SUBSECT. I.—Purging Simples upward.

Melanagoga, or melancholy purging medicines, are either simple or compound, and that gently, or violently, purging upward or downward. These following purge upward. [4185]Asarum, or Asrabecca, which, as Mesue saith, is hot in the second degree, and dry in the third, it is commonly taken in wine, whey, or as with us, the juice of two or three leaves or more sometimes, pounded in posset drink qualified with a little liquorice, or aniseed, to avoid the fulsomeness of the taste, or as Diaserum Fernelii. Brassivola in Catart. reckons it up amongst those simples that only purge melancholy, and Ruellius confirms as much out of his experience, that it purgeth [4186]black choler, like hellebore itself. Galen, lib. G. simplic. and [4187]Matthiolus ascribe other virtues to it, and will have it purge other humours as well as this.

Laurel, by Heurnius's method, ad prax. lib. 2. cap. 24. is put amongst the strong purgers of melancholy; it is hot and dry in the fourth degree. Dioscorides, lib. 11. cap. 114. adds other effects to it. [4188]Pliny sets down fifteen berries in drink for a sufficient potion: it is commonly corrected with his opposites, cold and moist, as juice of endive, purslane, and is taken in a potion to seven grains and a half. But this and asrabecca, every gentlewoman in the country knows how to give, they are two common vomits.

Scilla, or sea-onion, is hot and dry in the third degree. Brassivola in Catart. out of Mesue, others, and his own experience, will have this simple to purge [4189]melancholy alone. It is an ordinary vomit, vinum scilliticum mixed with rubel in a little white wine.

White hellebore, which some call sneezing-powder, a strong purger upward, which many reject, as being too violent: Mesue and Averroes will not admit of it, [4190]by reason of danger of suffocation, [4191]great pain and trouble it puts the poor patient to, saith Dodonaeus. Yet Galen, lib. 6. simpl. med. and Dioscorides, cap. 145. allow of it. It was indeed [4192] terrible in former times, as Pliny notes, but now familiar, insomuch that many took it in those days, [4193]that were students, to quicken their wits, which Persius Sat. 1. objects to Accius the poet, Illas Acci ebria veratro. [4194]It helps melancholy, the falling sickness, madness, gout, &c., but not to be taken of old men, youths, such as are weaklings, nice, or effeminate, troubled with headache, high-coloured, or fear strangling, saith Dioscorides. [4195]Oribasius, an old physician, hath written very copiously, and approves of it, in such affections which can otherwise hardly be cured. Hernius, lib. 2. prax. med. de vomitoriis, will not have it used [4196]but with great caution, by reason of its strength, and then when antimony will do no good, which caused Hermophilus to compare it to a stout captain (as Codroneus observes cap. 7. comment. de Helleb.) that will see all his soldiers go before him and come post principia, like the bragging soldier, last himself; [4197]when other helps fail in inveterate melancholy, in a desperate case, this vomit is to be taken. And yet for all this, if it be well prepared, it may be [4198] securely given at first. [4199]Matthiolus brags, that he hath often, to the good of many, made use of it, and Heurnius, [4200]that he hath happily used it, prepared after his own prescript, and with good success. Christophorus a Vega, lib. 3. c. 41, is of the same opinion, that it may be lawfully given; and our country gentlewomen find it by their common practice, that there is no such great danger in it. Dr. Turner, speaking of this plant in his Herbal, telleth us, that in his time it was an ordinary receipt among good wives, to give hellebore in powder to ii'd weight, and he is not much against it. But they do commonly exceed, for who so bold as blind Bayard, and prescribe it by pennyworths, and such irrational ways, as I have heard myself market folks ask for it in an apothecary's shop: but with what success God knows; they smart often for their rash boldness and folly, break a vein, make their eyes ready to start out of their heads, or kill themselves. So that the fault is not in the physic, but in the rude and indiscreet handling of it. He that will know, therefore, when to use, how to prepare it aright, and in what dose, let him read Heurnius lib. 2. prax. med. Brassivola de Catart. Godefridus Stegius the emperor Rudolphus' physician, cap. 16. Matthiolus in Dioscor. and that excellent commentary of Baptista Codroncus, which is instar omnium de Helleb. alb. where we shall find great diversity of examples and receipts.

