De Medicina |
Translator: Walter George Spencer
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Sudor etiam duobus modis elicitur , aut sicco calore aut balneo . Siccus calor est et harenae calidae et Laconici et clibani et quarundam naturalium sudationum , ubi terra profusus calidus uapor aedificio includitur , sicut super Baias in murtetis habemus . Praeter haec sole quoque et exercitatione mouetur . Vtiliaque haec genera sunt , quotiens umor intus nocet , isque digerendus est . Ac neruorum quoque quaedam uitia sic optime curantur . Sed cetera infirmis possunt conuenire : sol et exercitatio tantum robustioribus , qui tamen sine febre uel inter initia morborum uel etiam grauibus morbis tenentur . Cauendum autem est , ne quid horum uel in febre uel in cruditate temptetur . At balnei duplex usus est : nam modo discussis febribus initium cibi plenioris uinique firmioris facit , modo ipsam febrem tollit ; fereque adhibetur , ubi summam cutem relaxari euocarique corruptum umorem et habitum corporis mutari expedit . Antiqui timidius eo utebantur , Asclepiades audacius . Neque terrere autem ea res , si tempestiua est , debet : ante tempus nocet . Quisquis febre liberatus est , simulatque ea uno die non accessit , eo , qui proximus est post tempus accessionis , tuto lauari potest . At si circumitum habere ea febris solita est , sic ut tertio quartoue die reuertatur , quandocumque non accessit , balneum tutum est . Manentibus uero adhuc febribus , si eae sunt quae lentae lenesque iam diu male habent , recte medicina ista temptatur , cum eo tamen , ne praecordia dura sint neue ea tumeant , neue lingua aspera sit , neue aut in medio corpore aut in capite dolor ullus sit , neue tum febris increscat . Atque in iis quidem febribus , quae certum circuitum habent , duo balnei tempora sunt , alterum ante horrorem , alterum febre finita : in is uero , qui lentis febriculis diu detinentur , cum aut ex toto recessit accessio , aut si id non solet , certe lenita est , iamque corpus tam integrum est , quam maxime esse in eo genere ualetudinis solet . Inbecillus homo iturus in balneum uitare debet , ne ante frigus aliquod experiatur . Vbi in balneum uenit , paulisper resistere experirique , num tempora adstringantur , et an sudor aliqui oriatur : si illud incidit , hoc non secutum est , inutile est eo die balineum perunguendusque is leniter et auferendus est , uitandumque omni modo frigus , et abstinentia utendum . At si temporibus integris primum ibi , deinde alibi sudor incipit , fouendum os aqua calida ; tum in solio descendendum est , atque ibi quoque uidendum est , num sub primo contactu aquae calidae summa cutis inhorrescat , quod uix fieri potest , si priora recte cesserunt : certum autem signum inutilis balinei est . Ante uero an postea quam in aquam calidam se demittat aliquis perungui debeat , ex ratione ualetudinis suae cognoscat . Fere tamen , nisi ubi nominatim ut postea fiat praecipietur , moto sudore leuiter corpus perunguendum , deinde in aquam calidam demittendum est . Atque hic quoque habenda uirium ratio est ; neque committendum , ut per aestum anima deficiat ; sed maturius is auferendus curioseque uestimentis inuoluendus est , ut neque ad eum frigus adspiret , et ibi quoque , antequam aliquid adsumat , insudet . Fomenta quoque calida sunt milium , sal , harena , quidlibet eorum calfactum et in linteum coniectum : si minore ui opus est , etiam solum linteum , at si maiore , exstincti ti tiones inuolutique panniculis et sic circumdati . Quin etiam calido oleo replentur utriculi , et in uasa fictilia , quas lenticulas uocant , aqua coicitur ; et sal sacco linteo excipitur , demittiturque in aquam bene calidam , tum super id membrum , quod fouendum est , conlocatur * * * iuxtaque ignem ferramenta duo sunt , capitibus paulo latioribus , alterumque ex iis demittitur in eum salem , et super aqua leuiter aspergitur : ubi frigere coepit , ad ignem refertur , et idem in altero fit , deinde inuicem in utroque : inter quae descendit salsus et calidus sucus , qui contractis aliquo morbo neruis opitulatur . His omnibus commune est digerere id , quod uel praecordia onerat , uel fauces strangulat , uel in aliquo membro nocet . Quando autem quoque utendum sit , in ipsis morborum generibus dicetur .
