cometh cõsonant, thẽ be thei distẽpered, corrupted, sore handled, & oppressed, thẽ nature is forced, & the disease engendred. But while I doe declare these impure spirites to be one cause, I must remoue your myndes frõ spirites to humours, for that the spirites be fedde of the finest partes therof, & aftre bringe you againe to spirites where I toke you. And forsomuche as I haue not yet forgotten to whome I write, in this declaration I will leaue a part al learned & subtil reasõs, as here void & vnmiete, & only vse suche as be most euident to whom I write, & easiest to be vnderstanden of the same: and at ones therwith shew also why it haũteth vs English men more thẽ other nations. Therfore I passe ouer the vngẽtle sauoure or smell of the sweate, grosenes, colour, and other qualities of the same, the quantitie, the daunger in stopping, the maner in coming furthe redily, or hardly, hot or cold, the notes in the excremẽtes, the state longer or sorer, with suche others, which mai be tokẽs of corrupt humours & spirites, & onli wil stãd upõ iii. reasõs declaring y^e same swet by gret repletiõ to be in vs not otherwise for al the euel aire apt to this disease, more thẽ other natiõs. For as hereaftre I wil shew, & Galẽ cõfirmeth, our bodies cã not suffre any thĩg or hurt by corrupt & infectiue causes, except ther be in thẽ a certeĩ mater prepared apt & like to receiue it, els if one were sick, al shuld be sick, if in this countri, in al coũtres wher the infection came, which thĩg we se doth not chãce. For touching the first reasõ, we se this sweting sicknes or pestilẽt Ephemera, to be oft in Englãd, but neuer entreth Scotland, (except the borders) albeit thei both be ioinctly within the cõpas of on sea. The same beginning here, hath assailed Brabant & the costes nigh to it, but neuer passed Germany, where ones it was in like faciõ as here, with great mortalitie, in the yere m.d.xlix. Cause wherof none other there is naturall, then the euell diet of these thre contries whiche destroy more meates and drynckes withoute al ordre, cõueniẽt time, reasõ, or necessite, thẽ either Scotlande, or all other countries vnder the sunne, to the greate annoiance of their owne bodies and wittes, hinderance of theim which have nede, and great dearth and scarcitie in their cõmon welthes. Wherfore if Esculapius the inuentour of phisike, y^e sauer of mẽ from death, and restorer to life, should returne again ĩto this world, he could not saue these sortes of men, hauing so moche sweatyng stuffe, so many euill humoures laid vp in store, frõ this displeasante, feareful, & pestilent disease: except thei would learne a new lesson, & folowe a new trade. For other wise, neither the auoidyng of this countrie (the seconde reason) nor fleyng into others, (a commune refuge in other diseases) wyll preserue vs Englishe men, as in this laste sweate is by experience well proued in Cales, Antwerpe, and other places of Brabant, wher only our contrimen ware sicke, & none others, except one or ii. others of thenglishe diete, which is also to be noted. The cause hereof natural is onely this, that they caried ouer with thẽ, & by lyke diete ther incresed that whiche was the cause of their disease. Wherefore lette vs asserteine our selues, that in what soeuer contrie lyke cause and matter is, there commyng like aier and cause efficient, wil make lyke effecte and disease in persõs of agreable complexions, age, and diete, if the tyme also doe serue to these same, and in none others. These I putte, for that the tyme of the yere hote, makethe moche to the malice of the disease, in openynge the pores of the body, lettynge in the euill aier, resoluynge the humores and makynge them flowable, and disposing therfore the spirites accordyngly, besyde, that (as I shewed in the first cause of this pestilente sweate) it stirreth and draweth out of the erthe euill exhalations and mistes, to thinfection of the aier and displeasure of vs. Diet I put, for that they of the contrarie diete be not troubled with it at all. Age and complexion, for this, that although it spareth nõ age of bothe kyndes, nor no complexion but some it touchethe, yet for the most parte (wherby rules and reasones be alwayes to be made) it vexed theim of the middle age, beste luste, and theim not moche vnder that, and of complexions hote & moiste, as fitteste by their naughty & moche subtiltie of blode to fede the spirites: or nigh and lyke to thesame in some one of the qualities, as cholerike in hete, phlegmatike in moister, excepte thother their qualities, as drinesse in cholerike, & cold in phlegmatike, by great dominion ouer thother, did lette. For the clene contrarie complexiõs to the infected aier, alwaies remaine helthful, saulfe and better then tofore, the corrupte and infected aier notwithstandyng. Therfore cold and drie persones either it touched not at all, or very fewe, and that wyth no danger: such I say as beside their complexion, (whiche is so harde to finde