Monday, March 14, 2016

The Admiration of the Beholders

"I saw (saith he) a melancholy man at Rome, that by no remedies could be healed, but when by chance he was wounded in the head, and the skull broken, he was excellently cured. Another, to the admiration of the beholders, breaking his head with a fall from on high, was instantly recovered of his dotage." Why did I wait so long to come back to THE ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY? It's full of great tips! Also a recipe for alkermes, "made of cider, rose-water, sugar... colored red by kermes, a dyestuff made from a Mediterranean insect." Burton recommends adding "Bezoar stone," which consists of "concretions found in the stomachs of animals." Or as we call it today, "Mountain Dew."