HIppocrates a a Lib. de aere locis & aquis , sect. 3. Qui artem meadicam recta investigatione consequi volet , is primum quidem anni tempora in considerationen debet adhibere , quid horum quidque possit , neque enim quicquam habent simile sed cum inter se plurimum differunt , tum etiam propter varias quae in eis contingunt mutationes . advises earnestly those which will apply themselves to Artes , in the first place that they diligently observe the times & seasons of the yere , with their alteration and change , as also the faculties of waters b b Gal. l. de aere loc. & aq. cap. 1. Neque vero negligentiorem se circa aquarum facultates cognoscendas exhibere convenit ; quemadmodum enim gustu differunt et pondere sic quoque virtute aliae ab aliss longe dissentire videntur . conducing much to the Diagnosticke , Prognostick , and Curative part of Medicine , as appeareth plainly in the foresaid Book , and in his Booke c c l. De ulcer . sect. 6. ulceribus plerisquè calidum anni tempus magis quam hyems conducit , praeterquam ijs quaesunt in capite aequinoctium . De Vlcer . Since therefore there is such necessitie , as also such power in these to preserve health , and maintaine a natural body , as also in generating diseases of ●arious formes , to ●he perdition and ●uine of the best Constitution and Temper , it beho●eth a Physician especially specially to studie the nature and difference of them and all others to take notice and stricktly observe them , so farre as in their nature they are good or bad for common use for by this meane they shall be abl● to prevent a danger , which other wise were inevitable : for commonly all diseases and distempers are conveyed to us in our prinoiples of generation or conservation ; to both which do chiefely concur the elements both by way of existence and consistence , and in both respects are Causes either of harmony or dispord in mixt bodies , and are Physically divided into foure ( that is to say ) materiall , formall , efficient , and finall ; medically into two , and they are per consensum medicorum divided generally into externall and internall . But because external causes are prime & more universall , therefore wee will chiefely explicat the nature and condition of them , so farre as they tend to our purpose . External causes are such as come from without , and of these we constitute three orders , divine , caelestiall , and subluharie : But wee passe by the two former , and ( to atoyde digression ) wee will bound our selves within the limits of the later : and amongst sublunary causes , wee will principally discourse of d d Hipp. sect. 3. fol. 66. demceps vero de aquis nobis commemorandum est , & quae mor bosae & quae saluberrimae existant . Waters , and consider them not only philosophically , as elementary , but also medically , as they are corrupt or incorrupt ; e e Plurimum enim momentiad sanitatem consert . as a weighty matter in the government of our health . And of these wee will generally observe three differences ( that is to say ) aery such as distill from the clouds , secondly marine , or such as are contained in the Ocean & parts adjoyning , thirdly terrene , or such as arise out of the Earth . Aery waters are divided into rayne , or such as come of Snowe , Haile , and Frost ; terrestriall are such as spring out of the Earth ; & they are either nourishing or healing ; the norishing are such as we call sweet , potable , and pleasant to the taste . And of these are divers species , as of fountaines , mores , Standing pooles , rivers , & the like . Medicall Waters are also diverse , as from Mineralls of gold , silver , brasse , Iron , Sulphure , Alum , Bitumen , &c. Lastly , Sea-water is such as is contained in the Ocean , and maritime partes adjoyning . And these are their generall differences . It behoveth now to discourse of their natures & qualities more particularly , as they are good or bad , healthfull , or morbifical . Forasmuch as water that is simple , pure , and without alien mixture , is so necessary for the preservation of life , we wil first make a description of those which are set apart for common use and preservation of man ; and these are either such as spring out of wholsom earth , and of themselves are simple , pure , and sweet , or such as fall from the cloudes , and by transmutation are made water ; both which offer themselves to our view . Those therefore which arise out of the earth , and are pure altogether , and voyd of alien mixture , or such mixture as cannot bee discovered by sense ( for they can bee knowne to us otherwise then by their consistence , nature , spirits , and qualities , by wch wee will in order demonstrat them ) those are such waters as are most wholsome and fit to bee taken into the body , and ought to bee such , as are without both sapor and odor . And if any object that passage of Hipp. f f li. de aeie loc. & aq. sect. 3. maxime vero commendantur quorum fontes ad solis exortus , praesertim aestivos decurrunt limpidiores enim & boni odoris leves esse necesse est . Gal. cap. 3. maxime vero laddare eas oporter quarum fluxiones ad solisexortus erumpunt & presertim ad aestivos , necesse est enim sptedidiores esse oderatas & leves . and Gal. in their booke de aere loc. & aquis , where they say , that sweet and odoriferous waters are to bee commended ; it is answered , that by sweetnesse is to be understood pleasantnesse , and such as are gratefull to the taste ; adde also that insipidnes , is as it were the first degree of sweetnesse in water , but that which pertaineth to odor , is nothing else but a gentle smoothe vapour , with out any roughnesse , and the water which is without smell , is said to smell best , because it ought to be void both of odor and sapor , as is above said . Secondly , good and healthfull water is discovered by g g Gal. cap. 3. hae enim dalces & albae sunt . the smoothnesse , thinnesse , and clearenesse of the same : For waters by now much more pure they are , by so much they are more smooth , cleare , and thin , and by reason of their h h Hipp. l. 5. A ph. 26. aqua quae citò cale fit & citò refrigeratur levissima . tenuitie and lightnesse , are soone made hott by fire , and soone cooled by the impression of the ayre ; and the reason is rendred by Gal. i i Gal. comment . 5. Aph. Sed nunc levierem dixit aquam quae ventrem non gravat , & quae cito permeat . not because such water is light in respect of weight , but because it is without any sensible oppression in the ventricle , k k Gal. comment . 5. Ap. 26. primum quidem si neque turbidae neque caenosae : deinde sineque in gustu , neque in odoratu , aliquam absurdam qualitatem prae se fert : tum & illud , quod nunc Hip : dixit , si cito refrigeratur & cale sit : nam perspicuum existit talem esse bene alterabilem . when as the stomack is not troubled with the receipt of it , as also when it passeth quickly out of the body againe by urine . Contrarily wee call that water ponderous , which doth not passe through the body speedily , but is troblesom to the stomacke , ungratefull to the taste , and smell ; & therefore Hipp. would haue us under stand , that such water as is soone hot & cold , by reason of levitie , tenuitie and clearenesse , is most subject to a suddaine and speedy change or alteration , which in meate & drinke wee call concoctible disposition , such as is easily transmutated or concocted by the ●ētricle , indowed with a propertie , and dedicated by nature to such a use . But this description offereth an objection , and peradventure som will urge or alledge , that raine water doth possesse the same con stitution of limpiditie , tenuitie , and levitie , and yet is condemned by Gal. l l Gal. l. 4. de sanit . tuend . cap : 6. Quan quam potest , qui volet , & ex pluvia aqua id conficere , ipseque si pluviam aquam protarem , id suaderem , verum nec ipsam probo , & nihilo est deterius , siaccessit . as most unwholsome , either in diet or medicine , as appeareth plainely in his discourse of Oximel , and the manner of making the same medicament ; affirming the use of raine water not to bee approved , and that of it selfe it is worst of all others , especially if it grow sower & corrupt . To which answer , that neiher our Master , nor any other learned Phisician doth mislike or not approve such water , because it is cleare , hin , and light , or asie of digestion , but because of an apt disposion , that raine water hath to putrifie more speedily than any other water . And in this respect is much different from the former , which is also described by Hipp : m m Hip. de aere loc. aq. sect. 3. hae enim dulces sunt & albae modicumque vinum serre queunt , per hyemem calidae , per aestatem frigidae . to bee hot in winter and cold summer , which by reason of his incolation , through the profound and deepe parts of the earth by antiperistacie is hotter in winter , and in frostie weather doth commonly wreak : For it receiveth alteration , both from the bowels of the earth throgh which it runneth , and also from the earthie ayre with which it is mixed . Fourthly , amongst fountaines and springs , from rocks or clifts , those are said to bee most health full and wholesome which flow through earth and sand : the reason is , because they are purified in their course , and by colation through such a body of sandie earth , they leave behind them their grosnes , and alien qualities , by which they doe infect , & are made by this colature much more wholsome . Fiftly , wa●ers which are moved are more ●ure and wholesome , then those ●hat want motion from the ayre or winds , as wels ●r other enclosed springs ; because open streames are ●urified continually by the wind and ayre , as is proved by Arist. n n Arist. Meteor . l. 3. Finis est facere aeris et aquae commotionem , ne nimia quiete putrescant & ne putredine sua ammantia enecent . in his discourse o● winds , affirming● that the end o● their generation is to cause commotion in the ayre and waters , lest by quiet they should putrifie and destroy the creatures that live in them & of them ; Lastly , the puritie of the ayre , fish and vegetals , demonstrate , the wholsomnesse of the water , and salubritie for common use externall or internall . By this time we have taught what waters are principally to be elected , as also their nature and difference , and how to distinguish them ; for although all are esteemed wholesome that we have hitherto spoken of , according to some moderne opinions ( that is to say ) brewed : Yet some are more healthfull then others , and stand in need of lesse caution . Now therefore I suppose it behoovefull that wee explicate the nature & qualities of morbifical waters , such as offend in smell or taste , or otherwise , and ●re neither repu●ed wholsome for meat or medicine .

