XIIII. Of Meat and Drink
XV. Of Motion and Rest.
XVI. Of Sleepe and Watching.
XVII. Of Repletion, and Imanition, or Emptiness.
XVIII. Of the Perturbations, or Passions of the mind
XIX. Of things against Nature, and first of the Cause of a Disease
XX. Of a Disease
XXI. Of a Symptome.
XXII. Of Indications.
XXIII. Of Certaine wonderfull and extravagant wayes of Curing diseases.
XXIIII. Of Certaine jugling and deceiptfull wayes of Curing.
Aire is so necessary to life, that we cannot live a moment without it, if so be that breathing, and much more transpiration, be it not separated from life. Wherefore it much conduceth to know, what aire is wholesome, what unwholesome, and which by contrariety of qualities fights for the patient against the disease; or on the contrary by a similitude of qualities shall nourish the disease, that if it may seeme to burden the patient by increasing or adding to the disease, we may correct it by Arte. So in curing the wounds of the head, especially in Winter, we labour by all the means we may to make the aire warme. For cold is hurtfull to the braine, bones, and the wounds of these parts; and heat is comfortable and friendly. But also the aire being drawne into the body by breathing when it is hotter than ordinarie, doth with a new warmth overheate the heart, lungs, and spirits, and weaken the strength by the dissipation of the spirits too much attenuated; so being too cold, in like manner the strength of the faculties faints and grows dull, either by suppression of the vapoures, or by the inspissation or thickning of the spirits.
Therefore to conclude, that Aire is to be esteemed healthful, which is cleere, subtile, and pure, free and open on every side, and which is farre remote from all carrion-like smells of dead carkasses, or the stench of any putrifying thing whatsoever: the which is farre distant from standing pooles, and fennes1 and caves, sending forth strong and ill vapours; neither too cloudy nor moist by the nearenesse of some river.
Such an Aire, I say, if it have a vernall temper, is good against all diseases. That aire which is contrary to this is altogether unhealthful, as that which is putrid, shut up, and prest, by the straitnesse of neighboring mountains, infected with some noysome vapour. And because I cannot prosecute all the conditions of aires, fit for the expelling of all diseases, as which are almost infinite, it shall suffice here to have set downe, what we must understand by this worde Aire.
Physitions commonly use to understand three things, by the name of Aire: The present state of the Aire; the Region in which we live; and the season of the yeare. We spoke of this last, when we treated of temperaments. Wherefore we will now speak of the two former.
The present state of the air, one while for some small time, is like the spring, that is temperate; otherwhiles like the summer, that is hot and drie; otherwhiles like the winter, that is cold and moist; and sometimes like the autumne which is unequal; and this last constitution of the aire, is the cause of many diseases. When upon the same day, it is one while hot, another cold, we must expect Autumnall diseases. These tempers and varieties of constitutions of the aire, are chiefely and principally stirred up by the windes; as which being diffused over all the aire, shew no small force by their sodaine change. Wherefore we will briefly touch their natures: that which blows from the east, is called the Eastwinde, and is of a hot and drie nature, and therefore healthful. But the Westerne winde is cold and moist, and therefore sickly. The South sinde is hot and moist, the Author of putrifaction and putride diseases. The north winde is cold and drie, therefore healthy: wherefore it is though if it happen to blow in the dogge-days, that it makes the whole year healthful, and purges and takes away the seedes of putrifaction, if any chance to be in the aire. But this description of the four winds, is then only thought to be true, if we consider the winds in their own proper nature, which they borrow from these regions, from which they first proceede. For otherwise they affect the aire quite contrarie, according to the disposition of the places over which they came, as snowie places, seas, lakes, rivers, woods, or sandy plains, from whence they may borrow new qualities, with which they may afterwards possesse the aire, and so consequently our bodies.
Hence it is we have noted the westerne winde unwholsome, and breeding diseases, by reason of the proper condition of the region from whence it came; and such, that is cold and moist; the Gasconies2 finde it, truly to their great harme, that it seldome blowes with them, but it brings some manifest and great harme, either to their bodies, or fruits of the earth. And yet the Greeks, Latines are wont to commend it for healthfulnesse, more than the rest. But also their rising and setting of some more eminent stars, doe often cause such cold windes, that the whole aire is cooled, or infected with some other maligne qualitie. For vapours and exhalations are often raised by the force of the stars, from whence winds, clouds, stormes, whirlewindes, lightnings, thunders, haile, snow, raine, earthquakes, inundations, and violent raging of the sea, have their original. The exact contemmplation of which things, although it be proper to astronomers, cosmographers, and geographers, yet Hippocrates could not omit it, but that he must speake something in his book De aere & aquis, where he touches by the way, the description of the neighboring regions, and such as he knew.
From this force of the aire, either hurtfull, or helping in diseases, came that famous observation of Guido of Caulias, that wounds of the head are more difficult to cure at Paris, than at Avignon, and the plaine contrarie of wounds of the legges; for the aire of Paris compared to that of Avignion is cold and moist, wherefore hurtfull and offensive to the wounds of the head.
On the contrary, the same aire, because it obscures the spirits, incrassates the blood, condensates the humors, and makes them lesse fit for defluxions, makes the wounds of the legs more easie to be healed, by reason it hinders the course of the humors, by whose defluxions the cure is hindered. But it is manifest, that hot and drie places make a greater dissipation of the natural heate, from whence the weakenesse of the powers; by which same reason the Inhabitants of such places doe not so well endure bloodletting; but more easily suffer purgations, though vehement, by reason of the contumacie of the humor, caused by drinesse. To conclude, the aire changes the constitutions of our bodies, either by its qualities, as if it be hotter, colder, moister or drier; or by its matter, as if it be grosser, or more subtile than is fit, or corrupted by exhalations from the earth, or by a sodaine and unaccustomed alteration, which any man may prove, who makes a soddaine change out of a quiet aire into a stormy and troubled with many windes. But because, next to the aire, nothing is so necessary to nourish mans body, as meate and drinke, I will now beginne to speake of them both.