Regimen of Health
THE FOURTH CHAPTER
Consisting of Sections in the Form of Advice that is
Beneficial in General and in Particular for the Healthy and for the Sick, and in all Places at all Times
THE FOURTH CHAPTER
Consisting of Sections in the Form of Advice that is
Beneficial in General and in Particular for the Healthy and for the Sick, and in all Places at all Times
First, one ought to attend to the rectification of the air, then to the rectification of the water, and after this to the rectification of the nutrients. This is so because what the physicians call pneumas, are fine vapors found in the body of living creatures; their origin and the main part of their substance are from the air inhaled from without. The vapor of the blood found in the liver and in the veins arising from it is called the Natural Spirit [Essence of Food], the vapor of the blood found in the heart and the pulsating vessels is called the Vital Spirit [Qi, Prana], and the vapor found in the ventricles of the brain and that which is transmitted from it through the cavities of the nerves is called the Psychic [or Animal] Spirit [Shen, or Spirit]. The source of all these, and most of their substance, is the air inhaled from without, and if this air becomes corrupt, putrid, or turbid, all pneumas undergo alterations and their affairs proceed contrary to what is proper.
Galen said: Make every effort that the essence of the air that reaches the body through breathing is in perfect balance and free of everything that might pollute it.
This Author says: The finer the pneuma is, the more it is altered by changes in the air. The Natural Spirit is coarser than the Vital Spirit, and the Vital is coarser than the Psychic, and if the air is altered ever so slightly, the state of the Psychic Spirit will be altered perceptibly. Therefore you find many men in whom you can notice defects in the actions of the psyche with the spoilage of the air, namely, that they develop dullness of understanding, failure of intelligence, and defects of memory, although no change is to be noticed in their Vital and Natural actions.
Comparing the air of cities to the air of deserts and arid lands is like comparing waters that are befouled and turbid to waters that are fine and pure. In the city, because of the height of its buildings, the narrowness of its streets, and all that pours forth from its inhabitants and their superfluities, their dead, the carcasses of their animals and the corruption of their decaying food, the air becomes stagnant, turbid, thick, misty, and foggy. The pneumas change accordingly, although a person might not perceive what has befallen him. If there is no choice in this matter, for we have grown up in the cities and have become accustomed to them, you should at least select from the cities one of open horizons, especially towards the north and the east, high in the hills or on the mountains, and sparse in trees and waters. If you have no choice and cannot emigrate from the city, endeavor at least to dwell on the outskirts of the city, facing north and east. The dwelling place should be a tall building and should have a wide court, traversed by the north wind and accessible to the sun, because the sun dissolves the putridity of the air, thins it, and clarifies it. One should strive to set the rest room apart from the site of the dwelling as much as possible, and also endeavor to rectify the air and dry it with good aromatics, vapors, and fumigation as is proper according to the changes in the air. This is fundamental in the initiation of every one of the regimens of the body or the psyche.
Even if you are watchful and alert to the utmost of your diligence, minor accidents are always occurring in the body. For example, sometimes the stools become a little soft and sometimes a little dry, or one detects a feebleness in his digestion one day, or a minor headache hurts him, or a small ache causes pain in some place in his body; the like of these are many. Be cautious and careful lest you hasten to medicate these. Do not rush to take a remedy for the relief of such a minor occurrence; the best of the physicians have already admonished against it. This is because Nature is sufficient in the like of these things, and does not require assistance with medication; rather, one should adhere to his good healthy regimen. For, if you treat such a minor illness, you do one of two things. Either your action is in error and you oppose what Nature has intended, and perplex her so that the affliction increases, or your action is correct and you turn Nature back to her natural course, thereby teaching Nature passivity and accustoming her not to do what is proper except with assistance from without. An example of this is the man who accustoms his beast not to move except with a spur, whereupon it stands still forever unless spurred.
Similarly, you may find that the stools have softened a little, as is not their custom, without there having been any change in your regimen; at times this may persist for two or three days without pain or weakening of vigor. If you hasten with measures and restrain this deviation, Nature returns to her habit through medication. Often the cause of all this is a natural movement of the expulsive power, excited to expel what ought to be expelled, turning the stools soft, and if the correctness of its action is restrained, harmed and damaged, and what ought to make its exit is retained, calamities might befall. At times the cause of this softening is debility of the retentive power, and if this had been left alone, it would have awakened and the member would have returned innately to its natural action. But if you strengthen this power by medication whenever it is weakened, this will come to be a custom and a habit, and whenever the power is enfeebled, it will require a stimulant from without. It has already been made clear that it is correct to leave well enough alone; it behooves one to act thus in any matter wherein there is no peril.