Aire and water may affect human bodies three seve●all wayes ; first as ●hey are elements , ●hey may hurt both by their qualities and substan●es , and that per se immediatly , or ●●mediatly per accidens : Secondly , as aliment , for so by respiration the spiritual substance of the ayre is said to nourish ; water also is said to nourish , insomuch that it serveth for the distribution of aliment into every part of the body , and may also nourish in deed in respect o o Avicen . li 1. sen. 2. doct. 2. Non autem dicimus qd. aqua non nutriat quia nutriens est illud quod est in potentia sanguis . of its substance . For the use of water is not only necessary to nutrition , as meat and drinke , but also to life , and the continuance of the same ; and therefore by some * * Ranchinus Patholog . sect. 2. cap. 10. is called vitae potus , salus corporis . Yet Gal. p p Gal. li. 4. de vsu part . cap. 5. at enim in hac quoquè vena multa adhuc humiditate tenui et aquosa plenus est sanguis : vocat autem ipsam Hippocrates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . conceiveth and seemeth to perswade others , that water doth not nourish per se , but instrumentally , so farre as it is a vehiculum of th● blood , and by th● thinnesse & moistnesse of the sam● doth convey th● blood into every part , for the nourishing & strengthning of the same Avicen q q Avicen . li. 1. fen. 2. doct. 2. cap. 16. aqua vnum existit elemeatorum : quae sola inter omnia elementa habet proprium , ut in eo quod comeditur & bibitur ingrediatur , non ideo , ut nutriat , sed quia nutrimentum penetrare facit , & ejus rectificat subst antiam . also is o● the same opinion water ( saith he ) is the sole element indowed with ● Propertie received either in meat or drinke , to mixe and incorporate with it , and yet not nourish , but that it may rectifie the substance of nutriment & make it penetrable , and in this respect is only said to nourish . Thirdly , if they bee considered as medicaments ; for by the use of medicall waters , as also the mutation of the aire , many diseases are begotten , & some are said to be cur'd : & for this cause the doctrine of aire , and water is not onely referred to diet , but also to pathologie , and the curative part of medicine . In order therefore we will discourse of such waters as tend to the subversion of health , Neverthelesse before I explicate their qualities and differences ; give me leave to take up a question by the way , which peradventure may seeme a small digression , yet not so unnecessary , but that it may bee wel argued in this place . The question is whether aire or water have most power in preserving of health , or generating sicknesse : They that prefer water first ground upon Arist. r r Arist. li. 1. probl. 13. cur mutationem aqua rum gravem esse affirment . where the Philosopher questioneth , why the mutations of the water are more turbulent , then those of the ayre ; & produceth reason to prove it ; for ( saith hee ) those things which are able to make a stronger and firmer impression , either by permanencie or crassitude , they seeme to bee more able , either to helpe or hurt ; but water is more thicke then aire , and makes a longer stay in the body . Contrarily , Hippocrates conceiveth greater inconvenience in the ayre then in water , and draweth his reason from the necessitie ; for ( saith hee ) the nocuments of water may bee avoided , but the ambient ayre cannot bee shunned , but doth continually affect us , as doth appeare in his s s li. de aere . lo. et aquis li. de natura humana . li. de natura pueri . elegant gradation , saying ; such as is the ayre , such are the spirits , because they are begotten of blood and ayre ; such as are the spirits , such are the humours , as following the mature of them ; such as are the humours , such are the parts of the body , because they are nourished by them , and maintained : To conclude , such as is th● condition of th● part , such is th● state of the whole body . Hence appeareth the necessitie of ayre in ou● conservation and force in generating sicknesse . But to set aside the decrees , both of Arist. and Hipp. the question is determined thus ; that the vitall and animall parts of the body are more & sooner affected by the ayre then by water , and that the naturall parts are more hurt by water then the vitals : This being conceived , let us take notice of such waters as doe destroy the temper of the body , and are called morbificall , & after what manner they are said to be pernicious to the life of man , some more , some lesse , either internally or externally applied .

