CHAP. 14.—REMEDIES DEPENDING UPON THE HUMAN WILL.
It would be the less becoming then for me to omit all
mention of the remedies which depend upon the human will.
Total abstinence from food or drink, or from wine only, from
flesh, or from the use of the bath, in cases where the health
requires any of these expedients, is looked upon as one of the
most effectual modes of treating diseases. To this class of
remedies must be added bodily exercise, exertion of the voice,
1
anointings, and frictions according to a prescribed method:
for powerful friction, it should be remembered, has a binding
effect upon the body, while gentle friction, on the other hand,
acts as a laxative; so too, repeated friction reduces the
body, while used in moderation it has a tendency to make
flesh. But the most beneficial practice of all is to take walking
or carriage
2 exercise; this last being performed in various ways.
Exercise on horseback is extremely good for affections of the
stomach and hips, a voyage for phthisis,
3 and a change of
locality
4 for diseases of long standing. So, too, a cure may
sometimes be effected by sleep, by a recumbent position in bed,
or by the use of emetics in moderation. To lie upon the back
is beneficial to the sight, to lie with the face downwards is
good for a cough, and to lie on the side is recommended for
patients suffering from catarrh.
According to Aristotle and Fabianus, it is towards spring and
autumn that we are most apt to dream; and they tell us that
persons are most liable to do so when lying on the back, but
never when lying with the face downwards. Theophrastus
assures us that the digestion is accelerated by lying on the
right side; while, on the other hand, it is retarded by lying
with the face upwards. The most powerful, however, of all
remedies, and one which is always at a person's own command,
is the sun: violent friction, too, is useful by the agency of
linen towels and body-scrapers.
5 To pour warm water on the
head before taking the vapour-bath, and cold water after it, is
looked upon as a most beneficial practice; so, too, is the habit
of taking cold water before food, of drinking it every now and
then while eating, of taking it just before going to sleep, and,
if practicable, of waking every now and then, and taking a
draught. It is worthy also of remark, that there is no living
creature but man
6 that is fond of hot drinks, a proof that they
are contrary to nature. It has been ascertained by experiment,
that it is a good plan to rinse the mouth with undiluted wine,
before going to sleep, for the purpose of sweetening the breath;
to rinse the mouth with cold water an odd number of times
every morning, as a preservative against tooth-ache; and to
wash the eyes with oxycrate, as a preventive of ophthalmia.
It has been remarked also, that the general health is improved
by a varying regimen, subject to no fixed rules.
(5.) Hippocrates informs us that the viscera of persons who
do not take the morning meal
7 become prematurely aged and
feeble; but then he has pronounced this aphorism, it must be
remembered, by way of suggesting a healthful regimen, and not
to promote gluttony; for moderation in diet is, after all, the
thing most conducive to health. L. Lucullus gave charge to
one of his slaves to overlook him in this respect; and, a thing
that reflected the highest discredit on him, when, now an aged
man and laden with triumphs, he was feasting in the Capitol
even, his hand had to be removed. from the dish to which he
was about to help himself. Surely it was a disgrace for a man
to be governed by his own slave
8 more easily than by himself!