Antimony or stibium, which our chemists so much magnify, is either taken in substance or infusion, &c., and frequently prescribed in this disease. It helps all infirmities, saith [4201]Matthiolus, which proceed from black choler, falling sickness, and hypochondriacal passions; and for farther proof of his assertion, he gives several instances of such as have been freed with it: [4202]one of Andrew Gallus, a physician of Trent, that after many other essays, imputes the recovery of his health, next after God, to this remedy alone. Another of George Handshius, that in like sort, when other medicines failed, [4203]was by this restored to his former health, and which of his knowledge others have likewise tried, and by the help of this admirable medicine, been recovered. A third of a parish priest at Prague in Bohemia, [4204]that was so far gone with melancholy, that he doted, and spake he knew not what; but after he had taken twelve grains of stibium, (as I myself saw, and can witness, for I was called to see this miraculous accident) he was purged of a deal of black choler, like little gobbets of flesh, and all his excrements were as black blood (a medicine fitter for a horse than a man), yet it did him so much good, that the next day he was perfectly cured. This very story of the Bohemian priest, Sckenkius relates verbatim, Exoter. experiment. ad. var. morb. cent. 6. observ. 6. with great approbation of it. Hercules de Saxonia calls it a profitable medicine, if it be taken after meat to six or eight grains, of such as are apt to vomit. Rodericus a Fonseca the Spaniard, and late professor of Padua in Italy, extols it to this disease, Tom. 2. consul. 85. so doth Lod. Mercatus de inter. morb. cur. lib. 1. cap. 17. with many others. Jacobus Gervinus a French physician, on the other side, lib. 2. de venemis confut. explodes all this, and saith he took three grains only upon Matthiolus and some others' commendation, but it almost killed him, whereupon he concludes, [4205]antimony is rather poison than a medicine. Th. Erastus concurs with him in his opinion, and so doth Aelian Montaltus cap. 30 de melan. But what do I talk? 'tis the subject of whole books; I might cite a century of authors pro and con. I will conclude with [4206]Zuinger, antimony is like Scanderbeg's sword, which is either good or bad, strong or weak, as the party is that prescribes, or useth it: a worthy medicine if it be rightly applied to a strong man, otherwise poison. For the preparing of it, look in Evonimi thesaurus, Quercetan, Oswaldus Crollius, Basil. Chim. Basil. Valentius, &c.

Tobacco, divine, rare, superexcellent tobacco, which goes far beyond all the panaceas, potable gold, and philosopher's stones, a sovereign remedy to all diseases. A good vomit, I confess, a virtuous herb, if it be well qualified, opportunely taken, and medicinally used; but as it is commonly abused by most men, which take it as tinkers do ale, 'tis a plague, a mischief, a violent purger of goods, lands, health, hellish, devilish and damned tobacco, the ruin and overthrow of body and soul.

SUBSECT. II.—Simples purging Melancholy downward.

Polypody and epithyme are, without all exceptions, gentle purgers of melancholy. Dioscorides will have them void phlegm; but Brassivola out of his experience averreth, that they purge this humour; they are used in decoction, infusion, &c. simple, mixed, &c.

Mirabolanes, all five kinds, are happily [4207]prescribed against melancholy and quartan agues; Brassivola speaks out [4208]of a thousand experiences, he gave them in pills, decoctions, &c., look for peculiar receipts in him.

Stoechas, fumitory, dodder, herb mercury, roots of capers, genista or broom, pennyroyal and half-boiled cabbage, I find in this catalogue of purgers of black choler, origan, featherfew, ammoniac [4209]salt, saltpetre. But these are very gentle; alyppus, dragon root, centaury, ditany, colutea, which Fuchsius cap. 168 and others take for senna, but most distinguish. Senna is in the middle of violent and gentle purgers downward, hot in the second degree, dry in the first. Brassivola calls it [4210]a wonderful herb against melancholy, it scours the blood, lightens the spirits, shakes off sorrow, a most profitable medicine, as [4211] Dodonaeus terms it, invented by the Arabians, and not heard of before. It is taken diverse ways, in powder, infusion, but most commonly in the infusion, with ginger, or some cordial flowers added to correct it. Actuarius commends it sodden in broth, with an old cock, or in whey, which is the common conveyor of all such things as purge black choler; or steeped in wine, which Heurnius accounts sufficient, without any farther correction.

