CHAPTER X.

_Of Medicines provoking urine._


The causes by which urine is suppressed are many.

1. By too much drying, or sweating, it may be consumed.

2. By heat or inflammation of the reins, or passages whereby it passes
from the reins, it may be stopped by compression.

Urine is the thinnest part of blood, separated from the thickest part
in the reins.

If then the blood be more thick and viscous than ordinary, it cannot
easily be separated without cutting and cleansing medicines.

This is for certain, that blood can neither be separated nor
distributed without heat.

Yet amongst diureticks are some cold things, as the four greater cold
seeds, Winter-cherries, and the like.

Although this seem a wonder, yet it may be, and doth stand with truth.

For cool diureticks, though they further not the separation of the
blood one jot, yet they cleanse and purge the passages of the urine.

Diureticks then are of two sorts:

1. Such as conduce to the separation of the blood.

2. Such as open the urinal passages.

The former are biting (and are known by their taste) very hot and
cutting, whence they penetrate to the reins, and cut the gross humours
there.

Bitter things, although they be very hot, and cut gross humours, yet
are they of a more dry and terrene substance than is convenient to
provoke urine.

Hence then we may safely gather, that bitter things are not so moist
nor penetrating, as such as bite like Pepper.