Abf Nasr al-Farbi has already mentioned in this connection, that in the art of medicine, in seamanship, and in farming, the outcome does not necessarily depend upon performance. Indeed, the physician might do whatever he should do, as best he can, without errors committed either by him or by the patient, yet he does not attain the cure which is his goal. The cause of this is clear, because the agent here is not the medication alone, but the medication and Nature, and at times Nature does not succeed for a number of reasons, some of which have already been mentioned in this treatise. Likewise, the farmer can do all that is proper yet the seed does not prosper. Similarly, the sailor can manage his ship with the best of skill, build it with the best construction and sail the sea at the proper time, yet the ship perishes. The reason for all this is that these ends are attained through a coupled action, and at times one agent does all that must be done while the other falls short in its action.
ADVERTISEMENT:
Galen said: Make every effort that the essence of the air that reaches the body through breathing is in perfect balance and free of everything that might pollute it.
This Author says: The finer the pneuma is, the more it is altered by changes in the air. The Natural Spirit is coarser than the Vital Spirit, and the Vital is coarser than the Psychic, and if the air is altered ever so slightly, the state of the Psychic Spirit will be altered perceptibly. Therefore you find many men in whom you can notice defects in the actions of the psyche with the spoilage of the air, namely, that they develop dullness of understanding, failure of intelligence, and defects of memory, although no change is to be noticed in their Vital and Natural actions.
Comparing the air of cities to the air of deserts and arid lands is like comparing waters that are befouled and turbid to waters that are fine and pure. In the city, because of the height of its buildings, the narrowness of its streets, and all that pours forth from its inhabitants and their superfluities, their dead, the carcasses of their animals and the corruption of their decaying food, the air becomes stagnant, turbid, thick, misty, and foggy. The pneumas change accordingly, although a person might not perceive what has befallen him. If there is no choice in this matter, for we have grown up in the cities and have become accustomed to them, you should at least select from the cities one of open horizons, especially towards the north and the east, high in the hills or on the mountains, and sparse in trees and waters. If you have no choice and cannot emigrate from the city, endeavor at least to dwell on the outskirts of the city, facing north and east. The dwelling place should be a tall building and should have a wide court, traversed by the north wind and accessible to the sun, because the sun dissolves the putridity of the air, thins it, and clarifies it. One should strive to set the rest room apart from the site of the dwelling as much as possible, and also endeavor to rectify the air and dry it with good aromatics, vapors, and fumigation as is proper according to the changes in the air. This is fundamental in the initiation of every one of the regimens of the body or the psyche.
Even if you are watchful and alert to the utmost of your diligence, minor accidents are always occurring in the body. For example, sometimes the stools become a little soft and sometimes a little dry, or one detects a feebleness in his digestion one day, or a minor headache hurts him, or a small ache causes pain in some place in his body; the like of these are many. Be cautious and careful lest you hasten to medicate these. Do not rush to take a remedy for the relief of such a minor occurrence; the best of the physicians have already admonished against it. This is because Nature is sufficient in the like of these things, and does not require assistance with medication; rather, one should adhere to his good healthy regimen. For, if you treat such a minor illness, you do one of two things. Either your action is in error and you oppose what Nature has intended, and perplex her so that the affliction increases, or your action is correct and you turn Nature back to her natural course, thereby teaching Nature passivity and accustoming her not to do what is proper except with assistance from without. An example of this is the man who accustoms his beast not to move except with a spur, whereupon it stands still forever unless spurred.
Similarly, you may find that the stools have softened a little, as is not their custom, without there having been any change in your regimen; at times this may persist for two or three days without pain or weakening of vigor. If you hasten with measures and restrain this deviation, Nature returns to her habit through medication. Often the cause of all this is a natural movement of the expulsive power, excited to expel what ought to be expelled, turning the stools soft, and if the correctness of its action is restrained, harmed and damaged, and what ought to make its exit is retained, calamities might befall. At times the cause of this softening is debility of the retentive power, and if this had been left alone, it would have awakened and the member would have returned innately to its natural action. But if you strengthen this power by medication whenever it is weakened, this will come to be a custom and a habit, and whenever the power is enfeebled, it will require a stimulant from without. It has already been made clear that it is correct to leave well enough alone; it behooves one to act thus in any matter wherein there is no peril.
Abf Nasr al-Farbi has already mentioned in this connection, that in the art of medicine, in seamanship, and in farming, the outcome does not necessarily depend upon performance. Indeed, the physician might do whatever he should do, as best he can, without errors committed either by him or by the patient, yet he does not attain the cure which is his goal. The cause of this is clear, because the agent here is not the medication alone, but the medication and Nature, and at times Nature does not succeed for a number of reasons, some of which have already been mentioned in this treatise. Likewise, the farmer can do all that is proper yet the seed does not prosper. Similarly, the sailor can manage his ship with the best of skill, build it with the best construction and sail the sea at the proper time, yet the ship perishes. The reason for all this is that these ends are attained through a coupled action, and at times one agent does all that must be done while the other falls short in its action.
