The Sweating Sickness

The Sweating Sickness
John Caius

John Caius

The Sweating Sickness A boke or counseill against the disease commonly called the sweate or sweatyng sicknesse

In the fereful tyme of the sweate (ryghte honourable) many resorted vnto me for counseil, among whõe some beinge my frendes & aquaintance, desired me to write vnto them some litle counseil howe to gouerne themselues therin: saiyng also that I should do a greate pleasure to all my frendes and contrimen, if I would deuise at my laisure some thĩg, whiche from tyme to tyme might remaine, wherto men might in such cases haue a recourse & present refuge at all nedes, as thẽ they had none. At whose requeste, at that tyme I wrate diuerse counseiles so shortly as I could for the present necessite, whiche they bothe vsed and dyd geue abrode to many others, & further appoynted in my self to fulfill (for so much as laye in me) the other parte of their honest request for the time to come. The whiche the better to execute and brynge to passe, I spared not to go to all those that sente for me, bothe poore, and riche, day and night. And that not only to do thẽ that ease that I could, & to instructe thẽ for their recouery: but to note also throughly, the cases and circumstaunces of the disease in diuerse persons, and to vnderstande the nature and causes of the same fully, for so much as might be. Therefore as I noted, so I wrate as laisure then serued, and finished one boke in Englishe, onely for Englishe mẽ not lerned, one other in latine for men of lerninge more at large, and generally for the help of thẽ which hereafter should haue nede, either in this or other coũtreis, that they may lerne by our harmes. This I had thoughte to haue set furth before christmas, & to haue geuẽ to your lordshippe at new-yeres tide, but that diuerse other businesses letted me. Neuertheles that which then coulde not be done cometh not now out of season, although it be neuer so simple, so it may do ease hereafter, which as I trust this shal, so for good wil I geue and dedicate it vnto your good Lordshippe, trustyng the same will take this with as good a mind, as I geue it to your honour, whiche our Lorde preserue and graunt long to continue.

At London the first of Aprill

1552

The boke of Jhon Caius against the sweatyng sicknes

Man beyng borne not for his owne vse and cõmoditie alone, but also for the commõ benefite of many, (as reason wil and al good authoures write) he whiche in this world is worthy to lyue, ought al wayes to haue his hole minde and intente geuen to profite others. Whiche thynge to shewe in effecte in my selfe, although by fortune some waies I haue ben letted, yet by that whiche fortune cannot debarre, some waies again I haue declared. For after certein yeres beyng at cambrige, I of the age of XX. yeres, partly for mine exercise and profe what I coulde do, but chefely for certein of my very frẽdes, dyd translate out of Latine into Englishe certein workes, hauyng nothynge els so good to gratifie theim w

. Wherof one of S. Chrysostome de modo orandi deum, that is, of y

manner to praye to god, I sent to one my frende then beyng in the courte. One other, a woorke of Erasmus de vera theologia, the true and redy waye to reade the scripture, I dyd geue to Maister Augustine Stiwarde Alderman of Norwiche, not in the ful as the authore made it, but abbreuiate for his only purpose to whome I sent it, Leuyng out many subtile thinges, made rather for great & learned diuines, thẽ for others. The thirde was the paraphrase of the same Erasmus vpon the Epistle of S. Jude, whiche I translated at the requeste of one other my deare frende.

These I did in Englishe the rather because at that tyme men ware not so geuen all to Englishe, but that they dyd fauoure & maỹteine good learning conteined in tongues & sciences, and did also study and apply diligently the same thẽ selues. Therfore I thought no hurte done. Sence y

