I. in Very plant bath its feed 5 Rofie

JC Crucians therefore fay there are fe-
cret Myfteries lie hidden in them, which
mould be our delight to find out ; for
Divine Providence madeall goodforthe
life of man : And this being no neceiTary
refult of the motion of the matter, as the
whole contrivance of the plant indeed is
not j and it being of great confequence
that they have feed for the continuance
of propagation of their whole fpecies; aad
for the gratifying of mans Art alfo, indu-
ftry andneceifity (for much of Husban-
dry and Gardening lies in this) it cannot
but be the aft of Counfel to rurnifh the
feveral kinds of Plants with their feed, e-
fpecially the earth being of fuch a na-
ture that though at firft for- a while it
might bring forth all manner of Plants,
(as fome will haveit.alfo to have brought
forth all kinds of Animals) yetatlaftit
would grow fo fluggifh, that without the
advantage of thofe fmall compendious

princi-

L1B.3. The Holy Guide. 93

principles of generation , the Grain of
feed would yield nofuch births, no more
then a Pump grown dry will yield any
water, unlcfle you poura little water in-
to it hrft, and then for fo many Eafons
full, you may fetch upfo many Tankards
full.

2. Nor is it material to obje&, that (lin-
king weeds and poifonous plants bear feed
too, as well as the moft pleafant and ufe-
ful; for even thofe (linking Weeds and
poifonous Plants have their ufe in Rofit
Crucian Medicines, as you (hall know here-
afters befides our common Phy tick-
mongers often ufe them as their fan-
cy guides them, grounded upon no o-
ther reafon then woful and deadly expe-
rience; fometimes the induftry ot man is
exerciied by them, to weed them out
where they are hurt fab, which reafons, if
theyfeemflight, let us but confider, that
if humane induftry had nothing to con-
flict and ftruggle with, the fire of mans
fpirit would be half extinguifhed in. the
fle(h,and then we (hall acknowledge that
that which I havealledged, is not fo con-
temptible nor invalid.

3. Eut fecondiy. Who kndwes but it is
fo with poyfonous Plant?, as vulgarly is
fancied concerning Toads,- and ocher
poifonous Serpents that lick the Vrenome

X 3 from

94 The Holy Guide. L1B.5.

from off the jearth> So poifonou's Plants
may well draw to them all the maligne
Juice and nourifhment, that the other
may be more pure and defecate, as there
are Receptacles in the body of man-, and
Emunftoriesjto draine off fuperflitous
Choler and Melancholy, &c.

4. Laftly, It is very well known by them
that know any thing in Nature and Phy-
fick, That thofe Herbs that the rude and
ignorant world call Weeds, are the mate-
rials of very foveraign Medicines; that Acor
nitum Hyemahy or Winter Woolfs bain^ that
otherwife is rank poifon, is reported to
prevail mightily againft the biting of Vi-
pers, Scorpions, and mad Dogs, which Sir
Chritfopber Heydon affenteth unto, and
that that Plant that beares death in the
very name of it, Solanum Lethiferm7t,prc-
vents death by procuring fleep,if it be
applied in a Fever 5 nor are thofe things
to be deemed unprofitable, fay the Rofie
Crucians, whofe ufe our heavy ignorance
vvillnct let us underftand > but they will
teach us as followeth.

5. We come now to the Signatures of
Plant?, which indeed refpetts us more pro
perlyand adequately then theother,and
is a key ( as the Rofie Crucians fay J co en-
ter man into the knowledge and ufe of
the Treafures of Natures I demand,

thereforej

L \ B* g. Tk: Holy Guide 9 5

therefore, Whether it be not a very eafie
and genuine inference from the obferving
thatfeveral herbs are marked with fome
mark or fign that intimates their vertue ,
what they are good for; and there being
fuch a creature as Msn in the World, that
can read and underftand thefe fignes and
characters} hence to collect chat the Au-
thor both of man and them, knew the
nature of them both ; and belides Di-
vine providence would onely initiate and
enter mankid in the ufeful knowledge of
her Treafures, by the Seraphical illumi-
nated Kofie Crucians, leaving the reftco
imploy the vulgar chat chey might noc be
idle ; for che Theacreof che world is an
exercife of mans wit, and cherefore all
things are in fome meafure obfeure and
intricate : that thefedulity ofthat divine
fpark, the foul of man, may have matter
ofconqueft and triumph, when he hath
done bravely by a fuperadvenienraHft-
anceofGod.

