¶Of Meate. Chap. 21.
SIth we haue spoken of the proper∣tyes of man touching those things of the which man is kindly made: Now we shall speak of the propertyes of those things, which kindly kéepe man in bée∣ing. And they be those, as Iohn sayth, Aire, businesse, and trauaile, rest, meate, and drinke,* watch and sleepe. For with∣out these mans body is not kept. Deere we follow not by order, for afterwarde in their places accordingly we shal speak of these things. Then speake wee first of meate as much as sufficeth: For as Constantine saith, meate is the sub∣staunce that is able to be turned into the essence of the bodie that is fedde, and en∣creaseth the bodie, and maketh it more, and féedeth and susteineth it: For the heate of the inner and vtter members worketh alwaie, and dissolueth and wa∣steth: And so thereto néedeth continu∣all restanration to restore what is wasted & spended: Meate that is taken turneth into the likenesse of the body, and passeth into the kinde thereof. And so in meate preparation thereof goeth before, and then commeth chewing, and then it is receiued into the place of digestion: And fourthly digestion is made, and then de∣parting of the pured part from the vnpu∣red parte: Fiftly, that that is pured is drawne and departed into all the mem∣bers: Sixtly, it is turned into the lyke∣nesse of the kinde of members. For if it were not made lyke to the members, it should neyther be incorporate, neyther turned into the kinde thereof. At the last after all this, the meate is incorporated and tourned into the kinde of the bodye. For that which is hotte and moyst, pas∣seth into the kinde of bloud and of flesh: And that, which is colde and drye, into the kinde of sinewes and of boanes, and so of other: In younglings meate taken and corporate, nourisheth and increaseth the bodie: In olde men it repaireth kinde heate, and restoreth that which is spent and wasted, and kéepeth the bodie that it be not all lost. Of meate be many di∣uersities: Some meate tourneth soone into bloud through his substantiall moi∣sture and heate, and for lykenesse that it hath to bée bloud. And some contrary∣wise for a contrary cause tourneth later into bloud: Some meate nourisheth much, for it bréedeth much bloud. And some nourisheth lyttle, and chargeth the bodye more then it féedeth: yet some∣what it refresheth the bodye. And gene∣rally all meate which bréedeth good bloud is more conuenient in ruling of health, yet to men that trauaile groser meate is conuenient, that breedeth thicker bloud: Also, all meates that bréedeth much bloud; haue but lyttle superfluitye. And contrarywise the meate that bree∣deth little bloud, bréedeth much superflu∣itie: and generallye by the diuersitie of meates the complection of members bée diuerslye disposed, and take the qualities of the bodie, as sayth Constantine. liber. 1. About meat of these thinges men shall take héede, as men doe about dicting, as Galen saith Super Aphorism. That is to wit: Of meat the substantialitie, the qua∣litie, the quantitie, the néede of him that Page 79 eateth, & of conenable time. It néedeth al∣so to know the substance and qualitie of meats, for the kéeping & ruling of mens bodies. For some meate nourisheth purely and chaungeth eastly: And such meate kéepeth and saueth kinde. Some is meane meate, and that is lightly tur∣ned into helping of kinde. And some meate is pestilentiall, and corrupteth kinde, as venimous meate, which chaun∣geth all kinde, and destroyeth the bodye. Therefore it needeth to knowe the sub∣staunce and qualytie of meate, that men take not venim in steede of meate. Qua∣lytie of meate is knowne either by the remission and slaking of the qualyties of Elements, that is to vnderstand, by full little colde, heate, drinesse, or moisture, and so meate is colde or hotte in the first degree by the vttermost hugenesse of the same qualities, that is by most heate, drynesse, colde, or moysture, and so meate is colde, hot, drye, or moyst in the fourth degrée: or else by the meane of those qualyties, and so meate is in the thirde degrée, or in the second, as it hath more or lesse of those qualities. Also Constan∣tine sayth, That men must take héede that some meate is subtill both in sub∣stance and in qualitie, the which meat is soone digested: and much therof naurish∣eth but little. For as Au•cen saith, such meat bréedeth subtil bloud, which is soone wasted in the members: and therefore it nourisheth but little: as he saith.
And some meate is greate and harde to de•e, and lyttle thereof nourisheth much. For it breedeth grose blond, which is not soone spended neyther wasted in the members. For as Isaac sayth, small meate and subtill bréede small bloud and subtill, and so contrariwise. And some is temporate in substaunce and in quality, and that meate which is cleane and pure, is commendable, which is not too great, neyther too small, neyther too sub∣till, and is good and wholesome, and so in contrariwise. Auicen sayth, That raw and gréene hearbs and fruite are not full good meate by reason of they: passing moysture, which maketh the bloud full watrye, and disposeth it to rottennesse. And therefore they bee rather medi∣cinable then meate. Meate shall be like and of one manner, which that men eate at one meale, for diuerse meates nourish diuerslye. For Auicen sayth, in taking of diuerse meates at one meale, the one manner meate is corrupt, while another is a digesting, and the sto∣macke is ouerfilled, and is stretched a∣broade.
