COral is a Shrub, growing in the bot­tom of the Sea, which becometh Stony when exposed to the Air.

Therefore is it called by the Greeks [...] and [...], that is, The Stony Tree, in Latin Coralium.

There is divers sorts of it according to their several colours; for there is a Red, a White, a Black, a Green, a Yellowish, of an Ash-colour and of mixed colours. The Red, [Page 2] which is called the Male, is preferred above all the rest, and is the subject of this our Trea­tise. Anselmus de Booth, Physician to the Emperor Rodolphus the Second, affirmeth, To have seen in the said Emperors Cabinet, Branches of Coral of several colours upon the same Body; so that the Body of it was Coral and Stony, and the Branches Ligneous and Woody, which is not improbable to me; for I have seen in the North of Ireland a Lake called Lake Neaugh, wherein, if a piece of Wood that groweth thereabout be planted, that part which is in the Ground shall be turned into Iron, that which is in the Water into Stone, and what is above Wa­ter shall remain Wood. But let us come to Coral again, whose generation is not much unlike; for when that Juyce that is in it, cal­led by the Latins, Succus Lapidescens, runneth thorough the Body of the Vegetable, it al­tereth it, and turneth it into a stony sub­stance. Whence we may g [...]ess, That Coral, under Water, is not altogether soft and flexi­ble, though it groweth stony, when exposed to the Air; which cannot be wondered at, seeing there be many Stones, both in France and England, which being newly digged out of the Ground, are in a manner as soft as Cheese: But having been a while exposed [Page 3] to the Air, grow to a considerable hard­ness, the Sun and the Air having exhaust­ed the waterish part of them. Now whe­ther Coral groweth out of the Petrifying Juyce, or being ingendred as other Plants, is at last altered by the said Petrifying Juyce, is a question. For my part, I believe that it doth not grow without that Petrifying Juyce, no more then the Sea-fan, called Co­rallina, the Alga, and other Herbs which grow in the Sea, and that it doth not petrifie till it dieth: By dying, I mean, that when by the ordinary course of Nature, or by the violent action of the Stony Juyce, pene­trating the inmost parts, the Plant is petri­fied. Now it is certain, that Nature maketh use sometimes of the Petrifying Juyce for the producing of the Plant; for it hath been observed by many, that Coral hath grown out of the pieces and fragments of Earthen Pots. And in the Island called Tabacco, near Africa, which is half swallowed up by the Sea, much Coral is found, having its Roots in pieces of Earthen Pots. Now the reason why Coral should petrifie, and other Plants not, is because of its peculiar disposition: As also, because naturally there is a Petrifying Juyce in it, which forceth the Plant to receive a stony form; besides the peculiar disposition, [Page 4] and preparation of it to receive such a form. No reason can be given for its colour, no more then for that of a Rose; for it cannot be referred to the first or second qualities, no more than the sight of the eye. God hath been pleased to adorn things with such co­lours, and hath so inserted them into their Seeds, as their Archaeus can produce none other; Coral sometimes groweth to the height of a man before it be ripe and turned Red, it seemeth of several colours; for as many Plants as I have seen that were not wholly petrified, were all of a Dusky, Green, or such colour as we see in other Trees; and those only begun to be Red, that had nothing woody in them, as we see that in Pears and Apples, the Red colour is a sign of their ripe­ness and maturity. When Coral is newly taken out of the Sea, many impure things stick to it outwardly, which being taken of, the true colour sheweth it self. There are several sorts of Coral in respect of their mat­ter, for some is soft, other hard, some solid, some hollow, some rough, some polished, some porous.

When Coral is taken out of the Sea, it is for the most part rough, and then is made smooth and polished by the Artists: There is a Black Coral found in Gallicia, a Province [Page 5] of Spain, and such another sort of course one, called Savalia, is brought from Mauri­tany, having the inside woody, and the out­side horny, and stony, of a Black, Yellow, and Green colour. There is also a sort of White Coral found in Catalonia, and called by the Spaniards Polo: This hath no Bark, and groweth in the bottom of the Sea, and not upon Rocks, as the Red doth. The best Coral is now found upon the Coasts of Tunis and Tripoli. Theophrastus in his Book [...] reckoneth Coral among the preci­ous Stones; and Orpheus in his Book [...] speaketh very much of Coral. Before I end this Chapter, and speak of the Vir­tues of Coral, I will here, in favor of the cu­rious, clear a doubt, and shew an error con­cerning its Nature that hath reigned a great while (because Pliny writeth, that Coral while it is in the Sea, is as soft as Wax, but assoon as it cometh to the Air it groweth hard) by an History, taken out of. Beguinus own words in his Tyrocinium Chymicum.

Upon this Controversie, Iohn Baptist of Nicole, Squire of the City of Marseilles, chief Commander for the Fishing of Coral in the Kingdom of Tunis, hath assured me, That in the year One thousand five hundred eighty four, being upon the Sea of Biserty, belong­ing [Page 6] to the said Tunis, where the said Fishing of Coral was, and being curious to know the Nature of Coral, and how it groweth in the bottom of the Sea, caused a young Man to dive into the Sea a hundred fathom deep, being tied to a rope of a sufficient length, with a weight of five and twenty pounds in each hand, to go to the bottom, charging him to bring some Coral from the bottom, and to observe, whether it was hard or soft. Being come above Water, he brought a Branch of Coral in each hand, affirming, That it was as hard in the bottom of the Sea, as out of it, and that being about eight or nine fathoms near the bottom, he felt an ex­cessive cold. The same Nicole not contented therewith, as the Nets were coming up, and before they could be in the Air, cast himself into the Sea about one fathom deep, and took some Coral sticking to the Nets, which he found as hard as when it is in the Air. The same hath been confirmed to be me by the Lord of La Piotier, a Gentleman of Lion, who within these two years returned from the said Fishing of Coral. Besides this, the said Squire Nicole assured me, that in the Spring when the Coral is plucked up, in the breaking of it, there issueth out a liquor like unto Milk, which falling upon any Stone, [Page 7] Wood, Iron, or some other matter, produceth Coral; and that he had seen in the Cabinet of the great Duke at Pisa, the Skull of a dead Man, upon which was grown in the Sea, a great Branch of Coral; and an Anchor taken out of the Sea, upon which were several Branches of Coral, produced by the Juyce of Coral that fell upon it.

Here we must rectifie a kind of seeming contradiction, which is, when we have cited Ovid and Mathiolus, and said, That Coral was soft under Water, and grew hard when it came into the Air; and in another place, That by the experiment of Squire Nicole, it was found to be hard under Water; there­fore understand this only to be Secundum magis & minus, as of those Stones which we have said to be as soft as Cheese in the Earth, and then to harden in the Air when digged up, for the Reasons before alledged. For though Coral may be hard in the bottom of the Sea, yet it is nothing so hard as when it hath been exposed a while to the Air; and so we perceive it to be in all kind of Trees which dry and harden to the Air, when once wean­ed and separated from their natural sap or moisture, and growing place.

ACcording to the Famous Dioscorides and his Learned Commentator Mathiolus, Coral in his manifest qualities is moderately astringent and cooling; but his specifick qua­lities, are so many and wonderful, that I should show my self too prolix and tedious, if I would treat of them one by one. There­fore I shall content my self to lay down the chiefest, and to back them with the Authority of several Learned and Famous Men, and shall begin with Anselmus de Booth, Physician to the Emperor Rodolphus the Second, in his Book De Gemmis & Lapidibus, wherein he saith, That the tincture of Coral stoppeth the immoderate Courses of Women, both Red and White; the Running of the Reins; the Spitting of Blood; and cureth all Bloody Fluxes, and Gripings of the Guts; expelleth all kind of Gravel and Stones, and con­sumeth the over-growing of the Spleen. I can testifie of my self (saith he) that being ex­treamly sick of a Pestilential Feaver, and faint­ing [Page 9] every moment, and having been without sleep four days and four nights; insomuch, that all those about me, despaired of my life, by taking in a Spoon six drops of the said Tincture, with the decoction of Violets, upon an instant, and as it were miraculously, I was cured. For assoon as I had taken two Spoonfuls of the said Tincture, I felt my Vital Spirits so refreshed, and my Intrals so comforted by the gratefulness and efficacy of the said Remedy; that as if the Light had expelled Darkness, I found manifestly the strength of the disease abated, and fell into a critical Sweat (of which before there was no sign.) So that Nature did thrust to the skin a­bundance of Purple Spots, which presently being obliterated and carried away by the Sweat, in a little time I recovered my former health. That Tincture (saith he) hath the faculty to bring the Body to a right temper by a certain Celestial Power, and eradicateth all Diseases out of the Internal Parts, by reason of the Analogy it hath with the Vital Spirits, and the natural heat which it augmenteth and strenghtneth, and therefore overcometh easily the contrary Dis­eases. It cureth the Falling Sickness in few weeks, though one hath had it from his youth. It is commended above all against the immoderate Fluxes of Women, either White or Red; for it doth stay them so, that [Page 8] [...] [Page 9] [...] [Page 10] the Women cannot fall into any inconveni­ency by it. It doth also stop all Fluxes of the Belly, and of the Blood from whatsoever part it floweth. It also stoppeth the old Run­nings of the Reins. It is given in the Plague with admirable success: Likewise in the Flux and Small Pox, chiefly when they do not come out kindly. It is also excellent against Me­lancholy and the Tympany. It appeaseth the Pains of the Eyes, stayeth the Rheum, and taketh away the Spots that grow in the Eyes.