6. But that there be fome plants that
bear a very eminent fignature of their na-
ture and ufe, for examjAejCapilliti venerti>
Folytrichon, or Maidenhaire ; the Lye in
which it is fodden or infufed, is good to
warn the head, and make the hair grow in
thofe places that are bare; the decoction
of Quinces, which area downy and hairy
X4.. Frui V

9 6 The Holy Guide. f L1B.5

Fruit, is acconnted good for the fetching
again hair that hath been fallen by the
French Pox; the leaf of Balm, or Allelujab9
or Wood-finely as alfo the roots of Author -a ,
reprefent the heart in figure, aud are
CardiacaL

j . Walnuts bear the whole fignature of
the head i the outward green Corte x an-
fwers to the Pericranium, and a Salt made
of it is Angular good for Wounds in that
part, as the Kernel is good for the Brains,
which it refembles.

Vmbelkus Venerisis powerful to provoke
Luft, as Do&or Culpepper affirmesj as alfo
your feveral forts of Satyr ions , which have
the evident refemblance of the general
parts upon them ; Aran efpecially, and all
your OrchiJJes, that they have given names
unto, from fome beaft or other, as Cyno-
forchis, Orchis, Modes , Tragorchis, &c. the
laft whereof notorious for itsGoatifh fmel,
and Tufts not unlike the beard of that
lecherous Animal, is of all the reft the
molt powerful incentive to luft.

8. The leaves of Hypericon are very thick
pricked, or pointed with little holes, and
it is a lingular good Wound-herb, as ufe-
(ul alfo for de-obftru&ing the pores of
the body.

9. Scorpioidhes, Echiumy or Scorpions grafsy
i£ like the crooked taile of a Scorpion ; and

Qphioglofiuni

LiB.g. The Holy Guide. 97

Ophiogloffum, or Adders Tongue, hath a very
plain and perfect refeinblance of the
Tongue of a Serpent; as alfo Opbiofcoro-
dm of the entire head and upper parts of
the body;and thefe are all held very good
againft poifon,and the biting of Serpents;
& generally all fuch plants as are (peck-
led with fpots like the skins of Vipers, or
other venomous creatures, are known to
be good againft the flings or bitings of
them, and are powerful obje&s againft
poyfon.

10. Thus did Divine Providence by
natural Hieroglyphicks3readftortLettures
totherude wit of vulgar man; others of
the Serapbically illuminated Fraternity be
entred, and lumciently experienced of
thefe,found out the reft, it being very rea-
sonable that other hearbs that had not
fuch fignatures , might be very good for
Medicinal ufes,as well as they that had.

11. Rofie Crucians have quickned and
actuated their Phlegmatick natures to
more frequent and effe&ual tuner}; for
their hng lives^bealtb^nd youth fulne[sy (hews
they were not very nery5 to fey nothing of
their happinef^kpowled^ejricbes wifdeme and
vertue, becaufe I have in this Treatife fpo-*
ken of it largely.

CHAP.

98 The Holy Guide. L I B.3.

CHAP. VIII.

j, 2. Of tfo ufefnlnefs of plants : 3^4. ^fcJ
of the Works of God,

2. \70u (hall now briefly take notice of
X the ufefulnefs and profitableneft qf
Plants > both for Phyfick and Food , and !
then pafs on to the confideration of the
infpired K0//e Crucians, what their Medi-
cines are: As for the common ufes of
Plants Herbals teach you fomething; but
I refer you to the fmgular Medicines of R0-
fieCrucians in my Book of The Harm, of the
World',\,2Sor thefalvation of your health j
Animals know as much by inftinft and
nature; and that which is moftobferva-
ble here is this, That brute Beads know as
much as many Phyficians do that are
taught by Herbals only; and thefedeny
the Power of God in the works of Nature,
and the power of Nature in the skill of
IVIan , that it mould be impoflible to make
Trees bear fruit in December, and Apple-trees
to grow, to bkfiom, and bear Apples, contrary to
fyid, in March.