ADVERTISEMENT:
If the contents of the preceding paragraph are considered, you will realize that at times the ailment is light, and Nature is strong over it, has undertaken to remove it, and has begun doing all that she should do, yet if the physician errs in his treatment, or the patient errs, Nature's actions are ruined. This is very frequent in all places and at all times.
In one of his tracts, al-Razi has a statement with the following meaning. He says that when the disease is more manifest than the vigor, medicine is of no value at all, and when the vigor surmounts the disease, there is no need for a physician in any wise, but when they are equal, there is need for a physician to assist the vigor and aid it against the disease.
This Author says: From the words of this man who is accomplished in his art it should be realized that, when all ailments are taken into consideration, the physician can be dispensed with more often than he is needed, even when he is excellent, knows how to assist Nature, and does not perplex her or divert her from her proper pathway.
Careless physicians often commit very grave errors against the people, yet the sick do not perish, but are saved. I have repeatedly seen someone administer a strong purgative to a person needing not even a weak purgative. There exuded much blood from below, he persisted in it for days, and griped with great tenesmus, yet recovered afterwards. I have also seen someone bleed a person with indigestion, while unaware of the indigestion, and it overcame the patient, diminished his strength, and lengthened and increased his ailment, yet he recovered in the end. Nevertheless, this is not taken into consideration, and it is supposed that physicians' errors do little harm. It is said that, if when they do commit such grave errors the sick do not perish, there must be even less danger when the physician errs only in regulating the quantity of food, or the dosage of mild concoctions. the matter is not so, but rather, these preceding cases are similar to those that follow. You see with your own eyes people whose arms are cut off at the elbow or their legs at the knees, or their eyes are extracted, or they are striken with severe blows in battle into the cavity of the body, yet they do not die, but live as God wills. Yet you see a man pricked by a thin needle or thorn; it punctures one of his [arteries or his] nerves, and he has convulsions and dies. Thus are the physicians' errors balanced; at times they commit a grave error and the patient is saved, while at times something they assume to be but a trifle, and which the patient assumes to be but a trifle, becomes the cause of the patient's death. This should be born in mind by everyone with intelligence.
It is known that all men suppose that eating the customary foods, drinking the customary liquids, washing in cold water when one is accustomed to it, and taking a bath, are all matters wherein there is no great danger for the sick if done improperly. This is not so. Galen has already explained to us that among those with fever there are some in whom drinking cold water causes an unripening of the humours, and the unripening fires their fever and they perish, while for some others, cold water is a remedy. It softens their stools, extinguishes their fire and they recover, while if it is withheld from them, they perish. Likewise, among those with fever there are some who, if permitted to enter cold water, are cured and saved, and others whom this kills. So also, bathing cleanses the body of some of those with fever and completes their recovery, yet it increases the putridity of others, stimulates their fever, and kills. The same applies to food; withholding it from the sick is at times a cause of recovery, at times a cause of death.
The rules governing these matters and the conditions in which one should permit any one of these actions, or prohibit it, have already been presented, explained and demonstrated with their causes. But while the understanding of all this from books is very easy for anybody with adequate intelligence, applying this in the defluxion of humors of an individual case is very difficult even for the profound scholar. As for those who are ignorant of the elements of this Art, and for the careless, nothing is difficult, and they do not see, moreover, that diseases demand study.
In one of his tracts, al-Razi [Rhazes] has stated: Medicine is an acquired art in which the worthless vaunt, yet how difficult is its attainment for the skillful physician.
This Author says: Galen has already filled books with the subject on which al-Razi wrote in that tract, and he mentions that the crafty find this Art easy and belittle it, while Hippocrates finds it arduous and exalts it. Let him who sees these my words not suppose that this is unique to medicine; indeed, if you consider all the sciences, the natural, the deductive or the theological, you find it the same. The more a man is accomplished in any science, the more precise his meditations become, doubts arise in him and any problem becomes difficult for him, and he becomes deliberate in contemplation, and hesitant in some of his answers. And the less a man's wisdom, the more he considers to be easy all that is difficult, and draws near that which should be distant. His nonsense increases, and his pretentiousness, and the hastiness of his answers about that which he knows not that he knows not.
I shall return to my subject and say that Galen has already mentioned what I have said regarding the ease with which the Art of Medicine is understood by those who possess a good intellect, and their difficulties in practicing it. He has a statement and its wording is thus: It is easy to say that it is right to anoint the aged with oil in the morning, and massage them, but to do this properly is a most difficult thing.
This Author says: Observe, oh possessors of impartiality! If anointing and massaging is one of the most difficult matters in the practice of Galen, that is to say when we come to the individual application, and likewise the drinking of water and the withholding of it as we have explained, how much more should it be in bloodletting, purging with the pulp of colocynth, the extracts of the squirting cucumber and the two hellebores, the clysters with castoreum and opoponax, cautery, lancing, and amputation. Will these be easy for the physicians, in truth, or difficult?