In a word, Coral strengthneth the Heart, and therefore is a soveraign Remedy against the Plague, and all venemous, contagious, and malignant Diseases. It is a certain Anti­dote in the Plague time, if one taketh of the said Tincture in a Morning fasting, the quan­tity of half a drachm. It hath the same power against the poison of Vitriol, which is analo­gal to that of Feavers and Agues, causing Gripings in the Stomach, and the Guts, Vomiting, Looseness, thickness and black­ness of the Tongue, Short-breath, and other dangerous Symptoms, which is confirmed by Forestus, Lib. 30. Observat. Med. Observa­tione 7. in Scholio. Arnaldus Villanovanus relateth, That if ten grains of the Tincture of Coral be given to a Child newly born, [Page 11] mixed with some of the Mothers Milk, be­fore the Child hath taken any other Meat or Drink, that the said Child shall never be troubled with the Falling-Sickness; which is also affirmed by Camillus Leonardus, Lib. 2. Speculi Lapidum, Litera, c. Thus far Ansel­mus de Booth.

Our second Author shall be Crollius, the Prince of Chymists, who saith this. As Coral doth wonderfully grow, so the Secrets that are in it, are altogether admirable, and its Faculties beyond expression. The virtue of its Tincture is such, that it is able to cleanse and renew the Blood in such sort, as to cure all Diseases that comes from the corruption thereof, and to restore health, strength, and alacrity. It stoppeth all immoderate Fluxes in Women, being taken in Plantain Water; as also all Lasks and Fluxes of the Belly, as Bloody Fluxes, Dysenteries, Diarrhoea's, taken in the decoction of the Roots of Tormentil; all Haemorrhagies, Spitting of Blood, and Haemorrhoides, taken in Plantain Water; cleanseth and reneweth the Blood, taken in the Water of Fumitory or Cichory. Resisteth Putrefaction, strengthneth the Heart, and the Vital Spirits, and preserveth them from Poi­son, in Water of Borrage or Buglosse. Com­foreth and strengthneth the Stomach, and [Page 12] the Natural heat in Mint or Penniroyal Water. Removeth all obstructions, chiefly from the Lungs, Liver, and Kidneys, in Water of Sor­rel, Grass, Little Centaury, Spleenwort, Liver­wort. Dissolveth congealed Blood in Water of Chervil or Daisie. It cureth absolutely the Fits of the Mother, and the immoderate Fluxes of Women, in the Water of Mother­wort, Balm, Penniroyal. It cureth the Dropsie, Convulsion, Palsie, Falling-Sickness, in Cin­namon Water, continuing for a while. It expelleth the Stone and Gravel in Saxifrage Water, or that of Rest-Harrow. The dose is from six grains or ten, to a scruple or two, according to the age of the Patient, and the greatness of the distemper. It cureth Ulcers being applied to them, or mixed with Plaisters proper for them.

The third Author shall be Joannes Petrus Faber, a famous Physician of Monpelier, who in his Book called Myrothecium Spagiricum, in the Chapter of Coral, speaketh thus. The virtues and force of this Secret for the mun­d [...]ying, and purifying the Blood in all the Body, is such as it may be given in all sick­ [...] and diseases, which proceed from the [...] of the Blood, in so much that it [...] excellent in the Leprosie. It stayeth [...] Fluxes in Women being taken [Page 13] in Plantain Water; as also all kinds of Loose­nesses, and other Bloody Fluxes against Na­ture. It comforteth and strengthneth the Heart wonderfully, as also the Stomach. Re­storeth the Natural heat, by reason of its radi­cal moisture, which is almost equal to ours. It dissolveth all Congealed Blood and Scorbu­tical Concretions, therefore also most pro­fitable to those that have the Stone and Gra­vel, being drunk in the Water of Rest-Harrow. It is wonderfully efficacious in all venemous Ulcers, and others, if it be mixed with some proper Balsam, because it mundifieth the Blood, and procureth Cicatrization.

The fourth Author shall be our worthy Countreyman, Roger Bacon, who in his Learn­ed Treatise De Retardanda Senectute, com­mendeth Coral in these words. That Remedy which lieth in the bottom of the Sea, is of a wonderful virtue against the infirmities of old age, as experience teacheth us. It is hot and dry in the second degree, as Isaac affirm­eth. It doth corroborate the Stomach, the Senses, and all the internal parts.

The fifth Author shall be the most renown­ed Fernelius, who speaking of Coral, saith thus; Coral being cold and dry in the second de­gree, by his Astringent quality strengthneth the Stomach, and efficaciously stoppeth all Bloody [Page 14] Fluxes, preserveth the strength of the Heart, and fenceth it against all malignant and pesti­lent Diseases. Being taken inwardly, it stay­eth the monethly Courses of Women, and strengthneth the Conception. It hindereth Excrescences of Flesh, filleth up the cavity of Ulcers, and weareth out the Scars in the Eyes. It cooleth the heat of Choler, and stayeth the eruptions of it, whether upward or down­ward. It strengthneth the substance of the Liver, let it never be so loose.

I could in confirmation of the Premisses, bring the authority of all the best Physicians in all Ages that have made mention of Coral, but that I am an Enemy to Prolixity and Re­petitions. These will serve to satisfie any reasonable person, or else nothing will.

In a word, the Virtues of Coral are so great and wonderful, that many grave and authen­tical Authors did not stick to say, That it was an Amulet or Charm against Fearfulness, Be­witchings, Sorceries, Poysons, Falling-Sick­ness, Assaults of the Devil, Lightnings, Sea­storms, and other dangers whatsoever. There­fore in ancient time it was dedicated to Jupi­ter and Apollo. But of these last qualities, let every one believe as much as he thinketh fit­ting: Certain it is, by the testimony of Pliny, and others, that anciently it was among the [Page 15] Indians almost of an equal value with Pearls of the same bigness. It is also certain, that Red Coral, if worn by a Man, hath, and pre­serveth its colour better than that which is worn by a Woman; perhaps, because the heat of a Man is greater than that of a Wo­man; and the vapors that exhale out of his Body are purer.

Moreover, it is an undoubted truth, That Red Coral will grow pale, blewish, and ma­culated with several spots▪ when it is worn by one that is nigh death, or dangerously sick, and will foretel Diseases by the changing of its colour. This I found true by a sad expe­rience of my own; for having once a Girl about Twelve Moneths old that wore a Brace­let of Coral, she fell into a Pestilential Fea­ver: So that when I came home and spied the Coral quite altered, I began presently to despair of her recovery, which I would not have done, if I had known then the Tincture of Coral, as I do now. She lived but two days in that case. After her death I would have taken the Bracelet from her, and tried whe­ther I could have brought it to its former colour again; but the Mother would never suffer it, but would have it buried with her, lest the sight of it should bring her into re­membrance of her loss, and so deprived me [Page 14] [...] [Page 15] [...] [Page 16] of so just a curiosity. Here by the By, Let us consider what affliction it is to Parents to see their young Children sick, without any Re­medy, and not able to express their own grie­vances, whereas now a spoonful of this Tin­cture, which is pleasant to the taste, and can be no ways hurtful, may preserve them alive to the honor and glory of God, and the satis­faction, and joy of their Parents and Rela­tions.

