doth stand forth, +lest the other parts should be defiled. 2. Because the nose is the +beauty of the face, and doth smell. + +Q. Why hath a man the worst smell of all creatures? A. Because man hath +most brains of all creatures; and, therefore, by exceeding coldness and +moisture, the brain wanteth a good disposition, and by consequence, the +smelling instrument is not good, yea, some men have no smell. + +Q. Why have vultures and cormorants a keen smell? A. Because they have a +very dry brain; and, therefore, the air carrying the smell, is not +hindered by the humidity of the brain, but doth presently touch its +instrument; and, therefore, vultures, tigers and other ravenous beasts, +have been known to come five hundred miles after dead bodies. + +Q. Why did nature make the nostrils? A. 1. Because the mouth being shut +we draw breath in by the nostrils, to refresh the heart. 2. Because the +air which proceedeth from the mouth doth savour badly, because of the +vapours which rise from the stomach, but that which we breathe from the +nose is not noisome. 3. Because the phlegm which doth proceed from the +brain is purged by them. + +Q. Why do men sneeze? A. That the expulsive virtue and power of the +sight should thereby be purged, and the brain also from superfluities; +because, as the lungs are purged by coughing, so is the sight and brain +by sneezing; and therefore physicians give sneezing medicaments to purge +the brain; and thus it is, such sick persons as cannot sneeze, die +quickly, because it is a sign their brain is wholly stuffed with evil +humours, which cannot be purged. + +Q. Why do such as are apoplectic sneeze, that is, such as are subject +easily to bleed? A. Because the passages, or ventricles of the brain are +stopped, and if they could sneeze, their apoplexy would be loosed. + +Q. Why does the heat of the sun provoke sneezing, and not the heat of +the fire? A. Because the heat of the sun doth dissolve, but not consume, +and therefore the vapour dissolved is expelled by sneezing; but the heat +of the fire doth dissolve and consume, and therefore doth rather hinder +sneezing than provoke it. + + + +_Of the Ears._ + +Q. Why do beasts move their ears, and not men? A. Because there is a +certain muscle near the under jaw which doth cause motion in the ear; +and therefore, that muscle being extended and stretched, men do not move +their ears, as it hath been seen in divers men; but all beasts do use +that muscle or fleshy sinew, and therefore do move their ears. + +Q. Why is rain prognosticated by the pricking up of asses' ears? A. +Because the ass is of a melancholic constitution, and the approach of +rain produceth that effect on such a constitution. In the time of rain +all beasts prick up their ears, but the ass before it comes. + +Q. Why have some animals no ears? A. Nature giveth unto everything that +which is fit for it, but if she had given birds ears, their flying would +have been hindered by them. Likewise fish want ears, because they would +hinder their swimming, and have only certain little holes through which +they hear. + +Q. Why have bats ears, although of the bird kind? A. Because they are +partly birds in nature, in that they fly, by reason whereof they have +wings; and partly they are hairy and seem to be of the nature of mice, +therefore nature hath given them ears. + +Q. Why have men only round ears? A. Because the shape of the whole and +of the parts should be proportionable, and especially in all things of +one nature; for as a drop of water is round, so the whole water: and so, +because a man's head is round, the ears incline towards the same figure; +but the heads of beasts are somewhat long, and so the ears are drawn +into length likewise. + +Q. Why hath nature given all living creatures ears? A. 1. Because with +them they should hear. 2. Because by the ear choleric superfluity is +purged; for as the head is purged of phlegmatic superfluity by the nose, +so from choleric, by the ears. + + + +_Of the Mouth._ + +Q. Why hath the mouth lips to compass it? A. Because the lips cover and +defend the teeth; for it would be unseemly if the teeth were always +seen. Also, the teeth being of a cold nature, would be soon hurt if they +were not covered with lips. + +Q. Why has a man two eyes and but one mouth? A. Because a man should +speak but little, and hear and see much. And by hearing and the light we +see difference of things. + +Q. Why hath a man a mouth? A. 1. Because the mouth is the gate and door +of the stomach. 2. Because the meat is chewed in the mouth, and prepared +and made ready for the first digestion. 3. Because the air drawn into +the hollow of the mouth for the refreshing of the heart, is made pure +and subtle. + +Q. Why are the lips moveable? A. For the purpose of forming the voice +and words which cannot be perfectly done without them. For as without +_a, b, c_, there is no writing, so without the lips no voice can well be +formed. + +Q. What causes men to yawn or gape? A. It proceeds from the thick fume +and vapours that fill the jaws; by the expulsion of which is caused the +stretching out and expansion of the jaws, and opening of the mouth. + +Q. Why doth a man gape when he seeth another do the same? A. It proceeds +from the imagination. And this is proved by the similitude of the ass, +who by reason of his melancholy, doth retain his superfluity for a long +time, and would neither eat nor piss unless he should hear another +doing the like. + + + +_Of the Teeth._ + +Q. Why do the teeth only, amongst all ether bones, experience the sense +of feeling? A. That they may discern heat and cold, that hurt them, +which other bones need not. + +Q. Why have men more teeth than women? A. By reason of the abundance of +heat and cold which is more in men than in women. + +Q. Why do the teeth grow to the end of our life, and not the other +bones? A. Because otherwise they would be consumed with chewing and +grinding. + +Q. Why do the teeth only come again when they fall, or be taken out, and +other bones being taken away, grow no more? A. Because other bones are +engendered of the humidity which is called radical, and so they breed in +the womb of the mother, but the teeth are engendered of nutritive +humidity, which is renewed and increased from day to day. + +Q. Why do the fore-teeth fall in youth, and grow again, and not the +cheek teeth? A. From the defect of matter, and from the figure; because +the fore-teeth are sharp, and the others broad. Also, it is the office +of the fore-teeth to cut the meat, and therefore they are sharp; and +the office of the others to chew the meat, and therefore they are broad +in fashion, which is fittest for that purpose. + +Q. Why do the fore-teeth grow soonest? A. Because we want them sooner in +cutting than the others in chewing. + +Q. Why do the teeth grow black in human creatures in their old age? A. +It is occasioned by the corruption of the meat, and the corruption of +phlegm with a choleric humour. + +Q. Why are colts' teeth yellow, and of the colour of saffron, when they +are young, and become white when they grow up? A. Because horses have +abundance of watery humours in them, which in their youth are digested +and converted into grossness; but in old age heat diminishes, and the +watery humours remain, whose proper colour is white. + +Q. Why did nature give living creatures teeth? A. To some to fight with, +and for defence of their lives, as unto wolves and bears, unto some to +eat with, as unto horses, unto some for the forming of the voices, as +unto men. + +Q. Why do horned beasts want their upper teeth? A. Horns and teeth are +caused by the same matter, that is, nutrimental humidity, and therefore +the matter which passeth into the horns turneth not into teeth, +consequently they want the upper teeth. And such beasts cannot chew +well; therefore, to supply the want of teeth, they have two stomachs, +from whence it returns and they chew it again, then it goes into the +other to be digested. + +Q. Why are some creatures brought forth with teeth, as kids and lambs; +and some without, as men? A. Nature doth not want in necessary things, +nor abound in things superfluous; and therefore, because these beasts, +not long after they are fallen, do need teeth, they are fallen with +teeth; but men, being nourished by their mother, for a long time do not +stand in need of teeth. + + + +_Of the Tongue._ + +Q. Why is the tongue full of pores? A. Because the tongue is the means +whereby which we taste; and through the mouth, in the pores of the +tongue, doth proceed the sense of tasting. Again, it is observed, that +frothy spittle is sent into the mouth by the tongue from the lungs, +moistening the meat and making it ready for digestion. + +Q. Why do the tongues of such as are sick of agues judge all things +bitter? A. Because the stomachs of such persons are filled with +choleric humours; and choler is very bitter, as appeareth by the gall; +therefore this bitter fume doth infect their tongues; and so the tongue, +being full of these tastes, doth judge everything bitter. + +Q. Why doth the tongue water when we hear sour and sharp things spoken +of? A. Because the imaginative virtue or power is of greater force than +the power or faculty of tasting; and when we imagine a taste, we +conceive the power of tasting as a swan; there is nothing felt by the +taste, but by means of the spittle the tongue doth water. + +Q. Why do some persons stammer and lisp? A. Sometimes through the +moistness of the tongue and brain, as in children, who cannot speak +plainly nor pronounce many letters. Sometimes it happeneth by reason of +the shrinking of certain sinews which go to the tongue, which are +corrupted with phlegm. + +Q. Why are the tongues of serpents and mad dogs venomous? A. Because of +the malignity and tumosity of the venomous humour which predominates in +them. + +Q. Why is a dog's tongue good for medicine, and a horse's tongue +pestiferous? A. By reason of some secret property, or that the tongue of +a dog is full of pores, and so doth draw and take away the viscosity of +the wound. It is observed that a dog hath some humour in his tongue, +with which, by licking he doth heal; but the contrary effect is the lick +of a horse's tongue. + +Q. Why is spittle white? A. By reason of the continual moving of the +tongue, whereof heat is engendered, which doth make this superfluity +white; as seen in the froth of water. + +Q. Why is spittle unsavoury and without taste? A. If it had a certain +determinate taste, then the tongue would not taste at all, but only have +the taste of spittle, and could not distinguish others. + +Q. Why doth the spittle of one that is fasting heal an imposthume? A. +Because it is well digested and made subtle. + +Q. Why do some abound in spittle more than others? A. This doth proceed +of a phlegmatic complexion, which doth predominate in them; and such are +liable to a quotidian ague, which ariseth from the predominance of +phlegm; the contrary in those that spit little, because heat abounds in +them, which consumes the humidity of the spittle; and so the defect of +spittle is a sign of fever. + +Q. Why is the spittle of a man that is fasting more subtle than of one +that is full? A. Because the spittle is without the viscosity of meat, +which is wont to make the spittle of one who is full, gross and thick. + +Q. From whence proceeds the spittle of a man? A. From the froth of the +lungs, which according to the physicians, is the seat of the phlegm. + +Q. Why are beasts when going together for generation very full of froth +and foam? A. Because then the lights and heart are in greater motion of +lust; therefore there is engendered in them much frothy matter. + +Q. Why have not birds spittle? A. Because they have very dry lungs. + +Q. Why doth the tongue sometimes lose the use of speaking? A. It is +occasioned by a palsy or apoplexy, which is a sudden effusion of blood, +and by gross humours; and sometimes also by infection of _spiritus +animates_ in the middle cell of the brain which hinders the spirits from +being carried to the tongue. + + + +_Of the Roof of the Mouth._ + +Q. Why are fruits, before they are ripe, of a bitter and sour relish, +and afterward sweet? A. A sour relish or taste proceeds from coldness +and want of heat in gross and thick humidity; but a sweet taste is +produced by sufficient heat; therefore in the ripe fruit humidity is +subtle through the heat of the sun, and such fruit is commonly sweet; +but before it is ripe, as humidity is gross or subtle for want of heat, +the fruit is bitter or sour. + +Q. Why are we better delighted with sweet tastes than with bitter or any +other? A. Because a sweet thing is hot and moist, and through its heat +dissolves and consumes superfluous humidities, and by this humidity +immundicity is washed away; but a sharp, eager taste, by reason of the +cold which predominates in it, doth bind overmuch, and prick and offend +the parts of the body in purging, and therefore we do not delight in +that taste. + +Q. Why doth a sharp taste, as that of vinegar, provoke appetite rather +than any other? A. Because it is cold, and doth cool. For it is the +nature of cold to desire to draw, and therefore it is the cause of +appetite. + +Q. Why do we draw in more air than we breathe out? A. Because much air +is drawn in that is converted into nutriment, and with the vital spirits +is contained in the lungs. Therefore a beast is not suffocated as long +as it receives air with its lungs, in which some part of the air +remaineth also. + +Q. Why doth the air seem to be expelled and put forth, seeing the air is +invisible, by reason of its variety and thinness? A. Because the air +which is received in us, is mingled with vapours and fumes from the +heart, by reason whereof it is made thick, and so is seen. And this is +proved by experience, because that in winter, we see our breath, for the +coldness of the air doth bind the air mixed with fume, and so it is +thickened and made gross, and by consequence is seen. + +Q. Why have some persons stinking breath? A. Because of the evil fumes +that arise from the stomach. And sometimes it doth proceed from the +corruption of the airy parts of the body, as the lungs. The breath of +lepers is so infected that it would poison birds if near them, because +the inward parts are very corrupt. + +Q. Why are lepers hoarse? A. Because the vocal instruments are +corrupted, that is, the lights. + +Q. Why do persons become hoarse? A. Because of the rheum descending from +the brain, filling the conduit of the lights; and sometimes through +imposthumes of the throat, or rheum gathering in the neck. + +Q. Why have the females of all living creatures the shrillest voices, +the crow only excepted, and a woman a shriller and smaller voice than a +man? A. By reason of the composition of the veins and vocal arteries the +voice is formed, as appears by this similitude, that a small pipe +sounds shriller than a great. Also in women, because the passage where +the voice is formed is made narrow and strait, by reason of cold, it +being the nature of cold to bind; but in men, the passage is open and +wider through heat, because it is the property of heat to open and +dissolve. It proceedeth in women through the moistness of the lungs, and +weakness of the heat. Young and diseased men have sharp and shrill +voices from the same cause. + +Q. Why doth the voice change in men at fourteen, and in women at twelve; +in men they begin to yield seed, in women when their breasts begin to +grow? A. Because then the beginning of the voice is slackened and +loosened; and this is proved by the similitude of the string of an +instrument let down or loosened, which gives a great sound, and also +because creatures that are gelded, as eunuchs, capons., etc., have +softer and slenderer voices than others, by the want of their stones. + +Q. Why do small birds sing more and louder than great ones, as appears +in the lark and nightingale? A. Because the spirits of small birds are +subtle and soft, and the organ conduit strait, as appeareth in a pipe; +therefore their notes following easily at desire, they sing very soft. + +Q. Why do bees, wasps, locusts and many other such like insects, make a +noise, seeing they have no lungs, nor instruments of music? A. Because +in them there is a certain small skin, which, when struck by the air, +causeth a sound. + +Q. Why do not fish make a sound? A. Because they have no lungs, but only +gills, nor yet a heart, and therefore they need not the drawing in of +the air, and by consequence they make no noise, because a voice is a +percussion of the air which is drawing. + + + +_Of the Neck._ + +Q. Why hath a living creature a neck? A. Because the neck is the +supporter of the head, and therefore the neck is in the middle between +the head and the body, to the intent that by it, and by its sinews, +motion and sense of the body might be conveyed through all the body; and +that by means of the neck, the heart, which is very hot, might be +separated from the brain. + +Q. Why do some creatures want necks, as serpents and fishes? A. Because +they want hearts, and therefore want that assistance which we have +spoken of; or else they have a neck in some inward part of them, which +is not distinguished outwardly. + +Q. Why is the neck full of bones and joints? A. That it may bear and +sustain the head the better. Also, because the back bone is joined to +the brain in the neck, and from thence it receives marrow, which is of +the substance of the brain. + +Q. Why have some creatures long necks, as cranes, storks and such like? +A. Because such birds seek their food at the bottom of waters. And some +creatures have short necks, as sparrows, hawks, etc., because such are +ravenous, and therefore for strength have short necks, as appeareth in +the ox, who has a short neck and strong. + +Q. Why is the neck hollow, and especially before, about the tongue? A. +Because there are two passages, whereof the one doth carry the meat to +the nutritive instrument, or stomach and liver, which is called by the +Greeks _Aesophagus_; and the other is the windpipe. + +Q. Why is the artery made with rings and circle? A. The better to bow +and give a good sounding. + + + +_Of the Shoulders and Arms._ + +Q. Why hath a man shoulders and arms? A. To lift and carry burdens. + +Q. Why are the arms round? A. For the swifter and speedier work. + +Q. Why are the arms thick? A. That they may be strong to lift and bear +burdens, and thrust and give a strong blow; so their bones are thick, +because they contain much marrow, or they would be easily corrupted and +injured. + +Q. Why do the arms become small and slender in some diseases, as