[De epidemia et peste]

A pestilential fever is known thus. The heat is sometimes weak and remiss externally. And if they are fat, they do not appear to have heat externally, but internally it is strong. And it seems to them that they are burning internally. And signs of acute fever are present, namely dryness of the mouth and tongue and strong thirst and difficulty of breathing. Pain in the precordia The region over the heart. around the heart, sometimes in the hip, sometimes in the stomach, sometimes in the chest, and so on. There is a stench of urine, evacuations, sweat, and all things exiting from the body, and of the breath. If, therefore, fever is present without an abscess, first perform a moderate phlebotomy from the basilica a vein in the arm. I say moderate so that a larger phlebotomy can be performed if an abscess appears. And let the heart be cooled by every method of cooling. Strew the house with rushes, willow, and leaves of reed, lettuce, purslane, and similar things. Sprinkle the house with cold water and vinegar. And always let the patient smell vinegar, camphor, rose water, or the aforementioned pomander A ball of aromatic substances.. If the patient is constipated, make a soothing clyster Enema., which [is]: take mallow, marshmallow, mercury, figs, briony, one handful of each; of non-skinned barley and bran, one handful of each. Let a decoction be made, in which are dissolved: one ounce of cleaned cassia fistula, one ounce of tamarinds, three ounces of electuary of rose juice, two ounces of violet oil, three drams of common salt. Make a clyster. Or let yerapigra a purgative powder and benedicta a medicinal preparation be applied if there is pain in the kidneys or hips, as will seem best to the operator. And let the heart always be comforted with an epithima a liquid compress and cooling cordials. If, however, the aforementioned fever is with an abscess, whether it be a bubo, an anthrax, or a carbuncle, let phlebotomy be performed from the same side. And if the abscess is under the armpits, let phlebotomy be performed from the basilica of that same side. If in the neck, from the cefalica a vein in the arm/head of that same side. Always in this fever, begin with evacuation by phlebotomy unless something particular prevents it, such as weakness of strength or the imperfection of age, etc.