23. In the second half of the sixteenth century there lived Peter Levens, or Levenes, of whom Anthony à Wood* gives this account: Peter Levens, or Levins, was born at, or near, Eske in Yorkshire, became a Student in the University, an. 1552, was elected Probationer-Fellow of Mag. Coll. into a Yorkshire place 18 Jan. 1557, being then Bach. of Arts, and on the 19 Jan. 1559 was admitted true and perpetual Fellow. In 1560 he left his Fellowship, and one Thomas Dunne, M.A., succeeded him, but whether our Author Levens proceeded in Arts, or took a degree in Physic, or was licensed to practise that Faculty, it appears not in our Registers. Afterwards he taught a Grammar School, and practised Physic, which is all I know of him, only that he wrote and publish'd these things following, A Dictionary of English and Latin Words, &c. the English going before the Latin; necessary for Scholars that want variety of words, and for such as use to write in English Metre. Lond. 1570. in 18 sh. in qu. A right profitable Book for all Diseases, called the Pathway to health; wherein are most excellent and approved Medicines of great virtue; as also notable Potions and Drinks, and for the distilling of divers Waters, and making of Oils, and other comfortable receipts, Lond. 1587. qu. The Author is stiled in the Clar. title Page Master of Arts of Oxon, and Student in Physic and Chirurgery. 1588. This Book was afterwards several times printed with Corrections; and one Edition came out at Lond. 1664. what else Peter Levens hath written I cannot yet tell. In the Fasti Wood adds:" 1556. July 6. Peter Levens of Magd. coll. was admitted [B. A.] the same Day. He was afterwards an eminent Physician. and again: 1559. Feb. In the said month of Feb. did supplicate for the said Degree [M.A.] Pet. Levens of the same Coll. but whether admitted it appears not; however, in his Book entit. The path way to Health, he writes himself M. of A. of Oxon. 24. Of Levens' two books, the first, Manipulus Vocabulorum, seems to be of extreme rarity. There is a copy of it in the British Museum, there is one in the Bodleian, and an imperfect one is in the possession of Mr. H. B. Wheatley, who edited the work for the Camden Society, 1867, 4°, * Wood, Athena Oxonienses, London, 1721, I., No. 269, cols. 237-238. Fasti, I., col. 84, 1556; col. 88, 1559. Id. ed. Bliss, London, 1820, I., col. 548 (Editions 1587 and 1644, and Bliss adds 1596 and 1608). Fasti, London, 1815, I., cols. 149 and 156. Joseph Foster, Alumni Oxonienses, Oxford 1892, Early Series, III., p. 903. and for the Early English Text Society, 1867, 8°. In drawing up a notice of the author, Mr. Wheatley had to fall back upon the above sketch by Wood, to which he said he was unable to add anything. It has also been followed by Jöcher,* Zedler,† and the Rev. Ronald Bayne, who, however, has put 19 Jan. 1557 as the date of Levens' probationer-fellowship, instead of 18, and simply stated that he was made perpetual fellow in Jan. 1559, instead of 19 Jan. This is a book of importance for the study of English, as it is a sort of rhyming dictionary and thesaurus, and affords a clue to the pronunciation of the language in the sixteenth century. But this subject does not come within the scope of the present research. 25. What entitles Levens to a place in the present list is his treatise on medicine, or rather his collection of medical receipts. The editions of this book are those already enumerated: § 1587, 1596, 1608, 1632, 1644, 1654, 1664, but it is possible that this list is not complete, and I can believe that there may have been more than one edition between 1608 and 1632, and others subsequent to 1664. The book had thus a long and apparently successful career and must have proved useful to a number of people. Respecting the editions the following notes may be offered. 26. 1587. This is the earliest edition mentioned by Wood, and it is probably the first. The title is given by him as above. It is not in the British Museum, and I have not seen a copy elsewhere. Possibly it contains a preface or dedication which would throw light on the first publication of the book. According to Wood it is in quarto, and presumably it is printed in black letter. [See "Addenda," § 26.] Jöcher, Allgemeines Gelehrten-Lexicon, 1750, II., col. 2403. + Zedler, Grosses Universal-Lexicon, Halle und Leipzig, 1738, XVII., col. 606. Dictionary of National Biography, 1893, XXXIII., pp. 136-137. § These, I find, are all quoted by Lowndes (The Bibliographer's Manual, ed. Bohn, 1860, Part V., p. 1349), except that of 1664. He mentions the edition of 1654 twice, adding: "with a doubtful portrait of Levens, with an urinal by J. C(hantry)." I have not confirmed this statement, and am at a loss to say whether the repetition of 1654 is a misprint for 1664 or not. If the latter be meant there is no notice by Billings of a portrait in that edition. 27. 1596. There is a copy of the 1596 edition in the Surgeon-General's Library at Washington, and I have taken the account of it from the catalogue : * Wherein A right profitable booke for all diseases, called The pathway to health. This edition and that of 1608 have been added within square brackets by Bliss to his reprint of Anthony à Wood, but Bliss gives no details, and I do not know where he obtained his information, for these editions are not in the Museum and they are not in the Bodleian Catalogue of 1843. I have not seen any notice of the edition of 1608. 