Caucasus; the true Titius, whose bowels are still by a vulture devoured
(as poets feign) for so doth [2756]Lilius Geraldus interpret it, of
anxieties, and those griping cares, and so ought it to be understood.
In all other maladies, we seek for help, if a leg or an arm ache,
through any distemperature or wound, or that we have an ordinary
disease, above all things whatsoever, we desire help and health, a
present recovery, if by any means possible it may be procured; we will
freely part with all our other fortunes, substance, endure any misery,
drink bitter potions, swallow those distasteful pills, suffer our
joints to be seared, to be cut off, anything for future health: so
sweet, so dear, so precious above all other things in this world is
life: 'tis that we chiefly desire, long life and happy days,
[2757]multos da Jupiter annos, increase of years all men wish; but to a
melancholy man, nothing so tedious, nothing so odious; that which they
so carefully seek to preserve [2758]he abhors, he alone; so intolerable
are his pains; some make a question, graviores morbi corporis an animi,
whether the diseases of the body or mind be more grievous, but there is
no comparison, no doubt to be made of it, multo enim saevior longeque
est atrocior animi, quam corporis cruciatus (Lem. l. 1. c. 12.) the
diseases of the mind are far more grievous.—Totum hic pro vulnere
corpus, body and soul is misaffected here, but the soul especially. So
Cardan testifies de rerum var. lib. 8. 40. [2759]Maximus Tyrius a
Platonist, and Plutarch, have made just volumes to prove it. [2760]Dies
adimit aegritudinem hominibus, in other diseases there is some hope
likely, but these unhappy men are born to misery, past all hope of
recovery, incurably sick, the longer they live the worse they are, and
death alone must ease them.
Another doubt is made by some philosophers, whether it be lawful for a
man in such extremity of pain and grief, to make away himself: and how
these men that so do are to be censured. The Platonists approve of it,
that it is lawful in such cases, and upon a necessity; Plotinus l. de
beatitud. c. 7. and Socrates himself defends it, in Plato's Phaedon, if
any man labour of an incurable disease, he may despatch himself, if it
be to his good. Epicurus and his followers, the cynics and stoics in
general affirm it, Epictetus and [2761]Seneca amongst the rest,
quamcunque veram esse viam ad libertatem, any way is allowable that
leads to liberty, [2762]let us give God thanks, that no man is
compelled to live against his will; [2763] quid ad hominem claustra,
career, custodia? liberum ostium habet, death is always ready and at
hand. Vides illum praecipitem locum, illud flumen, dost thou see that
steep place, that river, that pit, that tree, there's liberty at hand,
effugia servitutis et doloris sunt, as that Laconian lad cast himself
headlong (non serviam aiebat puer) to be freed of his misery: every
vein in thy body, if these be nimis operosi exitus, will set thee free,
quid tua refert finem facias an accipias? there's no necessity for a
man to live in misery. Malum est necessitati vivere; sed in necessitate
vivere, necessitas nulla est. Ignavus qui sine causa moritur, et
stultus qui cum dolore vivit. Idem epi. 58. Wherefore hath our mother
the earth brought out poisons, saith [2764]Pliny, in so great a
quantity, but that men in distress might make away themselves? which
kings of old had ever in a readiness, ad incerta fortunae venenum sub
custode promptum, Livy writes, and executioners always at hand.