in mad +men, and such as are sick of the dropsy? A. Because all the parts of the +body do suffer the one with the other; and therefore one member being in +grief, all the humours do concur and run thicker to give succour and +help to the aforesaid grief. + +Q. Why have brute beasts no arms? A. Their fore feet are instead of +arms, and in their place. + + + +_Of the Hands._ + +Q. For what use hath a man hands, and an ape also, like unto a man? A. +The hand is an instrument a man doth especially make use of, because +many things are done by the hands, and not by any other part. + +Q. Why are some men ambo-dexter, that is, they use the left hand as the +right? A. By reason of the great heat of the heart, and for the hot +bowing of the same, for it is that which makes a man as nimble of the +left hand as of the right. + +Q. Why are the fingers full of joints? A. To be more fit and apt to +receive and keep what is put in them. + +Q. Why hath every finger three joints, and the thumb but two? A. The +thumb hath three, but the third is joined to the arm, therefore is +stronger than the other fingers; and is called pollex or polico, that +is, to excel in strength. + +Q. Why are the fingers of the right hand nimbler than the fingers of the +left? A. It proceedeth from the heat that predominates in those parts, +and causeth great agility. + + + +_Of the Nails._ + +Q. From whence do nails proceed? A. Of the tumosity and humours, which +are resolved and go into the extremities of the fingers; and they are +dried through the power of the external air, and brought to the hardness +of horn. + +Q. Why do the nails of old men grow black and pale? A. Because the heat +of the heart decaying causeth their beauty to decay also. + +Q. Why are men judged to be good or evil complexioned by the colour of +the nails? A. Because they give witness of the goodness or badness of +their heart, and therefore of the complexion, for if they be somewhat +red, they betoken choler well tempered; but if they be yellowish or +black, they signify melancholy. + +Q. Why do white spots appear in the nails? A. Through mixture of phlegm +with nutriment. + + + +_Of the Paps and Dugs._ + +Q. Why are the paps placed upon the breasts? A. Because the breast is +the seat of the heart, which is most hot; and therefore the paps grow +there, to the end that the menses being conveyed thither as being near +the heat of the heart, should the sooner be digested, perfected and +converted with the matter and substance of the milk. + +Q. Why are the paps below the breasts in beasts, and above the breast in +women? A. Because woman goes upright, and has two legs only; and +therefore if her paps were below her breasts, they would hinder her +going; but beasts having four feet prevents that inconveniency. + +Q. Whether are great, small or middle-sized paps best for children to +suck? A. In great ones the heat is dispersed, there is no good +digestion of the milk; but in small ones the power and force is strong, +because a virtue united is strongest; and by consequence there is a good +digestion for the milk. + +Q. Why have not men as great paps and breasts as women? A. Because men +have not monthly terms, and therefore have no vessel deputed for them. + +Q. Why do the paps of young women begin to grow about thirteen or +fifteen years of age? A. Because then the flowers have no course to the +teats, by which the young one is nourished, but follow their ordinary +course and therefore wax soft. + +Q. Why hath a woman who is with child of a boy, the right pap harder +than the left? A. Because the male child is conceived in the right side +of the mother; and therefore the flowers do run to the right pap, and +make it hard. + +Q. Why doth it show weakness of the child, when the milk doth drop out +of the paps before the woman is delivered? A. Because the milk is the +proper nutriment of the child in the womb of its mother, therefore if +the milk run out, it is a token that the child is not nourished, and +consequently is weak. + +Q. Why do the hardness of the paps betoken the health of the child in +the womb? A. Because the flowers are converted into milk, and thereby +strength is signified. + +Q. Why are women's paps hard when they be with child, and soft at other +times? A. Because they swell then, and are puffed, and the great +moisture which proceeds from the flowers doth run into the paps, which +at other seasons remaineth in the matrix and womb, and is expelled by +the place deputed for that end. + +Q. By what means doth the milk of the paps come to the matrix or womb? +A. There is a certain knitting and coupling of the paps with the womb, +and there are certain veins which the midwives do cut in the time of the +birth of the child, and by those veins the milk flows in at the navel of +the child, and so it receives nourishment by the navel. + +Q. Why is it a sign of a male child in the womb when the milk that +runneth out of a woman's breast is thick, and not much, and of a female +when it is thin? A. Because a woman that goeth with a boy hath a great +heat in her, which doth perfect the milk and make it thick; but she who +goes with a girl hath not so much heat, and therefore the milk is +undigested, imperfect, watery and thin, and will swim above the water if +it be put into it. + +Q. Why is the milk white, seeing the flowers are red, of which it is +engendered? A. Because blood which is well purged and concocted becomes +white, as appeareth in flesh whose proper colour is white, and being +boiled, is white. Also, because every humour which is engendered of the +body, is made like unto that part in colour where it is engendered as +near as it can be; but because the flesh of the paps is white, therefore +the colour of the milk is white. + +Q. Why doth a cow give milk more abundantly than other beasts? A. +Because she is a great eating beast, where there is much monthly +superfluity engendered, there is much milk; because it is nothing else +but the blood purged and tried. + +Q. Why is not milk wholesome? A. 1. Because it curdeth in the stomach, +whereof an evil breath is bred. 2. Because the milk doth grow sour in +the stomach, where evil humours are bred, and infect the breath. + +Q. Why is milk bad for such as have the headache? A. Because it is +easily turned into great fumosities, and hath much terrestrial substance +in it, the which ascending, doth cause the headache. + +Q. Why is milk fit nutriment for infants? A. Because it is a natural and +usual food, and they were nourished by the same in the womb. + +Q. Why are the white-meats made of a newly milked cow good? A. Because +milk at that time is very springy, expels fumosities, and, as it were, +purges at that time. + +Q. Why is the milk naught for the child, if the woman giving suck uses +carnal copulation? A. Because in time of carnal copulation, the best +part of the milk goes to the seed vessels, and to the womb, and the +worst remain in the paps, which hurts the child. + +Q. Why do physicians forbid the eating of fish and milk at the same +time? A. Because they produce a leprosy, and because they are +phlegmatic. + +Q. Why have not birds and fish milk and paps? A. Because paps would +hinder the flight of birds. And although fish have neither paps nor +milk, the females cast much spawn, which the male touches with a small +gut, and causes their kind to continue in succession. + + + +_Of the Back._ + +Q. Why have beasts a back? A. 1. Because the back is the way and mien of +the body from which are extended and spread throughout, all the sinews +of the backbone. 2. Because it should be a guard and defence for the +soft parts of the body, as for the stomach, liver, lights and such like. +3. Because it is the foundation of all the bones, as the ribs, fastened +to the back bone. + +Q. Why hath the back bone so many joints or knots, called _spondyli_? A. +Because the moving and bending it, without such joints, could not be +done; and therefore they are wrong who say that elephants have no such +joints, for without them they could not move. + +Q. Why do fish die after their back bones are broken? A. Because in fish +the back bone is instead of the heart; now the heart is the first thing +that lives and the last that dies; and when that bone is broken, fish +can live no longer. + +Q. Why doth a man die soon after the marrow is hurt or perished? A. +Because the marrow proceeds from the brain, which is the principal part +of a man. + +Q. Why have some men the piles? A. Those men are cold and melancholy, +which melancholy first passes to the spleen, its proper seat, but there +cannot be retained, for the abundancy of blood; for which reason it is +conveyed to the back bone, where there are certain veins which terminate +in the back, and receive the blood. When those veins are full of the +melancholy blood, then the conduits of nature are opened, and the blood +issues out once a month, like women's terms. Those men who have this +course of blood, are kept from many infirmities, such as dropsy, plague, +etc. + +Q. Why are the Jews much subject to this disease? A. Because they eat +much phlegmatic and cold meats, which breed melancholy blood, which is +purged with the flux. Another reason is, motion causes heat and heat +digestion; but strict Jews neither move, labour nor converse much, which +breeds a coldness in them, and hinders digestion, causing melancholic +blood, which is by this means purged out. + + + +_Of the Heart._ + +Q. Why are the lungs light, spongy and full of holes? A. That the air +may be received into them for cooling the heart, and expelling humours, +because the lungs are the fan of the heart; and as a pair of bellows is +raised up by taking in the air, and shrunk by blowing it out, so +likewise the lungs draw the air to cool the heart, and cast it out, lest +through too much air drawn in, the heart should be suffocated. + +Q. Why is the flesh of the lungs white? A. Because they are in continual +motion. + +Q. Why have those beasts only lungs that have hearts? A. Because the +lungs be no part for themselves, but for the heart, and therefore, it +were superfluous for those creatures to have lungs that have no hearts. + +Q. Why do such creatures as have no lungs want a bladder? A. Because +such drink no water to make their meat digest and need no bladder for +urine; as appears in such birds as do not drink at all, viz., the falcon +and sparrow hawk. + +Q. Why is the heart in the midst of the body? A. That it may import life +to all, parts of the body, and therefore it is compared to the sun, +which is placed in the midst of the planets, to give light to them all. + +Q. Why only in men is the heart on the left side? A. To the end that the +heat of the heart may mitigate the coldness of the spleen; for the +spleen is the seat of melancholy, which is on the left side also. + +Q. Why is the heart first engendered; for the heart doth live first and +die last? A. Because the heart is the beginning and original of life, +and without it no part can live. For of the seed retained in the matrix, +there is first engendered a little small skin, which compasses the seed; +whereof first the heart is made of the purest blood; then of blood not +so pure, the liver; and of thick and cold blood the marrow and brain. + +Q. Why are beasts bold that have little hearts? A. Because in a little +heart the heat is well united and vehement, and the blood touching it, +doth quickly heat it and is speedily carried to the other parts of the +body, which give courage and boldness. + +Q. Why are creatures with a large heart timorous, as the hare? A. The +heart is dispersed in such a one, and not able to heat the blood which +cometh to it; by which means fear is bred. + +Q. How is it that the heart is continually moving? A. Because in it +there is a certain spirit which is more subtle than air, and by reason +of its thickness and rarefaction, seeks a larger space, filling the +hollow room of the heart; hence the dilating and opening of the heart, +and because the heart is earthly the thrusting and moving ceasing, its +parts are at rest, tending downwards. As a proof of this, take an acorn, +which, if put into the fire, the heat doth dissolve its humidity, +therefore occupies a greater space, so that the rind cannot contain it, +but puffs up, and throws it into the fire. The like of the heart. +Therefore the heart of a living creature is triangular, having its least +part towards its left side, and the greater towards the right; and doth +also open and shut in the least part, by which means it is in continual +motion; the first motion is called _diastole_, that is extending the +heart or breast; the other _systole_, that is, shutting of the heart; +and from these all the motions of the body proceed, and that of the +pulse which the physicians feel. + +Q. How comes it that the flesh of the heart is so compact and knit +together? A. Because in thick compacted substances heat is commonly +received and united. And because the heart with its heat should moderate +the coldness of the brain, it is made of that fat flesh apt to keep a +strong heat. + +Q. How comes the heart to be the hottest part of all living creatures? +A. It is so compacted as to receive the heat best, and because it should +mitigate the coldness of the brain. + +Q. Why is the heart the beginning of life? A. It is plain that in it the +vital spirit is bred, which is the heat of life; and therefore the heart +having two receptacles, viz., the right and the left the right hath more +blood than spirits; which spirit is engendered to give life and vivify +the body. + +Q. Why is the heart long and sharp like a pyramid? A. The round figure +hath an angle, therefore the heart is round, for fear any poison or +hurtful matter should be retained in it; and because that figure is +fittest for motion. + +Q. How comes the blood chiefly to be in the heart? A. The blood in the +heart has its proper or efficient place, which some attribute to the +liver; and therefore the heart doth not receive blood from any other +parts but all other parts of it. + +Q. How happens it that some creatures want a heart? A. Although they +have no heart, yet they have somewhat that answers for it, as appears in +eels and fish that have the back bone instead of the heart. + +Q. Why does the heart beat in some creatures after the head is cut off, +as in birds and hens? A. Because the heart lives first and dies last, +and therefore beats longer than other parts. + +Q. Why doth the heat of the heart sometimes fail of a sudden, and in +those who have the falling sickness? A. This proceeds from the defect of +the heart itself, and of certain small skins with which it is covered, +which, being infected and corrupted, the heart faileth on a sudden; +sometimes only by reason of the parts adjoining; and therefore, when any +venomous humour goes out of the stomach that turns the heart and parts +adjoining, that causeth this fainting. + + + +_Of the Stomach._ + +Q. For what reason is the stomach large and wide? A. Because in it the +food is first concocted or digested as it were in a pot, to the end that +which is pure should be separated from that which is not; and therefore, +according to the quantity of food, the stomach is enlarged. + +Q. How comes it that the stomach is round? A. Because if it had angles +and corners, food would remain in them and breed ill-humours, so that a +man would never want agues, which humours are evacuated and consumed, +and not hid in any such corners, by the roundness of the stomach. + +Q. How comes the stomach to be full of sinews? A. Because the sinews can +be extended and enlarged, and so is the stomach when it is full; but +when empty it is drawn together, and therefore nature provides the +sinews. + +Q. How comes the stomach to digest? A. Because of the heat which is in +it, and comes from the parts adjoining, that is, the liver and the +heart. For as we see in metals the heat of the fire takes away the rust +and dross from iron, the silver from tin, and gold from copper; so also +by digestion the pure is separated from the impure. + +Q. For what reason doth the stomach join the liver? A. Because the liver +is very hot, and with its heat helps digestion, and provokes appetite. + +Q. Why are we commonly cold after dinner? A. Because then the heat goes +to the stomach to further digestion, and so the other parts grow cold. + +Q. Why is it hurtful to study soon after dinner? A. Because when the +heat labours to help the imagination in study, it ceases from digesting +the food, which remains undigested; therefore people should walk +sometimes after meals. + +Q. How cometh the stomach slowly to digest meat? A. Because it swims in +the stomach. Now, the best digestion is in the bottom of the stomach, +because the fat descends not there; such as eat fat meat are very sleepy +by reason that digestion is hindered. + +Q. Why is all the body wrong when the stomach is uneasy? A. Because the +stomach is knit with the brain, heart and liver, which are the principal +parts in man; and when it is not well, the others are indisposed. +Again, if the first digestion be hindered, the others are also +hindered; for in the first digestion is the beginning of the infirmity +in the stomach. + +Q. Why are young men sooner hungry than old men? A. Young men do digest +for three causes; 1. For growing; 2. For restoring life; and 3. For +conservation of life. Also, young men are hot and dry, and therefore the +heat doth digest more, and by consequence they desire more. + +Q. Why do physicians prescribe that men should eat when they have an +appetite? A. Because much hunger and emptiness will fill the stomach +with naughty rotten humours, which are drawn in instead of meat; for, if +we fast over night we have an appetite to meat, but none in the morning; +as then the stomach is filled with naughty humours, and especially its +mouth, which is no true filling, but a deceitful one. And, therefore, +after we have eaten a little, our stomach comes to us again; for the +first morsel, having made clean the mouth of the stomach, doth provoke +the appetite. + +Q. Why do physicians prescribe that we should not eat too much at a +time, but little by little? A. Because when the stomach is full, the +meat doth swim in it, which is a dangerous thing. Another reason is, +that as very green wood doth put out the fire, so much meat chokes the +natural heat and puts it out; and therefore the best physic is to use +temperance in eating and drinking. + +Q. Why do we desire change of meals according to the change of times; as +in winter, beef, mutton; in summer light meats, as veal, lamb, etc.? A. +Because the complexion of the body is altered and changed according