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THE SECOND BOOKE 585
who anew revived and framed that all men should
direct and rule medicinable operations to the Ephemerides
and motions of the starres, to eate, to drinke,
to sleepe at what houre it should please Luna and
Mercurie. His authority was soone after supplanted
by Charinus, a physitian of the same towne of Marseilles,
who not onely impugned ancient physicke, but
also the use of warme and publike bathes, which had
beene accustomed to many ages before. Hee caused
men to bee bathed in cold water; yea, were it in the
deepe of winter he plunged and dived sicke men into
the running streame of rivers. Untill Plinies time
no Romane had ever dained to exercise the arte of
physicke, but was ever used by strangers and Grecians,
as at this daie it is used in France by Latinizers. For,
as a famous physitian saith, we doe not easily admit
and allow that physicke, which wee understand, nor
those drugs we gather our selves. If those nations
from whom wee have the wood guiacum, the sarsapareille,
and the wood esquine, have any physitian
amongst them, how much thinke we by the same commendation
of the strangenesse, rarenesse and dearth,
they will rejoyce at our coleworts and parsly ? For,
who dareth contemne things sought and fetcht so
farre-off with the hazard of so long and dangerous a
peregrination ? since these auncient mutations of physicke,
there have beene infinite others, that have continued
unto our dayes, and most often entire and
universal mutations; as are those which Paracelsus,
Fioravanti and Argenterius have produced: for (as it
is told me) they do not only change a receipt, but also
the whole contexture and policie of physickes whole
body, accusing such as hitherto have made profession
thereof, of ignorance and cosinage. Now I leave to
your imagination in what plight the poore patient
Jindeth himselfe. If we could but be assured, when
they mistake themselves, their physicke would do us
no harme, although not profit us, it were a reasonable
composition for a man to hazard himselfe to get some
good, so he endangered not himselfe to lose by it