Practica plutarch the excellent Philosopher,  
  


¶ Practica of the Philosopher plutarch, upon the Health of the body of man.    

¶ A preservation of health for all the parts of the body. and how to order them.  
IN this my great friend plutarch giveth me council to have always the hands warm, and that by no means he suffer them to be cold. Also that an Ague or fever, causeth the utter parts of the body, customably to be cold, when he constraineth heat all to i'll inwardly. Again if those things which be outward, and stretch to the highest parts do bring and disperse matter through all the body, that then it is wholesome. Moreover if we labour with out hands, that then by the motion of that part, heat is willingly moved to be in all the parts of our body, but if we do no such thing, than we must provide that no cold take the upper parts. And this was one of the matters which he was displeased with. The other except I be deceived was of meats to be ministered to a patient, he doth command that the patient shall taste and take his meat long or he be taken because we being in health may accustom ourselves therewith lest that when the sickness is come we should abhor & cast our mind against it, as children do, but let it be customably given by little, lest that when the fit taketh us we be grieved with meats, as we be with medicines and lest that we may scarcely bear it, when we must needs take some meats that besod and unsavoury, wherefore sometime it is not to be refused to take meatis with unwashed hands, neither to drink water, neither to drink warm drink in summer. But let these sophistical cracks pass, as to abstain from such things, which appear to be done under a pretence of temperance And let us so use our stomaske by little and little, that without grief it may give place to that which is profitable, & let us put out of our mind the superstitious and scrupelous care of such things in our diseases lest that we repent with them that fall from great and merry pleasures, in to a base & filthy state of living, whereof this was excellently spoken, Chose the best state of life.  

¶ Here followeth electuaries to avoid colour.  
How will I write of them that avoid colours, and first of the electuary called Diaprunis, it is called so because it standeth most by Prunes, & it voideth colour fro the stomach. and fro the liver. Electuary of the juice of Roses, that is properly against the hot gout and purgeth the reed colour. And it is good for sickness in the joints of colour. Also for them that be right sick in the Fever tertian.   

¶ How thou shall know to give the quantity of medicine.  
medicines before that they be compounded together they be divers in the making as some of more, and some of less, as of Scamony and of other veymy moystynges and violent, as Turbyt Elebre, Agryt Ensorbie, Colo Blow and of all other like these, so that the taking of Irapigra shall be three drams, the weight of a dram is two pens halfepenye.  
¶ Ieraphini but two drams, for that is more compounded with venymus medicines, & violence than Irapigra, therefore the less shallbe taken thereof.  
¶ Also of Benedicta: may be iii drams.  
¶ Also blanca iii drams.  
¶ Also of Pilularun, Archiarum should be taken iii drams.  
Also of Pilule Aure iii drams  
¶ Also of Pulularun de Euforbie iii drams.  
¶ Also of Pulularun Fetidum & of Stomaticum laxatiwm ii drams,  
¶ Also of Electuarium dulce ii drams.  
¶ Also of Theodoricon anam cardium iii drams.  
¶ Now I have showed you of the giving of quantity of medicines, & the diversity of them how they avoid superfluity of phlegm or colour.   

¶ Here beginneth the quantytes to avoid Melancholy.  
AS it is said of jeraphy, nigh so we shall say of Diacene, and the gyvyuge of the quantity shallbe an ounce. Hoc avicena. Also of Trifera sarasenica the receit of it is four drams.  
¶ Also of Theodoricon eupisticon ii drams.  
¶ Also the receit of jeralododion ii drams.  
¶ Also of Caterica imperiale one dram.   

¶ Now it shall be said of the quantytes of medicines.  
TO avoid Colour as of Diaprunis ii drammmes.  
¶ Also the receit of succa Rosarum be iii drams. These be the most giving of medicines compounded.   

¶ Now the medicines that will avoid cold humours.  
MEdicines that avoid cold humours of the breast, and of his membrs, and veins the first is pallynun that must be sharped with iii drams of Agryl, repressed with a dram of the juice of Lycoryse.  
¶ medicines that should purge cold humours of the stomach, and of the liver, should be sharpened with two drams of Turbit, and repressed with a dram of the powder of pepper, or Mirabolanus Iudiis nebuly, as their quantytes be said before, or with Esule ope as is said before.   

¶ How hot humours should be purged and sharped.  
Now hot humours should be purged and & sharped with Mirabolanus Citemies, or with Rubarba, or with Cassia fistula asania, or with Tammaridis, or Scamion, and there be any dropsy of old time fastened on the liver, the medycy may not be sharped with scamony, for that would take of the skin of the liver, therefore take Esula, or Rubarba, & do to the medicines, as is before written.   

¶ Here followeth his Powders for diseases.  
A Powdre for delicate men for to comfort digestion and to amend the sight, take Camnell; cardamoin, piperis, saturei, maiorane, crucautes, calamynte, of each half an ounce, nutmuges pompatadyse foli● of each an ounce, that is to say, of each vi penny weight, salgemme half an ounce ferthynges well tempered together make powder of these and use them.  

¶ A powder against the quartan.  
A Powdre against the quartan and vice of the spleen, take Coriandre, carin, seria combusti of each of them a penny weight Aneilanes yclensed.   

¶ Against flux of blood.  
A Powdre against the flux of blood of the nostrils, take incense, mastic, sage dragons nigh of each three penny weight, bren them in a shell over the fire & move them till they wax black, & make thereof subtle powder and cast therein.   

A powder against the cardiacle, and against to much feebleness, take camphor, musk, of each three halfpenny weight, shavings of ivory, of gold, and silver of each three penny weight.    
¶ Finis.   

¶ Imprinted by me Robert wire.