Problemata Aristotelis

Therefore, whatever amount of phlegm sexual intercourse removes, it can be beneficial for that reason.

Is it better, then, for food to be brought in at the beginning of the malady, or after? Or perhaps at the beginning, before the fever, having weakened the system entirely, occurs? Therefore, it must either be thinned immediately or nourished in this way. It should first be restored with broths. For these are milder, smoother, and more easily dissolved, and the infirm body can take nourishment from this more readily. For it is not necessary for the food to be resolved and cooked in the stomach beforehand, which can only happen through the labor of those who are lying down.

One must look to see whether the urine is cooked original: "concocta" or not. When the flow is intercepted, it is better for the judgment of urination than when it is continuous. Or does urine exhibit the color of digestion original: "cōcoctionis" when it is red? This is certainly detected better when the flow is intercepted. For every kind of humor shows its color more fully when it is scarce than when it is abundant. For in a large amount, figures original: "figurę" are obscured, while in a small amount, colors are more apparent to the senses. This will also be evident in dew, blood, and tears adhering to the eyelids. Therefore, if urine is released continuously, it will be more abundant, but if it is intercepted, the judge of its color will be more certain. And if it has already taken on a color of that kind from the digestion, it can certainly appear even more so when the light cools itself and becomes like a mirror due to the interruption of the flow.

For what reason must the body be made not dense, but rare, for the sake of health and peaceful constitution? Is it so that, just as a city and any place that is healthy is one that breathes placidly—which is also why the seaside is healthy—so too a body that is more breathable is considered more opportune for health? Or must we endeavor that no residue remains, or that what has emerged is excreted as soon as possible? The body must be regulated in such a way that as soon as it has received excrement, it has the means to excrete it, and it must be given to motion, not rest.