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17 Sweating also is elicited in two ways, either by dry heat, or by the bath. The dry is the heat of hot sand, of the Laconian sweating-room, and of the dry oven, and of some natural sweating places, where hot vapour exhaling from the ground is confined within a building, as we have it in the myrtle groves above Baiae. Besides these it is also derived from the sun and through exercise. These treatments are useful whenever humor is doing harm inside, and has to be dispersed. And also some diseases of sinews are best treated thus. But the other treatments may suit the infirm: sun and exercise only the more robust, who must, however, be free from fever, whether only at the com- mencement of a disease, or when actually in the grasp of a grave malady. But care must be taken that none of the above are tried either during fever or with food undigested. Now the bath is of double service; for at one time after fevers have been dissipated, it forms for a convalescent the preliminary to a fuller diet and stronger wine; at another time it actually takes off the fever; and it is generally adopted, when it is expedient to relax the skin and draw out corrupt humor and change the bodily habit. The ancients used it rather timidly, Asclepiades more boldly. There is indeed nothing to be apprehended from its use, if it be timely; before the proper time it does harm. A patient who has become free from fever can safely be bathed, as soon as there has been no paroxysm for one whole day, on the next day after the time for a paroxysm. But where the fever has a regular periodicity so that it recurs every third or fourth day, when there has not been a recurrence, the bath is safe. Even whilst fevers are persisting, if they are slow and mild, and have lasted a long while, this treatment may properly be tried, so long as the parts below the ribs are neither indurated nor swollen, the tongue not furred, there is no pain in the trunk or head, and the fever is not then on the increase. And in those fevers which have a definite periodicity, there are two opportunities for the bath, one before the shivering, the other after the fever has ended: but in the case of those who have been the subjects for a long while of slow and slight fever, the time for the bath is when the paroxysm has wholly remitted, or if that does not occur, at any rate when it has mitigated, and the patient's body has already become as sound as it possibly can in this sort of complaint. A weakly patient who is about to go to the bath should avoid exposing himself to cold beforehand. On arriving at the bath, he should sit for a while to try whether his temples become tightened, and whether any sweat arises: if the former happens without the latter, for that day the bath is unsuitable, and he should be anointed lightly and carried home, and cold is to be avoided in every possible way and abstinence practised. But if the temples are unaffected, and sweating starts there first, and then elsewhere, his face is to be fomented with hot water; then he should go down into the hot bath, where it is to be noted whether there is shrivelling of the skin at the first touch of hot water, which can hardly happen when the indications noted above have been attended to properly: it is, however, a sure sign of the bath being injurious. Whether he should be anointed before entering, or after the hot bath, should be decided from the degree of his convalescence. Generally, however, unless it has been definitely prescribed that it is to be done afterwards, when the sweating begins the body should be slightly anointed, and then he is to get into the hot water. And whilst in it also regard should be had to his strength; he ought not to be kept