] De medicaminibus virtutes et sensus cooperantibus

[Capitulum 8.] De medicaminibus virtutes et sensus cooperantibus

I have nat founde no medicynes in the bookis of sapient men comfort- yng strength, vertu, and wit, but that it relievith vertues and repairith 1360 witte eni ebled with [fol. 18v] age. And to an old man I have founde no medicyne but oon and that is of the kynd of serpentis. But of serpent- is bien many kyndes, but certeyne 161 of thiese bien conuenient to the lasse world, that is, to man. But to the knowlache of his propirte com nat bi the Grekis nor to vs, but to the Ethiopiens only, and is a dragon.

1365 But to the knowlache of the propirtes of other com to vs, and is cald syrus, whiche sette of Avicen in the iiij canon vipera and is an adder.

Another is a coluber. <Avicen in 4 o canone / Haly & Avicen rescribunt de

vipera> But Haly and Avicen writen ageyn of the addir, 162 seyeng: addirs bien serpentis havyng playn heedis and brode or large, and nygh to the

1370 nekke, subtily and woundirly scaled, whos tailes bien short. Isshyng and vomyte makyn in their paas and goyng. And thei ought to be take in th’end of veer whan somer bigynneth. Of the forsaide serpentis bien nat convenyent but crisp and yalew, and of crisp but femals. And the token of hem is that the malis of euery part han but oo toth and femels

1375 many. And oo thyng bihovith that tho with high hornes and variable and aspis declyneng vnto rede; and be they nat taken of piscinis and bankes of l oodis and waters of the see, neither in stony places. Forwhy in hem is th[e] quarteyne makyng grete thurst. Therfor bien thei take in places fer of from humosite and moistenes; nother take nat tho that

1380 bien slow and i eble of mocioun but tho that bien swift of mocioun, havyng their hedis lift vp. And it behovith that thei die nat whan thei bien taken, if it is possible. And it behovith apertly to cut of the hede iiij fyngres. And if his moevyng be moche and moche bloode and the deth of hym erthly, it shal be elect and chosen. If the contrary it shal

1356–1357. De medicaminibus . . . cooperantibus] in display script; marg. in small later hand: cap. 13 1363. knowlache] marg. in later hand: pro quodam sanctissimo episcopo Jan- uensi 1372. serpentis] marg. in later hand: Serpentis

1366. syrus: L tirus ‘viper.’ The translator probably mistook the initial t as c, and then anglicized the word to syrus. See lines 838, 840, 1405, and 2055 for parallel errors.

1370–1371. Isshyng and vomyte: L Strepitum et sonum [var. sonitum PV] ‘rumbling and sound.’

1375. that tho: L vt eliguntur ‘that they (those with horns, etc.) are chosen.’ 1384. erthly: L tarda ‘slow.’

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be evil or nought. Drawe out the bowels of hem and propirly and bien thei wassh with water and salt, and be it soden in water and salt til thei mown departe the l essh into a morter. And therof bien ther formed trocisces and bien thei anoynted with oile of bawme. And bien thei dried in the shadewe and be ware that no beame of þe sonne light

1390 vpon hem bifore the dryeng nor after. Forwhi the sonne spoileth hem of their propir vertue and þe propirte with sleyng in venyme whiche bien of gnawyng, bityng, or drynkynges.

<Avicen dicit hec predicta> Avicen saith thiese forsaide thynges also in the chapitre of lepre. He saith that thei shuln chesen mountaynes, 1395 and namly white, and cut of hede and taile at oo tyme. <Haly Regalis in vltimo sermone> Also Haly in the Regaly in his last sermon of prac- tique techith that thei bien ware of blake and of theym whiche habiten in howsis and salt waters and that thei chesen þe yongest, in whom is vnder-rede colour or declyneng to rednes, whos hedis [fol. 19r] bien

1400 brode, for that is a signe of their goodenesse. Also in the chapitre of lepre, he saith that ther may be taken of tho trocisces fro half exagion vnto j with 3 ʒ and wyne arian. 163 And Avicen saith with cliere rede. But wyne arean is rede. Other seyn that wyne arian is strong wyne.

<Haly Regalis in 2 o sermone> But Haly in his Regaly and in his secunde 1405 sermon of practique saith: Forwhi if þe l essh of sirie be eeten, of whos superl uites habounden purgith membris withynfurth from their super- l uites aborcif and withoutfurth bi swet or lise or l eyng. 164 And thei availen to bitynges of venemous beastis and with glad pociouns prof- iten to grosse humours, of whiche bien made lepre and morphew. <Haly

1410 super Teigne Galieni> But Haly vpon þe Teignes of Galien spekith of this thyng vpon that worde, that withyn of venemous beestis curith. <Galien dicit quod si agitur> In that exposicioun Galien saith that if he do makyng

1388. trocisces] marg. in later hand: The makyng of trocisces 1389. of þe sonne] in right marg., marked for ins. here 1399. hedis] hedis (page break) hedis

1391–1392. and þe propirte . . . or drynkynges: L et a proprietate interfi ciente venena que sunt ex morsione ebibita ‘and from the property of destroying poisons that are taken in from a bite.’