Speusippes being sick was met by Diogenes, and carried on his slaves'
shoulders, he made his moan to the philosopher; but I pity thee not,
quoth Diogenes, qui cum talis vivere sustines, thou mayst be freed when
thou wilt, meaning by death. [2765]Seneca therefore commends Cato,
Dido, and Lucretia, for their generous courage in so doing, and others
that voluntarily die, to avoid a greater mischief, to free themselves
from misery, to save their honour, or vindicate their good name, as
Cleopatra did, as Sophonisba, Syphax's wife did, Hannibal did, as
Junius Brutus, as Vibius Virus, and those Campanian senators in Livy
(Dec. 3. lib. 6.) to escape the Roman tyranny, that poisoned
themselves. Themistocles drank bull's blood, rather than he would fight
against his country, and Demosthenes chose rather to drink poison,
Publius Crassi filius, Censorius and Plancus, those heroical Romans to
make away themselves, than to fall into their enemies' hands. How many
myriads besides in all ages might I remember, qui sibi lethum Insontes
pepperere manu, &c. [2766]Rhasis in the Maccabees is magnified for it,
Samson's death approved. So did Saul and Jonas sin, and many worthy men
and women, quorum memoria celebratur in Ecclesia, saith
[2767]Leminchus, for killing themselves to save their chastity and
honour, when Rome was taken, as Austin instances, l. 1. de Civit. Dei,
cap. 16. Jerome vindicateth the same in Ionam and Ambrose, l. 3. de
virginitate commendeth Pelagia for so doing. Eusebius, lib. 8. cap. 15.
admires a Roman matron for the same fact to save herself from the lust
of Maxentius the Tyrant. Adelhelmus, abbot of Malmesbury, calls them
Beatas virgines quae sic, &c. Titus Pomponius Atticus, that wise,
discreet, renowned Roman senator, Tully's dear friend, when he had been
long sick, as he supposed, of an incurable disease, vitamque produceret
ad augendos dolores, sine spe salutis, was resolved voluntarily by
famine to despatch himself to be rid of his pain; and when as Agrippa,
and the rest of his weeping friends earnestly besought him, osculantes
obsecrarent ne id quod natura cogeret, ipse acceleraret, not to offer
violence to himself, with a settled resolution he desired again they
would approve of his good intent, and not seek to dehort him from it:
and so constantly died, precesque eorum taciturna sua obstinatione
depressit. Even so did Corellius Rufus, another grave senator, by the
relation of Plinius Secundus, epist. lib. 1. epist. 12. famish himself
to death; pedibus correptus cum incredibiles cruciatus et indignissima
tormenta pateretur, a cibis omnino abstinuit; [2768]neither he nor
Hispilla his wife could divert him, but destinatus mori obstinate
magis, &c. die he would, and die he did. So did Lycurgus, Aristotle,
Zeno, Chrysippus, Empedocles, with myriads, &c. In wars for a man to
run rashly upon imminent danger, and present death, is accounted valour
and magnanimity, [2769]to be the cause of his own, and many a
thousand's ruin besides, to commit wilful murder in a manner, of
himself and others, is a glorious thing, and he shall be crowned for
it. The [2770] Massegatae in former times, [2771]Barbiccians, and I
know not what nations besides, did stifle their old men, after seventy
years, to free them from those grievances incident to that age. So did
the inhabitants of the island of Choa, because their air was pure and
good, and the people generally long lived, antevertebant fatum suum,
priusquam manci forent, aut imbecillitas accederet, papavere vel
cicuta, with poppy or hemlock they prevented death. Sir Thomas More in
his Utopia commends voluntary death, if he be sibi aut aliis molestus,
troublesome to himself or others, ([2772] especially if to live be a
torment to him,) let him free himself with his own hands from this
tedious life, as from a prison, or suffer himself to be freed by
others. [2773]And 'tis the same tenet which Laertius relates of Zeno,
of old, Juste sapiens sibi mortem consciscit, si in acerbis doloribus
versetur, membrorum mutilatione aut morbis aegre curandis, and which
Plato 9. de legibus approves, if old age, poverty, ignominy, &c.
oppress, and which Fabius expresseth in effect. (Praefat. 7. Institut.)
