DiaSCTIOHS fOB MAKIV« STBUPf, Sm, 406 



h*ve clarified it, boU it over the fire, till being oold it be of 

 the thickness of honey. This is most commonly used for 

 disea^«s of the month, and is called roba and saba. 

 And thus much for the first section, the second foUowi, 



SECTION n. 



THB WAY OF MAKINO AND KEBPINO ALL NSCX88ABT 

 COMPOUNDS. 



CHAPTER L 



Of Distilled Waten. 



HiTHKBTO we have spoken of medicines which consist in 

 theirown nature, which authors vulgarly call Simples, though 

 something improperly ; for in truth, nothing is simple but 

 pure elements ; all things else are compounded of them. We 

 come now to treat of the artificial medicines, in the form of 

 which, because we must begin somewhere, we shall place 

 distilled waters ; in which consider, 



1. Waters are distilled of herbs, of flowers, of fruits, and 

 of roots, 



2. We speak not of strong waters, but of oold, as being to 

 act Galen^ part, and not Paracelsus's. 



S. The herbs ought to be distilled when they are in the 

 greatest yigour, and so ou^ht the flowers also. 



4. The Tulgar way of distillations which people nse be- 

 cause they know no better, is in a pewter still ; and although 

 distilled waters are the weakest ot artificial medicines, and 

 good for little but mixtures of other medicines, yet they are 

 weaker by many degrees than they would be were thev dis- 

 tilled in sand. If 1 thought it not impossible to teach you 

 the way of distilling in sand, I would attempt it. 



5. When you have distilled your water, put it into a glass 

 covered over with a paper pricked full or holes, so that the 

 excrementitious and fiery vapours may exhale, which cause 

 that settling in distilled waters called the mother, which 

 corrupt them, then cover it close and keep it for your use. 



fl. Stopping distilled waters with a cork makes them 

 musty, and so does paper if it but touch the water ; it is best 

 to stop them with a bladder, being first put in water, and 

 bound over the top of the glass. 



Such cold waters as are distilled in a pewter stiU (if well 

 kept) will endure a year; such as are aietilled in sand, at 

 they are twice as strong, so they endure twice as lung. 