2. Beafts have knowledge in the vertue
of Plants as well as Men 5 for the Toad
being overcharged with thepoyfon of the

Spider^

L) B. 3. The Holy Guide. $9

Spider, (as is well known) hath recourfe
to the Plantane-leaf. The Weafei,when
(he is to encounter the Serpent , arms her
fe\f with eating of Rue. TheDog,when
he is fick at the ftomack , knows his cure,
falls to his grafs,vomits, and is well. The
, Swallows make life of Celandine^ the Len-
net of Euphragiafor the repairing of their
fight. And the AfTe,when he is opprefied
with melancholy , eats of the herb Afple-
nium^ov Miltwaft 5 and fo eafes himfelf of
the fwelhng of the Spleen. The Raven
makes ufe of Cinquefoyle for the prolonga-
tion of his life , to fometimes fix or fev'en
hundred years ; and therefore I think it
is, that the Kofie Crucians prefcribe the oyl
of Ravens, Swallows, and Harts, for the
ufe of man to annoint himfelf, to conti-
nue hisfreih and wel-complexioned body
from wrinkles and lamenefs : and Didam-
Hum Cretenfe is much ufed , as Wold you
in my Wife mam Crown, and Temple of Wif-
dome: Cretian Dittany cures Wounds of
what nature foever.

Which thing I conceive no obfcurein-
dagation of Providence; for they doing
that by inftinft and Nature , which Men,
who have free Reafon, cannot but ac-
krfcwledge to be very pertinent and fit-
ting,nay fuch,that the skilmileft Phyfitian
will approve and allow j and theft Crear*
v tures

I oo The Holy Guide* Li B . %

tures having no fuch reafon and skill!
themfelves as to turn Phyfitians, it mufti
needs be concluded by vertue ef that!
principle that contrived them, and made!
them of that nature they are, enabled}
themalfo to do thefc tilings.

3. Let us now confiderthe Fruits of
the Trees,, where I think it will appear we^
ry manifeftly , that there was one worker of
Miracles , and inffirer of Rofie Crucians 5 I
might now reach out to Exotick Plants,
fuch as the Cinnamon-tree, the Balfome-
tree, and the Tree that bears the Nutmeg, j
invelopped the Mace , as alfo the famous I
Indian Nut-tree , which at once (as the I
Rofie Crucians fay J affords almoft all the |
neceffaries of life 5 for if they cut but the I
Twigs at Even'mg,there is a plentiful and
pleafant juice comes out , which they re- j
ceive into Bottles, and drink inftead of
Wine, a*d out of which they extract fuch
an Aqua vit* », as is veryfoveraign againft
all manner of fickneffes'jthe branches and
boughs they make their Houfes of, and the
body of the tree being very fpungy with-
in, though hard without, they eaiify con-
trive into the frame and ufe of their Ca-
noes^or Boats, the kernel of the Nut ferves
them for bread and meat , and the fhe#ls
for cups to drink in , and indeed they are
not nicer empty cups, for there is found a

delicious

Lib.?. The Holy Guide. id

delicious cooling milk in them 5 befides3
there is a kind of hemp that inclofes the
•Nut 5 of which they make Ropes and Ca-
bles , and of the fineft of it Sails for their
ihips j and the Leaves are fo hard and
jharp pointed, that? they eafily make Nee-
dles or Eodkinsof them for ftitching their
Hails , and for other neceflary purpofes;
and that Providence may fhew her felf
benign as well as wife, this fonotablea
Plant is not reftrain'd to 9ne Coaft of the
World, as thtEaft Indies, but is found in
Africa, Arabia^nd in all the 1 (lands of the
Weft Indies, as Hifpaniola, Cuba, where our
men are viftorers,and feveral other places
of the new-found World.

4. But I thought fit to infill upon there
things by way of Proof and Inftru&ion,
but to contain my felf within the compafs
of fuch objetts as are neceflary for our
knowledge, and familiarly and ordinarily
before our eyes, that we may the better
(thefe things underftood) take occafion
from thence to demonftrate the Rofie Cru-
cian way to health , and their ordinary
Medicines which to us are not yet known,
&c.

CHAP,

102

The Holy Guide. L1B.3. !

CHAP. IX.

1 . The Rode Crucian way how to get health
2. the caufeswhy we eat food. 3. Of the
fir ft nature of the World. 4. A meafure
of raw and temperate meat: «$. And the
caufe of the fiery , and fcummy GaV, 6 . and
needle fs muddy bowels the Milt 5 7. Nature \
carelefs of making the reins of Vrine draw-
ers -, 8. drink^efs Animals have none at all. ]
9. Bow tr cleanfe your felf from thefe idle \
Bowels, 10. and avoid all Vifeafes.

