Encyclopaedia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature : enlarged and improved. Illustrated with nearly six hundred engravings > Volume 13, MAT-MIC

Appendix. M E D I
Means of rlcini, fupertartrite of potafs, fome of the common pur-
preferving ging l'alb>, or the natural purging waters.
Health- \\riien tliere is a tendency to the empyreumatic and
rancid faburra, people Ihould carefully avoid all the va¬
rious kinds of thofe o;ly and high-feafoned articles of
diet generally termed made-difhes, and eat fparingly of
plain meat, without rich iauchtts or much gravy } and
in thefe cafes the mold proper drink is pure water.
II. Rules for thofe who enjoy perfeEl Health.
There can be no doubt, that, in general, tempe¬
rance is the true foundation of health j and yet the
ancient phylicians, as we may fee in the rules laid
down by Celfus, did not feruple to recommend indul¬
gence now and then, and allowed people to exceed
both in eating and drinking j but it is fafer to pro¬
ceed to excefs in drink than in meat; and if the
debauch (hould create any extraordinary or diflrefling
degree of pain or licknefs, and a temporary fever
{hould enfue, there are two ways of {baking it off,
either to lie in bed and encourage perfpiration, or to
get on horfeback, and by brilk exercife reftore the
body to its natural Hate. The choice of thefe two
methods muff always be determined by the peculiar
circumftances of the parties concerned, and from the
experience which they may before have had which a-
grees beft with them.
If a perfon ftiould commit excefs in eating, efpe-
cially of high-feafoned things, with rich fauces, a
draught of cold water, acidulated with fulphuric acid,
will take off the fenfe of weight at the ftomach, and
affiff digeftion by moderating and keeping within
bounds the alimentary fermentation, and thus prevent¬
ing the generation of too much flatus. The luxury of
ices may be here of real fervice at the tables of the
great, as producing fimilar effefts with the cold water
acidulated. Perfons in thefe circumilances ought not
to lay themfelves down to fleep, but {hould keep up
and ufe gentle exercife until they are fenfible that the
ftomach is unloaded, and that they no longer feel any
oppreflive weight about the praecordia.
If a man be obliged to faff, he ought, if poflible,
during that time, to avoid laborious work : after fuffer-
ing fevere hunger, people ought not at once to gorge
and fill themfelves 5 nor is it proper, after being over¬
filled, to enjoin an abfolute faff : neither is it fafe to in¬
dulge in a ftate of total reft immediately after exceflive
labour, nor fuddenly fall hard to work after having been
long without motion: in a word, all changes {hould be
CINE. 483
made by gentle degrees j for though the conftitution of Means of
the human body be fuch that it can bear many altera-
tions and irregularities without much danger, yet, when . ~ ‘' >
the traniitions are extremely fudden, there is a great rifk.
of producing fome degree of dilorder.
It is alfo the advice of Celius to vary the fcenes of
life, and not confine ourfelves to any fettled rules: but
as ina&ion renders the body weak and liitleff, and exer¬
cife gives vigour and ftrength, people {hould never long
omit riding, walking, or going abroad in a carriage.
Fencing, playing at tennis, dancing, or other fimiiar
engagements, which afford both exercife and amufement,
as each fliall be found moft agreeable or convenient, are
to be ufed in turn, according to t he circumftances and
tendency to any particular Ipecies of difeafe. But when
the weaknefs of old age {hall have rendered the body
incapable of all thefe, then dry frictions writh the flefli-
brufti will be very requifite to preferve health, by
accelerating the flow of humours through the fmalleft
orders of veffels, and preventing the fluids from ftag-
nating too long in the cellular inter ft ices of the flefliy
parts.
Sleep is the great reftorer of ftrength •, for, during
this time, the nutritious particles appear to be chiefly
applied to repair the wafte, and replace thofe that
have been abraded and wafhed off by the labour and
exercife of the day $ but too much indulgence in fleep
has many ineonveniencies, both with refpect to body
and mind, as it blunts the fenfes, and encourages the
fluids to ftagnate in the cellular membrane ; whence
corpulency, and its neceffary confequences languor and
weaknefs.
The proper time for fleep is the night, when darknefs
and filence naturally bring it on: fleep in the daytime,
from noife and other circumftances, is in general not fo
found or refrefliing •, and to fome people is really diftrefs-
ful, as creating an unufual giddinefs and languor, efpe-
cially in perfons addifled to literary purfuits. Cuftom,
however, frequently renders fleep in the day neceffary j
and in thofe conftitutions where it is found to give real
refrefliment, the propenfity to it ought to be indulged,
particularly in very advanced age.
With regard to the general regimen of diet, it has al¬
ways been held as a rule, that the fofter and milder kinds
of aliment are moft proper for children and younger fub-
jefts: that grown perfons {hould eat what is more fub-
ftantial 5 and old people leffen their quantity of folid
food, and increafe that of their drink both of the dilu¬
ent and cordial kind.
INDEX.
A.
-Adipsia, Gen. 108.
Ageustia, Gen. 99.
Amaurosis, Gen. 93.
Amenorrhoea, Gen. 126.
Amentia, Gen. 65.
Anaphrodisia, Gen. 109.
Anasarca, Gen. 73.
Anesthesia, Gen. 100.
Anorexia, Gen. 107. N° 375
N° 376 Anosima, Gen. 98. 365
366 Aphonia, Gen. no. 379
360 Aphtha, Gen. 35. 233
402 Apoplexia, Gen. 42. 255
326 Arthropuosis, Gen. 25. 216
377 Ascites, Gen. 79. 343
339 Asthma, Gen. 55. 292
366 Atrophia, Gen. 70. 333
Abortus, N° 247
Abfcefs of the lungs, 186
Acute rheumatifm, 205
Acrimony of the blood, J03
Adynamia;, "* 271
^Egyptian phyficians, 2
JEfculapius, 4
JEtius, 43
Alexander, 44
3 P 2 Amentia,