The Legend of the Four Thieves; sounds spooky doesn’t it? I have chosen what I think you will find is an appropriately creepy image for this blog post, seeing as the legend in question took place during the bubonic plague.
So here’s the story! There once were four thieves who spent their days ransacking empty plague-ridden houses. Miraculously none of them, though being often in contact with the dead, contracted the disease. One day the thieves were caught by policemen and brought before the French judges in Marseilles. The judges wanted to know how these thieves had resisted the plague, after all they had been stealing from the dead, plague-infested bodies.
“We drink and wash with this vinegar every few hours”,
they told the judges. And in return for sharing the recipe, the thieves were given their freedom. So actually, depending on how you feel about looters and the justice system, this is quite a happy story; the four thieves were spared and lived to loot another day!
And so I would like share this recipe with you all, so that you might also protect yourself from plague or other much less fatal illnesses. This recipe has been used for centuries and is a fantastic general preventative medicine.
When taken internally on a regular basis – this amazing vinegar strengthens the immune system, prevents the user from catching viruses etc… and from picking up bacterial infections from a variety of sources, leaving us healthy to live our lives, whatever moral code we adhere to!
Vinegar of the Four Thieves
2½ litres of organic apple cider vinegar
2 tblsp sage – dried
2 tblsp lavender – dried
2 tblsp wormwood – dried
2 tblsp rue – dried
2 tblsp mint – dried
2 tblsp garlic – sliced
Combine dried herbs (except the garlic) and steep in the vinegar for three weeks. Strain and re-bottle. Add the garlic, leave for three days and strain again. Add 100 ml of vegetable glycerine for preservation.
Then this anti-plague cure is ready! Take 1tsp in water every few hours. This is a very antibacterial vinegar and is also an excellent wash for floors, walls, sinks, sickrooms, bathrooms and kitchens. It is not recommended to be used on the skin without being diluted first as it is such a strong tonic – but you could certainly put some in the bath.
Donna
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