the eyes of the physicians. Hence we are to infer, that whoever leads a sober and regular life, and commits no excess in his diet, can suffer but very little from disorders of any other kind, or external accidents. On the contrary, I conclude, especially from the late trial I have had, that excesses in eating and drinking are fatal. Of this I convinced myself four years ago, when, by the advice of my physicians, the instigation of my friends, and the importunity of my own family, I consented to such an excess, which, as it will appear hereafter, was attended with far worse consequences than could naturally be expected. This consisted in increasing the quantity of food I generally made use of; which increase alone brought on me a most cruel fit of sickness. And as it is a case so much in point to the subject in hand, and the knowledge of it may be useful to some of my readers, I shall take the trouble to relate it.

I say, then, that my dearest friends and relations, actuated by the warm and laudable affection and regard they had for me, seeing how little I ate, represented to me, in conjunction with my physicians, that the sustenance I took could not be sufficient to support one so far advanced in years, when it was become necessary to preserve nature, and also to increase its vigor. That, as this could not be done without food, it was absolutely incumbent upon me to eat a little more plentifully. I, on the other hand, produced my reasons for not complying with their desires. These were, that nature is content with little, and that with this little I had preserved myself so many years; and that to me, the habit of it was become a second nature; besides, it was more agreeable to reason, that as I advanced in years and lost my strength, I should rather lessen than increase the quantity of my food. Further, that it was but natural to think, that the powers of the stomach grew weaker from day to day; on which account I could see no reason to make such an addition. To corroborate my arguments, I alleged those two natural and very true proverbs; one, that he who has a mind to eat a great deal, must eat but little; which is said for no other reason than this, that eating little makes a man live very long; and living very long he must eat a great deal. The other proverb was, that what we leave after making a hearty meal, does us more good than what we have eaten. But neither these proverbs, nor any other arguments I could think of, were able to prevent their teazing me more than ever. Wherefore, not to appear obstinate, or affecting to know more than the physicians themselves, but above all to please my family, who very earnestly desired it, from a persuasion that such an addition to my usual allowance must preserve the tone of my stomach, I consented to increase the quantity of food, but by two ounces only. So that, as before, what with bread, meat, the yolk of an egg, and soup, I ate as much as weighed in all twelve ounces, neither more nor less. I now increased it to fourteen; as before I drank but fourteen ounces of wine, I now increased it to sixteen. This increase and irregularity had, in eight days time, such an effect upon me, that from being cheerful and brisk, I began to be peevish and melancholy, so that nothing could please me; and was constantly of so strange a temper, that I neither knew what to say to others, nor what to do with myself. On the twelfth day I was attacked with a most violent pain in my side, which held me twenty-two hours, and was succeeded by a terrible fever, which continued thirty-five days, and as many nights, without giving me a moment's respite; though, to say the truth, it began to abate gradually on the sixteenth; but notwithstanding such abatement, I could not during the whole time sleep half a quarter of an hour together, insomuch that every one looked upon me as a dead man'; but, God be praised, I recovered merely by my former regular course of life, though then in my seventy-eighth year, and in the coldest season of a very cold year, and reduced to a mere skeleton; and I am positive, that it was the great regularity I observed for so many years, and that only, which rescued me from the jaws of death. In all that time I never knew what sickness was, unless I may call by that name some slight indispositions of the continuance of a day or two: the regular life I had led, as I have already taken notice, for so many years, not having permitted any superfluous or bad humours to breed in me; or, if they did, to prevent them acquiring such strength and malignity as they generally acquire in the superannuated bodies of those who live without rule. And as there was not any old malignity in my humours (which is the thing that kills people), but only that which my new irregularity had occasioned, this fit of sickness, though exceedingly violent, had not strength enough to destroy me. This it was, and nothing else, that saved my life, whence may be gathered how great is the power and efficacy of regularity; and how great likewise is that of irregularity, which in a few days could bring on me so terrible a fit of sickness, just as regularity had preserved me in health for so many years.

:

And it appears to me no weak argument, that, since the world, consisting of the four elements, is upheld by order; and our life, as to the body, is no other than a harmonious combination of the same four elements, so it should be preserved and maintained by the very same order; and, on the other hand, worn out by sickness, or destroyed by death, which produces the contrary effects. By order, the arts are more easily learned; by order, armies are rendered victorious; by order, in a word, families, cities, and even

states are maintained. Hence I concluded, that orderly living is no other than a most certain cause and foundation of health and long life; nay, I cannot help saying, that it is the only and true medicine; and whosoever weighs the matter well, must also conclude, that this is really the case. Hence it is, that when a physician comes to visit a patient, that is the first thing he prescribes, enjoining him to live regularly. In like manner, when a physician takes leave of a patient, on his being recovered, he advises him, as he tenders his health, to lead a regular life. And it is not to be doubted, that were a patient so recovered to live in this manner, he could never be sick again, as it removes every cause of illness; and so, for the future, would never want either a physician or physic. Nay, by attending duly to what I have said, he would become his own physician, and indeed the best he could have; since, in fact, no man can be a perfect physician to any one but himself. The reason of which is, that any man may, by repeated trials, acquire a perfect knowledge of his own constitution, and the most hidden qualities of his body, and what wine and food agree with his stomach. Now, it is so far from being an easy matter to know these things perfectly, of another, that we cannot, without much trouble, discover them in ourselves, since a great deal of time and repeated trials are requisite for that purpose.

