Medicina Flagellata Part 2

'Tis an Unhappiness in which the Men of this Age are fall'n, that Variety of Dishes is now the Fas.h.i.+on, and become so far preferable to Frugality; and yet the one is the Product of Temperance, whilst Pride and unrestrain'd Appet.i.te is the Parent of the other.

Notwithstanding the Difference of their Origin, yet Prodigality is at present stiled Magnificence, Generosity and Grandeur, and is commonly esteem'd of in the World, whilst Frugality pa.s.ses for Avarice and Sordidness in the Eyes and Acceptation of most Men: Here is a visible Error which Custom and Habit have established.

The Error has so far seduc'd us, that it has prevail'd upon us, to renounce a frugal Way of living, though taught us by Nature, even from the first Age of the World, as being that which would prolong our Days, and has cast us into those Excesses, which serve only to abridge the Number of them. We become old before we have been able to taste the Pleasures of being young; and the time which ought to be the Summer of our Lives, is often the beginning of their Winter, we soon perceive our Strength to fail, and Weakness to come on apace, and decline even before we come to Perfection.

On the contrary, Sobriety maintains us in the natural State wherein we ought to be. Our Youth is lasting, our Manhood attended with a Vigour that does not begin to decay 'till after a many Years. A whole Century must be run out before Wrinkles can be form'd on the Face, or Grey-hairs grow on the Head: This is so true, that when Men were not addicted to Voluptuousness, they had more Strength and Vivacity at Fourscore, than we have at present at Forty.

It cannot indeed be expected, that every Man should tie himself strictly to the Observations of the same Rules in his Diet, since the Variety of Climates, Const.i.tution, Age, and other Circ.u.mstances may admit of Variations. But this we may a.s.sert as a reasonable, general, and undeniable Maxim, founded upon Reason and the Nature of Things; that for the Preservation of Health and prolonging a Man's Life, it is necessary that he eat and drink no more than is sufficient to support his natural Const.i.tution; and on the contrary, whatsoever he eats and drinks beyond, that is superfluous, and tends to the feeding of the corrupt and vicious Humours, which will at last, though they may be stifled for a Time, break out into a Flame and burn the Man quite down, or else leave him like a ruinated or shattered Building.

This general Maxim which we have laid down, will hold good with respect to Men of all Ages and Const.i.tutions, and under whatsoever Climate they live, if they have but the Courage to make a due Application of it, and to lay a Restraint upon their unreasonable Appet.i.tes.

After all, we will not, we dare not warrant, that the most strict and sober Life will secure a Man from all Diseases, or prolong his Days to the greatest old Age. Natural Infirmities and Weaknesses, which a Man brings along with him into the World, which he deriv'd from his Parents and could not avoid, may make him sickly and unhealthful, notwithstanding all his Care and Precaution: And outward Accidents (from which no Man is free) may cut off the Thread of Life before it is half spun out. There is no fencing against the latter of those, but as to the former, a Man may in some Measure correct and amend them by a sober and regular Life. In fine, let a Man's Life be longer or shorter, yet Sobriety and Temperance renders it pleasant and delightful. One that is sober, though he lives but thirty or forty Years, yet lives long, and enjoys all his Days, having a free and clear Use of all his Faculties; whilst the Man that gives himself to Excess, and lays no Restraint to his Appet.i.tes, though he prolongs his Life to Threescore or Fourscore Years (which is next to a Miracle) yet is his Life but one continu'd doseing Slumber, his Head being always full of Fumes, the Pores of his Soul cloudy and dark, the Organs of his Body weak and worn out, and very unfit to discharge the proper Offices of a rational Creature. And indeed Reason, if we hearken to it, will tell us, that a good Regimen is necessary for the prolonging our Days, and that it consists in two Things, first in takeing Care of the Quality, and secondly of the Quant.i.ty, so as to eat and drink nothing that offends the Stomach, nor any more than we can easily digest.