Nemo nisi sua culpa diu dolet. It is an ordinary thing in China, (saith
Mat. Riccius the Jesuit,) [2774]if they be in despair of better
fortunes, or tired and tortured with misery, to bereave themselves of
life, and many times, to spite their enemies the more, to hang at their
door. Tacitus the historian, Plutarch the philosopher, much approve a
voluntary departure, and Aust. de civ. Dei, l. 1. c. 29. defends a
violent death, so that it be undertaken in a good cause, nemo sic
mortuus, qui non fuerat aliquando moriturus; quid autem interest, quo
mortis genere vita ista finiatur, quando ille cui finitur, iterum mori
non cogitur? &c. [2775]no man so voluntarily dies, but volens nolens,
he must die at last, and our life is subject to innumerable casualties,
who knows when they may happen, utrum satius est unam perpeti moriendo,
an omnes timere vivendo, [2776] rather suffer one, than fear all. Death
is better than a bitter life, Eccl. xxx. 17. [2777]and a harder choice
to live in fear, than by once dying, to be freed from all. Theombrotus
Ambraciotes persuaded I know not how many hundreds of his auditors, by
a luculent oration he made of the miseries of this, and happiness of
that other life, to precipitate themselves. And having read Plato's
divine tract de anima, for example's sake led the way first. That neat
epigram of Callimachus will tell you as much,
[2778]Jamque vale Soli cum diceret Ambrociotes,
In Stygios fertur desiluisse lacus,
Morte nihil dignum passus: sed forte Platonis
Divini eximum de nece legit opus.
[2779]Calenus and his Indians hated of old to die a natural death: the
Circumcellians and Donatists, loathing life, compelled others to make
them away, with many such: [2780]but these are false and pagan
positions, profane stoical paradoxes, wicked examples, it boots not
what heathen philosophers determine in this kind, they are impious,
abominable, and upon a wrong ground. No evil is to be done that good
may come of it; reclamat Christus, reclamat Scriptura, God, and all
good men are [2781]against it: He that stabs another, can kill his
body; but he that stabs himself, kills his own soul. [2782]Male
meretur, qui dat mendico, quod edat; nam et illud quod dat, perit; et
illi producit vitam ad miseriam: he that gives a beggar an alms (as
that comical poet said) doth ill, because he doth but prolong his
miseries. But Lactantius l. 6. c. 7. de vero cultu, calls it a
detestable opinion, and fully confutes it, lib. 3. de sap. cap. 18. and
S. Austin, epist. 52. ad Macedonium, cap. 61. ad Dulcitium Tribunum: so
doth Hierom to Marcella of Blesilla's death, Non recipio tales animas,
&c., he calls such men martyres stultae Philosophiae: so doth Cyprian
de duplici martyrio; Si qui sic moriantur, aut infirmitas, aut ambitio,
aut dementia cogit eos; 'tis mere madness so to do, [2783]furore est ne
moriare mori. To this effect writes Arist. 3. Ethic. Lipsius Manuduc.
ad Stoicam Philosophiaem lib. 3. dissertat. 23. but it needs no
confutation. This only let me add, that in some cases, those [2784]hard
censures of such as offer violence to their own persons, or in some
desperate fit to others, which sometimes they do, by stabbing,
slashing, &c. are to be mitigated, as in such as are mad, beside
themselves for the time, or found to have been long melancholy, and
that in extremity, they know not what they do, deprived of reason,
judgment, all, [2785]as a ship that is void of a pilot, must needs
impinge upon the next rock or sands, and suffer shipwreck. [2786]P.
Forestus hath a story of two melancholy brethren, that made away
themselves, and for so foul a fact, were accordingly censured to be
infamously buried, as in such cases they use: to terrify others, as it
did the Milesian virgins of old; but upon farther examination of their
misery and madness, the censure was [2787]revoked, and they were
solemnly interred, as Saul was by David, 2 Sam. ii. 4. and Seneca well
adviseth, Irascere interfectori, sed miserere interfecti; be justly
offended with him as he was a murderer, but pity him now as a dead man.
Thus of their goods and bodies we can dispose; but what shall become of
their souls, God alone can tell; his mercy may come inter pontem et
fontem, inter gladium et jugulum, betwixt the bridge and the brook, the
knife and the throat. Quod cuiquam contigit, quivis potest: Who knows
how he may be tempted? It is his case, it may be thine: [2788]Quae sua
sors hodie est, eras fore vestra potest. We ought not to be so rash and
rigorous in our censures, as some are; charity will judge and hope the
best: God be merciful unto us all.
THE SYNOPSIS OF THE SECOND PARTITION.
Cure of melancholy is either
Sect 1. General to all, which contains
Unlawful means forbidden,
Memb. 1. From the devil, magicians, witches, &c., by charms, spells,
incantations, &c.
