TO The most Eminently Learned, the President and Community of the ROYAL COLLEGE of PHYSICIANS, LONDON.
THE Intention of the following Pages, with Difference to your illustrious Body, is with all submission laid at your Feet, carrying no other Views along with it, than to promote, the further Knowledge of medicine, the exact and artful Composition of which is so highly Necessary, and conducive to the Welfare of Mankind, and the Utility of the Publick.
I REST assured of a candid Reception from the Nature of the Design, which I have the vanity to think you will favour, because it is only level'd at a Reformation [Page 4]some of the Errors in Composition that have crept into former, and are still retain'd in your last Edition of the London Dispensatory, and a further Recommendation of the many excellent Prescriptions, which you have with Justice to the Profession, continued and publish'd to the World, all which I shall endeavour to support by Authority, Reason and Experience; hence, I flatter myself with every thing that can be expected from a Society so distinguish'd for universal Literature, as well as their particular Knowledge in Medicine.
THIS is a meer Trifle which I offer, only as an Essay to what I have ready for the Press, and to which I doubt not of your generous Approbation; for as 'the Study of your Lives is devoted to do Good, so you will certainly promote every Thing that tends to that great End; and what is of more Importance than to preserve Life, and restore to Man that valuable Blessing of Health?
THIS Collection of Antidotes, altho', no Epidemical Disease should happen (which God in his Mercy avert) is of universal Tendency, and speaks for itself: The Authors were all Physicians of great Experience, some of whom liv'd thro' five or six Plagues, in which they had been singularly successful; and after that devouring Flame was Extinguish'd, they had in all their succeeding Practice, still a mighty Esteem for such Antidotes and Alexipharmicks as had [Page 5]been Serviceable to them, when they stood so much in need of their Assistance, on which Occasion they invented and introduced a whole Set or Collection of 'em, into Practice among which you have the various Prescriptions of Sir Walter Rawleigh's great Cordial, that of Sir Kenelm Digby's Diaphoretick, Gascoyne Powder, with the Goa-Stone, and a great Variety of the Lapis Contrayerva, with many others; all which are very valuable in their Kinds, and consequently, I doubt not but the Publication of this will meet with a Reception equal to the Merits of those learned Gentlemen, who were the Compilers of the several Recipe's and Prescriptions therein contain'd, which were certainly Studied and found Useful for the publick Service.
NOW, let, me beg leave of your learned Society to make some decent and modest Remarks upon your last Edition, of your Pharmacopeia that from the Justness of those Observations, you yourselves may Judge of the Necessity there is for a Reformation of the same, and from the Specimens I shall give, make the World sensible of the Usefulness of such an Undertaking, which, with the last Regards due to your venerable Body, I submit to impartial Judgment. And in the first Place, I shall not wast Time, either upon the Method, or Materials you have made Choice of in the Simples conducive to your Dispensatory, whether Roots, Barks, Woods, Herbs, Flowers, [Page 6]Fruits, Seeds or the like, but do think it wou'd have been a Justice due to the Publick, as well as an Advantage to the Profession to have inform'd them, which of those Simples most constantly are in Use, which are seldom used, and which are never used at all; which Things are very Material, that Time and Money may not be thrown away upon what is perfectly Useless; as the Roots of Anthorae an Exotick, called the Counter-poison to Monkshood, not Traffick'd in, and of no Virtues that are recommended by the Experience of the Faculty. 2dly. Arundinis Saccharina; the common Reed and Sugar-Cane Roots of no Medicinal use. The Roots of Kings Spear or Asphodel, Male and Female, not Us'd or even Sold in the Druggist, or Apothecaries Shops, and many more.
THE next are those which, are seldom, or very rarely used, such as the Hermodactyls, Woad, Fullers Thistle, Hog-Fennel, Stinking Gladon, and an hundred others mention'd to little or no Purpose, which had been better left out, both for the ease of the Apothecary, and the Prescriber, who is at first embarrass'd in so large a Field of Materials, loaded by some Authors with great Encocomiums of the Feats they have done in Physick, which are too apt to flatter and disappoint the Presumptions of a young Practitioner.
I SHALL pass by the rest of the Simples in this short Account, and leave 'em to a [Page 7]stricter Enquiry, when I come to publish the Pharmacopeia Reformata, and so proceed to some more material Observations, among which, I shall first take Notice of, the Oxymel scilliticum, which you have Prescrib'd just in the same manner as formerly, viz. Three Pounds of Clarified Honey, to two Pounds of Vinegar of Squills; whereas in Justness to the Operation, and Effects of this Medicine, here should be three Pounds of Vinegar of Squills, to two Pounds of Honey, otherwise the Medecine is so clogg'd with the Honey, that the Efficacy thereof is lost, and the Acetum hath not power to assist the Digestion, cut the viscous Flegm, discharge Wind and sour Belchings from the Stomach, and strengthen the Appetite; for which it is a noble Remedy, was it not so very Nauseous; but it may be excellently adapted by a skillful and judicious Physician, who by mixing equal parts of the Acetum scilliticum and Oxymel will gain his Intentions.
I CANNOT be surpriz'd that you have overlook'd this among so many other Compositions, which are so Faulty, that they are not capable of being made up or if they could, wou'd be of no Use, since you are pleas'd to persist in your daily Practice to prescribe Galbanum along with Ammoniacum, in order to be dissolv'd, in black Cherry-water, or other the like Vehicle, and are angry with the Apothecary, when he tells you plain, that he knows not how to dissolve Galbanum in an aqueous Body, [Page 8]tho' Ammoniacum will familiarly do it; if this Point had been clear'd up in your last Edition, of the London Dispensatory, and new Rules given to the Apothecary, how to make his Dissolution of Galbanum, this wou'd have been a great Improvement, and given a New turn to the Dispensations of Medicines, but till then, we shall believe it was not so artfully Corrected, as we had Reason to expect from Persons so well qualify'd; otherwise the Spiritus Lavendulae compositus would hardly have remain'd in the Condition it stands, considering it is such a Farrago of inconsistences unskilfully blended, the Produce of which, is nothing at all; when at the same time the simple Spirit of Lavender, is so excellently useful, and may be enrich'd at the Physician's pleasure, with all the Volatile Aromaticks, &c. according to the Nature of the Case, becoming by this Means a Spiritus Lavendulae Extemporaneo Compositus.
