None the less the foregoing statements ought not to be passed by as if they did not admit of controversy. For Erasistratus himself has affirmed that diseases were not produced by such causes, since other persons, and even the same person at different times, were not rendered feverish by them. Further, certain practitioners of our time, following, as they would have it appear, the authority of Themison, contend that there is no cause whatever, the knowledge of which has any bearing on treatment: they hold that it is sufficient to observe certain general characteristics of diseases; that of these there are three classes, one a constriction, another a flux, the third a mixture. For the sick at one time excrete too little, at another time too much; again, from one part too little, from another too much; and these classes of diseases are sometimes acute, sometimes chronic, at times on the increase, at times constant, at times diminishing. Once it has been recognized, then, which it is of these, if the body is constricted, it has to be relaxed; if suffering from a flux, that has to be controlled; if a mixed lesion, the more severe malady must be countered first. Moreover, there must be treatment of one kind for acute diseases, another kind for chronic ones, another for increasing, stationary, or for those already tending to recovery. They hold that the Art of Medicine consists of such observations; which they define as a sort of way, which they name μέθοδοσ, and maintain that medicine should examine those characteristics which diseases have in common. They do not want to be classed with reasoners from theory, nor with those who look to experience only; for in so naming themselves Methodici, they dissent from the former because they are unwilling that the Art should consist in conjecture about hidden things, and from the latter because they think that in the observation of experience there is little of an Art of Medicine.
Interest enim fatigatio morbum an sitis, an frigus an calor, an uigilia an fames fecerit, an cibi uinique abundantia, an intemperantia libidinis. Neque ignorare hunc oportet, quae sit aegri natura, umidum magis an magis siccum corpus eius sit, ualidi nerui an infirmi, frequens aduersa ualetudo an rara, eaque, cum est, uehemens esse soleat an leuis, breuis an longa; quod is uitae genus sit secutus, laboriosum an quietum, cum luxu an cum frugalitate: ex his enim similibusque saepe curandi noua ratio ducenda est. Quamuis ne haec quidem sic praeteriri debent, quasi nullam controuersiam recipiant. Nam et Erasistratus non ex illis ⟨causis⟩ fieri morbos dixit, quoniam et alii et idem alias post istas non febricitarent; et quidam medici saeculi nostri sub auctore, ut ipsi uideri uolunt, Themisone contendunt nullius causae notitiam quicquam ad curationes pertinere; satisque esse quaedam communia morborum intueri. Siquidem horum tria genera esse, unum adstrictum, alterum fluens, tertium mixtum. Nam modo parum excernere aegros, modo nimium, modo alia parte parum, alia nimium: haec autem genera morborum modo acuta esse, modo longa, et modo increscere, modo consistere, modo minui. Cognito igitur eo, quod ex his est, si corpus adstrictum est, digerendum esse; si profluuio laborat, continendum; si mixtum uitium habet, occurrendum subinde uehementiori malo. Et aliter acutis morbis medendum, aliter uetustis, aliter increscentibus, aliter subsistentibus, aliter iam ad sanitatem inclinatis. Horum obseruationem medicinam esse;
As relates to Erasistratus, in the first place the actual evidence is against his opinion, because seldom does a disease occur unless following upon one of these; secondly, it does not follow that what has done no harm to one patient, or to that same patient upon one occasion, may not harm another patient, or the same one at another time. For it is possible that there are certain underlying conditions in the body, whether related to infirmity, or to an actual affection of some kind, which either are not present in another person, or were not existent in that patient on another occasion, and which of themselves are not enough to constitute a disease, yet they may render the body more liable to other injurious affections. But if Erasistratus had been sufficiently versed in the study of the nature of things, as those practitioners rashly claim themselves to be, he would have known also that nothing is due to one cause alone, but that which is taken to be the cause is that which seems to have had the most influence. Indeed it is possible that when one cause acts alone, it may not disturb, yet when acting in conjunction with other causes it may produce a very great disturbance. Moreover, even Erasistratus himself, who says that fever is produced by blood transfused into the arteries, and that this happens in an over-replete body, failed to discover why, of two equally replete persons, one should lapse into disease, and the other remain free from anything dangerous; and that clearly happens every day. Hence, however true this transfusion, one can learn that it does not occur of itself when there is bodily fullness, but when there is added something else.