Aloes by most is said to purge choler, but Aurelianus lib. 2. c. 6. de morb. chron. Arculanus cap. 6. in 9. Rhasis Julius Alexandrinus, consil. 185. Scoltz. Crato consil 189. Scoltz. prescribe it to this disease; as good for the stomach and to open the haemorrhoids, out of Mesue, Rhasis, Serapio, Avicenna: Menardus ep. lib. 1. epist. 1. opposeth it, aloes [4212]doth not open the veins, or move the haemorrhoids, which Leonhartus Fuchsius paradox. lib. 1. likewise affirms; but Brassivola and Dodonaeus defend Mesue out of their experience; let [4213]Valesius end the controversy.

Lapis armenus and lazuli are much magnified by [4214]Alexander lib. 1. cap. 16. Avicenna, Aetius, and Actuarius, if they be well washed, that the water be no more coloured, fifty times some say. [4215]That good Alexander (saith Guianerus) puts such confidence in this one medicine, that he thought all melancholy passions might be cured by it; and I for my part have oftentimes happily used it, and was never deceived in the operation of it. The like may be said of lapis lazuli, though it be somewhat weaker than the other. Garcias ab Horto, hist. lib. 1. cap. 65. relates, that the [4216]physicians of the Moors familiarly prescribe it to all melancholy passions, and Matthiolus ep. lib. 3. [4217]brags of that happy success which he still had in the administration of it. Nicholas Meripsa puts it amongst the best remedies, sect. 1. cap. 12. in Antidotis; [4218]and if this will not serve (saith Rhasis) then there remains nothing but lapis armenus and hellebore itself. Valescus and Jason Pratensis much commend pulvis hali, which is made of it. James Damascen. 2. cap. 12. Hercules de Saxonia, &c., speaks well of it. Crato will not approve this; it and both hellebores, he saith, are no better than poison. Victor Trincavelius, lib. 2. cap. 14, found it in his experience, [4219]to be very noisome, to trouble the stomach, and hurt their bodies that take it overmuch.

