388 THE COMPLETE HERBAL 



oven now) then hardening medicines must! being useful ^ that it is obnoxious to the 

 needs be cold and dry, because they are j body of man. I pass it without more 

 contrary to them. \ words. I suppose when Galen wrote of 



The universal course of nature will prove j hardening medicines, he intended such as 

 il, for dryness and moisture are passive \ make thick, and therefore amongst them he 

 qualities, neither can extremeties consist in j reckons up Fleawort, Purslain, Houseleek, 

 moisture as you may know, if you do but j and the like, which assuage the heat of the 

 consider that dryness is not attributed to > humours in swellings, and stops subtil and 

 the 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 i 

 must of necessity be dry, for if cold be* 



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



that so the humours cannot be scattered. 



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



tween medicines drying, making thick, ; By loosening here, I do not mean purg- 

 harderiing, and congealing, of which clif-jing, nor that which is opposite to astrin- 

 ferences, a few words will not do amiss. \ gency ; but that which is opposite to 



1. Such medicines are said to dry, which i stretching : I knew not suddenly what fitter 

 draw out, or drink up the moisture, as a I English name to give it, than loosening or 

 spunge drinks up water. j taxation, which latter is scarce English. 



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

 as do not consume the moisture, but add j divers ways, and ought to be loosened by as 

 dryness to it, as you make syrups into \ many, for they are stretched sometimes by 

 a thick electuary by adding powders to | dryness, sometimes by cold, sometimes by 

 them. I 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 as 

 ness to it, but contract it by vehement cold,; I can, because it would profit my country 

 us 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 I I confess the opinion of ancient physi- 

 flegmatic humours, or melancholy blood, i cians hath been various about these loosen- 

 which at last grows hard. j ing medicines. Galen's opinion was, that 



That you may clearly understand this, i they might be referred either to moistening, or 

 observe but these two things. j heating, or mollifying, or evacuating medi- 



1. What it is which worketh. j cities, and therefore ought not to be referred 



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



That which worketh is outwardly cold. It is likely they may, and so may all other 

 That which is wrought upon, is a certain 1 medicines be referred to heat, or coldness, 

 thickness and dryness, of humours, for if | or dryness, or moisture : but we speak tiot 

 the humour were fluid as water is, it might j here of the particular properties of medi- 

 properly be said to be congealed by cold, : cines, but of their joined properties, as they 

 but not so properly hardened. Thus you j heat and moisten. 



see cold and dryness to be the cause ofj Others, they question how they can be dis- 

 hardening. This hardening being so far from | (Anguished from such as mollify, seeing such 