TIncture is an Extract of the Colours ad­hering to mixed Bodies, and of the formal qualities thereof. Whence cometh it, that Tinctures are sometimes called Oyls, sometimes Spirits, and sometimes Quinte­scence. In the Extraction of Tinctures, the Chymical Artists do chiefly labor, that they may separate the formal Virtue of the mixed Bodies, in which lieth the faculty of curing Diseases from its proper Matter or Feculent Body, which is unprofitable, Terrestrial or Waterish; for they draw by Extraction and Means of a determinated Menstruum (for the same Menstruum is not fit to draw all kinds of Tinctures) the Tincture or Essence of it, which is the most secret and internal substance that Nature had inclosed and concealed in the Intrals of it, to preserve it from all external injuries and accidents. And after that, they draw or abstract the Menstruum from it; and the Tincture or Essence remaineth in the bot­tom of the Vessel, in the consistence of Honey [Page 18] or Pap, and then it is properly called Extract. But if it be in a Liquid form joyned with its Menstruum, and representing the colour out of which it is drawn, then it is properly cal­led Tincture. Therefore observe that by the word Tincture, the Chymists understand the colours sticking to the Essence of the mixed Bodies, and to the formal qualities drawn out of them.

Here we must make an exact distinction, between a Dissolution and an Extraction of the Tincture; for in a true Tincture we ex­tract only the formal Virtue of the subject, the mass and lump of the Body remaining whole; but in a dissolution, the whole com­pound is reduced into minute parts. Hence cometh it, that the dose of the Tincture is small, but that of the dissolution must be in a greater quantity, because it is not so effica­cious.

Observe also, That there is no true Tin­cture, but that which remaineth of the same colour as the mixed Body was, after the Men­struum is extracted from it. If by this rule many Tinctures be examined, it will be easily known that they are no true Tinctures, but that their colour proceedeth from the mix­ture of the Menstruum with the Body dis­solved.

[Page 19] For example, Let any body take of the Vulgar Tinctures of Coral, if you exhale or distil the Menstruum from them, it will go away pure and clear, and that which remain­eth shall not be Red, but shall look either like Lime or Salt; whereas, if it were a true Tincture, and a Red Substance extracted from the Body, it should remain so, though the Menstruum were abstracted from it. But that Tinctures are not always true, but vary accord­ing to their Menstruums, is evident in that several colours may be extracted out of one and the same thing by several Menstruums. For example, if you put upon Silver calcined with Mercury sublimate, the Spirit of Salt; you shall have a Green colour like an Emerald, but if you put upon it the Spirit of Ʋrine im­pregnated with the Salt of Ʋrine, it will be of a Blew colour. These contradictions did perswade once Crollius, an excellent Chymist, when he wrote his Book called Basilica Chy­mica, That the true Tincture of Coral was impossible to be had, or at least, that it was not his fortune ever to see any. But we shall convince him sufficiently of the contrary, and as many as shall be of his opinion.

Here I cannot wonder enough at many Chymists and Physicians of good note, who through ignorance, or by hear-say, for the [Page 20] obtaining the Tincture of Coral, advise to calcine it, that the Tincture may be drawn out of it, without considering that in the Calcination the fire burneth and consumeth the Tincture, and that Calcination is good for nothing but to Extract the Salt of it, which also hath several Faculties in Physick of which we shall speak in its proper place. For Cal­cination is the Reduction of a mixed Body into a Calx or Lime made by fire, which depriveth the said mixed Body of the hu­mor or moisture that united the parts toge­ther.

Now it is time to come to the true Tincture of Coral. Take therefore (for an experiment) half an ounce of the best Coral in Powder, put it in a Viol of about half a pint, pour upon it six ounces of our Menstruum, and stop the Viol close with a Cork, you shall perceive, that within four hours the said Menstruum will be coloured Red, then pour it out, and put new upon the same Coral, and so do, so often till you shall see the Coral white in the bottom of the Glass, then abstract the Men­struum in Balneo, in the bottom shall remain the true Tincture of Coral as Red as Blood, and the Body shall remain in the Viol as white as Snow: Edulcorate, that is, Wash the said Tincture from its Menstruum with some Cor­dial [Page 21] Water, which you shall afterwards Ab­stract from the Tincture in Balneo, till it be almost dry, then shalt thou have the true Tincture of Coral, most efficacious for the a­forementioned Diseases, being given in some appropriated Vehiculum, and fit for the dis­temper. The dose is from ten drops to twen­ty, or thirty, in two ounces of an appropria­ted Liquor.

When you have Extracted the Tincture of Coral, do not slight or throw away the Body of Coral which remaineth in the Viol, for out of it may, by Chymical Art, be Extracted the Salt of Coral; which in all respects e­mulateth and cometh very near the Tincture, except in the curing of malignant and pesti­lential Diseases.

I am here much surprised at the contra­dictory opinion of Philibert Guibert, a famous Physician of Paris, who in several places of his Book, called The Charitable Physician, ha­ving highly commended the use of Venice Treacle against the Plague, and other ven [...] ­mous Diseases, according to the doctrine of the best Physicians, doth at last in his Trea­tise of the Plague, exclaim against it as against an infamous Remedy, contrary to the autho­rity of the best Physicians, and the constant experience of all Ages, as I have shewed in [Page 22] my Treatise of the last Plague Anno 1665. and instead of it, substituteth two Antidotes of his own, which are something Comical. The first is, The use of good Wine; the se­cond is that which he calleth Electuarium de tribus Adverbiis. Cito, longe, tarde. That is, to be gone quickly out of the infected place, to go far from it, and to come back as late as one can, according to this old Distich.

But as we do not deny that Wine is a noble Aliment, and a great Cordial, so do we think it too weak alone to cure the Plague, as is seen in many places where people drink no­thing but Wine, and that of the best: No more than his Antidote of the three Adverbs, many having met with the Plague in the Countrey, which they might have avoided, if they had stayed in the City, as I did all the while: For I do undertake (with the Grace of God) to cure the fiercest Plague with Venice Treacle, and my Tincture of Coral. Add to this, that many people are not able to go out of Town, either want of means or re­lations, or being incumbred with a numerous Fam [...]ly.

[Page 23] Before we finish this Chapter, it will be worth the curiosity of the Reader to know how to Extract the Salt of Coral, which we have said to emulate the Virtues of the Tin­cture, except in the curing of the Plague, and malignant Feavers.

Take therefore that white Body of Coral which remaineth in the Viol, after the Ex­traction of the Tincture, wash it very well with fair water, dry it gently upon a soft fire, and then pour upon it by degrees Vinegar, that hath been distilled three times, as much as will cover it four Fingers above, then digest and dissolve that together, and after the solu­tion, Abstract the Vinegar till the Coral be dry; then wash the Coral with distilled water, to take away the acrimony of the Vinegar; after that, evaporate the Water till there re­maineth a Salt as white as Snow, and free from all acrimony, which must be kept in a Glass close stopt.

Its virtues are most excellent, for it purifi­eth the Blood in all the Body, which it re­storeth to its former strength. It stoppeth all Fluxes of the Womb, of the Belly, and of the Haemorrhoides. It strengthneth the Heart, and the Stomach; it openeth all the obstructi­ons of the internal parts; it dissolveth con­gealed Blood. It is most excellent in the [Page 24] Dropsie, Palsie, Convulsion, the Stone, Fits of the Mother. Crollius is of the same opinion; for he saith, That it purifieth the Blood, and cureth in a short time all Diseases that proceed from the corruption of it, if it be taken in Cichory or Fumitory Water. To stop all excessive Fluxes and loss of Blood, as well by Dysenteries and Haemorrhoides, and such like; as Hepatical Fluxes, Lienterical, Menstrual, Spermatical, Bleeding at the Nose, Spitting of Blood, being taken in Plantain Water, or such like; to resist pu­trefaction, to strengthen the Brains, the Stomach, the Natural heat, and the Vital Spirits, and to preserve the Heart against all poyson; to remove all obstructions from the noble parts, to wit, The Lungs, the Liver, and the Kidneys; to dissolve congealed Blood, and to cure the most stubborn Fits of the Mother, and superfluities of the Monethly Courses, being taken in the Wa­ter of Motherwort, Balm, or Pennyroyal. See Crollius in Basilica Chymica, and Ansel­mus de Booth, cap. 154. Lib. 3. de Gem­mis.

In the Dropsie, Palsie, Falling-Sickness, and Convulsion, this Salt is taken with ad­mirable success in Cinnamon Water; and for the Stone, in the Water of Rest-Harrow. It [Page 25] may also be put in Lozenges, and be taken in stead of common Salt in a boiled Egg, or in Broth, or in White Wine.

