deterioration to the functions of the principal faculty, and cause
the disease by which he is manifestly accused and convicted. In proof
of what I say, and as an incontestable diagnostic of it, you need
only consider that great seriousness, that sadness, accompanied by
signs of fearfulness and suspicion--pathognomonic and particular
symptoms of this disease, so well defined by the divine ancient
Hippocrates; that countenance, those red and staring eyes, that long
beard, that habit of body, thin, emaciated, black, and hairy--signs
denoting him greatly affected by the disease proceeding from a defect
in the hypochondria; which disease, by lapse of time, being
naturalised, chronic, habitual, ingrained, and established within
him, might well degenerate either into monomania, or into phthisis,
or into apoplexy, or even into downright frenzy and raving. All this
being taken for granted, since a disease well-known is a disease half
cured, for _ignoti nulla est curatio morbis_, it will not be
difficult for you to conclude what are the remedies needed by our
patient. First of all, to remedy this obdurate plethora, and this
luxuriant cacochymy throughout the body, I opine that he should be
freely phlebotomised; by which I mean that there should be frequent
and abundant bleedings, first in the basilic vein, then in the
cephalic vein; and if the disease be obstinate, that even the vein of
the forehead should be opened, and that the orifice be large, so that
the thick blood may issue out; and, at the same time, that he should
be purged, deobstructed, and evacuated by fit and suitable
purgatives, i.e. by chologues and melanogogues. And as the real
source of all this mischief is either a foul and feculent humour or a
black and gross vapour, which obscures, empoisons, and contaminates
the animal spirits, it is proper afterwards that he should have a
bath of pure and clean water, with abundance of whey; to purify, by
the water, the feculency of the foul humour, and by the whey to