388 THE COMPLETE HERBAL 



even 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 



ontrary to them. ^ words. I suppose when Galen wrote of 



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

 it, for dryness and moisture are passive? make thick, and therefore amongst them he 

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

 moisture as you may know, if you do but} 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. \ sharp defluxions upon the lungs; but of 



2. The thing to be congealed must needs 'these more anon, 

 be moist, therefore the medicine congealing j 

 must of necessity be dry, for if cold be j 



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



that so the humours cannot be scattered. 



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



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

 hardening, and congealing, of which clif- j ing, 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! English name to give it, than loosening or 

 spunge drinks up water. j laxati jn, which latter 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 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 

 as water is frozen into ice. ! but little, to give them the rules of physic 



4. Hardness differs from all these, for the 

 parts of the body swell, and are filled with 

 tiegmatic humours, or melancholy blood, 



in such English as they understand not. 



I confess the opinion of ancient physi- 

 cians hath been various about these loosen- 



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



That you may clearly understand this, '.they might be refer red either to moistening,br 

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



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



2. What it worketh upon. | 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 j medicines be referred to heat, or coldness, 

 thickness and dryness, of humours, for if- or dryness, or moisture: but we speak not 

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

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

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



see cold and dryness to be the cause of{ Others, they question how they :an be dis- 

 bardening. This hardening being so far from j tinguishcd from such as mollify, seeing such 



