A BRIEF TREATISE touching the preservation of the eyesight, consisting partly in good order of diet, and partly in use of medicines. The sixth Edition.  
AT OXFORD, By JOSEPH BARNES, Printer to the University. 1602.   

Occasioned through certain speeches had with some of mine Honourable good friends, to write mine opinion of means to preserve the sight in good integrity, I have performed the same in this little pamphlet, wherein I have directed my pen rather to leave rules for those, which have not in themselves sufficient knowledge, them to satisfy the learned: who I know can devise much better means & remedies. And my intent being only to set down some order, as may be fittest for all sorts of men to continue in perfection their sight, I thought not good to insert any discourse of the diseases of the eyes, which will require a long treatise, and cannot well be executed, but by men which have skill in the art of physic. Therefore it seemed meet unto me at this time to omit that part, and to leave the reader for the knowledge & cure of such diseases to the professors thereof, by whose helps they may receive remedy of all infirmities and affects, which shall happen to the eyes: purposing in this little treatise only to declare, how the sight might be long continued in his integrity, by such common order as may of all men in their trade of life be reasonably followed, leaving all other harder matters to a farther direction of the learned And now following the laudable custom begun in ancient time, and continued in these our days of presenting friends with newyears gifts, for lack of other things of greater price, I offer unto you this little pamphlet, as a signification of my good will, wishing that the same may be a token of many good & prosperous years, which God the giver of all goodness, send unto you.   

A brief Treatise concerning the preservation of the eye sight.  
THe preservation of the sight doth consist, partly in good order of diet, partly in use of medicines.  
Concerning diet: 
Diet  some things hurtful are to be eschewed, & some things comfortable to the sight are to be used: wherefore they, which may choose their habitations, in this respect, may make election of air clear, declining to 
air  moderate heat & dryness: cold & moist air, & thick, misty, and rainy weather is hurtful: it is best therefore to abide in dry places, from moory, marish, & waterish grounds & specially to provide, that the site of the dwelling be not between the wet places and the sun: southern winds do hurt the 
Winds. Dust Smoke. Meats.  sight: so do low rooms: places full of dust and smoky are noisome.  
Meats are best which are easy to be digested, & which do not stay long in the stomach: amongst such a young hen is greatly commended: so is Partridge and Pheasant, Rasis praiseth the young starve, & the quail: so do all writers the Dove both tame and wild, but chiefly the wild Dove, which (as Zoar writeth) hath especial virtue against the weakness of the sight, which cometh by defect of spirits, and the rather, if the same be sod with rape roots, and turnip roots: for it is accorded by all writers, that the turnip hath great faculty to do good to the eyes, and to preserve the sight. Gross and slimy meats, and all waterfoule are dispraised. Of small birds, the martin, the swallow, the jay and pie, the witwall, the specht are noted very hurtful to the sight: and albeit these birds are seldom, or not at all used of the better sort, yet common people happily may be compelled to eat them. No fish is accounted good: yet some fishes, which do 
Fish.  scour in gravely places, being savoury sodden with white wine, fenel, eyebright, sage, persl●e, etc. may at some times be eaten: & so a little fault-fish moderately taken doth no great harm. Flesh sodden with senell, 
Preparation of meats.  eyebright, mints, sage, etc. is reputed best; next are roasted meats, flesh fried with 
entrails.  butter or oil is to be rejected, thentrals, and feet of beasts are not so good, nor the brains for the most part, yet the brain 
Brains.  of an hare, of a coney, and of pigeons are said to quicken the sight.  
Milk and all things made thereof are 
Milk.  found by experience to induce dimness of sight: rear roasted, rear sodden, or poch eggs are wholesome, especially eaten 
Eggs.  with the powder of eyebright, fried eggs and hard are blamed.  
Of sauces, verjuice, vinegar of wine, and 
Sauces.  the juice of limonds, are accounted best; pomegranates, not so good.  
Of spices, cinnamon is commended by 
Spices.  Avicenna, as special good for the web of the eye, and for dimness of the sight: so is saffron; ginger, both inwardly taken, and outwardly applied, doth singularly clear the sight: cloves, mace, and nutmegs, and all three kinds of peppers, may be used. Sugar is convenient to condite things, but 
Sugar. Honey. Oil Butter.  honey is better: no oil is good, save pile olive called salad oil, and that is better than butter.  
