these plants. The old men make incense, and with their faces
to the east repeat the short prayer which Jesus Christ taught
us. After this they go to wait upon the old men, some go
to the dance, and others to the duties of the State. Later on
they meet at the early lectures, then in the temple, then for
bodily exercise. Then for a little while they sit down to rest,
and at length they go to dinner.

Among them there is never gout in the hands or feet, nor ca-
tarrh, nor sciatica, nor grievous colics, nor flatulency, nor hard
breathing. For these diseases are caused by indigestion and
flatulency, and by frugality and exercise they remove every
humor and spasm. Therefore it is unseemly in the extreme
to be seen vomiting or spitting, since they say that this is a sign
either of little exercise, or of ignoble sloth, or of drunkenness,
or gluttony. They suffer rather from swellings or from the
dry spasm, which they relieve with plenty of good and juicy
food. They heal fevers with pleasant baths and with milk-
food, and with a pleasant habitation in the country and by grad-
ual exercise. Unclean diseases cannot be prevalent with them
because they often clean their bodies by bathing in wine, and
soothe them with aromatic oil, and by the sweat of exercise they
diffuse the poisonous vapor which corrupts the blood and the
marrow. They do suffer a little from consumption, because
they cannot perspire at the breast, but they never have asthma,
for the humid nature of which a heavy man is required. They
cure hot fevers with cold potations of water, but slight ones
with sweet smells, with cheese-bread or sleep, with music or
dancing. Tertiary fevers are cured by bleeding, by rhubarb
or by a similar drawing remedy, or by water soaked in the roots