quam ita finiunt, ut quasi uiam quandam quam ΜΕΘΟΔΟΝ nominant, eorumque, quae in morbis communia sunt, contemplatricem esse contendant. Ac neque rationalibus se neque experimenta tantum spectantibus adnumerari uolunt, cum ab illis eo nomine dissentiant, quod in coniectura rerum latentium nolunt esse medicinam; ab his eo, quod parum artis esse in obseruatione experimentorum credunt. Quod ad Erasistratum pertinet, primum ipsa euidentia eius opinioni repugnat * * quia raro nisi post horum aliquid morbus uenit; deinde non sequitur, ut, quod alium non adficit aut eundem alias, id ne alteri quidem aut eidem tempore alio noceat. Possunt enim quaedam subesse corpori uel ex infirmitate eius uel ex aliquo adfectu, quae uel in alio non sunt, uel in hoc alias non fuerunt eaque per se non tanta, u⟨t⟩ concitent morbum, tamen obnoxium magis aliis iniuriis corpus effici⟨a⟩nt. Quod si contemplationem rerum naturae, quam temere medici ⟨isti⟩ sibi uindicant, satis conprehendisset, etiam illud scisset, nihil omnino ob unam causam fieri, sed id pro causa adprehendi, quod contulisse plurimum uidetur. Potest autem id, dum solum est, non mouere, quod iunctum aliis maxime moueat. Accedit ad haec, quod ne ipse quidem Erasistratus, qui transfuso in arterias sanguine febrem fieri dicit idque nimis repleto corpore incidere, repperit, cur ex duobus aeque repletis alter in morbum incideret, alter omni periculo uacaret;
But disciples of Themison, if they hold their precepts to be of constant validity, are reasoners even more than anybody else; for if a man des not hold all the tenets that another reasoner approves, he does not forthwith have to assume a different name for his art, if (and this is the essential point) he does rely not only on written authority, but also upon reasoning from theory. But if, which is nearer to the truth, the Art of Medicine admits of scarcely any universal precepts, reasoners are in the same position as those who depend upon experience alone, all the more because whether the disease has braced or relaxed is what the most uninstructed can see. But if a remedy which loosens a body braced up, or tightens a loosened body, has been deduced by a reasoning from theory, the practitioner is a reasoner; if (as the man who denies himself to be a reasoner must admit) he acts from experience, he is an Empiric. Thus according to Themison, knowledge of a disease is outside the Art, and medicine is confined to practice; nor has there been added anything to what Empirics profess, but something taken away; for reasoners from theory gaze about over a multiplicity of matters, Empirics look to circumstances the most simple, and nothing more than commonplaces. For in like manner those who treat cattle and horses, since it is impossible to learn from dumb animals particulars of their complaints, depend only upon common characteristics; so also do foreigners as they are ignorant of reasoning subtleties look rather to common characteristics of disease. Again, those who take charge of large hospitals, because they cannot pay full attention to individuals, resort to these common characteristics. I vow, the ancients knew all this, but were not content therewith; therefore even the oldest authority, Hippocrates, said that in healing it was necessary to take note both of common and of particular characteristics. Indeed these very Methodici, even within their professed limitations, cannot be consistent; for there are divers kinds of constricting and relaxing diseases, those in which there is a flux being the more easy to observe. For it is one thing to vomit blood, another bile, another food; it is one thing to suffer from diarrhoea, another from dysentery; one thing to be relaxed through sweating, another to be wasted by consumption. Humour may break out into particular parts, such as the eyes or the ears; from a risk of this kind there is no human member free. No one of these occurrences is treated in the same way as another.
quod cotidie fieri apparet. Ex quo disci potest, ut uera sit illa transfusio, tamen illam non per se, cum plenum corpus est, fieri, sed cum horum aliquid accesserit. Themisonis uero aemuli, si perpetua quae promittunt habent, magis etiam quam ulli rationales sunt. Neque enim, si quis non omnia tenet, quae rationalis alius probat, protinus alio [nouo] nomine artis indiget, si modo, (quod primum est,) non memoriae soli sed rationi quoque insistit. Si, uero quod propius est, uix ulla perpetua praecepta medicinalis ars recipit, idem sunt quod ii, quos experimenta sola sustinent; eo magis quoniam, conpresserit aliquem morbus an fuderit, quilibet etiam inperitissimus uidet: quid autem conpressum corpus resoluat, quid solutum teneat, si a ratione tractum est, rationalis est medicus; si, ⟨ut⟩ ei, qui se rationalem negat, confiteri necesse est, ab experientia, empericus. Ita apud eum morbi cognitio extra artem, medicina intra usum est; neque adiectum quicquam empericorum professioni, sed demptum est, quoniam illi multa circumspiciunt, hi tantum facillima, et non plus quam uulgaria. Nam et ii, qui pecoribus ac iumentis medentur, cum propria cuiusque ex mutis animalibus nosse non possint, communibus tantummodo insistunt; et exterae gentes, cum suptilem medicinae rationem non nouerint, communia tantum uident; et qui ampla ualetudinaria nutriunt, quia singulis summa cura consulere non sustinent, ad communia ista confugiunt. Neque Hercules istud antiqui medici nescierunt, sed his contenti non fuerunt. Ergo etiam uetustissimus auctor Hippocrates dixit mederi oportere et communia ⟨et⟩ propria intuentem. Ac ne isti quidem ipsi intra suam professionem consistere ullo modo possunt: siquidem et conpressorum et fluentium morborum genera diuersa sunt; faciliusque id in iis, quae fluunt, inspici potest. Aliud est enim sanguinem, aliud bilem, aliud cibum uomere; aliud deiectionibus, aliud torminibus laborare; aliud sudore digeri, aliud tabe consumi.
