Treatise on tobacco, tea, coffee and chocolate...
Written originally by Simon Pauli; translated by Dr. James.
Tobacco, tea, coffee, and chocolate are so entrenched in our everyday life, it is interesting to look back at a time when they were first beginning to gain prominence in European culture. As with any new product, some people, such as this author, had some concerns about the effects they would have on the populace.
This book from 1746 has many things that make it interesting: the depictions of the tea pots, the interesting typesetting you can see with the block quotes, even the combination of products highlighted is fascinating. A favorite part of this book, however, is not something Simon Pauli would have liked to see with his work. A handwritten antidote at the end of the book could be viewed as an early version of a review on the back cover, but publishers nowadays tend to stick to positive reviews.
“Simon Pauli vehemently discouraged his royal master the king of Denmark from drinking tea--though he (the King) had found great benefit from it-- affirming it to be very unwholesome. His Majesty gave him this equivocal answer "Credo te nonefie sanum" (Translates roughly to " I do not believe you are sane" )
While I cannot vouch for how accurate this story is, I certainly drink enough tea that I quite agree with the sentiment.
And if you like a more in depth description, read the full title below, which helpfully doubles as an abstract:
A treatise on tobacco, tea, coffee, and chocolate. : In which I. The advantages and disadvantages attending the use of these commodities, are not only impartially considered, upon the principles of medicine and chymistry, but also ascertained by observation and experience. II. Full and distinct directions laid down for knowing in what cases, and for what particular constitutions, these substances are either beneficial, or hurtful. III. The Chinese or Asiatic, tea, shewn to be the same with the European chamelæagnus, or myrtus brabantica. The whole illustrated with copper plates, exhibiting the tea utensils of the Chinese and Persians
Photos by former G.A. Olsen Jillian Sparks
