On the Secrets of Women

Here the author puts forward one notable point, as is evident in the text. It might be doubted why the flow of sperm is not menstrual, just as the menstrual flow is. It is answered that the sperm, or the man's seed, is more decocted and subtle, therefore nature does not willingly reject it; rather, it preserves it for generation or for nutrition if the fetus were in need of it. It is doubted why urine, defecation, and sweat do not follow the motion of the moon like the menstrual flow. It is answered that urine and impurities are produced every day from the superfluity of food according to its great thickness and larger quantity, therefore it is necessary that they should be expelled daily. Note that young women are very humid, therefore they menstruate willingly at the beginning of the month, and older ones at the end, because they are less humid. Note that black women have less menstrual flow than white women, because all women are of a phlegmatic constitution, yet one is more so than another. And the more women consume delicate and well-peppered foods, the more subtle the menstrual flow they emit. The opposite is true of poor women, who use coarse foods. Note, the author states that a woman begins to menstruate in her 12th, 13th, or 14th year. The reason is that then the heat of the age of childhood fades, by virtue of which it cannot well consume the humid nourishment. Hence