THe conseruacion of youth, and withstandynge of age, cōsysteth in the maintening of the powres, the spyrites, and the naturall here of the body in their state & temperancy, & in the comfortyng & repayringe of them beynge defectiue. For so longe as the powers the spirites, & the natural here of mā nes body are not debilitate nor wekened, so longe (I say) neyther shall the skin wrincle, for the debilite of the naturall hete declynyng, to coldenes & drynes through the whiche fode & noryshment of the body is corrupted & hindred, is cause of corrugaciō or wrī kling of the skyn for the meat beyng fyrst dygested in the stomacke, & then shortly after sent in to euery parte of the body, is dygested again of the natural hete of the same parte, where it is receiued, thē yf y^e this natural hete be by any occasyon corrupted, or de­stroyed, the fode also is sēt to y^e same [Page]place shalbe lykewise corrupted & thē so ensueth corrugacion of the skyn, & hore heres as ye may se in the auncy eut & aged men whē theyde cold and dry, for hotenes cōmeth of the defect of natural hete, the which defendeth the body from age, age properly doth make man cold and dry and therfore they be of lytell blod and the powres and natural hete in thē very weke, & vnable to concectyng & degestynge of meate, wherfore there encrease great plenty of humidites & crude rawe humours, & therfore the in sprites & y^e .iii. degestyons in age be decayed, & in them rayneth the debylytie of hete, & this foloweth with ȳ course of tyme the whiche course maye be somwhat let & detended by phisicke, & by auoy­dynge of suche accidentall causes as do induce age, as sorowe, sludy, heny nes, disperacion, ouermoch venery, labor, trauel, or rest, & when age by any of these causes is come, thē to ampu­tat [Page]or cut away the cause by thinges apropriat, and for the p̄seruacion of y^e powers is no better thyng then a syrupe made of wine & suger, mixt togither .iii. partes of wine and .ii. partes of suger dronke w^t fayre water, or borage water this sirupe is both meat and drinke, & in it be .ii. thynges con­fyct togyther, whiche are most frendly to nature, and when the powers be weke they nede such thinges as may corupt them both meate. drinkes, & other spyces, & moystynge medicines and thi [...] is a very secret thynge. For [...]ugacion and reu [...]yng o [...] the skyn require such thynges, as do clense and make playne & smoth skyn with cer­tayne oyles, waters, & oyntementes. Goodlines and fresshenes of colour, is by fedinge vpon such meates and drynkes, as do engendre good & laudable blod, & are lyght of digestion, & by such thinges as do clense the blod corupted, and the other powers is o­uer­moche [Page]euacuacion, or to often lettyng of blod, or such other lyke thin­ges. These thinges may be amended with thus, eatyng of chekyns, & che­kyn broth, with oewe rest and sleepe, and also with sweete and Odoryfe­rous thynges, and suche other lyke. ¶ Thinges engendrynge euyil & rot­ten flume, be fruytes, tysshe, all thynges made of mylke, & suche other, of the which be engendred waterye hu­mours nor dygestable in the mēbres & thē in the same membres it causeth horenes, and wrincles. But amonge all other thynges there is nothynge, the whiche so stronglye doth cause a man to loke oldely, as feare, and des­peracion. For bycause in that passy­on and effection, al the naturall hete of the body doth resorte inwarde, and forsaketh the outwarde partes, and that moste chefelye, when the mans complection is dysposed to the same, and y^t is the cause that many beynge [Page]tost turmoyled, and vexed with this worldly stormes sodaynely theyr heere waxe hore, or whyte.

¶ Nowe thyngꝭ that do resyst or put away these causes, are chosē the ioy­ce of pomegranate, & chyefely golde, the ioyce of Borage, and of Fumytotye, and specially grene and purified, and the vertue of the roote of Plan­tayue, and suche other.