Morbificall waters are such as are discoverd by sense to have a taste or smell ; for those that are healthfull and wholesome , ought to have neither , as is before said in the description of wholsome water : Secondly , unwholsome waters are such as have an offensive taste and stinking smell , such as are grips , ditches , and channels from salt marshes , or common shores , and these are so unwholesome as I need not urge authority to prove it , yet because I desire to satisfie , take one learned ancient , a● instar omnium . Avicen t t Avicen . Tract. 5. fol. 585. Aquae mali odoris coenosae tardam descentionem suam a stomaco , & pen●trationem cibi : & sitis quidem augetur cum aquis huju smodi , & virtus debilitatur , et quia ipsae non sunt purae simplices , im o in hujusmodi aquis est terrecitas plurima quare ex eis genera●ur humor a●● phlegmaticus vitreus , aut melancholicus , et propter illud multiplicant aegritudines splenis in hominibus , qui plurimum bibunt de ipsis , & acciden● faciunt haemorroidas et hydropisim propter malltiam complectionis hepatis inductam ab eis , & mictum vrinae involuntarium propter malitia● complectionis renum . saith , waters of this nature that are ill savouring , hinder the penetration & descent of meat , and by reason of their impuritie , beget viscous phlegme , or melancholy , & multiply Diseases of the spleene , in such manner , that those which drink them often either by coaction or otherwise , are subjected to the haemorroids & dropsie by the imbecilitie and defect of the liver , obtained by the ill qualitie of these waters , as also in voluntary mixtion by the ill disposition of the reines ; other waters there are of moores , standing pooles , and lakes , and these are said to smell , especially in the summer , u u Gal. lib. de aere & aq. cap. 3. quaecunque igitur palustres sunt , & stabiles ac lacustres , eas necesse est aestate esse calidas , ac crassas & olentes , cum enim non defluant , sed aqua pluvia semper nova inferatur et sol urat necesse est ipsas decolores esse , & pravas & vitiosas . which doth necessarily come to passe for want of perfluēce , for they are not as springs fitted of themselves as they are emptied , but such as are augmented with new showers of raine , & exhaled again by the power of the sun , insomuch , that necessarily they are grosse discolored , unpleasant & corrupt ; in winter begetting corrupt phlegme , by their congealed disposition , and in summer time vicious and cholerick by adustion ; in winter they are cold & crude , and soon converted or transmutated into ice , and mixt with mud and snow , are not much unlike the dead sea , or some Stygian lake ; but however they are very unwholsom , troublesome to the ven●ricle , and such as ●●oth viciate and ●orrupt the whole ●ody , poyson the ●●asse , and destroy ●he best temper ; after what man●er Hippocrates x x Hip. li. de aere loc. & aq. sect. 3. bibentibus autem lienes semper magnos esse & compressos , ventres vero duros & tenues ac calidos humeros vero & iugula & faciem extenuari , in lienem enim carnes coliquescunt ideoque graciles sunt . ●heweth : The ●rinkers ( saith he ) of such waters are alwayes or con●inually affected with large spleens , hard , thin , and hot bellies , shoulders , throat , & face extenuat , the flesh resolved into spleen , and the whole body wasted & consumed , they are also ravenous , and very thirsty , because of the siccity and drinesse , both of the upper and lower venters : Adde also to these dropsies , and for the most part , such as are lethall , besides many difficulties of the bowels and fluxes of the belly , long quartane fevers , which by protraction of time terminate in dropsies , both particular , and universally of the whole body , by which they perish . And these diseases which are generated of such corrupt water happen in the summer : But those of the winter , such as fall upon young bodies , are inflammations of the lungs & madnes ; to those that are more ancient burning fevers , by reason of the hardnesse of their bellies : y y Hip. mulieribus verò tumores proveniunt , & pituita alba , vix concipiunt , & cum difficultate foetus magnos & tumidos pariunt , quique postea dum educantur contabescunt , & deteriores evadunt , neque bona post partum ●ulieribus purgatio contingit . women shall labour with phlegmatick swellings , it shall bee difficult for them to conceive child , and if they prove pregnant , their births shal be