A Collection of Seven and Fifty approved Receipts Good against the Plague: Taken out of the five books of that renowned Dr. Don Alexes secrets, for the benefit of the poorer sort of people of these nations

In Short

Compiled by a survivor of pestilence and injury, this 1665 treatise gathers fifty-seven distinct recipes to combat the plague. Drawing directly from the translated writings of the renowned physician Dr. Don Alexes, author W. J. presents a practical manual tailored to aid those who cannot afford expensive medical care. The text offers clear instructions for concocting oral potions, topical plasters, purifying chamber perfumes, and defensive scent balls. By combining traditional botanical knowledge, household ingredients, and empirical observations, the book stands as an enduring monument to early modern domestic medicine and human resilience during times of crisis.

The Story

The volume opens with a personal, heartfelt address from the editor, W. J., who establishes his credibility through a harrowing record of personal survival. Having suffered severe wounds in 1642, a devastating bout of the plague in his own household in 1663—which claimed a family member while he miraculously survived—and a lingering internal illness in 1649, W. J. turned to medical literature out of sheer necessity. His search led him to the expansive writings of Dr. Don Alexes, a well-traveled scholar fluent in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldean, and Arabic. Recognizing that Alexes’s multi-volume works were far too costly for the general public, W. J. extracts fifty-seven of the most practical recipes and presents them for the immediate benefit of the nation during the outbreak of 1665.

The treatise then moves systematically through its collection of remedies, beginning with simple, urgent treatments for those newly infected. Early chapters explain how to prepare roasted onion juices filled with treacle, aromatic perfumes made from resins like frankincense and myrrh, and warm herbal infusions designed to induce heavy sweating. W. J. outlines procedures for breaking plague sores and carbuncles using plasters made from litharge of silver, wax, and lard, instructing the caregiver on how to manage dead flesh and apply healing ointments.

As the collection unfolds, it addresses both prevention and active cure. It detail remedies using readily available items such as bay berries, rue, walnuts, garlic, and even the live bodies of poultry to draw out venom from swollen glands. Specialized preparations appear alongside humble remedies: rich mixtures containing ground sapphires, emeralds, pearls, and unicorn horn are specifically noted as fit for princes, while alternative recipes utilizing elder, ash bark, sorrel, and white wine vinegar are meticulously tailored for the poor.

In its final movement, the text provides holistic rules for governing the body during an epidemic. W. J. stresses the importance of maintaining strict cleanliness at home, avoiding excess in food and drink, avoiding overexertion, and steering clear of tainted air. The collection concludes with recipes for purifying indoor environments using charcoal cakes infused with balsam, sulfur, and myrrh, leaving the reader fully equipped with both preventative measures and therapeutic interventions to confront the pestilence.

How It Unfolds

The survivor presents his credentials W. J. recounts his personal history with sickness and pestilence, explaining how providence guided him to the writings of Dr. Don Alexes. He declares his intention to publish these gathered recipes to aid poor families who cannot afford costly physician fees.

Urgent remedies for the newly struck The opening chapters detail immediate interventions, such as roasting a triacle-filled onion in ashes to press out its medicinal juice. Instructions follow for burning rich spices like frankincense and mastic to cleanse infected bedchambers.

Treating the physical sores The text provides instructions for preparing ointments and plasters from white lead, wax, and animal fats to draw out poison. Caregivers learn how to soften carbuncles so the dead core drops away, leaving clean flesh ready for healing salves.

Defenses for the impoverished Shifted toward accessibility, middle chapters offer recipes relying on garden herbs, vinegar, garlic, and ivy berries. Simple daily routines—like consuming a mixture of walnut, fig, and rue every morning—are recommended to fortify the stomach against airborne contagion.

Purifying the air and governing the body The concluding recipes focus on environmental sanitation and personal hygiene. W. J. outlines eight essential rules for avoiding physical excess and provides instructions for burning sulfur and resin cakes to cleanse stagnant, dangerous air.

The People

W. J. (The Compiler) A gentleman who has lived through war wounds, severe internal disease, and a direct encounter with the plague in his own home. Driven by Christian charity and practical empathy, he wants to make life-saving medical knowledge accessible to common people who cannot afford professional doctors. He acts as a curator, sifting through massive medical texts to present only the most effective, tested remedies.

Dr. Don Alexes (The Renowned Authority) A legendary physician and scholar versed in five ancient languages who spent twenty-seven years traveling the world to uncover the secrets of nature. Though he does not appear in person, his extensive research forms the foundation of the entire book. His medical authority grants the recipes their credibility and promise of efficacy.

The Poor People of These Nations (The Intended Readers) The collective subject and primary concern of the text. Faced with pestilence without the financial means to hire physicians or buy expensive compounds, they require simple, clear directions using local herbs, household foodstuffs, and inexpensive ingredients to protect their families.

In Its Own Voice

"...in the year 1663 our houſe was viſited with the Plague, one died before we knew what it was, the family was five in number, I lay in the ſame bedding the deceaſed dyed out of, he dyed full of the marks, I had a Boyle in my Groyne that never brake... yet by Gods providence am yet alive..."

This raw testimonial from W. J.'s preface grounds the book's medical advice in real, traumatic survival.

"Take an Ounion and cut him overthwart, then make a little hole in each peece, the which you ſhall fill with fine Triacle... Putting it ſo to Roaſt in the Embers and Aſhes, then when it is Roasted enough preſs out all the juice of it..."

This simple recipe from the first chapter illustrates the book's reliance on everyday kitchen ingredients to treat severe disease.

"...I gathered them at firſt for my own perticular private uſe, but conſidering the ſcarcity of the books and altogether at an extraordinary dear rate, I have for the publick benefit of all men expoſed them to the care of the Printer..."

W. J. explains his core motivation for translating specialized medical knowledge into a cheap, widely available public resource.

What It's Really About

At its heart, the book is about the democratization of survival during a catastrophic public health crisis. It bridges the divide between elite, theoretical medical knowledge and practical, self-administered domestic care. By translating exotic and expensive remedies into accessible alternatives for the impoverished, the text argues that every individual deserves the means to protect their household from death. Beneath its lists of ingredients lies a profound faith in divine providence working through natural philosophy, asserting that the natural world contains hidden cures accessible to anyone willing to learn them.

Why Read It Today

This short collection offers a vivid, unfiltered glimpse into seventeenth-century domestic medicine and the human reality of living through the Great Plague of London. Readers interested in the history of medicine, social history, or historical herbalism will appreciate its directness and lack of fluff. The prose carries a stark, urgent rhythm that makes the crisis feel remarkably close and immediate.

Reading the text requires navigating period typography—such as the long "s"—alongside outdated medical concepts like humoral theory, triacle formulations, and folk remedies involving live animals or precious stones. Yet these very peculiarities make the book compelling. It reveals how ordinary people confronted incomprehensible fear with practical action, resourcefulness, and deep community care, offering a moving historical document that remains surprisingly resonant today.