Albeit few raw herbs in common use 
Raw herbs.  for salads are commended, except fennel, eiebright, young sage, terragone, which are very good: yet these are to be avoided as most hurtful, namely lettuce, coleworts, cabbages, beets, spinach, purslane, buds of dill, garlic, chibbols, onions, skallions, etc. Capers may be eaten: Olives not so good: radish roots, persnep roots, are 
Capers. olives Roots.  greatly dispraised: carrot roots, the buds of asperage may be eaten, but the turnup or rape root, and the navew root are above 
The Rape & Turnip.  all other noted for excellency to preserve the sight, and to that purpose many do preserve with sugar these roots, & eat them as sucket.  
The most kinds of fruits are hurtful to the sight: yet pears and the better kinds 
Fruits. Pears. Apples.  of apples, may be eaten with the powder of eyebright, or with fennel seeds thinly incrusted with fine sugar: figs are very good, not only for the sight, but also to open, 
Figs.  scour, and to cleanse the breast, liver, stomach and kidneys: so are raisins, which 
Raisins.  have a special property to strengthen the liver: nuts are very evil, for that they do fill 
Nuts.  the head: the walnut more tolerable than the hazel nut, chestnuts are very windy, better friends for Venus, then for the eyes: dates are not commended, nor mulberries. 
Dates Confects.   
Confectes made with fine sugar & thinly incrusted about with turnip seeds, & navew seeds, fenil seeds, anise seeds almonds, pine apple kernels, ginger, cinnamon, the powder of eyebright, etc. are reputed as very good means to continue the sight: likewise in the preservation of the sight, amongst other things, such drinks, as are in common use and accustomed, are to be allowed: 
Drinks.  therefore he that hath used to drink beer, may not forsake the same & so of ale. 
Beer.   
And in this respect it is not amiss at meat to drink wine, for them which have been 
Wine.  accustomed to the same: although wine in some affects of the eyes is forbidden, yet to preserve the sight, wine is not inconvenient, for the vapours of wine are drying, clear abstersive, & so do consume and extenuate gross and thick humours, so it be moderately taken. In this place I do greatly commend their counsels, which do prepare medicinable drinks with eyebright, 
Medicinal drinks.  & other things comfortable for the sight, to be used in the morning, and at meats, if the patient can well endure so to drink the same: our authors herein are very ingenious, some addressing drinks with one thing, and some with another.  
The simplest and most written of, is 
Drink made with ciebright.  with the herb called of the Arabians Adhill, in Latin Euphragia, in English Eiebright, of whose miraculous virtues in preservation of the sight: Arnoldus de villa 
Arnoldus de villa nova.  nova hath written in these words: Eiebright is good any way taken, either with meat, drink or medicine, green and dry, 
The praise of eiebright for the sight.  against all impediments of the sight, whereby the clearness of the same may be obscured. And he writeth thus of wine made with eyebright, which he calleth Uinum 
Eiebright Wine.  euphragiatum This wine (saith he) is made by putting the herb in the must or new wine, until the same wine become clear to be drunk. By the use of this wine, old men's sights are made young, it taketh away the impediments of the sight in all men, of all ages, especially in fat men, and such, which do abound with phlegm.  
One (saith he) which was blind, and did see nothing in long time, by using this wine one year, was restored to his fight. The herb is hot and dry, and hath by property of substance, to remove affects of the sight. And so the powder of the herb taken 
Eiebright taken in an egg.  in an egg, or drunken in wine, doth wonderfully perform the same. And there are yet alive (saith he) witnesses of good credit, which have made proof hereof in themselves, which could not read without spectacles, by use hereof have recovered their sight to read small letters. And so Arnoldus concludeth, that nothing to do good to the sight, is to be compared with wine made with eiebrright. If the wine be too strong, he counseleth to allay the same with fennel water, and to that intention, you may also add sugar.  
