CHAP. XL] THE FOURTH DAT. 227 



This fish hath very large fins, very small and smooth 

 scales, a red circle about his eyes, which are big and of a 

 gold colour, and from either angle of his mouth there hangs 

 down a little barb. In every tench's head there are two 

 little stones, which foreign physicians make great use of; 

 but he is not commended for wholesome meat, though there 

 be very much use made of them, for outward applications. 

 Bondeletius says, that at his being at Borne, he saw a great 

 cure done by applying a tench to the feet of a very sick 

 man. This, he says, was done after an unusual manner by 

 certain Jews. And it is observed, that many of those 

 people have many secrets, yet unknown to Christians; 

 secrets that have never yet been written, but have been 

 since the days of their Solomon, who knew the nature of all 

 things, even from the cedar to the shrub, delivered by tra- 

 dition from the father to the son, and so from generation to 

 generation without writing ; or, unless it were casually, 

 without the least communicating them to any other nation 

 or tribe : for to do that, they account a profanation. And 

 yet it is thought that they, or some spirit worse than they, 

 first told us, that lice swallowed alive were a certain cure 

 for the yellow-jaundice. This, and many other medicines, 

 were discovered by them, or by revelation ; for, doubtless, 

 we attained them not by study. 



Well, this fish, besides his eating, is very useful, both 

 dead and alive, for the good of mankind. But I will meddle 

 110 more with that ; my honest humble art teaches no such 

 boldness : there are too many foolish meddlers in physic 

 and divinity, that think themselves fit to meddle with hidden 

 secrets, and so bring destruction to their followers. But 

 I'll not meddle with them, any further than to wish them 

 wiser ; and shall tell you next, for, I hope, I may be so bold, 

 that the tench is the physician of fishes; for the pike 

 especially, and that the pike, being either sick or hurt, is 

 cured by the touch of the tench. 1 And it is observed, that 

 the tyrant pike will not be a wolf to his physician, but 

 forbears to devour him though he be never so hungry. 



1 Camden (in his " Britannica ") confirms this: I have seen, he says, 

 the bellies of pikes opened to show their fatness, have their gaping wounds 

 presently closed by the touch of the tench, and by their glutinous slime 

 perfectly healed up. BROWNE. 



Q2 