in the bath until he faints from the heat, but be taken out earlier and carefully wrapped up so that no cold reaches him, and so that he may sweat there also before taking anything. There are hot foments: millet, salt, or sand, any of which is heated, and put into a linen cloth: when less heat is required the linen cloth may be used alone, but if greater heat, firebrands are extinguished, wrapped up in rags, and so put round him. Further, leathern bottles are to be filled with hot oil, or hot water is poured into earthenware vessels, called from their shape "lentils"; and salt is put into a linen bag, and dipped into very hot water, then laid upon the limb to be fomented. . . . and two broad-ended cautery irons are heated near the fire, and one of them is dipped into that salt, and water is lightly sprinkled upon the iron held over the part. When the iron begins to cool, it is put back into the fire, and the second iron made use of in the same way as the first, turn and turn about: during the procedure a hot brine drips down, which is beneficial for sinews contracted by disease of any kind. The common effect of all these measures is to disperse whatever is oppressing the parts over the heart, or strangling the throat, or harming some limb. It will be stated under particular maladies when use is to be made of each (III, IV). |
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Cum de iis dictum sit , quae detrahendo iuuant , ad ea ueniendum est , quae alunt , id est , CIBVM ET POTIONEM . Haec autem non omnium tantum morborum sed etiam secundae ualetudinis communia praesidia sunt ; pertinetque ad rem omnium proprietates nosse , primum ut sani sciant , quomodo his utantur , deinde ut exsequentibus nobis morborum curationes liceat species rerum , quae adsumendae erunt , subicere , neque necesse sit subinde singulas eas nominare . Scire igitur oportet omnia legumina , quaeque ex frumentis panificia sunt , generis ualentissimi esse ( ualentissimum uoco , in quo plurimum alimenti est ) ; item omne animal quadrupes domi natum ; omnem grandem feram , quales sunt caprea , ceruus , aper , onager ; omnem grandem auem , quales sunt anser et pauo et grus ; omnes beluas marinas , ex quibus cetus est quaeque his pares sunt ; item mel et caseum . Quo minus mirum est opus pistorium ualentissimum esse , quod ex frumento , adipe , melle , caseo constat . In media uero materia numerari ex holeribus debere ea , quorum radices uel bulbos adsumimus ; ex quadrupedibus leporem ; aves omnes a minimis ad phoenicopterum ; item pisces omnes , qui salem non patiuntur solidiue saliuntur . Inbecillissimam uero materiam esse omnem caulem holeris et quicquid in caule nascitur , qualis est cucurbita et cucumis et capparis , omnia poma , oleas , cochleas , itemque conculia . Sed quamuis haec ita discreta sunt , tamen etiam quae sub eadem specie sunt , magna discrimina recipiunt , aliaque res alia uel ualentior est uel infirmior : siquidem plus alimenti est in pane quam in ullo alio , firmius est triticum quam milium , id ipsum quam hordeum ; et ex tritico firmissima siligo , deinde simila , deinde cui nihil demptum est , qu em ΑΥΤΟΠΥΡΟΝ Graeci uocant : infirmior est ex polline , infirmissimus cibarius panis . Ex leguminibus uero ualentior faba uel lenticula quam pisum . Ex holeribus ualentior rapa napique et omnes bulbi , in quibus cepam quoque et alium numero , quam pastinaca uel quae specialiter radicula appellatur . Item firmior brassica et beta et porrum quam lactuca uel cucurbita uel asparagus . At ex fructibus surculorum ualentiores uuae , ficus , nuces , palmulae quam quae poma proprie nominantur ; atque ex his ipsis firmiora quae sucosa quam quae fragilia sunt . Item que ex is auibus , quae in media specie sunt , ualentior ea , quae