In countries which for their common drinks do use wine and water, they alway do mingle things for the sight in wine, and not in water: for wine in truth is a fitter liquor to receive the qualities and to carry the same to the eyes, than water: which things they do put in the must, and so let it stand, until the wine be ripe, and ready 
Eiebrigh may be used in beer, in ale, or mead.  to be drunken, and so do use it.  
Notwithstanding in other countries which have other usual drinks, the same things may be put in their common drinks. So some have put them in ale, some in beer, and some in mead, and no doubt but all these means are very good according to the usage and disposition of the party. So even in this our country, they which either by use or by constitution of body, may well bear the drinking of wine, may well compound the same with things good for the sight: others of hot complexions and dry, not greatly accustomed to wine, may of ale, beer, and mead make such drinks, because in the North countries, ale and beer are the usual and common drinks, and in some places, mead also is much used: therefore in mine opinion it is convenient for most men, to make these drinks with ale, beer, and mead, rather than with wine: and mead assuredly is a very convenient thing for them which can well away with honey.  
Touching the direction of those which 
How eiebright wine may be used  have been accustomed to drink wine, I do nothing doubt, but that they may without offence bear such drinks for the sight, compounded with wine, to take a draft in the morning, especially if they allay the same with the distilled water of fennel, according to Arnoldus counsel. And for this purpose, choice may be made of very good white wine, and the things may be mingled in the countries where the wine doth grow, notwithstanding in that our 
The use of eyebright ale, and of eyebright beer.  most used drink with meat is ale, or beer, these are very convenient to receive these things for the sight, and absolutely better than wine, if ye like to drink the same with meat: as our authors do counsel. Which ale I think better to be made with 
Ale made with grout.  grout according to the old order of brewing. And so the things for the sight may be sodden in the grout, or other way put 
How to make eiebright ale and beer.  in the drink, when it is newly cleansed, & put into the vessel in which sit is tunned to be kept, that in the working of the drink in the vessel, the virtues and qualities of the things may be drawn and received into the same. When these things are 
Eiebright mead.  compounded in mead, than the same are sodden with the honey, in such order as other herbs are sodden, when they make metheglin.  
I think it best to begin with the simplest order to compound ale or beer to each man's best liking with eyebright only, taking to every gallon of the drink a great handful of the herb, and bind it together, 
The quantity of eiebright to the drink  or put it in raw and thin tinsel of silk, and so tie the same by a string to the tap of the vessel, that the herb may hang in the midst of the drink, not too low in the ground, neither to high in the barm, being put into the drink when it is newly cleansed: let all work together until the drink be clear and ripe, to be drunken according to the common use, and then ye may drink of it at pleasure in the morning fasting, and at meat also if you will, and can well like thereof; and most men may like to drink it, because this herb doth yield no ungrateful taste, but rather with a pleasant sapour doth commend the drink. It were not amiss to avoid windiness, to every handful of the herb, to add two drams of fennel seeds, well 
Fenell seeds.  dusted, and a little bruised. As I do put this for more proportion to begin withal, that the stomach be not at the first offended with the strangeness: So after a time, ye may increase the quantity, and put to every gallon of the drink, two handfuls of the herb, wherein ye may best be directed by the taste, that the herb shall yield into the drink. In the winter season 
Spices may be added.  ye may also add some spices, as ginger, whole mace, a few cloves, nutmegs, cinnamon, and make as it were bragget ale: which drink beside that it doth preserve and clear the sight, will also help digestion, cleanse and cut phlegm, and break wind.  
I can witness, that many by this simple 
The effect confirmed by examples.  composition of eyebright and fennel seeds, have found great good for their sight, not only to continue in good estate, but also that some have found remedy against the dimness & other impediments, growing in their sight. In truth once I met an old man in Shropshire called M. hoard, above the age of 84. years, who had at that time perfect sight, and did read small letters very well without spectacles: he told me that about the age of 40. years, finding his sight to decay, he did use eyebright in ale for his drink and did also ear the powder thereof in an egg three days in a week, being so taught of his father, who by the like order continued his sight in good integrity to a very long age. I have heard the same confirmed by many old men. Rowland Sherlooke an Irish man, Physician to Queen Marie, did affirm for truth, that a Bishop in Ireland perceiving his sight to wax dim, about his age of fifty years, by the use of eyebright taken in powder in an egg, did live to the age of 80 years, with good integrity of sight.  
