388

THE COMPLETE HERBAL

even now) then hardening medicines must! being useful, that it is obnoxious to theneeds be cold and dry, because they are | body of man. I pass it without morecontrary to them. 5 words. I suppose when Galen wrote of

The universal course of nature will prove j hardening medicines, he intended such asit, for dryness and moisture are passive j make thick, and therefore amongst them hequalities, neither can extremeties consist in j reckons up Eleawort, Purslain, Houseleek,moisture as you may know, if you do but i and the like, which assuage the heat of theconsider that dryness is not attributed to j humours in swellings, and stops subtil andthe air, nor water, but to the fire, and earth. 1 sharp defluxions upon the lungs; but of

2. The thing to be congealed must needs ] these more anon,be moist, therefore the medicine congealing \

must of necessity be dry, for if cold be I . .—

joined with dryness, it contracts the pores, j CHAPTER III

that so the humours cannot be scattered. 1

Yet you must observe a difference be- j Of Loosening Medicines.

tween medicines drying, making thick, 1 By loosening Jiere, I do not mean purg-hardening, and congealing, of which dif-jing, nor that which is opposite to astrin-ferences, a few tvords will not do amiss. jgency; but that which is opposite to> 1. Such medicines are said to dry, which \ stretching: I knew not suddenly what fitter

draw out, or drink up the moisture, as a I English name to give it, than loosening orspunge drinks up water. j taxation, which tatter is scarce English .

2. Such medicines are said to make thick, j The members are distended or stretched

as do not consume the moisture, but add ; divers ways, and ought to be loosened by asdryness to it, as you make syrups into \ many, for they are stretched sometimes bya thick electuary by adding powders to j dryness, sometimes by cold, sometimes bythem. | repletion or fullness, sometimes by swell-

3. Such as congeal, neither draw out the| ings, and sometimes by some of these joined

moisture, nor make it thick by adding dry- j together. I avoid terms of art as much asness to it, but contract it by vehement cold, 11 can, because it would profit my countryas water is frozen into ice. \ but little, to give them the rules of physic

4. Hardness differs from all these, for the j in such English as they understand not.

parts of the body swell, and are filled with j I confess the opinion of ancient physi-flegmatic humours, or melancholy blood, j cians hath been various about these loosen-which at last grows hard. jing medicines. Galens opinion was, that

That you may clearly understand this, Itheymight be referred either to moistening, orobserve but these two things. j heating, or mollifying, or evacuating medi-

1. What it is which worketh. J cines, and therefore ought not to be referred

2. What it worketh upon. j to a chapter by themselves.

That which worketh is outwardly cold. | It is likely they may, and so may all otherThat which is wrought upon, is a certain \ medicines be referred to heat, or coldness,thickness and dryness, of humours, for ifjor dryness, or moisture: but we speak notthe humour were fluid as water is, it might \ here of the particular properties of medi-properly be said to be congealed by cold, j cines, but of their joined properties, as theybut not. so properly hardened. Thus you; heat and moisten.

see cold and dryness to be the cause of| Others, they question how they can be dis-burdening. This hardening being so far from \ tinguished from such as mollify, seeing such