¶ Here is a new book, called the defence of age / and recovery of youth / translated out of the famous clerk and right expert medicine Arnold de Noua Villa / very profitable for all men to know.  
  

¶ unto the noble and virtuous ●●y Lady Marget dowgses, Nice, unto the most noble & christian, prince Henry the. viii. king of england & of france, defender of the faith, & under god supremeheed of the church of england, sister unto the most noble & thrysten prince james, king of Scottes daughter, unto the noble county Archebald earl of anguish, jonas D●lumde her vmbse seruyt●r de●ueth grace and hesthe.  
sorry I am to offer unto your noble, and virtuous ladyship so small a book, were it not so that I am purposed to recompense your ladyship, with a greater, so that this may favourably be received( which to believe) the 〈◇〉 nobleness, and gentleness that is in you, persuadeth me, also I hope that ye will consider rather the heart of the giver then the gift itself which although it 〈…〉 small in quantity, yet it is great in 〈◇〉 & this done, I shall desire 〈…〉 to preserve your Ladyshyps noblen●●●   

THe conservation of youth and withstanding of age, consisteth in the mayntenynge of the powers, the spirits, & the natural heat of the body in their state and temperancy: & in the comforting and repayrynge of them being defertyue. For so long as the powers, the spirits and the natural heat of mannes body are not debylitate nor wekened, so long( I say) neither shall the skin wrynkle, for the debylyte of the natural heat de●lynynge to coldness and dryness through the which the food & norisshement of the body is corrupted & hyndered: is cause of rorrugacyon or wrynklyng of the skin. For the meate being first digested in the stomach, and then shortly after sent in to every parte of the body, is digested again of the natural heat of the same parte, where it is received: than yf that this natural heat be by any occasion corrupted or destroyed: the food also is sent to the same place, shall be likewise corrupted, & then so ensueth corrugacyon of the skin, & hore hears, as ye may se in the ancient & aged men, when they be cold & dry, for horenes cometh of the defect of natural heat, the which defendeth the body from age, age properly doth make man cold & dry, & therfore they be of ly●el blood, and the powers & natural heat in them very weke, & unable to concoctyng & dygestyng of meate, wherefore there increase great plenty of humidites and crude raw humours, & therfore the three sprytes & the three digestions in age be decayed, & in thē raineth the debilite of heat, & this followeth with the course of time, the which course may be somewhat let & defended by physic, & by avoiding of such accidental causes as do induce age, as sorrow, study, heaviness, desperation, over much venery, labour, traueyl, or rest, & when age by any of these causes is come, then to amputat or cut away the cause by things apropriat. And for the preseruacyon of the powers, is no better thing then a syrup made of wine and sugar, mixed together. iii. partes of wine, &. ii. partes of sugar drunk with fair water, or borage water. This syrup is both meate and drink, and in it be two things confycte together, which are most friendly to nature, & when the powers be weke they need such things as may conforte them, both meats, drinks, and other spices, and moystynge medicines, and this is a very secret thing. Corrugacyon and reuelynge of the skin require such things, as do cleanse & make plain & smooth skin, with certain oils, waters, & ointments. Goodlynes and fresshenes of colour, is by feeding vpon such meats & drinks, as do engender good & laudable blood, & are light of digestion, and by such things, as do cleanse the blood corrupted, and the other powers is, ouermoch euacuacyon, or to often letting of blood, or such other like things. These things may be amended with thus, earynge of chickens, and chekyn broth, with due rest and sleep, and also with sweet and odoryferous things, and such other like.  
¶ things engenderynge evil and rotten phlegm, be fruits, fish, all things made of milk, & such other, of the which be engendered watery humours, not dygestyble in the membres, & then in the same membres it causeth horenesse, and wryncles. But among all other thyng{is} there is nothing, the which so strongly doth cause a man to look oldely, as fear and desperation. For because in that passion and effectyon, all the natural heat of the body doth resort inward, and forsaketh the outward partes, and that most chiefly, when the mannes complexion is disposed to the same, and that is the cause that many being ●os●e, turmoiled, and vexed, with this worldly storms so day●ly their heer wax hore, or white.  