And in this, Experience ought to be our Guide in those two Principles, when we arrive to Forty, Fifty, or Sixty Years of Age. He who puts in Practice that Knowledge which he has of what is good for him, and goes on in a frugal Way of Living, keeps the Humours in a just Temperature, and prevents them from being altered, though he suffer Heat and Cold, though he be fatigued, though his Sleep be broke, provided there be no Excess in any of them. This being so, what an Obligation does Man lie under of living soberly, and ought he not to free himself from the Fears of sinking under the least Intemperature of the Air, and under the least Fatigue, which makes us sick upon every slight Occasion?

'Tis true, the most sober Man may sometimes be indisposed, when they are unavoidably obliged to transgress the Rule which they have been used to observe; but then they are certain, their Indisposition will not last above two or three Days at most, nor can they fall into a Fever: Weariness and Faintness are easily remedied by Rest and good Diet.

There are some who feed high, and maintain, that whatsoever they eat is so little a Disturbance to them, that they cannot perceive in what Part of the Body the Stomach lies; but I averr, they do not speak as they think, nor is it natural? 'Tis impossible that any created Being should be of so perfect a Composition, as that neither Heat nor Cold, Dry nor Moist should have any Influence over it, and that the Variety of Food which they make use of, of different Qualities, should be equally agreeable to them. Those Men cannot but acknowledge, that they are sometimes out of Order; if it is not owing to a sensible Indigestion, yet they are troubled with Head-achs, Want of Sleep, and Fevers, of which they are cured by a Diet, and taking such Medicines as are proper for Evacuations. It is therefore certain, that their Distempers proceed from Repletion, or from their having eat or drank something which did not agree with their Stomachs.

Most old People excuse their high Feeding by saying, that it is necessary to eat a great deal, to keep up their natural Heat, which diminishes proportionably as they grow into Years; and to create an Appet.i.te, 'tis necessary to find out proper Sauces, and to eat whatsoever they have a Fancy for, and that without thus humouring their Palates, they would be soon in their Graves.

To this I reply: That Nature, for the Preservation of a Man in Years, has so composed him, that he may live with a little Food; that his Stomach cannot digest a great Quant.i.ty, and that he has no need of being afraid of dying for want of eating; since when he is sick, he is forced to have recourse to a regular Sort of Diet, which is the first and main Thing prescrib'd him by his Physician, that if this Remedy is of such Efficacy to s.n.a.t.c.h us out of the Arms of Death, 'tis a Mistake to suppose that a Man may not by eating a little more than he does when he is sick, live a long Time without ever being sick.

Others had rather be disturb'd twice or thrice a Year with the Gout, the Sciatica, and their Epidemical Distempers, than to be always put to the Torment and Mortification of laying a Restraint upon their Appet.i.tes, being sure, that when they are indisposed, a regular Diet will be an infallible Remedy and Cure. But let them be informed by me, that as they grow up in Years their natural Heat abates; that as regular Diet, despised as a Precaution, and only look'd upon as Physick, cannot always have the same Effect nor Force, to draw off the Crudities, nor repair the Disorders that are caused by Repletion; and lastly, that they run the Hazard of being cheated by their Hope and by their Intemperance.

Others say, That it is more eligible to feed high and enjoy themselves, though a Man live the less while. It is no surprizing Matter that Fools and Mad-men should contemn and despise Life; the World will be no Loser whenever they go out of it; but 'tis a considerable Loss, when wise, virtuous, and holy Men drop into the Grave, who might have done more Honour to their Country and to themselves.

In Youth this Excess is more frequent; necessary therefore it is to moderate his Apet.i.te; for if the Stomach be stretch'd beyond its due Extent, it will require to be fill'd, but never well digest what it receives. Besides, it is much better to prevent Diseases, by Temperance, Sobriety, Chast.i.ty, and Exercise, than cure them by Physick.

_Quid enim se Medicis dederit, seipsum sibi eripit. Summa Medicinarum ad sanitatem corporis & animae, abstinentiae est._ He that lives abstemiously, or but temperately, need not study the Wholesomeness of his Meat, nor the Pleasantness of that Sawce, the Moments and Punctillio's of Air, Heat, Cold, Exercise, Lodging, Diet; nor is critical in Cookery or in his Liquors, but takes thankfully what G.o.d gives him. Especially, let all young Men forbear Wines and Strong Drinks, as well as spiced and hot Meats; for they introduce a preternatural Heat in the Body, and at least hinder and obstruct, if not at length exhaust the natural.