Hence the Art descends straight down from a consideration of the common characteristics of a flux to the particular case. Moreover, because the same remedies do not meet with success in all, even of similar cases, additional knowledge of peculiarities in such a case is often necessary. Although certain things act upon the bowels in most cases, whether as astringents or as laxatives, yet there are to be found some in whom the same thing acts differently than it does in others. In such instances, therefore, investigation of particular characteristics is salutary, that of common characteristics the reverse. Moreover, a reckoning up of the cause often solves the malady. Thus Cassius, the most ingenious practitioner of our generation, recently dead, in a case suffering from fever and great thirst, when he learnt that the man had begun to feel oppressed after intoxication, administered cold water, by which draught, when by the admixture he had broken the force of the wine, he forthwith dispersed the fever by means of a sleep and a sweat. He, as a practitioner, provided an opportune remedy, not out of consideration whether the man's body was constricted or relaxed, but from what had happened beforehand to cause it. Besides, according to these very authorities there are particulars relating to locality and to season. When they are discussing what should be done by men in health, they prescribe the avoidance of cold, heat, surfeit, fatigue, venery, especially in sickly localities and seasons; in such places and seasons rest is to be taken, particularly when one feels a sense of oppression, and neither the stomach is to be disturbed by an emetic, nor the bowels by a purge. Such generalities are indeed true: none the less they descend from them to certain particular characteristics, unless they would persuade us that climate and season are to be taken into consideration by those in health but not by the sick, the very persons in whom all such observance is by so much the more necessary, the more that their weakness is liable to all attacks. Nay, even in the same patient, the particular characteristics of a disease are very various, and those who have been treated for a time in vain by the ordinary remedies have been often restored by contrary ones. And in the giving food too there are many distinctions to be noted; I will content myself with one instance. For hunger is more easily borne by an adult than by a boy, more easily in a dense than in a thin atmosphere, more easily in winter than in summer, more easily by one accustomed to a single meal than by one used in addition to one at midday, more easily when sedentary than when in active exercise; and often it is necessary to hurry on the meal in the case of one who is intolerant of hunger. Hence I conjecture that he who is not acquainted with the peculiar characteristics has merely to consider the general ones; and he who can become acquainted with peculiarities, whilst insistent upon them, ought not to neglect generalities as well; and consequently, presuming their state to be equal, it is more useful to have in the practitioner a friend rather than a stranger.