in any man exacte and simple, as exacte helthes) were annoied with some corrupt humoures & spirites, & therfore mete by so moch to receiue it, & that by good reasõ. For nothing can naturally haue power to do ought against any thing, excepte the same haue in it selfe a disposicion by like qualities to receiue it. As the cause in the fote cãnot trouble the flanke and leue the knee (the mean betwixte) except there were a greater consent and likenes of nature in sufferance (whiche we call sympathian) betwixte those then thother. Nor fire refusynge stones, canne burne hardes, strawe, stickes and charcole, oile, waxe, fatte, and seacole, except these same first of al wer apte, and by conuenient qualities disposed to be enflamed and burned. Nor any man goeth about to burne water, because the qualities thereof be contrary, and the body vndisposed to the like of fire. By whiche reason it may also be perceiued, that y^e venemouse qualitie of this corrupt aire is (20)
[= (19)] hote and moiste, for it redily enfectethe the lyke complexions, and those nigh vnto theim, and the contrary not at all, or hardly: & easely doth putrify, as doe the Southe wyndes. Therfore next vnto those colde and drie cõplexions, olde men escaped free, as like to theim by age: and children, as voide of replecion consumed by their great hete, and therefore alwaies redy to eate. But in this disease the subtile humour euill and abundant in full bodies fedyng y^e spirites, is more to be noted then the humour complexional, whiche notwithstanding, as an helper or hinderer to y^e same, is not to be neglected. For els it should be in all contries and persones indifferently, wher all complexiones be. The thirde and laste reason is, y^t they which had thys sweat sore with perille or death, were either men of welthe, ease, & welfare, or of the poorer sorte such as wer idle persones, good ale drinkers, and Tauerne haunters. For these, by y^e great welfare of the one sorte, and large drinkyng of thother, heped vp in their bodies moche euill matter: by their ease and idlenes, coulde not waste and consume it. A comfirmacion of this is, that the laborouse and thinne dieted people, either had it not, because they dyd eate but litle to make the matter: or with no greate grefe and danger, because they laboured out moche thereof. Wherefore vpon small cause, necessarily must folowe a smal effecte. All these reasones go to this ende, that persones of all contries of moderate and good diete, escape thys Englishe Ephemera, and those be onely vexed therewith, whiche be of immoderate and euill diete. But why? for the euill humores and corrupte aier alone? No, for thẽ the pestilence and not the swet should rise. For what then? For y^e impure spirites corrupte in theim selues and by the infectiue aier. Why so? for that of impure and corrupte humores, whether thei be blode or others, can rise none other then impure spirites. For euery thynge is suche as that whereof it commeth. Now, that of the beste and fineste of the blode, yea in corrupte bodies (whyche beste is nought) these spirites be ingendred and fedde, I before expressed. Therfor who wyl haue them pure and cleane, and him selfe free from sweat, muste kepe a pure and cleane diete, and then he shalbe sure.

The preseruacion Infection by the aier, and impure spirites by repletion thus founde and declared to be the causes of this pestilente sweate or Englishe ephemera, lette vs nowe see howe we maye preserue our selues from it, and howe it may be remedied, if it chaunce, wythe lesse mortalitie. I wyll begynne wyth preseruation. That most of all dothe stande in auoidyng the causes to come of the disease, the thinges helping forward the same, and remouyng that whiche is alredy had & gotten. Al be done by the good order of thynges perteynyng to the state of the body. Therfore I will begin with diete wher I lefte, & then go furth with aier where I beganne in treatyng the causes, and declare the waie to auoide infection, and so furthe to the reste in order. Who that lustethe to lyue in quiete suretie, out of the sodaine danger of this Englishe ephemera, he aboue all thynges, of litle and good muste eate & spare not, the laste parte wherof wyl please well (I doubt not) vs Englishe men: the firste I thinke neuer a deale. Yet it must please theim that entende to lyue without the reche of this disease. So doyng, they shall easely escape it. For of that is good, can be engendred no euill: of that is litle, can be gathered no great store. Therfore helthful must he nedes be and free from this disease, that vsethe this kinde of liuynge and maner in dietynge. An example hereof may the wise man Socrates be, which by this sorte of diete escaped a sore pestilence in Athenes, neuer fleynge ne kepyng close him selfe from the same. Truly who will lyue accordynge to nature and not to lust, may with this diete be well contented. For nature is pleased with a litle, nor seketh other then that (22)
