¶ Of the dyfference of astronomy.

ALexander fay­resone, I praye the that yf thou mayst do it, that thou ry­se not, nor eate, nor drynke, nor do any other thynge, but by the councell of somethat knoweth and hath the scyence in knowlegynge the sterres and astronomye. And thou shalt wyte my dere sone that almyghty god hath made nothynge without cause, but hath done euery thynge reasonably. And by certayne scyences & wayes, the wyse phylozopher Platon sought and felte the operacyons of all thynges composed of the foure elementes, & the humoures contraryes. And hadde also the knowledge of the thynges created and formed. And al­so my dere sone Alexander I praye the [Page] beleue not suche fooles whiche saye that the scyence of the planettes is so harde to be knowen, and that none maye come therto. Surely they be fooles and wote not what they saye. It is a noble thynge to knowe thyn­ges whiche be to come. Yf thou kno­west the thynges whiche be to come, thou and other persons maye put re­medy by good prayers. And requyre the creatoure that hath ordeyned thē to retourne theyr malyce, and ordeyne them otherwyse. Thynke nor dere sone that god hath ordeyned and pre­destynate such thynges, but that by his power he maye chaunge them o­therwyse whan he pleaseth. Wyte thou deresonne that the good people praye to our creatoure with orysons and deuout petycyons, by fastynge & sacrefyces, byalmesse and other ma­ner, axynge of pardon of theyr synnes and doynge penaunce, that our lorde maye retorne and remembre suche predestynacyons [Page] whiche other do feare so moche. ¶ Retorne we deresone to our fyrste purpose, wyte thou that a­stronomye is deuysed in. iiij. partes. That is to wyte in ordynaunce of sterres, In the dysposycyon, of syg­nes, and of theyr elongacyons. Of the mouynge of the sonne. And this partre is called scyence of astronomy: The other parte is of the knowledge of the mouynge of the sayes & of the moone. And this partye is called a­stronomye. And is the worthyest, of sterres, planettes, and sygnes. And, there is M. xxviij. planettes sygned and formed, of the whiche we shall speke more playnly.

¶ Of the gouernayle of helth.

HEalth amonge all thynges is to be gott [...]n & hath more thā any myght of r [...]chesses. For the kepynge of helth is by vsynge of equall thynges conioy [...] ned [Page] to thē body, as by aftemperaunce of humoures. For the gloryous god hath ordeyned them, and gyuen dy­uers remedyes to the aftemperaunce of the humoures to the kepynge of helth. And hath shewed it to his holy men and prophetes, and to many o­ther Iust men whiche he dyde chuse and enlumyned with the holy ghoste, in his sapyence dyuyne, and myghty. And hath gyuen them the gyftes of the scyence of these thynges here af­ter folowynge. These phylosophers put the begynnynge of it. That is to wytte they of ynde, of Grece, and of Athenes. Whiche phylosophers were Iust and perfyte, and theyr wr [...]tyn­ges were the begynnynge of scyence and secretes. For in theyr wrytynges is nothynge foūde to be reproued nor sp [...]ylt, but approued of all wysemen▪

¶ Of the gouernayle of sycke people.