Atque in partes quoque umor erumpit, ut oculos aurisque; quo periculo nullum humanum membrum uacat. Nihil autem horum sic ut aliud curatur. Ita protinus in his a communi fluentis morbi contemplatione ad propriam medicin⟨a⟩ descendit. Atque in hac quoque rursus alia proprietatis notitia saepe necessaria est; quia non eadem omnibus etiam in similibus casibus opitulantur: siquidem certae qu⟨aeda⟩m res sunt, quae in pluribus uentrem aut adstringunt aut resoluunt. Inueniuntur tamen, in quibus aliter atque in ceteris idem eueniat: in his ergo communium inspectio contraria est, propriorum tantum salutaris. Et causae quoque aestimatio saepe morbum soluit. Ergo etiam ingeniosissimus saeculi nostri medicus, quem nuper uidimus, Cassius febricitanti cuidam et magna siti adfecto, cum post ebrietatem eum premi coepisse cognosset, aquam frigidam ingessit; qua ille ⟨e⟩pota cum uini uim miscendo fregisset, protinus febrem somno et sudore discussit. Quod auxilium medicus opportune prouidit non ex eo, quod aut adstrictum corpus erat aut fluebat, sed ex ea causa, quae ante praecesserat. Estque etiam proprium aliquid et loci et temporis istis quoque auctoribus: qui, cum disputant, quemadmodum sanis hominibus agendum sit, praecipiunt, ut grauibus aut locis aut temporibus magis uitetur frigus, aestus, satietas, labor, libido; magisque ut conquiescat isdem locis aut temporibus, si quis grauitatem corporis sensit, ac neque uomitu stomachum neque purgatione aluum sollicitet. Quae uera quidem sunt; a communibus tamen ad quaedam propria descendunt, nisi persuadere nobis uolunt sanis quidem considerandum esse, quod caelum, quod tempus anni sit, aegris uero non esse; quibus tanto magis omnis obseruatio necessaria est, quanto magis obnoxia offensis infirmitas est. Qui⟨n⟩ etiam morborum in isdem hominibus aliae atque aliae proprietates sunt; et qui secundis aliquando frustra curatus est, contrariis saepe restituitur. Plurimaque in dando cibo discrimina reperiuntur, ex quibus contentus uno ero. Nam famem facilius adulescens quam puer, facilius in denso caelo quam in tenui, facilius hieme quam aestate, facilius uno cibo quam prandio quoque adsuetus, facilius inexercitatus quam exercitatus homo sustinet: saepe autem in eo magis necessaria cibi festinatio est, qui minus inediam tolerat. Ob quae conicio eum, qui propria non nouit, communia tantum debere intueri; eumque, qui nosse proprietates potest, non illas quidem oportere neglegere, sed his quoque insistere; ideoque, cum par scientia sit, utiliorem tamen medicum esse amicum quam extraneum.
Therefore, to return to what I myself propound, I am of opinion that the Art of Medicine ought to be rational, but to draw instruction from evident causes, all obscure ones being rejected from the practice of the Art, although not from the practitioner's study. But to lay open the bodies of men whilst still alive is as cruel as it is needless; that of the dead is a necessity for the learner, who should know positions and relations, which the dead body exhibits better than does a living and wounded man. As for the remainder, which can only be learnt from the living, actual practice will demonstrate it in the course of treating the wounded in a somewhat slower yet much milder way.
Igitur, ut ad propositum meum redeam, rationalem quidem puto medicinam esse debere, instrui uero ab euidentibus causis, obscuris omnibus non ab cogitatione artificis sed ab ipsa arte reiectis. Incidere autem uiuorum corpora et crudele et superuacuum est, mortuorum discentibus necessarium: nam positum et ordinem nosse debent, quae cadauer melius quam uiuus et uulneratus homo repraesenta[n]t. Sed et cetera, quae modo in uiuis cognosci possunt, in ipsis curationibus uulneratorum paulo tardius sed aliquanto mitius usus ipse monstrabit.
With these premises I will first speak of how those in health should act (Book I), than I will pass on to what pertains to diseases (Book II, 1‑8), and to their treatments (Book II, 9‑33).
His propositis, primum dicam, quemadmodum sanos agere conueniat, tum ad ea transibo, quae ad morbos curationesque eorum pertinebunt.
1. 1 A man in health, who is both vigorous and his own master, should be under no obligatory rules, and have no need, either for a medical attendant, or for a rubber and anointer. His kind of life should afford him variety; he should be now in the country, now in town, and more often about the farm; he should sail, hunt, rest sometimes, but more often take exercise; for whilst inaction weakens the body, work strengthens it; the former brings on premature old age, the latter prolongs youth. It is well also at times to go to the bath, at times to make use of cold waters; to undergo sometimes inunction, sometimes to neglect that same; to avoid no kind of food in common use; to attend at times a banquet, at times to hold aloof; to eat more than sufficient at one time, at another no more; to take food twice rather than once a day, and always as much as one wants provided one digests it. But whilst exercise and food of this sort are necessities, those of the athletes are redundant; for in the one class any break in the routine of exercise, owing to necessities of civil life, affects the body injuriously, and in the other, bodies thus fed up in their fashion age very quickly and become infirm. Concubitus indeed is neither to be desired overmuch, nor overmuch to be feared; seldom used it braces the body, used frequently it relaxes. Since, however, nature and not number should be the standard of frequency, regard being had to age and constitution, concubitus can be recognized as harmless when followed neither by languor nor by pain. The use is worse in the day-time, and safer by night; but care should be taken that by day it be not immediately followed by a meal, and at night not immediately followed by work and watching. Such are the precautions to be observed by the strong, and they should take care that whilst in health their defences against ill-health are not used up.