to +the time of year. Another reason is, that this proceeds from the quality +of the season: because the cold in winter doth cause a better digestion. + +Q. Why should not the meat we eat be as hot as pepper and ginger? A. +Because as hot meat doth inflame the blood, and dispose it to a leprosy, +so, on the contrary, meat too cold doth mortify and chill the blood. Our +meat should not be over sharp, because it wastes the constitution; too +much sauce doth burn the entrails, and inclineth to too often drinking; +raw meat doth the same; and over sweet meats to constipate and cling the +veins together. + +Q. Why is it a good custom to eat cheese after dinner, and pears after +all meat? A. Because, by reason of its earthliness and thickness it +tendeth down towards the bottom of the stomach, and so put down the +meat; and the like of pears. Note, that new cheese is better than old, +and that old soft cheese is very bad, and causeth the headache and +stopping of the liver; and the older the worse. Whereof it is said that +cheese digesteth all things but itself. + +Q. Why are nuts good after cheese, as the proverb is, "After fish nuts, +and after flesh cheese?" A. Because fish is of hard digestion, and doth +easily putrefy and corrupt; and nuts are a remedy against poison. + +Q. Why is it unwholesome to wait long for one dish after another, and to +eat of divers kinds of meat? A. Because the first begins to digest when +the last is eaten, and so digestion is not equally made. But yet this +rule is to be noted; dishes light of digestion, as chickens, kids, veal, +soft eggs and such like, should be first eaten; because, if they should +be first served and eaten and were digested, they would hinder the +digestion of the others; and the light meats not digested would be +corrupted in the stomach and kept in the stomach violently, whereof +would follow belching, loathing, headache, bellyache and great thirst. +It is very hurtful too, at the same meal to drink wine and milk, because +they are productive of leprosy. + +Q. Whether is meat or drink best for the stomach? A. Drink is sooner +digested than meat, because meat is of greater substance, and more +material than drink, and therefore meat is harder to digest. + +Q. Why is it good to drink after dinner? A. Because the drink will make +the meat readier to digest. The stomach is like unto a pot which doth +boil meat, and therefore physicians do counsel to drink at meals. + +Q. Why is it good to forbear a late supper? A. Because there is little +moving or stirring after supper, and so the meat is not sent down to the +bottom of the stomach, but remaineth undigested, and so breeds hurts; +therefore a light supper is best. + + + +_Of the Blood._ + +Q. Why is it necessary that every living creature that hath blood have +also a liver? A. Because the blood is first made in the liver, its seat, +being drawn from the stomach by certain principal veins, and so +engendered. + +Q. Why is the blood red? A. 1. It is like the part in which it is made, +viz., the liver, which is red. 2. It is likewise sweet, because it is +well digested and concocted; but if it hath a little earthly matter +mixed with it, that makes it somewhat salt. + +Q. How is women's blood thicker than men's? Their coldness thickens, +binds, congeals, and joins together. + +Q. How comes the blood to all parts of the body through the liver, and +by what means? A. Through the principal veins, as the veins of the head, +liver, etc., to nourish the body. + + + +_Of the Urine._ + +Q. How doth the urine come into the bladder, seeing the bladder is shut? +A. Some say sweatings; others, by a small skin in the bladder, which +opens and lets in the urine. Urine is a certain and not deceitful +messenger of the health or infirmity of man. Men make white urine in the +morning, and before dinner red, but after dinner pale, and also after +supper. + +Q. Why is it hurtful to drink much cold water? A. Because one contrary +doth hinder and expel another; water is very cold, and lying so in the +stomach, doth hinder digestion. + +Q. Why is it unwholesome to drink new wine? A. 1. It cannot be digested; +therefore it causeth the belly to swell, and a kind of bloody flux. 2. +It hinders making water. + +Q. Why do physicians forbid us to labour presently after dinner? A. 1. +Because the motion hinders the virtue and power of digestion. 2. +Because stirring immediately after dinner causes the different parts of +the body to draw the meat to them, which often breeds sickness. 3. +Because motion makes the food descend before it is digested. And after +supper it is good to walk a little, that the food may go to the bottom +of the stomach. + +Q. Why is it good to walk after dinner? A. Because it makes a man well +disposed, and fortifies and strengthens the natural heat, causing the +superfluity of the stomach to descend. + +Q. Why is it wholesome to vomit? A. It purges the stomach of all naughty +humours, expelling them, which would breed again if they should remain +in it; and purges the eyes and head, clearing the brain. + +Q. How comes sleep to strengthen the stomach and the digestive faculty? +A. Because in sleep the heat draws inwards, and helps digestion; but +when we awake, the heat returns, and is dispersed through the body. + + + +_Of the Gall and Spleen._ + +Q. How come living creatures to have a gall? A. Because choleric humours +are received into it, which through their acidity helps the guts to +expel superfluities; also it helps digestion. + +Q. How comes the jaundice to proceed from the gall? A. The humour of the +gall is bluish and yellow; therefore when its pores are stopped the +humour cannot go into the sack thereof, but are mingled with the blood, +wandering throughout all the body and infecting the skin. + +Q. Why hath a horse, mule, ass or cow a gall? A. Though these creatures +have no gall in one place, as in a purse or vessel, yet they have one +dispersed in small veins. + +Q. How comes the spleen to be black? A. It is occasioned by terrestrial +and earthy matter of a black colour. According to physicians, the spleen +is the receptacle of melancholy, and that is black. + +Q. Why is he lean who hath a large spleen? A. Because the spleen draws +much water to itself, which would turn to fat; therefore, men that have +a small spleen are fat. + +Q. Why does the spleen cause men to laugh, as says Isidorus; "We laugh +with the spleen, we are angry with the gall, we are wise with the heart, +we love with the liver, we feel with the brain, and speak with the +lungs"? A. The reason is, the spleen draws much melancholy to it, being +its proper seat, the which melancholy proceeds from sadness, and is +there consumed; and the cause failing, the effect doth so likewise. And +by the same reason the gall causes anger, for choleric men are often +angry, because they have much gall. + + + +_Of Carnal Copulation._ + +Q. Why do living creatures use carnal copulation? A. Because it is most +natural in them to get their like. + +Q. What is carnal copulation? A. It is a mutual action of male and +female, with instruments ordained for that purpose to propagate their +kind. + +Q. Why is this action good in those that use it lawfully and moderately? +A. Because it eases and lightens the body, clears the mind, comforts the +head and senses, and expels melancholy. + +Q. Why is immoderate carnal copulation hurtful? A. Because it destroys +the sight, dries the body, and impairs the brain, often causes fevers +and shortens life also. + +Q. Why doth carnal copulation injure melancholic or choleric men, +especially thin men? A. Because it dries the bones much which are +naturally so. On the contrary, it is good for the phlegmatic and +sanguine, because they abound with that substance which by nature, is +necessarily expelled. + +Q. Why should not the act be used when the body is full? A. Because it +hinders digestion; and it is not good for a hungry belly, because it +weakens. + +Q. Why is it not good soon after a bath? A. Because then the pores are +open, and the heat dispersed through the body: for after bathing, it +cools the body too much. + +Q. Why is it not proper after vomiting or looseness? A. Because it is +dangerous to purge twice a day; for in this act the veins are purged, +and the guts by the vomit. + +Q. Why is there such delight in the act of venery? A. Because this act +is such a contemptible thing in itself, that all creatures would +naturally abhor it were there no pleasure in it; and therefore nature +readily uses it, that all kinds of living things should be maintained +and kept up. + +Q. Why do such as use it often take less delight in it than those who +come to it seldom? A. 1. The passages of the seed are over large and +wide; and therefore it makes no stay there, which would cause the +delight. 2. Through often evacuation there is little seed left, and +therefore no delight. 3. Because such, instead of seed there is cast out +blood, undigested and raw, or some other watery substance, which is not +hot, and therefore affords no delight. + + + +_Of the Seed of Man and Beasts._ + +Q. How, and of what cometh the seed of man? A. Some philosophers and +physicians say, it is superfluous humours; others say, that the seed is +pure blood, flowing from the brain, concocted and whitened in the +testicles; but sweat, urine, spittle, phlegm, choler, and the like, and +blood dispersed throughout the whole body, come chiefly from the heart, +liver and brain, because those parts are greatly weakened by casting +seed; and therefore it appears that frequent carnal copulation is not +good. + +Q. Why is a man's seed white, and a woman's red? A. It is white in men +by reason of great heat and quick digestion, because it is rarefied in +the testicles; but a woman's is red, because her terms corrupt the +undigested blood, and it hath its colour. + +Q. How come females to have monthly courses? A. Because they are cold in +respect of men, and because all their nourishment cannot be converted +into blood, a great part of which turns to menses, which are monthly +expelled. + +Q. For what reason do the menses not come down in females before the age +of thirteen? A. Because young women are hot, and digest all their +nourishment. + +Q. For what reason do they leave off at about fifty? A. Because nature +is then so exhausted, they cannot expel them by reason of weakness. + +Q. Why have not breeding women the menses? A. Because that then they +turn into milk, and into the nourishment of the child: for if a woman +with child have them, it is a sign that she will miscarry. + +Q. Why are they termed _menstrua_, from the word _mensis_, a month? A. +Because it is a space of time that measures the moon, as she ends her +course in twenty-nine days, and fourteen hours. + +Q. Why do they continue longer with some than others, as with some six +or seven, but commonly with all three days? A. The first are cold, +therefore they increase most in them, and consequently are longer +expelling; other women are hot, and therefore have fewer and are sooner +expelled. + +Q. Are the menses which are expelled, and those by which the child is +engendered, all one? A. No, because the one are unclean, and unfit for +that purpose; but the other very pure and clear, therefore the fittest +for generation. + +Q. Why have not women their menses all one and the same time, but some +in the new moon, some in the full, and others at the wane? A. From their +several complexions, and though all women (in respect of men) are +phlegmatic, yet some are more sanguine than others, some more choleric; +and as the moon hath her quarters, so have women their complexions; the +first sanguine, the second choleric. + +Q. Why do women easily conceive after their menses? A. Because the womb +being cleansed, they are better prepared for conception. + +Q. Why do women look pale when they first have their menses upon them? +A. Because the heat goes from the outward parts of the body to the +inward, to help nature to expel their terms, which deprivation of heat +doth cause a paleness in the face. Or, because that flux is caused of +raw humours, which, when they run, make the face colourless. + +Q. Why do they at that time abhor their meat? A. Because nature labours +more to expel their terms than digest; and, therefore, if they should +eat, their food would remain raw in the stomach. + +Q. Why are some women barren and do not conceive? A. 1. It proceeds +sometimes from the man who may be of a cold nature, so that his seed is +unfit for generation. 2. Because it is waterish, and so doth not stay in +the womb. 3. By reason that the seed of them both hath not a like +proportion, as if the man be melancholy and the woman sanguine, or the +man choleric and the woman phlegmatic. + +Q. Why do fat women seldom conceive? A. Because they have a slippery +womb, and the seed will not stay in it. Or, because the mouth of the +matrix is very strait, and the seed cannot enter it, or, if it does, it +is so very slowly that it grows cold and unfit for generation. + +Q. Why do those of a hot constitution seldom conceive? A. Because the +seed in them is extinguished or put out, as water cast into fire; +whereof we find that women who vehemently desire the flesh seldom +conceive. + +Q. Why are whores never with child? A. By reason of divers seeds, which +corrupt and spoil the instruments of conception, for it makes them so +slippery, that they cannot retain seed. Or, else, it is because one +man's seed destroys another's, so neither is good for generation. + +Q. Why do women conceive twins? A. Because there are seven cells or +receptacles in the womb; wherefore they may naturally have so many +children at once as there falls seed into these cells. + +Q. Why are twins but half men, and not so strong as others? A. The seed +that should have been for one, is divided into two and therefore they +are weakly and seldom live long. + + + +_Of Hermaphrodites._ + +Q. How are hermaphrodites begotten? A. Nature doth always tend to that +which is best, and always intendeth to beget the male and not the +female, because the female is only for the male's mate. Therefore the +male is sometimes begotten in all its principal parts; and, yet, through +the indisposition of the womb and object, and inequality of the seeds, +when nature cannot perfect the male, she brings forth the female too. +And therefore natural philosophers say, that an hermaphrodite is +impotent in the privy parts of a man, as appears by experience. + +Q. Is an hermaphrodite accounted a man or a woman? A. It is to be +considered in which member he is fittest for copulation; if he be +fittest in the woman's, then he is a woman; if in a man's, then he is a +man. + +Q. Should he be baptized in the name of a man or a woman? A. In the +name of a man, because names are given _ad placitum_, and therefore he +should be baptized, according to the worthiest name, because every agent +is worthier than its patient. + + + +_Of Monsters._ + +Q. Doth nature make any monsters? A. She doth; if she did not, then +would she be deprived of her end. For of things possible, she doth +always propose to bring forth that which is most perfect and best; but +in the end, through the evil disposition of the matter, not being able +to bring forth that which she intended, she brings forth that which she +can. As it happened in Albertus's time, when in a certain village, a cow +brought forth a calf, half a man; then the countrymen suspecting a +shepherd, would have burnt him with the cow; but Albertus, being skilled +in astronomy, said that this did proceed from a certain constellation, +and so delivered the shepherd from their hands. + +Q. Are they one or two? A. To find out, you must look into the heart, if +there be two hearts, there be two men. + +Q. Why are some children like their father, some like their mother, some +to both and some to neither? A. If the seed of the father wholly +overcome that of the mother the child doth resemble the father; but if +the mother's predominate, then it is like the mother; but if he be like +neither, that doth sometimes happen through the four qualities, +sometimes through the influence of some heavenly constellation. + +Q. Why are children oftener like the father than the mother? A. It +proceeds from the imagination of the mother in the act of copulation, as +appeared in a queen who had her imagination on a blackamoor; and in the +Ethiopian queen who brought forth a white child, because her imagination +was upon a white colour; as is seen in Jacob's skill in casting rods of +divers colours into the water, when his sheep went to ram. + +Q. Why do children born in the eighth month for the most part die +quickly, and why are they called the children of the moon? A. Because +the moon is a cold planet, which has dominion over the child, and +therefore doth bind it with coldness, which is the cause of its death. + +Q. Why doth a child cry as soon as it is born? A. Because of the sudden +change from heat to cold: which cold doth affect its tenderness. Another +reason is, because the child's soft and tender body is wringed and put +together coming out of the narrow and strait passage of the matrix, and +especially, the brain being moist, and the head being pressed and +wrinkled together, is the cause that some humours distil by the eyes, +which are the cause of tears and weeping. + +Q. Why doth the child put its fingers into its mouth as soon as it +cometh into the world? A. Because that coming out of the womb it cometh +out of a hot bath, and entering into the cold, puts them into its mouth +for want of heat. + + + +_Of the Child in the Womb._ + +Q. How is the child engendered in the womb? A. The first six days the +seed hath this colour of milk, but in the six following a red colour, +which is near unto the disposition of the flesh; and then it is changed +into a thick substance of blood. But in the twelve days following, this +substance becomes so thick and round that it is capable of receiving +shape and form. + +Q. Doth the child in the womb void excrements or make water? No. Because +it hath not the first digestion which is in the stomach. It receives no +food by the mouth, but by the navel; therefore, makes no urine but +sweats, which is but little, and is received in a skin in the matrix, +which at the birth is cast out. + + + +_Of Abortion and Untimely Birth._ + +Q. Why do women that eat unwholesome meats, easily miscarry? A. Because +they breed putrefied seed, which the mind abhorring doth cast it out of +the womb as unfit for the shape which is adapted to receive the soul. + +Q. Why doth wrestling and leaping cause the casting of the child, as +some subtle women do on purpose? A. The vapour is