TCHANG SENG
OR
The Art of Procuring Health and Long Life
(Taken from The General History of China, Du Halde, 1739)
OR
The Art of Procuring Health and Long Life
(Taken from The General History of China, Du Halde, 1739)
THOUGH the Tien hath numberd our Days, and is the Master of them, yet, if taken rightly, it may however be said that he hath left them in our own Disposal; for the Supreme Tien is no Respecter of Persons; nothing moves him but Virtue, and whosoever practiseth it hath within himself a certain Evidence of his Friendship; they then who would prolong their Life must immediately study to be virtuous; a regular care of the Body, supported by the constant practice of Virtue, will make the Constitution hail and strong, from whence will follow a long and happy Life; give me leave in this place to relate what happened to my self.
The foolish Fondness of a Mother, who had not the Resolution to contradict me in my Infancy, and who made every thing subservient to my Inclinations, initirely ruined my Constitution, and loaded me with Infirmities; my Father, who had already lost my two eldest Brothers, and who in an advanced Age had no Child but me, was inconsolable; he had applied to the most able Physicians, but their Medicines only increased my Disorder: When there was no hopes
of my Recovery my Father said within himself, There is but one way left to save my Son, and that is to do Works of Charity which move the Heart of Tien; from that time he set himself upon rebuilding Bridges, repairing publick Ways, giving clothes to the Poor, Tea to Travellers, and sending Victuals to the Prisoners, so that in one Years time he was at a confiderable expence in these kind of charitable Works; nor was this done in vain, for it was visible. that without using any Physick I by little and little regain'd an healthy Look, my Stomach and my Strength return'd, and my Father found me in a condition fit to apply myself to Learning; he provided me an able Master, and of a very mild Temper, that my tender Constitution might be gently treated, but my Application to Study at length occasioned a very dangerous Relapse, out of which I with great difficulty escaped: Then my Father made me a choice Collection of more than one hundred Books of Physick, and gave me Orders to confine my Study to that Science; This, said he, will do you Service, and make you helpful to others: I read those long Treatises, but so far from discovering that my Strength was re-established by them that I perceived it grew less every Day, so I gave over Physick, and bent my Thoughts sincerely to practise Virtue: I consulted the Learned, I perused also some Books proper to my Design, and adding my own Observations to what I had learnt I framed for myself a Regimen of Life, which has succeeded perfectly well with me; for instead of that great weakness and Leanness, which I before had been in, I in a few Years recovered my Flesh, and for one of my Age I have a fresh Colour, a Body strong and free from all Indisposition, and now see myself the Head of a numerous Family which enjoy perfect Health.
Now among the multitude of Maxims which have been communicated to me in Conversation, or which I have found in Books, some which were not sufficiently founded I have rejected, others which were scarce intelligible I have explained, and out of all I have formed to myself a Plan of Life, which hath established me in that happy Condition wherein I now am: However confined my Obervations may be, yet I believe the World will be obliged to me for making them publick, because they may be of use to preserve Men from the Infirmities. so common in Life, and to procure them, as I have done, an agreeable Old Age, without having my Hearing, Sight, or any other of my Senses impaired by my great Age.
These Maxims may be reduced to four Heads, which consist in the Regulation of, 1. The Heart and its Affections; 2. The use of Diet; 3. The Actions of the Day; .4 The Rest at Night.
The foolish Fondness of a Mother, who had not the Resolution to contradict me in my Infancy, and who made every thing subservient to my Inclinations, initirely ruined my Constitution, and loaded me with Infirmities; my Father, who had already lost my two eldest Brothers, and who in an advanced Age had no Child but me, was inconsolable; he had applied to the most able Physicians, but their Medicines only increased my Disorder: When there was no hopes
of my Recovery my Father said within himself, There is but one way left to save my Son, and that is to do Works of Charity which move the Heart of Tien; from that time he set himself upon rebuilding Bridges, repairing publick Ways, giving clothes to the Poor, Tea to Travellers, and sending Victuals to the Prisoners, so that in one Years time he was at a confiderable expence in these kind of charitable Works; nor was this done in vain, for it was visible. that without using any Physick I by little and little regain'd an healthy Look, my Stomach and my Strength return'd, and my Father found me in a condition fit to apply myself to Learning; he provided me an able Master, and of a very mild Temper, that my tender Constitution might be gently treated, but my Application to Study at length occasioned a very dangerous Relapse, out of which I with great difficulty escaped: Then my Father made me a choice Collection of more than one hundred Books of Physick, and gave me Orders to confine my Study to that Science; This, said he, will do you Service, and make you helpful to others: I read those long Treatises, but so far from discovering that my Strength was re-established by them that I perceived it grew less every Day, so I gave over Physick, and bent my Thoughts sincerely to practise Virtue: I consulted the Learned, I perused also some Books proper to my Design, and adding my own Observations to what I had learnt I framed for myself a Regimen of Life, which has succeeded perfectly well with me; for instead of that great weakness and Leanness, which I before had been in, I in a few Years recovered my Flesh, and for one of my Age I have a fresh Colour, a Body strong and free from all Indisposition, and now see myself the Head of a numerous Family which enjoy perfect Health.
Now among the multitude of Maxims which have been communicated to me in Conversation, or which I have found in Books, some which were not sufficiently founded I have rejected, others which were scarce intelligible I have explained, and out of all I have formed to myself a Plan of Life, which hath established me in that happy Condition wherein I now am: However confined my Obervations may be, yet I believe the World will be obliged to me for making them publick, because they may be of use to preserve Men from the Infirmities. so common in Life, and to procure them, as I have done, an agreeable Old Age, without having my Hearing, Sight, or any other of my Senses impaired by my great Age.
These Maxims may be reduced to four Heads, which consist in the Regulation of, 1. The Heart and its Affections; 2. The use of Diet; 3. The Actions of the Day; .4 The Rest at Night.
The FIRST HEAD
The Regulation of the Heart and its Affections
The Regulation of the Heart and its Affections
THE Heart is is Man what the Roots are to the Tree, and the Spring to the River; it presides over the whole Man, and as soon as the Art of governing that is known, the Faculties of the Soul and the five Senses are likewise under command; it ought therefore to be our first care to keep a guard over the Desires and Affections of the Heart; and that your care may be attended with Success,
I . Employ not yourself in any Thoughts and Designs but what lead to Virtue; the principal Duties of Society relate to the Fidelity owing to the supreme Magistrate, to the Obedience to Parents, to Moderation and Equity; it is upon the Practice of these Virtues that every one should seriously examine himself, when he reflects at Night upon the Actions of the past Day: Confine not your Endeavours only to the perfecting yourfelf, but attempt over and above that to make your Virtue beneficial and useful: Comes there then any Thought into your Head? Are you going to fay anything?Do you form any Scheme in your Mind? Reflect upon it before-hand, and ask yourself these Questions: Is what I think, what I am going to say or do, beneficial or prejudicial to others? if it be beneficial, speak or act, notwithstanding the Difficulties that oppose or discourage you; if it be prejudicial, never allow yourself either in such Views, such Discourses, or such Attempts.
Further, that you may avoid the being surprized into the committing what is wrong watch every Moment over your Heart, descend. often into yourself, and pardon yourself no Fault; it is only by vigorous Endeavours, especially at the beginning, that you can improve in Virtue: Whoever keeps this constant Watch over himfelf, tho' he must, according to the course of Human Affairs, be exposed to various Accidents, yet he will find by experience the Effects of a Secret Protection, which by unknown ways will preserve. him from every Evil of Life.