1. SANVS homo, qui et bene ualet et suae spontis est, nullis obligare se legibus debet, ac neque medico neque iatroalipta egere. Hunc oportet uarium habere uitae genus: modo ruri esse, modo in urbe, saepiusque in agro; nauigare, uenari, quiescere interdum, sed frequentius se exercere; siquidem ignauia corpus hebetat, labor firmat, illa maturam senectutem, hic longam adulescentiam reddit. Prodest etiam interdum balineo, interdum aquis frigidis uti; modo ungui, modo id ipsum neglegere; nullum genus cibi fugere, quo populus utatur; interdum in conuictu esse, interdum ab eo se retrahere; modo plus iusto, modo non amplius adsumere; bis die potius quam semel cibum capere, et semper quam plurimum, dummodo hunc concoquat. Sed ut huius generis exercitationes cibique necessariae sunt, si⟨c⟩ athletici superuacui: nam et intermissus propter ciuiles aliquas necessitates ordo exercitationis corpus adfligit, et ea corpora, quae more eorum repleta sunt, celerrime et senescunt et aegrotant. Concubitus uero neque nimis concupiscendus, neque nimis pertimescendus est. Rarus corpus excitat, frequens soluit. Cum autem frequens non numero sit sed natura * *, ratione aetatis et corporis, scire licet eum non inutilem esse, quem corporis neque languor neque dolor sequitur. Idem interdiu peior est, noctu tutior, ita tamen, si neque illum cibus, neque hunc cum uigilia labor statim sequitur. Haec firmis seruanda sunt, cauendumque ne in secunda ualetudine aduersae praesidia consumantur.
2. 2 The weak, however, among whom are a large portion of townspeople, and almost all those fond of letters, need greater precaution, so that care may re-establish what the character of their constitution or of their residence or of their study detracts. Anyone therefore of these who has digested well may with safety rise early; if too little, he must stay in bed, or if he has been obliged to get up early, must go to sleep again; he who has not digested, should lie up altogether, and neither work nor take exercise nor attend to business. He who without heartburn eructates undigested food should drink cold water at intervals and none the less exercise self-control. He should also reside in a house that is light, airy in summer, sunny in winter; avoid the midday sun, the morning and evening chill, also exhalations from rivers and marshes; and he should not often expose himself when the sky is cloudy to a sun that breaks through..., lest he should be affected alternately by cold and heat — a thing which excites particularly choked nostrils and running colds. Much more indeed are these things to be watched in unhealthy localities, where they even produce pestilence. He can tell that his body is sound, if his morning urine is whitish, later reddish; the former indicates that digestion is going on, the latter that digestion is complete. On waking one should lie still for a while, then, except in winter time, bathe the face freely with cold water; when the days are long the siesta should be taken before the midday meal, when short, after it. In winter, it is best to rest in bed the whole night long; if there must be study by lamp-light, it should not be immediately after taking food, but after digestion. He who has been engaged in the day, whether in domestic or on public affairs, ought to keep some portion of the day for the care of the body. The primary care in this respect is exercise, which should always precede the taking of food; the exercise should be ampler in the case of one who has laboured less and digested less well. Useful exercises are: reading aloud, drill, handball, running, walking; but this is not by any means most useful on the level, since walking up and down hill varies the movement of the body, unless indeed the body is thoroughly weak; but it is better to walk in the open air than under cover; better, when the head allows of it, in the sun than in the shade; better under the shade of a wall or of trees than under a roof; better a straight than a winding walk. But the exercise ought to come to an end with sweating, or at any rate lassitude, which should be well this side of fatigue; and sometimes less, sometimes more, is to be done. But in these matters, as before, the example of athletes should not be followed, with their fixed rules and immoderate labour. The proper sequel to exercise is: at times an anointing, whether in the sun or before a brazier; at times a bath, which should be in a chamber as lofty, well lighted and spacious as possible. However, neither should be made use of invariably, but one of the two the oftener, in accordance with the constitution. There is need of a short rest afterwards. Coming to food, a surfeit is never of service, excessive abstinence is often unserviceable; if any intemperance is committed, it is safer in drinking than in eating. It is better to begin a meal with savouries, salads and such-like; and after that meat is to be eaten, best either when roasted or boiled. All preserved fruits are unserviceable for two reasons, because more is taken owing to their sweetness, and even what is moderate is still digested with some difficulty. Dessert does no harm to a good stomach, in a weak one it turns sour. Whoever then in this respect has too little strength, had better eat dates, apples and such-like at the beginning of the meal. After many drinkings which have somewhat exceeded the demands of thirst, nothing should be eaten; after a surfeit of food there should be no exertion. Anyone who has had his fill digests the more readily if he concludes the meal with a drink of cold water, then after keeping awake for a time has a sound sleep. When a full meal is taken at midday, after it there should be no exposure to cold, heat or fatigue, which do not harm the body so easily when it is empty as when it is full. When from whatever causes there is prospective want of food, everything laborious should be avoided.
