way of living, and might supply the defect of due govern

ment.

From these three things, namely, infection, negligence and ignorance, the natural heat, after the time of manhood is past, begins to diminish, and its diminution and intemperature doth more and more hasten on. Whence, the heat by little and little decreasing, the accidents of old age come on, which accidents in the very flower of age may be taken away; and after that time may be retarded; as also may that swift course, which hurries a man from manhood to age, from age to old age, from old age to the broken strength of decrepit age, be restrained.

For the circle of a man's age grows more in one day after age to old age, than in three days after youth to age; and is sooner turned from old age to decrepit age, than from age to old age.

Which weakness and intemperature of heat, is caused two ways: by the decay of natural moisture, and

By the increase of extraneous moisture.

For the heat exists in the native moisture, and is extinguished by external and strange moistness, which flows from weakness of digestion, as Avicenna in his first book, in his chapter Of Complexions, affirms.

Now the causes of the dissolution of the internal moisture, and of the external's abounding, whence the innate heat grows cool, are many, as I shall here show.

First of all, the dissolution of the natural happens from

two causes:

One whereof is the circumambient air, which dries up the matter: and the innate heat, which is inward, very much helps towards the same: for it is the cause of extinguishing itself, by reason it consumes the matter, wherein it subsists; as the flame of a lamp is extinguished, when the oil, exhausted by the heat, is spent.

The second cause is the toil proceeding from the motions of body and mind, which otherwise are necessary in life. To these accrue weakness and defect of nature, which easi

ly sinks under so great evils, (as Avicenna witnesseth in his first book Of Complexions of ages) not resisting those imperfections that invade it. Now

The motions of the mind are called animal, when the soul especially is exercised:

The motions of the body are, when our bodies are tossed and stirred of necessary causes, ill proportioned.

External moisture increaseth two ways: either from The use of meat and other things that breed an unnatural and strange moisture, especially phlegmatick, whereof I shall discourse hereafter; or from

Bad concoction, whence a feculent and putrid humour, differing from the nature of the body, is propagated.

For digestion is the root of the generation of unnatural and natural moisture, which when it is good, breeds good moisture, when bad a bad one, as Avicenna saith in his fourth cannon of his chapter of things, which hinder grey hairs. For from wholesome food, ill digested, an evil hu mour doth flow; and of poisonous meats, and such as naturally breed a bad humour, if well digested, sometime comes a good one.

But it is to be observed, that not only phlegm is called an extraneous humour, but whatever other humour is putrid. Yet phlegm is worse than the other external humour; in that it helps to extinguish the innate heat two ways

either

By choaking it; or

By cold resisting its power and quality; so Rasy in his chapter of the benefits of purging.

Which phlegm proceeds from faults in meats, negligence of diet, and intemperature of body; so that this sort of external moisture increasing, and the native moisture being. either changed in qualities, or decayed in quantity, man grows old, either

In the accustomed course of nature, by little and little and successively; when after the time of manhood, that is,

after

after forty or at most fifty years, the natural heat begins to diminish: Or

Through evil thoughts and anxious care of mind, wherewith sometimes men are hurt. For sickness and such like evil accidents, dissolve and dry up the natural moisture, which is the fewel of heat: and that being hurt, the force and edge of the heat is made dull. The heat being cooled, the digestive virtue is weakened; and this not performing its office, the crude and inconcocted meat putrifies on the stomach. Whereupon the external and remote parts of the body being deprived of their nourishment, do languish, wither and die, because they are not nourished. So Isaac in his book Of Fevers in the chapter of the Consumption doth teach.