i. T">0 you not confider the weaknef*!:
y_J of man , what faculties he hath,)
and in what order he is in refpe&of thei
reft of the Creatures, Rofie Crucians ob-i
fer.ve, though his body be weak anddif-f
armed, yet his inward abilities of reafon, 1
and artificial contrivance is admirable ;
he is much given tofearch outtheM^i-j
anal vertues of plants, Wights, and Minerals^
and hath found out thofe that were of fo
prefent and great confequence, as to be
Antidotes againft poyfon , that would fo I
quickly have dilpatched mankind; it
were good for us to demonftrate the Rofie
Crucian Medicines, now our Landij afflitled
with a fickjtefi called the new Vifeafe^ of which

all

Lib. 3. The Holy Guide. 103

all forts die^ withoift remedy, for none as
yec have prefcribed a Medicine-, for young
men that deftre to live, and for old men
that wifh for health, without which no
life is fweet and favory 3 then let us bend
our felves to cure our brethren firft , and
endeavour to (hew the means ( befides
the common Collegian Doctors drenches,
or Culpepers way , how every man may gee
aud keep his health, that is fomething
ftrange , but a vowed truth ; the confenc
and equal ( I mean agreeable to kind )
temper and dulling our four firft begin-
nings, theftaffe of our bodies; for if this
knot be broken, and they loofe towards
their former liberty , they wax proud and
ftrong, and fight; for their nature is toge-
ther by the ears, and put usto pain, and
lets the rule of nature, and this they call
the difeafe.

2. Then to handle one at once , as oar
manner is, and will keep our cuftome frill,
to keep our health and body in temper,
feems no fuch matter to me as the world
would make it , even plainly impcffible,
when I know allthewayes and entries to
let in difeafes and diftempers of the body,
may by fmall heed be flopped and fen-
ced.

3 . We muft needs draw breath and eat
meat ; for the caufe I mail fpeak of it in

its

J04 The Holy Guide. L1B.3-

its place*, and as this is not all clear and
agreeable , fo Nature hath her leavings 5
and again, labour and reft are needful, and
perhaps we cannot chufe but be moved in
mind with joy, grief, fear, hope, and fuch
like paffions , though the Stoickj deny ne-
cefTity, faith Des Cartes.

4. By fo many wayes and gates difeafes
may enter , if they be not well watched
and looked unto , which may be done in
reafon,and hath been done often, as they
affure us that have lived long without all
difeafes and ficknefTes, as John Harding re-
lates of a Minifter, called John Macl^aine9
to have continued for thefe fivefcore
years laftpaft together in health,and after
his hair,teeth,eyes and flefli renewed, and
became young again- and fuch like fto-
ries are to be found enough , if we might
ftay to feek them j fome are contented for
all but air and meat, but thefe fay they
have often feeds of difeafes lye hid iii
them, unable to be forefeen or prevented,
as we find thofe meats that make the fineft
fhew fas Wine, and Sugar, and fuch enti-
cing baits)to have hid in them molt hate-
ful difeafes and dregs in the bottom 5 fo
the air, when it feems the beft and higher},
yet is fometimes infe&ed and poyfoned
with venomous breath,fent out and thruft
into it , either from below, or from the

Stars

L1B.3. TkeHol) Guide. 10$ 5*

Scars of Heaven, "and asthe caufe is hid-
den and unknown to u§, fo the hurt im-
poflible to be avoyded and prevented.

5. If I lift to let rny fpeech run ac
large, efpeciallyin other mens grounds,
1 could find that that Divifion is falfe;
firft, ( to come to meat anon ) and then
if it were true, yet the caufe of that in-
fection not unable to be forefeen and
warded $ but I am fo forry for the fault
above , that I can the better take heed
hereafter \ yet methinks it is a grief to
hear the harmlefs and glorious divine
things above, fo defaced with (lander,
and no man makes anfwer for them.

6. Gentle Reader, bepleafedto ftay a
little^If the Stars have no light, and fo no
power but from the Suny thatmoft whol-
fome and profperous creature, then they
hurt him molt wrongfully, and reprove
themfelves very rightly. And again, if
they be buc a piece of the finer part, and
firft nature, as it were, of the World, as
I have inevved in my Book of lbs Temple of
tVifedome, then they be the wholfomeft
things in the World, fo farbe they from
poyfoned (lander: And fo let their Lights
be never fogrofly mingled in their meet-
ings, and thereby that State of the Wea-
ther changed fuddenly, and from thence
our bodies troubled and turned iiuo Di«

Y fcaft.

io6 7 he Holy Guide. Lib. 3.