YOUR Aqua Paeoniae Composita, or Peony-water Compound, is an excellent Prescription, but wants much of what it was from Langius, who calls it his Epileptick Water, which Receipt I shall give you (as it was Originally) in the Pharmacopeia Reformata; in the interim it is high time to expunge Gilbert's Water, least some evil minded People shou'd deceive themselves, and others, in putting their Trust therein.
As to the Treacle of Audromachus, and Mithridate, of which I can find no Reformation made in your last Edition; it is one [Page 9]grand Medley of a multitude of Simples jumbl'd together without Order or Design; the greatest Part of which are either useless, or ineffectual. I shall satisfie my own Opinion only to declare that as generally us'd, and apply'd, they are both dangerous Medicines ill prepar'd, very Hot and of disagreeable Qualities to the Intentions they are administred. The grand Reason that has induc'd all Sorts of People to the Use of them, have been drawn from the Authority and Experience of the Antients; Galen says they, hath spoken in Praise of Treacle in two Pieces of his, directed to Piso, and Pamphilianus. To which I answer, that the Authority cited, is of no force, because they do not appear to be Galen's Writings, but falsly attributed to him, which is the more Evident from the Stile and Manner of Writing, which is foreign from that of Galen's, besides there are several Terms, and Words made Use of not elsewhere to be found in the said Author's Works, according to the learn'd Mercurialis, who says, in eo plurima verba a Galeno nusquam usurpata, fabulosae aliqua & stylus totus pene diversus reperiuntur. The same Author says, there ought not to be the least Fault in any of the Simples, that enter that Composition, speaking of Treacle Vitium enim unius Medicamenti totum Compositionem evertit.
EVERY Body knows the great Abuse in the Choice of Vipers, and that of the Malabathrum, which not one in an hundred makes [Page 10]a right Use of; besides this, the Myrrh we use, setting aside the smell, is nothing like that describ'd by Dioscorides, but rather Bdelliams, whereas the Troglotick is the fame, and we have no Opo-Balsamum, true Costus, Schaenanth, Dictamny of Crete, or Falernian Wine. The generality of the Opium us'd at this Day, is nothing near so fine, or good as Mathiolus relates, and scarce seems to be like what Dioscorides describes: For it is a perfect Meconium at this Day, as may be evidently Proved,
THE Mithridate commonly met with in the Shops, is in the same Condition, having the same Faults and Imperfections, and therefore ought to be rejected, being too hot and acrid for the Intentions it is generally Prescrib'd, consequently it wants a considerable Reformation, or else ought to be expung'd the Dispensatory.
THE Confection of Alkermes, altho' very prudently divested of its Perfumes now a-days, is a Composition very unartfully Invented and Describ'd by the Arabians, and very little Reform'd and Amended by the Moderns, who still closely pursue the Errors of the Arabian Physicians: Indeed the Lapis Laruli has been long since thrown out, and there remains little behind in this Medicine, which bears a high Name, but what we may expect from the Juice or Syrup of the Chermes-Berry with better Success; for as to the Aloes Wood, we know little or nothing of it, and the Leaf-Gold therein, [Page 11]is a meer Amusement to Deceive the Credulous. Rondeletius instead of speaking in its Praise gives a severe Caution against the Use of it, which is Back'd by Mr. Ferrier, a Physician of Tholouse, who blames Physicians for the too plentiful Prescribing thereof: See the Annotations and Observations of Mr. Guillemeau. The Confect of Hyacinth bears a great Resemblance to this, only that the last seems to be endowed with no Cordial Virtue at all: Notwithanding the great Boasts made of it, from the Fragments of Precious-Stones, that enter the Composition, by the splendid shew of which, together, with the Leaf-Gold, many are induced to believe it is capable of performing Wonders.
AS I was treating of Mithridate, I must take the Liberty to return to the Subject, to shew that when Pompey found the Receipt thereof written in Mithridates own Hand, after the Defeat of that Prince, which he esteem'd as a vaulable Secret; it was Compounded but of very few Simples, and those very common ones according to the following Distick.
THIS Composition then consisted, only of two Walnuts, two Figs, Twenty leaves of Rue stamp'd together, with a little Salt; and this was reckon'd a sovereign Antidote against any maglignant Air for 24 Hours together, it being sufficient for three or four Morning Doses, drinking after it a Glass of white Wine
THE next thing to be enquir'd into, is to know the Reason, why you still admit Leaf-Gold into several Preparations, since you very well know it is neither Cordial, Corroborative, Alterative, or does it any wise contribute to the Nutrition of the Parts according to Galen, in his Commentary on the first Book of Hippocrates, de ratione Victus in Acutis. It can by no Means be call'd an Alterative, in that the natural Disposition of the Body cannot be affected by Reason of the Solidity of its Parts, so that it can neither heat or cool, dry or moisten the solid, or fluid Parts, and how it becomes Purgative I cannot imagine; all which makes good what Julius Caesar Scaliger, says in his Exercitations against Cardan Exerc. 272. There ought to be some Resemblance, some likeness in Configuration of Parts; between what gives the Nutriment, and the Body that receives it. Metals are proper to unite with, and feed Metals, but are imcompatible, and foreign to the subsistence and increase of Animals. If Gold is good in any Disease, it must certainly be so in the Hypochondriack, Melancholy, especially when [Page 13]it is administred, not as the Arabians, in Pills or Powders, or as the Chymists in Potions like their Aurum Potabile, but plentifully in Specie, or Golden Showers; nay, if the Physician cou'd but prescribe Bank Bills, his prescriptions would infallibly Cure all the Vapours in Town. This is a Specifick, even against South-Sea Head-Ach, which, is otherwise an incurable Disease.
