The castell of health, corrected, and in some places augmented by the first author thereof, Sir Thomas Elyot Knight

Bloud, Fleume, Choler, Melancholy.

Bloud hath preheminence ouer all other humours in susteining of all liuing creatures, for it hath more cōfor∣mitie with the originall cause of liuing, by reason of tem∣peratnes in heate and moysture, also nourisheth more the bodie, and restoreth that which is decayed, being the very treasure of life, by losse whereof death immediatly followeth. The distemperature of bloud happeneth by one of the other thrée humours, by the inordinate or su∣perfluous mixture of them.

Of Fleume.

• Fleume is of two sorts.
• Naturall, and vnna∣turall.

Naturall fleume is a humour cold & moyst, white and sweete, or without taste, ingendred by insufficient de∣coction in the second digestion of the waterie or rawe parts of the matter decoct, called Chilus, by the last dige∣stion made apt to bée conuerted into bloud. In this hu∣mour water hath dominion most principall.

Fleume vnnaturall is that which is mixt with other humours, or is altered in his qualitie: and therof is eight sundrie kinds.

Fleume.

• Watrie, which is found in spettle of great drinkers, of them which digest it.
• Slimy or raw.
• Glasie like to white glasse, thicke.
• Uiscous like bird-lime and heauie.
• Plaistrie which is very grosse, and as it were chalkie, such is found in the ioynts of them which haue the gowte.
• Salt that is mingled with choler.
• Sower mixt with melancholy, that commeth of corrupt digestion.
• Harsh, thicke and grosse, which is seldome found, which tasteth like greene crabs or slowes.
• Stiptick or binding is not so grosse nor cold, as harsh, and hath the taste like to greene red wine, or other like straining y^e tongue.

Choler doth participate with naturall heate as long as it is in good temperance. And thereof is also two kindes. Naturall, and vnnaturall.

Choler na∣turall.

Naturall choler is the fome of bloud, the colour whereof is red and cléere, or more like to an orenge colour, and it is hot & dry, wherein the fire hath dominion: & is light and sharpe, and is engendred of the most subtile part of matter decoct or boyled in the stomack, whose beginning is in y^e liuer.

Unnaturall choler is that which is mixt or corrupted with other humours, whereof be foure kinds.

Citrine or yellow choler, which is the mixture of na∣turall choler, and watrie fleume: and therefore hath lesse heate then other choler.

Yolkie like the yelks of egges, which is of the mixture of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 conge〈…〉〈…〉d, and ••••oler naturall, and is yet lesse hot then the other.

Gréene like vnto léekes, whose beginning is rather of the stomacke then of the liuer.

Gréene like to gréene canker of mettall, and burneth like venime, and is of excéeding 〈…〉〈…〉stion of choler or fleume, and by those two 〈…〉〈…〉ds nature is mortified.

Melancholy or black choler in diuided into two kinds.

• Naturall, which is the dregges of pure bloud, and is knowne by the blacknes when it issueth either down∣ward or vpward, and is verily cold or drie.
• Unnaturall, which pr〈…〉〈…〉deth of the adustion of cho∣lerike mixture, and is hoter and lighter, hauing in it vio∣lence to kill, with a dangerous disposition.