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A third of a parish Priest at Prage in Bohemia, that was so far gone with melancholy, that he doted, and spake he knew not what, but after he had taken 12. grains of Stibium, (as I my self saw, and can witness, for I was called to see this miraculous accident)
he was purged of a deal of black choler, like little gobbets of flesh, and all his excrements were as black blood, a medicine fitter for a Horse then a Man) yet it did him so much good, that the next day he was perfectly cured. This very story of the Bohemian Priest, Sckenkius relates verbatim, Exoter. experiment. ad Var. morb. cent. 6. observ. 6. with great approbation of it.
Hercules de Saxonia calls it a profitable medicine, if it be taken after meat to 6. or 8. grains, of such as are apt to vomit. Rodericus à Fonseca the Spaniard, and late professor of Padua in Italy, extols it to this disease, Tom. 2. consul. 85. So doth Lod. Mercatus de inter. morb. cur. lib. 1. cap. 17. with many others.
Iacobus Gervinus a French Physitian on the other side, lib. 2. de venenis confut. explodes all this, and saith he took three grains only upon Matthiolus and some others commendation, but it almost killed him, whereupon he concludes, Antimony is rather poyson then a medicine. Th. Erastus concurres with him in his opinion, and so doth Ælian Montaltus cap. 30. de melan.
But what do I talk? ’tis the subject of whole books, I might cite a century of Authors pro and con. I will conclude with Zuinger, Antimony is like Scanderbegs sword, which is either good or bad, strong or weak, as the party is that prescribes, or useth it; a worthy medicine if it be rightly applied to a strong man, otherwise poyson. For the preparing of it, look in Evonimi thesaurus, Quercetan, Oswaldus Crollius, Basil. Chim. Basil. Valentius, &c.
Tobacco, divine, rare, superexcellent Tobacco, which goes far beyond all their Panaceas, potable gold, and Philosophers stones, a soveraign remedy to all diseases. A good vomit, I confesse, a vertuous herb, if it be well qualified, opportunely taken, and medicinally used, but as it is commonly abused by most men, which take it as Tinkers do ale, ’tis a plague, a mischief, a violent purger of goods, lands, health, hellish, divellish and damned Tobacco, the ruine and overthrow of body and soul.