II. Keep Peace in your own Heart; when a Man's Heart is filled with Views agreeable to and proper for the keeping up, Union in Civil Society, his Thoughts discover themselves in his very Face; the inward Joy and Serenity of Mind that accompany him fine in all his outward Behaviour, and every one perceives the true and solid Pleasures which he experiences in his Soul: This is what the Ancients would have us understand by these figurative Expressions; a serene Sky, a beautiful Sun, a gentle Zephyr, charming Shades, inspire both Men and Birds with Joy; on the other hand, gloomy Weather, an high Wind, an heavy Rain, violent Thunder, and continual Lightnings, terrify the very Birds, who hide themselves in the thickest Woods: I fay then that a wise Man should always appear with a Countenance which breathes the Peace and Tranquillity which he enjoys within himfelf.
The violent Passions, such as Hatred, Anger, Sorrow, tear in pieces the Heart of him who is possessed by them; tho' it be no easy matter to live in the World without having frequent Subjects of Dispute and Uneasiness, yet what one ought to do is to take. prudent measures, and to be upon our guard against these Enemies of our Quiet: Am I threatened with a troublesome Affair? I meet the Storm with a composed Mind, and endeavour to allay it. Am I involved in it notwithstanding all my Precautions? I labour to surmount it without losing any thing of the Freedom of my ufual Temper. Have I taken wrong Measures? I am not obstinate in justifying my Proceedings: If, to extricate myself from a false Step, any one gives me Advice that is unjuft I am so far from following it that I do not give it the hearing: If in any Affair there happens a Disappointment which I could not prevent, I endeavour to accommodate myself to what hath happened: Is it over? I think no more of it. If a Man, after having acted according to the best of his Understanding, can leave the Event to Providence nothing can difturb the Joy of his Heart.
On the contrary, if upon the ill Success of an Affair inconsiderately undertaken a Man is obstinately bent upon bringing it to a good issue, if he turns over in his Thoughts a thousand useless Projects, if he gives up himself to the violent Motions of Anger he kindles a Fire in his Bowels which consumes them, his Lungs are as it were burnt up, the Blood and Humours are altered and put into an unnatural Ferment, the corrupted Phlegm drowns the Internals, the Habit of the Body being thus disordered it visibly wastes away: Were those Physicians, Lou and Lien, to come again into the World they could not with all their Skill, and with the Assitance of Vegetables and Minerals, repair the radical Moisture already destroyed; hence comes that Saying, That if the Excesses of Debauchery make great havock in the Body, the Vexation and Pain of the Mind make fill greater.
I observe in particular three great Disorders of the Body which Grief and Anger are the Causes of.
1. The Liver is damaged, and by this means the active Principles of the Blood, the Source of the Vital Spirits, are not secreted, but remain mixed together; sometimes the Liver communicates its Disorder by consent of parts to the Pleura, which growing worse ends in a Tumour and universal Swelling.
2. The Lungs are hurt; whence it happens that the Blood and the Air that is taken in endeavouring to find a Passage, notwithstanding the Obstructions they meet with, an Irritation is made from whence follows a spitting of Blood, which at last ends in a confirmed Consumption.
3. The Stomach is spoiled, and consequently the watery Humours of its Glands, whence comes the Fermentation proper for the forming the Concoction of Food, become viscous, and not retaining their natural Fluidity they lose their Force; this deftroys the Appetite, and at last brings the Stomach to an impossibility of taking in any Nourishment. The Esophagus, or Gullet, is siezed with a sort of Palsy [Paralysis], which prevents it from laying hold of, and thrusting forward the Food towards the Orifice of the Stomach, which turns and rises against the leaft approach of it.
Such are the fatal Effects of violent Passions, when an Heart is habitually possessed by them: What help
can a Man hope for, and of whom can he complain but of himself?
III. Reflect often upon the Happiness of your Condition; he is happy who understands his Happiness: And yet how many do we see who have not a contented Mind amidst the greatest Prosperity? They are unhappy, because they will be so: The Empire is in Peace; the Year is fruitful; see the great Felicity which the Tien hath freely given us: If I lead an easy and quiet Life at Home, what have I more to with for? That I may have the better relish of my Happiness, I often think that I live comfortably in my own House, whilst so many Travellers have the Inconveniences of Wind, Dust and Rain to undergo; or so many who sail upon Rivers or Lakes in the midst of a Storm, which raises up Mountains of Water ready to swallow them up every Moment; whilst so many Sick are confined to their Beds, and feel the acutest pains without finding any ease from Medicines; while so many unhappy Men are under unjust Prosecutions, or languish in a Prison, where destitute of Friends they experience Hunger, Thirst, Cold, and many other Miseries inseparable from their Imprisonment; whilst so many Families are in Mourning for the Death of their nearet Relations, or undone by a Fire, or some other like Accident, and whilst many others seek to put an end to their Miseries by putting an end to their unhappy Life by a violent Death. When I compare my self to these unfortunate Persons, and see my self free from the Evils with which they are surrounded, cannot I be content with my Lot?
He who hath never met with any Crosses knows not how great a Value a quiet Life is of; those which I have experienced have however been of great benefit to me; for besides the two great Fits of Sickness of which I have already spoke, and which had brought me throgh much Pain to the Gates of Death, I was near being Shipwrecked, and it was with much difficulty that I escaped that Danger. When I have any Disappointment befalls me I make myfelf easy by thus reasoning with myself: Is there any thing in this affair which can be compared to any one of those Trials which I have already gone through? Would we have recourse to the same Remedy in Afflictions, we should learn, from our own Experience, that it is in our own Power, with a little Reflexion, to make a good use of that Portion of Happiness which the Tien hath given us. On the contrary whoever knows not how to set Bounds to his Desires, were he to acquire the Riches and Glory of an Emperor, he would fill want everything. Let us confider that our Powers are limited; let not then our Desires be unlimited; let us take things as they come; and let us take especial care not to give up ourselves to continual Carking and Anxiety, which will rob us of the most valuable Moments of Life.
The famous Yen, my Countryman, had an excellent Maxim; If, said he, your Condition in Life is bettered think less upon what you have not, than upon what you have, otherwise you will be always desiring, and will never see your desires satisfied: If you fall below your former Condition in Life, say thus to yourself; What is left is sufficient; my Substance may be taken away from me, but no one shall rob me of the Tranquillity of my Heart, which is the
greatest of all earthly Goods. With such Sentiments, notwithstanding the Decrease of your Fortune, you will be richer than you think for. This is the Moral of that ancient Fable: I saw a Gentleman riding before me on a fine Horse, whilst I was mounted upon an Ass; Ah! said I to my self, how different is my Condition from his! But, upon turning about my Head, I saw a good-looking Country man driving a heavy Wheel barrow before him; O then! Said I, if I am not equal to him who goes before me, at least I am superior to him who follows me: I have found that this Fable hath at certain times revived my Spirits; I have wrote it upon a Label, and I have set it up in my Study that I may always remember it.
IV. When you enjoy a good State of Health know the Value of it, and study to preserve it: Diseases and Infirmities are the Lot of Man, and it is difficult for him to be entirely free from them. The slighter ones imbitter Life by their Variety and Continuance; the greater are attended with Fears and Apprehensions; every part of Life is subject to Misery.
Infancy is, if I may so express my self, condemned to Cries and Groans; Manhood and old Age are exposed to the long Absence of a Family, to a Reverse of Fortune, and to grievous Distempers. There are others who have much more cause of complaint; those who are born or become deaf, or blind, or dumb; the half paralytic, the lame, and those who have lost the use of all their Limbs: I have already told you what I suffered from a Complication of Distempers; I have freed my self from them, and now enjoy a sound and vigorous Health, I have my Hearing quick, my Sight clear, a good Appetite, and a chearful Temper. Every one may acquire firm Health as well as I, but when it is once obtained we should know how to preserve it: One of the beft means is to resist that natural Propensity which we have to sensual Pleasures, and to use very moderately even the allowable ones: An old Man, who feels as lively and hot after Pleasures as if he was in the Vigour of his Age, should learn to refrain himself by the following Reflections.