28. 1632. I take the account of this edition from a copy in my own possession : A | Right profitable Booke for | all Diseases, called, The Path-way | to HEALTH. | ECCLES. (sic) 38. | Giue vnto the Phyfitian that vnto him belongeth. | his houfe in S. Lawrence-lane, at the | figne of the Bible. 1632. | Small 4°. Sigs. A to Z, Aa to Gg in fours (Gg4 wanting); or, ff. [2] 114 Table [3]. The Text is in black letter; the title page, address to the reader, head lines, and titles of the paragraphs are in roman. The B.M. copy (1038. f. 3) is not in good state and also wants Gg 4. The prefatory note to the Reader is not signed in this edition as in the later ones. There is a copy in the Surgeon-General's Library at Washington.† *Index-Catalogue, 2nd Series, 1904, IX., p. 494. + Index-Catalogue, 1887, VIII., p. 89. N.S. VOL. V. PT. III. K 29. 1644. This edition is quoted by Wood, but no details are given. I have not seen it. Those which follow are in the British Museum. [B. M. E. 1472. (1).] 30. THE PATH-VVAY | TO | Health; | Wherein are to be found most | excellent and approved Medicines of great vertue, as also notable Potions and Drinks, | with the Art of diftilling divers precious Waters, | for making of Oyls, and other comfortable | Receits for the health of the Body, | never before printed. | First gathered by Peter Levens, Master of | Arts in Oxford, and Student in Phyfick and | Chirurgery, and now newly | Corrected and augmented. | ECCLUS. 38. | Give unto the Physician, that unto him be- | longeth, | London, Printed for J. W. and are to be fold by John Andrews, dwelling at the White Lion in the Old Bailey. 1654. Small 8°. Sigs. A in four, B to Z in eights [of which Z8 is blank]; or, pp [8] 331 acorns. In this edition the Epistle to the Reader is signed Peter Levens. 31. [B.M. 1039. f. 26.] THE PATH-WAY | TO | HEALTH; | Wherein are to be found most ex- | cellent and approved Medicins of great | Vertue, as also notable Potions and | Drinks, with the Art of Distilling divers | precious Waters, for making of Oyles, and other comfortable Receipts, for | the health of the Body, never before | Printed. | First gathered by Peter Levens, Mr. | of Arts in Oxford, and Student in Phyfick and Chirurgery, and now newly | Corrected and augmented. | Published according to Order. | ECCLUS. 38. | Give unto the Physician, that unto him belongeth. | . LONDON, | Printed for J. W. and are to bee fold by | Charls Tyns, at the three Bibles on | London-Bridge, MDCLXIV. | 12. Sigs. A to R in twelves, (but R 12 (? blank) is awanting) or, pp. [8] 380, In this edition the Epistle to the Reader is signed Peter Levens. There is a copy in the Surgeon-General's Library at Washington.* *Index-Catalogue, 2nd Series, 1904, IX., p. 494. 32. In this book there is no very strict classification of the subject, but it begins with diseases of the head and follows the body downwards. The trouble, whatever it may be, is specified: for him that hath lost his mind; against forgetfulness; for the meigrim in the heade; for to purge the head, and to cleanse it; a gargell for the rume; for all manner of evill aches in the head; for paine in the eares; for the pin and the web, and the fellon in the eye; for wormes in the eyelids; for the tooth-ache; for drynesse of the tongue and for thirst; a sirrop for a sore throat; for the cough; against the letting of the breath; for spetting of blood; for weaknesse of the heart; for the paine of the lungs; for the spleene, a good experiment; for sore sides within and without; a notable plaister for the plurisie; for all manner of ache in the backe; for a great ache in the knee; for a leg be it never so sore; rules for blood-letting; for agues; for burning; for consumption ; for the dropsie; for the falling evill; for the Jaundies; to make divers kindes of oyles, oyntments and plaisters, Aurum potabile, antidotes for poisons; for ringworm; salves for wounds; for shingles; Dr. Stephens water; Dr. Willowbies water, and so on. There is no description of the signs or symptoms of the disease; pains in a given place are all the same, and there is no recognition of their being possibly due to different causes, and naturally no inquiry into their origin, but, after the disease is specified, follow receipts for its cure, and, when these are specially recommended, the word 'Proved' is added, as is often done in these books. 33. With the exception of a few mineral substances, such as tutty, calamine, common salt, gold, mercury, copperas, clay, powder of burnt bones, unslaked lime and one or two others, and even these occur but seldom, the remedies employed are entirely of vegetable origin. Decoctions, extracts, juices and powders of plants are administered in wine, or ale, or other vehicle, and the plants are all of a common and familiar kind. For external application the selection was a little wider and included a few mineral and animal substances, the mixtures being sometimes the reverse of attractive, and more likely to cause disease than to cure it. The receipts concocted from the commonest plants were quite ineffective, and often superstitious, for Levens was not above using periapts and magical words against some troubles. There was no perception of the |