Αυτόμaτοι φοιτῶσι κακὰ θνητοῖσι φὲρουσαι
Σιγῆ, ἐπει φωνὴν ἠξείλετο μητίετα Ζεὺς.
Diseases steal both day and night on men,
For Jupiter hath taken voice from them.
SUBSECT. III.—Alteratives, Herbs, other Vegetables, &c.
Amongst these 800 simples, which Galeottus reckons up, lib. 3. de promise, doctor, cap. 3, and many exquisite herbalists have written of, these few following alone I find appropriated to this humour: of which some be alteratives; [4119]“which by a secret force,” saith Renodeus, “and special quality expel future diseases, perfectly cure those which are, and many such incurable effects.” This is as well observed in other plants, stones, minerals, and creatures, as in herbs, in other maladies as in this. How many things are related of a man's skull? What several virtues of corns in a horse-leg, [4120]of a wolf's liver, &c. Of [4121]diverse excrements of beasts, all good against several diseases? What extraordinary virtues are ascribed unto plants? [4122]Satyrium et eruca penem erigunt, vitex et nymphea semen extinguunt, [4123]some herbs provoke lust, some again, as agnus castus, water-lily, quite extinguisheth seed; poppy causeth sleep, cabbage resisteth drunkenness, &c., and that which is more to be admired, that such and such plants should have a peculiar virtue to such particular parts, [4124]as to the head aniseeds, foalfoot, betony, calamint, eye-bright, lavender, bays, roses, rue, sage, marjoram, peony, &c. For the lungs calamint, liquorice, ennula campana, hyssop, horehound, water germander, &c. For the heart, borage, bugloss, saffron, balm, basil, rosemary, violet, roses, &c. For the stomach, wormwood, mints, betony, balm, centaury, sorrel, parslan. For the liver, darthspine or camaepitis, germander, agrimony, fennel, endive, succory, liverwort, barberries. For the spleen, maidenhair, finger-fern, dodder of thyme, hop, the rind of ash, betony. For the kidneys, grumel, parsley, saxifrage, plaintain, mallow. For the womb, mugwort, pennyroyal, fetherfew, savine, &c. For the joints, camomile, St. John's wort, organ, rue, cowslips, centaury the less, &c. And so to peculiar diseases. To this of melancholy you shall find a catalogue of herbs proper, and that in every part. See more in Wecker, Renodeus, Heurnius lib. 2. cap. 19. &c. I will briefly speak of them, as first of alteratives, which Galen, in his third book of diseased parts, prefers before diminutives, and Trallianus brags, that he hath done more cures on melancholy men [4125]by moistening, than by purging of them.
Borage.] In this catalogue, borage and bugloss may challenge the chiefest place, whether in substance, juice, roots, seeds, flowers, leaves, decoctions, distilled waters, extracts, oils, &c., for such kind of herbs be diversely varied. Bugloss is hot and moist, and therefore worthily reckoned up amongst those herbs which expel melancholy, and [4126] exhilarate the heart, Galen, lib. 6. cap. 80. de simpl. med. Dioscorides, lib. 4. cap. 123. Pliny much magnifies this plant. It may be diversely used; as in broth, in [4127]wine, in conserves, syrups, &c. It is an excellent cordial, and against this malady most frequently prescribed; a herb indeed of such sovereignty, that as Diodorus, lib. 7. bibl. Plinius, lib. 25. cap. 2. et lib. 21. cap. 22. Plutarch, sympos. lib. 1. cap. 1. Dioscorides, lib. 5. cap. 40. Caelius, lib. 19. c. 3. suppose it was that famous Nepenthes of [4128]Homer, which Polydaenna, Thonis's wife (then king of Thebes in Egypt), sent Helena for a token, of such rare virtue, “that if taken steeped in wine, if wife and children, father and mother, brother and sister, and all thy dearest friends should die before thy face, thou couldst not grieve or shed a tear for them.”
Qui semel id patera mistum Nepenthes Iaccho
Hauserit, hic lachrymam, non si suavissima proles,
Si germanus ei charus, materque paterque