These trials are (if I may so express it) more than necessary, as there is a greater variety in the natures and stomachs of different men, than in their persons. Who could believe that old wine, wine that had passed its first year, should disagree with my stomach, and new wine agree with it; and that pepper, which is looked upon as a warm spice, should not have a warm effect upon me, insomuch that I find myself more warmed and comforted by cinnamon! Where is the physician that could have informed me of these two latent qualities, since I myself, even by a long course of observation, could scarce discover them? From all these reasons it follows, that it is impossible to be a perfect physician to another. Since, therefore, a man cannot have a better physician than himself, nor any physic better than a regular life, a regular life he ought to embrace.

I do not however mean, that, for the knowledge and cure of such disorders, as often befal those who do not live regularly, there is no occasion for a physician, and that his assistance ought to be slighted. For if we are apt to receive such great comfort from friends, who come to visit us in our illness, though they do no more than testify their concern for us, and bid us be of good cheer; how much more regard ought we to have for the physician, who is a friend that comes to see us in order to relieve us, and promise us a cure? But for the bare purpose of keeping ourselves

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in health, I am of opinion that we should consider as a physician this regular life, which, as we have seen, is our natural and proper physic, since it preserves men, even those of a bad constitution, health; makes them live sound and hearty to the age of one hundred and upwards; and prevents their dying of sickness, or through a corruption of their humours, but merely by a resolution of their radical moisture, when quite exhausted; all which effects several wise men have attributed to potable gold, and the elixir, sought for by many but discovered by few. However, to confess the truth, men, for the most part, are very sensual and intemperate, and love to satisfy their appetites and to commit every excess; therefore, seeing that they cannot avoid being greatly injured by such excess as often as they are guilty of it, they by way of apologising for their conduct say, that it is better to live ten years less and enjoy themselves; not considering, of what importance are ten years more of life, especially a healthy life, and at a maturer age; when men become sensible of their progress in knowledge and virtue, which cannot attain to any degree of perfection before this period

of life.

Not to speak at present of many other advantages, I shall barely mention, that in regard to letters and the sciences, far the greatest number of the best and most celebrated books extant were written during that period of life, and those ten years, which some make it their business to undervalue, in order to give loose to their appetites. Be that as it will, I would not act like them. I rather coveted to live these ten years, and had I not done so I should never have fre nished these tracts, which I have composed in consequence of my having been sound and hearty during that period; and which I have the pleasure to think will be of service to others. These sensualists add, that a regular life is such as no man can lead. To this I answer, Galen, who was so great a physician, led such a life, and chose it as the best physic. The same did Plato, Cicero, Isocrates, and so many other men of former times; whom, not to tire the reader, I shall forbear naming: and in our own days, Pope Paul Farnese led it, and Cardinal Bembo; and it was for that reason they lived so long; likewise our two Doges, Lando and Donato; besides many others of meaner condition, and those who live not only in cities, but also in different parts of the country, who all found great benefit by conforming to this regularity. Therefore, since many have actually led this life, and many actually lead it, it is not such a life but that every one may conform to it; and the more so, as no great difficulty attends it; nothing, indeed, being requisite but to begin in good earnest, as the abovementioned Cicero affirms, and all those who live in this manner. Plato, you will say, though he himself lived very regularly, affirms

notwithstanding, that in Republics men cannot do so, being often obliged to expose themselves to heat, cold, and several other kinds of hardship, and other things, which are all so many disorders, and incompatible with a regular life. I answer that, as I have already observed, these are not disorders attended with any bad consequences, or which affect either health or life, when the man who undergoes them observes the rules of sobriety, and commits no excess in the two points concerning diet, which a republican can well avoid, nay it is requisite he should avoid; because, by so doing he may be sure either to escape those disorders, which otherwise it would be no easy matter for him to escape, while exposed to hardships; or in case he could not escape them, he may more easily and speedily prevent their bad effects.

Here, it may be objected, and some actually do object, that he who leads a regular life, having constantly when well made use of food fit for the sick, and in small quantities, has no resource left in case of illness. To this I might, in the first place, answer, that nature, desirous to preserve man in good health as long as possible, informs him herself how he is to act in time of illness; for she immediately deprives him, when sick, of his appetite, in order that he may eat but little; because nature, as I have already said, is content with little; wherefore, it is requisite that a man when sick, whether he has been a regular or irregular liver, should use no meats but such as are suited to his disorder; and of these even in a much smaller quantity than he was wont to do when in health For were he to eat as much as he then used to do, he would die by it; and this the rather, as it would be only adding to the burden with which nature was already oppressed, by giving her a greater quantity of food than she can in these circumstances support; which I imagine should sufficiently satisfy any sick person. But, independent of all this, I might answer others, and still better, that whoever leads a regular life cannot be sick; or at least but seldom, and for a short time; because, by living regularly he extirpates every seed of sickness and thus by removing the cause, prevents the effects; so that he who pursues a regular course of life need not be apprehensive of illness, as he need not be afraid of the effect, who has guarded against the cause.

Since, therefore, it appears that a regular life is so profitable and virtuous, so lovely and so holy, it ought to be universally followed and embraced; and the more so, as it does not clash with the means or duties of any station, but is rather easy to all; because to lead it, a man need not tie himself down to eat so little as I do, or not to eat fruit, fish, and other things of that kind, from which I abstain, who eat little, and but just enough for my puny and weak stomach; ; as fruit, fish, and other things

VOL. XVIII.

Pam.

NO. XXXVI.