ALl wyse and naturall phylosophers saye that man is made and composed of foure contrary humours, the whiche haue alwaye nede to be susteyned with meate and drynke. The substaunce wherof beho­ueth to yssue and be corrupte yf any do alwaye eate and drynke, and he shulde waxe weyke and fall in great dyseses and haue many inconuenyences. But yf he eate and drynke temperatly and he shall fynde helpe of lyfe, strength of body, and helth of all the membres The wyse phylosophers saye that yf any man trespace the god of nature, and the good maner of lyuynge, be it into moche eatynge and drynkynge, or to moche slepynge, or wakynge, into moche walkynge or restynge, be­ynge to laxatyfe, or to moche lettyn­ge of blode or to lytell, it can not be but he must fall into many dyseases, and greues. Of the whiche dyseases [Page] I haue bryefly founde, and therin I wyll shewethe my councell, and remedy for the same. All wyse Phyloso­phers accordeth in one saynge. Who so kepeth hym fro ouer moche eatyn­ge and drynkynge, & from that exces­ses aforesayde, and kepeth temperaū ­ce, he shall be helthfull of his bodye / and lyue longe. For I can fynde no man but he is of this opynyon, and wylsay that aldelectable thynges of the worlde, be it inpleasure of the bo­dy, it is but for to lyue the longer in them. But for a more secrete ye ought to enforce you to do suche thynges as ben belongynge to longe lyfe, and not to folowethe appetyte, that is to wyt not to put lye meate vpon [...]eate. And dere sone I haue herde often spoken of ypocras whiche kepte manytymes dyete to the ende that he myght lyue andendure the longer. Not for to ly­ue and endure for the meate and drynke. Also dere sone it is great holsom­nesse [Page] to be purged of superfluytes & euyll humours whiche ben in y^e body.

¶ In howe many maners a man maye kepe his health.

GOod sone I praye the haue in thy mynde stedfastly the­se certayne instruccyons & kepe thē. Knowe thou that helth is chyefly in two thynges. The fyrst is let a man vse suche meates and drynkes as he hath ben nourysshed with. The seconde that he purge hym of yll humours that be corrupte and greue hym. For the body of man is fedde with meates & dryn­kes whiche nourysshe it by naturall heate that dryeth, nouryssheth and fedeth the moystnesse therof.

¶ Of dyuers meates for the stomacke.

WHan the body is fatte and ful of vapours, grosse meates is good for it. And of the nourysshynge of suche a bodye, the dygestyon is grosse, and of great quantyte for the great heate, and vapours of the body And when the body is sclender & dry a subtyll and moyste meates be good for it. And the dygestyon therof is of small quantyte for the streytnesses of the conduytes. And it is great wys­dome and scyence for a man to vse suche meates as ben good and apper­tenent to his complexyon, that is to wyt yf he fede hym with hote meates temperatly But yf the heate be to greuous and brennynge with in the body by ouer stronge wynes and hote mea­tes, or other accydentes than contrary meates and drynkes wyll do great ease and profyte, that is to wyt su­che as bencolde.

¶ Of the maner to trauayle.

OR euer thou eate, or thyne appetyte cōmeth at thyne houre accustomed do som trauayle, that is to wytte walke or tyde a lytell, or do some o­ther worke, for it helpeth the bodye moche, it a voydeth all ventosytees, and maketh the body lyghter, stron­ger and lustyeth the Stomacke, and wasted euyll humours of the body and maketh the flewme of the stomacke descende.

¶ Of the maner of eatynge.

¶ Fayre sone whan thy meate is set afore the, eate of suche as y^u desyrest moste, resonably, with well leuayned breed. And eate of suche as ought to be fyrste eaten. For there be two ma­ners of dygestyon of meate in a man, that is to wyt, softe, and harde. For in the bottō is moste heat for to make meate, bycause it is moste flesshely, and nighest the heat of the lyuer wher with the meate is soden and dygested

¶ Of abstynence of meate.

WHan thou eatest, eate by leasure, thoughe y^u haue great appetyte to eate. For yf thou eate gredelye noughty hu­moures do multyplye the stomacke is laden the body is greued, the hert is hurte, and the meate remayneth in the stomackes botome vndygested.

¶ Howe pure water ought not to be dronken.

ALso beware deresone that ye drynke no pure water, specyally whan thou haste eaten meate. But yf thou be wonte therto. For as soone as the water is vpon the meat, it coleth the stomacke, and quencheth the heate of the dygestyon and comforte of the meate. It letteth dygestyon [Page] and greueth the body. Yf thou muste ned [...]s drynke water alone, take it the mooste temperatlye, and as lytell as thou mayst.

¶ Of the maner to slepe.