feafes, becaufe they were not prepared
and made ready for it, yet the things
are good and profperous; and by know-
Jedg of Aftrology, or influences of the 1
Planets, and races of the Stars, we may j
prepare our felves, and prevent all, if
we cannot have that happinefs to con-
verfe with our Guardian Genius. Now
for lower reflection, it is not worth the
anfwcring twhen there is fo much wafte
ground in the World 5 then let uspafs
over to that other Breach \ may we not i
fhun the leaving baits in our Dyet, and :
takefuch meat as is mod temperate and
near our Nature, and then drefs the fame
after the mod kindly and wholfome man-
ner, feafoning it well with labour, mirth i
and fleep >

7. And to be plain, I have (hewed in
another part of this Treatife of mine^
fouiuch noted by our Writers, what a
jewel of health it were to ufe all raw and I
temperate meat, or becaufe we be wife I
and vertuous, and this Dyet would per- I
haps change our Nature of fire, but like
Ibiiofopbers a quite contrary way , taking I
the beft, whenas none is loft, and leaving I
word, whick is that we now take, a Way j
1 fay, to ftrip of all groffhefs and foul- j
nefs of bodies, the only hurt of them- j
felves,and is the Food of all Difeafes.

8. I

L i B . J . 1 he Holy Guide. \ 07

8. I will tcli you another way which
you will think Grange, but you fhali find
it true , if the meat be temperate, as I
bid you chufe it, there is no hurt can.
come thereby* ( if you keep rueafure in
your felves ) fave from your leavings;
thefein fo clear a Dyet firft will be very
few 5 but if you would be ruled by my
Counsel chichi Nature taught mc> chofe few
ihould never hurt you.

9. Of all the Leavings in the body,
there are three which the liver maketh
moft troublefome unto usf for the reft are
eafily difpatched ) a light and eafie,or ra-
ther a fiery ("as fome call itj Choler ; a cold
and heavy mud., called MeUncholly\ and
the third is Vrine^ which I will treat of in
the next Chapter , but thofe two the
worfer *, and this fault is not in them-
felves, but all by reafon of the needlefs
and hurtful bowels in our bodies, ( as
the Seeds-man ufeth to fow good and
bad together ) which being of the fame
kind and quality with thofe humors, do
draw and pull them ftill unto them ( as
all other parts and things do ) for their
Food and nourifhmetat $ and fo by the
narrow paftages too and fro, their greedi*
nefs in pulling and holding, and a hun-
dred fuch meanes, fubjeft to great mif-

Y 3 chances^

Io8 rbe Holy Guide. L1B.3.

chances, have brought in as many mif-
chiefs, whereas Nature the great expeller
of her unlike, and Enemies, if me had
free choiceand liberty, would other wife I
witheafe, and without hurt, expel thofe :
Leavings, efpecially fo fmall a number i
of the better fort info clean a Dyet, nay, i
fetthe malice of thofe parts, ( thofe parts |
are Milt, Gall, and Reins ) if there be not j
fufficient (tore of other foul meat at
hand, likeapoyfoned or a purging Me- :
dicine, they ufe to draw good juices, »
and to make food of them j what is notq
maniftftedin this chapter, ftiall metho-.
dically be demonstrated in the enfuing,:
for Imtend to be ferious in this part of
my Book, and will mew yon what Na-i
cure taught me.

CHAP.

L»B.g. The holy Guide io9

CHAP. XI.

'i. Rofie Crucian Medicines made plain by ex-
amples, and tbofe are above controlement.

2. That the wet Sun- beams declare fome
fine and forrain fatnefs to nourijb mankind.

3 . How to live twenty yeers without food%
as many creatures do. 4. Vfe and Cufiom a
fecond Nature. <; . The Bird called Manuda.
Viae a, and the finging Dog. 6. That the
Camelion never eats food. 7. An experien-
ced Medicine, and how to apply it with Pa-
racelfus, and the Rofie Crucian new Art of
Healing.