tyme diuerse other thynges I haue written, but with entente neuer more to write in the Englishe tongue, partly because the cõmoditie of that which is so written, passeth not the compasse of Englande, but remaineth enclosed within the seas, and partly because I thought that labours so taken should be halfe loste among them whiche sette not by learnyng. Thirdly for that I thought it beste to auoide the iudgement of the multitude, from whome in maters of learnyng a man shalbe forced to dissente, in disprouyng that whiche they most approue, & approuyng that whiche they moste disalowe. Fourthly for that the common settyng furthe and printĩg of euery foolishe thyng in englishe, both of phisicke vnperfectly, and other matters vndiscretly diminishe the grace of thynges learned set furth in thesame. But chiefely, because I wolde geue none example or comforte to my countrie men, (whõ I wolde to be now, as here tofore they haue bene, comparable in learnyng to men of other countries) to stonde onely in the Englishe tongue, but to leaue the simplicite of thesame, and to procede further in many and diuerse knoweleges bothe in tongues and sciences at home and in vniuersities, to the adournyng of the cõmon welthe, better seruice of their kyng, & great pleasure and commodite of their owne selues, to what kinde of life so euer they shold applie them. Therfore whatsoeuer sence that tyme I minded to write, I wrate y

same either in greke or latine. As firste of all certein commentaries vpon certein bokes of William framinghã, maister of art in Cambrige, a man ot great witte, memorie, diligence and learnyng, brought vp in thesame scholes in Englande that I was, euer frõ his beginnyng vntil his death. Of the which bokes, ij. of cõtinẽtia (or cõtinence) wer in prose, y

reste in metre or verse of diuerse kindes. One a comforte for a blinde mã, entitled ad Aemilianum cæcum consolatio, one other Ecpyrosis, seu incendiũ sodomorũ, the burnyng of Sodome. The thirde Laurentius, expressyng the tormentes of Saincte Laurence. The fourthe, Idololatria, Idolatrie, not after the trade and veine of scripture (wherein he was also very well exercised) but conformable to scripture and after the ciuile and humane learnyng, declaryng them to worshippe Mars, that warre, or fight: Venus, that lyue incontinently: Pluto, that folowe riches couetousely; and so forth through all vices vsed in his time. The fiueth boke Arete, vertue: the sixth, Epigrãmes, conteined in two bokes, whiche by an epistle of his owne hand before y

boke yet remainyng, he dedicated vnto me, purposyng to haue done many more prety thynges, but that cruell death preuẽted, and toke him away wher he and I was borne at Norwiche, in the yere of our Lord M.d.xxxvij. the xxix. daie of September, beynge then of the age of xxv. yeres, vij. Monethes, and vj. daies, a greate losse of so notable a yonge man. These workes at his death he willed to comme to my handes, by which occasion after I had viewed thẽ, and perceiued them ful of al kyndes of learnyng, thinkyng thẽ no workes for all mẽ to vnderstande with out helpe, but such as were wel sene in all sortes of authours: I endeuoured my selfe partely for the helpe of others, & partly for mine owne exercise, to declare vpon theim the profite of my studie in ciuile and humane learnynge, and to haue before mine eyes as in a worke (which was alwaies my delyght) how muche I had profited in the same. Thys so done, I ioyned euery of my commentaries to euery of hys saied bokes, faier written by Nicolas Pergate puple to the saied Maister Framyngham, myndyng after the iudgement of learned men had in thesame, to haue set theim furthe in prynte, if it had ben so thought good to theim. For whyche cause, at my departynge into Italie, I put an Epistle before theym dedicatorye to the right Reuerend father in God Thomas Thirlbye, now Bishoppe of Norwiche, because thesame maister Framyngham loued hym aboue others. He after my departure deliuered the bokes to the reuerende father in god Jhõ Skippe, late bishop of Hereforde, then to D. Thirtle, tutor to the sayd maister framynghã, frõ him to syr Richard Morisine, now ambassadoure for y

kinges maiestie with thẽperour, then to D. Tailour Deane of Lincolne, and syr Thomas Smithe, secretarie after to y