DIseases never come upon mankind, but by a Segregation and Heterogeneity of humors; for while the Crasis or Tempera­ment of the Humors, remaineth whole, Na­ture constantly performeth her Functions, the Spirits play their part, and the oeconomy of the Body remaineth intire; but assoon as the Humors begin to separate themselves, and to jar one against another, the Spirits are scat­tered, the Humors putrifie; and if there be any malignity in the Air, it introduceth it­self immediately into that Chaos.

Now these Indications teach Physicians, first, to expel the malignity as the most press­ing; secondly, to settle the Spirits; thirdly, to unite again the Humors. Now the malig­nity being aerial, cannot be expelled, but by formal Qualities, neither can the Spirits be settled but by the same; which both being done, the third, which is the union of the [Page 27] Humors, will of necessity follow; for the Cause being removed, the Effect insueth. These things cannot easily be done by a Body in Substance, (suppose Coral in Powder) for in that Body the three Principles of Nature, to wit, Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury, remain united together, and so adhere one to an­other; that although nature may digest them, yet will they not separate themselves to do the Body any determinate good, but will either undigested or digested, go all along and keep company together; whereas, when they are separated one from the other, they work determinately by the help of a proper Vehi­culum, upon the disease aimed at. For though all the parts (for example of Coral) be friend­ly to an Humane Body, yet are they more friendly one to another, and will not sepa­rate themselves to do a Body good, but will rather stick close and perish together, to the illusion of the Physician, and the delusion of the Patient. The second Reason is, That when the Remedy is given in Substance, Nature is put to the work and task of digesting it, and in the mean time the disease (chiefly if it be aerial) getteth footing, the strength declineth, and so many times the Scales weigh down; whereas, if it be given separate (suppose the Tincture of Coral) Nature presently layeth [Page 28] hold on it, cheareth up the heart with it, who presently as the Sun of the Microcosm sendeth it, by way of irradiation, to the part affected, and so relieveth the Patient.

Another inconveniency ariseth from giving Remedies in Substance, which is, that when the thinnest part of the Remedy, is dissolved in the Body, the thickest, which the Latins call Faere or Crassamentum, remains in the way, and many times causeth stubborn ob­structions, and other accidents, whose Causes being unknown to the Physician, because un­suspected, produce many times several ac­cidents worse than the Disease that was in­tended at first to be cured. This is to be daily observed in those that use gross and f;aeculent Means, and by the Reason we have alledged before, fall into stoppages and obstructions, and consequently into divers Diseases hard to be cured.

From this Reason it is, that Spirits and Essences separated and sublimated, work more powerfully and efficaciously, than when they are wrapt and involved in their whole Bodies, [...] whom they cannot easily ex­tricate themselves, and shew forth their power and virtue, as you may observe in Spirit of Wine well rectified, one spoonful of which shall work more effect then a quart [Page 29] of the common one, out of which it is ex­tracted. The same is of Vinegar, which, if it be pure and good, shall in the quantity of a spoonful, in Sawces, Salets, or other con­diments, do more effect than a quart of the common one, and with less charge and more gratefulness; because its efficacy and virtue before was dulled, allayed, and made ineffica­cious by the faeces, phlegm, and other impu­rities that adhered to it. Upon this Reason, the Remedies that are to be administred to Humane Bodies, are to be pure, rectified and exalted: If you well consider the effect you expect from them, and the dignity of the subject with whom you have to do. There­fore the best Chymists in all Ages have endea­vored and labored to make their Remedies as pure and defaecated as possibly they could, that the effect aimed at, might follow, and the Humane Bodies excellency should not be violated, as it is not, when in the preparation of the Remedies, the pure is separated from the impure, the useful from the unprofitable, the spiritual from the corporeal, and the cordial from the poyson: And thus they do not lie heavy upon the Stomach, they beget no impurities, cause no new obstructions, but immediately fight against the Diseases, and overcome them. Thus, Beer well settled [Page 30] is wholesomer than new; thus Wine separa­ted from its Tartar, is better for the taste, and for the health, then when it is newly extract­ed from the Grape; thus the Meats we eat, being separated by Nature from their Excre­ments, after many light concoctions and se­parations of Excrements in the Liver, and in the Veins, are at last made fitter for the nourishment of the parts. Thus, Cinnamon Water shall sooner and more efficaciously comfort the Heart, than Cinnamon it self in Substance; thus, a few drops of Oyl of An­niseed shall work more effectually then many Seeds, and thus of the rest. Whereby you may see that Remedies well prepared and purified, are extraordinary efficacious for the cure of the worse Diseases; as the Falling­sickness, the Convulsion, the Dropsie, the [...]uartan Ague, the Gout, and other Diseases commonly deemed incurable; and that with all safety diligence, and alacrity, imitating Nature in this, which doth not send to the parts for their nourishment the Meats as they are raw and whole, but altereth them in the Stomach, digesteth and destroyeth them, and in the Liver separateth the purest from the Excrements.

Now concerning the penetration of the Virtue of the Tincture of Coral, to the re­motest [Page 31] parts, for the Curing of those despe­rate Diseases, we have mentioned, as Falling­sickness, Convulsion, Gout, Pox, Bleeding out of any part of the Body, &c. Consider how the Milk of a Nurse that hath taken Rheubarb, is able to purge a Suckling-Infant, &c.

BUt that we may make this obvious to the meanest capacities, we will lay here open the most secret Foundations of Physick, to wit, The Actinobolism of Natural things, which is no where else so clearly to be seen as in Medicinal ones; and this is twofold, either to life or to death. Which that you may un­derstand, you must observe, That as all things were created for Mans sake, even so there was given to every one a particular virtue by which Man might be preserved: For he that intendeth the End, intendeth also the Means to attain it, as are the Virtues of Natural things. Seeing then that there is no Member in an Humane Body, but hath its proper and peculiar infirmities, the most High hath pro­vided Remedies against all them; seeing also that there be Members hidden and concealed in the most retired places of the Body, where there was no access for Herbs and Plants to come to. He hath given them like as it were Beams of Light, spreding themselves round like those of the Sun, which passing through all the Body, do by their Actinobolism or [Page 33] Irradiation, penetrate to that Member which is correspondent to them, and hath need of their Faculties and Virtues. Hence cometh, that the Remedies having spred the Beams of their Virtues, go directly to that Member which is analogal and correspondent with them, and strengthen and comfort it. Thus all Cordials by their Actinobolism, do not meddle with the Liver, Brains, or Spleen; but with the Heart.

The Hepatical Remedies by their Actino­bolism, do not comfort the Kidneys or the Lungs, but the Liver: Thus, the Diureticks meddle not with the Liver, Heart, or Brains, but with the emulgent Veins, and the Blad­der. Thus, the Actinobolism of the Cathar­ticks and Diaphoreticks, gather together into the Intrals, all the Choler lurking in the Body, and from thence carry it away as a superfluous and noxious thing.

Hence it is manifest, by what Reason the compounded Medicines, indowed with divers qualities, work upon the Body unconfused­ly, and are no hinderance one to another, no more than the Suns Beams are among them­selves, as it is demonstrable in Mathematicks. For seeing that the Specifick Virtues of each Medicines which enter into the Composition, remain in it after the loss of their first qua­lities, [Page 34] when they are received in the Stomach, as in a Natural place, every kind, without mixing one with another, and confounding their Beams, tends to that part to which it is affected, and hath correspondency with, and with their Actinobolism, do wonderfully strengthen and comfort it. Whence cometh, that all the Members being comforted, the Natural heat must also of necessity be strength­ned; and the more it is, the less power will the Disease have; insomuch, that we may imagine in Physick as many Centers of Vir­tues as there be Individuals that compound it; and if there be many Cordials mixed together, they all shall cast their Beams upon the Heart: Those Herbs that have relation to the Lungs, shall work that way, and the He­patical ones, shall all tend to comfort the Liver. And thus by the Aggregation of so many Virtues, the Body must of necessity prevail against the Disease: So contrariwise, that Antipathetical Actinobolism which pro­ceedeth from poysons, and poysonous things, assoon as it is got down into the Stomach, doth first attack the Heart, as the fortress of the Body. Thus the Mineral Poysons, as, Arsenick, Orpine, Ochra, and the Poysons of Serpents, by their radiation, infect the next Blood, and that the next, and so consequent­ly, [Page 35] till it hath reached to the Heart. Whence if it be not expelled by the Antactinobolism of some counterpoyson it bringeth destructi­on to the party: Besides that, every Member hath its peculiar Poysons; for some do not attack the Heart immediately, but the Lungs. As, that Zoophyte, called Pulmo Marinus, which being eaten, ulcerateth the Lungs, and bringeth the party into a slow Consumption. The Sardonian Smallage, as also that Insect called Tarantola, invading the S [...]ats of the Spirits, and the Arteries and Muscles, pro­voketh a Man to laughing and dancing. The biting of the Serpent called Dypsas, as soon as it beginneth to diffuse, doth by its Radiation bring the Liver into Putrefraction. The biting of a Mad-Dog giveth to a Man the Dogs manners; for he continually barketh, biteth, and feareth Water. The biting of a Mad-Cat, imparteth the Cats manners. Sken­kius relateth of a Maid that had eaten of a Cats Brains, and did perfectly imitate a Cats manners, expressing its voice, and hunting after Mice with her crooked Fingers and Nails. The Poyson of an Asp being an ene­my to the Nerves, doth by its Radiation cause a sudden lack of Sense in all the Limbs which it corrupteth. The biting of the Serpent (called for that reason Haemorrhois) by its [Page 36] Radiation turneth all the Humors of the Body into Blood, as Gesnerus witnesseth, Lib. 5. Hist. Anim. Which is confirmed by Lu­cretius in his Ninth Book, by these excellent Verses.

