INSTRUMENTS OF KNOWLEDGE 269 



of other juice, of fruits, of grains, and of roots, and of 

 mixtures with honey, sugar, manna, and fruits dried 

 and decocted ; also of the tears or woundings of trees, 

 and of the pulp of canes. And these drinks are of 

 several ages, some to the age or last of forty years. We 

 have drinks also brewed with several herbs, and roots 

 and spices ; yea, with several fleshes and white-meats ; 

 whereof some of the drinks are such as they are in effect 

 meat and drink both, so that divers, especially in age, 

 do desire to live with them with little or no meat or 

 bread. And above all we strive to have drinks of ex 

 treme thin parts, to insinuate into the body, and yet 

 without all biting, sharpness, or fretting ; insomuch 

 as some of them, put upon the back of your hand, will 

 with a little stay pass through to the palm, and taste 

 yet mild to the mouth. We have also waters, which 

 we ripen in that fashion, as they become nourishing, 

 so that they are indeed excellent drinks, and many will 

 use no other. Bread we have of several grains, roots, 

 and kernels ; yea, and some of flesh, and fish, dried ; 

 with divers kinds of leavenings and seasonings ; so that 

 some do extremely move appetites, some do nourish 

 so, as divers do live of them, without any other meat, 

 who live very long. So for meats, we have some of 

 them so beaten, and made tender, and mortified, yet 

 without all corrupting, as a weak heat of the stomach 

 will turn them into good chilus, as well as a strong heat 

 would meat otherwise prepared. We have some meats 

 also, and breads, and drinks, which taken by men, 

 enable them to fast long after ; and some other, that 

 used make the very flesh of men s bodies sensibly more 

 hard and tough, and their strength far greater than 

 otherwise it would be. 



We have dispensatories or shops of medicines ; 

 wherein you may easily think, if we have such variety 

 of plants, and living creatures, more than you have in 

 Europe (for we know what you have), the simples, drugs 

 and ingredients of medicines, must likewise be in so 

 much the greater variety. We have them likewise of 

 divers ages, and long fermentations. And for their 