burning, and doth +easily hurt the tender substance of the child, entering in at the pores +of the matrix. + +Q. Why doth much joy cause a woman to miscarry? A. Because in the time +of joy, a woman is destitute of heat, and so a miscarriage doth follow. + +Q. Why do women easily miscarry when they are first with child, viz., +the first, second or third month? A. As apples and pears easily fall at +first, because the knots and ligaments are weak, so it is with a child +in the womb. + +Q. Why is it hard to miscarry in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth +month? A. Because the ligaments are stronger and well fortified. + + + +_Of Divers Matters._ + +Q. Why has not a man a tail like a beast? A. Because man is a noble +creature, whose property is to sit; which a beast, having a tail, +cannot. + +Q. Why does hot water freeze sooner than cold? A. Hot water is thinner, +and gives better entrance to the frost. + +Q. Why is every living creature dull after copulation? A. By reason that +the act is filthy and unclean; and so every living creature abhors it. +When men do think upon it, they are ashamed and sad. + +Q. Why cannot drunken men judge of taste as well as sober men? A. +Because the tongue, being full of pores and spongy, receives more +moisture into it, and more in drunken men than in sober; therefore, the +tongue, through often drinking, is full of bad humours, and so the +faculty of tasting is rendered out of order; also, through the +thickening of the taste itself, drink taken by drunkards is not +presently felt. And by this may also be understood why drunkards have +not a perfect speech. + +Q. Why have melancholy beasts long ears? A. The ears proceed from a dry +and cold substance, called gristle, which is apt to become bone; and +because melancholy beasts do abound with this kind of substance, they +have long ears. + +Q. Why do hares sleep with their eyes open? A. 1. They have their eyes +standing out, and their eyelids short, therefore, never quite shut. 2. +They are timorous, and as a safe-guard to themselves, sleep with their +eyes open. + +Q. Why do not crows feed their young till they be nine days old? A. +Because seeing them of another colour, they think they are of another +kind. + +Q. Why are sheep and pigeons mild? A. They want galls, the cause of +anger. + +Q. Why have birds their stones inward? A. Because if outward, they would +hinder their flying and lightness. + +Q. How comes it that birds do not piss? A. Because that superfluity +which would be converted into urine, is turned into feathers. + +Q. Why do we hear better in the night than by day? A. Because there is a +greater quietness in the night than in the day, for the sun doth not +exhale the vapours by night, but it doth in the day, therefore the moon +is more fit than in the day; and the moon being fit, the motion is +better received, which is said to be caused by a sound. + +Q. For what reason doth a man laugh sooner when touched in the armpits +than in any other part of the body? A. Because there is in that place a +meeting of many sinews, and the mean we touch, which is the flesh, is +more subtle than in other parts, and therefore of finer feeling. When a +man is moderately and gently touched there the spirits that are +dispersed run into the face and causes laughter. + +Q. Why do some women love white men and some black men? A. 1. Some have +weak sight, and such delight in black, because white doth hurt the sight +more than black. 2. Because like delight in like; but some women are of +a hot nature, and such are delighted with black, because blackness +followeth heat; and others are of a cold nature, and those are delighted +with white, because cold produces white. + +Q. Why do men incline to sleep after labour? A. Because, through +continual moving, the heat is dispersed to the external parts of the +body, which, after labour, is gathered together in the internal parts, +there to digest; and from digestion, vapours arise from the heart to the +brain, which stop the passage by which the natural heat should be +dispersed to the external part; and then, the external parts being cold +and thick, by reason of the coldness of the brain sleep is easily +procured. By this it appeareth that such as eat and drink too much, do +sleep much and long, because there are great store of humours and +vapours bred in such persons which cannot be consumed and digested by +the natural heat. + +Q. Why are such as sleep much, evil disposed and ill-coloured? A. +Because in too much sleep moisture is gathered together, which cannot be +consumed, and so it doth covet to go out through the superficial parts +of the body, and especially it resorts to the face, and therefore is the +cause of bad colours, as appeareth in such as are phlegmatic and who +desire more sleep than others. + +Q. Why do some imagine in their sleep that they eat and drink sweet +things? A. Because the phlegm drawn up by the jaws doth distil and drop +to the throat; and this phlegm is sweet after a sore sweat, and that +seemeth so to them. + +Q. Why do some dream in their sleep that they are in the water and +drowned, and some that they were in the water and not drowned; +especially such as are phlegmatic? A. Because when the phlegmatic +substance doth turn to the high parts of the body, then many think they +are in the water and drowned; but when that substance draweth into the +internal parts, then they think they escape. Another reason may be, +overmuch repletion and drunkenness: and therefore, when men are overmuch +filled with meat, the fumes and vapours ascend and gather together, and +they think they are drowned and strangled; but if they cannot ascend so +high then they seem to escape. + +Q. May a man procure a dream by an external cause? A. It may be done. If +a man speak softly in another man's ear and awake him not, then of his +stirring of the spirits there are thunderings and buzzings in the head, +which cause dreamings. + +Q. How many humours are there in a man's body? A. Four, whereof every +one hath its proper place. The first is choler, called by physicians +_flava bilis_, which is placed in the liver. The second is melancholy, +called _atra bilis_, whose seat is in the spleen. The third is phlegm, +whose place is in the head. The fourth is blood, whose place is in the +heart. + +Q. What condition and quality hath a man of a sanguine complexion? A. It +is fair and beautiful; hath his hair for the most part smooth; is bold; +retaineth that which he hath conceived; is shame-faced, given to music, +a lover of sciences, liberal, courteous, and not desirous of revenge. + +Q. What properties do follow those of a phlegmatic complexion? A. They +are dull of wit, their hair never curls, they are seldom very thirsty, +much given to sleep, dream of things belonging to water, are fearful, +covetous, given to heap up riches, and are weak in the act of venery. + +Q. What are the properties of a choleric man? A. He is brown in +complexion, unquiet, his veins hidden, eateth little and digesteth less, +dreameth of dark and confused things, is sad, fearful, exceedingly +covetous, and incontinent. + +Q. What dreams do follow these complexions? A. Pleasant, merry dreams do +follow the sanguine; fearful dreams, the melancholic; the choleric dream +of children fighting and fire; the phlegmatic dream of water. This is +the reason why a man's complexion is said to be known by his dreams. + +Q. What is the reason that if you cover an egg over with salt, and let +it lie in it a few days, all the meat within is consumed? A. A great +dryness of the salt consumes the substance of the egg. + +Q. Why is the melancholic complexion the worst? A. Because it proceeds +from the dregs of the blood, is an enemy to mirth and bringeth on aged +appearance and death, being cold and dry. + +Q. What is the cause that some men die joyful, and some in extreme +grief? A. Over-great joy doth overmuch heat the internal parts of the +body; and overmuch grief doth drown and suffocate the heart, which +failing, a man dieth. + +Q. Why hath a man so much hair on his head? A. The hair on his head +proceeds from the vapours which arise from the stomach, and ascend to +the head, and also of the superfluities which are in the brain; and +those two passing through the pores of the head are converted into hair, +by reason of the heat and dryness of the head. And because man's body is +full of humours, and he hath more brains than any other living +creatures. + +Q. How many ways is the brain purged and other hidden places of the +body? A. Four; the watery and gross humours are purged by the eyes, +melancholy by the ears, choler by the nose, and phlegm by the hair. + +Q. What is the reason that such as are very fat in their youth, are in +danger of dying on a sudden? A. Such have very small and close veins, by +reason of their fatness, so that the air and the breath can hardly have +free course in them; and thereupon the natural heat wanting the +refreshment of air, is put out, and as it were, quenched. + +Q. Why do garlic and onions grow after they are gathered? A. It +proceedeth from the humidity that is in them. + +Q. Why do men feel cold sooner than women? A. Because men, being more +hot than women, have their pores more open, and therefore it doth sooner +enter into them than women. + +Q. Why are not old men so subject to the plague as young men and +children? A. They are cold, and their pores are not so open as in youth; +and therefore the infecting air doth not penetrate so soon by reason of +their coldness. + +Q. Why do we cast water in a man's face when he swooneth? A. Because +through the coldness of water the heat may run to the heart, and so give +strength. + +Q. Why are those waters best and most delicate which run towards the +rising sun? A. Because they are soonest stricken with the sunbeams, and +made pure and subtle, the sun having them under it, and by that means +taking off the coldness and gross vapours which they gather from the +ground they run through. + +Q. Why have women such weak and small voices? A. Because their +instruments and organs of speaking, by reason of their coldness, are +small and narrow; and therefore, receiving but little air, cause the +voice to be effeminate. + +Q. Whereof doth it proceed that want of sleep doth weaken the brain and +body? A. Much watching doth engender choler, the which being hot both +dry up and lessen the humours which serve the brain, the head, and other +parts of the body. + +Q. Wherefore doth vinegar so readily staunch blood? A. From its cold +virtue, for all cold is naturally binding, and vinegar being cold, hath +the like property. + +Q. Why is sea-water salter in summer than in winter? A. From the heat of +the sun, seeing by experiment that a salt thing being heated becometh +more salt. + +Q. Why do men live longer in hot regions than in cold? A. Because they +may be more dry, and by that means the natural heat is better preserved +in them than in cold countries. + +Q. Why is well-water seldom or ever good? A. All water which standeth +still in the spring and is never heated by the sunbeams, is very heavy, +and hath much matter in it, and therefore wanting the heat of the sun, +is naught. + +Q. Why do men sleep better and more at ease on the right side than on +the left? A. Because when they be on the left side, the lungs do lie +upon and cover the heart, which is on that side under the pap; now the +heart, the fountain of life, being thus occupied and hindered with the +lungs, cannot exercise its own proper operation, as being overmuch +heated with the lungs lying upon it, and therefore wanting the +refreshment of the air which the lungs do give it, like the blowing of a +pair of bellows, is choked and suffocated, but by lying on the right +side, those inconveniences are avoided. + +Q. What is the reason that old men sneeze with great difficulty? A. +Because that through their coldness their arteries are very narrow and +close, and therefore the heat is not of force to expel the cold. + +Q. Why doth a drunken man think that all things about him do turn round? +A. Because the spirits which serve the sight are mingled with vapours +and fumes, arising from the liquors he has drunk; the overmuch heat +causeth the eye to be in continual motion, and the eye being round, +causeth all things about it to seem to go round. + +Q. Wherefore doth it proceed, that bread which is made with salt is +lighter than that which is made without it, considering that salt is +very heavy of itself? A. Although bread is very heavy of itself, yet the +salt dries it and makes it light, by reason of the heat which it hath; +and the more heat there is in it, the better the bread is, and the +lighter and more wholesome for the body. + +Q. Why is not new bread good for the stomach? A. Because it is full of +moistness, and thick, hot vapours, which do corrupt the blood, and hot +bread is blacker than cold, because heat is the mother of blackness, and +because the vapours are not gone out of it. + +Q. Why do lettuces make a man sleep? A. Because they engender gross +vapours. + +Q. Why do the dregs of wine and oil go to the bottom, and those of honey +swim uppermost? A. Because the dregs of wine and oil are earthly, and +therefore go to the bottom; but honey is a liquid that cometh from the +stomach and belly of the bee; and is there in some sort putrefied and +made subtle; on which account the dregs are most light and hot, and +therefore go uppermost. + +Q. Why do cats' and wolves' eyes shine in the night, and not in the day? +A. The eyes of these beasts are by nature more crystalline than the eyes +of other beasts, and therefore do so shine in darkness; but the +brightness of the sun doth hinder them from being seen in the day-time. + +Q. What is the reason that some men, if they see others dance, do the +like with their hands and feet, or by other gestures of the body? A. +Because the sight having carried and represented unto the mind that +action, and judging the same to be pleasant and delightful, and +therefore the imagination draweth the like of it in conceit and stirs up +the body by the gestures. + +Q. Why does much sleep cause some to grow fat and some lean? A. Those +who are of ill complexion, when they sleep, do consume and digest the +superfluities of what they have eaten, and therefore become fat. But +such as are of good complexion, when they sleep are more cold, and +digest less. + +Q. How much, and from what cause do we suffer hunger better than thirst? +A. When the stomach hath nothing else to consume, it consumeth the +phlegm and humours which it findeth most ready and most at hand; and +therefore we suffer hunger better than thirst, because the heat hath +nothing to refresh itself with. + +Q. Why doth the hair fall after a great sickness? A. Where the sickness +is long, as in the ague, the humours of the head are dried up through +overmuch heat, and, therefore, wanting nourishment, the hair falls. + +Q. Why doth the hair of the eyebrows grow long in old men? A. Because +through their age the bones are thin through want of heat, and therefore +the hair doth grow there, by reason of the rheum of the eye. + +Q. Whereof proceedeth gaping? A. Of gross vapours, which occupy the +vital spirits of the head, and of the coldness of the senses causing +sleepiness. + +Q. What is the reason that some flowers do open with the sun rising, and +shut with the sun setting? A. Cold doth close and shut, as hath been +said, but the heat of the sun doth open and enlarge. Some compare the +sun to the soul of the body; for as the soul giveth life, so the sun +doth give life, and vivificate all things; but cold bringeth death, +withering and decaying all things. + +Q. Why doth grief cause men to grow old and grey? A. Age is nothing else +but dryness and want of humours in the body; grief then causeth +alteration, and heat dryness; age and greyness follow immediately. + +Q. Why are gelded beasts weaker than such as are not gelded? A. Because +they have less heat, and by that means less force and strength. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE PROBLEMS OF + +MARCUS ANTONINUS SANCTIPERTIAS + + +Q. Why is it esteemed, in the judgment of the most wise, the hardest +thing to know a man's self? A. Because nothing can be known that is of +so great importance to man for the regulation of his conduct in life. +Without this knowledge, man is like the ship without either compass or +rudder to conduct her to port, and is tossed by every passion and +prejudice to which his natural constitution is subjected. To know the +form and perfection of man's self, according to the philosophers, is a +task too hard; and a man, says Plato, is nothing, or if he be anything, +he is nothing, but his soul. + +Q. Why is a man, though endowed with reason, the most unjust of all +living creatures? A. Because only man is desirous of honour; and so it +happens that every one covets to seem good, and yet naturally shuns +labour, though he attain no virtue by it. + +Q. Why doth immoderate copulation do more hurt than immoderate letting +of blood? A. The seed is full of nutriment, and better prepared for the +nurture of the body, than the blood; for the blood is nourished by the +seed. + +Q. What is the reason that those that have long yards cannot beget +children? A. The seed, in going a long distance, doth lose the spirit, +and therefore becomes cold and unfit. + +Q. Why do such as are corpulent cast forth but little seed in the act of +copulation, and are often barren? A. Because the seed of such goeth to +nourish the body. For the same reason corpulent women have but few +menses. + +Q. How come women to be prone to venery in the summer time and men in +the winter? A. In summer the man's testicles hang down and are feebler +than in winter, or because hot natures become more lively in the cold +season; for a man is hot and dry, and a woman cold and moist; and +therefore in summer the strength of men decays, and that of women +increases, and they grow livelier by the benefit of the contrary +quality. + +Q. Why is man the proudest of all living creatures? A. By reason of his +great knowledge; or, as philosophers say, all intelligent beings having +understanding, nothing remains that escapes man's knowledge in +particular; or it is because he hath rule over all earthly creatures, +and all things seem to be brought under his dominion. + +Q. Why have beasts their hearts in the middle of their breasts, and man +his inclining to the left? A. To moderate the cold on that side. + +Q. Why doth the woman love the man best who has got her maidenhead? A. +By reason of shame-facedness; Plato saith, shame-facedness doth follow +love, or, because it is the beginning of great pleasure, which doth +bring a great alteration in the whole body, whereby the powers of the +mind are much delighted, and stick and rest immoveable in the same. + +Q. How come hairy people to be more lustful than any other? A. Because +they are said to have greater store of excrements and seed as +philosophers assert. + +Q. What is the cause that the suffocation of the matrix, which happens +to women through strife and contention, is more dangerous than the +detaining of the flowers? A. Because the more perfect an excrement is in +its natural disposition, the worse it is when it is altered from that +disposition, and drawn to the contrary quality; as is seen in vinegar, +which is sharpest when it is made of the best wine. And so it happens +that the more men love one another the more they fall into variance and +discord. + +Q. How come women's bodies to be looser, softer and less than man's; and +why do they want hair? A. By reason of their menses; for with them their +superfluities go away, which would produce hair; and thereby the flesh +is filled, consequently the veins are more hid in women than in men. + +Q. What is the reason that when we think upon a horrible thing, we are +stricken with fear? A. Because the conceit or imagination of things has +force and virtue. For Plato saith, the fancy of things has some affinity +with things themselves; for the image and representation of cold and +heat is such as the nature of things are. Or it is this, because when we +comprehend any dreadful matter, the blood runneth to the internal parts; +and therefore the external parts are cold and shake with fear. + +Q. Why doth a radish root help digestion and yet itself remaineth +undigested? A. Because the substance consisteth of divers parts; for +there are some thin parts in it, which are fit to digest meat, the which +being dissolved, there doth remain some thick and close substance in it, +which the heat cannot digest. + +Q. Why do such as cleave wood, cleave it easier in the length than +athwart? A. Because in the wood there is a grain, whereby, if it be cut +in length, in the very cutting, one part naturally separateth from +another. + +Q. What is the reason, that if a spear be stricken on the end, the sound +cometh sooner to one who standeth near, than to him who striketh? A. +Because, as hath been said, there is a certain long grain in wood, +directly forward, filled with air, but on the other side there is none, +and therefore a beam or spear being stricken on the end, the air which +is hidden receiveth a sound in the aforesaid grain which serveth for its +passage; and, seeing the sound cannot go easily out of it is carried +into the ear of him who is opposite; as those passages do not go from +side to side, a sound cannot be distinctly heard there. + +Q. Why are the thighs and calves of the legs of men flesh, seeing the +legs of beasts are not so? A. Because men only go upright; and therefore +nature hath given the lower parts corpulency, and taken it away from the +upper; and thus she hath made the buttocks, the thighs, and calves of +the legs fleshy. + +Q. Why are the sensible powers in the heart; yet if the hinder part of +the brain be hurt, the memory suffereth by it; if the forepart, the +imagination; if the middle, the cogitative part? A. It is because the +brain is appointed by nature to cool the blood of the heart; whereof it +is, that in divers of its parts it serveth the powers and instruments +with their heart, for every action of the soul doth not proceed from one +measure of heat. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE PROBLEMS OF + +ALEXANDER APHRODISEUS + + +Q. Why doth the sun make a man black and dirt white, wax soft and dirt +hard? A. By reason of the disposition of the substance that doth suffer. +All humours, phlegm excepted, when heated above measure, do seem black +about the skin; and dirt, being full either of saltpetre, or salt +liquor, when the sun hath consumed its dregs and filth, doth become +white again. When the sun hath stirred up and drawn the humidity of the +wax, it is softened; but in the dirt, the sun doth consume the humidity, +which is very much and makes it hard. + +Q. Why are round ulcers hard to be cured? A. Because they are bred of a +sharp choler, which eats and gnaws; and because it doth run, dropping +and gnawing, it makes a round ulcer; for which reason it requires dry +medicines, as physicians assert. + +Q. Why is honey sweet to all men, but to such as have jaundice? A. +Because they have much bitter choler all over their bodies, which +abounds in the tongue; whence it happens when they eat honey the humours +are stirred, and the taste itself, by the bitterness of choler, causes +an imagination that the honey is bitter. + +Q. Why doth water cast on serpents, cause them to fly? A. Because they +are dry and cold by nature, having but little blood, and therefore fly +from excessive coldness. + +Q. Why doth an egg break if roasted, and not if boiled? A. When moisture +comes near the fire, it is heated very much, and so breeds wind, which +being put up in little room, forces its way out, and breaks the shell: +the like happens in tubs or earthen vessels when new wine is put into +them; too much phlegm breaks the shell of an egg in roasting; it is the +same with earthen pots too much heated; wherefore some people wet an egg +when they intend to roast it. Hot water, by its softness, doth dissipate +its humidity by little and little, and dissolves it through the thinness +and passages of the shell. + +Q. Why do men wink in the act of copulation, and find a little +alteration in all other senses? A. Because, being overcome by the effect +of that pleasure, they do comprehend it the better. + +Q. Why have children gravel breeding in their bladders, and old men in +their kidneys and veins? A. Because children have straight passages in +their kidneys, and an earthly thick humour is thrust with violence by +the urine to the bladder, which hath wide conduits or passages, that +give room for the urine and humour whereof gravel is engendered, which +waxes thick, and seats itself, as the manner of it is. In old men it is +the reverse, for they have wide passages of the veins, back and kidneys, +that the urine may pass away, and the earthly humour congeal and sink +down; the colour of the gravel shows the humour whereof the stone comes. + +Q. Why is it, if the stone do congeal and wax hard through heat, we use +not contrary things to dissolve it by coldness, but light things, as +parsley, fennel and the like? A. It is thought, to fall out by an +excessive scorching heat, by which the stones do crumble into sand, as +in the manner of earthen vessels, which, when they are overheated or +roasted, turn to sand. And by this means it happens that small stones +are avoided, together with sand, in making water. Sometimes cold drink +thrusts out the stone, the kidneys being stretched and casting it out by +a great effort; thus easing the belly of its burden. Besides, it often +happens that immoderate heat of the kidneys, or of the veins of the back +(through which the stone doth grow) is quenched with coldness. + +Q. Why is the curing of an ulcer or bile in the kidneys or bladder very +hard? A. Because the urine being sharp, doth ulcerate the sore. Ulcers +are worse to cure in the bladder than in the kidneys, because urine +stays in the former, but runs away from the latter. + +Q. Why do chaff and straw keep water hot, but make snow cold? A. Because +the nature of chaff wants a manifest quantity; seeing, therefore that of +its own nature, it can easily be mingled, and consumed by that which it +is annexed onto, it easily assumes the same nature, and being put into +hot things, it is easily hot, heats again, and keeps hot; and on the +contrary, being made cold by the snow, and making the snow cold it keeps +in its coldness. + +Q. Why have we oftentimes a pain in making water? A. Because sharp +choler issuing out, and pricking the bladder of the urine, doth provoke +and stir up the whole body to ease the part offended, and to expel the +humour moderately. This doth happen most of all unto children, because +they have moist excrements by reason of their often drinking. + +Q. Why have some medicines of one kind contrary effects, as experience +proves; for mastich doth expel, dissolve and also knit; and vinegar +cools and heats? A. Because there are some small invisible bodies in +them, not in confusion, but by interposition; as sand moistened doth +clog together and seem to be but one body, though indeed there are many +small bodies in sand. And since this is so, it is not absurd that the +contrary qualities and virtues should be hidden in mastich, and that +nature hath given that virtue to these bodies. + +Q. Why do nurses rock and move their children when they would rock them +to sleep? A. To the end that the humours being scattered by moving, may +move the brains; but those of more years cannot endure this. + +Q. Why doth oil, being drunk, cause one to vomit, and especially yellow +choler? A. Because being light, and ascending upwards it provoketh the +nutriment in the stomach, and lifteth it up; and so, the stomach being +grieved, summoneth the ejective virtue to vomit, and especially choler, +because that is light and consisteth of subtle parts, and therefore the +sooner carried upward; for when it is mingled with any moist thing, it +runneth into the highest room. + +Q. Why doth not oil mingle with moist things? A. Because, being pliant, +soft and thick in itself, it cannot be divided into parts, and so cannot +be mingled; neither if it be put on the earth can it enter into it. + +Q. Why are water and oil frozen in cold weather, and wine and vinegar +not? A. Because that oil being without quality, and fit to be compounded +with anything, is cold quickly and so extremely that it is most cold. +Water being cold of nature, doth easily freeze when it is made colder +than its own nature. Wine being hot, and of subtle parts, suffereth no +freezing. + +Q. Why do contrary things in quality bring forth the same effect? A. +That which is moist is hardened and bound alike by heat and cold. Snow +and liquid do freeze with cold; a plaster and gravel in the bladder are +made dry with heat. The effect indeed is the same, but by two divers +actions; the heat doth consume and eat the abundance of moisture; but +the cold stopping and shutting with its over much thickness, doth wring +out the filthy humidity, like as a sponge wrung with the hand doth cast +out the water which it hath in the pores and small passages. + +Q. Why doth a shaking or quivering seize us oftentimes when any fearful +matter doth happen, as a great noise or a crack made, the sudden +downfall of water, or the fall of a large tree? A. Because that +oftentimes the humours being digested and consumed by time and made thin +and weak, all the heat vehemently, suddenly and sharply flying into the +inward part of the body, consumeth the humours which cause the disease. +So treacle hath this effect, and many such like, which are hot and dry +when taken after connexion. + +Q. Why do steel glasses shine so clearly? A. Because they are lined in +the inside with white lead, whose nature is shining, and being put to +glass, which is lucid and transparent, doth shine much more; and casts +its beams through its passages, and without the body of the glass; and +by that means the glass is very shining and clear. + +Q. Why do we see ourselves in glasses and clear water? A. Because the +quality of the sight, passing into the bright bodies by reflection, doth +return again on the beam of the eyes, as the image of him who looketh on +it. + +Q. What is the reason that if you cast a stone in standing water which +is near the surface of the earth, it causes many circles, and not if the +water be deep in the earth? A. Because the stone, with the vehemence of +the cast, doth agitate the water in every part of it, until it come to +the bottom; and if there be a very great vehemence in the throw, the +circle is still greater, the stone going down to the bottom causing many +circles. For, first of all, it doth divide the outermost and superficial +parts of the water in many parts, and so, always going down to the +bottom, again dividing the water, it maketh another circle, and this is +done successively until the stone resteth; and because the vehemence of +the stone is slackened, still as it goes down, of necessity the last +circle is less than the first, because by that and also by its force the +water is divided. + +Q. Why are such as are deaf by nature, dumb? A. Because they cannot +speak and express that which they never hear. Some physicians do say, +that there is one knitting and uniting of sinews belonging to the like +disposition. But such as are dumb by accident are not deaf at all, for +then there ariseth a local passion. + +Q. Why doth itching arise when an ulcer doth wax whole and phlegm +ceases? A. Because the part which is healed and made sound doth pursue +the relic of the humours which remained there against nature, and which +was the cause of the bile, and so going out through the skin, and +dissolving itself, doth originally cause the itch. + +Q. How comes a man to sneeze oftener and more vehemently than a beast? +A. Because he uses more meats and drinks, and of more different sorts, +and that more than is requisite; the which, when he cannot digest as he +would, he doth gather together much air and spirit, by reason of much +humidity; the spirits then very subtle, ascending into the head, often +force a man to void them, and so provoke sneezing. The noise caused +thereby proceeds from a vehement spirit or breath passing through the +conduit of the nostrils, as belching doth from the stomach or farting by +the fundament, the voice by the throat, and a sound by the ear. + +Q. How come the hair and nails of dead people to grow? A. Because the +flesh rotting, withering and falling away, that which was hidden about +the root of the hair doth now appear as growing. Some say that it grows +indeed, because carcasses are dissolved in the beginning to many +excrements and superfluities by putrefaction. These going out at the +uppermost parts of the body by some passages, do increase the growth of +the hair. + +Q. Why does not the hair of the feet soon grow grey? A. For this reason, +because that through great motion they disperse and dissolve the +superfluous phlegm that breeds greyness. The hair of the secrets grows +very late, because of the place, and because that in carnal copulation +it dissolves the phlegm also. + +Q. Why, if you put hot burnt barley upon a horse's sore, is the hair +which grows upon the sore not white, but like the other hair? A. Because +it hath the force of expelling; and doth drive away and dissolve the +phlegm, as well as all other unprofitable matter that is gathered +together through the weakness of the parts, or condity of the sore. + +Q. Why doth the hair never grow on an ulcer or bile? A. Because man hath +a thick skin, as is seen by the thickness of his hair; and if the scar +be thicker than the skin itself, it stops the passages from whence the +hair should grow. Horses have thinner skins, as is plain by their hair; +therefore all passages are not stopped in their wounds and sores; and +after the excrements which were gathered together have broken a passage +through those small pores the hair doth grow. + +Q. Why is Fortune painted with a double forehead, the one side bald and +the other hairy? A. The baldness signifies adversity, and hairiness +prosperity, which we enjoy when it pleaseth her. + +Q. Why have some commended flattery? A. Because flattery setteth forth +before our eyes what we ought to be, though not what we are. + +Q. Wherefore should virtue be painted girded? A. To show that virtuous +men should not be slothful, but diligent and always in action. + +Q. Why did the ancients say it was better to fall into the hands of a +raven than a flatterer? A. Because ravens do not eat us till we be dead, +but flatterers devour us alive. + +Q. Why have choleric men beards before others? A. Because they are hot, +and their pores large. + +Q. How comes it that such as have the hiccups do ease themselves by +holding their breath? A. The breath retained doth heat the interior +parts of the body, and the hiccups proceeds from cold. + +Q. How comes it that old men remember well what they have seen and done +in their youth, and forget such things as they see and do in their old +age? A. Things learned in youth take deep root and habitude in a person, +but those learned in age are forgotten because the senses are then +weakened. + +Q. What kind of covetousness is best? A. That of time when employed as +it ought to be. + +Q. Why is our life compared to a play? A. Because the dishonest do +occupy the place of the honest, and the worst sort the room of the good. + +Q. Why do dolphins, when they appear above the water, denote a storm or +tempest approaching? A. Because at the beginning of a tempest there do +arise from the bottom of the sea, certain hot exhalations and vapours +which heat the dolphins, causing them to rise up for cold air. + +Q. Why did the Romans call Fabius Maximus the target of the people, and +Marcellus the sword? A. Because the one adapted himself to the service +of the commonwealth, and the other was very eager to revenge the +injuries of his country; and yet they were in the senate joined +together, because the gravity of the one would moderate the courage and +boldness of the other. + +Q. Why doth the shining of the moon hurt the head? A. Because it moves +the humours of the brain, and cannot afterwards dissolve them. + +Q. If water do not nourish, why do men drink it? A. Because water +causeth the nutriment to spread through the body. + +Q. Why is sneezing good? A. Because it purgeth the brain as milk is +purged by the cough. + +Q. Why is hot water lighter than cold? A. Because boiling water has less +ventosity and is more light and subtle, the earthly and heavy substance +being separated from it. + +Q. How comes marsh and pond water to be bad? A. By reason they are +phlegmatic, and do corrupt in summer; the fineness of water is turned +into vapours, and the earthiness doth remain. + +Q. Why are studious and learned men soonest bald? A. It proceeds from a +weakness of the spirits, or because warmth of digestion cause phlegm to +abound in them. + +Q. Why doth much watching make the brain feeble? A. Because it increases +choler, which dries and extenuates the body. + +Q. Why are boys apt to change their voices about fourteen years of age? +A. Because that then nature doth cause a great and sudden change