After the fiftieth Year Man is in his decline, the Blood begins to runweak, the Spirits fail, and feeble old Age is not far off. Though one should promise one's self to live an hundred Years; is that so long a Term? And shall not one be soon at the end of that Race? But are there many who arrive at an hundred Years? Our Life is so short that we ought to avoid every Excess that may make it yet shorter. Do we not perceive that our End draws nigh, when in reading the Eyes are subject to dazzlings; when the Feet stagger with walking; when after Meals the Nourifment loads the Stomach; when after having spoke some time together we find ourselves out of Breath? Does not all this teach us that we are not young, and that we must bid adieu to Pleasures which will quickly consume the weak Remains of Health, which it is of so great moment to husband for the Preservation of Life? The Lamp, says the Proverb, goes out as soon as the Oil is spent; more Oil may be added to the Lamp according as the Flame wastes it; but if the radical Moiture of the Body be once lost, have we any means to repair that Loss? This requires serious Reflections
I . Employ not yourself in any Thoughts and Designs but what lead to Virtue; the principal Duties of Society relate to the Fidelity owing to the supreme Magistrate, to the Obedience to Parents, to Moderation and Equity; it is upon the Practice of these Virtues that every one should seriously examine himself, when he reflects at Night upon the Actions of the past Day: Confine not your Endeavours only to the perfecting yourfelf, but attempt over and above that to make your Virtue beneficial and useful: Comes there then any Thought into your Head? Are you going to fay anything?Do you form any Scheme in your Mind? Reflect upon it before-hand, and ask yourself these Questions: Is what I think, what I am going to say or do, beneficial or prejudicial to others? if it be beneficial, speak or act, notwithstanding the Difficulties that oppose or discourage you; if it be prejudicial, never allow yourself either in such Views, such Discourses, or such Attempts.
Further, that you may avoid the being surprized into the committing what is wrong watch every Moment over your Heart, descend. often into yourself, and pardon yourself no Fault; it is only by vigorous Endeavours, especially at the beginning, that you can improve in Virtue: Whoever keeps this constant Watch over himfelf, tho' he must, according to the course of Human Affairs, be exposed to various Accidents, yet he will find by experience the Effects of a Secret Protection, which by unknown ways will preserve. him from every Evil of Life.
II. Keep Peace in your own Heart; when a Man's Heart is filled with Views agreeable to and proper for the keeping up, Union in Civil Society, his Thoughts discover themselves in his very Face; the inward Joy and Serenity of Mind that accompany him fine in all his outward Behaviour, and every one perceives the true and solid Pleasures which he experiences in his Soul: This is what the Ancients would have us understand by these figurative Expressions; a serene Sky, a beautiful Sun, a gentle Zephyr, charming Shades, inspire both Men and Birds with Joy; on the other hand, gloomy Weather, an high Wind, an heavy Rain, violent Thunder, and continual Lightnings, terrify the very Birds, who hide themselves in the thickest Woods: I fay then that a wise Man should always appear with a Countenance which breathes the Peace and Tranquillity which he enjoys within himfelf.
The violent Passions, such as Hatred, Anger, Sorrow, tear in pieces the Heart of him who is possessed by them; tho' it be no easy matter to live in the World without having frequent Subjects of Dispute and Uneasiness, yet what one ought to do is to take. prudent measures, and to be upon our guard against these Enemies of our Quiet: Am I threatened with a troublesome Affair? I meet the Storm with a composed Mind, and endeavour to allay it. Am I involved in it notwithstanding all my Precautions? I labour to surmount it without losing any thing of the Freedom of my ufual Temper. Have I taken wrong Measures? I am not obstinate in justifying my Proceedings: If, to extricate myself from a false Step, any one gives me Advice that is unjuft I am so far from following it that I do not give it the hearing: If in any Affair there happens a Disappointment which I could not prevent, I endeavour to accommodate myself to what hath happened: Is it over? I think no more of it. If a Man, after having acted according to the best of his Understanding, can leave the Event to Providence nothing can difturb the Joy of his Heart.
On the contrary, if upon the ill Success of an Affair inconsiderately undertaken a Man is obstinately bent upon bringing it to a good issue, if he turns over in his Thoughts a thousand useless Projects, if he gives up himself to the violent Motions of Anger he kindles a Fire in his Bowels which consumes them, his Lungs are as it were burnt up, the Blood and Humours are altered and put into an unnatural Ferment, the corrupted Phlegm drowns the Internals, the Habit of the Body being thus disordered it visibly wastes away: Were those Physicians, Lou and Lien, to come again into the World they could not with all their Skill, and with the Assitance of Vegetables and Minerals, repair the radical Moisture already destroyed; hence comes that Saying, That if the Excesses of Debauchery make great havock in the Body, the Vexation and Pain of the Mind make fill greater.
I observe in particular three great Disorders of the Body which Grief and Anger are the Causes of.
1. The Liver is damaged, and by this means the active Principles of the Blood, the Source of the Vital Spirits, are not secreted, but remain mixed together; sometimes the Liver communicates its Disorder by consent of parts to the Pleura, which growing worse ends in a Tumour and universal Swelling.
2. The Lungs are hurt; whence it happens that the Blood and the Air that is taken in endeavouring to find a Passage, notwithstanding the Obstructions they meet with, an Irritation is made from whence follows a spitting of Blood, which at last ends in a confirmed Consumption.
3. The Stomach is spoiled, and consequently the watery Humours of its Glands, whence comes the Fermentation proper for the forming the Concoction of Food, become viscous, and not retaining their natural Fluidity they lose their Force; this deftroys the Appetite, and at last brings the Stomach to an impossibility of taking in any Nourishment. The Esophagus, or Gullet, is siezed with a sort of Palsy [Paralysis], which prevents it from laying hold of, and thrusting forward the Food towards the Orifice of the Stomach, which turns and rises against the leaft approach of it.
Such are the fatal Effects of violent Passions, when an Heart is habitually possessed by them: What help
can a Man hope for, and of whom can he complain but of himself?
III. Reflect often upon the Happiness of your Condition; he is happy who understands his Happiness: And yet how many do we see who have not a contented Mind amidst the greatest Prosperity? They are unhappy, because they will be so: The Empire is in Peace; the Year is fruitful; see the great Felicity which the Tien hath freely given us: If I lead an easy and quiet Life at Home, what have I more to with for? That I may have the better relish of my Happiness, I often think that I live comfortably in my own House, whilst so many Travellers have the Inconveniences of Wind, Dust and Rain to undergo; or so many who sail upon Rivers or Lakes in the midst of a Storm, which raises up Mountains of Water ready to swallow them up every Moment; whilst so many Sick are confined to their Beds, and feel the acutest pains without finding any ease from Medicines; while so many unhappy Men are under unjust Prosecutions, or languish in a Prison, where destitute of Friends they experience Hunger, Thirst, Cold, and many other Miseries inseparable from their Imprisonment; whilst so many Families are in Mourning for the Death of their nearet Relations, or undone by a Fire, or some other like Accident, and whilst many others seek to put an end to their Miseries by putting an end to their unhappy Life by a violent Death. When I compare my self to these unfortunate Persons, and see my self free from the Evils with which they are surrounded, cannot I be content with my Lot?