AND here I cannot forbear to hint at the present use of Ivory, that is still continued, and recommended in many good Medicines, when every Body knows, and is thoroughly perswaded that Harts-Horn, has an hundred times the Virtue, since the other neither discovers Smell or Taste, or any Quality to recommend it for an efficacious Medicine; several Physicians have long since exploded it, as Durel Hantin, Mercurialis, Baccius, Sylvaticus Erastus, Albertus, Sebizius, and others; but Ambrose Parey, by dint of Reason and Experience refutes, all the pretended and imaginary Qualities assign'd to this useless and insignificant Drug.
THEREFORE it becomes more my Admiration, that Gentlemen who have consulted, and weigh'd all these things together in the Balance of Reason, should still continue the Use of many useless, and extravagant Drugs, which are now directed in the several Compositions of your Dispensatory, many of which are rarely, or not to be got at all, and others at a very dear Rate, [Page 14]and good for little or nothing; the first of which I mean is, the Bone of a Stags Heart, the others are Ambergreese, Musk, and Bezoar so frequently prescribed on all Occasions, in the last of which there are so many vile Cheats practic'd, that it is a pity it should lye in the power of avaritious, and designing Men to Cozen and Deceive the World, with such vile Frauds.
TWO Parts in three of the Bezoar, of which is sold and made Use of in the Shops is, Factitious, and the other that is Natural, is only fit to Deceive such as are willing to be Deceiv'd, and take a Pleasure to be carry'd down with the Stream of popular Errors. As to the Factitious, it is generally made up of Gall-Stones, found in the Gall-Bladders of Oxen, &c. and Lemnian Earth findly ground with a little Ambergreese, and so form'd into Stones of various Sizes and Figures; and thus the subtle Artist cheats the Apothecary with his Counterfeit Stone, and the Physician comes into the Confederacy, by prescribing his Bezoartick Bolus, or Powder to pick the Patient's Pocket: This fallacy upon the credulous Sick, will in a little time become as despicable, as the vain Pretentions of the Alchymists, with their Aurum Potatabile, their Sulphur of Metals, and Powder of Projection, with which they Bubble the Ignorant, and blind the Eyes of the more discerning part of Mankind.
I HOPE to God, that you Gentlemen, who have both Honour, Justice and Judgment, [Page 15]will put a stop to these Deceits whereby the People are Cheated with false Medicines, which under the pompous Pretensions of curing more Effectually, are made a Handle of, to extract Gold and Silver from the Patients Purse: A Reformation of these things would be a great Advantage to all Parties, and who can we expect it from, but your learned Body, who by your Example, and Authority have Power to Reform, and at the same time inform the World what your Opinions are in relation to such costly Drugs, as Bezoar, and whether the good Effects and Virtues thereof are answerable to the Physicians Expectation, and that of the Patient; if not, that you wou'd ingeniously declare this Stone naturally, as brought from India, and unsophistieated hath no more Virtue than some of our Foreign Earths, or Domestick Chalks.
IT is pretended by the Advocates for this Stone, that it is a most noble Alexipharmick, and is both Cordial and Sudorifick, tho' it does not appear from the Composition of its Parts, being Gross and Earthy, how it can encrease or otherwise alter the Motion of the Blood, or exhilerate the Spirits, which it seems not to have power to fortifie, and support. If this be so then, let us submit to the force of Truth, which we find publish'd in the Writings of some of the best Physicians of Europe, which Mr. Guybert hath accurately quoted; let us submit Opinion, I say to Truth, which is one and [Page 16]the same throughout the World. Nic Boccangelinus Physician to the Empress, and a very knowing Spaniard, in a Treatise of Malignant and Pestilential Fevers. Chap. 17. Condemn's the Use of Bezoar, thus; some make up Cordial Powders with Bezoar, Pearl, Coral, &c. which strangely Deceive them, for, all these things encrease the Obstructions, which encourage the Fever, the Materials being gross, earthy, and Unactive, foul the Stomach, clog the Lacterals, and stop the Mesaraick Vessels, so that the Blood which is Contaminated with the malignant Vapours, hath not power hereby to refine itself. Hieron: Ruleus, a learned Physician of Ravenna, in his Commentaries on the 7th Chap. of the 3d Book of Celsus exposes the Cheat after this manner; I own, says he, having often prescrib'd the Bezoar Stone, in Malignant, and other Fevers to several Persons of Quality, from 8 to 16 Grains, I never could observe any good Effect from it, by any sensible Operation, or Amendment in the Patient; but this we commonly Prescribe to the Rich and Great, by way of Complement, it being very dear: Besides let me Caution you, says he, for there are a great many Counterfeit, or false Stones, which I found by Experience in the last Sickness of Pope Clement the 8th, so that out of forty, which were brought me, I cou'd scarce meet with one good one.
MARTIANUS a Roman Physician in his Commentaries upon Hippocrates, says, that the Bezoar Stone is nothing else, but a [Page 17]meer Name and Opinion without any Virtue, which he knows to be true upon repeated Tryals; Rodericus a Fonseca, a celebrated Professor at Padua, in a Tract of his on Malignant Fevers, ingenuously owns, that he never saw any laudable Effect from it, tho' he had frequently us'd it: Johannes Colle a learned Italian, and Physician to the D. of Urbino, in a Book of his call'd Cosmitor Medicans, or a large Treatise of the Bezoar Stone, makes severe Remarks on those, who boast of the Virtues of Bezoar, without any Reason, and on those who use it in all Diseases, like a Stall for all Horses. Theodorus Angelutius speaking of the Cure of Malignant Fevers, condemns it in these Words; I advise all Physicians, says he, against the use of this Stone, since it is a Drug that is good for nothing at the best; and all Men of sincerity, who are most worthy of Credit confess it, and I myself solemnly protest, that I never cou'd find the Sick relieved thereby, how easie it is, then for every one to Judge of the Danger there is in Confiding in so uncertain and frivolous a Medicine, when the Patient labours under a Malignant Fever, instead of a better approved, and more successful Remedy. Thomas Minadous, in his Book of Fevers, says thus; I cannot so much, as admit, or have ever met with any occult Quality in this Bezoar Stone, by which means it could prove serviceable in any Kind of Fevers; and therefore believe they are all fabulous Accounts, and old Womens Tales, [Page 18]that have been told either by the Arabians, or the Moderns; for I have try'd it several Times in several Diseases, without finding any Relief or Advantage from it. Aloisius Mundella, in his Experiments on simple Medicines, confirms what all the rest have said, whom I have quoted before.