1. /^\F Ariftotle it is reported , Thai
V^/he is the witty Spye of Nature,
and as if he had been made in this mat-
ter , he i"hevvs the need and ufe of the
greater Entrails and Bowels of Wights ,
and faith very truly and wifely. The
Heart and Liver as thefpring of Life and
Food, be needful for all Wights, ad-
ding to the hotter one the Brain to cool,
and the Light s to c\enfe the Heaty ftaytng
there as if he thought the other three un-
profitable* nay for one of them in the
fame Book, ( I fay ) telling the ftoriesof
of the Hare and Camel, and giving the
Y 3 reafoa

1 1 o the Holy Guide. LlB. g^

«*p-! " ■

reafon why they be both fo fwift, health*
ful, long-liv'd and other good proper-
ties above the reft enfeoffed, vouched in
plain terms , the want of the fiery and
fcummy Gall, as a great Enemy to them,
for the Milt that muddy Bowel, that it
may be left out as needlefs in the bodies
of the better creatures. The Meadows
near Cortina, and Maggadtre declare when
by a ftrange and hidden vertue they be-
reave the Beads thereof that graze upon
them, of it; the Herb is called Affkninmy
as I told you in the preceding Chapters,
nay, than the Milt is not only idle, but
hurtful, which all experience,even in our
felves, hath taught it.

2. TheZwfe light Footmen, ( I fay,
which I know not by what example un-
lefs it were the want of the fame in the
Camef, making the Beaft able to travel
an hundred miles a day, and fo without
drink fifteen dayes together ) being in
their childhood purged of their Milt,
prove thereby the moft light, fwifc, found
and lafting Footmen in the World.

3. As for the veirts of Urine-drawers,
as drinklefs creatures have aone at all, fo
fome men have but one of them , as if
nature pafled not to make any at all ;
if we could forbear our drink f as thefe
Beafts do by kind , and (bme men by

cuftom)

Lib.?. The Holy Guide. m

cuftom ) we might the better fpare them,
and avoid many mifchiefs in our bo-,
dies.

4. Therefore the odd man, faraceifus^
I know not by what light, if not of the
f.ofie Grofsy ( caft in I think from Seraphi-
cal illumination ) not only fees thefe
faults, but alfo finds ways to amend them,
and to cut the mifchiefs off all thefe three
noyfome parts, not with any yeilding
Craft, but with Kofie Crucian divine kind
of Healing, with Aurum ptabile^ &c, fo
that to avoid all difeafes that fpring of
theLeavings, take of Aurum ptabile one
ounce; one pound of the Oyle of Ra-
vens ; two round ofMiltwaji, or Aj$hnium>
a handful of Cinkffoyh, otViftamnnm Cre-
tenfe, Ophioglojfum and Scor fades , Eckiunt,
of each a like quantity , and obferve
the Afcendent and his Lord ; and the
Moon, and Lord of the fixt, at your dis-
cretion, and take the quantity of a Wal-
nut every night and morning, and a-
noynt the face and hands, and ( if you
will ) the reft of the body : Kofie Crucian;
have other healing and yeilding Medi-
cines; you (hall know them in their
places; this is fuch an experienced Me-
dicine, that you know where to find it ;
1 need not (hew you to put out the fway
and power of thefe idle bowels, or per-
Y 4 hapj

112 7 he Holy Guide. L1B.3.

hjps it mould not nee^ and in a ftock
that eafech our clean Dyet Nature her
felf as (he doth inthofe Meadows, by o-
t her creatures, would alfo quite raze and
difpatch them within a few genera-
tions.

5. But I will go further. Hear a Rofie
Crucian new and unheard of opinion, and
yet let not your judgement run before
you fee good reafon ; What if we could fafi
for every and live without all food ? might
not all hurt and dange r of meat be then
foreftalled X if other Creatures , whofe
life hangeth upon the fame hold, by the
fufferancc , nay by the commandement
efGod and Nature, do laft for ever , there
is no Reafon but the fame common Nature
will at laft fuffer it in us 5 Let us fee. And
,to ftep over the Camelion, becaufe it is a
Cold and Hoodie fs Creature ; what fay we
to a Bird which is an hot and perfect one >
a bird in the Molucco Iflands, Manuda Viae*
by name, that hath no feet at all, no
more then an ordinary fifh, as Mr. Moer.e
faith, and I have feen her ; the bignefs
of her body and bill, as likewife the form
of them , is much what of a Swallows,
but the fpreading out of her wings and
tail has no lefs compafs then an Eagles:,
fhe lives and breeds iuthe Aire, born up
\y tl;e force of rpind with more eafe then

Archjtai

Ll B. 3. The Holy Guide. 11 3

Archytas his Dove, and comes not near
the earth but for her Burial; for the large-
nefsand lightncfs of her wings and tail
fuftain her without Latitude, and the
laying of her Egges and brooding of her
young is upon the back of the M*/tf3 which
is made hollow, as alfo the breaft of ihe
Female, for the more eafie incubation,
taking no other food ( as alas how
(hould (he ?) then there is found : but
whether (he lives meerly of the dew of
Heaven, or cf flies and fuch like infe£h",
1 leave to others to difpnte