¶ now things that do resist or put away these causes, are chosen the ioyce of Pomegranate, & chiefly gold, & the juice of Borage, & of fumytorye, & specially green and puryfyed, and the virtue of the root of Playntayne and such other.  
¶ The rotten fleume is destroyed with the use of Myrabolaues composed, and Aloe rosatum, and Agaryke, things to be had at the Apothecaries. And th● where with properly both melancholy & fleume be expelled out of the body, is Eleborus niger, called in english bears foot, prepared by a certain maner unto few known. For in the rectifying of the maly cyousnesse of this herb, standeth all the secret of his operation, for by him a man shal be altered from evil complexion to good, and it restoreth youth again, but it is not convenient for delicate bodies and noble complexyous, & therfore I will say little of him. Beware ye never entermedle with this herb, without the advisement and council of some expert and well learned Physycyon.  
¶ Also ●●anthos composed with sugar, the which properly doth consume the fleume and melaneoly being in the heed, and it tarrieth and letteth the hore heres coroborateth and strengneth the censes, and prolongeth the life, & chiefly when a quantity of it is dissolved in aqua vita well and craftily made, & sometime it is dissolved in wine, & lieth in it. ii. or. iii. dayes, & then strained, & so used conveniently, according to the council of a Physycyon.  
¶ Other things also there be, which quicken & maketh lusty the body, as Diacameron, Mirabolany, Chebuly composed, which by their property do consume and waste the flematycke supper fluytyes of the stomach & do comfort him, and do clarify the blood and be of great force against melancholy, and th use of those do comfort youth, and causeth a man to wax young again, & defendeth a man from hore hears, also the decoction of sene with Diaboraginatum, & the whey of gotes milk and such other. And one of the chief thyng{is}, whereby age is defended and youth prolonged, is once in a moaneth to haue a vomit, to expel the fleumatyke humour, and once in a weke to receive aclyster, and specially that composed of the ioyce of Mercury, walwort elder, and bete with half an ounce of yeropegara, the which is a great secret.  
¶ And also subiction made with yeropigra, or Cassia fistula, and the ioyce of fresh Roses, preparate with sugre, is a goodly easer of nature, ministered wisely, and it is a blessed medicine to make a▪ man soluble, and therwith also it comforteth the principal membres in man, and altereth the evil dysposicion of man to good, it openeth oppilations or stoppynges. It comforteth the heart, and cleanseth it, and to speak of the praise of this medicine wolde require a long process.  
Other thyng{is} also destroyinge and consuming the humours, which cause age are those temperate spices known to every body, cloves, Cinam●me, Liquiryce, and such other, but most principally, when they are conficte & incorporate with good wine, and so( being first somewhat watered) received and drunken.  
¶ Also it is not unknown, howe that pills made of myrtha, be of an excellent goodness in the conservation of health & life, for it withstandeth putrefaction rectifieth and sincereth that which is redy to putrefaction, wherefore this Myrtha is confycte with such things as deade bodies are incered with all, to defend the corpse from putrefaction. And the fore said spyced wine, when it is received of man, it spreadeth itself abroad in the partes of the body and comforteth all the partes of the body, and drieth up the superfluous humydyties of the body, also the powder of the same spices used with meate, profiteth wonderfully.  
¶ howbeit, yf the man be of a dry disposition, then shall it be needful to adjoin to these spices, some more temperate thing, as the ioyce of Pomegranates, Rose water, Sugre, Lyckeryce, Resyus, and such like. Diacameron restoreth digestion, los●e and comforteth it, and Trifera passeth all declynynge, somewhat more to calidite. The natural heat then & the meate coming to the membres being decayed or corrupted, which cometh of putryfyed colour, forthwith ensueth corrugacyon, and old looking as ye may se in such as are scaby, in any parte of their body, for that parte being infected, it seemeth ryuyled and old skin. The infection being once departed again, the skin sheweth itself fair, smooth, and yongly, and to those gold preparate is s●uerayne, & the wine of Pomegranate, and this is special good for the lepry. And this wine of granates taken and received howe ye list, hath property to extenate the humours, and to allay the heat of the liver, and to comfort all partes of mans body offended with heat, and it is good against weakness of heart, fortyfyeth the mouth of the stomach, & comforteth the heart. Also Mirabolani Rebul● conditi be very good both in hote and cold diseases they comfort the stomach, and drieth up the superfluous moystenes of the same, and be sides this they help the melancolicke people, they clarefy and make clear the blood, and the spirits, neither is there any thing more excellent for that purpose then these.  