Quest. 1. Whether they can cure this, or other such like diseases?
Quest. 2. Whether, if they can so cure, it be lawful to seek to them
for help?
or Lawful means, which are
Memb. 2. Immediately from God, a Jove principium by prayer &c.
Memb. 3. Quest. 1. Whether saints and their relics can help this
infirmity?
Quest. 2. Whether it be lawful to sue to them for aid.
or Memb. 4. Mediately by Nature which concerns and works by
Subsect. 1. Physician, in whom is required science, confidence,
honesty, &c.
Subsect. 2. Patient, in whom is required obedience, constancy,
willingness, patience, confidence, bounty, &c., not to practise on
himself.
Subsect. 3. Physic, which consists of
Dietetical ♈
Pharmaceutical ♉
Chirurgical ♊
or Particular to the three distinct species, ♋ ♌ ♍
♈ Sect. 2. Dietetical, which consists in reforming those six
non-natural things, as in
Diet rectified 1. Memb.
Matter and quality 1 Subs.
Such meats as are easy of digestion, well-dressed, hot, sod, &c.,
young, moist, of good nourishment, &c.
Bread of pure wheat, well-baked.
Water clear from the fountain.
Wine and drink not too strong, &c.
Flesh
Mountain birds, partridge, pheasant, quails, &c. Hen, capon, mutton,
veal, kid, rabbit, &c.
Fish
That live in gravelly waters, as pike, perch, trout, sea-fish, solid,
white, &c.
Herbs
Borage, bugloss, balm, succory, endive, violets, in broth, not raw, &c.
Fruits and roots.
Raisins of the sun, apples corrected for wind, oranges, &c., parsnips,
potatoes, &c.
or Subs. 2. Quantity.
At seasonable and unusual times of repast, in good order, not before
the first be concocted, sparing, not overmuch of one dish.
Memb. 2. Rectification of retention and evacuation, as costiveness,
venery, bleeding at nose, months stopped, baths, &c.
Memb. 3. Air rectified, with a digression of the air
Naturally in the choice and site of our country, dwelling-place, to be
hot and moist, light, wholesome, pleasant &c.
Artificially, by often change of air, avoiding winds, fogs, tempests,
opening windows, perfumes, &c.
Memb. 4. Exercise
Of body and mind, but moderate, as hawking, hunting, riding, shooting,
bowling, fishing, fowling, walking in fair fields, galleries, tennis,
bar.
Of mind, as chess, cards, tables &c., to see plays, masks, &c., serious
studies, business, all honest recreations.
Memb. 5. Rectification of waking and terrible dreams, &c.
Memb. 6. Rectification of passions and perturbations of the mind. ♎
Memb. 6. Passions and perturbations of the mind rectified.
From himself
Subsect. 1. By using all good means of help, confessing to a friend,
&c.
Avoiding all occasions of his infirmity.
Not giving way to passions, but resisting to his utmost.
or from his friends.
Subsect. 2. By fair and foul means, counsel, comfort, good persuasion,
witty devices, fictions, and, if it be possible, to satisfy his mind.
Subsect. 3. Music of all sorts aptly applied.
Subsect. 4. Mirth and merry company.
Sect. 3. A consolatory digression, containing remedies to all
discontents and passions of the mind.
Memb. 1. General discontents and grievances satisfied.
Memb. 2. Particular discontents, as deformity of body, sickness,
baseness of birth, &c.
Memb. 3. Poverty and want, such calamites and adversities.
Memb. 4. Against servitude, loss of liberty, imprisonment, banishment,
&c.
Memb. 5. Against vain fears, sorrows for death of friends, or
otherwise.
Memb. 6. Against envy, livor, hatred, malice, emulation, ambition, and
self-love, &c.
Memb. 7. Against repulses, abuses, injuries, contempts, disgraces,
contumelies, slanders, and scoffs, &c.
Memb. 8. Against all other grievous and ordinary symptoms of this
disease of melancholy.