pedibus quam quae uolatu magis nititur : et ex is , quae uolatu fidunt , firmiores quae grandiores aues quam quae minutae sunt , ut ficedula et turdus . Atque eae quoque , quae in aqua degunt , leuiorem cibum praestant , quam quae natandi scientiam non habent . Inter domesticas uero quadrupedes leuissima suilla est , grauissima bubula . Itemque ex feris , quo maius quodque animal , eo robustior ex eo cibus est . Pisciumque eorum , qui ex media materia sunt , quibus maxime utimur , tamen grauissimi sunt , ex quibus salsamenta quoque fieri possunt , qualis lacertus est ; deinde ii qui , quamuis teneriores , tamen duri sunt , ut aurata , coruus , sparus , oculata , tunc plani , post quos etiamnum leuiores lupi mullique , et post hos omnes saxatiles . Neque uero in generibus rerum tantummodo discrimen est , sed etiam in ipsis ; quod et aetate fit et membro et solo et caelo et habitu . Nam quadrupes omne animal , si lactens est , minus alimenti praestat , itemque quo tenerior pullus cohortalis est ; in piscibus quoque media aetas , quae non summam magnitudinem inpleuit . Deinde ex eodem sue ungulae , rostrum , aures , cerebellum , ex agno haedoue cum petiolis totum caput aliquanto quam cetera membra leuiora sunt , adeo ut in media materia poni possint . Ex auibus colla alaeue recte infirmis adnumerantur . Quod ad solum uero pertinet , frumentum quoque ualentius est collinum quam campestre ; leuior piscis inter saxa editus quam in harena , leuior in harena quam in limo . Quo fit , ut e x stagno uel lacu uel flumine eadem genera grauiora sint , leuiorque qui in alto quam qui in uado uixit . Omne etiam ferum animal domestico leuius , et quodcumque umido caelo quam quod sicco natum est . Deinde etiam omnia pinguia quam macra , recentia quam salsa , noua quam uetusta plus alimenti habent . Tum res eadem magis alit iurulenta quam assa , magis assa quam elixa . Ouum durum ualentissimae materiae est , molle uel sorbile inbecillissimae . Cumque panificia omnia firmissima sint , elota tamen quaedam genera frumenti , ut halica , oryza , tisana , uel ex isdem facta sorbitio aut pulticula , et aqua quoque madens panis inbecillissimis adnumerari potest . Ex potionibus uero quaecumque ex frumento facta est , itemque lac , mulsum , defrutum , passum , uinum aut dulce aut uehemens aut mustum aut magnae uetustatis ualentissimi generis est . At acetum et id uinum , quod paucorum annorum uel austerum uel pingue est , in media materia est ; ideoque infirmis numquam generis alterius dari debet . Aqua omnium inbecillissima est ; firmiorque ex frumento potio est , quo firmius est ipsum frumentum ; firmior ex eo uino , quod bono solo quam quod tenui , quodque temperato caelo quam quod nimis aut umido aut nimis sicco nimiumque aut frigido aut calido natum est . Mulsum , quo plus mellis habet , defrutum , quo magis incoctum est , passum , ex quo sicciore uua est , eo ualentius est . Aqua leuissima pluuialis est , deinde fontana , tum ex flumine , tum ex puteo , post haec ex niue aut glacie : grauior his ex lacu , grauissima ex palude . Facilis etiam et necessaria cognitio est naturam eius requirentibus . Nam leuis pondere apparet , et ex is , quae pondere pares sunt , eo melior quaeque est , quo celerius et calfit et frigescit , quoque celerius in ea legumina percoquuntur . Fere uero sequitur , ut , quo ualentior quaeque materia est , eo minus facile concoquatur , sed , si concocta est , plus alat . Itaque utendum est materiae genere pro uiribus , modusque omnium pro genere sumendus . Ergo inbecillis hominibus rebus infirmissimis opus est : mediocriter firmos media materia optime sustinet , et robustis apta ualidissima est . Plus deinde aliquis adsumere ex leuioribus potest : magis in iis , quae ualentissima sunt , temperare sibi debet .