He who hath never met with any Crosses knows not how great a Value a quiet Life is of; those which I have experienced have however been of great benefit to me; for besides the two great Fits of Sickness of which I have already spoke, and which had brought me throgh much Pain to the Gates of Death, I was near being Shipwrecked, and it was with much difficulty that I escaped that Danger. When I have any Disappointment befalls me I make myfelf easy by thus reasoning with myself: Is there any thing in this affair which can be compared to any one of those Trials which I have already gone through? Would we have recourse to the same Remedy in Afflictions, we should learn, from our own Experience, that it is in our own Power, with a little Reflexion, to make a good use of that Portion of Happiness which the Tien hath given us. On the contrary whoever knows not how to set Bounds to his Desires, were he to acquire the Riches and Glory of an Emperor, he would fill want everything. Let us confider that our Powers are limited; let not then our Desires be unlimited; let us take things as they come; and let us take especial care not to give up ourselves to continual Carking and Anxiety, which will rob us of the most valuable Moments of Life.
The famous Yen, my Countryman, had an excellent Maxim; If, said he, your Condition in Life is bettered think less upon what you have not, than upon what you have, otherwise you will be always desiring, and will never see your desires satisfied: If you fall below your former Condition in Life, say thus to yourself; What is left is sufficient; my Substance may be taken away from me, but no one shall rob me of the Tranquillity of my Heart, which is the
greatest of all earthly Goods. With such Sentiments, notwithstanding the Decrease of your Fortune, you will be richer than you think for. This is the Moral of that ancient Fable: I saw a Gentleman riding before me on a fine Horse, whilst I was mounted upon an Ass; Ah! said I to my self, how different is my Condition from his! But, upon turning about my Head, I saw a good-looking Country man driving a heavy Wheel barrow before him; O then! Said I, if I am not equal to him who goes before me, at least I am superior to him who follows me: I have found that this Fable hath at certain times revived my Spirits; I have wrote it upon a Label, and I have set it up in my Study that I may always remember it.
IV. When you enjoy a good State of Health know the Value of it, and study to preserve it: Diseases and Infirmities are the Lot of Man, and it is difficult for him to be entirely free from them. The slighter ones imbitter Life by their Variety and Continuance; the greater are attended with Fears and Apprehensions; every part of Life is subject to Misery.
Infancy is, if I may so express my self, condemned to Cries and Groans; Manhood and old Age are exposed to the long Absence of a Family, to a Reverse of Fortune, and to grievous Distempers. There are others who have much more cause of complaint; those who are born or become deaf, or blind, or dumb; the half paralytic, the lame, and those who have lost the use of all their Limbs: I have already told you what I suffered from a Complication of Distempers; I have freed my self from them, and now enjoy a sound and vigorous Health, I have my Hearing quick, my Sight clear, a good Appetite, and a chearful Temper. Every one may acquire firm Health as well as I, but when it is once obtained we should know how to preserve it: One of the beft means is to resist that natural Propensity which we have to sensual Pleasures, and to use very moderately even the allowable ones: An old Man, who feels as lively and hot after Pleasures as if he was in the Vigour of his Age, should learn to refrain himself by the following Reflections.
After the fiftieth Year Man is in his decline, the Blood begins to runweak, the Spirits fail, and feeble old Age is not far off. Though one should promise one's self to live an hundred Years; is that so long a Term? And shall not one be soon at the end of that Race? But are there many who arrive at an hundred Years? Our Life is so short that we ought to avoid every Excess that may make it yet shorter. Do we not perceive that our End draws nigh, when in reading the Eyes are subject to dazzlings; when the Feet stagger with walking; when after Meals the Nourifment loads the Stomach; when after having spoke some time together we find ourselves out of Breath? Does not all this teach us that we are not young, and that we must bid adieu to Pleasures which will quickly consume the weak Remains of Health, which it is of so great moment to husband for the Preservation of Life? The Lamp, says the Proverb, goes out as soon as the Oil is spent; more Oil may be added to the Lamp according as the Flame wastes it; but if the radical Moiture of the Body be once lost, have we any means to repair that Loss? This requires serious Reflections
The SECOND HEAD
The Regulations of the Use of Diet
The Regulations of the Use of Diet
WE must eat and drink to support the Body; the Nourishment which we take, if it be well regulated, keeps the Stomach in the Situation which is agreeable to it: It is in the Stomach that the Concoction and Digestion of Food are made; it is the first Cause of the Blood, of the Vital Spirits, of the Juices, and the Humours which are difpersed into the different Parts of the Body to keep them in their natural Vigour. They then, who have a regard for their Health,
ought to be very exact in observing certain Rules relating to drinking and eating.
I. Let Hunger, and the want you feel within, regulate your Food, and take great care that you do not take it in too great a Quantity. Excessive eating hurts the Vital Spirits, and tires the Stomach; the vitiated Chyle, carried into the Mass of Blood, makes it thick, and inclinable to a Fermentation of the Spirits. In the same manner never think of drinking but when you are dry; quench your Thirst without doing it to excess; too much Drink damages the Blood, and fills the Stomach with Wind by precipitating the Chyle not well prepared; Wine being viscous occafions Wind in the Fermentation, whence follows the Cholick in the Stomach.
Il. Breakfast early; the Air is drawn in by the Nostrils, and the Moisture of the Earth by the Mouth, the Exhalation of which we take in. It is of great use never to go out of Doors fasting: This Caution is especially necessary in Epidemical Distempers, or if one is obliged to go among sick People. In Winter a Glass or two of Wine is an excellent Preservative against the unwholesome Air; it is good to take some Food, but in a small Quantity, which may serve to employ and settle the Stomach, and is a sort of Cordial. In Summer it prevents our being affected by the corrupted Air, and keeps off Cholicks, Vomitings, Dysenteries, &c. In Winter it fortifies againft the severity of the Cold, and the malignant Vapours of Mists. In Spring. it is of great efficacy against high Winds, against the Damps and Dews, which are frequent in that Season. These are the Advantages of a Practice which I have punctually observed.
I rise very early, and before I have either washed my Face, or cleansed my Mouth, I swallow a Porringer full of Rice-gruel, taking a little of the solid Rice. The using of Rice-gruel is agreeable to the Stomach, and to very good purpose moistens the Ferment which is inclosed in it: For want of Rice-gruel I am content to use warm Water, in which I diffolve a little powdered Sugar.
III. Make an hearty Meal about Noon, and dine upon the plainest Meats, they are most wholesome and most nourishing; suffer not some sorts of Ragouts to be brought to your Table, they are invented only to provoke or gratify the Appetite: There are five sorts of high Sauces, and each of them, if used frequently, hath unwholesome Qualities; Meats that are too salt, are prejudicial to the Heart; the too sour, to the Stomach; the too bitter, to the Lungs; the too poinant, to the Liver by their Sharpness; lastly the too sweet, to the Reins [Kidneys]. But what is most to be avoided in seasoning is an excess of Salt; Salt slackens the Motion of the Blood, and occasions a difficulty of Breathing: Salted Water slung into the Blood of a Creature just killed immediately thickens and congeals it. Thus it is seen that those, whose common Food is salt Meats, have a pale Complexion, a slow Pulse, and are full of filthy and corrupt Humours.
Accustom yourself therefore. to the plainest Meats, they will preserve you from many Diseases, and keep you in perfect Health; but take care that you eat your Meat hot, never eat cold Meat, especially when it is fat: This kind of Food, by staying too long in the Stomach, would produce Crudities, which occasion Gripings in the Bowels, a Diarrhea, and süch like Disorders.
IV. Eat slowly, and chew your Meat very well.
1. This slow chewing breaks the Food in pieces, mixes it with the Saliva, makes it fine enough, and is the first. Dissolution which fits it for the Fermentation of the Stomach.