We may see by these and several other Ex­periments, which I omit for brevities sake, that the several Members and Parts of the Body have their several Substances, which do not work by their proper Poysons, but by the Diffusion of their Radiant Virtues; which cannot be remedied, but by the Radiation of contrary Substances which destroy those ve­nemous qualities, even as the shadows and darknesses cannot be destroyed but by the [Page 37] Radiation of Light. From all these things it is evident, that there is nothing in Nature without that virtue of Radiation, inserted by the Author of Nature, for those ends best known to himself, and in imitation of the Light, insomuch, that the Judicious Reader, by this Doctrine of Actinobolisms, and that of Magnetisms, may as with two Wings soar to the highest knowledge of Natural things. He that will be further satisfied in examples of that nature, let him read Skenkius de Venenis.

To these must be added what we have said before, to wit, That the Specifick Vir­tues of each Medicine that enters into a com­position, remain in it after the loss of their first qualities which may be proved by this Experiment.

Take Nettles, dry them, and burn them to ashes, make Lees of those ashes; expose the Lees in the night to the Air, till it be covered with an Icy thin Skin, and you shall see in that Skin the perfect figure of a Nettle, with the stretching of its fibers and jagged Leaves, as if it were a Natural one; and if you look upon it with a Magnifying Glass, you shall perceive with admiration all the [...]igure of the Nettle, grown out of small and [...]lmost infinite number of small Cellules. Th [Page 38] same will happen in any other Plant, to shew that no Seed can be so exactly mixed with other things, but it will retain and affect still its own Nature. All this that we have said, tendeth to shew how Coral bringeth to pass all those wonderful Virtues we have at­tributed to it. Those that shall desire to be better satisfied in this Doctrine of Actinobo­lism and Radiation, let them seriously medi­tate the Plastical Virtue of all Seeds, in which, being seated in the abstrusest parts of the Body, doth without any tools or noise, produce a work so wonderful in variety and comliness of Parts, and that, out of a rough and inform matter, in which there is no di­stinction of parts, nor variety that may be observed by the Senses. For we see that in the Seed, without any appearance lieth and lurketh the whole Tree, with the Roots, the Body, the Boughs, the Leaves, and the Fruits. Out of one Corn of Wheat, proceedeth the Root, the Stalk, the Ear, and the Corn. In an Egg, which is the Seed of Birds, lurketh the whole Bird, with all, and every one of its Limbs, and all the differences of its colours. In the Seed lieth the Body of the Animals with all its Limbs, the Heart, the Brains, the Lungs, the Liver, the Spleen, the Stomach, the Kidneys, the Bladder, the Nerves, Ten­dons, [Page 39] Muscles, Veins, Arteries, &c. Every one of which hath its proper and certain figure, its colour, and proprieties. Who se­vereth so many various things hidden in an Homogeneal Body, who separateth an uni­form Matter into Bones, Humors, Flesh, Gristles? &c. None other certainly, but that Plastical Virtue which the Almighty hath inserted into all things that were to be pro­pagated by Generation. This Virtue giveth to every Limb its due scituation, colour, figure, proportion, and quality: By its workmanship the Body is hollowed into so many Pipes, Chanels, Passages, and Meanders. There­fore, we suppose, that the same Plastical Vir­tue, is diffused in all the parts of the Seed: So that it is all in all, and all in every part of the Seed.

The reason is, That the Productions are sometimes but one, and sometimes many; and that the Production that cometh from one part of the Seed, is no less perfect than that which cometh from the whole: And finally, that there is no confusion nor inor­dination of parts, which of necessity should happen, if it were not uniform with the Subject; for if one part of the Seed were taken away, one part of the Production should also be wanting. And thus should [Page 40] happen a Confusion in the Figure by the transposition of the parts: And although the Seed, in order to the Senses, seem to have no distinct and heterogeneal parts; never­theless, being considered in it self, it hath: Seeing that it is not a single, but a Body com­pounded of many; for that part of the Pla­stick Virtue which frameth the Brains, shall not frame the Heart or the Liver; and that part which hath framed the Bones, shall not stretch the Membranes, or dispose the Guts into a winding compass. The only difficulty is, Why that Plastick Virtue, which is so confusedly mixed, yet, worketh without con­fusion, and disposeth of all things with an admirable order, and as the Greeks call it [...].

But this concerning not our Subject at present, we pass it over, being contented to have stirred up the curious Reader to the Me­ditation and Study of the Magnetisms and Actinobolisms, in which he shall find matter enough to satisfie himself in the process of Nature, and in the admiration and love of the Creator. But this digression hath passed a little already the bounds of our Subject, let us go back from whence we came.

We conclude then, That the Tincture of Coral being sep [...]rated from the Body of it; [Page 41] the pure from the impure; the formal from the material; the Celestial from the Terre­strial, it worketh by its A [...]inobolism or Ra­diation, and its Magnetism; by which it is Analogal to the Heart, the Fountain of Life, those wonderful Effects we have made men­tion of, we will descend to some particular Instances.

WE give this instance first, as the most considerable, and of greatest concern­ment. These Feavers under the notion and name of a Cold, having destroyed so many of late, that a Body cannot without grief, and a certain horror, read the increase of the Bill of Mortality upon this particular point, while the Patients flatter themselves that it is no­thing but a Cold; and the Physicians, either by ignorance, wilfulness, or mutual Envy, prescribe Bleeding, Purging, Blistering, and such other dangerous and preposterous means; which though they may sometimes be used in other Feavers, yet in this are they Mortal.

As first for Bleeding, it hath always been condemned by the most judicious in Malig­nant and Pestilential Diseases, by reason that it weakneth Nature, by exhausting the Blood wherein the Life consisteth, by diminishing the Spirits which are the tie of the Soul with [Page 43] the Body, and by suffering the venemous quality to rage the more by substracting that sweet and Natural Juyce, which was rather to be incouraged for the taming and allaying of it.

Purging is neither to be admitted, unless there be an extraordinary fulness of Humors, it being sufficient to keep the Body soluble; as also, because in those Feavers there is com­monly a perturbation of Humors, which Purg­ing cannot segregate, till they be perfectly concocted, and appear so by the Urines, and the slacking of the bad Symptoms. Concocta medicari oportet non cruda, saith Hippocrates.

As little significant as these, is the new way they go about by Blistering; for whereas this Pestilential Feaver hath its seat in the Spirits, what communion is there between their Ma­lignity and Blisters, which do not reach be­yond the skin, set the whole frame of Na­ture in torture and anguish, and cut the troath of the Patient before the Wounds can be cicratrized? This practice seeming only invented to beget Apothecaries practise and Physicians somewhat to say, when they are at their wits end.

Now nothing remaineth to overcome so powerful an enemy but Cordials, so called, because, without doing any violence to Na­ture, [Page 42] [...] [Page 43] [...] [Page 44] or weakening her strength, they directly go to the Heart, chear it up, fight against the malignity; and as a Light disperseth darkness, so do these, any thing that is ene­my to Mans life. Which being done, that wholsome temper, in which consisteth Life and Health, taketh place again, and the Pa­tient is restored to his former state.

