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| John Bulwer, Anthropometamorphosis |
Take a bean, and having chewed it well, spit it on a cloth, then rub your face with this, and you will make the face beautiful and glowing, and the skin soft.
Isabella Cortese, I segreti de la signora Isabella Cortese
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| Getty MS Ludwig XV i, f. 13 (15th c.) |
For the evil that is called lethargy. Take your own hair, burnt, mixed with vinegar and a little pitch, and lay that over the nostrils.
Also, swine's dung laid thereto is good.
Also, place the eyes, the heart and the tongue of the nightingale under the pillow, or in the bed, and it shall keep him waking while he lies there, and whoever drinks it, he shall never sleep.
15th century medical compilation in British Library Sloane 3489, f. 1r-vThe world is an exhausting place. Perhaps you'd like to cover your face with dung, crawl into bed, and never sleep again?