2. The Digestion thus begun by the Teeth, and by the help of the Saliva, is easily perfected by the Ferment of the Stomach.
3. One escapes many Accidents which befal those who eat hastily, such as Coughs, Hickups, and the Ytse, that is an Irritation of the Gullet, which is sometimes mortal.
What can be more disagreeable, and at the same time more ridiculous, than to see a Man take his Meal as a Tiger seizes his Prey, to eat in an hurry, cramming his Mouth incessantly with both Hands, as if one was fighting with him for it, or as if he feared it should be snatched away from him.
V. Do not so far gratify your Appetite that when you rise from Table you shall be quite full; a large quantity of Food is uneasy to the Stomach, and hurts Digestion; if you have at the same time a strong Stomach, and which easily. digests its Food, do not employ its whole Strength, but keep some of it in reserve; I will explain my Meaning by a Similitude:
A Man who can lift or carry an hundred weight, if you load him with no more than four-score he is not much fatigued with it; give him a Load of a much greater weight, and make him take it upon his Shoulders, his Nerves too much extended will feel the weight, his Bones will not bear up under it, and after a few Steps he will stagger, and fall backwards. It is easy to make the Application: Where we are accustomed to a temperate Life the use of Meats is much more beneficial; upon the whole it is by long suffering of Hunger and Thirst that we should learn Moderation; the gratifying to the full the Demands of either is the ready way to expose us to certain Sickness, because neither the Animal nor Vital Spirits will be able to discharge their respective Functions.
VI. Sup betimes, and sparingly; it is better to eat oftener if there be a necessity: It is usual in Summer, in the fifth and sixth Months, when the Days are longest, to make four Meals; the first at one's rising early, the second at eleven, the third towards Sunset, and the fourth just before one goes to bed; in the other Seasons of the Year three Meals are enough. I would have every one determine, as near as may be, the quantity of Rice and other Food he should take
at one Meal, agreeably to his own Consitution and way of Life, and that he should keep up to that Rule, making it a Law to himself never to transgress it, unless upon fome occasions, when the Meat pleases the Taste, and gives an Inclination to take more than ordinary: but this Temperance is moft necessary at Supper, which ought to be very light.
Generally speaking eat no meats which are hard of digestion, such as those whose substance is viscous; abstain from Meats that are half raw, or very fat, from those that are dressed à la daube, or stewed from high seasoned Ragouts, which carry Fire into the Bowels; from new Corn, which Men are fond of eating at its first coming in, and which is not wholesome till it is come to its perfect Maturity by insensible Fermentation, and by evaporating of its volatile Salts, with which it is full, and which are too sharp: This Advice belongs chiefly to old Persons, and those who have a weak Stomach.
VII. Take care that your Meat be tender and thoroughly dressed, for if it be hard and not easily chewed the Stomach will have a difficulty in digesting it; Flesh that is tough and full of Nerves, or half dressed is very hard of Digestion. When a Man is in the Strength and Vigour of his Age, when the Blood hath all its Fire, and the Stomach is strong, he wil find less Inconvenience from such a kind of Food, but it will infallibly make him sick if he be of a weak Stomach, or advanced in Years: As for my own part I give Orders that the Rice, the Flesh, the Fish, the Roots, the Herbs, and in general every thing that is brought to my Table be thoroughly done, and very tender, otherwise I will not touch a Morsel of it.
VIII. Sleep not till two Hours after your Meal; the Nourishment which passes by the Gullet into the Stomach should be bruised and dissolved there, that it may be able to circulate, to be strained and assimilated: Sleep taken immediately after Supper deprives the Stomach of the liberty of acting upon the Food in it, which not being sufficiently bruised, and lodging there, causes Crudities, sour Belchings in the Stomach, and often a Lientery, and a confirmed Diarrhea. If this continues for some time there appears a Paleness in the Face, and the Body becomes languishing, weak, and bloated: The Digeition being thus disordered by an ill-timed Sleep, the Formation of the Chyle is prejudiced by it, and the vitiated Chyle being dispersed by the circular Motion into all the Bowels, and stopped there by its being too thick it becomes more and more coagulated by its vitiated Acid, which is the source of a multitude of Distempers from the Obstructions which happen in the Strainer of the Humours. I advise then walking for some little time after Meals; this gentle Motion facilitates Digestion; take care also that you do not eat immediately after a violent Fit of Anger; Anger causes a strong Heat in the Juices that are strained by the Salivary Glands; the Saliva loaded with a malignant Heat goes into the Stomach, infects the Chyle, and corrupts the whole Mass of Blood.
IX. Begin your Meal with drinking a little Tea, it helps to moisten the Throat and the Stomach, and preserves the Heat and radical Moisture from troublesome Attacks: Close also your Meal with a Cup of Tea for the washing your Mouth and Teeth; it is a means of fastening them, and preserving them even to old Age: I do not advise the drinking much either of Tea or any other Liquor; the Stomach does not like to b e too moist, a little Dryness and Heat put it in a condition most suitable to its Operations. I ingenuously confess that I do not love Tea, and when I am obliged to drink it I perceive my Stomach turns againft it; the Weakness of my Constitution in my Youth may have contributed to this Aversion: I do not distinguith even the best Tea from the worst; this sometimes draws upon me the Banter of my Friends, but I in my turn laugh at their Niceness, and am glad that I am not sensible of it.
But 'tis a common Saying, He who does not love. Tea, loves Wine. I do indeed drink Wine, but .I never take more than four or five mall Glasses; if I exceeded that I should immediately have a difficulty of breathing, my Head confus'd with Vertigoes, my Stomach disorder'd, and the next Day I should be like one threatned with an immediate Sickness. Wine moderately taken refreshes tired Nature, revives its Strength, and gives to the Blood and Pulse their natural Vivacity; but if it be drank with excess it produces windy Fermentations, occassions Obstructions in the Reins [Kidneys], and fouls the Stomach.
Nothing appears to me either more shameful, or more unworthy reasonable Men, than a Dispute at a Feast who shall drink the most Bumpers, or shall sooneft empty his Bottle; for my part, when I entertain my Friends I invite them chearfully to drink two, or three Glasses to put them in good humour, but I stop there, without pressing them further, not offering them a Violence which will destroy their Health: These are my Maxims for Meals, they are easy, and if they are practis'd I am sure they will be found to be beneficial.
ought to be very exact in observing certain Rules relating to drinking and eating.
I. Let Hunger, and the want you feel within, regulate your Food, and take great care that you do not take it in too great a Quantity. Excessive eating hurts the Vital Spirits, and tires the Stomach; the vitiated Chyle, carried into the Mass of Blood, makes it thick, and inclinable to a Fermentation of the Spirits. In the same manner never think of drinking but when you are dry; quench your Thirst without doing it to excess; too much Drink damages the Blood, and fills the Stomach with Wind by precipitating the Chyle not well prepared; Wine being viscous occafions Wind in the Fermentation, whence follows the Cholick in the Stomach.
Il. Breakfast early; the Air is drawn in by the Nostrils, and the Moisture of the Earth by the Mouth, the Exhalation of which we take in. It is of great use never to go out of Doors fasting: This Caution is especially necessary in Epidemical Distempers, or if one is obliged to go among sick People. In Winter a Glass or two of Wine is an excellent Preservative against the unwholesome Air; it is good to take some Food, but in a small Quantity, which may serve to employ and settle the Stomach, and is a sort of Cordial. In Summer it prevents our being affected by the corrupted Air, and keeps off Cholicks, Vomitings, Dysenteries, &c. In Winter it fortifies againft the severity of the Cold, and the malignant Vapours of Mists. In Spring. it is of great efficacy against high Winds, against the Damps and Dews, which are frequent in that Season. These are the Advantages of a Practice which I have punctually observed.