We do read of many prinkes to preserve 
Drinks more compounded for the sight.  the sight, compounded not of eiebright only, but many more things added: so some put to it sage, some vervain some celendine, and fennel seeds, anise feeds, & the forenamed spices: others elecampane roots, iris, galengale & cubebs, and in truth all these are greatly commended to preserve the sight, and may very aptly be put in drinks for the sight: notwithstanding, for that we are now to deliver a drink for the sight, which may be pleasing, and allowed with meats, mine opinion is, that the same aught to be made as simple as may be. For if Galen in his 6. book de sanitate tuenda, doth prefer the composition of the medicine termed diatrion 
The most compound not always best.  p●perion, which hath fewest simples because (as he writeth) that is soonest & with less trouble to nature digested: surely the drinks for the sight, which are compounded of fewest things, are most to be commended, especially when we mean to use the same with meat, as all our authors do counsel us. Wherefore, for my part at this time, I will only advise to have for use, either wine, or ale, or beer, according to each man's best liking, made as is before prescribed with eyebright and fennel seeds, & to drink of the same in the morning, or if it so like with meat, as other drink.  
It is holden better to drink oft & small 
Drink often & small draughts.  draughts at meat, then seldom & great draughts; for so meat and drink will better mingle, and the meat will less swim 
Not best to begin the meal with drink.  in the stomach, which giveth cause of many vapours to the head. It is affirmed not good to begin the meal with drink, but to eat somewhat before you drink.  
When you drink wine, if you mean to 
When to mingle water with wine  allay the same with water, it is best to mingle to the wine fennel water, or eyebright water, & Montagnana doth council to do the same some reasonable time before you do drink, and not presently when you drink, as commonly men do.  
Bread in our intention is to be made of fine flower of chosen wheat, alway leavened 
Bread.  and salted somewhat more, then common bread, well wrought, thoroughly baked, not new nor old, of about a day or two days old. unleavened bread is not accounted good: and the bread is better, if fennel 
Past with fenil seeds.  seeds be wrought with the past; to which purpose some do cause cakes to be made of some portion of the dough, in which they knead the powder of fennel seeds, and the powder of eyebright, and do eat them in the morning, and after drink the eyebright drink, and make that a breakfast.  
As generally in the preservation of 
Evacuation.  health: so especially to continue the sight, it is convenient that the body be obedient, and do his office for evacuation accordingly: and if nature herein be slack, it may be procured with broths made of loose herbs, as mallows, violet leaves, mercury, groundsel, great raisins the stones taken out, damask prunes and currants; and if need be of more medicinal things, surely the same must be gentle: for as strong medicines, which make agitation of humours are not good to be used for this intention: so gentle medicines taken in due time, do great good to the sight: which I do leave to the appointment and direction of a learned Physician. Of all manner of evacuation, these which are done by vomiting are most hurtful: so are fluxes of blood by the nose. And as belkes do ease the stomach, so much belching giveth occasion that fumes do arise to the forepart of the head, whereby the sight may be harmed.  
Nothing is more hurtful to health then 
Fullness hurtful.  fullness. And he that will continue his sight good, must be careful of over plentiful feeding, and therefore must end his meals with appetite: and never lay gorge upon gorge, but so feed, that the former meat may be concocted, before he do eat again. It is best to make light suppers, & 
Use of Venus.  somewhat timely. As modest use of Venus' performed in the fear of God in due time, when the meat in the stomach is digested, and nature is desirous to be disburdened, is to be allowed: so immoderate and unseasonable use thereof, doth of all things most hurt the sight and soon induce 
sleep and watching.  blindness: over much watching is not good: very long sleeps are more hurtful the mean sleeps of about seven. hours, are best: ye, better to abridge the sleep & to enlarge watching, then chose; sleep taken in the night is best, as most natural, when external air doth not distract nature's motion, and all external things concur to help sleep, therefore the more hours a man doth borrow of the day for sleep, the worse. It is not good especially to this our purpose, to sleep immediately after meat: for two hours at the least ought to be put between meat & sleep. Best to begin sleep upon the right side, & then to turn on the left side: to sleep upright upon the back is nought generally: to turn upon the face worse for the 
The moon shi●e hur●fu●●o the sight.  sight. Care must be had that you sleep not in a chamber, or any place in which the moon doth shine.  
