1 
298 
The eight and twentieth Babe | 
*Oi the fpeci- and curfed prefage on his behalfe :like asto fic at the table and eat nothing arall. *Sechow ce- G 
all providence 
{peaketh like 
hicafelfe,a 
Heathenith ine 
| fidell. 
*+Fame labor ef 
in all our affairesand ations, and atall times, the divine power of God was prefent :and thatby 
thefe meanes they left chem pacified for all our finnes and vices, Neitheris there an end heere = 
for over and befides it hath beene marked, that many times all the table is hufht,andther isnor 
a word heard from one endto the other: butthis is noted never to happen but when the guefts 
make a juft@ven number. But what doth this filence prefage ? Surely, every one of them *thall 
bein daunger to loofe orempaire his credit, good name, and reputation. Moreover, if a peece 
of meat chaunced to fall out of the hand downe to the floore,it was taken up and delivered upon 
the bourd againe,where it pafled from one to another,and wentthrough the table : but in anie 
wife they were forbidden to blow therupon, for to cleanfe it from the duft or filch that it caught, 
Furthermore, they have proceededthus farre, as to gather prefages from fuch things as happen 
juft at thetime whiles one either fpeaketh or thinketh of the fame. But ofall others this was coun-' 
-ted a moft execrable token, in cafe it chaunced that the Pontifie or high Prieft, fitting at thetable 
*Which ao- 
{were to our 
R.and A. 
¥or Paros. 
pro forma, and for order fake at any folemne featt or {acrifice,let fall a morcell of meat : butifthe 
fame were laid upon the bourd againe, and afterwards burnt and facrificed to the familiar gods 
of the houfe Zares,it wasthought a fufficientexpiatoric fatisfation.Semblably,men are of opi- 
nion, Thatif any medicines purgative or others, fortune tobe fet upon atable before they bee 
given tothe patient for to drinke, they will doe no good atall, but loofe theiroperation. Alfo 
there is a fuperftitious ceremonie in paring the nails of the fingers,during the market daies held 
at Rome,with this charge, that the partie hold his tongue and bee filent all the while, andbegin 
at the forefinger : and this forfooth concerneth the money of many aman. Likewife, as great a 
marter as that, lieth in ftroking or handling the haire of the head, either upon the feventeenth 
day after the chaunge of the Moone, or the nine and twentieth s for a {peciall meanes this is tor 
keepe the haire on,which is given to fall,as alfo to eafe the head-ach. Moreover, the peafants in 
the countrey obferve this cuftome in many mannors and farmes of Italie, to forbid their wives 
and women to {pin as they walke up and downe abroad in the ftreet or any common way of paf- 
fage,or to carie their rockesand diftaves undizened or bare :for this opinion they have,that info 
doing they prejudice the hope of all fruits, and the come efpecially growing in the field for that 
yeare.Not long fince,M.Servilius Nonianus(who in his time was a principall cittizen of Rome) 
to prevent the blearedneffe of his eyes which hefeared, before thateither any man elfe foretold 
him of that difeafe, or himfelfe once named it, tooke alittle peece of paper, and wrote therein 
thele two capitall Greeke letters P and A,which he lapped round & fait tied with alinnenthred, 
and fo wore it hanging ata lace about his necke under his throat,Aéstianzs(who had been thrice 
Confull of Rome)obferved the fame efie&t by wearing a flic alive within a little rag of white fine 
lianencloth: and both of them did highly commend thefe medicines of theirs, reporting that 
by thofe meanes they were free from bleared eyes.Finally,wee read of certaine charms and {pels 
againft ftormes of haile:againft {undrie forts of difeafes, and namely for any pare that is burfit 
oes remonious thofe men were,and what precife ordinances they inftiruted,whio were of beleef,thar. 
°o Od. riine - 
/ 
or {calded,and verely fome of them have ben proved by experience tobe effectuall.Butfor mine 
owne part abafhed am and afhamed to put them down in writing,confidering howdiverflymen 
are affected in mind.And therfore to conclude this matter,I leave every man to himfelfe to give 
credit or otherwife unto them at his owne pleafure and difcretion. 
Cuap. 11 
eye Remedies proceeding from man for the cure of difeafes. 
J N my former Treatife as touching ftraunge and woonderfull nations, I {pake of certaineraces 
of men which were of a monftrous nature, and carieda venomous regard and looke in their 
very eyes : befides many other properties of beafts,which here torepeat were needlefle. How- 
beit,in this place I thinke it not amifleto note,thatfome people there be whofe bodies bee from 
top to toe all medicinable and holefome unto others.As for example,the men of thofe families 
which doe terrifieferpents,and drive them away with their very prefence: whoalfo are of this na- 
ture,thatthey be abletocure and eafe fuchas are ftung alreadie either by touching onely,or elfe 
M 
by amedicinable fucking of the place: Of which kind are the Pfylliand Marfi:thofealfo inthe 
Iiland *Cyprus,whom they call Ophugenes: and of thisraceand hole there camean Embaf- 
bra | fadour 