2. At INBECILLIS, quo in numero magna pars urbanorum omnesque paene cupidi litterarum sunt, obseruatio maior necessaria est, ut, quod uel corporis uel loci uel studii ratio detrahit, cura restituat. Ex his igitur qui bene concoxit, mane tuto surget; qui parum, quiescere debet, et si mane surgendi necessitas fuit, redormire; qui non concoxit, ex toto conquiescere ac neque labori se neque exercitationi neque negotiis credere. Qui crudum sine praecordiorum dolore ructat, is ex interuallo aquam frigidam bibere, et se nihilo minus continere. Habitare uero aedificio lucido, perflatum aestiuum, hibernum solem habente; cauere meridianum solem, matutinum et uespertinum frigus, itemque auras fluminum atque stagnorum; minimeque nubilo caelo soli aperienti se * * committere, ne modo frigus, modo calor moueat; quae res maxime grauedines destillationesque concitat. Magis uero grauibus locis ista seruanda sunt, in quibus etiam pestilentiam faciunt. Scire autem licet integrum corpus esse, quo die mane urina alba, dein rufa est: illud concoquere, hoc concoxisse significat. Vbi experrectus est aliquis, paulum intermittere; deinde, nisi hiemps est, fouere os multa aqua frigida debet; longis diebus meridiari potius ante cibum; si minus, pos eum. Per hiemem potissimum totis noctibus conquiescere; sin lucubrandum est, non post cibum id facere, sed post concoctionem. Quem interdiu uel domestica uel ciuilia officia tenuerunt, huic tempus aliquod seruandum curationi corporis sui est. Prima autem eius curatio exercitatio est, quae semper antecedere cibum debet, in eo, qui minus laborauit et bene concoxit, amplior; in eo, qui fatigatus est et minus concoxit, remissior. Commode uero exercent clara lectio, arma, pila, cursus, ambulatio, atque haec non utique plana commodior est, siquidem melius ascensus quoque et descensus cum quadam uarietate corpus moueat, nisi tamen id perquam inbecillum est: melior autem est sub diuo quam in porticu; melior, si caput patitur, in sole quam in umbra, ⟨melior in umbra⟩ quam paries aut uiridia efficiunt, quam quae tecto subest; melior recta quam flexuosa. Exercitationis autem plerumque finis esse debet sudor aut certe lassitudo, quae citra fatigationem sit, idque ipsum modo minus, modo magis faciendum est. Ac ne his quidem athletarum exemplo uel certa esse lex uel inmodicus labor debet. Exercitationem recte sequitur modo unctio, uel in sole uel ad ignem; modo balineum, sed conclaui quam maxime et alto et lucido et spatioso. Ex his uero neutrum semper fieri oportet, sed saepius alterutrum pro corporis natura. Post haec paulum conquiescere opus est. Vbi ad cibum uentum est, numquam utilis est nimia satietas, saepe inutilis nimia abstinentia: si qua intemperantia subest, tutior est in potione quam in esca. Cibus a salsamentis, holeribus similibusque rebus melius incipit; tum caro adsumenda est, quae assa optima aut elixa est. Condita omnia duabus causis inutilia sunt, quoniam et plus propter dulcedinem adsumitur, et quod modo par est, tamen aegrius concoquitur. Secunda mensa bono stomacho nihil nocet, in inbecillo coacescit. Si quis itaque hoc parum ualet, palmulas pomaque et similia melius primo cibo adsumit. Post multas potiones, quae aliquantum sitim excesserunt, nihil edendum est, post satietatem nihil agendum. Vbi expletus est aliquis, facilius concoquit, si, quicquid adsumpsit, potione aquae frigidae includit, tum paulisper inuigilat, deinde bene dormit. Si quis interdiu se inpleuit, post cibum neque frigori neque aestui neque labori se debet committere: neque enim tam facile haec inani corpore quam repleto nocent. Si quibus de causis futura inedia est, labor omnis uitandus est.