WHan thou hast takē thy refeccyon and haste luste to slepe lye downe on asofte bedde and slepe tē ­peratly. And fyrste lye downe on the leftesyde, and slepe theron a reasonable space, for the lef­te syde is colde and hath nede of war­meth. And yf thou fele any payne in thy bely or in thy stomacke, than lay therto a souerayne medycyne, y^t is a warme lynnē cloth layde theron, wyt thou dere sone that trauayle is good and gyueth heate to the stomacke, but after dyner it is a noughty thynge for the meate abydeth vndygested in the [Page] botome of the stomacke, and therof be bredde many dyseases. And slepe be­fore fedynge it is not good, for it ma­keth the body leaue and dryeth the humoures. But slepynge after fedynge is good, for it fulfylleth the body and gyueth force, and nourysshynge therto. For whan the body of man resteth, than the naturall heate draweth the heate that was spredde in all the mē ­bres in to the botome of the stomacke and gyueth strengthe therto vpon the refeccyon of the meate. And heate re­quyreth rest. Therfore some phyloso­phers haue sayd that it is better and holsomer to eat at nyght than in the mornynge, for the eatynge in the mornynge bycause of the heate of the day greueth the stomacke, and the body is more trauayled therwith. And more­ouer the person chafeth in trauaylyng doynge his besynesse, in goynge and spekynge, and many other thynges that belongeth to the body of man, by [Page] the whiche heate that is outwarde towarde none the naturall heat that is inwarde is weyked & appeyred, and the meate is harde to dygest. But at nyght it is more easy and lesse gre­ued with the heat of traueyle. And the here and members of man ben more in quyet by the coldnesse of the nyght that gyueth naturall heate to the stomacke.

¶ The kepynge of custome or wont.

THou shalte vnderstande my dere sone that he that is wonte to eate but one meale oftē is dyseased, for the stomacke is without dygestyon & the body hath small nourysshynge. And he that is accustomed to eate at one tyme ones, another tyme twyse, he shall lyghtly perceyue y^t it doth hym harme, for custome chargeth nature.

¶ How one ought to chaūge custome.

ANd yf nede constreyne the toch aū ­gethy custome, do it wysely, that is to wytte by lytell and lytell. And so by the grace of god thy chaungynge shall be good. But aboue althynges beware that thou ea­te not tyll thou fele thy stomacke empty and that it hath made good dyges­tyon of the fyrst meale. And this thou mayst knowe by the desyre that thou shalte haue to thy meate: and by thy spatle that turneth subtylly in thy inouth, And yf thou eate without ne­de or appetyte the heate of thy Sto­macke shall be made colde as yse. And yf necessyte be that y^u must eate, & haue an appetyte therto, the kynde heate of thy stomacke wyll be as hote as fyre, and of good dygestyon. And beware that whan thy appetyte cōmeth that thou eate not forthwith, for it wyll [Page] gather yll humours of thy body in to thy stomacke, whiche wyll hurte thy brayne. And yf thou tary ouer longe or thou eate, it wyll feble thy stomac­ke, and the meate wyll do thy body no good. And yf so be that thou mayste not eate as soone as thy appetyce re­quyreth, and that thy stomacke be full of yll humours do so that thou mayst vomyte or thou eate, and after that vomyte take an electuary, & eate surely

¶ Of the foure seasons of the yeare.

OVr intencyon is to treat in this boke of the foure seasons of the yere, with the qualyte, property, contraryte, and dyfference of eche of them. And they ben certayne seasons of the yeare deuyded as foloweth. That is to wytte prymtyme or vere begynneth whan y^e sonne entreth [Page] in the sygne of Aries, and lasteth. iiij. score and. xiij. dayes, &. xviii. houres, and the fourthe parte of an houre.

That is to wyt from the .x. day in the ende of Marche, to the foure & twenty daye of Iune. And in this season the dayes & nyghtes benegall of length The wether is fayre. The warme wether cōmeth. The snowes melte, ry­uers renne swyft and clere, and waxe warme, the moystnesse of the earth ry­seth to the heyght of trees, & causeth them to smell swete. Medowes and graynes sprowte and corne groweth and all floures take coloure, byrdes ben clothed with newe robes, and en­force them to synge. Trees ben dec­ked with leues & floures, and the lan­des with sedes. Beestes engender and all people take strength and lust. The earth is arayed goodly, and is as a fayre bryde clothed with Iewelles of dyuers colours bycause she shulde se­methe fayrer at her weddynge.