But if overtaken by Excess, (it's difficult to be always upon our Guard) the last Remedy is vomiting, or fasting it out, neither go to bed on a full Stomach; let Physick be always the last Remedy, that Nature may not trust to it; for though a sick Man leaves all for Nature to do, he hazards much; but when he leaves all for the Doctor to do, he hazards more: And since there is a Hazard both ways, I would sooner rely upon Nature; for this at least we may be sure of, that she is as honest as she can, and that she does not find the Account in prolonging the Disease.

Others there are, who perceiving themselves to grow old, tho' their Stomach be less capable of digesting well every day less than another, yet will not upon that Account abate any thing of their Diet; they only abridge themselves in the Number of their Meals; and because they find two or three Meals a Day is troublesome, they think their Health is sufficiently provided for, by making only one Meal; that so the time between one Repast and another, may (as they say) facilitate the Digestion of those Aliments which they might have taken at twice: For this Reason they eat as much at one Meal, that their Stomach is over-charged and out of Order, and converts the Superfluities of its Nourishment into bad Humours, which engender Diseases and Death.

I never knew a Man live long by this Conduct. These Men would doubtless have prolong'd their Days, had they abridg'd the Quant.i.ty of their ordinary Food proportionally as they grew in Years; and had they eat a great deal less a little oftner.

Some again are of Opinion, that Sobriety may indeed preserve a Man in Health, but does not prolong his Life. To this we say, that there have been Persons in past Ages, who have prolong'd their Lives by this Means; and some there are at present who still do it; for as Infirmities contracted by Repletion shorten our Days, a Man of an ordinary Reach may perceive, that if he desires to live long, it is better to be well than sick, and that consequently Temperance contributes more to long Life, than excessive Feeding.

Whatsoever Sensualists may say, Temperance is of infinite Benefit to Mankind: To it he owes his Preservation; it banishes from his Mind the dismal Apprehensions of dying; 'tis by its Means he becomes wise, and arrives to an Age wherein Reason and Experience furnish him with a.s.sistance to free himself from the Tyranny of his Pa.s.sions, which have lorded it over him for almost the whole Course of his Life.

A very notable Instance of this we have in the Life of _Lewis Cornaro_, a n.o.ble _Venetian_, who though of a weakly Const.i.tution, increas'd by a voluptuous Life, yet at the Age of thirty five or forty Years, he was resolv'd to practice in all the Rules of Sobriety and Temperance, and to withdraw from those Excesses that had brought upon him those usual Ills the Gout and the Cholick, fatal Attendants to an indolent and luxurious Life, and which reduc'd him to so low a State, that his Recovery was despair'd of by the wisest Physician: And here he tells you that he was born very cholerick and hasty, and flew out into a Pa.s.sion for the least Trifle, that he huffed all Mankind, and was so intolerable, that a great many Persons of Repute avoided his Company: He apprehended the Injury which he did to himself, he knew that Anger is a real Frenzy, that it disturbs our Judgment, that it transports us beyond our selves, and that the Difference between a pa.s.sionate and a mad Man is only this, that the latter has lost his Reason, and the former is only depriv'd of it by fits.

A sober Life cured him of his Frenzy; by its a.s.sistance he became so moderate, and so much a Master of his Pa.s.sions, that no body could perceive it was born with him.

How great and valuable must Temperance then be, which carries that soveraign Aid, and can relieve the Pa.s.sions of the Mind, and not only to expel the bad Humours of the Body, but also to restore it to a due Tone, and a full State of Health.

Now let any one upon a serious Reflection consider which is most eligible, a sober and regular, or an intemperate, and disorderly Course of Life: This is certain, that if all Men would live regularly and frugally, there would be so few sick Persons, that there would hardly be any Occasion for Remedies,

_Si tibi deficiant Medici, Medici tibi fiant.

Haec tria, Mens laeta, requies moderata dieta._

_The best and safest Physician is Doctor Diet, Doctor Merryman, and Doctor Quiet._

every one would become his own Physician, and would be convinced that he never met with a better.

