The Latin Works of Giordano Bruno

...and awakening the vital spirits In early modern medicine, "spirits" were subtle fluids that circulated through the body to facilitate movement, sensation, and thought. as if from a shameful sluggishness and sleep-inducing leisure. Moderate sexual intercourse. Warding off sadness and calling back joy through pleasure. The cleansing of all the body's passages. Rubbing the head with an ivory comb and a rough cloth. The use of lighter or watered-down wines, lest the open veins burn up the blood through the violence of the wine. Closing off the stomach with naturally or artificially styptic: substances that contract tissues or "tighten" the stomach to prevent vapors from rising things, lest the smoke evaporating from the stomach due to the boiling of food—which darkens the mind and intellect—should excite sleep. Abstaining from cold and damp foods, such as fish in general, brains, and marrow, no less than from sharp and "smoky" leeks, radishes, garlic, and onions that have not been softened by fire. The use of aromatic things. Washing the head and feet with a decoction of water in which Lemon Balm, Laurel leaf, Fennel, Chamomile, Reeds, and similar things have been boiled. The Pythagorean exercise performed at twilight, as it is most beneficial for memory, mind, and intellect. The "Pythagorean exercise" involved mentally reviewing everything one did, said, or heard during the day before going to sleep to strengthen the memory. These are the things that can support the memory, along with those which Democritus, Archigenes, Alexander, and Andronicus the Peripatetic A group of ancient Greek philosophers and physicians cited here as authorities on the physical soul and memory. handed down in their literary monuments; not those trifles of "arts" which boast that they forge a solid memory through I-know-not-what images and figures.

PHILOTHIMUS. — He concluded someone else's speech with his own braying; the venerable doctor acted like both a parrot and an ass. Philothimus is mocking a doctor who merely recites ancient medical advice (like a parrot) but lacks true understanding (like an ass).

LOGIFER. — Master Arnophagus, likely a satirical name meaning "Lamb-Eater" skilled in law and statutes and highly esteemed, said that there are many learned men who do not have that skill the Art of Memory, and they would certainly have it if such a thing actually existed.

PHILOTHIMUS. — Reason is a young girl who has not yet grown her teeth: therefore we do not bring a "tooth-breaker" original: "denti frangibulum," a metaphor for a difficult problem or a tool to crack something hard to her.