♉ Sect. 4. Pharmaceutics, or Physic which cureth with medicines, with a
digression of this kind of physic, is either Memb. 1. Subsect. 1.
General to all
Alterative
Simples altering melancholy, with a digression of exotic simples 2.
Subs.
Herbs. 3. Subs.
To the heart; borage, bugloss, scorzonera, &c.
To the head; balm, hops, nenuphar, &c.
Liver; eupatory, artemisia, &c.
Stomach; wormwood, centaury, pennyroyal.
Spleen; ceterache, ash, tamarisk.
To Purify the blood; endive, succory, &c.
Against wind; origan, fennel, aniseed, &c.
4. Subs Precious stones; as smaragdes, chelidonies, &c. Minerals;
or compounds altering melancholy, with a digression of compounds. 5.
Subs.
Inwardly taken
Liquid
fluid
Wines; as of hellebore, bugloss, tamarisk, &c.
Syrups of borage, bugloss, hops, epithyme, endive, succory, &c.
or consisting.
Conserves of violets, maidenhair, borage, bugloss, roses, &c.
Confections; treacle, mithridate, eclegms or linctures.
or solid, as those aromatical confections.
hot
Diambra, dianthos.
Diamargaritum calidum.
Diamoscum dulce.
Electuarium de gemmis.
Laetificans Galeni et Rhasis.
or cold
Diamargaritum frigidum.
Diarrhodon abbatis.
Diacorolli, diacodium with their tables.
Condites of all sorts, &c.
or Outwardly used, as
Oils of camomile, violets, roses, &c.
Ointments, alablastritum, populeum, &c.
Liniments, plasters, cerotes, cataplasms, frontals, fomentations,
epithymes, sacks, bags, odoraments, posies, &c.
or Purging ☾
or Particular to three distinct species, ♋ ♌ ♍.
Medicines purging melancholy are either Memb. 2.
Simples purging melancholy
1. Subs. Upward, as vomits
Asrabecca, laurel, white hellebore, scilla, or sea-onion, antimony,
tobacco
or Downward. 2. Subs.
More gentle; as senna, epithyme, polypody, mirobalanes, fumitory, &c.
Stronger; aloes, lapis Armenus, lapis lazuli, black hellebore.
or 3. Subs. Compounds purging melancholy
Superior parts
Mouth
swallowed
Liquid, as potions, juleps, syrups, wine of hellebore, bugloss, &c.
Solid, as lapis Armenus, and lazuli, pills of Indie, pills of fumitory,
&c.
Electuaries, diasena, confection of hamech, hierologladium, &c.
or Not swallowed, as gargarisms, masticatories, &c.
or Nostrils, sneezing powders, odoraments, perfumes, &c.
or Inferior parts, as clysters strong and weak, and suppositories of
Castilian soap, honey boiled, &c.
♊ Chirurgical physic, which consists of Memb. 3.
Phlebotomy, to all parts almost, and all the distinct species.
With knife, horseleeches.
Cupping-glasses.
Cauteries, and searing with hot irons, boring.
Dropax and sinapismus.
Issues to several parts, and upon several occasions.
♋ Sect. 5. Cure of head-melancholy. Memb. 1.
1. Subsect. Moderate diet, meat of good juice, moistening, easy of
digestion.
Good air.
Sleep more than ordinary.
Excrements daily to be voided by art or nature.
Exercise of body and mind not too violent, or too remiss, passions of
the mind, and perturbations to be avoided.
Subsect. 2. Bloodletting, if there be need, or that the blood be
corrupt, in the arm, forehead, &c., or with cupping-glasses.
Subsect. 3. Preparatives and purgers.
Preparatives; as syrup of borage, bugloss, epithyme, hops, with their
distilled waters, &c.
Purgers; as Montanus, and Matthiolus _helleborismus, Quercetanus_,
syrup of hellebore, extract of hellebore, pulvis Hali, antimony
prepared, _Rulandi aqua mirabilis_; which are used, if gentler
medicines will not take place, with Arnoldus, _vinum buglossatum_,
senna, cassia, mirobalanes, _aurum potabile_, or before Hamech, Pil.