¶ The roten flume is destroied with the vse of Mirabolanes cōposed, and Alot rosarū and Agarike, thinges to be had at the Pothecaries And that wherwith properly both melancoly & flume be expelled out of the bodye, is Cleborus niger, called in Englysshe, Beares fote, prepared by by a certayne maner vnto fewe knowen. For in the rectyfynge of the malyciousnes of this herbe, standeth all the secrete of his operation. For by hym a man shalbe altered frō euyll compliction to good, and it restoreth youth again [Page]but it is not cōuenyente for belycate bodies & noble cōplections, and therfore I wyll say lytel of him. Beware ye neuer entermedle with this herbe without the aduysemente and coun­sayle of some experte and well learned Physycion.

¶ Also Dianthos composed with suger, the whiche properly doth consu­me all the fleume and melancoly be­yuge in the heade and it taryeth and letteth the hore heeres coroborateth and strengneth the sences, and pro­longeth the lyfe, and chyfely whe [...] a quantite of it is dysolued in aqua vy­te well and craftely made, and som­tyme it is dyssolued in wyne, and ly­eth in it .ii. or .iii daies, and thē strayned, & so vsed conueniently according to the counsayle of a Physytion.

¶ Other thynges also there be, whi­che quicken & maketh lusty the body, as Diacameron, Mirabolany, Che­buly composed whiche by theyr pro­pertye [Page]do consume and wast the fleu­matike superfluites of the stomacke and do comforte him, and do claryfy the blod, and be of gret force against melancoly, and the vse of those do cō forte youth, and causeth a man for to waxe yonge againe, and defendeth a man from hore heres. Also the decoction of sene with Dlaboraqinatum, and of the whey of Sotes mylke, and such other. And one of the chefe thinges, wherby age is defended & youth prolonged, is once in a mouth to haue a vomet to expell the fleumatycke humour, and once in a weke to receyue aclyster / and specyallye that com­posed of the ioyce of Mercury / Walworte / Elder / and bete with halfe an ounce of Yeropegara / the whiche is a greate secrete.

¶ And also subiection made with ye ropigra, or Cassia fistula, and the ioyce of fresshe roses / preparate with suger, is a goodly easer of nature, mynystred [Page]wysely, & it is a blessed medy eyne to make aman soluble, and ther with also it cōforteth the pryncypall membres in man, & altreth the euyll disposycion of mā to good, it openeth opilacions or stoppȳges, it cōforteth the hert, and clenseth it, and to speke of the prayse of this medycine wolde requyre a longe processe.

¶ Other thynges also destroyenge & cōsumynge the humours, which cause age are those temperat spices knowen to euery booy, Cloues, cinamom Liquirice, & such other, but most princypally, when they an confyet & incor perat w^t good wine, & so beynge fyrit sōwhat watred) receiued & dronken.

¶ Also it is not vnknowē, howe that pylles made of myrtha, be of an exel­lente goodnes in the conseruacion of heith & lyfe, for it withstandeth putrifaction rectyfyeth & syncereth y^e whi­che is redy to putrif action, wherfore this Myrtha is confyete with suche [Page]thinges as deade bodyes are incered withall, to defende the corse from putrifactiō. And the foresayd spyced wyne, when it is receiued of man it spredeth it selfe abrode in y^• partes of the body, and comforth all the partes of the body, & dryeth vp the superfluous humydytes of the body, and also the powder of the same Spyces oft vsed with meate profyteth wonderfully.

¶ Howbeit, yf the man be of a dry disposytion, then shal it be nedeful to adioyne to these spyces, some more tēperate thing, as the ioyce of Pomegranates, Rosewater, Suger, Lyckerice Resyns & suche lyke. Diacameron restoreth dygestion lost, & comforteth it and Trifera passeth all declynynge, somwhat more to calidite, the natu­rall hete then & the meat comynge to the membres beynge decayed or cor­rupted, which cōmeth of putrifyed colour, forthwith ensueth corrugation and olde lokynge as ye may se in su­che [Page]as ar scaby in any parte of theyr body, for that parte beynge infected / it semeth riuyled and olde skyn. The infection beyng once departed again the skyn sheweth it selfe fayre, smoth and yongly, and to those golde preparate is souerayne, & the wyne of Po­megranat, & this is speciall good for the lepry. And this wine of granates taken and receiued howe ye lyst, hath properte to extenate the humours, & to alay the hete of the liuer, & to comforte all partes of mans body offen­ded with hete, and it is good against wekenes othert, fortefieth the mouth of the stomacke, & cōforteth the hert. Also Mirabolani, rebuli cōditi be very good both in hote & colde deseases, they comforte the stomacke, and dry­eth vp the superfluous moystnes of the same, & besydes this they do help the melancolyke people / they claryfy and make clere the blod & the spyrytꝭ neither is there anythinge more ex­cellente [Page]for that purpose then these.