3. 3 Now the foregoing precepts indeed almost always hold good; but some particular notice requires to be taken of changes of surroundings and varieties of constitution and sex and age and seasons. For it is not safe to remove either from a salubrious to an oppressive locality, or from an oppressive to a salubrious one. It is better to make the move from a salubrious into an oppressive place at the beginning of winter, from an oppressive into a salubrious one in early summer. It is not good indeed to overeat after a long fast, nor to fast after overeating. And he runs a risk who goes contrary to his habit and eats immoderately whether once or twice in the day. Again, neither sudden idleness after excessive labour, nor sudden labour after excessive idleness, is without serious harm. Therefore when a man wishes to make a change, he ought to habituate himself little by little; indeed any work is easier even for a boy or an old man than for an unaccustomed adult. Hence also too idle a life is inexpedient, because there may come up some necessity for labour. But if at any time a man has had to undergo unaccustomed labour, or at any rate much more than he is used to, he should go to bed on an empty stomach, more especially if he has a bitter taste in his mouth, or his eyes are dimmed, or his bowels disturbed; for then he must not only sleep with his stomach empty, but even remain at rest over the next day, unless rest has quickly removed the trouble; in this case he should get up and take slowly a short walk. But even when there has been no necessity for a sleep, because a man has only done more moderate work, still he ought, all the same, to take a little walk. This then should be the rule for everyone after incurring fatigue before taking food: first to walk about a little, then, if no bath is at hand, to undergo anointing and sweating in a warm place whether in the sun or before a fire; when there is a bath, he should first sit in the warm room, then, after resting there a while, go down into the tubs; next, after being anointed freely with oil and gently rubbed down, again descend into the tub; finally he should foment the face, first with warm, then with cold water. A very hot bath does not suit such cases. Therefore if one's excessive fatigue almost amounts to a fever, it is quite sufficient for him to sit in warm water, to which a little oil may be added, up to the groins, in a tepid room; next his whole body, and especially the parts which have been under water, should be rubbed gently with oil to which a little wine and pounded salt have been added. This done, anybody who has undergone fatigue is ready for food, in particular food of a fluid consistency; he should be content with water to drink, or if wine, certainly diluted, of the sort to promote diuresis. Further it should be recognized that after labour accompanied by sweating a cold drink is most pernicious, and even although sweating after a fatiguing journey has passed off, it is unserviceable. After coming out of the bath, too, Asclepiades held it unserviceable; and this is true in the case of those whose bowels are loose at uncertain moments, and who readily shiver; but it is not the universal rule in all cases, since it is more natural that a heated stomach should be cooled, and a cold one warmed by a drink. I grant so much, but I hesitate to give this as a rule, for as a matter of fact a cold drink is bad while sweating. It also happens that after a dinner of many courses and many drinks of diluted wine a vomit is even advantageous; the next day there should be a prolonged rest followed by exercise in moderation. If there is oppression due to a persistence of fatigue, water and wine should be drunk alternately, but the bath seldom used. A change of work, too, relieves lassitude; and when a novel form of customary work has tired a man, that form to which he is accustomed restores him. To one who is fatigued that couch is best which he uses every day; for whether soft or hard, one to which he is unaccustomed wearies him. Certain things are specially applicable to one who is fatigued whilst travelling on foot. To be rubbed often while actually on the way restores him; after the journey he should sit awhile, then undergo anointing; next at the bath foment with hot water his upper rather than his lower parts. But anyone who has become overheated in the sun should go at once to the bath, and there have oil poured over the head and body; next go down to a thoroughly hot tub; then have water poured over his head freely, first hot, next cold. On the other hand, he who has become much chilled should first sit in the calidarium, well wrapped up, until he sweats; next be anointed, afterwards laved, then take food in moderation and after that drinks of undiluted wine. He too who on a voyage is troubled by seasickness, if he has vomited out a quantity of bile, should fast or take very little food. If he has spewed out sour phlegm, he may take food notwithstanding, but lighter than usual; if he has nausea without vomiting, he should either fast, or after food excite a vomit. But he who has spent all day sitting in a carriage or at the games should not after that hurry but walk slowly; also it is of service to linger somewhat in the bath, and then take a small dinner afterwards. When overheated in the bath, taking vinegar and holding it in the mouth restores him; if that is not at hand, cold water may be taken in the same way.