Indae, Hiera, Pil. de lap. Armeno, lazuli.
Subsect. 4. Averters.
Cardan's nettles, frictions, clysters, suppositories, sneezings,
masticatories, nasals, cupping-glasses.
To open the haemorrhoids with horseleeches, to apply horseleeches to
the forehead without scarification, to the shoulders, thighs.
Issues, boring, cauteries, hot irons in the suture of the crown.
Subsect. 5. Cordials, resolvers, hinderers.
A cup of wine or strong drink.
Bezars stone, amber, spice.
Conserves of borage, bugloss, roses, fumitory.
Confection of Alchermes.
_Electuarium laetificans Galeni et Rhasis_, &c.
_Diamargaritum frig. diaboraginatum_, &c.
Subsect. 6. Correctors of accidents, as,
Odoraments of roses, violets.
Irrigations of the head, with the decoctions of nymphea, lettuce,
mallows, &c.
Epithymes, ointments, bags to the heart.
Fomentations of oil for the belly.
Baths of sweet water, in which were sod mallows, violets, roses,
water-lilies, borage flowers, ramsheads, &c.
To procure sleep, and are
Inwardly taken,
Simples
Poppy, nymphea, lettuce, roses, purslane, henbane, mandrake,
nightshade, opium, &c.
or Compounds.
Liquid, as syrups of poppy, verbasco, violets, roses.
Solid, as _requies Nicholai, Philonium, Romanum, Laudanum Paracelsi_.
or Outwardly used, as
Oil of nymphea, poppy, violets, roses, mandrake, nutmegs.
Odoraments of vinegar, rosewater, opium.
Frontals of rose-cake, rose-vinegar, nutmeg.
Ointments, alablastritum, unguentum populeum, simple or mixed with
opium.
Irrigations of the head, feet, sponges, music, murmur and noise of
waters.
Frictions of the head and outward parts, sacculi of henbane, wormwood
at his pillow, &c.
Against terrible dreams; not to sup late, or eat peas, cabbage,
venison, meats heavy of digestion, use balm, hart's-tongue, &c.
Against ruddiness and blushing, inward and outward remedies.
♌ 2. Memb. Cure of melancholy over the body.
Diet, preparatives, purges, averters, cordials, correctors, as before.
Phlebotomy in this kind more necessary, and more frequent.
To correct and cleanse the blood with fumitory, senna, succory,
dandelion, endive, &c.
♍ Cure of hypochondriacal or windy melancholy. 3. Memb.
Subsect. 1 Phlebotomy, if need require.
Diet, preparatives, averters, cordials, purgers, as before, saving that
they must not be so vehement.
Use of pennyroyal, wormwood, centaury sod, which alone hath cured many.
To provoke urine with aniseed, daucus, asarum, &c., and stools, if need
be, by clysters and suppositories.
To respect the spleen, stomach, liver, hypochondries.
To use treacle now and then in winter.
To vomit after meals sometimes, if it be inveterate.
Subsect. 2. To expel wind.
Inwardly Taken,
Simples,
Roots,
Galanga, gentian, enula, angelica, calamus aromaticus, zedoary, china,
condite ginger, &c.
Herbs,
Pennyroyal, rue, calamint, bay leaves, and berries, scordium, bethany,
lavender, camomile, centaury, wormwood, cumin, broom, orange pills.
Spices,
Saffron, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, pepper, musk, zedoary with wine, &c.
Seeds,
Aniseed, fennel-seed, ammi, cary, cumin, nettle, bays, parsley, grana
paradisi.
or Compounds, as
Dianisum, diagalanga, diaciminum, diacalaminthes, electuarium de baccis
lauri, benedicta laxativa, &c. pulvia carminativus, and pulvis descrip.
Antidotario Florentine, aromaticum, rosatum, Mithridate.
or Outwardly used, as cupping-glasses to the hypochonries without
scarification, oil of camomile, rue, aniseed, their decoctions, &c.
THE SECOND PARTITION.
THE CURE OF MELANCHOLY.
THE FIRST SECTION, MEMBER, SUBSECTION.
_Unlawful Cures rejected_.