Black hellebore, that most renowned plant, and famous purger of melancholy, which all antiquity so much used and admired, was first found out by Melanpodius a shepherd, as Pliny records, lib. 25. cap. 5. [4220]who, seeing it to purge his goats when they raved, practised it upon Elige and Calene, King Praetus' daughters, that ruled in Arcadia, near the fountain Clitorius, and restored them to their former health. In Hippocrates's time it was in only request, insomuch that he writ a book of it, a fragment of which remains yet. Theophrastus, [4221]Galen, Pliny, Caelius Aurelianus, as ancient as Galen, lib. 1, cap. 6. Aretus lib. 1. cap. 5. Oribasius lib. 7. collect. a famous Greek, Aetius ser. 3. cap. 112 & 113 p. Aegineta, Galen's Ape, lib. 7. cap. 4. Actuarius, Trallianus lib. 5. cap. 15. Cornelius Celsus only remaining of the old Latins, lib. 3. cap. 23, extol and admire this excellent plant; and it was generally so much esteemed of the ancients for this disease amongst the rest, that they sent all such as were crazed, or that doted, to the Anticyrae, or to Phocis in Achaia, to be purged, where this plant was in abundance to be had. In Strabo's time it was an ordinary voyage, Naviget Anticyras; a common proverb among the Greeks and Latins, to bid a dizzard or a mad man go take hellebore; as in Lucian, Menippus to Tantalus, Tantale desipis, helleboro epoto tibi opus est, eoque sane meraco, thou art out of thy little wit, O Tantalus, and must needs drink hellebore, and that without mixture. Aristophanes in Vespis, drink hellebore, &c. and Harpax in the [4222] Comoedian, told Simo and Ballio, two doting fellows, that they had need to be purged with this plant. When that proud Menacrates  ζες, had writ an arrogant letter to Philip of Macedon, he sent back no other answer but this, Consulo tibi ut ad Anticyram te conferas, noting thereby that he was crazed, atque ellebore indigere, had much need of a good purge. Lilius Geraldus saith, that Hercules, after all his mad pranks upon his wife and children, was perfectly cured by a purge of hellebore, which an Anticyrian administered unto him. They that were sound commonly took it to quicken their wits, (as Ennis of old, [4223]Qui non nisi potus ad arma—prosiluit dicenda, and as our poets drink sack to improve their inventions (I find it so registered by Agellius lib. 17. cap. 15.) Cameades the academic, when he was to write against Zeno the stoic, purged himself with hellebore first, which [4224]Petronius puts upon Chrysippus. In such esteem it continued for many ages, till at length Mesue and some other Arabians began to reject and reprehend it, upon whose authority for many following lustres, it was much debased and quite out of request, held to be poison and no medicine; and is still oppugned to this day by [4225] Crato and some junior physicians. Their reasons are, because Aristotle l. 1. de plant. c. 3. said, henbane and hellebore were poison; and Alexander Aphrodiseus, in the preface of his problems, gave out, that (speaking of hellebore) [4226]Quails fed on that which was poison to men. Galen. l. 6. Epid. com. 5. Text. 35. confirms as much: [4227]Constantine the emperor in his Geoponicks, attributes no other virtue to it, than to kill mice and rats, flies and mouldwarps, and so Mizaldus, Nicander of old, Gervinus, Sckenkius, and some other Neoterics that have written of poisons, speak of hellebore in a chief place. [4228]Nicholas Leonicus hath a story of Solon, that besieging, I know not what city, steeped hellebore in a spring of water, which by pipes was conveyed into the middle of the town, and so either poisoned, or else made them so feeble and weak by purging, that they were not able to bear arms. Notwithstanding all these cavils and objections, most of our late writers do much approve of it. [4229] Gariopontus lib. 1. cap. 13. Codronchus com. de helleb. Fallopius lib. de med. purg. simpl. cap. 69. et consil. 15. Trincavelii, Montanus 239. Frisemelica consil. 14. Hercules de Saxonia, so that it be opportunely given. Jacobus de Dondis, Agg. Amatus, Lucet. cent. 66. Godef. Stegius cap. 13. Hollerius, and all our herbalists subscribe. Fernelius meth. med. lib. 5. cap. 16. confesseth it to be a [4230] terrible purge and hard to take, yet well given to strong men, and such as have able bodies. P. Forestus and Capivaccius forbid it to be taken in substance, but allow it in decoction or infusion, both which ways P. Monavius approves above all others, Epist. 231. Scoltzii, Jacchinus in 9. Rhasis, commends a receipt of his own preparing; Penottus another of his chemically prepared, Evonimus another. Hildesheim spicel. 2. de mel. hath many examples how it should be used, with diversity of receipts. Heurnius lib. 7. prax. med. cap. 14. calls it an [4231]innocent medicine howsoever, if it be well prepared. The root of it is only in use, which may be kept many years, and by some given in substance, as by Fallopius and Brassivola amongst the rest, who [4232]brags that he was the first that restored it again to its use, and tells a story how he cured one Melatasta, a madman, that was thought to be possessed, in the Duke of Ferrara's court, with one purge of black hellebore in substance: the receipt is there to be seen; his excrements were like ink, [4233]he perfectly healed at once; Vidus Vidius, a Dutch physician, will not admit of it in substance, to whom most subscribe, but as before, in the decoction, infusion, or which is all in all, in the extract, which he prefers before the rest, and calls suave medicamentum, a sweet medicine, an easy, that may be securely given to women, children, and weaklings. Baracellus, horto geniali, terms it maximae praestantia medicamentum, a medicine of great worth and note. Quercetan in his Spagir Phar. and many others, tell wonders of the extract. Paracelsus, above all the rest, is the greatest admirer of this plant; and especially the extract, he calls it Theriacum, terrestre Balsamum, another treacle, a terrestrial balm, instar omnium, all in all, the [4234]sole and last refuge to cure this malady, the gout, epilepsy, leprosy, &c. If this will not help, no physic in the world can but mineral, it is the upshot of all. Matthiolus laughs at those that except against it, and though some abhor it out of the authority of Mesue, and dare not adventure to prescribe it, [4235]yet I (saith he) have happily used it six hundred times without offence, and communicated it to divers worthy physicians, who have given me great thanks for it. Look for receipts, dose, preparation, and other cautions concerning this simple, in him, Brassivola, Baracelsus, Codronchus, and the rest.