ADVERTISEMENT:
In one of his tracts, al-Razi has a statement with the following meaning. He says that when the disease is more manifest than the vigor, medicine is of no value at all, and when the vigor surmounts the disease, there is no need for a physician in any wise, but when they are equal, there is need for a physician to assist the vigor and aid it against the disease.
This Author says: From the words of this man who is accomplished in his art it should be realized that, when all ailments are taken into consideration, the physician can be dispensed with more often than he is needed, even when he is excellent, knows how to assist Nature, and does not perplex her or divert her from her proper pathway.
Careless physicians often commit very grave errors against the people, yet the sick do not perish, but are saved. I have repeatedly seen someone administer a strong purgative to a person needing not even a weak purgative. There exuded much blood from below, he persisted in it for days, and griped with great tenesmus, yet recovered afterwards. I have also seen someone bleed a person with indigestion, while unaware of the indigestion, and it overcame the patient, diminished his strength, and lengthened and increased his ailment, yet he recovered in the end. Nevertheless, this is not taken into consideration, and it is supposed that physicians' errors do little harm. It is said that, if when they do commit such grave errors the sick do not perish, there must be even less danger when the physician errs only in regulating the quantity of food, or the dosage of mild concoctions. the matter is not so, but rather, these preceding cases are similar to those that follow. You see with your own eyes people whose arms are cut off at the elbow or their legs at the knees, or their eyes are extracted, or they are striken with severe blows in battle into the cavity of the body, yet they do not die, but live as God wills. Yet you see a man pricked by a thin needle or thorn; it punctures one of his [arteries or his] nerves, and he has convulsions and dies. Thus are the physicians' errors balanced; at times they commit a grave error and the patient is saved, while at times something they assume to be but a trifle, and which the patient assumes to be but a trifle, becomes the cause of the patient's death. This should be born in mind by everyone with intelligence.
It is known that all men suppose that eating the customary foods, drinking the customary liquids, washing in cold water when one is accustomed to it, and taking a bath, are all matters wherein there is no great danger for the sick if done improperly. This is not so. Galen has already explained to us that among those with fever there are some in whom drinking cold water causes an unripening of the humours, and the unripening fires their fever and they perish, while for some others, cold water is a remedy. It softens their stools, extinguishes their fire and they recover, while if it is withheld from them, they perish. Likewise, among those with fever there are some who, if permitted to enter cold water, are cured and saved, and others whom this kills. So also, bathing cleanses the body of some of those with fever and completes their recovery, yet it increases the putridity of others, stimulates their fever, and kills. The same applies to food; withholding it from the sick is at times a cause of recovery, at times a cause of death.
The rules governing these matters and the conditions in which one should permit any one of these actions, or prohibit it, have already been presented, explained and demonstrated with their causes. But while the understanding of all this from books is very easy for anybody with adequate intelligence, applying this in the defluxion of humors of an individual case is very difficult even for the profound scholar. As for those who are ignorant of the elements of this Art, and for the careless, nothing is difficult, and they do not see, moreover, that diseases demand study.
In one of his tracts, al-Razi [Rhazes] has stated: Medicine is an acquired art in which the worthless vaunt, yet how difficult is its attainment for the skillful physician.
This Author says: Galen has already filled books with the subject on which al-Razi wrote in that tract, and he mentions that the crafty find this Art easy and belittle it, while Hippocrates finds it arduous and exalts it. Let him who sees these my words not suppose that this is unique to medicine; indeed, if you consider all the sciences, the natural, the deductive or the theological, you find it the same. The more a man is accomplished in any science, the more precise his meditations become, doubts arise in him and any problem becomes difficult for him, and he becomes deliberate in contemplation, and hesitant in some of his answers. And the less a man's wisdom, the more he considers to be easy all that is difficult, and draws near that which should be distant. His nonsense increases, and his pretentiousness, and the hastiness of his answers about that which he knows not that he knows not.
I shall return to my subject and say that Galen has already mentioned what I have said regarding the ease with which the Art of Medicine is understood by those who possess a good intellect, and their difficulties in practicing it. He has a statement and its wording is thus: It is easy to say that it is right to anoint the aged with oil in the morning, and massage them, but to do this properly is a most difficult thing.
This Author says: Observe, oh possessors of impartiality! If anointing and massaging is one of the most difficult matters in the practice of Galen, that is to say when we come to the individual application, and likewise the drinking of water and the withholding of it as we have explained, how much more should it be in bloodletting, purging with the pulp of colocynth, the extracts of the squirting cucumber and the two hellebores, the clysters with castoreum and opoponax, cautery, lancing, and amputation. Will these be easy for the physicians, in truth, or difficult?