¶ Also borage wine made( in time that grapes be gathered & pressed) with must is pryncipally good for melancholy, faint hearted, and mad people, for it cleanseth the blood, & taketh away evil fantasies, and comforteth all the regetyue power, and encountereth all corruption. The electuary also of the Myrabolans used, is a thing right often proved and allowed, to the conservation of health, and prolonging of the life, and to wax young again, for it comforteth the stomach, & maketh it apt & lusty, & comsumeth the wa trynesse left of the fore food, & the use of this electuary withstandeth age, & causeth man to live long by the help of god.  
¶ again certain suffumigations and savours made of convenient things, and according as the man needeth, is very profitable. ☞ ❧  
¶ bathing also temperately without any great sweatyng so that onely the skin be mundefyed and cleansed from filthiness, is wholesome and profitable, for thereby the powers are opened, and the superfluous humidities lurkynge within the skin, be wasted and dried up. ☞ ❧  
¶ But the use of good wine in the which such spices, as we haue spoken of before, haue ben steped, and the virtue of them in it resolved, temperately taken with a little water mixed therwith in due season, shall pass and enter in to all the hid ways of the body, and it shall dry up all the evil humydyties, & comforteth all the inward partes, & perfectly doth open all maner of opilaction or stopping, the which is secret for the aparycyon or opening of places opilat, or stopped, causeth the lively spyryt{is} to run throughout every parte of the body, and causeth the natural heat for to wax strong, and to be of great force, but oppilation or stoping causeth the contrary, for the natural heat being conculcate, or strangled, not having the fre passage through every parte, is thereby debylytate and wekened, and so not sufficient and mighty to separate the pure from the unpure, whereupon the superfluous humydyties rotten & putrefyed be in the body much increased, and thereby consequently ensueth wrynkelinge of the flesh and skin, and age at hand.  
¶ An other also strong mean there is to defend age, and to recover youth again, by abstinence, and convenient for bearing of your quantity of meate, unto such time as the body be brought very low, and made very spare, and then to restore, and nourish it again with laudable, wholesome, and good food, which hath a property, to engender clear and pure blood▪ ☞ ❧  
¶ This point also do they observe the which make fat Oxen: whose flesh the more it waxeth lean and bare, the more also doth it be come tender and young, and the better afterwerde do they like and batten, and ye may also se the practise of this in such as be lately recovered from sickness. ❧ ❧  
¶ But to be short, he that will refrain age, and conserve youth, let him not be negligent in chosyng of his meate, that it be such, as may breed good, clear, fat, thick and viscous blood, and then may he withstand well age.  
¶ And when that such humydytyes, or moystenesse, which are in the body, and crude humours are increased in man, then hath he need of such things which do extenate and exiccat those superfluous moystenes, and such things as may digest the crude or raw humours, sincere and depure the hole body.  
¶ among other thyng{is}, such as wax aged, haue great need of calefactyon, and humystation, that is to say▪ warmynge, and moystynge, of both equally by meats, and drinks, and medicines convenient, by exercise, and gladness.  
¶ now that he may keep his body it such temperancy, that he may live with out the horrible danger of grievous sickness, and the better able to serve almighty God, to whom be all honour.  
¶ FINIS.   

¶ imprinted by me Robert wire / dwelling in saint Martyns parish / at the sign of saint Iohn evangelist / beside Charynge cross. †  
 printer's or publisher's device