Under that name of Cordials, every one almost obtrudeth what his own fancy and imagination thinketh, or hath heard to be so, though it be but a simple Distilled Water, coloured with some Sirrup; and thus trifle away the most precious thing of the World, which is time (as C [...]esiphon saith) while the malignity gets footing, and never ceaseth till it hath destroyed the Patient.

Now, as we do not deny that there is a­bundance of those Remedies called Cordials, in Nature; so we deny that it is every ones Talent to know them, or the use of them, or the preparation of them. As for example, What good can be expected from the Water of a Plant Distilled in a Mettallick Furnace, having been first irrorated or steeped in com­mon Water, that the greater quantity may be drawn, as it is now commonly practised. Besides the inconveniency of the Metallick quality of the Limbeck which communicateth [Page 45] it self to the Water, as it is evidently seen, and have often tried my self: For having occasion several times to prescribe Mineral Waters, as that of Epsom, Tunbridge, &c. to several Patients, and among them, to my own Daughter. It fell out, that the Water which was brought from the Wells in Bottles, did agree very well with them, and wrought effectually without any violence; but when, by the want of that, I was forced to make use of that which they fell in Town, and keep in Leaden Cisterns, I found a contrary effect; for it wrought so untowardly, that it fright­ed me every time; which I could attribute to nothing else, but to the poysonous quali­ty of the Lead, of which the Cisterns were made, and in which the Waters were kept. By this we see what a necessary thing it is, in such cases, and many others, That a Phy­sician should be his own Apothecary; and this I speak meerly for the interest of the truth, being not ignorant how many inter­essed persons will contradict it.

Having set down all these Notions, it is also requisite we should set down the use of our Tincture of Coral; therefore assoon as one falleth into that Malignant or Pestilential Feaver, which is known chiefly by the smal­ness, quickness, and intermittency of the [Page 46] Pulse, let him go to Bed in a warm Room, and being well covered to sweat, let him drink one dose of our Tincture of Coral, sweating after, as long as he is a able; and let him follow exactly the method we have set down in our Book of the last great Plague, Anno 1665. The particulars of which con­cerning this, we shall repeat here, because the Book is hard to be had, there having been three Impressions dispersed in six weeks time, and none to be had at present, that I know: Therefore I shall repeat to this purpose, only the XXX. XXXI. XXXII. XXXIII. XXXIV. XXXV. XXXVI. Aphorismes mutatis mu­tandis.

Thus much have I transcribed out of my Book of the Plague, for the ease and con­veniency of the Reader, and for the advan­cing the use of so noble a Remedy, as the Tincture of Coral.

Now seeing that this Tincture is to be ad­ministred with our admirable Water against the Plague, and Malignant Feavers, and that the Substance of both is more formal then material, not lasting long in the Body; there­fore the dose is to be renewed every day, al­lowing about three hours of Interval between every dose, besides one dose in the night, if the Patient awakes. If this be carefully done, there is no Malignant Disease but may be cured.

But as a Gardner that will carefully bring up a Plant, taketh care to weed it often, lest it should be choaked or want nourishment. So that I may show the beauty of this Re­medy, I must extirpate several Weeds that have crept in of late into the Family of Remedies, to the delusion of the Patients, and the irrision of ignorant Physicians.

MAny times when a Physician is at his wits end, and hath nothing to say more concerning the Disease in hand, he pre­scribeth Blistering, not knowing nor distin­guishing whether it will be fitting or not. And there is some policy in that too; for be­sides the obligation, he layeth upon h [...]s Friend the Apothecary, himself is not without hope of benefit, and of being sent for, the more often whiles the wounds are green; but what good this can do, or which way, chiefly in a Malignant Feaver, you must not ask, for him­self cannot tell, but only, that it is the com­mon practice of the Town. Which, if it be a satisfactory answer, let every body judge. If this abuse had been harmless, I would have passed over it, as I do over many others that I know, and do only range among the [Page 52] Vulgar Errors. But seeing it tendeth to the destruction of mankind, as I have seen by many sad and woful experiences, and shall prove by many grave and Authentical Au­thors, I should sin against my Conscience, Reason, Knowledge, and Experience, if I did not lay open the cheat thereof, in favor of a gallant Nation, among which I live and am so humanely protected.

Be it known therefore, that there is a Re­medy now practised in Physick called by the Greeks [...] from the Verb [...], which in Latine signifieth Attraho, in Eng­lish, to draw or attract, which was invented by the Ancients, chiefly to comfort the weak­ness of those parts which come by cold, or too much moisture, whence it is evident, that all those Remedies are exceeding hot, dry, and sharp. Of these sorts are Mustard-Seed, Thap­sia, Goats Dung, Cresses-Seed, Eliampanes Roots, the Sea Onion, Pigeons Dung, Mice Dung, Lice-Bean, Cantharides, and such like; of which, at present the Modern Phy­sicians, and namely the Dispensatory of Lon­don, have framed a Plaister for that purpose, called Emplastrum Epispasticon, of which, here is the description.

Now, as I will not deny but that Plaister may be useful in some cases, if it be judici­ously applied; so I affirm, that it is of a dangerous efficacy, if it be misapplied, and chiefly upon tender Bodies, extenuated by Sickness, Fasting, Watching, and Pains; the Reason is, That the Cantharides or Spa­nish Flies, which are the Basis of it, are a most deadly Poyson, and a particular enemy to the Bladder and Genital Parts, which is [Page 54] so much the more prevalent, in that some Apothecaries of their own accord to make the Plaister of a more quick working, have aug­mented the dose of the Cantharides. So that when this Plaister is applied to one sick of a Malignant Feaver, and already extenuated with the disease of Fasting and Watching, he hath good luck if he escape with life. Those that are for it, may chance to urge their own experience, against which I shall oppose mine, which is of forty years standing; but because neither they or I should be believed, as being Partial, I shall cite here some memorable ob­servations made by several learned, honest, and famous Authors, to clear this point, which is of so great a consequence.

I shall not speak here of the dangers and cruel Symptoms that follow the taking of Cantharides inwardly, because they are so generally known, that no body can be igno­rant thereof, but those that are altogether ignorant of Physick, I shall only mention the pernicious effects, and sad consequences they cause, being applied outwardly. The first Observation shall be taken out of Guiliel­mus Fabricius Hildanus, a late Author, and excellent Physician and Chirurgeon in Swit­zerland, in his Ninety and eighth Observa­tion.

[Page 55] A certain Gentleman of the Town of Villeneuve, by the Lake of Geneva, having a cold Tumor in one of his Knees, caused by a cold, and tough Humor, did ask a Barbers advice, who without taking notice of the Antecedent Cause, went about to cure him only with Topical Remedies; therefore he applied first Cupping Glasses, after that a Cautery on the side of the Kneepan, think­ing to empty the Matter that was gathered. When these did not succeed, he applied a Pultess made with Leaven and Cantharides, and did exulcerate all the Knee, then follow­ed an excessive pain about the Knee, restles­ness, a Feaver, and several other fearful Symptoms; among which, was a grievous pain of the Reins, and of all the Belly, and presently after such a heat in his Urine, that he could not make one drop (for it came only drop by drop, and that Bloody) without the greatest torture imaginable. The Pultess be­ing removed, he was something the better, be­cause it had drawn the most subtle part of the Humor: Which when the Barber saw, he applied again the same Pultess of Cantharides, upon which all the said Symptoms became worse than before, and chiefly the heat of Urine, which the Patient feeling would ad­mit no more of the said Pultess, but dismist [Page 56] his Barber, and after came to me to Lausan­na▪ where having prepared first his Body with opening Apozemes, I purged him several times with the aggregative Pills, and those of Her modacts; and after that, gave him the decoction of Guaiacum, Sassafrass, and China, causing him to sweat gently, that the Matter about the Knee might melt and evaporate, after that I applied this Pultess of Vigo.

When he had used this Pultess a whole moneth together, he recover­ed his health. You shall find the like exam­ple in Joh. Langius, Lib. 1. Epist. 47.

The third Observation shall be taken out of Baccius, in Prolegomenis Venenorum & Anti­dotorum, where he saith, We find by Experi­ence, that Cantharides being mixed in Blister­ing Plaisters, and applied, do most violently corrode the Stomach and the Belly; but above all, to be by its property a peculiar enemy to the Bladder, and to tear it in pieces with its Bloody Ʋrine, and so to kill the Patients. For [Page 57] we have observed many times, that when Can­tharides have been applied to the Head in a Lethargy, and to the Brawns of the Arms and Legs; they have caused an extream pain, with an inflammation and difficulty of Bloody Ʋrine, and so have killed the Patients. Which danger deserves a serious consideration.