large & great , brought forth with difficultie , and in short time perish ; neither after child-birth doe they purge according to the custome of women : To children that drinke these waters chiefly happen ruptures , and to men warts and ulcers of the anckles , of such a malignant condition , as that they doe kill them in short time , and in the meane while do wither them , & make them seeme old or aged before their time : Moreover such women seeme to themselves to bee with child , and when the time of delivery commeth , the tumor vanisheth , and they are altogether deceived , and their expectations frustrated : To conclude , these and such like are the common and ordinary effects of such waters which are of moors , standing pooles , and the like , through which wee have speedily waded , & find them good for nothing , but the nourishing of venemous creatures , especially raw ; & therefore to bee shunned according to the caveat of Galen . * * Gal. de . sanit . tuend . li. 1. cap. 11. covendae vero sunt , quae ex stagnis hauriuntur et quae turbide , & quae malae olentes , & quae salsae , denique in quibus qualit as aliqua gustu deprehenditur . Now let us examine & pierce the rocks z z Hipp. ac hujusmodi aqua ad quidvis paratus esse censeo ; secundo loco eas quarum fontes in saxosis locis sunt ( quas duras esse necesse est ) aut si vbi calidae aquae existunt aut serrum nascitur , aut as , aut argentum , aut aurum , aut sulphur , aut al umen , aut bitumen , aut nitrum haec enim omnia caloris vi proveniunt . & mines , and taste what liquor springs from them usefull and safe , or morbificall . These waters that spring from rocks and clifts , are generally esteemed crude & hard , that is such as passe not easily through the body , but are turbulent to the strongest nature . * * Hip sect. 3 But those hot waters which spring from minerals of gold , silver , brasse , iron , sulphur , alume , bitumen , & the like ; al these spring from the violence of heat , insomuch , as some philosophers have thought these to be the shewers of fire & brimstone , that destroyed Sodom , and were thrown up by the force of some Earth-quake , out of some Aetna . But however they are such as beget strange diseases in humane bodies a a Hipp. neque igitur ex hujusmodi terra bonae aquae nascuntur sed durae & aestuosae , quaeque per urinas non facile feruntur & alvi egestioni adversantur . and no good waters can spring from earth of this nature , for they are fervently hot and dry , they passe not easily by urine , and are averse from nature in common egestion . But because we shall have occasion to explicate them more particularly in our following discourse , therefore we will forsake the shore , and launch into the Ocean , where we chiefly observe the qualitie of sea water , to bee salt , and not to bee drunke , but absolutely prohibited b b Hip sect. 3 salsae vero et indomitae & durae , in totum quidem ut bibantur inprobandae . to bee received into the body ; for which cause I will hasten out , lest Neptune inraged , should force mee to drinke whether I will or not , at festina lente , let me before I take my leave , acquaint you with the will of my Master Hippocrates , c c Hip. sect. 3 at vero de aquis salsis propter imperitiam falluntur quidam quodque alvum solvere existimentur , cum maxime alvi d●sectioni repugnent , in domitae enim sunt et coquinequeunt ; proindeque ah eis venter potius adstri●gitur . who would have it knowne , that for want of skill in the nature & qualities of salt water many are deceived ; For they conceive them to relaxe the belly , when as they most of al constringe the same ; besides they are indomitable , quite out of the government of nature , and not by any naturall power to bee concocted : Therefore I le take my leave of them , & returne to shore againe , and muse a little concerning caelestiall water , or such as falleth from the clouds in shewers , for these are also comprehended in the predicament of morbificall waters , such as principally tend to the generation of diseases , as also such as comes from snow , and ice , or the like . d d Gal li. de aere lo. & aq. cap. 4. aquae igitur pluviales levissimae et duteissima & tetenuissimae , & splendidissimae sūr , primum enim sol quod tenuissimum ac levissimum est in aqua educit ac sursum rapit . Raine water in respect of substance , is light and concoctible , limpid and thin in respect of quality , sweet and grateful to the taste , and most