PERMIT me, most excellent and learned Collegues, to say a Word or two about the Drug Sena, which enters so many of your well chosen Compositions, and which I have the Vanity to think you have not all met with in the common Treatises of simple Medicines, tho' the Subject fell in my way, when I consulted all the Authors I could then come at in compiling my History of Drugs, from Pomet, Lemery Tournefort, &c. The Sena, which Mesue from the Persians, calls Abalzemer, is a Plant or Shrub, the Leaves whereof Resemble those of Liquorice, it shoots up and spreads with many small Branches, which are very pliant, the Flowers are yellow, with certain Threads or red Streaks underneath, after which shoot forth certain Follicula or Buds closely folded, which hang upon the Plant, by a slender Tail, which is very fine, and naturally flat; these Buds when Ripe easily fall by the force of the Wind, and contain in them a Seed which is of a greenish black Colour, and so like the Stone of a Raisin, that it is hard to know the difference; Serapion in his Book of Simples says, these Buds are longish, and in form of a Cross, in which the Seed is lodg'd. [Page 19]They are much Deceived, who think that the Tree which Theophrastus calls Colutea to be our Sena; because the Colutea which the French call Baguenaudier bears large Follicules or Buds, which the Shepherds and Pesants gather to feed their Cattle with, besides, there is a vast difference, in that the Sena is an Herb or Plant that lasts but a few Months, and the Bagnenaudier is a Tree that continues many Years; notwithstanding which the same Virtues have been ascribed to the last, as to that of Sena, and the Merchant impos'd upon as well as the Druggist in buying the one for the other. Mesue says, that the Sena hath much more Virtue and Efficacy in the Bud than the Leaf, especially if of the Dark green Colour a little bitterish, stiptick and astringent in Tast, and gather'd when fresh, for otherwise the Virtue is lost. The white Buds are good for nothing, the green Leaves, better than the white, and the thick ones than the thin, but the Stalks of no Use at all; and this agrees very well with what Matthiolus writes in his learned Commentaries on Dioscorides, he says indeed, there are two Sorts of these Buds, the one of which is gather'd when dry and fallen from the Plant, which have no Virtue in them, and the other is gathered upon the Plant before it is dry and wither'd, and these are thick Leaves, and full of Sap, being afterwards skillfully dry'd in the Shade.
Manardus, a Physician of Ferrara maintains, that the Leaves of the Sena have a greater Purgative Quality than the Buds, but then he takes 'em for such as dropt from the Tree ready dry'd; but Fernelius who was undoubtedly a more knowing Judge of Medicine, follows Mesue and Matthiolus in preferring the Buds to the Leaves, and Sylvius subscribes to the same Opinion, in his Commentaries upon Mesue, Whoever hath a Mind to Use the Buds, must observe this Description, but such as like the Leaves better, must chuse those of the brightest Colour, large and fresh, and free from all Smell, rejecting the pale and dead Colour'd as useless. Our Druggists are often very negligent in mixing all together, without Choice or Distinction. With submission to the more learned, I think we generally under Dose this Medicine in our Compositions, and Preseriptions. Serapion orders from a Dram, to two Drams in Powder, and half an Ounce to five Drams in Decoction, Actuarius only one Dram, and in Decoction half an Ounce; Fernelius directs two Drams in Powder, and six in Decoction, but half an Ounce in the Infusion. Your London Dispensatory prescribes only a Scruple of Sena in Powder, and half a Scruple of Rhubarb and Polypody in seven Drams of Electuarium Catholicum, and two Drams only in the Decoction of Gereon, and in the Lenitive Electuary, to one Ounce a Dram of Sena, with a Scruple of that and Polypody in Decoction, in [Page 21]the larger compound Powder of Sena, half a Dram, and in the less 24 Grains. The Magisterial Syrup of Apples hath a Dram of Sena to an Ounce, but the Purging Syrup only a Scruple infus'd to six Drams. Syrup of Roses with Sena hath indeed a Dram to six Drams of the Syrup. I shall conclude this Head, with the form of a Purging Potion of Sena, from an eminent Physician of our own, who Practiced upwards of sixty Years.
TAKE of fine Sena, cut small six Drams, Salt of Tartar two Drams, Juice of Lemons one Ounce, white Wine four Ounces, infuse six or seven Hours, in a Glass Vessel, then strain, and infuse therein all Night Electuary of Carthamum three Drams, the Juice of Apples one Ounce: In the Morning clarifie this with the white of an Egg, and to the strain'd Liquor, add Syrup of Roses, with Agarick six Drams, Cinamon-Water two Drams, the zest of half an Orange Peel. Notwithstanding the large Quantity of Sena; this is a Medicine of a nice and delicate Operation, without giving Gripes or Colick, and yet moves Ten or Twelve times.
IN order to introduce our Antidotaria, it may not be amiss to give a Specimen of the Reformation of two grand Prescriptions, which I have already hinted at to be faulty, in the Pharmacopeia Londinensis, viz. The Confect of Alkermes, and that of Hyacinth.
The Confection of Alkermes Reformed.
TAKE the Juice of Kermes, sweet Apples, and Raspberries, of each strain'd lbij, Sugar of Roses lbij, mix and by a gentle Fire boil to the Consistence of Honey. The Aperitive Saffron, or Crocus Martis ℥iij, red Rose Buds reduc'd to a Powder, after having been first steep'd in Juice of Lemons ʒvi, Pearl, Coral, Crabs Eyes and burnt Hart's-Horn laevigated with Oil of Tartar per Deli (que) of each five Drams, Citron Sanders and Bezoar, or Contrayerva Stone, of each ʒss, Musk and Ambergreese may be added, at the Discretion of the Physician, but it is Judged much better to be left out. This Composition is preferable to that of the Shops, for the Intentions aim'd at, being more Cordial and Specifical to drive away Melancholy and the Malignity of the Bilous Juices, besides it is better appropriated to stop Fluxes, and to restore Strength.