I rise very early, and before I have either washed my Face, or cleansed my Mouth, I swallow a Porringer full of Rice-gruel, taking a little of the solid Rice. The using of Rice-gruel is agreeable to the Stomach, and to very good purpose moistens the Ferment which is inclosed in it: For want of Rice-gruel I am content to use warm Water, in which I diffolve a little powdered Sugar.
III. Make an hearty Meal about Noon, and dine upon the plainest Meats, they are most wholesome and most nourishing; suffer not some sorts of Ragouts to be brought to your Table, they are invented only to provoke or gratify the Appetite: There are five sorts of high Sauces, and each of them, if used frequently, hath unwholesome Qualities; Meats that are too salt, are prejudicial to the Heart; the too sour, to the Stomach; the too bitter, to the Lungs; the too poinant, to the Liver by their Sharpness; lastly the too sweet, to the Reins [Kidneys]. But what is most to be avoided in seasoning is an excess of Salt; Salt slackens the Motion of the Blood, and occasions a difficulty of Breathing: Salted Water slung into the Blood of a Creature just killed immediately thickens and congeals it. Thus it is seen that those, whose common Food is salt Meats, have a pale Complexion, a slow Pulse, and are full of filthy and corrupt Humours.
Accustom yourself therefore. to the plainest Meats, they will preserve you from many Diseases, and keep you in perfect Health; but take care that you eat your Meat hot, never eat cold Meat, especially when it is fat: This kind of Food, by staying too long in the Stomach, would produce Crudities, which occasion Gripings in the Bowels, a Diarrhea, and süch like Disorders.
IV. Eat slowly, and chew your Meat very well.
1. This slow chewing breaks the Food in pieces, mixes it with the Saliva, makes it fine enough, and is the first. Dissolution which fits it for the Fermentation of the Stomach.
2. The Digestion thus begun by the Teeth, and by the help of the Saliva, is easily perfected by the Ferment of the Stomach.
3. One escapes many Accidents which befal those who eat hastily, such as Coughs, Hickups, and the Ytse, that is an Irritation of the Gullet, which is sometimes mortal.
What can be more disagreeable, and at the same time more ridiculous, than to see a Man take his Meal as a Tiger seizes his Prey, to eat in an hurry, cramming his Mouth incessantly with both Hands, as if one was fighting with him for it, or as if he feared it should be snatched away from him.
V. Do not so far gratify your Appetite that when you rise from Table you shall be quite full; a large quantity of Food is uneasy to the Stomach, and hurts Digestion; if you have at the same time a strong Stomach, and which easily. digests its Food, do not employ its whole Strength, but keep some of it in reserve; I will explain my Meaning by a Similitude:
A Man who can lift or carry an hundred weight, if you load him with no more than four-score he is not much fatigued with it; give him a Load of a much greater weight, and make him take it upon his Shoulders, his Nerves too much extended will feel the weight, his Bones will not bear up under it, and after a few Steps he will stagger, and fall backwards. It is easy to make the Application: Where we are accustomed to a temperate Life the use of Meats is much more beneficial; upon the whole it is by long suffering of Hunger and Thirst that we should learn Moderation; the gratifying to the full the Demands of either is the ready way to expose us to certain Sickness, because neither the Animal nor Vital Spirits will be able to discharge their respective Functions.
VI. Sup betimes, and sparingly; it is better to eat oftener if there be a necessity: It is usual in Summer, in the fifth and sixth Months, when the Days are longest, to make four Meals; the first at one's rising early, the second at eleven, the third towards Sunset, and the fourth just before one goes to bed; in the other Seasons of the Year three Meals are enough. I would have every one determine, as near as may be, the quantity of Rice and other Food he should take
at one Meal, agreeably to his own Consitution and way of Life, and that he should keep up to that Rule, making it a Law to himself never to transgress it, unless upon fome occasions, when the Meat pleases the Taste, and gives an Inclination to take more than ordinary: but this Temperance is moft necessary at Supper, which ought to be very light.
Generally speaking eat no meats which are hard of digestion, such as those whose substance is viscous; abstain from Meats that are half raw, or very fat, from those that are dressed à la daube, or stewed from high seasoned Ragouts, which carry Fire into the Bowels; from new Corn, which Men are fond of eating at its first coming in, and which is not wholesome till it is come to its perfect Maturity by insensible Fermentation, and by evaporating of its volatile Salts, with which it is full, and which are too sharp: This Advice belongs chiefly to old Persons, and those who have a weak Stomach.
VII. Take care that your Meat be tender and thoroughly dressed, for if it be hard and not easily chewed the Stomach will have a difficulty in digesting it; Flesh that is tough and full of Nerves, or half dressed is very hard of Digestion. When a Man is in the Strength and Vigour of his Age, when the Blood hath all its Fire, and the Stomach is strong, he wil find less Inconvenience from such a kind of Food, but it will infallibly make him sick if he be of a weak Stomach, or advanced in Years: As for my own part I give Orders that the Rice, the Flesh, the Fish, the Roots, the Herbs, and in general every thing that is brought to my Table be thoroughly done, and very tender, otherwise I will not touch a Morsel of it.
VIII. Sleep not till two Hours after your Meal; the Nourishment which passes by the Gullet into the Stomach should be bruised and dissolved there, that it may be able to circulate, to be strained and assimilated: Sleep taken immediately after Supper deprives the Stomach of the liberty of acting upon the Food in it, which not being sufficiently bruised, and lodging there, causes Crudities, sour Belchings in the Stomach, and often a Lientery, and a confirmed Diarrhea. If this continues for some time there appears a Paleness in the Face, and the Body becomes languishing, weak, and bloated: The Digeition being thus disordered by an ill-timed Sleep, the Formation of the Chyle is prejudiced by it, and the vitiated Chyle being dispersed by the circular Motion into all the Bowels, and stopped there by its being too thick it becomes more and more coagulated by its vitiated Acid, which is the source of a multitude of Distempers from the Obstructions which happen in the Strainer of the Humours. I advise then walking for some little time after Meals; this gentle Motion facilitates Digestion; take care also that you do not eat immediately after a violent Fit of Anger; Anger causes a strong Heat in the Juices that are strained by the Salivary Glands; the Saliva loaded with a malignant Heat goes into the Stomach, infects the Chyle, and corrupts the whole Mass of Blood.
IX. Begin your Meal with drinking a little Tea, it helps to moisten the Throat and the Stomach, and preserves the Heat and radical Moisture from troublesome Attacks: Close also your Meal with a Cup of Tea for the washing your Mouth and Teeth; it is a means of fastening them, and preserving them even to old Age: I do not advise the drinking much either of Tea or any other Liquor; the Stomach does not like to b e too moist, a little Dryness and Heat put it in a condition most suitable to its Operations. I ingenuously confess that I do not love Tea, and when I am obliged to drink it I perceive my Stomach turns againft it; the Weakness of my Constitution in my Youth may have contributed to this Aversion: I do not distinguith even the best Tea from the worst; this sometimes draws upon me the Banter of my Friends, but I in my turn laugh at their Niceness, and am glad that I am not sensible of it.
But 'tis a common Saying, He who does not love. Tea, loves Wine. I do indeed drink Wine, but .I never take more than four or five mall Glasses; if I exceeded that I should immediately have a difficulty of breathing, my Head confus'd with Vertigoes, my Stomach disorder'd, and the next Day I should be like one threatned with an immediate Sickness. Wine moderately taken refreshes tired Nature, revives its Strength, and gives to the Blood and Pulse their natural Vivacity; but if it be drank with excess it produces windy Fermentations, occassions Obstructions in the Reins [Kidneys], and fouls the Stomach.