proportionable to the best of waters : But because it is an exhalation , although the thinnest part of all other waters extracted by the power of the sun , as is evident ; and because of its universall collection and commixture with ayre and e e Gal. eod. cap. quapropter ex omnibus aquis hae citissimae patresount , & odorem malum pluvialis aqua ha bet , eo quod ex plurimis congregata est ac permixta ut citissime putrescat . clouds , which often times are infected and ill aspected ; it is more easily disposed to putresaction , and not thought fit to bee used without correction , ( that is to say ) taken f f Gal. verum opus habent ut decoquantur , ac excolentur , sin minus odorem pravum habent , et raucedines & vocis gravitatem bibentibus inde acce●ere par est . fresh boyled , and strained according to the decree of the ancients , else it soone corrupts and breeds raucitie or whorsnesse in those that drink it . g g Hip. sect. 3. pravae verò omnes quae ex nive & glacie fiunt , ubi enim semet con●reverint non am plius ad pristinam naturam redeunt Snow & ice waters are all corrupt , for when they are once congealed , they never returne to their former nature againe , but the clearenesse , levity , and sweetnesse , that is in them doth vanish , leaving behind a terrestriall and ponderous substance , as is proved by this experiment . Take a vessell of water , and keepe it till it be frozen , then set it in some hot place till it bee dissolved , then measure it againe , and you shall find it much lesse in quantitie then before , and will plainely appeare , that the lightest & thinnest parts are expired ; and for this cause it is said to bee morbificall , h h Hip. lo. cit . atque de aquis quidem quae ex imbribus nivibus & glacie colliguntur ad hunc se res habet modum at verò calculo maxime tentantur , & renum morbis , ac urinae stillicidia et cex . endicum affectionibus corripiuntur herniaeque ijs suboriuntur cujusque modi aquas bibunt . and most apt to generate the stone in the bladder , strangurie , paine of the hips , and ruptures , & these are the effects in general : The same also happen to the drinkers of river waters , which by reason of their mixture , with pooles , ditches , & moores they obtaine an alien qualitie , obnoxious and morbificall ; and the only cause of such difference is their various participation , and their mutations are answerable to their several mixtures , some qualities more predominant , according to their impressive force , and therefore some are called salt , sulphurious , aluminous , bituminous , and the like ; others sweet and cleare , others muddy and terrestriall , as appeareth by their setlings , but all are causes of affliction to those that drink them ; yet some bodies shall bee more i i Gal. li. de aere loc. & aq. cap. 5. quod autem non omnibus consequentur declarabo , quorum quidem alvus satis fluida est , ac sana , & vesica non ardens , neque stomachus vesica valde coardescit , hi facile urinam eijciunt & in vesica nihil ipsis congregatur . able to resist then others , as those that have naturally laxe and fluid bellies , and sound bodies , temperate reines and bladders ; for such doe more easily & speedily pumpe it out againe , leaving little residence in the bladder ; Contrarily where the belly is costive , hot , and fiery , the bladder must needs bee affected after the same manner , and when it exceedeth a naturall temper , then the necke o● the bladder is soon inflamed , by which meanes the passage of the urine is hindered , or that which passeth , is the purest & thinnest part of the same , the thicker being left behind , of which there is a graduall collection of new matter , which is daily contracted till it groweth large , hard , and stony , and by the course and pressure of the urine in pissing , the stone is forced into the necke of the blader , which hindereth the passage of urine , and procureth extremitie and paine ; insomuch , as children when they labour with this disease , doe rub , and scratch , and teare the secret parts , as if there were the onely stopping of their urine ; and it is a manifest signe of such a disposition , when as ordinarily the urine comes forth so limpid & cleare , and manifesteth a stay of the grosse matter behind , the purer part being strayned from it , as it is reported by Bohemian beare

— Nil spissius illâ Dum bibitur , nil clarius est dum mingitur , unde Constat quod mult as faeces in corpore linquat .

