The castel of helth gathered and made by Syr Thomas Elyot knyghte, out of the chiefe authors of physyke, wherby euery manne may knowe the state of his owne body, the preseruatio[n] of helthe, and how to instructe welle his physytion in syckenes that he be not deceyued

❧ Of dyuersitie of meates eaten wherby helthe is appaired. Cap. 28.

NOw let this be a generall rule, that son∣dry meates, beynge dyuers in substance and qualitie, eaten at one meale, is the greatest ennemy to helth, that may be, and that whiche ingendreth most siknesses, for some mea∣tes beyng grosse, and harde to dygeste, some fine & easy to dygest, do requyre diuers operations of nature, and diuers temperatures of the sto∣make, that is to say, moch heate and temperate heate, whiche may not be togyther at one tyme. Therfore whan the fyne meate is suffycientlye boyled in the stomake, the grosse meate is rawe, so both iuyces, thone good and petfite, the other grosse and crude, at one tyme dygested, and sent into the veynes and body, nedes muste helth de∣caye, and sycknesses be ingendred. Lykewyse in diuers meates being diuers qualities, as where some are hotte and moyst, some cold and moyst, some hote and drye, some colde and drie, accor∣dynge ther vnto shall the iuyce be dyuers, which they make in the body. And lyke as betwene the sayd qualities is contrarietie, so therby shall be in the body an vnequall temperature, forasmoch as it is not possible for man to esteme so iuste a proporcyon of the qualities of that, whiche he receyueth, that the one shall not excede the other in quantitie. wherfore of the sayd vnequall mix∣ture, nedes must ensue corruption, & consequētly syknesse. And theofore to a hole man, it were bet¦ter, to fede at one meale competently on very

grosse meate only, so that it be swete, and his na¦ture do not abhorre it, than on diuers fyne mea∣tes, of sondry substance and qualities. I haue knowen and sene olde men, and olde women, whiche eatyng only befe, baken, chese, or curdes, haue continued in good helthe, whome I haue prouyd, that whan they haue eaten sondry fyne meates at one meale, haue sone after felte them selfe greued with frettinges and hed ache, and after that they haue ben hole agayne, there hath ben gyuen to theym one kynde of lyght meate, they haue done as well therwith, as they were wont to do with grosse meates, whan they eate it alone, whiche proueth to be true that whiche I haue rehersed. And it is good reason, for after the generall opinion of philosophers and phisi∣tions, the nature of mankynde is beste contente with thynges most symple and vnmixte, all thin¦ges tendynge to vnitie, wherin is the onely per∣fection. Also it is a generall rule of phisyke, that where a syckenes may be cured with symples, that is to say, with one onely thyng, that is me∣dieinable, there shulde the phisition gyue no cō∣pounde medicyne myxte with many thynges.

These thynges consydered, it maye seme to all men, that haue reson, what abuse is here in this realme in the contynuall gourmandyse & dayely fedynge on sondry meates, at one meale, the spi∣rite of gluttony, triumphynge amonge vs is his gloryouse charyot, callyd welfare, dryuynge vs afore hym, as his prysoners, into his dūgcon of * 1.1 surfet, where we are tur••edted with catarres, feuers, goutes, pleuresies, freitynge of the gut∣tes, & many other sycknesses, and fynally cruelly

put to death by them, oftentymes in youth, or in the moste pleasaunt tyme of our lyfe, when we wold most gladly lyue. For the remedy wherof, howe many tymes haue there ben dyuised ordy∣naunces and actes of counsayle, althoughe per∣chaunce bodyly helthe was not the chyefe occa∣syon therof, but rather prouision ageynst vayne and sumptuous expenses of the meane people. For the nobilitie was exempted and had libertie to abyde styll in the dongeon, yf they wolde, and to lyue lasse whyle than other men: But whan, where, and howe longe were the sayd good de∣nyses put in due execution, for all that thereof shuld succede double profite, that is to say, helth of body, and increse of substance, by eschewyng of superfluous expenses in sondry dyshes? Alas how longe wyll men fantasye lawes and good ordynaunces, and neuer determyne them. Fan∣tasy procedeth of wytte, dete, mination of wise∣dome, wytte is in the deuysyng and speakynge, but wysedome is in the performance, whiche re∣steth ouely in execution. Here I had almost for∣gotten, that my purpose was to wryte of the or∣der of diete, and not of lawes, but the feruente loue that I haue to the publyque weale of my countray, constrayned me to digresse somewhat from my matter: but nowe wyll I procede forth to wryte of order, whiche in takynge of meates and drynkes, is not the leste parte of diete.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Glutony.