‘of the viper.’ 1408. glad: L letalibus ‘lethal,’ read as letibus ‘glad.’ 1411. withyn: L virus ‘poison,’ read as intus? 1412–1413. if he do makyng medicynes to avoide and eschape: L si aggregatur me-

dicina faciens euadere ‘if medicine is compounded that causes one to escape (from ven- om)’; the marginal gloss suggests that the translator’s source read si agitur medicina . . . , leading to the “if he do . . . ” translation.

The Accidents of Age

medicynes to avoide and eschape and medicynes aromatik and stiptik, ther is non other bettir in comfortacioun of membris brennyng or hote,

1415 and that it make the body to escape from malice of th’umoris. And he saith that tho medicynes makyng to avoide and escape is of the kynde of venemes; and he saith þat it digestith and purgith. But it behovith that it

be medled with vther medicynes whiche takith awey the nuysaunce that remayneþ of venemousite, or cassia lignea, zedewar, the bark of citre.

<Avicen in 2 o canone de serpentis> Also Avicen makith mencioun in the secunde canon of serpentis. But it is nat expressid whether he spek- ith of oxio or of coluber or of dragon. Indifferently he spekith of his propirte, seyeng the l essh of serpentis whan it is had in vse. Also he saith it prolongith and lengthith lif, comfortith strength and vertu and

1425 conservith yowth; and of his exsiccacioun is strong but of his chaufyng is nat grete ne sodayne. Also it berith awey the lepre gretly. Also it forbed- ith the augmentacioun of scurphes. Also it takith awey achis and sorowes and comfortith ne[r]vis and synewis. 165 Also in the iiij disposi- cioun of vertu visible he saith that th’use of that l essh kepith the helth

1430 of eyen into þe last. <Latini secundum quod mihi videtur> But Latynes — after that me semyth — speken of coluber, seyn that it is goode agenst dropesie, spleene, defaute of sight and of heryng, and al vertues repairith, and availith in al þinges agenst lepre infect and sharp sikenessis, and is to

1435 old men naturaly proved. <Obolay in capitulo de lepre> And the sone of the prince Obolay saith in þe chapitre of lepre, that a man ought nat to cease from the admynistracioun of this l essh whan he bigynneth sco- tomye and bolnyng or swellyng of wombe. 166 And Haly vpon the [fol.

19v] Teigne: That it ought nat to be don to sikenesses but to whiche bien 1440 made of malice of th’[u]mours. And be it medlid with sweete smellyng spicis, aromatic and stiptic, havyng the propirte agenst tho sikeness- is whiche we intende to cure, and of whos cause long abidith til it be pari tely fermentid. Otherwise it shal nat availe. And the quantite of

1414. brennyng or hote] brennyng in compressed script; or hote above line, with ins. mark L interiorum 1440. of th’umours] of thimours L chimorum ‘of the juices’ (cf. line 1415 above)

1415. of th’umoris: L chimorum ‘of the juices.’ 1422. of oxio: L de tyro ‘of the viper.’ 1423. vse: The Latin text continues: facit penetrare omnes superfl uitates ad cutem, et proprie cum homo non est mundifi catus ‘makes all superfl uities penetrate to the skin,

and especially when the man has not been made clean.’ 1436. nat: L om.

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spicis aromatic, after that it semyth me, ought to be oo part of l essh 1445 and vij of spicis aromatic. And this is the trowth: whan it ought to be taken in an hote complexioun, ought to be part of l essh and x partis of spicis aromatic.

And sum seyn that thiese bien whiche oughten to bien medled: Gil- ofres, nootemugis, musk and bark of citre, camphore, zedewar, and a 1450 litel musk. Adde he to the weight of his aromatikes whiche availen, &c. Forsoth it bryngith to tho sikenessis whiche we intende to cure, but if tyme therof, age, or sikenes ageynseith it. And sum seyn that this l essh ought nat to be vsed til the sonne arise.

And haply of that kyng of serpentis was that þat was don to a lord 1455 in Germayn in our tyme. That forsoth i l to ij sistres wern toguyder, wherof that oon was faire and that other beautevous, to al folk gentil. And the faire sustir, moeved with envy, offred to that other for venym that she knew nat; and so i l awey her, nail, and skyn and was strongly passioun and troubled. And whan she was of age of many yeeris is made

1460 in apparence of xx yeere. And whan hir heris wern blac, now bien crisp and yalow; and made is of evene complexioun and is compound of white and rede.