kynges Maiestie, all great learned men. Frõ these to others they wente, among whome the bokes died, (as I suppose,) or els be closely kept, that after my death they may be setfurthe in the names of them which now haue thẽ, as their workes. Howe soeuer it be, well I knowe that at my returne out of Italie (after vj. yeres continuance ther) into Englãd, I coulde neuer vnderstand wher they wer, although I bothe diligently and desirousely sought thẽ. After these I translated out of Greke into Latine a litle boke of Nicephorus, declarynge howe a man maye in praiynge confesse hym selfe, which after I dyd geue vnto Jhõ Grome bacheler in arte, a yong man in yeres, but in witte & learnyng for his tyme, of great expectatiõ. That done I beganne a chronicle of the citie of Norwiche, of the beginninge therof & thinges done ther frõ time to time. The matere wherof yet rude and vndigested lyeth by me, which at laisure I minde to polishe, and to make an end of that I haue begunne. And to be shorte, in phisicke diuerse thynges I haue made & settefurth in print bothe in Greke and Latine, not mindyng to do other wise, as I haue before said, al my life: For which cause al these thinges I haue rehersed, els superfluous in this place. Yet see, meaning now to counseill a litle agaynst the sweatyng sickenes for helpe also of others, notwithstandyng my former purpose, two thynges compell me, in writynge therof, to returne agayne to Englishe, Necessite of the matter, & good wyl to my countrie, frendes, & acquaintance, whiche here to haue required me, to whome I thinke my selfe borne.

Necessite, for that this disease is almoste peculiar vnto vs Englishe men, and not common to all men, folowyng vs, as the shadowe the body, in all countries, albeit not at al times. Therfore compelled I am to vse this our Englishe tongue as best to be vnderstande, and moste nedeful to whome it most foloweth, most behoueth to haue spedy remedie, and often tymes leaste nyghe to places of succourre and comforte at lerned mennes handes: and leaste nedefull to be setfurthe in other tongues to be vnderstand generally of all persons, whome it either haunteth not at all, or els very seldome, as ones in an age. Thinkynge it also better to write this in Englishe after mine own meanyng, then to haue it translated out of my Latine by other after their misunderstandyng.

Good wyll to my countrie frendes and acquaintance, seynge them wyth out defence yelde vnto it, and it ferefully to inuade thẽ, furiousely handle them, spedily oppresse them, vnmercyfully choke them, and that in no small numbers, and such persons so notably noble in birthe, goodly conditions, graue sobrietie, singular wisedõe, and great learnynge, as Henry Duke of Suffolke, and the lorde Charles his brother, as fewe hath bene sene lyke of their age: an heuy & pitifull thyng to here or see. So that if by onely learned men in phisicke & not this waye also it should be holpen, it were nedeful almost halfe so many learned men to be redy in euery toune and citie, as their should be sweatynge sicke folkes. Yet this notwithstandynge, I wyll euery man not to refuse the counseill of the present or nighe phisicen learned, who maie, accordyng to the place, persone, cause, & other circũstances, geue more particular counseil at nede, but in any wise exhorte him to seke it with all diligence. To this enterprise also amonge so many learned men, not a litle stirreth me the gentilnes and good willes of al sortes of men, which I haue well proued heretofore by my other former bokes. Mindynge therefore with as good a will to geue my counseil in this, and trusting for no lesse gentlenes in the same, I wyll plainly and in English for their better vnderstandynge to whome I write, firste declare the beginnynge, name, nature, and signes of the sweatynge sickenes. Next, the causes of the same. And thirdly, how to preserue men frõ it, and remedy them whẽ they haue it.