6. Nay 5 have you not heard of the
LfttleVog in the. Weft Indies, which fing-
eth fo fweetly all the night long ,
neither night nor day eating any thing >
But there be examples in our kind as
well ; then it is certain above control-
ment : Sir Chriftopber Eeydon faith thers
is a Moutblefs andfo a weatlefs people or kind
of men about the head of Ganges , which
liveth by the breath of their NoflrHs ,
except when they take a far journey, they
mend their Viet with the fmell of flowers:
and left you may think I lean upon bare
Authorities without the fby of reafon,
all the matter refts upon this reafon I
told you before, that our life lay in the
. hand ( belide a little exercife ) of two
ijke meats, one for the Soul and Natural

heat

114 7he Hoh GHide- L1B.3.

heat which is within us, and the fincft
andfirftmoifturein our body; the other
is without any meat, of the fame Tem-
per with our body as near as may be, to
ivphold the frame and building of the
fame which I faid to be a fine Aiery and
Fiery Flame,

7. And we are now grown fo out oi
order, and fd much eftranged from our
JLtherial fail Moifture and the life of Gody
t?hat we creep downward towards the
Earth through difeafes, before we can
reach the Life of the Vehicle ; within fix-
(core years we dyc9 and are hidden from
the fenfible approach of renewing life.

CHAP. XII.

1. Of Nature and her medicines experienced
by Kofie Crucians . 2. Of the occult vertue
ofMyfteries. 3. Of the healing and confu-
ting medicines. 4. Of their ufe. 5. Of
the Gout, Leprofie, IDropfie and Falling Sic^
uefs , &c.

1. ^J0w the Aire it felf, efpccially

iN when it is evermore as the wet

Sunbeams declare, fofprinkled with fome

Fine f arraign fatnefo may feem (ufficient

food

LlB.g. The Holy Guide. u%

food to nourifh the finer pare of our
Frame, wherein the temper of w/r*^W,
and his life ( tonching that point ) ftand-
eth, which is as much as any meat can do
to life , ( for it is not fed by common
food, as i faid above ) though not e-
nough for ftrength, becaufe the groffer,
founder, and tougher parts wherein the
ftrength lyeth, ma 1 want food in this
~D)ety and fail no doubt greatly; yet life
Jkalllaftftill, as long as Aire and fir -ft tnci*
fture holds, in my opinion : or if we think
that too fpare a Dyet, we may mend it
(as the mouthlefs people do ) with fmell of
flowers: or rather, as we know Nature is
able to draw Aire and other food which
(he deiireth through j^he skin into all pla-
ces of the body ; fo if (he had meat ap-
plyed to the ftomach, (he would no doubt
fatisfie her felf that way moft finely, with-
out theheap of hurts let in at the broa4
and common gates, as we fee by exam-
pie for Vrin)^ that all the while we lit in
Water , we (hall never third: And for meat,
I have heard Rofie Crucians fay, by ap-
plying Q&mne in this fort they failed with-
out all hunger for two years together.

2. And in like manner I have experi-
enced this, and faded two dayes when I
firft ftudied the nature of the Guardian
Qmii i But if that would not ferve the

turn.

l 6 The Holy Guide, Li B.3.

turn, and we mull needs receive in meat
ac the common gate, yet we may let it
pafs no further then the gate, and make
theftomach in the mouth, which is the
life of ComeRofie Crucians when they are
Seraphic ally illuminated 5 and to provide
enough for life and ftrength, and a great
deal better for our health, then we do,
becaufe the clearer part alone mould be
received. And moreover I fay , for the
cleardifpatchofthatour ordinary trou-
ble and anoyance which your reverence
will not fuffer me to name, although I
might among Fhyfitians, but they knou*
my meaning : But it (hall not need to fteal
(hifts and holds if you will believe the
%o fie Crucians y that we may eafily -fa ft all
our life ( though it be three hundred years
together) without all kind of meat, and
to cu*t off all doubts and dangers of di-
feafes thereof fpringing 5 and for my own
part, I know fome that have fafted and
lived in the holy orders of the Fraternity with-
out all food tenyears fpace together. What
need we fay more > if you be both fo hard
of belief, and dull of fight 5 and reports
of good Authors, nor my own experience
will fink intoyou, nor yet can you fee the
light of reafon mining before you; take
here a few of ordinary matters in the life
and ufe of men, and weigh one with a-

aother v

LiB.?,^ The Holy Guide. \\j

nother; is ic not as common in life, and
indeed needful, tofpir, and avoid ano-
ther namelefs leaving? and to firing buc
to fleepefpecially > If fome of thefe, nay
all may be fpared , why not our meat
alfo> let us fee a little, and by example,
becaufe Reafonis both too long and too
open to cavil.