The Confection of Hyacinth Reformed.
TAKE of the Seeds of Hyacinth and Viper's Bugloss, of each ℥ss, of the Roots of Tormentil, Bistort, Contrayerva, Scorzonera, Dictamny, of each ʒiij, Citron and Orange-Peel dry'd of each ʒiss, Betony and red Rose Flowers, of each ʒi, Sorrel and Purslane Seed, of each ℈ij; burnt Hart's Horn, yellow Sanders, and white Amber, of each ʒij, Magistery of Pearl and Coral, and Crabs-Eyes prepar'd, of each ʒvi Bole, Lemnian [Page 23]and Silesian Earths, of each ʒij, Saffron ℈iv, Camphore ℈i, Tincture of Kermes-Berries, extracted in Juice of Lemon, and reduc'd to the Consistence of Honey ℥ij; all these being rightly mix'd, and brought to a Powder, may be made into a Mass or Electuary, with Syrup of Lemons, Mulberries, &c.
N. B. In this Composition, instead of the Fragments of Precious Stones, or the Hyacinth, our Author has made Choice of the Seed which Dioscorides, thus describ'd, Book 4. Chap. 58. The Seed of the Hyacinth, says he, is Astringent, and Proper for the Compotision of Treacles, Myrrh is omitted, because of its ingrateful Taste, and as to the Perfumers of Musk and Ambergreese, they may be added at the Discretion of the Prescriber. But this Electuary seems better adapted, than that of the Shops, being more Cordial and Restorative, and may be us'd with good Effect in Malignant Disentery's and profuse Diarrhaea's, as also Pestilential Fevers, Small-Pox, &c.
ANTIDOTARIA; Or, a Collection of Antidotes, &c.
I Design'd to have given you Sir Walter Rawleigh's great Cordial from the original Manuscript, which you have taken into your Dispensatory from Bates, but the Variations are so great, and the Articles so Numerous, I refer 'em to a larger Work, and shall give you Sir Walter Rawleigh's grand Diaphoretick, [Page 24]taken from Holten, who liv'd with him, and also Sir Kenelm Digby's two sudorifick Waters, Vegetable and Mineral, appropriated to all burning Malignant Fevers and Pestilential Diseases.
Rawleigh's DIAPHORETICK.
TAKE Mercury sublimate lbj. Crude Antimony, or rather the Regulus lbij, Grind them well on a Marble, till a Fume begin to arise, then put the Mixture into a Bolt-Head or Matrass, place this in a Cellar, and let it stand 15 or 20 Hours, till it runds into Butter, put that into a Glass Alembick, and distill till nothing will come over; encrease the Fire till a certain white Matter appears sublim'd on the Upper part, or Head of the Alembick; then cease till the Vessels are cold, and keep the white Sublimate a part, or separate, but the Residence remaining in the bottom is to be divided into two equal Parts, of which take one half, and all the Sublimate gain'd before, to this pour the Water which ascended in the first Distillation: Drive this till nothing further will Distil, and the Vessel being cool, the Magma, or Caput Mortum, with what is Sublimed must be Ground together in a Glass Mortar, and Water put in therewith to the Alembick: Drive this over again, and Repeat it 7 or 8 times, but give a large degree of Fire to the last, that the Sublimation may be exactly Regular: The Glasses being cold Collect your Sublimate, then [Page 25]Grind it again on a Marble, and in a small sublimating Furnace, sublime it Thirty or Forty times, Grinding it fine, every time, theoftener the better; the last time it must be reduc'd to an impalpable Powder, and put it into a Silver or Gold Vessel, to which pour the best Spirit of Wine, and burn it, reiterating this Work Seven or Eight times, at last you will have a perfect dry Powder, to be given from 6 to 12 Grains; this was a kind of Panacea to Ralegh, and given in Rheumatisms, Small-Pox, Plague, Malignant Fevers, and all cutaneous Diseases. It moves powerfully to Sweat.
Sir Kenelm Digby's Sudorifick Cordial-Water.
Take of the Roots of Scorzonera, Gentian, Elicampane, Cinquefoil, Tormentil, Cyprus, Aristolochius of both Kinds, of each ℥iv. Zedoary ℥iij, the Husks of green Walnuts lbi, of the Leaves of the Orange and Lemon-Tree, Bay, Basil and Scordium, of each M. iv, the outward Rind of Lemons and Oranges, of each ℥x, Juniper-Berries ℥viij, Ivy-Berries ℥xij, clarified Juice of Valerian, Mead sweet, Scabious, Marygold, and Carduus, of each lbiij Rhenish Wine, and Rain Water, of each five Quarts, white Wine Vinegar lbv; bruise and mix all these together, and set 'em in Horse-Dung a Week, then Distill in Sand to the Consumption of half, and strain the Residue, making a strong Expression of the [Page 26]Magma, which Calcine, to white Ashes: The express'd Liquor is to be strain'd through a triple Filter, Distill'd again, till the Cordial Extract remains, which is to be kept by itself, the Salt of the Magma being added thereto, for the better preservation and encrease of its Virtue: Take of this Cordial now describ'd lbij. Salt of Tartar lbss, mix and rectifie together, and to the rectified Water, add Antimony Diaphoretick ℥ij, burnt Harts-Horn ℥iv; Mix and Digest in Sand eight Days, then Filter. The Dose is ℥i, to ʒvi, by itself, or in Treacle-water in Malignant Fevers, you may add to this, Juice of Sorrel, or Lemons, and little a Sugar, with half a Dram of Contrayerva.
The Mineral Sudorifick Water of Sir Kenelm Digby.