Exercises are needful: the same best, after 
Exercises.  the belly hath done his office, that the excrements are avoided: otherwise by exercise vapours are stirred, and do ascend 
Writing after meat  more plentifully to the head. All exercises must be done fasting, and none after meat. And I wish you might after meat forbear writing by the space of three hours: but if your course of life and calling will not so permit you, you may herein follow Montagnava his counsel, to write either standing upright, or a little leaning and resting your head upon your right or left cheek: in no case to write bowing yourself forward, & holding down the head. When opportunity and time will serve, frictions 
Frictions.  with a rough linen cloth are very good, which are to be performed thus: first to rub the feet, the legs, than the thighs, the hips, the buttocks, ascending to the shoulders and neck with sof●e and long rubbings, even until the parts begin to wax red. Amongst orders to remove the weakness of the sight, Auicenna writeth that the combing of the head is not of 
Combing hte head.  least force, which ought to be done every morning fasting backwards against the hair, for it draweth the vapours out of the head, & removeth them from the sight.  
Mirth, joy, & pleasantness of the mind is good: a little anger doth not hu●●: immoderate 
Afflictions of the mind.  sorrow, fearfulness, & all vehement affections are forbiddenin all affects, but in this our case chiefly as most hurtful to the sight.  

To preserve the sight by medicines.  
THE order to preserve the sight by medicines, doth consist of things outwardly 
Outward medicines,  applied, & inwardly taken. Amongst outward medicines to preserve the sight, it is accounted a great secret, to smell much to marierum. So these things following, are 
The smell of marierum.  found very much to comfort the sight in staying the visible spirits from wasting: vidilicet, coral, pearl, the stone called Lapis 
Things comfortable to the sight.  Armenius, spectacles of Crystalline or clear & pure glass, green & sky colours, to dip the eyes in cold water, to which purpose, many have cups made in the form of an eye, called eye cups: & to wash the eyes with 
Eye cups.  the waters or decoctions of eyebright, roses, & vervain. Some other things are put 
Things put into the eyes.  into the eyes to clear the sight, & to remove impediments which do often grow there: to which purpose as approved very good & without hurt, the juices & waters of eiebright, of fennel, of vervain, of marigolds, of pearl wort are greatly commended. And Montagnana doth mention a certain 
A preparation of the juice of fennel.  kind of preparation of the juice of fennel, singular good to preserve the sight from dimness, to take the juice of fennel in the month of April, and to put it in a vessel of glass, with a long and narrow neck, and let it stand fifteen days in the sun, that it may be well dried, then remove the glass softly, that you do not trouble the residue, or grounds, and so power it into another vessel: and to every half pound of the juice, put an ounce of chosen lignum alaes, beaten into fine powder, and 
Lignun aloes good for the sight.  let it stand other fifteen days in the sun. Then strain it twice through a thick cloth and keep the clearest in a vessel of glass to your use: you may drop a little hereof into your eyes to clear the sight. And some do distill, this wood in a stillatory of glass and put the water thereof into the eyes and hold this for a great secret as miraculous to preserve the sight. And the sam● Montagnana doth compound an oth●● medicine more abstersive to remedy th●● dimness of the sight, dissolving in an oun●● of the water of Rosemary flowers, tw● 
Salgemma doth clear the sight.  scruples of Salgemma very finely powdered, and filtered, and counseleth to drop the same often into the eyes; affirming by his experience, that it doth so mightily clear the sight that suffusions are thereby wonderfully removed, and especially moistures of the eyes.  
I am here also in this place for the cleansing and strenghtning of the eyes especially to commend unto you the frequent use of old and clear white wine, in which the Calaminar stone hath been oftentimes extinguished: and likewise the pure liquor of good sugar-candy dissolved in the white of an egg, being hard roasted and the yolk taken out.  
