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582 MONTAIGNE'S ESSAYES
Jove, scorning that from shades infemall night,
A mortall man should rise to lifes new light,
Apolloes sonne to hell he thunder-threw.
Who such an arte found out, such med'eine knew,
and his followers must he absolved that send so many
soules from life to death! A physitian boasted unto
Nicocles that his arte was of exceeding great authority.
It is true (quoth Nicocles) for it may kill so many
people without feare of punishment by law. As for
the rest, had I beene of their counsell, I would surely
have made my discipline more sacred and mysterious.
They had begunne very well, but the end hath not
answered the beginning. It was a good ground to
have made Gods and Daemons authors of their science,
to have assumed a peculiar language and writing to
themselves. Howbeit, philosophy supposeth it to be
folly to perswade a man to his profit by wayes not
understood: Ut si quit medicus imperet ut sumat: ' As
if a physitian should bid a man take
Terrigcnam, herhigradam, domipoitam, sanguine cassam.¹
One, earth-borne, goe-by-grasse, house-bearing, slimie, bloodlesse.'
It was a good rule in their arte, and which accompanieth
all fan at i call, vaine, and supernaturall artes,
that the patients beliefe must by good hope and assurance
preoccupate their effect and operation. Which
rule they hold so farre forth, that the most ignorant
and bungling horse-leach is fitter for a man that hath
confidence in him, than the skilfullest and learnedst
physitian. The very choyce of most of their drugges
is somewhat mysterious and divine. The left foote of
a tortoyze, the stale of a lizard ; the dongue of an
elephant, the liver of a mole, blood drawne from under
the right wing of a white pigeon, and for us who are
troubled with the stone-cholike (so disdainfully abuse
they our misery) some rattes pounded to small powder,
and such other foolish trash, which rather seeme to be
1 CIC. Div. 1. ii.