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18 After having spoken of those things which benefit by depleting, we come to those which nourish, namely food and drink. Now these are of general assistance not only in diseases of all kinds but in preserving health as well; and an acquaintance with the properties of all is of importance, in the first place that those in health may know how to make use of them, then, as we follow on to the treatment of diseases (III, IV), we can state the species of aliments to be consumed, without the necessity every time of naming them singly. So then it should be known that all pulses, and all bread-stuffs made from grain, form the strongest kind of food (I call strongest that which has most nourishment). To the same class of further belong: all domesticated quadruped animals; all large game such as the wild she-goat, deer, wild boar, wild ass; all large birds, such as the goose and peacock and crane; all sea monsters, among which is the whale and such like; also honey and cheese. Hence it is not wonderful that pastry made of grain, lard, honey and cheese is very strong food. Among food materials of the middle class ought to be reckoned: of pot-herbs, those of which the roots or bulbs are eaten; of quadrupeds, the hare; birds of all kinds from the smallest up to the flamingo; likewise all fish which do not bear salting or are salted whole. The weakest of food materials are: all vegetable stalks and whatever forms on a stalk, such as the gourd and cucumber and caper, all orchard fruits, olives, snails, and likewise shellfish. But although these are so divided, nevertheless even those of the same species admit of great differentiation, one thing being stronger or weaker than another: whilst there is more nutriment in bread than in anything else, wheat is a stronger food than millet, and that again than barley; and of wheat the strongest is siligo, next simila, then the meal from which nothing is extracted, which the Greeks call autopuros; weaker is bread made from pollen, weakest the common grey bread. Among pulses, bean and lentils are stronger food than peas. Of vegetables the turnip and navew and all bulbs, among which I include the onion also and garlic, are stronger than the parsnip, or that which is specially called a root. Also cabbage and beet and leek are stronger than lettuce or gourd or asparagus. But of fruit growing on twigs, grapes, figs, nuts, dates are stronger than orchard fruit properly so‑called; and of these last, the juicy are stronger than the mealy. Likewise of those birds, which belong to the middle class, those which rely more on their feet are stronger food than those which rely more on their wings; and of those birds which depend on flight, the larger birds yield stronger food than the smaller, such as the fig-eater and thrush. And those also which pass their time in the water yield a weaker food than those which have no knowledge of swimming. Among food from domesticated quadrupeds pork is the weakest, beef the strongest. And so also of game, the larger the animal the stronger the food it yields. The fish most in use belong to the middle class; the strongest are, however, those from which salted preparations can be made, such as the mackerel; next come those which, although more tender, are nevertheless firm, such as the gilthead, gurnard, sea bream, eyefish, then the flat fish, and after these still softer, the bass and mullets, and after these all rock fish. Not only is there differentiation in the classes of nutriments, but also as much in the actual species of nutriment; which is due both to age and part of the animal and to soil and to climate and to habit. For every four-footed animal yields less nutriment while it is a suckling, likewise a chicken in a coop, the more tender it is; also a half-grown fish, which has not filled out to its full size. Then likewise in the same pig, trotters, chaps, ears or brain, in a lamb or kid the whole head, also the pettitoes, are somewhat less nutritious than other parts, and so can be placed in the middle class. In birds, the neck and wings are rightly counted as weak nutriment. As regards soil, grain is also more nutritious grown in hilly than in flat districts; fish living among rocks are less nutritious than those in sand, and these again less than those in mud. Hence it is that the same classes of fish from a pond or lake or river are heavier, and those which live in deep water are lighter food than those which live in shallows. Every wild animal is a lighter food than the same species domesticated, and the product of a damp climate is lighter than that of a dry one. Again, all kinds of fat meat have more nutriment than lean, fresh meat than salted, recently killed than stale. Then the same meat is more nourishing stewed than roasted, more so roasted than boiled. A hard-boiled egg is a