3. To leave drink, which many have
all their lives left ; Elizabeth Vrewe a Pts
vonjhire Gentlewoman, is reported never to have
[pat, nor the Indian Nation. Sir John Heydon
faith, fo? knew one that kept the namelefs mat-
ter forty daics together. And although this
anfwereth not the queftion, yet it meweth
the truth of the former Holy Story-, for if
in fo foul and grofs a thing as dyet is, he
could folong want its why not thefe men
forever, foclear and line a diet, almoft
empty and void of allleavings > For the
grofler fort, which make up this foul and
ihameful one we left before,asyou heard,
and the finer in thepaffage from the Sto-
mach through the former Gates were
drawn all away to the Liver, as the like
isever in us and voided otherwaie^. To
clofe up all, 1 was at ^ea with one that
flept not one wink for thefe three years
la ft pair, and Mr hhn Knotsford is a Wit-
nefs to this truth, and Captain Jfindfor.

4. And thus we fee thefe ftrange things

fall

Ii8 The Holy Guide. Lib.?.

fall out in proof \ but how, I cannot ftand
tofhew. Firft, nature differs them, then
ufe and cuftome, another Nature, brings
them ins yet we may well believe the
like in this matter of meat we have in
band ; For as the Bear ( according to the
guife of many Beads that lurk in Winter )
fafteth fourty daies, fo Eugenius Iheodi-
daaus, the reported Rofie Crucian tells of
a Scottijb young man , David Zeamons, that
waited on him, that by ufe brought him-
felf to fair three daies together, which
by ufe might have been three hundred as
well, if he had ordered himfelf thereafter
by flow and creeping cuilome, as Captain
Copland calls it, and by fuch means as I
fet down before.

5. So we fee, I fay, great wonders prove
plain and eafie troths in the fight of
Wifdome : you have read of the won-
derful works of Godm the accurate Stru»
dure of mans Body, of his Sou!, of his Senfes9
of Plants, of Minerals, and Rofie Crucian
-medicines fhal be that which I will infift up-
on , and that by the means aforefaid
(where are more then one, if this like
them not , they may take another ) it is
poflible for all men by kind and cuftome
to keep their health for ever : Let us come
to the next point, that is,as well to be re-
covered if it were loft, and that all difea-

Lib. 5. The Holy Guide, 1 19

fes may be cured. This is a point much
harder then the firft , even fo befet and
ftopt with all kind of lets and incumbran-
ces, that a man can fcarce tell which way
to fet his foot forwards. Fift appears
JEfculapw, Hippocrates, and Flato, the chief
among the Grecians, bearing in hand fun-
dry difeafes of both kinds ( both come
by defcent^and gotten by purchafe)hope-
lefs and paft recovery , and giving over
the men that owe them , for troublefome
to themfelves and to the Commonwealth:
Then you may fee Galen, his foft and
fine Company with him , that follow
thefe as Gerard and Riverius , and Gulpep*
per, and thefe with a long train of hedge*
Doclors-, and among thefe ftandthe Bill-
men, that dawbe their Medicines upon
every poll, with Caterers and Coo\s, laden
after them with all kind of dainty Drugs.,
ftand forth and cry, they have thefe many
Ages devoured heaps of Books , and took
cndlefs pains in fearching out the Nature
of {ingle Medicines,and making mixtures
of the fame , and yet could hardly cure
fome Agues, and other lefTe difeafes : But
for the four great difeafes, viz. theGout,
Leprofie, Dropfie, Falling Sicknefs, they
could never heal them,and have therefore
for Oracles fet them down incurable.

CHAR

no The Holy Guide. ~LiB^T

CHAP. XIII.

i , 7bat the knowledge and vertue of Medicines
arefecretly hid from vulgar underjianding:
2 . How they may be gotten : 3 . And of
. what lies couched in the Oil of Bodies :
4. Of the ufe, and how to feech it out by
SkjH} the Haven of Medicine.