TAKE of Crude Antimony, ground to a subtle Powder ℥i, Salt of Tartar ʒvi, mix well, and put them together for some Days, in a moist Place, shake often, and at last they will dry; Repeat this two or three times, at last Grind this finely, put it into a Philosophical Egg, bury it in a Sand heat, or rather a Reverberatory, six or seven Days, at last give a Fire of the fourth degree of Heat, so that obscure Clouds may arise, the Matter will be of a red Colour, which take out, Grind afresh, and put it into a stronger Glass, pour on Spirit of Wine, and Extract, till the Spirit is tinged of a ruby Dye: Dose is [Page 27]from x to xx Drops in any convenient Liquor, as Wine, Treacle or Carduus-Water; it is a powerful and noble Sudorifick.
Chalybeate Pills, first invented in the Plague time, for strengthening the Stomach, opening Obstructions of the Spleen, and dissipating all the Melancholly and malignant Vapours. This Prescription seems to carry along with it the Perfection of the Art of Composition.
TAKE of the Species Hiera Picra ℥ss, Aloes rosat. ʒij, ℈ij, mix, and of this take only ʒiij, ℈i, of pure Vitriol of Iron ℈v, red Coral, Crab-Eyes, Mastick, Contrayerva Stone, Lapis Lazuli prepar'd finely, Salt of Worm-wood, of each ℈ij. ss, Balsam of Peru, as much as will make them into a Mass of Pills for ten Doses.
Every Dose of which will contain ʒi, in these Proportions.
- Of Hiera Piera, and Aloes ℈i, Vitriol of Iron ℈ss, Red, Coral and Crabs-Eyes.
- Mastick, Contrayerva Lap. Lazuli, and Salt of Wormwood.
of each gr. v.
Another Composition of Steel Pills, to the same Effect.
TAKE of Mastick ʒij, Benjamin, natural Balsam, Gum Guajacum, red Coral, Pearl, Crabs-Eyes, burnt Harts-Horn, Ultramarine, Salt of Wormwood, of each ʒi, Hiera Picra ℥ss, Aloes Rosat. ʒij, Salt of Steel, or Vitriol of Iron ʒiss, with Balsam of Peru, make a Mass. The Dose is ʒi, taken every Day.
A History of the several Compositions that make the Contrayerva-Stone, which is the Grand Antidotarium.
THE Contrayerva, or Drake Root, is an Indian Plant, which some Judge to be of the Nature of Tormentil. This was first introduced into France, in 1602, and much prescrib'd by the Physicians at Paris, in the PIAGUE there at that Time, when it proved of excellent Service. The Root is tuberose and knotty, shooting forth many Hairs or Fibres of a yellowish, or rather brown Colour, which when chew'd gives an Aromatick flavour, and leaves an heat upon the Tongue, tho' no bitterness, or stipticity is observable. This grows in both the Indies, but most plentifully in the West, in the Kingdom of Peru, and that Part call'd Ciarche and Tonsuglar. The Indians Use it for Sallet; they much covet the Root, which they cut in Pieces, and put under the Soles of their Feet in Winter time: The Goats from eating of this Plant, are said to generate the Bezoar Stone, for the Indians observe those Goats, of which there are several Kinds, of which one is call'd Bicuqua, and those which do not feed upon this Plant, never generate any of these Stones; so that according to this Notion, their Bezoar seems to be a Concretion of Tartar, or the faeculent Part of the Aliment, form'd from the Digestion of the Contrayerva Plant.
THE Stone in India is made from the Juice of the Root, and the whole Plant together, this is Reduced into Paste, and so form'd into Stones of various Sizes. The Root is given from a Dram to two, and hath had the Power to throw out Boils, Blains and Carbuncles, with great Success, in the Plague Time, which Encouraged the Physicians to invent several Compositions there from
The General Materials for the Contrayerva Stone.
Contrayerva Root, white Amber, Rock Chrystal, Snake-Root, Zedoary, Tormentil, Bistort, Angelica, red Coral, Camphore, Saffron, Crabs-Claws, Crabs-Eyes, burnt Harts-Horn, Vipers, Carline Thistle, Butter-Bur, Elecampane, Valerian, Pearl, Mastick, Cochineal, Isinglass, Lemnian, and Silesia Earth, Cerusse of Antimony-Flowers of ♀, Mosch and Amberbergreese to form it into a Mass, the Jelly of Vipers Skins, Isinglass, Harts-Horn, or an Extract of Scordium; or Scorzonera, with the white of an Egg may be necessary.
Various Forms of the Contrayerva Stone, each of which contain a Dose, which may be multiplied at Discretion.
TAKE Antimony Diaphoretick ℈i, Contrayerv. Bezoar Animal, Crabs-Claws, of [Page 30]each gr. x; make a Bole with Jelly of Harts-Horn, qs.
OR Take Diaphoretick Magisterial Contrayerv. and oriental Bezoar, of each gr. vi. Harts-Horn, Pearl, Coral and Crabs-Eyes prepar'd, of each gr. v. white Amber, Lemnian and Silesia Earth, of each gr. iv. Ambergreese gr. ij, make a Bole as before.
3dly, TAKE Ceruse of Antimony, Magistery of Coral, Pearl and Crabs-Eyes, of each ℈ss, Saffron and Contrayerva Root, of each gr. iv, make a Bole with Jelly of Harts-Horn, or Mucilage of Quince Seed.
4thly, TAKE Snake Root, Valerian and Contrayerva, of each ℈ss, Cochineal and Camphere, of each gr. iv. Bol-Arm. gr. vi, mix and make a fine Powder for one Dose, or a Bole, with Confect of Alkermes.
Bezoar Animal prepared from Harts-Horn.
TAKE the freshest and youngest Tips of Harts-Horn, Calcine to a perfect whiteness, Grind this to a Powder, and make it into Troches, with Syrup of Betony or Citron, first acuated with some Drops of Oil of Vitriol or Sulphur by the Bell.
The first Notion of the Bezoardick Bole.