ADVERTISEMENT:
Ibn Zuhr has said in one of his available, well- known books: I did not ever administer a laxative potion that my heart did not labor over it for days before and after.
The behavior of all men regarding coitus is known. And that is, that there is not one who uses it for the sake of the regimen of health, or for the sake of procreation, but merely for pleasure; thus they lust until fatigued, at all times, and at every opportunity. It is already manifest among those who know, that coitus is detrimental to all men except some few whose temperament is such that a little of it does no harm. But men differ only in the degree of harm; among them are those whom it harms greatly, and among them are those whom it harms but little. Its harm to the young that are of moist temperament is little. Its harm to the old, the convalescent, and those of dry temperament is very great. Among the convalescents we have already seen some who copulated and died that very day, or suffered syncope and recurrence of fever, and died after a few days. On the whole, it is a pernicious matter for the sick and the convalescent, and very detrimental to the old and to all of dry temperament.
It is improper for anyone to copulate before the food in the stomach is digested, or when hungry, or when thirsty, or in a state of inebriety, or after leaving the bath, or following exercise or before it, or for a day before bloodletting and for a day thereafter. Whoever desires the continuance of health, should drive his thoughts from coitus all he can.
The benefits of a drink [alcohol] are very many when it is taken properly, for then it is a great factor in the conservation of health, and in the cure of many infirmities. The manner in which it is used by all men, however, is already well known; they aim at nothing but inebriety, yet inebriety is harmful to all men. He is wrong who supposes that inebriety is of benefit once a month, for inebriety putrefies and grieves the body, especially the brain. The small amount that is beneficial should be consumed after the food has left the stomach. Adolescents should not consume it because it is very harmful to them; it will corrupt their bodies and their souls. Galen has already said that the young should not take any of it, except after three sabbaths, that is one and twenty years. The more a man grows in years, the more beneficial for him wine becomes; those needing it most are the old.
The bath is greatly needed in the regimen of health and in the cure of ailments. Physicians prescribe the bath in the state of illness according to the kind of disease, according to the season, and according to individual differences. They have already said that from the standpoint of the regimen of health it is proper to enter it every ten days. Physicians have noted that frequenting the bath every day corrupts the humors. This statement is true for one who lingers in the bath until his sweat flows copiously, but for one who enters and does not tarry, but washes and leaves, it is beneficial even if it is taken every day, and especially for the old and for those of dry temperament. It is improper for one to enter the bath before the food leaves the stomach. Entering it after the stomach is empty, and before feeling hungry, is good for all men, but after sensing hunger it is not proper to enter it except for one who wishes to reduce his body. The description of its usage is, that a man should first sweat and wipe his sweat with a clean cloth of linen. As the sweat flows, he should wipe it until the garment with which he is wiping becomes soaked. Then he should clean the skin, and after this he should rub and wash with hot water from which the skin does not shrink. Then he should diminish the heat little by little until he washes, finally, with tepid water, almost cold, but not cold enough to make the skin shiver; then he should descend into the bath, the water of which should be the same. But he who desires to thin his body should use hot water that is as hot as he can bear.
ADVERTISEMENT:
The behavior of all men regarding coitus is known. And that is, that there is not one who uses it for the sake of the regimen of health, or for the sake of procreation, but merely for pleasure; thus they lust until fatigued, at all times, and at every opportunity. It is already manifest among those who know, that coitus is detrimental to all men except some few whose temperament is such that a little of it does no harm. But men differ only in the degree of harm; among them are those whom it harms greatly, and among them are those whom it harms but little. Its harm to the young that are of moist temperament is little. Its harm to the old, the convalescent, and those of dry temperament is very great. Among the convalescents we have already seen some who copulated and died that very day, or suffered syncope and recurrence of fever, and died after a few days. On the whole, it is a pernicious matter for the sick and the convalescent, and very detrimental to the old and to all of dry temperament.
It is improper for anyone to copulate before the food in the stomach is digested, or when hungry, or when thirsty, or in a state of inebriety, or after leaving the bath, or following exercise or before it, or for a day before bloodletting and for a day thereafter. Whoever desires the continuance of health, should drive his thoughts from coitus all he can.
The benefits of a drink [alcohol] are very many when it is taken properly, for then it is a great factor in the conservation of health, and in the cure of many infirmities. The manner in which it is used by all men, however, is already well known; they aim at nothing but inebriety, yet inebriety is harmful to all men. He is wrong who supposes that inebriety is of benefit once a month, for inebriety putrefies and grieves the body, especially the brain. The small amount that is beneficial should be consumed after the food has left the stomach. Adolescents should not consume it because it is very harmful to them; it will corrupt their bodies and their souls. Galen has already said that the young should not take any of it, except after three sabbaths, that is one and twenty years. The more a man grows in years, the more beneficial for him wine becomes; those needing it most are the old.