The beginnyng of the disease In the yere of our Lorde God M.CCCC.lxxxv. shortly after the vij. daye of august, at whiche tyme kynge Henry the seuenth arriued at Milford in walles, out of Fraunce, and in the firste yere of his reigne, ther chaunced a disease among the people, lastyng the reste of that monethe & all September, which for the soubdeine sharpenes and vnwont cruelnes passed the pestilence. For this commonly geueth iij. or iiij. often vij. sumtyme ix. as that firste at Athenes whiche Thucidides describeth in his seconde boke, sumtyme xj. and sumtyme xiiij. dayes respecte, to whome it vexeth. But that immediatly killed some in opening theire windowes, some in plaieng with children in their strete dores, some in one hour, many in two it destroyed, & at the longest, to thẽ that merilye dined, it gaue a sorowful Supper. As it founde them so it toke them, some in sleape some in wake, some in mirthe some in care, some fasting & some ful, some busy and some idle, and in one house sometyme three sometime fiue, sometyme seuen sometyme eyght, sometyme more some tyme all, of the whyche, if the haulfe in euerye Towne escaped, it was thoughte great fauour. How, or wyth what maner it toke them, with what grieffe, and accidentes it helde theym, herafter thẽ I wil declare, whẽ I shal come to shewe the signes therof. In the mene space, know that this disease (because it most did stand in sweating from the beginning vntil the endyng) was called here, the Sweating sickenesse: and because it firste beganne in Englande, it was named in other countries, the englishe sweat. Yet some conjecture that it, or the like, hath bene before seene among the Grekes in the siege of Troie. In thẽperor Octauius warres at Cantabria, called nowe Biscaie, in Hispaine: and in the Turkes, at the Rhodes. How true that is, let the aucthours loke: how true thys is, the best of our Chronicles shewith, & of the late begonne disease the freshe memorie yet confirmeth. But if the name wer now to be geuen, and at my libertie to make the same: I would of the maner and space of the disease (by cause the same is no sweat only, as herafter I will declare, & in the spirites) make the name Ephemera, which is to sai, a feuer of one natural dai. A feuer, for the feruor or burning, drieth & sweating feure like. Of one naturall day, for that it lasteth but the time of xxiiij. houres. And for a distinction from the commune Ephemera, that Galene writeth of, comming both of other causes, and wyth vnlike paines, I wold putte to it either Englishe, for that it followeth somoche English menne, to whõ it is almoste proper, & also began here: or els pestilent, for that it cõmeth by infection & putrefaction, otherwise then doth the other Ephemera. Whiche thing I suppose may the better be done, because I se straunge and no english names both in Latine and Greke by commune vsage taken for Englishe. As in Latin, Feure, Quotidiã, Tertian, Quartane, Aier, Infection, Pestilence, Uomite, Person, Reines, Ueines, Peines, Chamere, Numbre, &c. a litle altered by the commune pronunciation. In Greke, Pleuresie, Ischiada, Hydrops, Apostema, Phlegma, and Chole: called by the vulgare pronunciatiõ, Schiatica, Dropsie, Impostume, Phleume, & Choler: Gyne also, and Boutyre, Sciourel, Mouse, Rophe, Phrase, Paraphrase, & cephe, wherof cometh Chaucers couercephe, in the romant of the Rose, writtẽ and pronoũced comõly, kerchief in y

south, & courchief in the north. Thereof euery head or principall thing, is comonlye called cephe, pronoũced & writtẽ, chief. Uery many other there be in our commune tongue, whiche here to rehearse were to long. These for an example shortelye I haue here noted. But for the name of this disease it maketh now no matter, the name of Sweat beyng cõmõly vsed. Let vs therfore returne to the thing, which as occasiõ & cause serued, came againe in the M.D.vi. the xxii. yeare of the said Kyng Henry the seuenth. Aftre that, in the yeare M.D.xvii. the ix. yeare of Kyng Henry the viii, and endured from July, vnto y

middest of Decẽbre. The iiii tyme, in the yeare M.D.xxviii. the xx. yeare of thesaied Kyng, beginning in thende of May, & continuing June and July. The fifth tyme of this fearful Ephemera of Englande, and pestilent sweat, is this in the yeare M.D.LI. of oure Lorde GOD, and the fifth yeare of oure Souereigne Lorde king Edwarde the sixth, beginning at Shrewesbury in the middest of April, proceadinge with greate mortalitie to Ludlowe, Prestene, and other places in Wales, then to Westchestre, Couentre, Oxenfoorde, and other tounes in the Southe, and such as were in and aboute the way to London, whether it came notablie the seuenth of July, and there continuing sore, with the losse of vii. C. lxi. from the ix. day vntil the xvi. daye, besides those that died in the vii. and viii. dayes, of whõ no registre was kept, frõ that it abated vntil the xxx. day of the same, with the losse of C. xlii. more. Then ceassing there, it wente from thence throughe al the east partes of England into the Northe vntill the ende of Auguste, at whiche tyme it diminished, and in the ende of Septembre fully ceassed.