¶ Also Borage wyne made (in tyme that grapes be gathered & pressed) w^t must is princypally good for melan­coly, faynte herted, & mad people, for it clenseth the blode & taketh awaye euyll fantasyes, and comforteth all the regetyue powers, & encountreth all corrupcion. The electuary also of the Mirabolans vsed is a thīg right often proued and alowed, to the conseruacion of helth and prolonging of the lyfe, and to waxe yonge agayne, for it comforteth the stomake & ma­keth it apt & lusty, and cōsumeth the watrynes lefte of the fore fode, & the vse of this electuary w^tstandeth age, and causeth man to lyue long by the helpe of God.

¶ Agayne certayne suffumygacions and sauours made of couenient thinges, and accordynge as the man ne­deth is verye profytable.

¶ Bathynge also temperately with­out [Page]any great swetynge so that onelye the skyn be mūdyfyed and clensed from fylthynes, is holsome and pro­fytable, for therby the powers are o­pened, and the super [...]luous humydy­ties lutkynge within the skyn, be wa­sted and dryed vp.

¶ But the vse of good wyne / in the whiche suche spyces as we haue spo­ken of before, haue be steped, and the vertue of them in it desolued, tempe­ratly taken with a lytel water myxt therewith in dewe season, shall passe and enter in to all the hyd wayes of the bodye, and it shall drye vp all the euyll humidities, and comforteth all the inward partes, and perfitly doth open all maner of opilations or stop­pynge, the whiche is secret for the a­parition or openinge of places opilat or stopped, causeth the lyuely spyritꝭ to runne throughout euerye parte of the bodye, and causeth the naturall hete for to waxe stronge, and to be of [Page]great force, but opylacion or stoppynge causeth the contrary, for the naturall hete beynge conculcate, or strangled, not hauynge fre passage throu­ghe euery parte, is therby debylytate and wekened, and so not suffyciente and myghty to seperate the pure frō the vnpure, whe reupon the superflu­ous humydities, rotten and putry­fyed be in the body moche increased, and therby consequently ensueth the wrynkelynge of the flesshe and skyn and age at hande.

¶ Another also stronge meane there is, to defende age, and for to recouer youth agayne, by abstynence, and conuenyente for bearynge of your quantyte of meat, vnto suche tyme as the body be brought very lowe, and ma­de verye spare, and then to restoore, and norysshe it agayne with lawda­ble holsome and good foode, whiche hath a propertye to engendre cleare and pure blode.

[Page] ¶ This poynte also do they obserue, the whiche make faete Oxen, whose flesshe the more it waxeth leane and bare, the more also dooth it become tendre and yonge, and the better af­terwarde do they lyke & batten, & ye may also se the practise of this ī such as be lately recouered from sycknes.

¶ But to be short, he that wyl refreyne age, and conserue youth, let hym not be neglygent in chosynge of his meat / that it be suche, as may brede good clere fat, thicke & viscous blod and then may he withstand wel age.

¶ And when that suche humydyties or moystnes, whiche are in the body, and crude humours that are increa­sed in man, then hath he nede of such thynges whiche do extenat and exic­cat those superfluous moystnes, and suche thinges as may dygest the crude or rawe humours / syncere and depure the hole bodye.

¶ Amonge other thynges, suche as [Page]waxe aged, haue great nede of cale­faction / and humystacion, that is to say, warmynge, & moistynge, of both equally by meates and drynkes, and medycynes conuenyent / by exercyse and gladnes.

¶ Nowe that he may kepe his body in suche temperancie, that he may lyue withoute the horrydle daunger of greuous syckenes, and the better able to serue almyschty God, to whō be all honoure and glorye. Amen.