would make the part more soft and weak, and apter to take the defluxion and impression of the humour. The fomentation alone, if it were too weak, without way made by the poultice, would draw forth little; if too strong, it would draw to the part, as well as draw from it. The plaister alone, would pen the humour already contained in the part, and so exasperate it, as well as forbid new humour. Therefore they must be all taken in order, as is said. The poultice is to be laid to for two or three hours: the fomentation for a quarter of an hour, or somewhat better, being used hot, and seven or eight times repeated: the plaister to continue on still, till the part be well confirmed.

Experiment solitary touching cure by custom. 61. There is a secret way of cure (unpractised) by assuetude of that which in itself hurteth. Poisons have been made, by some, familiar, as hath been said.' Ordinary keepers of the sick of the plague are seldom infected. Enduring of tortures, by custom, hath been made more easy. The brooking of enormous quantity of meats, and so of wine or strong drink, hath been, by custom, made to be without surfeit or drunkenness. And generally diseases that are chronical, as coughs, phthisics, some kinds of palsies, lunacies, &c., are more dangerous at the first. Therefore a wise physician will consider whether a disease be incurable; or whether the just cure of it be not full of peril; and if he find it to be such, let him resort to palliation; and alleviate the symptom, without busying himself too much with the perfect cure: and many times (if the patient be indeed patient) that course will exceed all expectation. Likewise the patient himself may strive, by little and little, to overcome the symptom in the exacerbation, and so, by time, turn suffering into nature.

Experiment solitary touching cure by excess.2

62. Divers diseases, especially chronical (such as quartan agues), are sometimes cured by surfeit and excesses: as excess of meat, excess of drink, extraordinary fasting, extraordinary stirring, or lassitude, and the like. The cause is, for that diseases of continuance get an adventitious strength from custom, besides their material cause from the humours; so that

As in the case of Mithridates, and in that of the attempt made to poison Alexander. 2 Compare Aristot. Prob. i. 2,

the breaking of the custom doth leave them only to their first cause; which if it be anything weak will fall off. Besides such excesses do excite and spur nature, which thereupon rises more forcibly against the disease.

Experiment solitary touching cure by motion of consent.

63. There is in the body of man a great consent in the motion of the several parts. We see it is children's sport to prove whether they can rub upon their breast with one hand, and pat upon their forehead with another; and straightways they shall sometimes rub with both hands, or pat with both hands. We see that when the spirits that come to the nostrils expel a bad scent, the stomach is ready to expel by vomit. We find that in consumptions of the lungs, when nature cannot expel by cough, men fall into fluxes of the belly, and then they die. So in pestilent diseases, if they cannot be expelled by sweat, they fall likewise into looseness; and that is commonly mortal. Therefore physicians should ingeniously contrive, how by motions that are in their power, they may excite inward motions that are not in their power, by consent: as by the stench of feathers, or the like, they cure the rising of the mother.

Experiment solitary touching cure of diseases which are contrary to predisposition.

64. Hippocrates' aphorism, in morbis minus, is a good profound aphorism.' It importeth, that diseases contrary to the complexion, age, sex, season of the year, diet, &c., are more dangerous than those that are concurrent. A man would think it should be otherwise; for that when the accident of sickness and the natural disposition do second the one the other, the disease should be more forcible and so (no doubt) it is, if you suppose like quantity of matter. But that which maketh good the aphorism is, because such diseases do shew a greater collection of matter, by that they are able to overcome those natural inclinations to the contrary. And therefore in diseases of that kind, let the physician apply himself more to purgation than to alteration; because the offence is in the quantity; and the qualities are rectified of themselves.

1 "In morbis minus periclitantur quorum naturæ et ætati et habitui et tempori morbus magis affinis fuerit, quam hi quibus non affinis in aliquo horum existit."Hippocrates, Aph. ii. 34.

Experiment solitary touching preparations before purging, and settling of the body afterward.

65. Physicians do wisely prescribe, that there be preparatives used before just purgations; for certain it is that purgers do many times great hurt, if the body be not accommodated both before and after the purging. The hurt that they do for want of preparation before purging, is by the sticking of the humours, and their not coming fair away; which causeth in the body great perturbations and ill accidents during the purging; and also the diminishing and dulling of the working of the medicine itself, that it purgeth not sufficiently. Therefore the work of preparation is double; to make the humours fluid and mature, and to make the passages more open: for those both help to make the humours pass readily. And for the former of these, syrups are most profitable; and for the latter, apozumes, or preparing broths; clysters also help, lest the medicine stop in the guts, and work gripingly. But it is true that bodies abounding with humours, and fat bodies, and open weather, are preparatives in themselves; because they make the humours more fluid. But let a physician beware how he purge after hard frosty weather, and in a lean body, without preparation. For the hurt that they may do after purging, it is caused by the lodging of some humours in ill places: for it is certain that there be humours, which somewhere placed in the body, are quiet and do little hurt; in other places (especially passages) do much mischief. Therefore it is good, after purging, to use apozumes and broths not so much opening as those used before purging; but abstersive and mundifying clysters also are good to conclude with, to draw away the reliques of the humours that may have descended to the lower region of the body.