It would be to little Purpose to study the Const.i.tution of other Men; every one, if he would but apply himself to it, would always be better acquainted with his own than that of another; every one would be capable of making those Experiments for himself which another could not do for him, and would be the best Judge of the Strength of his own Stomach, and of the Food which is agreeable thereto; for in one Word, 'tis next to impossible to know exactly the Const.i.tution of another, their Const.i.tutions being as different as their Complexions.

Since no Man therefore can have a better Physician than himself, nor a more soveraign Antidote than a Regimen, that is to study his own Const.i.tution, and to regulate his Life according to the Rules of right Reason.

I own, indeed, the disinterested Physician may be some time necessary, since there are some Distempers, which all human Prudence cannot provide against, there happen some unavoidable Accidents which seize us after such a Manner, as to deprive our Judgment of the Liberty it ought to have to be a Comfort to us; it may then be a Mistake wholly to rely upon Nature, it must be a.s.sisted, and Recourse must be had to some one or another for it; and in this we have much the Advantage of the irregular Man, his Vices having heaped Fewel to the Distemper; but on the contrary, by a regular Course of Life, the very Cause is not to be found, and the Disease retreats from you.

And here the fam'd _Cornaro_, who being at Seventy Years of Age, had another Experiment of the Usefulness of a Regimen, and 'twas this; A Business of extraordinary Consequence drawing him into the Country, and being in the Coach, the Horses ran away with him, and was overthrown, and dragg'd a long away before they could stay the Horses; they took him out of the Coach with his Head broke, a Leg and Arm out of joint, and in a Word, in a very lamentable Condition. As soon as they brought him Home again, they sent for the Physicians, who did not expect he should live three Days to an end: However, they resolv'd upon letting of him Blood, to prevent the coming of a Fever, which usually happens upon such Cases. He was so confident that the regular Life which he had led, had prevented the contracting of any ill Humours, of which he might be afraid, that he rejected their Prescription, and ordered them to dress his Head, to set his Leg and Arm, and to rub him with some Specifick Oils proper for Bruises, and without any other Remedies he was soon cured, to the Amazement of the Physicians and of all those that knew him. From hence he did infer, that a regular Life is an excellent Preservative against all natural Ills; and that Intemperance produces quite contrary Effects.

What a Difference then between a sober and an intemperate Life? the one shortens and the other prolongs our Days, and makes us enjoy a perfect Health, and with _Juvenal_, _Mens sana in Corpore sano_. I cannot understand how it comes to pa.s.s, that so many People, otherwise prudent and rational, cannot resolve upon laying a Restraint upon their insatiable Appet.i.tes at fifty or sixty Years of Age, or at least when they begin to feel the Infirmities of old Age coming upon them they might rid themselves of them by a strict Diet and a due Regimen.

I do not wonder so much that young People are so hardly brought to such a Resolution; they are not capable enough of reflecting; and their Judgment is not solid enough to resist the Charms of Sense: But at Fifty a Man ought to be govern'd by his Reason, which would convince us if we would hearken to it, that to gratify all our Appet.i.tes without any Rule or Measure, is the Way to become infirm and die young. Nor does the Pleasure of Taste last long, it hardly begins but 'tis gone and past; the more one eats, the more one may, and the Distempers which it brings along with it, last us to our Graves.

Now should not a sober Man be very well satisfied when he is at Table, upon the a.s.surance, that as often as he rises from it, what he eats will do him no harm: Who then would not perfectly enjoy the Pleasures of this mortal Life so perfectly? Who will not court and win Sobriety, which is so grateful to G.o.d, as being the Guardian to Virtue, and irreconcileable Enemy to Vice.

Surely the Example of this wise and good Man deserves our Imitation, that since old Age may be made so useful and pleasant to Men, I should have fail'd in Point of Charity to inform Mankind by what Methods they might prolong their Days.

A great a.s.sistant to that of Sobriety, and which is highly conducive to the Preservation of the whole Man, is to renew with us that habitual and beneficial Custom of the Antients in promoting _Exercise_, as one great Instrument to the Conservation of Health, and which no one can deny who has given himself the Experience of a Trial.