3. Atque haec quidem paene perpetua sunt. Quasdam autem obseruationes desiderant ⟨et⟩ nouae res et corporum genera et sexus et aetates et tempora anni. Nam neque ex salubri loco in grauem, neque ex graui in salubrem transitus satis tutus est. Ex salubri in grauem prima hieme, ex graui in eum, qui salubris est, prima aestate transire melius est. Neque ex multa uero fame nimia satietas neque ex nimia satietate fames idonea est. Periclitaturque et qui semel et qui bis die cibum incontinenter contra consuetudinem adsumit. Item neque ex nimio labore subitum otium neque ex nimio otio subitus labor sine graui noxa est. Ergo cum quis mutare aliquid uolet, paulatim debebit adsuescere. Omnem etiam laborem facilius uel puer uel senex quam insuetus homo sustinet. Atque ideo quoque nimis otiosa uita utilis non est, quia potest incidere laboris necessitas. Si quando tamen insuetus aliquis laborauit, aut si multo plus quam solet etiam si qui adsueuit, huic ieiuno dormiendum est, multo magis etiam si os amarum est uel oculi caligant, aut uenter perturbatur: tum enim non dormiendum tantummodo ieiuno est, sed etiam * in posterum diem permanendum, nisi cito id quies sustulit. Quod si factum est, surgere oportet et lente paulum ambulare. At si somni necessitas non fuit, quia modice magis aliquis laborauit, tamen ingredi aliquid eodem modo debet. Communia deinde omnibus sunt post fatigationem cibum sumpturis: ubi paulum ambulauerunt, si balneum non est, calido loco uel in sole uel ad ignem ungui atque sudare; si est, ante omnia in tepidario sedere, deinde ubi paululum conquierunt, intrare et descendere in solium; tum multo oleo ungui leniterque perfricari, iterum in solium descendere, post haec os aqua calida, deinde frigida fouere. Balineum his feruens idoneum non est. Ergo si nimium alicui fatigato paene febris est, huic abunde est loco tepido demittere se inguinibus tenus in aquam calidam, cui paulum olei sit adiectum, deinde totum quidem corpus, maxime tamen eas partes, quae in aqua fuerunt, leuiter perfricare ex oleo, cui uinum et paulum contriti salis sit adiectum. Post haec omnibus fatigatis aptum est cibum sumere, eoque umido uti, aqua uel certe diluta potione esse contentos, maximeque ea, quae moueat urinam. Illud quoque nosse oportet, quod ex labore sudanti frigida potio perniciosissima est atque etiam, cum sudor se remisit, itinere fatigatis inutilis. A balineo quoque uenientibus Asclepiades inutilem eam iudicauit; quod in iis uerum est, quibus aluus facile nec tuto resoluitur quique facile inhorrescunt; perpetuum in omnibus non est, cum potius naturale sit potione aestuantem stomachum refrigerari, frigentem calefieri. Quod ita praecipio, ut tamen fatear, ne ex hac quidem causa sudanti adhuc frigidum bibendum esse. Solet etiam prodesse post uarium cibum frequentesque dilutas potiones uomitus, et postero die longa quies, deinde modica exercitatio. Si adsidua fatigatio urguet, in uicem modo aquam, modo uinum bibendum est, raro balineo utendum. Leuatque lassitudinem etiam laboris mutatio; eumque, quem nouum genus eiusdem laboris pressit, id quod in consuetudine est, reficit. Fatigato cotidianum cubile tutissimum est: lassat enim quod contra consuetudinem, seu molle seu durum est. Proprie quaedam ad eum pertinent, qui ambulando fatigatur. Hunc reficit in ipso quoque itinere frequens frictio, post iter primum sedile, deinde unctio; tum calida aqua in balineo magis superiores partes quam inferiores foueat. Si quis uero exustus in sole est, huic in balneum protinus eundum perfundendumque oleo corpus et caput; deinde in solium bene calidum descendendum est; tum multa aqua per caput infundenda, prius calida, deinde frigida. At ei, qui perfrixit, opus est in balineo primum inuoluto sedere, donec insudet; tum ungui, deinde lauari; cibum modicum, deinde potiones meracas adsumere. Is uero, qui nauigauit et nausea pressus est, si multam bilem euomuit, uel abstinere a cibo debet uel paulum aliquid adsumere. Si pituitam acidam effudit, utique sumere cibum, sed adsueto leuiorem: si sine uomitu nausea fuerit, uel abstinere uel post cibum uomere. Qui uero toto die uel in uehiculo uel in spectaculis sedit, huic nihil currendum sed lente ambulandum est. Lenta quoque in balineo mora, dein cena exigua prodesse cons⟨u⟩erunt. Si quis in balineo aestuat, reficit hunc ore exceptum et in eo retentum acetum; si id non est, eodem modo frigida aqua sumpta.