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

Diet of cholerike persons. CAP. 16.

TO them which bee cholerike, being in their naturall temperature, and hauing not from their youth vsed the contrary, grosse meates moderatly taken, be more conue∣nient then the meates that bee fine, and better shall they digest a péece of good béefe, then a chickens legge. Choler of his propertie rather burning, thē well digesting meats of light substance: notwithstanding, some Gentlemen which bee nicely brought vp in their infancie, may not so well sustaine that diet, as poore men, being the more part vsed to grosse meates, wherefore their diet must bee in a temperance, as yong béefe, olde veale, mutton, and veni∣son powdred, yong géese, and such like, concerning theyr

complexion with meates, like thereunto in qualitie & de∣grée, according to the counsaile of Hippocrates. And as he perceiueth choler to abound, so to enterlace meates which bee colde, in a moderate quantitie, and to alay their wine more or lesse with water, eschewing hot spices, hot wines, and excessiue labour, whereby the body may be much cha∣sed. Also he may eate oftner in the day thē any other: fore∣seene, that there be such distance betwéene his meales, as the meate before eaten be fully digested, which in some per∣son is more, in some lesse, according to the heate & strength of his stomacke, noting alway that the cholerike person digesteth more meate then his appetite desireth: the me∣lancholike person desireth by false appetite more then his stomacke may digest. And to a cholerike person it is right daungerous, to vse long abstinence: for choler finding no∣thing in the stomacke to conco••t, it fareth then as where a little pottage or milk, being in a vessell ouer a great fire, it is burned to the vessell, and vnsauery fumes & vapours doe issue out thereof. Likewise in a cholerike stomacke by abstinence, these inconueniences doe happen, humours adust, consuming of naturall moysture, fumosities and stinking vapours, ascending vp to the head, whereof is in∣gendred dusking of the eyes, head-aches, hot and thinne rheumes after euery little surfet, and many other incōue∣niences. Wherfore, beside y^e opinion of y^e best learned mē, mine owne painfull experience also moueth me to exhort them, which bee of this complexion, to eschew much absti∣nence. And although they bee studious, and vse little ex∣ercise, yet in the morning to eate somewhat in a little quā∣titie, and not to studie immediatly, but first to sit a while, and after to stand or walke softly, which vsing these two yeares, I, and also other, that haue long knowne me, haue perceiued in my bodie a great alteration, that is to say, frō ill estate to better. Alway remember, that if any other hu∣mour do abound in y^e cholerike person, as fleume, or melā∣choly, then vntill that humour be expelled, the diet must be correctiue of that humour, and therfore more hot and fine,

thē the natural dyet before rehearsed: but yet there would be alway respect had to the naturall complexion, sometime offering the person to eate or drinke that, which nature working he feruently desireth.