This disease is not a Sweat onely, (as it is thought & called) but a feuer, as I saied, in the spirites by putrefaction venemous, with a fight, trauaile, and laboure of nature againste the infection receyued in the spirites, whervpon by chaunce foloweth a Sweate, or issueth an humour compelled by nature, as also chanceth in other sicknesses whiche consiste in humours, when they be in their state, and at the worste in certein dayes iudicial, aswel by vomites, bledinges, & fluxes, as by sweates. That this is true, the self sweates do shewe. For as in vtter businesses, bodies y

sore do labour, by trauail of the same are forced to sweat, so in inner diseases, the bodies traueiled & labored by thẽ, are moued to the like. In which labors, if nature be strõg & able to thrust out the poisõ by sweat (not otherwise letted) y

persõ escapeth: if not, it dieth. That it is a feuer, thus I haue partly declared, and more wil streight by the notes of the disease, vnder one shewing also by thesame notes, signes, and short tariance of the same, that it consisteth in the spirites. First by the peine in the backe, or shoulder, peine in the extreme partes, as arme, or legge, with a flusshing, or wind, as it semeth to certeine of the pacientes, flieng in the same. Secondly by the grief in the liuer and the nigh stomacke. Thirdely, by the peine in the head, & madnes of the same. Fourthly by the passion of the hart. For the flusshing or wynde comming in the vtter and extreame partes, is nothing els but the spirites of those same gathered together, at the first entring of the euell aire, agaynste the infection therof, & flyeng thesame from place to place, for their owne sauegarde. But at the last infected, they make a grief where thei be forced, which cõmonly is in tharme or legge (the fartheste partes of theire refuge) the backe or shulder: trieng ther first a brũt as good souldiers, before they wil let their enemye come further into theire dominion. The other grefes be therefore in thother partes aforsaid & sorer, because the spirites be there most plẽtuous as in their founteines, whether alwaies thinfection desireth to go. For frõ the liuer, the nigh stomack, braine, and harte, come all the iij. sortes, and kyndes of spirites, the gouernoures of oure bodies, as firste spronge there. But from the hart, the liuish spirites. In putrifieng wherof by the euel aier in bodies fit for it, the harte is oppressed. Wherupon also foloweth a marueilous heauinesse, (the fifthe token of this disease,) and a desire to sleape, neuer contented, the senses in al partes beynge as they were bounde or closed vp, the partes therfore left heuy, vnliuishe, and dulle. Laste foloweth the shorte abidinge, a certeine Token of the disease to be in the spirites, as wel may be proued by the Ephemera that Galene writethe of, whiche because it consistethe in the Spirites, lasteth but one natural day. For as fire in hardes or straw, is sone in flambe & sone oute, euen so heate in the spirites, either by simple distemperature, or by infection and putrefaction therin conceyued, is sone in flambe and sone out, and soner for the vehemencye or greatnes of the same, whiche without lingering, consumeth sone the light matter, contrary to al other diseases restyng in humoures, wherin a fire ones kindeled, is not so sone put out, no more then is the same in moiste woodde, or fat Sea coles, as well by the particular Example of the pestilence, (of al others most lyke vnto this) may be declared, whyche by that it stãdeth in euel humors, tarieth as I said, sometyme, from iiij. vii. ix. & xj. vntill xiiij. dayes, differentlie from this, by reason therof, albeit by infection most lyke to this same. Thus vnder one laboure shortelie I haue declared both what this disease is, wherein it consisteth, howe and with what accidentes it grieueth and is differente from the Pestilence, and the propre signes, and tokens of the same, without the whiche, if any do sweate, I take theym not to Sweate by this Sickenesse, but rather by feare, heate of the yeare, many clothes, greate exercise, affection, excesse in diete, or at the worst, by a smal cause of infection, and lesse disposition of the bodi to this sicknes. So that, insomoche as the body was nat al voide of matter, sweate it did when infection came: but in that the mattere was not greate, the same coulde neyther be perilous nor paineful as in others, in whom it was greater cause.