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← ExitThe Anatomy of Melancholy

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Subsection 3 Preparatives and Purgatives

To these I may adde Arnoldi vinum Buglossatum, or Borage wine before mentioned, which Mizaldus calls vinum mirabile, a wonderfull wine, and Stockerus vouchsafes to repeat verbatim amongst other receipts. Rubeus his compound water out of Savanarola: Pinetus his Balm; Cardans Pulvis Hyacinthi, with which in his book de curis admirandis, he boasts that he had cured many melancholy persons in eight dayes, which Sckenkius puts amongst his observeable medicines:

Altomarus his Syrupe, with which he calls God so solemnly to witness, he hath in his kind done many excellent cures, and which Sckenkius cent. 7. observ. 80. mentioneth, Daniel Sennertus lib. 1. part. 2. cap. 12. so much commends; Rulandus admirable water for melancholy, which cent. 2. cap. 96. he names Spiritum vitæ aureum, Panaceam, what not, and his absolute medicine of 50 Egges, curat. Empir. cent. 1. cur. 5. to be taken three in a morning, with a powder of his.

Faventinus prac. Emper. doubles this number of Egges, and will have 101. to be taken by three and three in like sort, which Salust. Salvian approves de re med. lib. 2. c. 1. with some of the same powder, till all be spent, a most excellent remedy for all melancholy and mad-men.

℞ Epithymi, thymi, ana drachmas duas, sacchari albi unciam unam, croci grana tria, Cinamomi drachmam unam; misce, fiat pulvis.

All these yet are nothing to those Chymical preparatives of Aqua Chalidonia, quintessence of Hellebor, salts, extracts, distillations, oyles, Aurum potabile, &c. Dʳ Anthony in his book de auro potab. edit. 1600. is all in all for it.

And though all the school of Galenists, with a wicked and unthankfull pride and scorn, detest it in their practice, yet in more grievous diseases, when their vegetals will do no good, they are compelled to seek the help of minerals, though they use them rashly, unprofitably, slackly, and to no purpose.

Rhenanus, a Dutch Chymist in his book de Sale e puteo emergente, takes upon him to Apologize for Anthony, and sets light by all that speak against him. But what do I meddle with this great Controversie, which is the subject of many volumes? Let Paracelsus, Quercetan, Crollius, and the brethren of the Rosy crosse defend themselves as they may. Crato, Erastus, and the Galenists oppugn.

Paracelsus, he brags on the other side, he did more famous cures by this means, then all the Galenists in Europe, and calls himself a Monarch; Galen, Hippocrates, infants, illiterate, &c. As Thessalus of old railed against those ancient Asclepiadean writers, he contemns others, insults, triumphs, overcomes all antiquity (saith Galen as if he spake to him) declares himself a conquerour, and crowns his own doings.

One drop of their Chymical preparatives, shall do more good then all their fulsome potions. Erastus, and the rest of the Galenists vilifie them on the other side, as Hereticks in Physick: Paracelsus did that in Physick, which Luther in Divinity.

A drunken rogue he was, a base fellow, a Magitian, he had the divel for his master, divels his familiar companions, and what he did, was done by the help of the Divel.

Thus they contend and rail, and every Mart write books pro and con, & adhuc sub judice lis est, let them agree as they will, I proceed.

7811.BurtonPrinted page 387, s: “Lib. de artif. med.” Book on medicinal artifices; Burton abbreviates the title.

7812.BurtonPrinted page 387, t: “Sect. 3. Optimum remedium aqua composita Savanarolæ.” Section 3: “Savonarola’s compound water is the best remedy.”

7813.BurtonPrinted page 387, u: “Sckenkius observ. 31.” Schenck, observation 31.

7815.BurtonPrinted page 387, x: “Donatus ab Altomari. cap. 7 Testor Deum, me multos melancholicos hujus solius syrupi usu curasse, factâ prius purgatione.” Donatus ab Altomari, chapter 7: “I call God to witness that I have cured many melancholic people with this syrup alone, a purge having first been given.”

7817.BurtonPrinted page 387, y: “Centum ova & unum, quolibet mane sumant ova sorbilia, cum sequenti pulvere supra ovum asperso, & contineant quousque assumpserint centum & unum, maniacis & melancholicis utilissimum remedium.” “One hundred and one eggs: every morning let them take soft eggs, with the following powder sprinkled over the egg, and continue until they have taken one hundred and one—a most useful remedy for the manic and melancholic.”

7820.BurtonPrinted page 387, z: “Quercetan cap. 4 Phar. Oswaldus Crollius.” Quercetan, Pharmacopoeia, chapter 4; Oswald Croll.

7822.BurtonPrinted page 387, a: “Cap. 1. Licet tota Galenistarum schola, mineralia non sine impio & ingrato fastu à sua practica detestentur; tamen in gravioribus morbis omni vegetabilium derelicto subsidio, ad mineralia confugiunt, licet ea temere, ignaviter, & inutiliter usurpent. Ad finem libri.” Chapter 1: “Although the whole school of Galenists rejects minerals from its practice with impious and ungrateful arrogance, nevertheless in more serious diseases, abandoning all help from vegetable remedies, they resort to minerals, though they employ them rashly, negligently and uselessly.” At the end of the book.

7825.BurtonPrinted page 387, dagger: “Veteres maledictis incessit, vincit, & contra omnem antiquitatem coronatur, ipseque à se victor declaratur. Gal. lib. 3. meth. c. 2.” “He attacks the ancients with abuse, conquers, and is crowned against all antiquity; he himself declares himself the victor.” Galen, Method of Medicine, book 3, chapter 2. The note continues beneath the main text.

7827.BurtonPrinted page 387, b: “Codronchus de sale absynthii.” Codronchus, On Salt of Wormwood. Printed beneath the main text.

7828.BurtonPrinted page 387, c: “Idem Paracelsus in medicina, quod Lutherus in Theologia.” “Paracelsus is the same in medicine as Luther in theology.” Printed beneath the main text.

7830.BurtonPrinted page 387, d: “Disput. in eundem, parte. 1. Magus ebrius, illiteratus, dæmonem præceptorem habuit, dæmones familiares, &c.” Disputation against the same man, part 1: “A drunken, illiterate magician; he had a demon as his teacher, demons as his familiars, and so forth.” Printed beneath the main text.