Pharmacy

BOOK I
Bb iii

Many and varied remedies are conveniently used for one disease, but they should be of the same kind.

Nature, when becoming accustomed to one thing, might no longer feel its power and may even reject it. Additionally, a remedy often helps one person but not another. This is due to properties that medicines share with specific bodies, which can only be discovered through experience. Therefore, when a change of medicine is found to be most useful, that change should be pursued diligently. If a remedy is found to be harmful, it must be changed immediately. It is often asked and doubted whether a mild and gentle remedy, if repeated, can gradually achieve what a stronger one does all at once. Can the intensity of the stronger be compensated for by the frequency and large amount of the milder? This is certainly true for remedies that differ only in degree, rather than in their basic nature or way of acting. For plantain original: "plantago". A common herb used to cool inflammation., used either in large amounts or frequently, can cool just as much as houseleek original: "semperuiuum". A succulent plant considered to have stronger cooling properties than plantain. applied once or sparingly. However, plantain will not achieve what opium does, because opium possesses a narcotic power. Nor will larch agaric original: "agaricus". A fungus used as a gentle purgative., even with frequent use, do what colocynth original: "colocynthis". The bitter apple, a very potent and harsh purgative. does in a single dose. This is because colocynth has the specific power to draw out thick and mucous phlegm original: "pituita". One of the four bodily humors, often associated with cold and dampness., even from the highest and most distant parts of the body. Furthermore, in every treatment, whether it is sudden or gradual, remedies must be managed and balanced. One must ensure that no part of the disease remains unresolved original: "indiscussum". This refers to the failure to disperse or break up the diseased matter., and that no new, opposite kind of disease is caused by overstepping the limits of moderation. Achieving this balance is especially difficult. The quantity of a remedy is the most important decision in the medical art, and it requires the sharpest judgment.

Indications from the body parts by which the quantity of a remedy is more strictly defined. CHAPTER VIII.

The quantity of medicine is changed according to the nature and condition of the body part.

The quantity of a remedy determined by the severity of the disease must also be increased or decreased according to the condition of the affected part. The same dose cannot suit every part of the body equally. The condition of a part is judged by its structure, its position, its importance, and its sensitivity. In its structure, one must consider how porous or dense it is. In its position, one must consider if it is located on the surface of the body or deep within. We must also consider how far it is from the mouth or from the place where the remedy is applied. In importance, we must see if the part is among those called "principal" parts that govern the entire body. These include the brain, heart, and liver. We must also consider if it performs a public duty for the whole body, like the lungs, or...