But it may be queried, what this moisture is, and in what place it is seated, whereby the natural heat is nourished, and which is its fewel? Some say, that it is in the hollow of the heart, and in the veins and arteries thereof, as Isaac in his book Of Fevers, in the chapter of the Hectick. But there are moistures of divers kinds in the members which are prepared for nourishing, and to moisten the joints. Of which humours may be that is one which is in

the

Roger Bacon in his Perspectives, dist. 1. cap. 5. speaks thus. But that all doubting may be removed, it ought to be considered that the sensitive soul hath a double instrument, or subject: One is radical and fontal, and this is the heart, according to Aristotle and Avicenna in his book Of the Soul. Another is that which is first changed by the species of sensibles, and wherin the operations of the senses are more manifested and distinguished; and this is the brain. For when the head is hurt, there happens a manifest hurt of the sensi five powers; and the hurt of the head is more manifest to us than that of the heart, and therefore according to the more manifest consideration we shall place the senstive powers in the head: And this is the opinion of physicians, not considering that the fontal original of the powers is from the heart. But Avicenna in his first book of the Art of Physic, saith, that although to sense the opinion of physicians be more manifest: Yet the opinion of the philosopher is truer ; for all the nerves, and veins, and powers of the soul arise fir-t and principally from the heart, as Aristotle in his twelfth book Of Animals, demonstrates, and Avicenna in his third Of Animals, doth show.

the vein, and that another which like dew is reposed on the members, as Avicenna saith in his fourth book in the chapter of the Hectick. Whence perhaps the wise do understand, that all these moistures are fewel to the native heat; but especially that which is in the heart and its veins and arteries, which is restored, when from meats and drinks. good juices are supplied; and is made more excellent by outward medicines, such as anointings and bathings.

CHAP. II.

Of Remedies against the Causes of Old Age.

HITHERTO we have discoursed of the causes of old age: Now we must speak of the remedies which hinder them, and after what manner they may be hindered.

Wise physicians have laid down two ways of opposing these causes :

One is the ordering of a man's way of living;

The other is the knowledge of those properties, that are in certain things, which the ancients have kept secret.

Avicenna teacheth the ordering of life, who laying down, as it were, the art of guarding old age, ordereth that all putrefaction be carefully kept off, and that the native moisture be diligently preserved from dissolution and change, namely, that as great a share of moisture may be added by nutrition, as is spent by the flame of heat and otherwise. Now this care ought to be used in the time of manhood, that is, about the fortieth year of a man's age, when the beauty of a man is at the height.

These ways of repelling the causes of old age do something differ one from another.

For one is the beginning, the other the end: One begins, the other makes up the defect thereof; but each brings great assistance to the turning away of these evils. By one way alone the doctrine of the ancients will not be com

pleated

pleated: By the knowledge of each both our endeavours and theirs may be perfected.

The doctrine of soberly ordering one's life teacheth how to oppose, drive away, and restrain the causes of old age.

And this it doth by proportioning the six causes, distinct in kind, which are reckoned necessary to fence, preserve, and keep the body; which things, when they are observed and taken in quantity and quality, as they ought, and as the rules of physicians persuade, do become the true causes of health and strength: But when they are made use of by any man without regard had to quality and quantity, they cause sickness, as may be gathered from Galen's regiment with Haly's Exposition, where he treats Of the Regiment of Health.

But exactly to find out the true proportion of these causes, and the true degree of that proportion, is very hardly, or not at all to be done, but that there will be some defect or excess therein. Thus the sages have prescribed more to be done, than can be well put in practice. For the understanding is more subtle in operation, so that the true proportioning of these causes seems impossible, unless in bodies of a better nature; such as now are rarely found.

But medicines obscurely laid down by the ancients, and as it were concealed, whereof Dioscorides speaks, do make up these defects and proportions. For who can avoid the air infected with putrid vapours carried about with the force of the winds? Who will measure out meat and drink? Who can weigh in a sure scale or degree sleep and watching, motion and rest, and things that vanish in a moment, and the accidents of the mind, so that they shall neither exceed nor fall short? Therefore it was necessary that the ancients should make use of medicines, which might in

some

These six causes are called by physicians Sex Non-naturalia. They are, 1. The air. 2. Meat and drink. 3. Motion and rest. 4. Sleep and watching 5. Excretion and retention. 6. The passions of the mind,