That it promotes the Digestion, raises the Spirits, refreshes the Mind, and that it strengthens and relieves the whole Man, is scarce disputed by any; but that it should prove curative in some particular Distempers, and that too when scarce any thing else will prevail, seems to obtain little Credit with most People, who though they will give the Physician the hearing when he recommends the Use of Rideing, or any other Sort of Exercise, yet at the Bottom, look upon it as a forlorn Method, and rather the Effects of his Inability to relieve them, than a Belief that there is any great Matter in what he advises: Thus by a negligent Diffidence they deceive themselves and let slip the golden Opportunities of recovering by a diligent Struggle what could not be cur'd by the Use of Medicine alone.

But to give you a just and rational Idea of its Power of moving and actuating upon the Body, let us consider the whole human System as a Compound of Tubes and Glands, or to use a more rustick Phrase, a Bundle of Pipes and Strainers, fitted to one another after so wonderful a Manner as to make a proper Engine for the Soul to work with. This Description does not only comprehend the Bowels, Bones, Tendons, Veins, Nerves, and Arteries, but every Muscle and every Ligature, which is a Composition of Fibres, that are so many imperceptable Tubes or Pipes interwoven on all Sides with invisible Glands and Strainers.

This general Idea of a human Body, without considering it in the Niceties of Anatomy; let us see how absolutely necessary Labour is for the right Preservation of it. There must be frequent Motions and Agitations to mix, digest, and separate the Juices contained in it, as well as to clear and cleanse that Infinitude of Pipes and Strainers of which it is composed, and to give their solid Parts a more firm and lasting Tone; Exercise ferments the Humours, casts them into their proper Channels, throws off Redundancies, and helps Nature in those secret Distributions, without which the Body cannot subsist in Vigour, nor act with Chearfulness. I might here mention the Effects which this has upon the Soul, upon all the Faculties of the Mind, by keeping the Understanding clear, the Imagination untroubled, and refining those Spirits that are necessary for the proper Execution of our intellectual Faculties, during the present Laws of Union between Soul and Body.

It is a Neglect in this Particular, that we must ascribe the Spleen, which is so frequent in Men of studious and sedentary Tempers; as well as the Vapours, to which those of the other s.e.x are so often subject.

Had not Exercise been absolutely necessary for our Well-being, Nature would not have made the Body so proper for it, by giving such an Activity to the Limbs, and such a Pliancy to every Part, as necessarily produce those Compressions, Extensions, Contortions, Dilatations, and all other Kind of Motions that are necessary for the Preservation of such a System of Tubes and Glands as has been before mentioned.

And that we might not want Inducements to engage us in such an Exercise of the Body as is proper for its Welfare, it is so ordered, that nothing valuable can be procur'd without it. Not to mention Riches and Honour, even Food and Raiment are not to be come at without the Toil of the Hands, and Sweat of the Brows.

Providence furnishes us with Materials, but expects we should work them up ourselves. The Earth must be labour'd before it gives Encrease; and when it is forced into its several Products, how many Hands must they pa.s.s thro' before they are fit for Use? Manufactures, Trade, and Agriculture naturally employ more than nineteen Parts of the Species in twenty; and as for those who are not obliged to labour, by the Condition in which they are born, they are more miserable than the rest of Mankind, unless they indulge themselves in that voluntary Labour call'd Exercise, of which there is no Kind I would so recommend to both s.e.xes, as that of Rideing; as there is none that conduces so much to Health, and is every Way accommodated to the Body. Dr. _Sydenham_ is very lavish in its Praises, and if you would learn the mechanical Effects of it described at length, you may find it learnedly treated of by Dr. _Fuller_, in a late Treatise, int.i.tuled, _Medicina Gymnastica_, or, _The Power of Exercise_. And here Mr. _Dryden_:

_The first Physicians by Debauch were made; Excess began, and Sloth sustain'd the Trade.

By Chase our long-liv'd Fathers earn'd their Food, Toil strung the Nerves, and purified the Blood; But we their Sons, a pamper'd Race of Men, Are dwindled down to threescore Years and ten.

Better to hunt in Fields for Health unbought, Than fee the Doctor for a nauseous Draught.

The Wise for Cure on Exercise depend; G.o.d never made his Work for Man to mend._

General MAXIMS FOR HEALTH: OR, _RULES to preserve the Body to a good old Age_.