Experiment solitary touching stanching of blood.

66. Blood is stanched divers ways. First, by astringents and repercussive medicines. Secondly, by drawing of the spirits and blood inwards; which is done by cold; as iron or a stone laid to the neck doth stanch the bleeding of the nose; also it hath been tried, that the testicles being put into sharp vinegar, hath made a sudden recess of the spirits, and stanched blood. Thirdly, by the recess of the blood by sympathy. So it hath been tried, that the part that bleedeth being thrust

into the body of a capon or sheep, new ript and bleeding, hath stanched blood: the blood, as it seemeth, sucking and drawing up, by similitude of substance, the blood it meeteth with, and so itself going back. Fourthly, by custom and time; so the Prince of Orange, in his first hurt by the Spanish boy, could find no means to stanch the blood either by medicine or ligament; but was fain to have the orifice of the wound stopped by men's thumbs, succeeding one another, for the space at the least of two days; and at the last the blood by custom only retired.1 There is a fifth way also in use, to let blood in an adverse part, for a revulsion.

Experiment solitary touching change of aliments and medicines.

67. It helpeth, both in medicine and aliment, to change, and not to continue the same medicine and aliment still. The cause is, for that nature, by continual use of any thing, groweth to a satiety and dullness, either of appetite or working. And we see that assuetude of things hurtful doth make them leese their force to hurt; as poison, which with use some have brought themselves to brook. And therefore it is no marvel though things helpful, by custom, leese their force to help. I count intermission almost the same thing with change; for that that hath been intermitted is after a sort new.

Experiment solitary touching diets.

68. It is found by experience, that in diets of guaiacum, sarza, and the like, (especially if they be strict,) the patient is more troubled in the beginning than after continuance; which hath made some of the more delicate sort of patients give them over in the midst; supposing that if those diets trouble them so much at first, they shall not be able to endure them to the end. But the cause is, for that all those diets do dry up humours, rheums, and the like: and they cannot dry up until they have first attenuated; and while the humour is attenuated, it is more fluid than it was before, and troubleth the body a great deal more, until it be dried up and consumed. And therefore patients must expect a due time, and not check at them at the first.

The Prince of Orange was shot through both cheeks at Antwerp in 1582. Bacon calls this his first hurt, because two years afterwards he was killed by Baltazar Gerard, VOL. II.

BB

Experiments in consort touching the production of cold.

The producing of cold is a thing very worthy the inquisition; both for use and disclosure of causes. For heat and cold are nature's two hands, whereby she chiefly worketh; and heat we have in readiness, in respect of the fire; but for cold we must stay till it cometh, or seek it in deep caves or high mountains: and when all is done, we cannot obtain it in any great degree: for furnaces of fire are far hotter than a summer's sun; but vaults or hills are not much colder than a winter's frost.

69. The first means of producing cold is that which nature presenteth us withal: namely, the expiring of cold out of the inward parts of the earth in winter, when the sun hath no power to overcome it; the earth being (as hath been noted by some) primum frigidum. This hath been asserted as well by ancient as by modern philosophers. It was the tenet of Parmenides. It was the opinion of the author of the discourse in Plutarch (for I take it that book was not Plutarch's own) De primo frigido. It was the opinion of Telesius, who hath renewed the philosophy of Parmenides, and is the best of the novellists.

70. The second cause of cold is the contact of cold bodies; for cold is active and transitive into bodies adjacent, as well as heat which is seen in those things that are touched with snow or cold water. And therefore, whosoever will be an inquirer into nature, let him resort to a conservatory of snow and ice, such as they use for delicacy to cool wine in summer: which is a poor and contemptible use, in respect of other uses that may be made of such conservatories.

71. The third cause is the primary nature of all tangible bodies; for it is well to be noted, that all things whatsoever (tangible) are of themselves cold; except they have an accessory heat by fire, life, or motion: for even the spirit of wine, or chemical oils, which are so hot in operation, are to the first touch cold; and air itself compressed and condensed a little by blowing is cold.

72. The fourth cause is the density of the body; for all dense bodies are colder than most other bodies; as metals, stone, glass; and they are longer in heating than softer bodies. And it is certain, that Earth, Dense, Tangible, hold all of the nature