[= (21)] the mind voide of cares and feares may be in quiete merily, and the body voide of grefe, maye be in life swetly, as Lucretius writeth. Here at large to ronne out vntill my breth wer spent, as vpon a common place, against y^e intemperãce or excessiue diete of Englande, thincommodities & displeasures of the same many waies: and contrarie, in commẽdation of meane diete and temperance (called of Plato sophrosyne, for that it cõserneth wisdome) and the thousande commodities therof, both for helthe, welthe, witte, and longe life, well I might, & lose my laboure: such be our Englishe facions rather then reasones. But for that I purpose neither to wright a longe worke but a shorte counseill, nor to wery the reders with that they luste not to here, I will lette that passe, and moue thẽ that desire further to knowe my mynde therin, to remember that I sayd before, of litle & good eate and spare not, wherby they shall easely perceiue my meanyng. I therefore go furth with my diete, wherin my counseill is, that the meates be helthfull, and holsomly kylled, swetly saued, and wel prepared in rostyng, sethyng, baking, & so furth. The bred, of swet corne, wel leuened, and so baked. The drinke of swete malte and good water kyndly brued, without other drosse nowe a daies vsed. No wine in all the tyme of sweatyng, excepte to suche whose sickenes require it for medicin, for fere of inflamynge & openynge, nor except y^e halfe be wel soden water. In other tymes, old, pure, & smal. Wishĩg for the better executiõ hereof & ouersight of good and helthsome victalles, ther wer appointed certein masters of helth in euery citie and toune, as there is in Italie, whiche for the good order in all thynges, maye be in al places an example. The meates I would to be veale, muttone, kidde, olde lambe, chikyn, capone, henne, cocke, pertriche, phesane, felfare, smal birdes, pigeon, yong pecockes, whose fleshe by a certeine natural & secrete propertie neuer putrefie, as hath bene proued. Conies, porke of meane age, neither fatte nor leane, the skynne takẽ awaye, roste, & eatẽ colde: Tartes of prunes, gelies of veale & capone. Yong befe in this case a litle poudered is not to be dispraised, nor new egges & good milke. Butter in a mornyng with sage and rewe fastynge in the sweatynge tyme, is a good preseruatiue, beside that it nourisheth. Crabbes, crauesses, picrel, perche, ruffe, gogion, lampreis out of grauelly riuers, smeltes, dace, barbell, gornerd, whityng, soles, flunders, plaice, millers thumbes, minues, w^t such others, sodde in water & vinegre w^t rosemary, time, sage, & hole maces, & serued hote. Yea swete salte fishe and linge, for the saltes sake wastynge y^e humores therof, which in many freshe fishes remaine, maye be allowed well watered to thẽ that haue none other, & wel lyke it. Nor all fishes, no more then al fleshes be so euil as they be takẽ for: as is wel declared in physik, & approued by the olde and wise romaines moche in their fisshes, lusty chartusianes neuer in fleshes, & helthful poore people more in fishe then fleshe. But we are nowe a daies so vnwisely fine, and womanly delicate, that we may in no wise touch a fisshe. The olde manly hardnes, stoute courage, & peinfulnes of Englande is vtterly driuen awaye, in the stede wherof, men now a daies receive womanlines, & become nice, not able to withstande a blaste of wynde, or resiste a poore fishe. And children be so brought vp, that if they be not all daie by the fire with a toste and butire, and in their furres, they be streight sicke.

Sauces to metes I appoint firste aboue all thynges good appetite, and next Oliues, capers, iuse of lemones, Barberies, Pomegranetes, Orenges and Sorel, veriuse, & vineigre, iuse of vnripe Grapes, thepes or Goseberies. After mete, quinces, or marmalade, Pomegranates, Orenges sliced eaten with Suger, Succate of the pilles or barkes therof, and of pomecitres, olde apples and peres, Prunes, Reisons, Dates & Nuttes. Figges (24)
[= (23)] also, so they be taken before diner, els no frutes of that yere, nor rawe herbes or rotes in sallattes, for that in suche times they be suspected to be partakers also of the enfected aire.

Of aire so much I haue spoken before, as apperteinethe to the declaration of enfection therby. Nowe I wyl aduise and counseill howe to kepe the same pure, for somoche as may be, or lesse enfected, and correcte the same corrupte. The first is done in takynge a way y^e causes of enfectiõ. The seconde, by doynge in all pointes the contrary thereto. Take awaye the causes we maye, in damnyng diches, auoidynge cariõs, lettyng in open aire, shunning suche euil mistes as before I spake of, not openynge or sturrynge euill brethynge places, landynge muddy and rottẽ groundes, burieng dede bodyes, kepyng canelles cleane, sinkes & easyng places sweat, remouynge dongehilles, boxe and euil sauouryng thynges, enhabitynge high & open places, close towarde the sowthe, shutte toward the winde, as reason wil &