The bath is greatly needed in the regimen of health and in the cure of ailments. Physicians prescribe the bath in the state of illness according to the kind of disease, according to the season, and according to individual differences. They have already said that from the standpoint of the regimen of health it is proper to enter it every ten days. Physicians have noted that frequenting the bath every day corrupts the humors. This statement is true for one who lingers in the bath until his sweat flows copiously, but for one who enters and does not tarry, but washes and leaves, it is beneficial even if it is taken every day, and especially for the old and for those of dry temperament. It is improper for one to enter the bath before the food leaves the stomach. Entering it after the stomach is empty, and before feeling hungry, is good for all men, but after sensing hunger it is not proper to enter it except for one who wishes to reduce his body. The description of its usage is, that a man should first sweat and wipe his sweat with a clean cloth of linen. As the sweat flows, he should wipe it until the garment with which he is wiping becomes soaked. Then he should clean the skin, and after this he should rub and wash with hot water from which the skin does not shrink. Then he should diminish the heat little by little until he washes, finally, with tepid water, almost cold, but not cold enough to make the skin shiver; then he should descend into the bath, the water of which should be the same. But he who desires to thin his body should use hot water that is as hot as he can bear.
ADVERTISEMENT:
As for the head, it is improper ever to wash it with cold water, or with tepid, but only with water so intensely hot that it feels as though it burns the skin of the head. For even though cold water strengthens the brain, it retains its superfluities and chills it. All the nerves become cold, since the brain is their source, and all movements become difficult. At times hemiplegia can occur, or paralysis of the mouth or sudden spasms; one should be very cautious about this. Tepid water also adds coldness and softness to the brain, and thus all the movements and the senses are weakened. But very hot water strengthens the substance of the brain, decreases its superfluities, improves its temperament, and all the movements and the senses are strengthened.
It is proper for one to sleep after leaving the bath. Galen said: For ripening that which is to be ripened, or resolving that which is to be resolved, I deem nothing better than sleep after leaving the bath. But sleep in the bath is very bad. At times it can generate syncope because of conflict resulting between the sleep and the heat of the bath, for the heat of the bath attracts the natural heat to the external surface of the body, while sleep requires the return of the heat to the interior of the body.
One should be very cautious about drinking cold water after leaving the bath. Galen has already mentioned those who drank cold water after the bath; their kidneys were chilled immediately and they became dropsical. One should therefore endure thirst until his body cools and the warmth which the members have acquired from the bath departs; then he can drink water. If he cannot wait because of the intensity of his thirst, he should first temper the water with a syrup of citron peel, or with mastic syrup, or with syrup of rose buds, and then drink. Likewise, drinking a brew prepared with pomegranate seeds and sugar spiced with musk, aloes, and cloves after the bath is not harmful. And if he waits after the bath until the warmth of the bath passes from the body, and then takes it, it will be beneficial, that is to say, this brew or the other before-mentioned drinks.
Often men neglect rheums in their ignorance of what can result from them. That which results from them, mostly, is either catarrh when they descend to the nose, or hoarseness of the voice and cough, if they descend to the trachea. My advice about this is to take heed and beware of rheums in the winter and in the summer, and to wear one's turban, while warm, inside the bathhouse. Always protect the head from the intense cold which causes rheums, and also from the intense heat, because the intense heat melts the coagulated superfluities that are in the brain, and they descend; these are the hot rheums.
All the rheums, hot and cold, often pour into the hollows of the lung and fill them all at once, because of the abundance of the descending humor and the weakness of the recipient. The expulsive power is too weak to expel it by cough, and the man suffocates and dies or develops orthopnea. At other times they descend to the hollow of the stomach and cause mucosity of the intestine; this is a disease that is hard to cure. Or at times, they descend to one of the joints, and produce aching of the joints. They can also descend to the substance of the internal organs and their cavities, and produce swelling in these organs, pleurisy, inflammation of the lungs, swelling of the liver, and swelling of the stomach or the rest of the members. Because of this, it is important to beware of rheums.
Protection against rheums lies in guarding against heating the head intensely or chilling it intensely, as we have mentioned, and in avoiding eating that which fills the head, such as milk and the inflating grains like vetch and peas, in not sleeping after a meal, especially at night, in not consuming inebriating drinks in any amount that might alter the intellect even slightly, and in strengthening the substance of the brain by smelling incenses and spices appropriate to the temperament and the season. Among the specialties for strengthening the brain are cloves, pulverized as fine as dust and put at the hairline throughout the winter; anointing the brain with spiced ben [sesame] oil during the winter also strengthens it. But at the time of the intense heat one should dip his head in water of roses and al-Nasrin [wild Persian Rose], and dust the head with a little mace which is thoroughly pulverized.