Also our authors do commend the washing 
The urine of a child.  of the eyes with the urine of a child, and sometimes to drop the same into the eyes. 
A lie of fenel stalks.  And for this purpose also they do commend ●ie made, of the ashes of fennel stalks. We ●oe read in all our writers great commendations, 
A preparation of the liver of a goat for the sight.  of a liquor of the liver of a goat, prepared in manner following. Take the liver of a male goat, not diseased, nor newly ●●lled: and after it is well washed, prick ●● in many places, and fill the same with ●raines of pepper, and infarce the liver with the leaves of fennel and of eyebright then roast it with a soft fire clear, not smoa●kie, until it be reasonably roasted: and i● the time of roasting, receive the liquour which doth distill, in a convenient vessel, & apply the same to your use.  
Av●cenna in his third sen. third book● and fourth treatise, cap. de debilitate visu● abou● all other things doth commend th● medicine called collyrium de fellybus, for tha● it cleanseth the pores of the eyes, cleareth 
Collyrium de fellibus.  and conserveth the spirits, mu● difieth th● moistures or waters of the sight▪ as yo● may read in Avicenna in the foresaid place.   

Inward Medicines.  
Medicines to be taken inwardly are in number many: bu● I think best at this time t● mention a few, which are e●sie to be had, & as of gre●● efficacy most commended: a● of such the powder following is most si●ple: yet by expe●ience approved of such for● 
A powder for the fight  that many, after their sight hath been decked, have by the use of it, received against ●he same perfectly: the powder is thus made.  
Take of the powder of eyebright ʒ. iiij. of mace ʒ. i. mingle them together, and take thereof the weight of three pence before meat.  
Montanu● in his 92▪ counsel giveth great 
A syrup for the sight.  praise to a syrup, against the decay of the sight through the weakness and dimness of the same, which he compoundeth thus. 

Take of the juices of fenel, of vervain, of roses, of each ʒ. ij.  
●he leaves of the herb eyebright of endive, of celendine, of each M. S.   ●oyle the herbs in two pints of water vn●●ll the half be spent: then strain it hard, ●nd mingle the juices with the decoction, ●nd with sugar according to art make a si●p, which is to be kept in a glass vessel. ●ou may take two ounces of this syrup in three ounces of the water of eyebright in ●●e morning fasting. In windy bodies he takes the syrup thus, 

●ake of fennel seeds, of anise seeds, of each ʒ. iij.  
of the herbs of eyebright of vervain, of rose-leaves, of each M. iij.  
of celending▪ M. i.  
of rhue. M. i. S.   boil these in water until half be consumed: strain it hard, and with sugar syrupize the decoction: both these syrups ar● excellent good to defend the sight fro● dimness.  
Mes●e in his book called Grabadin, writing of the diseases of the eyes, above all other 
An excellent electuary to preserve the sight  medicines extolleth an electuary under the name of Hamaine, as having nob●● virtues to preserve the eyes, and to con●●nue the visible spirits in their clearness which he compoundeth thus. Take the herb called Adhil, that is 

eyebright, ʒ. ij.  
fennel seeds, dram. v.  


mace,  
cubebs,  
cinnamon,  
long-peper,  
cloves,   of ea●● Dra. j●   beat all into powder, s●arse it, than 〈◊〉 of good honey clarified, lib. i. 

of the juice of fennel boiled and clarified, ʒ i.  


of the juice of rhue  
of celendine   both boiled & clarified, of each ʒ. S.   boil all to the height of an electuary, and then put to it the powders according to art, and so reserve it in glass vessels. You may take hereos the quantity of Dra. iij, in wine as Mesue writeth: If wine seem too hot, you may allay it with fennel water, or with eyebright water: it must be taken in the morning fasting: and you ought to forbear the taking of other things, by the ●pace of three house's, and so at night, but than you must mak● a light supper, & sup the more timely.  
Where in this little Treatise mention is 
Distilled waters.  made of distilled waters, I wish the same to be artificially done in stillatories of glass, ●hat the qualities of the herbs may re●aine in the distilled waters. And therefore do not allow of the common manner of ●istiling in stillatories of lead, by the which ●he watery parts only are drawn.   
FINIS.