And thus the stone is often begotten by the drinking of water , especially when the bladder is ill disposed ; but in k k Hip. sect. 3. gignitur autem & pueris ex lacte , si non salubre fuerit sed valde calidum et vitiosum . children it is often begot by the use of milke , if it bee not good and sound , but hot and cholericke : For by this meanes it heateth the belly and bladder , exasperates the urine ; and in my opinion ( saith Hippocrates ) small dilute Wine is more wholesome for them , Hipp. in eodem lib. et mea quidem sententia praestat pueris vinum quammaxime dilutum exhihere cum nimirum venas minus adurat & refecit . because it doth not scortch and dry the veines so much . Thus I have shewed , according to the methode of the ancient fathers of medicine , what waters are wholsome and dieteticall ; as also those that are unwholsome and morbificall : now wee are to consider how they are pharmaceuticall , and to bee used as medicaments .

To the end that we may more fully satisfie , it will not bee vaine in our progresse , to cast our eye backe upon the streames that flow from minerals , & more particularly discover the mischieses of them ; because they are so highly advanced in the thoughts of some Physicians , and others ; upon what ground I know not , but sure I am that they were never so esteemed by any of the ancients in our facultie , either Greeks , or Arabians , or learned moderns , some respect they give them , and chiefely in externall use , by the way of baths , lotions , and the like , and yet not ordinarily so to bee used , but with a great deale of caution ; as will appeare hereafter , both in respect of tempers and distempers of the bodies to which they are applyed : In so much as Hippocrates or Galen tooke little notice of them , which doth imply the little regard they had of them or their use in medicine , either for preservation or restauration ; for which cause we will travell amongst the Arabians , to the end that wee may search out the nature , and use of them more directly , and principally take our view from that learned Avicen of such minerall springs , as are before nominated : And because Chymists constitute sulphur as one of the tria principia in minerals , therefore wee will in the first place discover the nocuments of such waters . As for their differences , they are as many as the minerals from whence they spring , and with which they are mixed ; but in generall all of them are accounted hurtfull and dangerous , externally or internally applyed , without speciall indication and preparation , without which they are very obnoxious ; after what manner I am now to shew .

The nocuments of minerall waters , by potation or drinking , and especially springing from sulphur , are these , they m m Avicen tract 5 Istae quidem aqua adurunt humores & eos putrefaciunt , quare sequuntur in principio febres chotericae postea in fiae febris melancholicae , propter adastionem sanguinis ex ets factum 〈◊〉 et melancholicus quidem humor qui ex hujus modi aquis generatur , est humor melancholicus malus qui nominatur cholera nigra , &c. scortch and putrifie the humors , beget cholericke feavers , which alter & are changed into melancholicke , by reason of adustion of the blood , & this melancholicke humor thus generated is called adust choler , and is the worst of all melancholy : Moreover the effects that come of drinking such waters , are inflammations of the eyes , jaundies , hot rhumes , difficultie in pissing , & consumption of the whole body .

n n Avicen . nocumentum istarum aquarum est stipricare et constringere naturam , & exasperare pectus & vocem & causare difficultatem urinae & stringere vias cibi et causare corporis maciem . Aluminous waters are astringent generally , and they exasperate the breast , cause a difficultie of urine , and wasting of the body .