¶ Of naturall heate.

SOne Alexander I praye the kepe the kyndly heate of thy body, and thou shalt haue longe health. For the body of man dyeth in. ii. maners. One is by great age the whiche ouer­cōmeth the bodye and dystroyeth it. The other is accydentally, as by we­pynge, syckenesse or other aduenture.

¶ Of thynges that fat­teth the body.

RYght dere sone these bē thynges that fatteth the bodye. That is to wytte ease of the bodye and fyllynge it with deynty meates & dryn­kes, and Mylke, and than to slepe on a softe bed. All swete smellynge flou­res in theyr season, and bathynge in fresshe Waters. But yf thou bathe the, tary not longe in it, and haue swete smellynge thynges in the Bathe. And neuer drynke Wyne but it be well tempered with water. And specyallye in Wynter make water of floures called Assynini and put it in to thy Wyne, for it is hote of nature. And in Somer vse Vyoletes and floures of Malowes and other thynges that be colde, and vse to vomyte ones in a moneth specyally. For vomytes was­sheth the body and purgeth it of wyc­ked humours and stynke that is in it. And yf there be but fewe humours in [Page] the Stomacke, it comforteth the na­turall heate. And whan thou hast vo­myted dwyllyngly, the body wyll fyll it with good humydyte & be of good dysposycyon to dygest. And yf thou gouernethe thus, thou shalt be mery at thy Herte, lusty with reasonable healh and good vnderstandynge, glo­ry and honour, and ouer all thyne enemyes vyctory. Also I wyll that thou delyte in the beholdynge of goodlye persons, or in redynge of delectable bokes, or in werynge of precyous garmentes, and goodly Iewelles, as the tyme requyreth.

¶ Of thynges that leaneth the bodye.

THese be the thynges that maketh the Bodye to be leane, weyke, and drye, to moche eatynge, to moche trauelynge, to moche [Page] walkynge in the sonne, to moche go­ynge, to moche slepynge afore noone melancoly, feare, to Bathe in water of the nature of brymstone, eatynge salte meates, to moche drynkynge of olde wyne, to be to laxe, and ouer mo­che lettynge of Blode. For Ypocras sayth that he that Bathe hym with a full Bely, or lyeth with a Woman shall haue syckenesse in his entray­les. And also to renne, or to ryde, or to moche trauayle after meate bre­deth a great dysease called Palsey. And moche eatynge of fysshe, or myl­ke and wyne togather ypocras sayth it wyll make one lazar.

¶ Of the fyrst parte of the body.

OF the foure partes of the body the heed is the fyrst For in the beed gadereth all superfluytes, and e­uyll Humours, whiche [Page] thou shalte sele and knowe by these sygnes folowynge. The eyes bē trou­bled, the herynge is thycked and the nose strylles ben stopped, yf thou fele suche a dysease take an Herbe called wormwood, and sethe it in swetewy­ne tyll the halfe be wasted, than hol­deit in thy mouth and wasshe it ma­ny tymes therwith tyll thou fele that it doth the good, and eate whyte Mu­starde sede powdred with thy meate. And yf thou do not thus thou mayst happen to haue some dysease, and specyally inthyne eyes, in thy brayne, & in other partes of thy body.

¶ Of the seconde parte of the body.

THe seconde parte of the bo­dy is the bulke, yf dysease come there thou shalt know it by these sygnes folowyn­ge. The tongue is lette, the [Page] mouth is salt, bytter, and vnsauer [...]. The mouth of the Stomacke sowre withgrese in all thy membres. It be­houeth the to eate but lytell and to vomyte, than eate a lytell Suger of ro­ses with aloes and take good comfortynge spyces and eate an elctuary named Dionisium. And yf thou do not thus, thou mayst fall in dyseases of that syde, of the Raynes, and Feuers and specyally of the Tongue wherby thou shalt not properly speke, and dyuers other maladyes. Decoccyon of Yysope is good.