of +voice; experience proves this to be true; for at that time we may see +that women's paps do grow great, do hold and gather milk, and also those +places that are above their hips, in which the young fruit would remain. +Likewise men's breasts and shoulders, which then can bear great and +heavy burdens; also their stones in which their seed may increase and +abide, and in their privy members, to let out the seed with ease. +Further all the body is made bigger and dilated, as the alteration and +change of every part doth testify, and the harshness of the voice and +hoarseness; for the rough artery, the wind pipe, being made wide in the +beginning, and the exterior and outward part being unequal to the +throat, the air going out the rough, unequal and uneven pipe doth then +become unequal and sharp, and after, hoarse, something like unto the +voice of a goat, wherefore it has its name called Bronchus. The same +doth also happen to them unto whose rough artery distillation doth +follow; it happens by reason of the drooping humidity that a slight +small skin filled unequally causes the uneven going forth of the spirit +and air. Understand, that the windpipe of goats is such by reason of the +abundance of humidity. The like doth happen unto all such as nature hath +given a rough artery, as unto cranes. After the age of fourteen they +leave off that voice, because the artery is made wider and reacheth its +natural evenness and quality. + +Q. Why do hard dens, hollow and high places, send back the likeness and +sound of the voice? A. Because that in such places also by reflection do +return back the image of a sound, for the voice doth beat the air, and +the air the place, which the more it is beaten the more it doth bear, +and therefore doth cause the more vehement sound of the voice; moist +places, and as it were, soft, yielding to the stroke, and dissolving it, +give no sound again; for according to the quantity of the stroke, the +quality and quantity of the voice is given, which is called an echo. +Some do idly fable that she is a goddess; some say that Pan was in love +with her, which without doubt is false. He was some wise man, who did +first desire to search out the cause of the voice, and as they who love, +and cannot enjoy that love, are grieved, so in like manner was he very +sorry until he found out the solution of that cause; as Endymion also, +who first found out the course of the moon, watching all night, and +observing her course, and searching her motion, did sleep in the +daytime, and that she came to him when he was asleep, because she did +give the philosopher the solution of the course herself. They say also +that he was a shepherd, because that in the desert and high places, he +did mark the course of the moon. And they gave him also the pipe because +that the high places are blown with wind, or else because he sought out +the consonancy of figures. Prometheus also, being a wise man, sought the +course of the star, which is called the eagle in the firmament, his +nature and place; and when he was, as it were, wasted with the desire of +learning, then at last he rested, when Hercules did resolve unto him all +doubts with his wisdom. + +Q. Why do not swine cry when they are carried with their snouts upwards? +A. Because that of all other beasts they bend more to the earth. They +delight in filth, and that they seek, and therefore in the sudden change +of their face, they be as it were strangers, and being amazed with so +much light do keep that silence; some say the windpipe doth close +together by reason of the straitness of it. + +Q. Why do swine delight in dirt? A. As physicians do say, they are +naturally delighted with it, because they have a great liver, in which +desire it, as Aristotle saith, the wideness of their snout is the case, +for he that hath smelling which doth dissolve itself, and as it were +strive with stench. + +Q. Why do many beasts when they see their friends, and a lion and a +bull beat their sides when they are angry? A. Because they have the +marrow of their backs reaching to the tail, which hath the force of +motion in it, the imagination acknowledging that which is known to them, +as it were with the hand, as happens to men, doth force them to move +their tails. This doth manifestly show some secret force to be within +them, which doth acknowledge what they ought. In the anger of lions and +bulls, nature doth consent to the mind, and causeth it to be greatly +moved, as men do sometimes when they are angry, beating their hands on +other parts; when the mind cannot be revenged on that which doth hurt, +it presently seeks out some other source, and cures the malady with a +stroke or blow. + +Q. How come steel glasses to be better for the sight than any other +kind? A. Because steel is hard, and doth present unto us more +substantially the air that receiveth the light. + +Q. How doth love show its greater force by making the fool to become +wise, or the wise to become a fool? A. In attributing wisdom to him that +has it not; for it is harder to build than to pull down; and ordinarily +love and folly are but an alteration of the mind. + +Q. How comes much labour and fatigue to be bad for the sight? A. +Because it dries the blood too much. + +Q. Why is goat's milk reckoned best for the stomach? A. Because it is +thick, not slimy, and they feed on wood and boughs rather than on grass. + +Q. Why do grief and vexation bring grey hairs? A. Because they dry, +which bringeth on greyness. + +Q. How come those to have most mercy who have the thickest blood? A. +Because the blood which is fat and thick makes the spirits firm and +constant, wherein consists the force of all creatures. + +Q. Whether it is hardest, to obtain a person's love, or to keep it when +obtained? A. It is hardest to keep it, by reason of the inconstancy of +man, who is quickly angry, and soon weary of a thing; hard to be gained +and slippery to keep. + +Q. Why do serpents shun the herb rue? A. Because they are cold, dry and +full of sinews, and that herb is of a contrary nature. + +Q. Why is a capon better to eat than a cock? A. Because a capon loses +not his moisture by treading of the hens. + +Q. Why is our smell less in winter than in summer? A. Because the air is +thick, and less moveable. + +Q. Why does hair burn so quickly? A. Because it is dry and cold. + +Q. Why is love compared to a labyrinth? A. Because the entry and coming +in is easy, and the going out almost impossible or hard. + + * * * * * + + + + +PART IV + +DISPLAYING THE SECRETS OF + +NATURE + +RELATING TO + +PHYSIOGNOMY + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER I + + +SECTION 1.--_Of Physiognomy, showing what it is, and whence it is +derived._ + +Physiognomy is an ingenious science, or knowledge of nature, by which +the inclinations and dispositions of every creature are understood, and +because some of the members are uncompounded, and entire of themselves, +as the tongue, the heart, etc., and some are of a mixed nature, as the +eyes, the nose and others, we therefore say that there are signs which +agree and live together, which inform a wise man how to make his +judgment before he be too rash to deliver it to the world. + +Nor is it to be esteemed a foolish or idle art, seeing it is derived +from the superior bodies; for there is no part of the face of man but +what is under the peculiar influence or government, not only of the +seven planets but also of the twelve signs of Zodiac; and the +dispositions, vices, virtues and fatality, either of a man or woman are +plainly foretold, if the person pretending to the knowledge thereof be +an artist, which, that my readers may hereby attain it I shall set these +things in a clearer light. + +The reader should remember that the forehead is governed by Mars; the +right eye is under the domination of Sol; the left is ruled by the Moon; +the right ear is under Jupiter; the left, Saturn, the rule of the nose +is claimed by Venus, which, by the way, is one reason that in all +unlawful venereal encounters, the nose is too subject to bear the scars +that are gotten in those wars; and nimble Mercury, the significator of +eloquence claims the dominion of the mouth, and that very justly. + +Thus have the seven planets divided the face among them, but not with so +absolute a way but that the twelve signs of the Zodiac do also come in +with a part (see the engraving) and therefore the sign Cancer presides +in the upper part of the forehead, and Leo attends upon the right +eyebrow, as Saggittarius does upon the right eye, and Libra upon the +right ear, upon the left eyebrow you will find Aquarius; and Gemini and +Aries taking care of the left ear; Taurus rules in the middle of the +forehead, and Capricorn the chin; Scorpio takes upon him the protection +of the nose; Virgo claims the precedence of the right cheek, Pisces the +left. And thus the face of man is cantoned out amongst the signs and +planets; which being carefully attended to, will sufficiently inform +the artist how to pass a judgment. For according to the sign or planet +ruling so also is the judgment to be of the part ruled, which all those +that have understanding know easily how to apply. + +[Illustration] + +In the judgment that is to be made from physiognomy, there is a great +difference betwixt a man and a woman; the reason is, because in respect +of the whole composition men more fully comprehend it than women do, as +may evidently appear by the manner and method we shall give. Wherefore +the judgments which we shall pass in every chapter do properly concern a +man, as comprehending the whole species, and but improperly the woman, +as being but a part thereof, and derived from the man, and therefore, +whoever is called to give judgment on such a face, ought to be wary +about all the lines and marks that belong to it, respect being also had +to the sex, for when we behold a man whose face is like unto a woman's +and we pass a judgment upon it, having diligently observed it, and not +on the face only, but on other parts of the body, as hands, etc., in +like manner we also behold the face of a woman, who in respect to her +flesh and blood is like unto a man, and in the disposure also of the +greatest part of the body. But does physiognomy give the same judgment +on her, as it does of a man that is like unto her? By no means, but far +otherwise, in regard that the conception of the woman is much different +from that of a man, even in those respects which are said to be common. +Now in those common respects two parts are attributed to a man, and a +third part to a woman. + +Wherefore it being our intention to give you an exact account, according +to the rule of physiognomy of all and every part of the members of the +body, we will begin with the head, as it hath relation only to man and +woman, and not to any other creature, that the work may be more obvious +to every reader. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER II + + _Of the Judgment of Physiognomy._ + + +Hair that hangs down without curling, if it be of a fair complexion, +thin and soft withal, signifies a man to be naturally faint-hearted, and +of a weak body, but of a quiet and harmless disposition. Hair that is +big, and thick and short withal, denotes a man to be of a strong +constitution, secure, bold, deceitful and for the most part, unquiet and +vain, lusting after beauty, and more foolish than wise, though fortune +may favour him. He whose hair is partly curled and partly hanging down, +is commonly wise or a very great fool, or else as very a knave as he is +a fool. He whose hair grows thick on his temples and his brow, one may +certainly at first sight conclude that such a man is by nature simple, +vain, luxurious, lustful, credulous, clownish in his speech and +conversation and dull in his apprehension. He whose hair not only curls +very much, but bushes out, and stands on end, if the hair be white or of +a yellowish colour, he is by nature proud and bold, dull of +apprehension, soon angry, and a lover of venery, and given to lying, +malicious and ready to do any mischief. He whose hair arises in the +corners of the temples, and is gross and rough withal, is a man highly +conceited of himself, inclined to malice, but cunningly conceals it, is +very courtly and a lover of new fashions. He who hath much hair, that is +to say, whose hair is thick all over his head, is naturally vain and +very luxurious, of a good digestion, easy of belief, and slow of +performance, of a weak memory and for the most part unfortunate. He +whose hair is of a reddish complexion, is for the most part, if not +always, proud, deceitful, detracting and full of envy. He whose hair is +extraordinarily fair, is for the most part a man fit for the most +praiseworthy enterprises, a lover of honour, and much more inclined to +do good than evil; laborious and careful to perform whatsoever is +committed to his care, secret in carrying on any business, and +fortunate. Hair of a yellowish colour shows a man to be good +conditioned, and willing to do anything, fearful, shamefaced and weak of +body, but strong in the abilities of the mind, and more apt to remember, +than to avenge an injury. He whose hair is of a brownish colour, and +curled not too much nor too little, is a well-disposed man, inclined to +that which is good, a lover of peace, cleanliness and good manners. He +whose hair turns grey or hoary in the time of his youth, is generally +given to women, vain, false, unstable, and talkative. [Note. That +whatever signification the hair has in men, it has the same in women +also.] + +The forehead that riseth in a round, signifies a man liberally merry, of +a good understanding, and generally inclined to virtue. He whose +forehead is fleshy, and the bone of the brow jutting out, and without +wrinkles, is a man much inclined to suits of law, contentious, vain, +deceitful, and addicted to follow ill courses. He whose forehead is +very low and little, is of a good understanding, magnanimous, but +extremely bold and confident, and a great pretender to love and honour. +He whose forehead seems sharp, and pointed up in the corners of his +temples, so that the bone seems to jut forth a little, is a man +naturally weak and fickle, and weak in the intellectuals. He whose brow +upon the temples is full of flesh, is a man of a great spirit, proud, +watchful and of a gross understanding. He whose brow is full of +wrinkles, and has as it were a seam coming down the middle of the +forehead, so that a man may think he has two foreheads, is one that is +of a great spirit, a great wit, void of deceit, and yet of a hard +fortune. He who has a full, large forehead, and a little round withal, +destitute of hair, or at least that has little on it is bold, malicious, +full of choler and apt to transgress beyond all bounds, and yet of a +good wit and very apprehensive. He whose forehead is long and high and +jutting forth, and whose face is figured, almost sharp and peaked +towards the chin, is one reasonably honest, but weak and simple, and of +a hard fortune. + +Those eyebrows that are much arched, whether in man or woman, and which +by frequent motion elevate themselves, show the person to be proud, +high-spirited, vain-glorious, bold and threatening, a lover of beauty, +and indifferently inclined to either good or evil. He whose eyelids bend +down when he speaks to another or when he looks upon him, and who has a +kind of skulking look, is by nature a penurious wretch, close in all his +actions, of a very few words, but full of malice in his heart. He whose +eyebrows are thick, and have but little hair upon them, is but weak in +his intellectuals, and too credulous, very sincere, sociable, and +desirous of good company. He whose eyebrows are folded, and the hair +thick and bending downwards, is one that is clownish and unlearned, +heavy, suspicious, miserable, envious, and one that will cheat and cozen +you if he can. He whose eyebrows have but short hair and of a whitish +colour is fearful and very easy of belief, and apt to undertake +anything. Those, on the other side, whose eyebrows are black, and the +hair of them thin, will do nothing without great consideration, and are +bold and confident of the performance of what they undertake; neither +are they apt to believe anything without reason for so doing. + +If the space between the eyebrows be of more than the ordinary distance, +it shows the person to be hard-hearted, envious, close, cunning, +apprehensive, greedy of novelties, of a vain fortune, addicted to +cruelty more than love. But those men whose eyebrows are at a lesser +distance from each other, are for the most part of a dull understanding; +yet subtle enough in their dealings, and of an uncommon boldness, which +is often attended with great felicity; but that which is most +commendable in them is, that they are most sure and constant in their +friendship. + +Great and full eyes in either man or woman, show the person to be for +the most part slothful, bold, envious, a bad concealer of secrets, +miserable, vain, given to lying, and yet a bad memory, slow in +invention, weak in his intellectuals, and yet very much conceited of +that little knack of wisdom he thinks himself master of. He whose eyes +are hollow in his head, and therefore discerns well at a great distance, +is one that is suspicious, malicious, furious, perverse in his +conversation, of an extraordinary memory, bold, cruel, and false, both +in words and deeds, threatening, vicious, luxurious, proud, envious and +treacherous; but he whose eyes are, as it were, starting out of his +head, is a simple, foolish person, shameless, very fertile and easy to +be persuaded either to vice or virtue. He who looks studiously and +acutely, with his eyes and eyelids downwards, denotes thereby to be of a +malicious nature, very treacherous, false, unfaithful, envious, +miserable, impious towards God, and dishonest towards men. He whose +eyes are small and conveniently round, is bashful and weak, very +credulous, liberal to others, and even in his conversation. He whose +eyes look asquint, is thereby denoted to be a deceitful person, unjust, +envious, furious, a great liar, and as the effect of all that is +miserable. He who hath a wandering eye and which is rolling up and down, +is for the most part a vain, simple, deceitful, lustful, treacherous, or +high-minded man, an admirer of the fair sex, and one easy to be +persuaded to virtue or vice. He or she whose eyes are twinkling, and +which move forward or backward, show the person to be luxurious, +unfaithful and treacherous, presumptuous, and hard to believe anything +that is spoken. If a person has any greenness mingled