It is improper for anyone, in any place or at any time, to consume food in which spoilage has appeared, even a minimal spoilage; or water that is turbid, altered in odor or tepid; or anything putrid, like unleavened bread, fish gravy, jelly of salted fish, Khalat, and their like. These are the source of fevers, and they are like poisons. The best physicians have admonished against eating food left overnight, or meat left overnight, for putridity has already commenced even though this is not apparent to the senses.
One should endeavor to partake of sweet foods, for the sweet is what nourishes, as Galen has mentioned. Likewise, one should drink waters that are sweeter, clearer, and cooler. If one loathes sweet foods, he should temper his meal with a little of the sour, or with something that has a noticeable saltiness or astringence in its taste, like dishes cooked in verjuice, vinegar, lemon, barley sauce, sumac, quince, or pomegranate seeds. These foods, though they lack the virtues of the sweet and provide but little nourishment, are beneficial. First, they are not loathsome. Then, some of them dissolve the phlegm in the stomach and are appetizing, like pickled dishes; some resist putrefaction and remove it, like dishes infused with vinegar and lemon-water, and some strengthen the stomach and close its orifice, like those that are cooked in sumac, pomegranate seeds, quinces or verjuice. One should rely on these foods all one can.
Habit is fundamental in the conservation of health and in the cure of ailments. It is improper for one to depart from his healthy habits all at once, either in eating, in drinking, coition [sex], taking a bath, or exercise. In all these whatever is customary should be maintained. Even if the accustomed thing is contrary to the principles of medicine, one should not leave it for what is determined by these principles except gradually and over a long time, so that one does not perceive the change. If one alters any of his habits all at once he will perforce fall sick. As for the sick, they should not change their customs in any way, that is to say, that one should not hasten at the time of illness to alter a habit even for the better.
It is known that there are animals whose meat has a temperament very adverse to the nourishment of man, like the meat of the wolf and the fox, and others that are very suitable, like the meat of the sheep; so also is the rule regarding their hair in the clothing. The most suitable for man are clothes lined with the pelt of the sheep, and the most harmful for him are clothes lined with the fur of foxes; so say the proficient among the physicians mentioned, and it is the truth. Hence this Servant has observed that the clothing called Qartds [Egyptian dress] is to be condemned. The fur of the squirrel has been praised by the physicians. They have also mentioned that clothes lined with skins of cats cause sickness, as does smelling their breath. They have recommended therefore keeping away from them and the smell of their breath, just as they have recommended smelling the breath of pigeons and keeping them in the house. This, they said, protects against all the diseases of the nerves, such as hemiplegia, distortion of the face, spasms, tremors, and the like. Whoever keeps pigeons will be safe from all these, providing he bewares of their excrement and does not leave it to accumulate in any wise, for it putrefies the air and corrupts it. Likewise, eating young full- fledged pigeons cures ailments of the nerves.
It is proper for one to sleep after leaving the bath. Galen said: For ripening that which is to be ripened, or resolving that which is to be resolved, I deem nothing better than sleep after leaving the bath. But sleep in the bath is very bad. At times it can generate syncope because of conflict resulting between the sleep and the heat of the bath, for the heat of the bath attracts the natural heat to the external surface of the body, while sleep requires the return of the heat to the interior of the body.
One should be very cautious about drinking cold water after leaving the bath. Galen has already mentioned those who drank cold water after the bath; their kidneys were chilled immediately and they became dropsical. One should therefore endure thirst until his body cools and the warmth which the members have acquired from the bath departs; then he can drink water. If he cannot wait because of the intensity of his thirst, he should first temper the water with a syrup of citron peel, or with mastic syrup, or with syrup of rose buds, and then drink. Likewise, drinking a brew prepared with pomegranate seeds and sugar spiced with musk, aloes, and cloves after the bath is not harmful. And if he waits after the bath until the warmth of the bath passes from the body, and then takes it, it will be beneficial, that is to say, this brew or the other before-mentioned drinks.
Often men neglect rheums in their ignorance of what can result from them. That which results from them, mostly, is either catarrh when they descend to the nose, or hoarseness of the voice and cough, if they descend to the trachea. My advice about this is to take heed and beware of rheums in the winter and in the summer, and to wear one's turban, while warm, inside the bathhouse. Always protect the head from the intense cold which causes rheums, and also from the intense heat, because the intense heat melts the coagulated superfluities that are in the brain, and they descend; these are the hot rheums.
All the rheums, hot and cold, often pour into the hollows of the lung and fill them all at once, because of the abundance of the descending humor and the weakness of the recipient. The expulsive power is too weak to expel it by cough, and the man suffocates and dies or develops orthopnea. At other times they descend to the hollow of the stomach and cause mucosity of the intestine; this is a disease that is hard to cure. Or at times, they descend to one of the joints, and produce aching of the joints. They can also descend to the substance of the internal organs and their cavities, and produce swelling in these organs, pleurisy, inflammation of the lungs, swelling of the liver, and swelling of the stomach or the rest of the members. Because of this, it is important to beware of rheums.