SUBSECT. III.—Compound Purgers.

Compound medicines which purge melancholy, are either taken in the superior or inferior parts: superior at mouth or nostrils. At the mouth swallowed or not swallowed: If swallowed liquid or solid: liquid, as compound wine of hellebore, scilla or sea-onion, senna, Vinum Scilliticum, Helleboratum, which [4236]Quercetan so much applauds for melancholy and madness, either inwardly taken, or outwardly applied to the head, with little pieces of linen dipped warm in it. Oxymel. Scilliticum, Syrupus Helleboratus major and minor in Quercetan, and Syrupus Genistae for hypochondriacal melancholy in the same author, compound syrup of succory, of fumitory, polypody, &c. Heurnius his purging cock-broth. Some except against these syrups, as appears by [4237]Udalrinus Leonoras his epistle to Matthiolus, as most pernicious, and that out of Hippocrates, cocta movere, et medicari, non cruda, no raw things to be used in physic; but this in the following epistle is exploded and soundly confuted by Matthiolus: many juleps, potions, receipts, are composed of these, as you shall find in Hildesheim spicel. 2. Heurnius lib. 2. cap. 14. George Sckenkius Ital. med. prax. &c.

Solid purges are confections, electuaries, pills by themselves, or compound with others, as de lapide lazulo, armeno, pil. indae, of fumitory, &c. Confection of Hamech, which though most approve, Solenander sec. 5. consil. 22. bitterly inveighs against, so doth Rondoletius Pharmacop. officina, Fernelius and others; diasena, diapolypodium, diacassia, diacatholicon, Wecker's electuary de Epithymo, Ptolemy's hierologadium, of which divers receipts are daily made.

Aetius 22. 23. commends Hieram Ruffi. Trincavelius consil. 12. lib. 4. approves of hiera; non, inquit, invenio melius medicamentum, I find no better medicine, he saith. Heurnius adds pil. aggregat. pills de Epithymo. pil. Ind. Mesue describes in the Florentine Antidotary, Pilulae sine quibus esse nolo, Pilulae, Cochics, cum Helleboro, Pil. Arabicae, Faetida, de quinque generibus mirabolanorum, &c. More proper to melancholy, not excluding in the meantime, turbith, manna, rhubarb, agaric, elescophe, &c. which are not so proper to this humour. For, as Montaltus holds cap. 30. and Montanus cholera etiam purganda, quod atrae, sit pabulum, choler is to be purged because it feeds the other: and some are of an opinion, as Erasistratus and Asclepiades maintained of old, against whom Galen disputes, [4238]that no physic doth purge one humour alone, but all alike or what is next. Most therefore in their receipts and magistrals which are coined here, make a mixture of several simples and compounds to purge all humours in general as well as this. Some rather use potions than pills to purge this humour, because that as Heurnius and Crato observe, hic succus a sicco remedio agre trahitur, this juice is not so easily drawn by dry remedies, and as Montanus adviseth 25 cons. All [4239]drying medicines are to be repelled, as aloe, hiera, and all pills whatsoever, because the disease is dry of itself.

I might here insert many receipts of prescribed potions, boles, &c. The doses of these, but that they are common in every good physician, and that I am loath to incur the censure of Forestus, lib. 3. cap. 6. de urinis, [4240]against those that divulge and publish medicines in their mother-tongue, and lest I should give occasion thereby to some ignorant reader to practise on himself, without the consent of a good physician.

Such as are not swallowed, but only kept in the mouth, are gargarisms used commonly after a purge, when the body is soluble and loose. Or apophlegmatisms, masticatories, to be held and chewed in the mouth, which are gentle, as hyssop, origan, pennyroyal, thyme, mustard; strong, as pellitory, pepper, ginger, &c.

Such as are taken into the nostrils, errhina are liquid or dry, juice of pimpernel, onions, &c., castor, pepper, white hellebore, &c. To these you may add odoraments, perfumes, and suffumigations, &c.

Taken into the inferior parts are clysters strong or weak, suppositories of Castilian soap, honey boiled to a consistence; or stronger of scammony, hellebore, &c.

These are all used, and prescribed to this malady upon several occasions, as shall be shown in its place.