[45] Montaigne speaks of the douche as an Italian speciality. “Comme les Allemans ont de particulier, de se faire generalement tous corneter et vantouser, avec scarification dans le bain: ainsi ont les Italiens leur _doccie_, qui sont certaines gouttières de cette eau chaude, qu’ils conduisent par des cannes, et vont baignant une heur le matin, et autant l’après disnée, par l’espace d’un mois, ou la teste, ou l’estomach, ou autre partie du corps, à laquelle ils ont affaire” (_Essais_, ii. 37). [46] Montaigne held La Boetie in the highest esteem. “Et le plus grand que j’aye cogneu au vif, je dis des parties naturelles de l’ame, et le mieux né, c’estoit Estienne de la Boetie.”--_Essais_, ii. 17, and in ii. 27 he again writes at length in praise of his lost friend. [47] “De acquis lucensibus, quæ vulgo Villenses appellantur,” by G. B. Donati. The author was a physician of Lucca, who studied at Pisa and Padua. Franciotti, also a Lucchese doctor, wrote a treatise, “Tractatus de Balneo Villensi in Agro Lucensi posito.” [48] From this point the Journal is written in Italian. [49] This spring had only recently come into fashion. It had always been used by the country people for skin diseases, and about the middle of the sixteenth century it acquired great fame through the cure of a certain Pistoian of a loathsome skin disease which had been treated ineffectually at every other spring. There are many springs on this range of hills: Corsena, Bagno Rosso, Bagno di S. Giovanni, Bagno della Villa, Bagno di Bernabo, and Bagno Cardinali. [50] Ascension Day. [51] The inscription at the Bagno alla Villa runs as follows: “Sacri de villa balnei hec precipue sunt virtutes. Confert cunctis capitis membris. Curat omnes stomachi morbos. Appetitum excitat. Digestionem procurat. Vomitum restringit. Sanat cuncta epatis vitia. Epatis et venarum opilationem aperit. Colorem optimum facit. Confert passionibus splenis. Sanat ulcera pulmonis. Mundat renes. Lapidem minuit. Arenulas prohibit. Macros impinguat. Lepram curat non confirmatam. Bibita antiquas febres expellit. Et matricis etiam anterius cristerizata. Triginta balneantur diebus. Octo vel decern bibitur purgatione premissa. A contrariis caveatur. Toto corpore ulcera sanat.”