of Plinies Naturall Hittorie. 167 
A ofmad dogs, if they be applied to the skin where itis broken. The fame brought toa liniment 
with honey,healeth the wens orimpoftumationswhich be called Ceria, yeelding foorth an hu- 
mor like to honey out of the combe.And ifthey be tempered with the leaves of the wild Poppie, 
they draw forth broken fpils of fhivered bones.Figg tree leaves ftamped with vinegre.do reftiain 
the venome,occafioned by the biting of mad dogs. The white tendrils or fprigs of the black Fig- 
tree made into a cerot with wax,and fo applied,doe cure fellons and the biting of hardifhrewes. 
The afhes made of blacke Fig tee leaves, heale gangrenes, and confume all excrefcence of dead 
or proud flefh. Ripe Figgs provoke urine,make the belliefoluble, move {weat,and bring foorth 
{mall pockes and meafels:In regard of which operation thus to open the pores ,they bee unhole- 
 fometo be eaten in Autuimne oratthe fall of the leafe : for when by their meanes our bodies be 
B fetintoa fweat,they are more fubjettotake'a through cold, Neitherbee they holefome for the 
- ftomacke: but the beft is,their offence continueth but a while. Mary,they are weliknowne tobe 
enemies to the voice. The Figgs which be of a later breed (as it were)and come laftare wholefo- 
mer than thofe which ripen betimes.[ Whereas verely ifthey be brought unto their maturitie by © 
medicining,thatis to fay,by caprification,then they are never good. | And thele Figges encreafe 
the ftrength of young folke : preferve elder petfons in better health, and make them looke more 
young and with fewer wrinckles, They doe quench and allay thirf, and coole unkind heat. And ‘ 
therefore fuch mutt not bee denied to the patient,in fevers proceeding fromthe conftriction of 
the pores,which agues the Greekes call Stegnas, Drie Figges offend the ftomacke : but for the 
throat and weafant they are exceeding good. Thefe dried Figs are by nature hote in operation, 
C and therefore engender thirft. They fetthe bellie into a loofeneffe : in which regard they are not 
good to bee eaten in any flux or catarrhes, taking a courfe either to it or the ftomacke.Holfome 
they be atall times for the bladder, for {uch alfoas bee fhort winded and purfie. Semblably,they 
open the obftructions of liver,kidneies,and {pleene,and cure their infirmities. Nutritive they be, 
and therefore much eating of them canfetha man to growcorpulent,& nathelefle tobe ftrong 
and Juftie withall: Whichis the caufe,that profefled wreftlers and champions were in times paft 
fed with Figs.For Py/hagoras,a creat maifter and warden of thefe exeicifes,was the firft man who 
brought them to cat fiefh meat. Moreover,Figs bereftorative, andthe beft thing that they can 
eat who are broughtlow by fome long and ianguifhing ficknefle, and now upon the mending 
hand and in recoverie.In like manner they are fingular for the falling evill andthe dropfie.Figgs 
D appliedas acataplafin, are excellent either to difcude orelsbringtomaturitie anyimpoftumes 
or fwellings : but they do the feat more effectually, ifcither quick-lime or fal-nitre be mixed ther- | 
with. Boiled with Hyflope they cleanfe the breatt, breake and diffolve the phlegmatick humors, 
either fallen to the lungs,or there engendred; & fo by confequence tid away an old cough.Sod- 
den in wine, and fo applied as aliniment, they cure the infirmities incidentto thefeat or funda- 
_ ment,they mollifieand refolve the {welling tumours of the paps, they difcuffe ‘and heale fellons, 
puthes,biles,and rifings behind the ears. A fomentation made with their decoction, is good for 
women.And the fame being fodden with Foent-greeke, are excellent for the pleurifie and Perip- 
newmonie,that isto iay,the inflammation of the lungs.Boiled with Rue, they afluiage the vento- 
_ fities or collicke inthe guts. The fame being incorporat with Verdegreece or the ruft of brafle, 
E cureththe morimals of the legs: and with Pomeranats,they heale the rifing and exulceration of 
the fleth and skin about the nai roots. But made into acerotwith wax,they heale burmes, fcal- 
dings,and kibed heeles. Seeth Figges in wine with YWVormewood and Barly meale,and put nitre 
to them, they are pafling holefometor thofe who are inadropfie, Chewthem,they*bind the bel- «si rather 
lie.Makea cataplafme of Figges and falccogether: the fame is fingular for the {ting of {corpionse“#", oF #:ilef- 
Boile them in wine,and fo applic them, you have an excellentremedie to draw forth carbunéles "in Bs Digg 
to the outward parts,and bring them'to an head. Take the fatteft and fulleft Figs youcan get,Jay 
them upon theugly and ill favored wmor called Carcinoma, .the Canker,fo it benotyet exule * “ere, our of 
cerat,] affure you it isa foveraigne remedie, andhardly canbe matched againe: and fo itis alfo 7/0 . 
for thefeftering and eating ulcer Phagedena. There is notanother tree againe growing upon the read aciem, 
F face of the earth that yeeldeth better or (harper afhes than the wood of the Figge tree doth, ¢i- 7 ee 
ther tocleanfe “ulcers orto incarnat,confolidat,and reftraine lux of humors.Itistakenin drink jes 
for to diflolve cluttered bloud within the bodie.Semblably, if it be given to drink with waterand sant fom the 
oile,of each one cyath,it ferveth well for thofe who are drie beaten & brufed who are fallen from ee oe 
fome high place :fuch alfoas have {pafmes and inward ruptures.And thusthey ule to give itin all and would 
cratpes, ee to yran~ 