In meate men shal take héed of quan∣titye of silling and of working For men shall take héede,* whether it bee too lyt∣tle or too much, or else meane betweene these twaine. For if the meate bée too much, then it grieueth kinde, and stret∣cheth the stomacke, and bloweth it and bréedeth fretting and gnawing in the wombe, and increaseth vnttears and Postumes, and prouoketh wamblnges and spungs, and it euentheth and slisee∣leth kinde heate, as too much Oyle quen∣eth the lyght of a Lampe: and it bree∣deth the Crampe, and shrinking of si∣newes, and it procureth Botches, S•••, and Mostumes, and l••sleth age and death: against the which death a man supposeth to defende himselfe with mul∣titude of meate and drinke. If meate bee too scarce, it so•bleth kinde, and ap∣paireth the sight, and the other wities, and bréedeth falling of the haire and baldenesse, and hasteth the diseases cal∣led Luike and Etike, and maketh the body leane, and it bréedeth worse sick∣nesses and euills, then doth too greate re∣plecion. In Aphorism it is sayd, That in scarcitie of dyet, sicke men fall most. Meanenesse of meate is good, for it re∣storeth that the which was lost in the bodie, and kéepeth and saueth vertue and strength, and increaseth bloud, and tem∣pereth heate, and sharpeth the wit, and giueth vertue of working, and giueth and saueth health of bodye, and bree∣deth swéete sléepe soft and lyking, wher∣fore if the meate restoreth more, then was wasted and lost by working of heate, then the meate increaseth the bo∣dye, and maketh it more, as it fareth in younglings. And if the wasting and losse bee more then the meate restoreth, then the bodye wareth leane, lesse, and sayleth, as it fareth in age. And if Page [unnumbered] the restoring and the losse by euen & lyke, then it kéepeth the body in one state, as it fareth in young men. Men shuld take héed to meat, or to the dooing thereof, in com∣parison to them that eate thereof.
*The rath and greedy feeding with a licorousnesse to tast of many dishes, for a present pleasaunt eating, followeth a pining surfet, or sodaine choking.
For one meate accordeth to a whole man, another to a sicke man, one to a young man, another to an olde man:one to him that trauaileth, another to him yt resteth. For many meats be wholsome to an whole man, which be poison to a sicke man. Also in whole men is difference: for Garlicke and Pepper is remedy to some fleamaticke man, and venimous to some cholarike: And lusquianus, Henbane, is mans bane, & best beloued meat to spar∣rowes and Curlews, as sayth Galen. Al∣so meate shall be diuerse, as diuerse euils aske. For some meate is wholesome in the feauer quarten, that is poison in the agne. And some that is good in the begin∣ning of euill, is grieuous when the euill is at the highest, for then little meat shal be giuen to the sicke man, as saith Ipo∣cras and Galen. For then kind is altoge∣ther occupied about digestion of the euil, wherefore then his doing should be lessed and let, if it be occupied about much and great meat. Also other meate and other∣wise giuen is needfull in turning euills, and long during. And other in contrarye euills. For in the beginning it is dread∣full, least vertue saile, and therefore née∣deth the more meate, in contrarye euill it is dreade of increasing of the euill: therefore the sick man shall haue the lesse meate. The féeding shall be after the ver∣tue and strength of the sicke man, and af∣ter the qualitie and substance of ye meat: And héereby profit of meat is déemed and knowne. Also in another manner a yoūg∣ling shall be fedde, and a young man, and in another manner the olde man,* For in olde men, abstinence of meate is soft and easie, and in children and young men harde and vncasie, according to the sayeng of Ipocras. Olde men may most easilye fast, and then sadde men, somewhat easilye, and children maye least fast. For in olde men kinde heate is féeble, and in other strong. And there∣fore more meate néedeth to swage the heate in young men and in children, and lesse in olde men. And for the same cause resting men shall eate and drinke lesse then trauailing men, for heate is strong in trauailing men, and féeble in resting men, as it shall bée shewed after∣ward.
Also in féeding, men should take héede to couenablenesse of time. For men néede greater and larger diet in winter then in Summer, as Ipocras saith. The wombs in springing time and in Winter bée kindly full hotte, and of long sléepe. Then in those times many meats shall bée giuen, for then kinde heate is much nourishing and féeding, &c. And in Winter is strong appetite and digesti∣on, for heate is full strong. And in Sum∣mer it is contrarie. For in Winter kind heate commeth inwarde, and is gathe∣red within, and in Summer it draw∣eth out, as it were for lyking of like∣nesse of the vtter heate: And is effused, diuided, and departed, and is lesse in the bodye within. Therefore Winter time because much is digested, the appetite is much excited and mooued, as it fareth in children which haue much heat, and therefore greate appetite, and much •e∣siring néedéeth much meale. And lyke∣wise is it in Champions, and harde and strong, and trauailing men, in whem because of strong and harde trauayle, the kinde heate is the more: And therefore to them néedeth greate abundaunce and much meate and drinke, as Galen set∣teth an ensample there. Then meate is right necessarie & néedfull to euery beast, and most according and conuenient, when it is of one manner, and tempo∣rate, and not too much neyther too lyt∣tle. For often too greate repletions of meate, is cause of death of bodie and of soule, and namely after great hunger, great repletion of meate is perillous, as sayth Auicen: For then kinde desireth more, then it maye defie. And therefore then meate shall bée taken against appe∣tite and saturite.