with the white of +his eye, such is commonly silly, and often very false, vain and +deceitful, unkind to his friends, a great concealer of his own secrets, +and very choleric. Those whose eyes are every way rolling up and down, +or they who seldom move their eyes, and when they do, as it were, draw +their eyes inwardly and accurately fasten them upon some object, such +are by their inclinations very malicious, vain-glorious, slothful, +unfaithful, envious, false and contentious. They whose eyes are addicted +to blood-shot, are naturally proud, disdainful, cruel, without shame, +perfidious and much inclined to superstition. But he whose eyes are +neither too little nor too big, and inclined to black, do signify a man +mild, peaceable, honest, witty, and of a good understanding; and one +that, when need requires, will be serviceable to his friends. + +A long and thin nose, denotes a man bold, furious, angry, vain, easy to +be persuaded either to good or evil, weak and credulous. A long nose +extended, the tip of it bending downwards, shows the person to be wise, +discreet, secret and officious, honest, faithful and one that will not +be over-reached in bargaining. + +A bottle-nose is what denotes a man to be impetuous in the obtaining of +his desires, also a vain, false, luxurious, weak and uncertain man; apt +to believe and easy to be persuaded. A broad nose in the middle, and +less towards the end, denotes a vain, talkative person, a liar, and one +of hard fortune. He who hath a long and great nose is an admirer of the +fair sex, and well accomplished for the wars of Venus, but ignorant of +the knowledge of anything that is good, extremely addicted to vice; +assiduous in the obtaining what he desires, and very secret in the +prosecution of it; and though very ignorant, would fain be thought very +knowing. + +A nose very sharp on the tip of it, and neither too long nor too short, +too thick nor too thin, denotes the person, if a man, to be of a fretful +disposition, always pining and peevish; and if a woman, a scold, or +contentious, wedded to her own humours, of a morose and dogged carriage, +and if married, a plague to her husband. A nose very round at the end of +it, and having but little nostrils, shows the person to be munificent +and liberal, true to his trust, but withal, very proud, credulous and +vain. A nose very long and thin at the end of it, and something round, +withal, signifies one bold in his discourse, honest in his dealings, +patient in receiving, and slow in offering injuries, but yet privately +malicious. He whose nose is naturally more red than any other part of +his face, is thereby denoted to be covetous, impious, luxurious, and an +enemy to goodness. A nose that turns up again, and is long and full at +the tip of it, shows the person that has it to be bold, proud, covetous, +envious, luxurious, a liar and deceiver, vain, glorious, unfortunate and +contentious. He whose nose riseth high in the middle, is prudent and +polite, and of great courage, honourable in his actions, and true to his +word. A nose big at the end shows a person to be of a peaceable +disposition, industrious and faithful, and of a good understanding. A +very wide nose, with wide nostrils, denotes a man dull of apprehension, +and inclined more to simplicity than wisdom, and withal vain, +contentious and a liar. + +When the nostrils are close and thin, they denote a man to have but +little testicles, and to be very desirous of the enjoyment of women, but +modest in his conversation. But he whose nostrils are great and wide, is +usually well hung and lustful; but withal of an envious, bold and +treacherous disposition and though dull of understanding, yet confident +enough. + +A great and wide mouth shows a man to be bold, warlike, shameless and +stout, a great liar and as great a talker, also a great eater, but as to +his intellectuals, he is very dull, being for the most part very simple. + +A little mouth shows the person to be of a quiet and pacific temper, +somewhat reticent, but faithful, secret, modest, bountiful, and but a +little eater. + +He whose mouth smells of a bad breath, is one of a corrupted liver and +lungs, is oftentimes vain, wanton, deceitful, of indifferent intellect, +envious, covetous, and a promise-breaker. He that has a sweet breath, is +the contrary. + +The lips, when they are very big and blubbering, show a person to be +credulous, foolish, dull and stupid, and apt to be enticed to anything. +Lips of a different size denote a person to be discreet, secret in all +things, judicious and of a good wit, but somewhat hasty. To have lips, +well coloured and more thin than thick, shows a person to be +good-humoured in all things and more easily persuaded to good than evil. +To have one lip bigger than the other, shows a variety of fortunes, and +denotes the party to be of a dull, sluggish temper, but of a very +indifferent understanding, as being much addicted to folly. + +When the teeth are small, and but weak in performing their office, and +especially if they are short and few, though they show the person to be +of a weak constitution, yet they denote him to be of a meek disposition, +honest, faithful and secret in whatsoever he is intrusted with. To have +some teeth longer and shorter than others, denotes a person to be of a +good apprehension, but bold, disdainful, envious and proud. To have the +teeth very long, and growing sharp towards the end, if they are long in +chewing, and thin, denotes the person to be envious, gluttonous, bold, +shameless, unfaithful and suspicious. When the teeth look very brown or +yellowish, whether they be long or short, it shows the person to be of a +suspicious temper, envious, deceitful and turbulent. To have teeth +strong and close together, shows the person to be of a long life, a +desirer of novelties, and things that are fair and beautiful, but of a +high spirit, and one that will have his humour in all things; he loves +to hear news, and to repeat it afterwards, and is apt to entertain +anything on his behalf. To have teeth thin and weak, shows a weak, +feeble man, and one of a short life, and of a weak apprehension; but +chaste, shame-faced, tractable and honest. + +A tongue to be too swift of speech shows a man to be downright foolish, +or at best but a very vain wit. A stammering tongue, or one that +stumbles in the mouth, signifies a man of a weak understanding, and of a +wavering mind, quickly in a rage, and soon pacified. A very thick and +rough tongue denotes a man to be apprehensive, subtle and full of +compliments, yet vain and deceitful, treacherous, and prone to impiety. +A thin tongue shows a man of wisdom and sound judgment, very ingenious +and of an affable disposition, yet somewhat timorous and too credulous. + +A great and full voice in either sex shows them to be of a great spirit, +confident, proud and wilful. A faint and weak voice, attended with but +little breath, shows a person to be of good understanding, a nimble +fancy, a little eater, but weak of body, and of a timorous disposition. +A loud and shrill voice, which sounds clearly denotes a person +provident, sagacious, true and ingenious, but withal capricious, vain, +glorious and too credulous. A strong voice when a man sings denotes him +to be of a strong constitution, and of a good understanding, a nimble +fancy, a little eater, but weak of body, and of a timorous disposition. + +A strong voice when a man sings, denotes him to be of a strong +constitution, and of a good understanding, neither too penurious nor too +prodigal, also ingenious and an admirer of the fair sex. A weak and +trembling voice shows the owner of it to be envious, suspicious, slow in +business, feeble and fearful. A loud, shrill and unpleasant voice, +signifies one bold and valiant, but quarrelsome and injurious and +altogether wedded to his own humours, and governed by his own counsels. +A rough and hoarse voice, whether in speaking or singing, declares one +to be a dull and heavy person, of much guts and little brains. A full +and yet mild voice, and pleasing to the hearer, shows the person to be +of a quiet and peaceable disposition (which is a great virtue and rare +to be found in a woman), and also very thrifty and secret, not prone to +anger, but of a yielding temper. A voice beginning low or in the bass, +and ending high in the treble, denotes a person to be violent, angry, +bold and secure. + +A thick and full chin abounding with too much flesh, shows a man +inclined to peace, honest and true to his trust, but slow in invention, +and easy to be drawn either to good or evil. A peaked chin and +reasonably full of flesh, shows a person to be of a good understanding, +a high spirit and laudable conversation. A double chin shows a peaceable +disposition, but dull of apprehension, vain, credulous, a great +supplanter, and secret in all his actions. A crooked chin, bending +upwards, and peaked for want of flesh, is by the rules of physiognomy, +according to nature, a very bad man, being proud, imprudent, envious, +threatening, deceitful, prone to anger and treachery, and a great thief. + +The hair of young men usually begins to grow down upon their chins at +fifteen years of age, and sometimes sooner. These hairs proceed from the +superfluity of heat, the fumes whereof ascend to their chin, like smoke +to the funnel of a chimney; and because it cannot find an open passage +by which it may ascend higher, it vents itself forth in the hairs which +are called the beard. There are very few, or almost no women at all, +that have hairs on their cheeks; and the reason is, that those humours +which cause hair to grow on the cheeks of a man are by a woman +evacuated in the monthly courses, which they have more or less, +according to the heat or coldness of their constitution, and the age and +motion of the moon, of which we have spoken at large in the first part +of this book. Yet sometimes women of a hot constitution have hair to be +seen on their cheeks, but more commonly on their lips, or near their +mouths, where the heat most aboundeth. And where this happens, such +women are much addicted to the company of men, and of a strong and manly +constitution. A woman who hath little hair on her cheeks, or about her +mouth and lips, is of a good complexion, weak constitution, shamefaced, +mild and obedient, whereas a woman of a more hot constitution is quite +otherwise. But in a man, a beard well composed and thick of hair, +signifies a man of good nature, honest, loving, sociable and full of +humanity; on the contrary, he that hath but a little beard, is for the +most part proud, pining, peevish and unsociable. They who have no +beards, have always shrill and a strange kind of squeaking voices, and +are of a weak constitution, which is apparent in the case of eunuchs, +who, after they are deprived of their virility are transformed from the +nature of men into the condition of women. + +Great and thick ears are a certain sign of a foolish person, or a bad +memory and worse understanding. But small and thin ears show a person to +be of a good wit, grave, sweet, thrifty, modest, resolute, of a good +memory, and one willing to serve his friend. He whose ears are longer +than ordinary, is thereby signified to be a bold man, uncivil, vain, +foolish, serviceable to another more than to himself, and a man of small +industry, but of a great stomach. + +A face apt to sweat on every motion, shows a person to be of a very hot +constitution, vain and luxurious, of a good stomach, but of a bad +understanding, and a worse conversation. A very fleshy face shows the +person to be of a fearful disposition, but a merry heart, and withal +bountiful and discreet, easy to be entreated, and apt to believe +everything. A lean face, by the rules of physiognomy, denotes the person +to be of a good understanding, but somewhat capricious and disdainful in +his conversation. A little and round face, shows a person to be simple, +very fearful, of a bad memory, and a clownish disposition. A plump face, +full of carbuncles, shows a man to be a great drinker of wine, vain, +daring, and soon intoxicated. A face red or high coloured, shows a man +much inclined to choler, and one that will be soon angry and not easily +pacified. A long and lean face, shows a man to be both bold, injurious +and deceitful. A face every way of a due proportion, denotes an +ingenious person, one fit for anything and very much inclined to what is +good. One of a broad, full, fat face is, by the rules of physiognomy, of +a dull, lumpish, heavy constitution, and that for one virtue has three +vices. A plain, flat face, without any rising shows a person to be very +wise, loving and courtly in his carriage, faithful to his friend and +patient in adversity. A face sinking down a little, with crosses in it, +inclining to leanness, denotes a person to be very laborious, but +envious, deceitful, false, quarrelsome, vain and silly, and of a dull +and clownish behaviour. A face of a handsome proportion, and more +inclining to fat than lean, shows a person just in his actions, true to +his word, civil, and respectful in his behaviour, of an indifferent +understanding, and of an extraordinary memory. A crooked face, long and +lean, denotes a man endued with as bad qualities as the face is with ill +features. A face broad about the brows, and sharper and less as it grows +towards the chin, shows a man simple and foolish in managing his +affairs, vain in his discourse, envious in his nature, deceitful, +quarrelsome and rude in his conversation. A face well-coloured, full of +good features, and of an exact symmetry, and a just proportion in all +its parts, and which is delightful to look upon, is commonly the index +of a fairer mind and shows a person to be well disposed; but withal +declares that virtue is not so impregnably seated there, but that by +strong temptations (especially by the fair sex) it may be supplanted and +overcome by vice. A pale complexion, shows the person not only to be +fickle, but very malicious, treacherous, false, proud, presumptuous, and +extremely unfaithful. A face well-coloured, shows the person to be of a +praiseworthy disposition and a sound complexion, easy of belief, and +respectful to his friend, ready to do a courtesy, and very easy to be +drawn to anything. + +A great head, and round, withal, denotes the person to be secret, and of +great application in carrying on business, and also ingenious and of a +large imaginative faculty and invention; and likewise laborious, +constant and honest. The head whose gullet stands forth and inclines +towards the earth, signifies a person thrifty, wise, peaceable, secret, +of a retired temper, and constant in the management of his affairs. A +long head and face, and great, withal, denotes a vain, foolish, idle and +weak person, credulous and very envious. To have one's head always +shaking and moving from side to side, denotes a shallow, weak person, +unstable in all his actions, given to lying, a great deceiver, a great +talker, and prodigal in all his fortunes. A big head and broad face, +shows a man to be very courageous, a great hunter after women, very +suspicious, bold and shameless. He who hath a very big head, but not so +proportionate as it ought to be to the body, if he hath a short neck and +crooked gullet is generally a man of apprehension, wise, secret, +ingenious, of sound judgment, faithful, true and courteous to all. He +who hath a little head, and long, slender throat, is for the most part a +man very weak, yet apt to learn, but unfortunate in his actions. And so +much shall suffice with respect to judgment from the head and face. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER III + + _Of Judgments drawn from several other parts of Man's Body._ + + +In the body of man the head and feet are the principal parts, being the +index which heaven has laid open to every one's view to make a judgment +therefrom, therefore I have been the larger in my judgment from the +several parts thereof. But as to the other parts, I shall be much more +brief as not being so obvious to the eyes of men; yet I would proceed in +order. + +The throat, if it be white, whether it be fat or lean, shows a man to be +vain-glorious, timorous, wanton, and very much subject to choler. If the +throat be so thin and lean that the veins appear, it shows a man to be +weak, slow, and a dull and heavy constitution. + +A long neck shows one to have a long and slender foot, and that the +person is stiff and inflexible either to good or evil. A short neck +shows one to be witty and ingenious, but deceitful and inconstant, well +skilled in the use of arms, and yet cares not to use them, but is a +great lover of peace and quietness. + +A lean shoulder bone, signifies a man to be weak, timorous, peaceful, +not laborious, and yet fit for any employment. He whose shoulder bones +are of a great bigness is commonly, by the rule of physiognomy, a strong +man, faithful but unfortunate; somewhat dull of understanding, very +laborious, a great eater and drinker, and one equally contented in all +conditions. He whose shoulder bone seems to be smooth, is by the rule of +nature, modest in his look, and temperate in all his actions, both at +bed and board. He whose shoulder bone bends, and is crooked inwardly, is +commonly a dull person and deceitful. + +Long arms, hanging down and touching the knees, though such arms are +rarely seen, denotes a man liberal, but withal vain-glorious, proud and +inconstant. He whose arms are very short in respect to the stature of +his body, is thereby signified to be a man of high and gallant spirit, +of a graceful temper, bold and warlike. He whose arms are full of bones, +sinews and flesh, is a great desirer of novelties and beauties, and one +that is very credulous and apt to believe anything. He whose arms are +very hairy, whether they be lean or fat, is for the most part a +luxurious person, weak in body and mind, very suspicious and malicious +withal. He whose arms have no hair on them at all, is of a weak +judgment, very angry, vain, wanton, credulous, easily deceived himself, +yet a great deceiver of others, no fighter, and very apt to betray his +dearest friends. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + _Of Palmistry, showing the various Judgments drawn from the Hand._ + + +Being engaged in this fourth part to show what judgment may be drawn, +according to physiognomy, from the several parts of the body, and coming +in order to speak of the hands, it has put me under the necessity of +saying something about palmistry, which is a judgment made of the +conditions, inclinations, and fortunes of men and women, from the +various lines and characters nature has imprinted in their hands, which +are almost as serious as the hands that have them. + +The reader should remember that one of the lines of the hand, and which +indeed is reckoned the principal, is called the line of life; this line +encloses the thumb, separating it from the hollow of the hand. The next +to it, which is called the natural line, takes its beginning from the +rising of the forefinger, near the line of life, and reaches to the +table line, and generally makes a triangle. The table line, commonly +called the line of fortune, begins under the little finger, and ends +near the middle finger. The girdle of Venus, which is another line so +called begins near the first joint of the little finger, and ends +between the fore-finger and the middle finger. The line of death is that +which plainly appears in a counter line to that of life, and is called +the sister line, ending usually as the other ends; for when the line of +life is ended, death comes, and it can go no farther. There are lines in +the fleshy parts, as in the ball of the thumb, which is called the mount +of Venus; under each of the fingers are also mounts, which are governed +by several planets; and the hollow of the hand is called the plain of +Mars. + +I proceed to give judgment from these several lines:--In palmistry, the +left hand is chiefly to be regarded, because therein the lines are most +visible, and have the strictest communication with the heart and brain. +In the next place, observe the line of life, and if it be fair, extended +to its full length, and not broken with an intermixture of cross lines, +it shows long life and health, and it is the same if a double line +appears, as there sometimes does. When the stars appear in this line, it +is a signification of great losses and calamities; if on it there be the +figures of two O's or a Q, it threatens the person with blindness; if it +wraps itself about the table line, then does it promise wealth and +honour to be attended by prudence and industry. If the line be cut and +jagged at the upper end, it denotes much sickness; if this line be cut +by any lines coming from the mount of Venus, it declares the person to +be unfortunate in love and business also, and threatens him with sudden +death. A cross below the line of life and the table line, shows the +person to be very liberal and charitable, one of a noble spirit. Let us +now see the signification of the table line. + +The table line, when broad and of a lively colour, shows a healthful +constitution, and a quiet contented mind, and a courageous spirit, but +if it has crosses towards the little finger, it threatens the party with +much affliction by sickness. If the line be double, or divided into +three parts at any of the extremities, it shows the person to be of a +generous temper, and of a good fortune to support it; but if this line +be forked at the end, it threatens the person shall suffer by jealousies +and doubts, and loss of riches gotten by deceit. If three points such as +these + + * * + * + +are found in it, they denote the person prudent and liberal, a lover of +learning, and of a good temper, if it spreads towards the fore and +middle finger and ends blunt, it denotes preferment. Let us now see what +is signified by the middle line. This line has in it oftentimes (for +there is scarce a hand in which it varies not) divers very significant +characters. Many small lines between this and the table line threaten +the party with sickness, and also gives him hopes of recovery. A half +cross branching into this line, declares the person shall have honour, +riches, and good success in all his undertakings. A half moon denotes +cold and watery distempers; but a sun or star upon this line, denotes +prosperity and riches; this line, double in a woman, shows she will have +several husbands, but no children. + +[Illustration] + +The line of Venus, if it happens to be cut or divided near the +forefinger, threatens ruin to the party, and that it shall befall him by +means of lascivious women and bad company. Two crosses upon the line, +one being on the forefinger and the other bending towards the little +finger, show the party to be weak, and inclined to modesty and virtue, +indeed it generally denotes modesty in women; and therefore those who +desire such, usually choose them by this standard. + +The liver line, if it be straight and crossed by other lines, shows the +person to be of a sound judgment, and a piercing understanding, but if +it be winding, crooked and bending outward, it draws deceit and +flattery, and the party is not to be trusted. If it makes a triangle or +quadrangle, it shows the person to be of a noble descent, and ambitious +of honour and promotion. If it happens that this line and the middle +line begin near each other, it denotes a person to be weak in his +judgment, if a man; but if a woman, in danger by hard labour. + +The plain of Mars being in the hollow of the hand, most of the lines +pass through it, which renders it very significant. This plain being +crooked and distorted, threatens the party to fall by his enemies. When +the lines beginning at the wrist are long within the plain, reaching to +the brawn of the hand, that shows the person to be much given to +quarrelling, often in broils and of a hot and fiery spirit, by which he +suffers much damage. If deep and long crosses be in the middle of the +plain, it shows the party shall obtain honour by martial exploits; but +if it be a woman, she shall have several husbands and easy labour with +her children. + +The line of Death is fatal, when crosses or broken lines appear in it; +for they threaten the person with sickness and a short life. A clouded +moon appearing therein, threatens a child-bed woman with death. A bloody +spot in the line, denotes a violent death. A star like a comet, +threatens ruin by war, and death by pestilence. But if a bright sun +appears therein, it promises long life and prosperity. + +As for the lines of the wrist being fair, they denote good fortune; but +if crossed and broken, the contrary. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER V + + _Judgments according to Physiognomy, drawn from the several parts + of the Body, from the Hands to the Feet._ + + +A large and full breast, shows a man valiant and courageous, but withal +proud and hard to deal with, quickly angry, and very apprehensive of an +injury; he whose breast is narrow, and which riseth a little in the +middle of it, is, by the best rule of physiognomy, of a clear spirit, of +a great understanding, good in counsel, very faithful, clean both in +mind and body, yet as an enemy to this, he is soon angry, and inclined +long to keep it. He whose breast is somewhat hairy, is very luxurious, +and serviceable to another. He who hath no hair upon his breast, is a +man weak by nature, of a slender capacity and very timorous, but of a +laudable life and conversation, inclined to peace, and much retired to +himself. + +The back of the chin bone, if the flesh be anything hairy and lean, and +higher than any other part that is behind, signifies a man shameless, +beastly and withal malicious. He whose back is large, big and fat, is +thereby denoted to be a strong and stout man, but of a heavy +disposition, vain, slow and full of deceit. + +He or she whose belly is soft over all the body, is weak, lustful, and +fearful upon little or no occasion, of a good understanding, and an +excellent invention, but little eaters, faithful, but of various +fortune, and meet with more adversity than prosperity. He whose flesh is +rough and hard, is a man of strong constitution and very bold, but vain, +proud and of a cruel temper. A person whose skin is smooth, fat and +white, is a person, curious, vain-glorious, timorous, shame-faced, +malicious, false, and too wise to believe all he hears. + +A thigh, full of strong, bristly hair, and the hair inclined to curl, +signifies one lustful, licentious, and fit for copulation. Thighs with +but little hair, and those soft and slender, show the person to be +reasonably chaste, and one that has no great desire to coition, and who +will have but few children. + +The legs of both men and women have a fleshy substance behind, which are +called calves, which nature hath given them (as in our book of living +creatures we have observed), in lieu of those long tails which other +creatures have pendant behind. Now a great calf, and he whose legs are +of great bone, and hair withal, denotes the person to be strong, bold, +secure, dull in understanding and slow in business, inclined to +procreation, and for the most part fortunate in his undertakings. +Little legs, and but little hair on them, show the person to be weak, +fearful, of a quick understanding, and neither luxurious at bed nor +board. He whose legs do much abound with hair, shows he has great store +in another place, and that he is lustful and luxurious, strong, but +unstable in his resolution, and abounding with ill humours. + +The feet of either men or women, if broad and thick with flesh, and long +in figure, especially if the skin feels hard, they are by nature of a +strong constitution, and gross nutriment, but of weak intellect, which +renders the understanding vain. But feet that are thin and lean, and of +a soft skin, show the person to be but weak of body, but of a strong +understanding and an excellent wit. + +The soles of the feet do administer plain and evident signs, whereby the +disposition and constitution of men and women may be known, as do the +palms of their hands, as being full of lines, by which lines all the +fortunes and misfortunes of men and women may be known, and their +manners and inclinations made plainly to appear. But this in general we +may take notice, as that many long lines and strokes do presage great +affliction, and a very troublesome life, attended with much grief and +toil, care, poverty, and misery; but short lines, if they are thick and +full of cross lines, are yet worse in every degree. Those, the skin of +whose soles is very thick and gross, are, for the most part, able, +strong and venturous. Whereas, on the contrary, those the skin of whose +soles of their feet is thin, are generally weak and timorous. + +I shall now, before I conclude (having given an account of what +judgments may be made by observing the several parts of the body, from +the crown of the head to the soles of the feet), give an account of what +judgments may be drawn by the rule of physiognomy from things extraneous +which are found upon many, and which indeed to them are parts of the +body, but are so far from being necessary parts that they are the +deformity and burden of it, and speak of the habits of the body, as they +distinguish persons. + + + +_Of Crooked and Deformed Persons._ + +A crooked breast and shoulder, or the exuberance of flesh in the body +either of man or woman, signifies the person to be extremely +parsimonious and ingenious, and of a great understanding, but very +covetous and scraping after the things of the world, attended also with +a very bad memory, being also very deceitful and malicious; they are +seldom in a medium, but either virtuous or extremely vicious. But if +the person deformed hath an excrescence on his breast instead of on the +back, he is for the most part of a double heart, and very mischievous. + + + +_Of the divers Manners of going, and particular Posture both of Men and +Women._ + +He or she that goes slowly, making great steps as they go, are generally +persons of bad memory, and dull of apprehension, given to loitering, and +not apt to believe what is told them. He who goes apace, and makes short +steps, is most successful in all his undertakings, swift in his +imagination, and humble in the disposition of his affairs. He who makes +wide and uneven steps, and sidelong withal, is one of a greedy, sordid +nature, subtle, malicious, and willing to do evil. + + + +_Of the Gait or Motion in Men and Women._ + +Every man hath a certain gait or motion, and so in like manner hath +every woman; for a man to be shaking his head, or using any light motion +with his hands or feet, whether he stands or sits, or speaks, is always +accompanied with an extravagant motion, unnecessary, superfluous and +unhandsome. Such a man, by the rule of physiognomy is vain, unwise, +unchaste, a detractor, unstable and unfaithful. He or she whose motion +is not much when discoursing with any one, is for the most part wise and +well bred, and fit for any employment, ingenious and apprehensive, +frugal, faithful and industrious in business. He whose posture is +forwards and backwards, or, as it were, whisking up and down, mimical, +is thereby denoted to be a vain, silly person, of a heavy and dull wit, +and very malicious. He whose motion is lame and limping, or otherwise +imperfect, or that counterfeits an imperfection is denoted to be +envious, malicious, false and detracting. + + + +_Judgment drawn from the Stature of Man._ + +Physiognomy draws several judgments also from the stature of man, which +take as followeth; if a man be upright and straight, inclined rather to +leanness than fat, it shows him to be bold, cruel, proud, clamorous, +hard to please, and harder to be reconciled when displeased, very +frugal, deceitful, and in many things malicious. To be of tall stature +and corpulent with it, denotes him to be not only handsome but valiant +also, but of no extraordinary understanding, and which is worst of all, +ungrateful and trepanning. He who is extremely tall and very lean and +thin is a projecting man, that designs no good to himself, and suspects +every one to be as bad as himself, importunate to obtain what he +desires, and extremely wedded to his own humour. He who is thick and +short, is vain, envious, suspicious, and very shallow of apprehension, +easy of belief, but very long before he will forget an injury. He who is +lean and short but upright withal, is, by the rules of physiognomy, wise +and ingenious, bold and confident, and of a good understanding, but of a +deceitful heart. He who stoops as he goes, not so much by age as custom, +is very laborious, a retainer of secrets, but very incredulous and not +easy to believe every vain report he hears. He that goes with his belly +stretching forth, is sociable, merry, and easy to be persuaded. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + _Of the Power of the Celestial Bodies over Men and Women._ + + +Having spoken thus largely of Physiognomy, and the judgment given +thereby concerning the dispositions and inclinations of men and women, +it will be convenient here to show how all these things come to pass; +and how it is that the secret inclinations and future fate of men and +women may be known from the consideration of the several parts of the +bodies. They arise from the power and dominion of superior powers to +understand the twelve signs of the Zodiac, whose signs, characters and +significations are as follows:-- + +[Illustration] + +_Aries_, the Ram, which governs the head and face. + +_Taurus_, the Bull, which governs the neck. + +_Gemini_, the Twins, which governs the hands and arms. + +_Cancer_, the Crab, governs the breast and stomach. + +_Leo_, the Lion, governs the back and heart + +_Virgo_, the Virgin, governs the belly and bowels. + +_Libra_, the Balance, governs the veins and loins. + +_Scorpio_, the Scorpion, governs the secret parts. + +_Sagittary_, the Centaur, governs the thighs. + +_Capricorn_, the Goat, governs the knees. + +_Aquarius_, the Water-Bearer, governs the legs and ankles. + +_Pisces_, the Fish, governs the feet. + +It is here furthermore necessary to let the reader know, that the +ancients have divided the celestial sphere into twelve parts, according +to the number of these signs, which are termed houses; as in the first +house, Aries, in the second Taurus, in the third Gemini, etc. And +besides their assigning the twelve signs of the twelve houses, they +allot to each house its proper business. + +To the first house they give the signification of life. + +The second house has the signification of wealth, substances, or riches. + +The third is the mansion of brethren. + +The fourth, the house of parentage. + +The fifth is the house of children. + +The sixth is the house of sickness or disease. + +The seventh is the house of wedlock, and also of enemies, because +oftentimes a wife or husband proves the worst enemy. + +The eighth is the house of death. + +The ninth is the house of religion. + +The tenth is the signification of honours. + +The eleventh of friendship. + +The twelfth is the house of affliction and woe. + +Now, astrologically speaking, a house is a certain place in the heaven +or firmament, divided by certain degrees, through which the planets have +their motion, and in which they have their residence and are situated. +And these houses are divided by thirty degrees, for every sign has so +many degrees. And these signs or houses are called the houses of such +and such planets as make their residence therein, and are such as +delight in them, and as they are deposited in such and such houses are +said to be either dignified or debilitated. For though the planets in +their several revolutions go through all the houses, yet there are some +houses which they are more properly said to delight in. As for instance, +Aries and Scorpio are the houses of Mars; Taurus and Libra of Venus; +Gemini and Virgo of Mercury; Sagittarius and Pisces are the houses of +Jupiter; Capricorn and Aquarius are the houses of Saturn; Leo is the +house of the Sun; and Cancer is the house of the Moon. + +Now to sum up the whole, and show how this concerns Physiognomy, is +this:--as the body of man, as we have shown, is not only governed by the +signs and planets, but every part is appropriated to one or another of +them, so according to the particular influence of each sign and planet, +so governing is the disposition, inclination, and nature of the person +governed. For such and such tokens and marks do show a person to be born +under such and such a planet; so according to the nature, power and +influences of the planets, is the judgment to be made of that person. By +which the reader may see that the judgments drawn from physiognomy are +grounded upon a certain verity. + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Works of Aristotle the Famous +Philosopher, by Anonymous + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORKS OF ARISTOTLE *** + +***** This file should be named 12699.txt or 12699.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/6/9/12699/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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