MEMB. 3. Immediate cause of these precedent Symptomes.

TO give some satisfaction to melancholy men, that are troubled with these symptomes, a better means in my judgement cannot be taken, then to shew them the causes whence they proceed, not from divels, as they suppose, or that they are bewitched or forsaken of God, hear or see, &c. as many of them think, but from naturall and inward causes, that so knowing them, they may better avoid the effects, or at least endure them with more patience.

The most grievous and common symptomes and Fear are Sorrow, and that without a cause, to the wisest and discreetest men, in this malady not to be avoided. The reason why they are so Ætius discusseth at large, Tetrabib. 2.2. in his first probleme out of Galen, lib. 2. de causis sympt. 1. For Galen imputeth all to the cold that is black, and thinks that the spirits being darkned, and the substance of the brain cloudy and dark, all the objects thereof appear terrible, and the minde it self, by those dark, obscure, gross fumes, ascending from black humours, is in continuall darkness, fear and sorrow; divers terrible monstrous fictions in a thousand shapes & apparitions occurre, with violent passions, by which the brain and phantasie are troubled and eclipsed.

Fracastorius lib. 2. de intellect. will have cold to be the cause of Fear and Sorrow; for such as are cold, are ill disposed to mirth, dull and heavy, by nature solitarie, silent; and not for any inward darkness (as Physicians think) for many melancholy men dare boldly be, continue, and walk in the dark, and delight in it: solum frigidi timidi: if they be hot, they are merry; and the more hot, the more furious, and void of fear, as we see in madmen: but this reason holds not, for then no melancholy, proceeding from choler adust, should fear.

Averroes scoffs at Galen for his reasons, and brings five arguments to refell them: so doth Herc. de Saxoniâ, Tract. de melanch. cap. 3. assigning other causes, which are copiously censured and confuted by Ælianus Montaltus, cap. 5. & 6. Lod. Mercatus de Inter. morb. cur. lib. 1. cap. 17. Altomarus cap. 7. de mel. Guianerius tract. 15. c. 1. Bright cap. 17. Laurentius cap. 5. Valesius med. cont. lib. 5. con. 1. Distemperature they conclude, makes black juice, blackness obscures the spirits, the spirits obscured, cause fear and sorrow.

Laurentius cap. 13. supposeth these black fumes offend especially the Diaphragma or Midriffe, and so per consequens the mind, which is obscured as the Sun by a cloud. To this opinion of Galen, almost all the Greeks and Arabians subscribe, the Latines new and old, internæ tenebræ offuscant animum, ut externæ nocent pueris, as children are affrighted in the dark, so are melancholy men at all times, as having the inward cause with them, & still carrying it about.

Which black vapors, whether they proceed from the black bloud about the heart, as T. W. Jes. thinks in his Treatise of the passions of the mind, or stomack, spleen, midriffe, or all the misaffected parts together, it boots not, they keep the mind in a perpetuall dungeon, and oppress it with continuall fears, anxieties, sorrows, &c.

It is an ordinarie thing for such as are sound, to laugh at this dejected pusillanimity, and those other symptomes of melancholy, to make themselves merry with them, and to wonder at such, as toys and trifles, which may be resisted and withstood, if they will themselves: but let him that so wonders, consider with himself, that if a man should tell him on a sudden, some of his especial friends were dead, could he choose but grieve? or set him upon a steep rock, where he should be in danger to be precipitated, could he be secure? his heart would tremble for fear, and his head be giddy.

P. Byarus Tract. de pest. gives instance (as I have said) and put case (saith he) in one that walks upon a plank, if it lye on the ground, he can safely do it: but if the same plank be laid over some deep water, in stead of a bridge, he is vehemently moved, and ’tis nothing but his imagination, forma cadendi impressa, to which his other members and faculties obey.

Yea, but you infer, that such men have a just cause to fear, a true object of fear; so have melancholy men an inward cause, a perpetuall fume and darkness, causing fear, grief, suspicion, which they carry with them, an object which cannot be removed; but sticks as close, and is as inseparable as a shadow to a bodie, and who can expell, or over-run his shadow? remove heat of the liver, a cold stomack, weak spleen: remove those adust humours and vapours arising from them, black bloud from the heart, all outward perturbations, take away the cause, and then bid them not grieve nor fear, or be heavie, dull, lumpish, otherwise counsell can do little good; you may as well bid him that is sick of an ague, not to be adry; or him that is wounded, not to feel pain.

Suspicion follows Fear and Sorrow at heels, arising out of the same fountaine, so thinks Fracastorius, that Fear is the cause of Suspicion, and still they suspect some treachery, or some secret machination to be framed against them, still they distrust. Restlesnes proceeds from the same spring, variety of fumes makes them like & dislike. Solitarines, avoiding of light; that they are weary of their lives, hate the world, arise from the same causes, for their spirits and humours are opposite to light, fear makes them avoid company, and absent themselves, least they should be misused, hissed at, or overshoot themselves, which still they suspect.

They are prone to venery, by reason of wind. Angry, waspish, & fretting still, out of abundance of choler, which causeth fearfull dreams, and violent perturbations to them, both sleeping & waking: That they suppose they have no heads, flie, sink, they are pots, glasses, &c. is wind in their heads. Herc. de Saxonia doth ascribe this to the severall motions in the animall spirits, their dilation, contraction, confusion, alteration, tenebrosity, hot or cold distemperature, excluding all materiall humors.