The fourth Observation is out of Brassa­volus, Comm. ad Aphor. 17. Lib. 2. who saith, That one Vincentinus Grema, a famous Chi­rurgeon in his time, took once a Medicine, the Powders of which had been stamped in a Morter, where Cantharides, had been stamp­ed before: Whereupon, though he did not actually eat any Cantharides, yet was he ex­coriated from the Mouth to the Fundament, and could not get his health again in less then eighteen Moneths space; yet were there no Cantharides in the case, but a kind of quality proceeding from them that stuck about the Morter.

The fifth Observation is out of Bartholomeus Montagnana, a famous Physician of Italy, who relateth, That one Francis Brac, a Citizen of Padua, having applied some Cantharides to his Knee, did avoid by Urine above Five pounds of Blood; and that the same did happen to one who applied them to his great Toe, to take away the roughness and uneven­ness [Page 58] of his Nails. Langius, Tom. 1. Epist. 47.

But what is more incredible then this is, That a certain Chirurgeon of Milan, made twice Bloody water, for carrying in his Pocket a Vesicatory made of Cantharides. Thus affirmeth, Joan. Michael Paschalius, Method. Curand. Morb. cap. 44.

The sixth Observation is of a certain Man who carrying by chance Cantharides in his Pocket, as the fashion is of some Chirurgeons, did make Bloody Urine; and complaining to me of it, I bid him he should not meddle with them, no not so much as to touch them, or carry them in his Pocket. Such another ac­cident, I was told by Helidaeus de Paduinis, a famous Physician of Bolonia, with whom I used to visit sick people, when I was at Bo­lonia. The most famous Physician Adolphus Occo in his Observations.

The seventh Observation is of a Noble Wo­man who having her Face full of red, burning, and ugly Pimples, was so deformed therewith, that every Body avoided her as a Leper, and the Magistrates were ready to sequester her from the common society of Mankind. She came to Paris, where having called for two Doctors of Physick, to wit, Hollerius and Grealmus, and two Chirurgeons Mr. Cabal, [Page 59] and my self, she inquired with great care and diligence, if there was no remedy against such a deformity. Having considered dili­gently the disease, we unanimously concluded that it was no Leprosie, but that it was fit­ting that a Vesicatory made of Cantharides should be applied all the Face over, three or four hours after her Bladder began to ake, and to burn vehemently, and the Neck of the Womb, to swell with gripings, a continual vomiting, and making of water, a raving carriage of all her Limbs, and a Burning Fea­ver. I called for the Physicians again pre­sently; the conclusion was, That we should give her much Milk to drink, and inject some in the Guts by the Fundament, and into the Womb and Bladder by the Ʋrethra; that she should go into a lukewarm Bath, wherein should have been boiled Linseeds, the Roots and Leaves of Mallows and Marsh-Mallows, of Violets, Hemlock, Pursleine, and Lettice; and so to continue, from time to time, till the pain was quite ceased. That the Reins and Genital Parts should be anointed with Ʋn­guentum Rosatum and Populeon, dissolved and mixed with Oxycrat. By these means all the Symptomes vanished away, in the mean time the Face was full of Blisters, which be­ing broke, a great deal of Matter issued out, [Page 60] and the deformity was cured, insomuch, that a little while after she was married, and had many Children. Ambrosius Paraeus, Lib. 5. cap. 17.

For my own part I can certifie, that my youngest Daughter Elizabeth, being about thirteen or fourteen years old, and very sub­ject to sore eyes; after I had purged her, and let her blood in the foot, I applied a Vesica­tory of Cantharides, at the bottom of her neck, thinking to make a diversion of the Humor, but within three or four hour after she fell stark lame of her right hip, so that I was forced presently to remove the Vesica­tory; and for all that, the lameness continued three or four weeks after. By what I have said, it is apparent what a dangerous thing Cantharides is, not only inwardly given, in which case they are a deadly poyson, but also outwardly applied; as is seen by the several Observations I have made here, and many more may be taken out of Forestus, Cabrolius, &c.

I could also here relate some fatal Obser­vations of my own, and of which, I have been a sad eye-witness; but that I do not love to renew the grief of the living Relati­ons, nor to insult on the miscarriage of Phy­sicians, knowing that we are all faulty, and [Page 61] that against death we have no power but for­getfulness.

From these things we may perceive the truth of what Mathiolus saith upon the Sixth Book of Dioscorides, where he hath these words.

Cantharides are hurtful chiefly to the Bladder, and to all the parts that serve for the evacua­tion of Ʋrine, not only being taken inwardly, but also being applied outwardly where there is occasion to Blister, chiefly when they are mixed with large Pultesses, and are applied to places near the Bladder, to wit, the Hips, the Privy Parts, the Kidneys, or the Stones. Thus far Mathiolus.

Therefore if any Body will make use of them, it is necessary he should do it prudently and circumspectly, chiefly let the young Phy­sicians take heed, least in prescribing Remedies which admit of Cantharides, they do not err in quantity; for because Cantharides are so light, that fifty of them weigh scarce one drachm, the Error is easie to be committed. Nay, the most ingenuous of the Apothecaries have confessed to me, that in the Dispensati­on of their Emplastrum Epispasticon, they double the dose of Cantharides to make it of a quicker working. Who shall be so bold after this, to make use of so pernicious a Remedy, [Page 62] and chiefly in Malignant Feavers, where the Poyson is inward, the Vitals dejected, the Natural strength abated, and no good can be alledged to come out of this Remedy? All the excuse being, that it is a common practice about the Town, that is, a common and a pernicious Vulgar Error. Away then with those dangerous things, more pestilent many times then the disease it self; and let us turn our practise to a safer and nobler way, that is, our Tincture of Coral, which without danger, but rather with a great deal of pleasure, per­formeth in Malignant Feavers, and other dis­eases, we have or shall mention, the three so much required Indications, for the relief of the Patient, and the honor of the Physician, to wit, Cito, tuto, jucunde.

I Have ranged these two Diseases under one Head, because they are of the same Nature, except that Feavers are continual, and Agues intermittent, but both to be cured the same way.

I am not here to express the Nature of all Feavers, which belongeth to the general knowledge of Physick, and would swell this little Treatise into a Volume, but to touch as much of them as will serve our own intention, and to shew how the Tincture of Coral is, and may be a Sovereign Remedy for them: Therefore leaving asides their several Definitions, Divisions, and Controversies, we shall only mark the chief Grounds of their Nature, and the Analogy that is between it and their Remedy, to wit, The Tincture of Coral.

First then let it be established, that a Feaver is a hot intempery proceeding from a Preter­natural heat kindled in the Heart; and from thence dispersed into all the Body, by the [Page 64] means of the Veins and Arteries, and hurt­ing the Natural Actions. The chief Indica­tion for the curing of them, is to take away that Preternatural heat, and to reduce the Body into its former temper, as we see, that all things after they have left their boiling and fermenting, and are cooled, become purer then they were before. Wherein it is to be observed, that the Natural heat, and the Pre­ternatural, differ chiefly in this, That the Na­tural heat is a Substance, and the Preternatu­ral only a Quality. The ignorance of this difference is the cause, that so many miscarry in Feavers; for when Physicians go about that Preternatural heat (suppose by Bleeding) they altogether quench the Natural one, which by all means ought to be preserved, and so hasten the Dissolution of the Patient, by taking away the Basis, upon which, Life is founded: For what need is it, if one desireth to take away the Preternatural heat, and so to cure a Feaver, that he should also take with it the Natural one, in which consisteth a Mans life; for the Preternatural heat being once removed, the other remaineth free for the exercising harmonically the Functions of the Body. The only easie, and sure way therefore to cure Feavers, is to extinguish the Preternatural heat, without doing prejudice [Page 65] to the Natural one, but rather comforting and strengthning it.

Now I affirm, that this cannot be done safely but by separating the Preternatural heat from the Natural; and so expelling the Pre­ternatural, while the Natural remaineth in liberty, to perform the Functions of Nature; which being helped by noble and harmless Remedies, will quickly and safely disburden her self of what is noxious and spurious, as we have shewed before in the example of Anselmus de Booth: And this by an Universal Evacuation thorough the Pores, because the disease is universally dispersed thorough the whole Body; which by this means is not only lightned of its burden, but comforted and strengthned by the virtue and efficacy of this noble Remedy.