Protection against rheums lies in guarding against heating the head intensely or chilling it intensely, as we have mentioned, and in avoiding eating that which fills the head, such as milk and the inflating grains like vetch and peas, in not sleeping after a meal, especially at night, in not consuming inebriating drinks in any amount that might alter the intellect even slightly, and in strengthening the substance of the brain by smelling incenses and spices appropriate to the temperament and the season. Among the specialties for strengthening the brain are cloves, pulverized as fine as dust and put at the hairline throughout the winter; anointing the brain with spiced ben [sesame] oil during the winter also strengthens it. But at the time of the intense heat one should dip his head in water of roses and al-Nasrin [wild Persian Rose], and dust the head with a little mace which is thoroughly pulverized.
It is improper for anyone, in any place or at any time, to consume food in which spoilage has appeared, even a minimal spoilage; or water that is turbid, altered in odor or tepid; or anything putrid, like unleavened bread, fish gravy, jelly of salted fish, Khalat, and their like. These are the source of fevers, and they are like poisons. The best physicians have admonished against eating food left overnight, or meat left overnight, for putridity has already commenced even though this is not apparent to the senses.
One should endeavor to partake of sweet foods, for the sweet is what nourishes, as Galen has mentioned. Likewise, one should drink waters that are sweeter, clearer, and cooler. If one loathes sweet foods, he should temper his meal with a little of the sour, or with something that has a noticeable saltiness or astringence in its taste, like dishes cooked in verjuice, vinegar, lemon, barley sauce, sumac, quince, or pomegranate seeds. These foods, though they lack the virtues of the sweet and provide but little nourishment, are beneficial. First, they are not loathsome. Then, some of them dissolve the phlegm in the stomach and are appetizing, like pickled dishes; some resist putrefaction and remove it, like dishes infused with vinegar and lemon-water, and some strengthen the stomach and close its orifice, like those that are cooked in sumac, pomegranate seeds, quinces or verjuice. One should rely on these foods all one can.
Habit is fundamental in the conservation of health and in the cure of ailments. It is improper for one to depart from his healthy habits all at once, either in eating, in drinking, coition [sex], taking a bath, or exercise. In all these whatever is customary should be maintained. Even if the accustomed thing is contrary to the principles of medicine, one should not leave it for what is determined by these principles except gradually and over a long time, so that one does not perceive the change. If one alters any of his habits all at once he will perforce fall sick. As for the sick, they should not change their customs in any way, that is to say, that one should not hasten at the time of illness to alter a habit even for the better.
It is known that there are animals whose meat has a temperament very adverse to the nourishment of man, like the meat of the wolf and the fox, and others that are very suitable, like the meat of the sheep; so also is the rule regarding their hair in the clothing. The most suitable for man are clothes lined with the pelt of the sheep, and the most harmful for him are clothes lined with the fur of foxes; so say the proficient among the physicians mentioned, and it is the truth. Hence this Servant has observed that the clothing called Qartds [Egyptian dress] is to be condemned. The fur of the squirrel has been praised by the physicians. They have also mentioned that clothes lined with skins of cats cause sickness, as does smelling their breath. They have recommended therefore keeping away from them and the smell of their breath, just as they have recommended smelling the breath of pigeons and keeping them in the house. This, they said, protects against all the diseases of the nerves, such as hemiplegia, distortion of the face, spasms, tremors, and the like. Whoever keeps pigeons will be safe from all these, providing he bewares of their excrement and does not leave it to accumulate in any wise, for it putrefies the air and corrupts it. Likewise, eating young full- fledged pigeons cures ailments of the nerves.
The best of game meat is the gazelle; so also is the rabbit. It has virtues verified by experience, that is, eating its brain is good for tremor and diseases of the nerves. The fur of the rabbit warms greatly and is of benefit in diseases of the nerves [and Joint], especially in the old. The wild ass has a great property of strengthening the vision; this has been verified by experience. Eating its meat and exposing the eyes to the vapor of its cooking meat strengthens the vision and opens occlusions of the hollow nerves. Gazing frequently at the eyes of the wild ass strengthens vision and removes its defects; this has been verified by experience.
This is the measure of what the Servant has now presented for the needs of our Master, may God perpetuate his dominion for him unto all times.
This is the measure of what the Servant has now presented for the needs of our Master, may God perpetuate his dominion for him unto all times.
May the Exalted God prolong the days of our Master,
perpetuate his health, and grant him the fulfillment
of the Two Worlds, as he has granted his
servants and subjects the favors of his
nature and generosity through his
benevolence and munificence.
perpetuate his health, and grant him the fulfillment
of the Two Worlds, as he has granted his
servants and subjects the favors of his
nature and generosity through his
benevolence and munificence.
Thanks be to God, Lord of the Two Worlds.
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