o o nocumentum istarum est compositum ex nocumento aquae aluminosae et nocumento aquae sulphureae , &c Vitriall waters are compounded of alume and sulphur , and therefore the effects are answerable to both in respect of stiptication & exasperation , as also in adustion and putrefaction of humors .

p p nocumentum istius aquae est simite nocumento sulphureae . Al springs from silver should seem cordial according to the vaine apprehension of the vulgar : Neverthelesse by the same authority they make up the number of morbifical causes , and the speciall nocuments are to ulcerate the bowels , and the generall are answerable to those of sulphur : So also are those waters which q q nocumentum istius aquae est si mile etiam nocumento aquae sulphureae verum est majoris nocumenti quam illud , &c. spring from green brasse , saving that the nocuments are greater then of sulphur , violently opening the orifice of the veines , by which doth happen pissing and spitting of blood , and bloody fluxes , all being exceeding dangerous , and these are the qualities of them , & effects inwardly taken , either as meate or medicine . Now let us consider their nocuments externally applyed , as by way of bathing and the like .

Bathing in salt waters is somewhat allowed by Avicen , where he affirmeth it to bee good to cure the itch and scabs ; and r r Hip. sect. 3. sunt tamen naturae quaedam et morbi , quibus tales aquae potu sunt commodae . Hippocrates , although in generall hee protesteth against them , and doth absolutely prohibit their use internally , yet ( saith hee ) the nature of some disease may require such a remedy , by which is to bee understood some extraordinary occasion , and after a most speciall manner to bee used : And so also may other compositions of minerals be used ; yet Avicen conceiveth it to bee somewhat doubtfull , and ( however ) the remedie to be worse then the disease ; for ( saith he ) s s Avieen . tract. 4. aqua salsa in balneo confert scabiei et pruritui , verum caresacit cutem postea condensat , et quum non fuerit pruritus , tunc ipsa facit accidere pruritum . although it bee profitable for the curing of itch and scabs , so it is apt to generate the same in those that are cleare and sound , by reason of condensation and rarification of the skin ; besides it withereth the body , hurts the eyes , disturbes the senses , and causeth catharrs & rhumes ; so as ( if it be well considered ) the remedy is more obnoxious then the disease .

t t aqua aluminosa condensat cutem et constringit ipsam . Bathing in aluminous waters , condenseth & constringeth the skin , causeth ephemeral fevers , cramps and convulsions , especially in cleane bodies .

u u aqua sulphurea & neptica corrumpit complexionem cut is corporis et praeparat ipsam ad putredinem et facit accidere catarrhas , Baths of sulphurious and bituminous waters , spoile the complection of the body , and dispose it to putrifaction and rhumes ; and if they continue in such a bath long it doth threaten a dropsie , but a jandice doth more frequently follow . The minerall waters of iron are thought to be least hurtfull of all other minerals , and yet of little use amongst the ancients for medicament or otherwise . Thus I have waded , through fountaines , pools , motes , moores , rivers , and as farre into the sea as I dare , or as is needfull , and have shewed both generally and particularly their difference , use , and effects ; by which description every man may know how to distinguish for use , those that are wholesome , from those which are unwholesome , and morbificall ; as also how and after what manner they hurt , being taken into the body alimentally or medicamentally , without speciall correction ; as also by their outward application ; and all this confirmed by the doctrine & decrees of the most learned and ancient doctors , and parents of medicine . Now it remaineth that I acquaint the world with a new minerall spring , unheard of before , and lately practised amongst us in our owne County of Norfolke ; and although it be yet unknown to sound and learned Physicians , yet it is very adventurously , and most dangerously practised against both reason and all authority . For in my opinion it will appeare to bee a flat confutation of all , both ancient and moderne , as it is used and advised , the manner wherof I intend to set downe , and compare it with the former grounds ; as also with those which are more recent , by which it will appeare , either that minerall waters differ this yeare from those of old , or else that our practise is either more learned or more rash .