It is also to be observed, That the Natural heat is Celestial, as flowing from the Sun, Sol & homo generant hominem, and the Preter­natural, is Elementary; and therefore easily separable from the other: But some Body will object perhaps, that besides the Preter­natural heat which makes a Feaver, there may be mixed with it a Latent Malignity, and ask what shall become of it? I answer, That the Preternatural heat, and the Malignity go a­way together in the Evacuation; for the way [Page 66] way through the Pores, being free and open, and this Remedy being one of the most power­ful Cordials in the World, driveth away from the Heart, that is, from the Center to the Circumference, whatsoever is an Enemy to the Humane Body, and that with a great deal of ease and security.

Now concerning those Feavers called Inter­mittent, or as the vulgar termeth them, Agues, the Method and Remedy is the same, except that the Salt of Coral must be mixed with the Tincture, because these Agues have their foundation in a toughter matter then the Fea­vers, to wit, in the Humors; as the Tertian in Choler, the Quotidian in Phlegm, the Quartan in Melancholy, wherein they harbor, as in their proper Ferment, which they will hardly forsake till it be destroyed. Now the Tincture of Coral alone, being too Formal and Spiritual to destroy and disperse those earthly drosses, we in this case joyn with it the Salt, which cutteth and inciseth the tough­ness of the matter and density, and prepareth it to expulsion, when the Tincture cometh to radiate upon it.

I have thus a little inlarged my self upon this subject of Feavers, because there is no disease more vulgar and frequent; for seeing that most of other diseases do not seise upon [Page 67] Humane Bodies equally, but are more or less familiar to some Ages, Regions, and Consti­tutions of Bodies then others; there is no Age, Region, and Constitution of Body, that can promise to it self a freedom from Feaver; and, as it is a frequent disease, so is it most dangerous, and not without cause: For it occupieth the Storehouse of the Natural and Vivifying heat, wasteth and destroyeth it, and unless that Fiery and Preternatural heat be timely prevented, it scattereth and devoureth the Natural one; which being the Treasure of Life, Death is presently at the door, inso­much, that most people die of that disease; or rather, as Galen saith, Nemo sine febre mo­ritur, No Body dies without a Feaver; which is the reason, that the Ancient Romans having a mind to court it, and to render it propitious unto themselves, did build it a Temple and Worshipped it superstitiously as a Goddess; as Plinius affirmeth, Lib. 2. cap. 24. August. de Civit. Dei, Lib. 2. cap. 14. And Val. Max. Lib. 2. cap. 5.

WE have here and there mentioned seve­ral Diseases; in which we affirm the Tincture of Coral to be a most Sovereign Re­medy; and that not only out of our own ex­perience, but out of the Authority of famous and learned Men in all Ages, as

• Dioscorides.
• Mathiolus.
• Anselmus de Booth.
• Oswaldus Crollius.
• Joannes Petrus Faber.
• Arnoldus Villanovanus.
• Forrestus.
• Fernelius.
• Cardanus.
• Rogerius Baco.

And as many others as have written of the Nature and Virtues of Coral, who agree all in one, and by that means have made it an un­deniable truth. It will not be amiss now by way of Recapitulation to mention all those [Page 69] Diseases again, and to illustrate as much as in us lieth, the way and manner how the Tincture of Coral worketh upon them.

• The Plague.
• All sorts of Feavers.
• All sorts of Agues.
• Flux, Small Pox, Measles.
• All immoderate Fluxes in Women, whether Red or White.
• All Bloody Fluxes, Gripings, and Lasks.
• Spitting of Blood, and the Piles.
• Fits of the Mother.
• Dropsies.
• Convulsion.
• Palsie.
• Falling Sickness.
• The Stone and Gravel.
• Ʋlcers.
• Pleurisie.
• Barrenness in Women.
• Running of the Reins.
• Intemperies of the Liver, Spleen, and Kid­neys.
• Venereal Diseases.
• Faintings.
• Surfeitings.
• Vomitings.

THis Tincture being so noble and so pre­cious, and working so powerfully in so little a quantity, is to be used with all circum­spection imaginable, that there be no waste in the quantity, nor impediment in the qua­lity. There would be a great waste in the quantity, if it were taken alone, and by it self, considering, That one pound of Coral will scarce yield above one drachm of Tin­cture; therefore we give it in a little quanti­ty (suppose of about twenty drops) in a pro­per Vehicle, suppose of two or three ounces; that by its diffusion in it, it may go and enter over all the noble parts of the Body; as you see that a grain of Cochenille will die a thou­sand times of its weight of Water; and that Saffron will diffuse its Tincture in a prodigi­ous quantity of liquor. There would also be a waste in the quantity, if the Tincture were given alone, and by it self; for the Natural heat would consume it, before it could diffuse its virtue, and radiate thorough the [Page 80] whole Body. Add also, that a Specifick Vehi­cle will make it work more effectually and determinately upon the part aimed at. There would be also an impediment in the quality, if it were not given in a Vehicle that were unfit, or contrary to the distemper that it is given for; as if of two Horses, the one should draw before, and the other back, they could hardly reach home in a convenient time; or, if it were given amongst Meat, or upon a full Stomach, it is evident, that its virtue should be drowned, and its Radiation hindered: As when a thick cloud is interposed between the Sun, and us. For the illustration of what we have said, it is visible, and in a manner palpa­ble, That if the said Tincture were given against the Plague and Malignant Feavers in Plantain Water, it would hardly work the desired effect, because Plantain Water is cool and astringent; and our intention in this, is to expel the malignity of the Plague and Fea­vers by a moderate sweat, which cannot be conveniently procured, but by a hot Vehicle, such as is our Cordial Water, or that of Car­duus, and such other-like. Contrariwise, if in immoderate Fluxes of Women and Haemor­rhagies, it be administred in hot Vehicles, and not in cool and Astringent ones, such as Plantain Water is, little good can be expected [Page 81] of it, by reason of the contrariety and dis­proportion that is between the Agent and the Patient, that is, the Remedy and the Disease. Let it therefore be concluded, That it must be given in a proper Vehicle, that is, such a one, as is proper for the distemper, and will forward the effect of the said Tin­cture, and hath a peculiar analogy and cor­respondence with the Disease aimed at. As for example, For the stopping of all immo­derate Fluxes in Men and Women, it ought to be given in Plantain Water, or the decocti­on of the Roots of Tormentil. For the clean­sing or renewing of the Blood, in Fumitory or Cichory Water. For strengthning the Heart and the Vital Spirits, in Bugloss, or Borrage Water. For comforting and strengthning the Stomach, in Mint or Penniroyal Water. For removing of obstructions in Sorrel Water, Little Centaury, Spleenwort, Liverwort. For dissolving congealed Blood, in Water of Cher­vil or Daisie. For the Fits of the Mother, in the Water of Motherwort, Balm, Penniroyal. For the Dropsie, Convulsion, Palsie, Falling-Sickness, in Cinnamon Water, continuing for a while, because those Diseases are stubborn. For the Stone and Gravel, in Saxifrage or Restharrow Water. The dose is from six grains or ten, to a scruple or two, according to the [Page 82] age and strength of the Patient, and the greatness of the distemper: And so it may be said of all the rest of the distempers which it is proper for. Upon which, the Author will give his advice to those that shall desire it; and for that purpose, shall give his con­stant attendance at his own House, from eight of the clock in the Morning, till eleven; and from three in the Afternoon, till five. The same Author having also a special Talent to judge of Diseases, and the Remedies thereof, by the Inspection of Urines, may be advised with at the said time; therefore those that shall be minded to save the charges of Fees, may at the said time bring or send their Urine, upon sight whereof, they shall receive all rea­sonable satisfaction.

As for the said Tincture of Coral, with the Vehicles proper for it, they are only to be had and ministred by him, to prevent all suppo­sition, falsification, or mistakes, the World, at present, being so full of Envy, Backbiting, and Deceitfulness, that he dares trust no Body with it; but is resolved, as he is the sole Author of it, so to have all the praise of it, and bear all the blame alone, if any be. He also carrieth always some of the said Tincture about him, ready to be administred, when­soever occasion shall require, that no time [Page 83] may be lost, as most commonly it is, in acute and exceeding hasty Diseases. That shall not hinder, but if any Body be satisfied with the Virtues and Effects of the said Tincture, he may have of him what quantity he pleaseth to lie by him, against the time of need; and this he doth to make good his Motto, which also was that of Cardan. Io suon Medico non di parole ma d'effetto.