TAKE of the Contrayerva Stone ℥i. Oriental Bezoar ℥ss, Bezoar Animal ℥iv, Magistery of Coral, Pearl and Crabs-Eyes, of [Page 31]each ℥iiss, Crabs-Claws ℥iv, white Amber ℥ij, Lemnian and Silesia Earth ʒvi, Rock Chrystal Calcined into an impalpable Powder ʒx, Musk ʒss, with Jelly of Harts-Horn, made from a Tincture of Saffron; make this into a Paste, from whence Stones may be form'd. Take of the said Stone, gr. xx. Crollius Diaphoretick gr. x, for a Dose, and to raise the Alixipharmick power greater to the whole Composition of the Stone, add the Liver and Heart of Vipers ʒij; the Vipers Flesh and Bones dry'd according to Art ℥iv, to which put of the Roots of Angelica, Tormentil, Contrayerva, Zedoary, Scorzonera, Scordium, Rue and Orange-Water, of each ʒi, made into a Mass, with Jelly of Vipers Skins.
Another COMPOSITION.
TAKE of Cerusse of Antimony or Flowers of the same, whether red or white ℥v, Harts-Horn prepar'd with Syrup of Angelica and Oil of Sulphur ℥ij, Roots of Tormentil, Scorzoner ℥ij, Butter-Bur, both the Valerians, Bunnian Seed, and Galangal, an ℥ss, Crabs-Claws, Crabs-Eyes, red Coral, Silesia-Earth, Cochineal, of each ℥i, Salt of Carduus, Mead sweet, Angelica, Tartar Vitriolated, sal Prunelle, of each ʒij, mix for a Paste, with Jelly of Harts-Horn, made up with Musk or Saffron, to this may be added, Vol. Salt of Vipers ℥i. Aur. Fulminans.
The Solar Bezoardick Bole.
TAKE Crollius Diophoretick of ♁ gr. xij, Bezoar oriental gr. viij, Bezoar Animal, Magistery of Coral and Crabs-Eyes, an. gr. vij, Cochineal gr. vi, Aurum Fulminans gr. iv, Ambergreese gr. ij, mix for a Dose.
N. B. If the foregoing Magisteries are made with Spirit of Vitriol, Oil of Sulphur, &c. the Medicine will be the more Effectual, and better resist the Putrefaction of the Malignity.
The Northern Bezoartick-Stone.
TAKE Hartman's Diaphoretick Antimony, Magistery of Gold, red Coral an. ʒvi, common Antimony Diaphoretick, Harts-Horn Calcined, Crabs-Eyes prepar'd an ℥i, Crabs-Claws in Powder ʒij, Ambergreese ʒi, Musk ℈i, make this into Paste with Jelly of Isinglass, in Rose-Water.
The Southern Bezoartick-Stone.
TAKE of the Magisterial Diaphoretick ℥i, Cerusse of ♁ ℥iij, burnt Harts-Horn, Crabs-Eyes, of Vipers Flesh, Cochineal an. ℥iss, Magistery of Pearl, and Coral an. ʒvi, Silesian-Earth ℥i, yellow Sanders, Orange-Peel an. ℥ss, Roots of Valerian, Butter-Bur, Scorzonera, Contrayerva, Seeds [Page 33]of Angelica an. ʒvi, Ambergreese, Musk an ʒss, make a Powder, and then a Paste with Jelly of Hart's-Horn, the Dose from a ℈i, ℈ij,
In the Year 1628, the following Prescriptions of the Contrayerva-Stone were directed.
TAKE Contrayerva Root, ℥ij, Hart's-Horn prepar'd and Lemnian-Earth, of each ℥i, Cochineal ℥ss, Margarit ℥iv, Snake-Roct ℥ss, with Isinglass and Juice of Kermes, make a Mass; whereof take ʒss, in any Cordial-Water.
OR, TAKE Contrayerva, Snake-Root, of each ℥i, Pearl and Crabs-Eyes an. ℥ss, Saffron ʒij, Cochineal ʒij, mix and give ℈ss, to ℈i, in any appropriated Vehicle.
In the Year 1636, when the PLAGUE Raged in London, these Forms were Prescrib'd.
TAKE Crabs-Claws in Powder, Bezoar Animal, Syrup of Betony, Kermes and Citron an. ℥iv, Contrayerva, and Snake-Root an. ℥v, Seed of Angelica an. ℥i, Antimony, Diaphoretick ℥vi, Ambergreese ʒij, mix. The Dose is ℈i, to ʒss. Take Contrayerva, and Snake-Root, with Crabs-Claws powder'd [Page 34]an ʒij, Pearl, and Coral an. ʒiij, Crollius, Diaphoretick of Antimony ʒi. The Dose ℈i.
The TREACLE-STONE.
TAKE the whole Viper reduc'd to Powder ℥i, Crabs-Eyes ℥iv, Hartman's Diaphoretick, or Flowers of ♁, fix'd by the Fire ℥ij, Mother of Pearl, Cochineal, and white Amber an. ℥iss, Roots of Tormentil, Bistort, Scorzonera an. ℥ij, Kermes Berry, Orange-Peel and Angelica an. ℥ss, Saffron with Venice-Treacle, qs. make a Mass. Dose ℈ to ʒi.
A Composition very Successful in the Small-Pox, Measles, Milliary-Fever, &c.
TAKE Hartman's Diaphoretick gr. x, Contrayerva-Stone, and Bezoar an. gr. viij, Hart's-Horn prepar'd with Oil of Vitriol, Coral, Crabs-Eyes, of each gr. vi, Silesian, Lemnian Earth, and Cochineal an gr. v, mix for a Dose in Treacle-Water.
The white Contrayerva-Stone.
TAKE of the Contrayerva-Root ℥i, Hart's-Horn, and Crabs-Claws, laevigated on a Marble, with Carduus-Water an. ℥i, Magistery of Pearl and Coral an. ℥ss; make this [Page 35]up with Jelly of Hart's-Horn and Isinglass; the Dose ʒss, to Children ℈i.
The red Contrayerva-Stone.
TAKE of the Contrayerva-Root ℥iss, Antimony Diaphoretick, Crabs-Eyes an. ʒx, Chochineal ℥iss, Bezoar Mineral ℥ss, Grind these together, and they will be of an excellent red Colour; the Dose from ℈i, to ʒss, in the Confluent Small-Pox and Purple-Fevers.