Nothing appears to me either more shameful, or more unworthy reasonable Men, than a Dispute at a Feast who shall drink the most Bumpers, or shall sooneft empty his Bottle; for my part, when I entertain my Friends I invite them chearfully to drink two, or three Glasses to put them in good humour, but I stop there, without pressing them further, not offering them a Violence which will destroy their Health: These are my Maxims for Meals, they are easy, and if they are practis'd I am sure they will be found to be beneficial.
The THIRD HEAD.
The Regulation of the Actions of the Day.
The Regulation of the Actions of the Day.
IN the common Actions of Life we are attentive enough to considerable things, which give a visible Blow to Health, but there are many small ones which are look'd upon as Trifles, and to which we pay not the least regard; and yet thefe Trifles, obferv'd with care, defend us from many Inconveniencies, and the neglect of this sometimes shortens the Term of Years which the Tien defign'd us.
In general our Life depends upon the regular Motion of the Spirits: There are three sorts of them; the Vital Spirits, which we call Tsing [Jing]; the Animal Spirits, which we cal Ki [Qi]; anda third degree of Spirits, much more noble, more free from matter, and to which the Name of Spirit does much more properly agree, which are called Chin [Shen].
The Vital Spirits beget the Animal, and from both these arife that third degree of Spirits defign'd for intellectual Operations; is the Vital Spirits come to fail the Animal must alfo unavoidably fail; and this fecond sort of Spirits being exhausted the third cannot subsist, and the Man must die: It is therefore of importance not to dissipate idly these three Principles of Life, either by an immoderate use of sensual Pleasures, or by violent Labour, or by too intense and too constant Application of the Mind.
In general our Life depends upon the regular Motion of the Spirits: There are three sorts of them; the Vital Spirits, which we call Tsing [Jing]; the Animal Spirits, which we cal Ki [Qi]; anda third degree of Spirits, much more noble, more free from matter, and to which the Name of Spirit does much more properly agree, which are called Chin [Shen].
The Vital Spirits beget the Animal, and from both these arife that third degree of Spirits defign'd for intellectual Operations; is the Vital Spirits come to fail the Animal must alfo unavoidably fail; and this fecond sort of Spirits being exhausted the third cannot subsist, and the Man must die: It is therefore of importance not to dissipate idly these three Principles of Life, either by an immoderate use of sensual Pleasures, or by violent Labour, or by too intense and too constant Application of the Mind.
REMARKS
WHAT the Chinese Author here says agrees well enough with the Sentiments of a modern Writer. Thus he expresses himself, and it will serve as an Illuftration to it.
All the Springs (says he) of the human Body would be useless and unactive, if God had not produc'd and appointed the Vital Spirits, to make them act, and to imprint on them a lively Motion, and the Animal Spirits to put the internal and external Senes in exercise: So he has dispos'd, as the general Instrument of the growing Life in the Animal, the Arterial Blood, which is also call'd the Vital Spirit when it hath been warm'd and purified in the Heart.
The Animal Spirits are much superior to the Vital, as they are the Instruments of a more noble Life.
1. The Particles which compose the Animal Spirit are much smaller, and more subtle than those which, compose the Vital.
2. The Particles of the Animal Spirit move in every sense unmix'd and unblended as the Particles which compose the Air: This is the Chinefe Ki [Qi]. The Particles of the Vital Spirit creep and glide the one over the other, as the Parts of Water: This is the Chinese Tsing [Jing].
3 .The Particles of the Animal Spirit are so rapid that they are imperceptible to all the Senses; and 'tis the finest part of these Spirits which is called Chin [Shen]. The Operations of Growth, Nourishment, &c..are Vital Operations, and ascrib'd to the Chinese Tsing [Jing]. Those of Perception, both bythe internal and external Senses, are Animal Operations. The Animal Spirits, according to the Ancients, are nothing but a subtle Air, a very fine Breath, and this exactly answers, to the Ki [Qi]. It is a Composition of small Bodies, which are in a brisk and continual motion, like those small Bodies which make the Flame of a lighted Torch.
Thee Spirits, according ot the Moderns, are nothing else than a subtle Moisture, which runs from the Brain into the Nerves with such an impetuous force, which if open'd are very difficult to be stopt.
The Author I quote means, by the Animal Spirits, a most pure and subtle Air, which answers to the Chinese Ki [Qi]; and moreover a Flame finer than that of Aqua vite [Brandy], which is the Chinese Chin [Shen].
All the Springs (says he) of the human Body would be useless and unactive, if God had not produc'd and appointed the Vital Spirits, to make them act, and to imprint on them a lively Motion, and the Animal Spirits to put the internal and external Senes in exercise: So he has dispos'd, as the general Instrument of the growing Life in the Animal, the Arterial Blood, which is also call'd the Vital Spirit when it hath been warm'd and purified in the Heart.
The Animal Spirits are much superior to the Vital, as they are the Instruments of a more noble Life.
1. The Particles which compose the Animal Spirit are much smaller, and more subtle than those which, compose the Vital.
2. The Particles of the Animal Spirit move in every sense unmix'd and unblended as the Particles which compose the Air: This is the Chinefe Ki [Qi]. The Particles of the Vital Spirit creep and glide the one over the other, as the Parts of Water: This is the Chinese Tsing [Jing].
3 .The Particles of the Animal Spirit are so rapid that they are imperceptible to all the Senses; and 'tis the finest part of these Spirits which is called Chin [Shen]. The Operations of Growth, Nourishment, &c..are Vital Operations, and ascrib'd to the Chinese Tsing [Jing]. Those of Perception, both bythe internal and external Senses, are Animal Operations. The Animal Spirits, according to the Ancients, are nothing but a subtle Air, a very fine Breath, and this exactly answers, to the Ki [Qi]. It is a Composition of small Bodies, which are in a brisk and continual motion, like those small Bodies which make the Flame of a lighted Torch.
Thee Spirits, according ot the Moderns, are nothing else than a subtle Moisture, which runs from the Brain into the Nerves with such an impetuous force, which if open'd are very difficult to be stopt.
The Author I quote means, by the Animal Spirits, a most pure and subtle Air, which answers to the Chinese Ki [Qi]; and moreover a Flame finer than that of Aqua vite [Brandy], which is the Chinese Chin [Shen].
The FOURTH HEAD.
The Regulation of the Rest at Night.
The Regulation of the Rest at Night.
I ENTER into a Detail of things which will appear of little Importance, and which perhaps will be treated as Trifles; but Experience has convinced me that these very things, as insignificant as they seem, are not to be neglected, since by observing them they may contribute to the Preservation of Health.
I . AS there remains, in the Evening, in the Mouth and between the Teeth a malignant Filth from the Food which has been taken in the Day, or from the foul Vapours which rise from the Entrails, you should before you go to Bed rinse your Mouth well with Water, or with Tea luke warm, and rub your Teeth with a soft pliant Brush to keep them clean; you will then feel in the Mouth and upon the Tongue an agreeable Freshness.
This Practice will seem a little troublesome, but it will be only at first that you will be sensible of that trouble, for after a little time you will find pleasure in it, and if by Forgetfulness, or by any other Accident, you happen to go without doing it you will not be eafy.
II. THE middle of the Sole of the Foot. is as the Outlet and the Opening of a great many Sources of the Spirits dispersed al lover the Body; the Veins and the Arteries, which end there, are liketo the Mouths of Rivers, which must be kept open, otherwise they overflow and fill again; the fuliginous Vapours of the Blood are carried of by insensible Perpiration, and as the vicious Humours discharge themselves upon the Legs, there should some way be open'd which would facilitate that Perspiration.