very substantial material, a soft cooker or raw egg very light. And while all bread-stuffs are among the most solid, yet some kinds of grain after being soaked, such as spelt, rice, pearl barley, or the gruel or porridge made out of these, and also bread soaked in water, can be reckoned among the weakest of food. Of drinks too the strongest class are: whatever can be made from grain, likewise milk, mead, must boiled down, raisin wine, wine either sweet or heady or still fermenting or of great age. But vinegar, and that wine which is a few years old, whether dry or rich, are intermediate in quality; and therefore to weak patients nothing of the other class should be given. Water is of all the weakest; and drink from grain is the more nutritious, according as the grain itself is nutritious; wine coming from a good soil is more nutritious than from a poor one, that from a temperate climate more nutritious than from an extreme one, whether too wet or too dry, whether excessively cold or hot. Mead, the more honey it contains, must the more it is boiled down, raisin wine the drier the grapes - are the stronger. Rain water is the lightest, then spring water, next water from a river, than from a well, after that from snow or ice; heavier still is water from a lake, the heaviest from a marsh. The recognition of water is as easy as it is necessary for those who want to know its nature. For by weighing, the lightness of water becomes evident, and of water of equal weight, that is the better, which most quickly heats or cools, also in which pulse is most quickly cooked. It is generally the case too that the more substantial the material, the less readily it is digested, but once digested it nourishes the more. Thus the quality of the food administered should be in accordance with the patient's strength, and the quantity in accordance with its quality. For weak patients, therefore, there is needed the lightest food; food of the middle class best sustains those moderately strong, and for the robust the strongest is the fittest. Finally, of the lightest foods more can be taken; it is rather with the strongest food that moderation should be observed. |
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Neque haec sola discrimina sunt ; sed etiam aliae res boni suci sunt , aliae mali , quas ΕΥΧΥΛΟΥΣ uel ΚΑΚΟΧΥΛΟΥΣ Graeci uocant ; aliae lenes , aliae acres ; aliae crassiorem pituitam in nobis faciunt , aliae tenuiorem ; aliae idoneae stomacho , aliae alienae sunt ; itemque aliae inflant , aliae ab hoc absunt ; aliae calfaciunt , aliae refrigerant ; aliae facile in stomacho acescunt , aliae non facile intus corrumpuntur ; aliae mouent aluum , aliae supprimunt ; aliae citant urinam , aliae tardant ; quaedam somnum mouent , quaedam sensum excitant . Quae omnia ideo noscenda sunt , quoniam aliud alii uel corpori uel ualetudini conuenit .
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19 The foregoing are not the only differentiations; but as well some materials have good juices, others bad, what the Greeks call euchylous and kakochylous; some are bland, others acrid; some render our phlegm thicker, others thinner; some agree with the stomach, others are alien; also some cause flatulence, others are free from that; some warm, others cool; some readily turn sour in the stomach, others do not readily decompose inside; some move the bowels, others check motions; some excite urination, others retard it; some promote sleep, others excite the senses. All these, then, should be known because one suits one body or constitution, one another. |
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Boni suci sunt triticum , siligo , halica , oryza , amulum , tragum , tisana , lac , caseus mollis , omnis uenatio , omnes aues , quae ex media materia sunt , ex maioribus quoque eae , quas supra nominaui ; medii inter teneros durosque pisces , ut mullus , ut lupus ; uerna lactuca , urtica , malua , [ cucumis , ] cucurbita , ouum sorbile , portulaca , cocleae , palmulae ; ex pomis quodcumque neque acerbum neque acidum est ; uinum dulce uel lene , passum , defrutum ; oleae , quae ex his duobus in altero utro seruatae sunt ; uuluae , rostra , trunculique suum , omnis pinguis caro , omnis glutinosa , omne iecur .
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20 Of good juice are: wheat, siligo, spelt, rice, starch, frumenty, pearl barley gruel, milk, soft cheese, all sorts of game, all birds of the middle class, also the larger birds named above; fish intermediate between the soft and hard, such as mullet and bass; spring lettuce, nettle-tops, mallow, gourd, raw egg, purslane, snails, dates; orchard fruit which is neither bitter nor sour; wine sweet or mild, raisin wine, must boiled down; olives preserved either in wine or must; sow's womb, pig's chaps and trotters, all fatty or glutinous meat, and the liver of all animals. |