Confect of Vipers, or the Grand Antidote against all Sorts of Poyson.
TAKE Vipers in the Spring, Cut their Heads off, and cleanse them well in white Wine; dry them, and reduce them with their Hearts and Livers to Powder, of this so prepared, take ℥iv, Roots of Contrayerva ℥ij, Tormentil, Scorzonera an. ℥iss, Roots of Avens, Vervain, Carline, Bastard, Saffron, Fraxinel, Cinquefoil, Elecampane, the outward Rind of the Lemon and Orange an. ℥i; Roots of Swallow wort, both the the Valerians, Burdock, Butter-Bur, Gentitian, Zedoary an. ʒvi, Angelica-Roots ʒss, Leaves of Scordium, Rue, Malabathrum, Paul's Betony, Sanicle, Winter-green an ʒvi, Flowers of Self-heal, Spanish Broom, Betony, [Page 36]Mary-gold, Mead sweet Oranges an. ʒv, Seeds of Rue, Scabious, Burdock, Vipers Bugloss, Vervain, Sorrel, Purslane, Carduus, St. John's-Wort, Mary-golds, Broom an. ʒiij, Citron Sanders, Rhodium, Sassafrass, Costus, Schaenath, Calamus Aromaticus, Harts-Horn and the Rasping of Human Sculls, Lemnian Earth, Gum Guajacum, Myrrh, Mastick, Sandarac, Olibanum an. ℥ss, white Amber, Pearl and Coral prepared; Hartman's Diaphoretick of Antimony ʒij, Mace, Cloves, Cinnamon, Infused in Juice of Lemon an. ʒvi, all these well power'd separately, may be afterwards mix'd together in the following Electuary. Take of fresh Juniper-Berries lbiv, the Parings of Apples and Quinces an. lbss, Roots of Sorrel and Succory an. ℥iv, Scabious, Mary-gold, Wood-Sorrel, Borage, the whole Plants an. M. ij, Flowers of Sage, Rosemary, red Roses, Germander, Broom and Mugwort an. Pug. iij, Kermes Berries, Citron Seeds an. ʒij, Orange-Peel and Rhodium Rasped an. ʒiss; Boil all in Spanish Wine and Carduus-Water, of each equal Parts, to which add Juice of Strawberries, Raspberries, Cherries or Quinces lbij, strain this and Boil the Express'd Liquor to the Consistence of Honey: Of which take two Parts to one of the Spices, or Powder before Prescrib'd, adding thereto upon Occasion, to every Dose of Antimony Diaphoretick ℈i, Aurum Fulminans ℈ss, Oil of Sulphur gr. iv; Dose ʒss, to ℈iv.
The Imperial Cordial Water in Pestilential-Fevers.
TAKE of the dry'd Roots of Swallowwort, Angelica, Masterwort, Gentian, Elecampane ℥ij, Roots of Carline Thistle, Burdock, Birthworth, Bistort, Tormentil, Galingal, Scorzonera, Contrayerva an. ℥iij, Leaves of Hyssop, Majoram, Rue, Bay, Mint, Balm, Mead sweet, Wormwood an. lbiij, Flowers of Centaury, Broom, St. Johns-wort, Mary-gold, Sage, Lavender and Orange an. ℥i, Cinnamon, Cloves, Mace, Nutmegs, Zedoary, Galangal, Calamus an. ʒx, Juniper-Berries, Rhodium and Citron Sanders an. ℥iij, Orange-Peel ℥vi, Strong-Wine, or Brandy lbxij, Infuse for 8 or 10 Days, then Distill, afterwards sweeten with Loaf-Sugar, to which add a few Drops of Oil of Cinnamon, Burgamot, or Essence of Ambergreese.
The Golden Elixir of LIFE.
THE Aurm Potabile of Blanc was made of the best Spirit of Wine, Circulated with Honey, Musk and Ambergreese, according to the Description of Gabel Rhoverus, in [Page 38]the second Part of his Antidotarium, pag. 383. This is one of the most potent Liquors, yet still more Penetrating, and Efficacious, according to the following Composition; of this Aurum Potabile, Extracted without Fire lbvi, Aurum Fulminans, precipiated by Oil of Tartar, which is better, the Chrystals of Gold, as taught hereafter to prepare ℥ij, Choice Pearl ℥iv, Sugar-Candy lbiv, Ambergreese ℥ij, Musk ℥ss. Saffron ℥iv, Spirit of Salt, doubly-Extracted lbi, Spirit of Wine dephlegmated lbiv, pour this upon the Ambergreese, Musk and Saffron to Extract a Tincture by a gentle Heat; then dissolve the Sugar in Spirit of Honey; the Gold and Pearl will come to an Easie Dissolution in Spirit of Salt; so that in eight Days time you will have each of them distinctly prepared in order for a Mixture, which you are to make in a double Cucurbit, well luted in the Junctures, and buried in a Sand Furnace, for forty Days, during which time a regular Circulation is to be perform'd, at last Decant from thence a clear limpid Liquor, which keep in Glass Viols close stop't. The Dose is from two Drops to a Dram; this is the most powerful Corroborative in the Plague, in Hysterick Suffocations, Faintings, Vertigo's and Flatulent Disorders of the Stomach and Bowels.
CHRYSTALS of Gold are made thus. Take of Leaf Gold, what you please, pour thereon [Page 39]a double or triple Part of pure Spirit of Salt rectified, make a Dissolution, and Cohobate six or eight times in an Alembick, with an Hole quite through the Head of it, at last force the matter over by a strong Fire, and the Chrystals will ascend to the Neck of the Vessel, these Chrystals are dissolvable in almost any Liquor, and to be separated again by Spirit of Salt, and reduc'd to their pristine Form.
THUS Gentlemen, I have given you a a short Specimen of my design'd Reformation of your London Dispensatory, and Hope as it will be Useful to the Publick, so it will meet with a Candid Reception, and hearty Approbation from your learned Society, which is the utmost Ambition, of Gentlemen, with all