Here then I offer you a wholesome Practice; when you are undress'd, and juftgoing into Bed, take your Foot in one Hand, and with the other rub the bottom of it hard as long as you can, and do not leave off till you feel there a great Heat; then rub separately every Toe till you are almost tired; this is an efficacious Method for the preserving and repairing the Vital and Animal Spirits.
III. BEFORE you lie down don't busy your self with things which strike the Imagination, and leave Impressions behind them which may disturb your SIeep,sfuch as Apparitions of Spirits, monstrous Births, the cunning Tricks of Sharpers, or Tragical Histories; these render your Sleep unquiet, which will interrupt the Elaboration of the Spirits, and Stop the Perspiration so necessary to Health: As soon as you are in bed you should lull the Heart to sleep, I mean you should calm it, and lay aside every Thought which may drive Sleep away; lie upon either side, bend your Knees a little, and go to sleep in that Posture, which wil prevent the Dissipation of the Vital and Animal Spirits; every time you wake fretch yourfelf in Bed, which will render the Course of the Spirits and the Circulation of the Blood more free; when you sleep put not yourself in the posture of a dead Man, says Confucius, that is lie not upon your Back; let not your Hands rest upon your Breast nor your Heart, for that will give you troublesome Dreams, or make you imagine that some Yen or evil Spirit oppresses you, and renders you as it were benumbed, so that you cannot help yourself either by shaking, or changing Posture.
IV. WHEN once you are in bed keep silence, and refrain from all talking: Of the Internals the Lungs are the tenderest, which are placed above the others, and serve for the Respiration and Formation of the Voice; when therefore you are laid down in a proper posture they incline to and rest upon the Side, whereas if you talk you force the Lungs to raise themselves a little, and by raising thesfelves strongly they take all the other noble internal Parts; a Comparison will help to make you understand me: The Voice which comes from the Lungs is like the Sound which comes from a Bell; if it is not hung up you damage it by striking it to make it sound: It is said that Confucius made it a Law to himself not to speak after he was in bed, no doubt for the Reason I have juft mentioned.
V. SLEEP not in the Air, in the Dew, upon cold Stones, nor even upon Beds or Chairs that are varnish'd; such Indiscretion will occassion Palsies, Ring-worms, and cold Disorders; it is likewife dangerous to lie down upon Chairs, or upon Stones heated by the Sun; a malignant Heat insinuating itfelf into the Body would fix the Humours in some one Place, and cause an Abscess there.
This is a Summary of the Precepts which the Chinese Physician gives to preserve Health, and to prolong Life even to a very great Age: We may no doubt be surprized to find the Chinese (who are fo little vers'd in the Science of Anatomy, which is the most important Part in Physick for discovering the Causes of Diseases) reasoning as if they understood it; they supply what is wanting on this side by Experience, and by their Skill in determining by the Pulse what is the internal Disposition of the Bowels, in order to re-establifh them in their Natural State by proper Medicines; and, when all is done, there do not so great a number of sick Perfons die under their Hands, as do under thofe of the most able Physicians in Europe.
Upon the whole the Personal Experience of a Physician, who has been able to re-establifh his own Health which was destroyed in his Infancy, ought me thinks to give weight to those Methods which he made use of; however I doubt whether the Rules which he prescribes may be as much approv'd of in Europe as they are in China.
I . AS there remains, in the Evening, in the Mouth and between the Teeth a malignant Filth from the Food which has been taken in the Day, or from the foul Vapours which rise from the Entrails, you should before you go to Bed rinse your Mouth well with Water, or with Tea luke warm, and rub your Teeth with a soft pliant Brush to keep them clean; you will then feel in the Mouth and upon the Tongue an agreeable Freshness.
This Practice will seem a little troublesome, but it will be only at first that you will be sensible of that trouble, for after a little time you will find pleasure in it, and if by Forgetfulness, or by any other Accident, you happen to go without doing it you will not be eafy.
II. THE middle of the Sole of the Foot. is as the Outlet and the Opening of a great many Sources of the Spirits dispersed al lover the Body; the Veins and the Arteries, which end there, are liketo the Mouths of Rivers, which must be kept open, otherwise they overflow and fill again; the fuliginous Vapours of the Blood are carried of by insensible Perpiration, and as the vicious Humours discharge themselves upon the Legs, there should some way be open'd which would facilitate that Perspiration.
Here then I offer you a wholesome Practice; when you are undress'd, and juftgoing into Bed, take your Foot in one Hand, and with the other rub the bottom of it hard as long as you can, and do not leave off till you feel there a great Heat; then rub separately every Toe till you are almost tired; this is an efficacious Method for the preserving and repairing the Vital and Animal Spirits.
III. BEFORE you lie down don't busy your self with things which strike the Imagination, and leave Impressions behind them which may disturb your SIeep,sfuch as Apparitions of Spirits, monstrous Births, the cunning Tricks of Sharpers, or Tragical Histories; these render your Sleep unquiet, which will interrupt the Elaboration of the Spirits, and Stop the Perspiration so necessary to Health: As soon as you are in bed you should lull the Heart to sleep, I mean you should calm it, and lay aside every Thought which may drive Sleep away; lie upon either side, bend your Knees a little, and go to sleep in that Posture, which wil prevent the Dissipation of the Vital and Animal Spirits; every time you wake fretch yourfelf in Bed, which will render the Course of the Spirits and the Circulation of the Blood more free; when you sleep put not yourself in the posture of a dead Man, says Confucius, that is lie not upon your Back; let not your Hands rest upon your Breast nor your Heart, for that will give you troublesome Dreams, or make you imagine that some Yen or evil Spirit oppresses you, and renders you as it were benumbed, so that you cannot help yourself either by shaking, or changing Posture.
IV. WHEN once you are in bed keep silence, and refrain from all talking: Of the Internals the Lungs are the tenderest, which are placed above the others, and serve for the Respiration and Formation of the Voice; when therefore you are laid down in a proper posture they incline to and rest upon the Side, whereas if you talk you force the Lungs to raise themselves a little, and by raising thesfelves strongly they take all the other noble internal Parts; a Comparison will help to make you understand me: The Voice which comes from the Lungs is like the Sound which comes from a Bell; if it is not hung up you damage it by striking it to make it sound: It is said that Confucius made it a Law to himself not to speak after he was in bed, no doubt for the Reason I have juft mentioned.
V. SLEEP not in the Air, in the Dew, upon cold Stones, nor even upon Beds or Chairs that are varnish'd; such Indiscretion will occassion Palsies, Ring-worms, and cold Disorders; it is likewife dangerous to lie down upon Chairs, or upon Stones heated by the Sun; a malignant Heat insinuating itfelf into the Body would fix the Humours in some one Place, and cause an Abscess there.
This is a Summary of the Precepts which the Chinese Physician gives to preserve Health, and to prolong Life even to a very great Age: We may no doubt be surprized to find the Chinese (who are fo little vers'd in the Science of Anatomy, which is the most important Part in Physick for discovering the Causes of Diseases) reasoning as if they understood it; they supply what is wanting on this side by Experience, and by their Skill in determining by the Pulse what is the internal Disposition of the Bowels, in order to re-establifh them in their Natural State by proper Medicines; and, when all is done, there do not so great a number of sick Perfons die under their Hands, as do under thofe of the most able Physicians in Europe.
Upon the whole the Personal Experience of a Physician, who has been able to re-establifh his own Health which was destroyed in his Infancy, ought me thinks to give weight to those Methods which he made use of; however I doubt whether the Rules which he prescribes may be as much approv'd of in Europe as they are in China.