¶ Of the thyrde parte of the body.

THe thyrde parte of y^e body is the wombe, yf it be combred with euyll Humours thou shalt knowe it by these syg­nes. The Bely wyll Swell with payne and styfness [...] in the knees, [Page] goynge a slowe pace. It behoueth to vse some subtyle and lyght Meates, as is sayd before with the gouernyn­ge. And yf thou do not thus there wyl folowe ache in the hyppes, in the mylte, in the backe, and other ioyntes, and in the lyuer, with yll dygestyon.

¶ Of the fourth parte of the body.

THe fourth parte of the body ben the genytours. Yf superfluyte and noughty humours gather in them thou shalt knowe by the­se sygnes. The appetyte wyll waxe colde, and rednesse wyll appere vpon them and vpon the share. Than must thou take a sede called Api [...] with Fe­nellsede and the roote of Mugwort, and of another called Acham, and a­tracies. And with these Herbes put the Rotes in good whyte Wyne, and [Page] drynke a quātyte of it euery mornynge with a lytell water and hony and eate not moche after it. And yf thou do not thus thou shalte haue Payne in the Bladder, and Lyuer, and shalte not pysse, and shalt haue grefe in the In­trayles and Lunges with brekynge of the Stone. Swete sone Alexander I haue rede also the Hystoryes of a myghty kynge, whiche assembled all the best Phylosophers that were in Ynde and Grece, cōmaunded them to make a medycyne so profytable that he shuld nede none other for his helth. The Grekes sayd he that Drynketh euery Mornynge twyse his Month­full of warme Water shall haue a good ende, and shall nede none other medycyne. The Physycyons of Ynde sayd that it is good to eate eueryday Fastynge aquantyte of Greynes of whytehony. And mesemeth that who so taketh one of these sayd Medycy­nes by reason shall not haue payne in [Page] his Wombe, nor ought not to feare Palsey, nor Gowte, nor ache in his Ioyntes. And who so Eateth euery mornynge. vij. Dragmas of clusters of swete Wyne grapes, shall not feare that dysease of flew me, and it wyll a mende his mynde, and claryfye his vnderstandynge, and he nedeth not to doubte Feuer quattaynes. And who so Eateth in the Mornynge a Fygge with Nuttes and aquantyte of leues of Rue, that day shall not nede to feare Venym.

¶ Of naturall heate.

MOste myghty kyng I requyre the to study the maner to ke­pe the naturall heate of thy body, with the moysture ther­of, in the whiche. ij. thynges lyeth the [Page] helth of the person. And knowe thou that the dystruccyon of the bodye cō ­meth in two thynges, one is natu­rall, and the other is agaynst nature. And for the contraryte of the cōplexy­on of man, and whan age surmoun­teth the bodye it behoueth for to dye. Otherwyse vnnaturally by aduentu­re, as by wepynge, or stones, or by syc­kenesses and lacke of helpe, or by Ve­nym: and other chaunces.

¶ Of the qualytes of Meates.

FVrther more it is good y^t thou knowe the nature of mea­tes, for some ben grosse, orcours, and some ben lyght and subtyle. The sub­tyle bredeth thynne blode, and good, as pure whyte, Che­kyns, [Page] and newe layde Egges Grosse meates ben good for suche as ben of hote humours, Labourers, fastynge, and that slepe after meales. Meane meates bredeth no Hote nor super­fluous Humours, as the Flesshe of Lābes, yonge Porke, and other that ben hote and moyst, but suche meates chaūge often in rostynge to hardnesse to heate, & dryenesse. And they ought to be eaten forthwith after rostynge, and ben good yf they be so taken with good spyces. Some meates bredeth melancoly, as Befe Cowes Flesshe, and all Flesshe that is cours and drye Other that bredeth and fede in moyst and watry, and shadowy places ben more subtyle, better and holsomest.