FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   662   663   664   665   666   667   668   669   670   671   672   673   674   675   676   677   678   679   680   681   682   683   684   685   686  
687   688   689   690   691   692   693   694   695   696   697   698   699   700   701   702   703   704   705   706   707   708   709   710   711   >>   >|  
ake one of his sons something more than ordinary, and having put him to learn to write in a neighbouring town, made him at last a brave village notary. This fellow, having acquired such dignity, began to disdain their ancient customs, and to buzz into the people's ears the pomp of the other parts of the nation; the first prank he played was to advise a friend of his, whom somebody had offended by sawing off the horns of one of his goats, to make his complaint to the royal judges thereabout, and so he went on from one to another, till he had spoiled and confounded all. In the tail of this corruption, they say, there happened another, and of worse consequence, by means of a physician, who, falling in love with one of their daughters, had a mind to marry her and to live amongst them. This man first of all began to teach them the names of fevers, colds, and imposthumes; the seat of the heart, liver, and intestines, a science till then utterly unknown to them; and instead of garlic, with which they were wont to cure all manner of diseases, how painful or extreme soever, he taught them, though it were but for a cough or any little cold, to take strange mixtures, and began to make a trade not only of their health, but of their lives. They swear till then they never perceived the evening air to be offensive to the head; that to drink when they were hot was hurtful, and that the winds of autumn were more unwholesome than those of spring; that, since this use of physic, they find themselves oppressed with a legion of unaccustomed diseases, and that they perceive a general decay in their ancient vigour, and their lives are cut shorter by the half. This is the first of my stories. The other is, that before I was afflicted with the stone, hearing that the blood of a he-goat was with many in very great esteem, and looked upon as a celestial manna rained down upon these latter ages for the good and preservation of the lives of men, and having heard it spoken of by men of understanding for an admirable drug, and of infallible operation; I, who have ever thought myself subject to all the accidents that can befall other men, had a mind, in my perfect health, to furnish myself with this miracle, and therefore gave order to have a goat fed at home according to the recipe: for he must be taken in the hottest month of all summer, and must only have aperitive herbs given him to eat, and white wine to drink. I came home by chance the ver
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   662   663   664   665   666   667   668   669   670   671   672   673   674   675   676   677   678   679   680   681   682   683   684   685   686  
687   688   689   690   691   692   693   694   695   696   697   698   699   700   701   702   703   704   705   706   707   708   709   710   711   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

health

 

ancient

 
diseases
 

vigour

 
shorter
 

afflicted

 
stories
 

oppressed

 

spring

 
unwholesome

autumn

 

hurtful

 
legion
 

unaccustomed

 

perceive

 

perceived

 

evening

 

offensive

 

physic

 
general

recipe

 
miracle
 

accidents

 

befall

 

perfect

 

furnish

 

hottest

 

chance

 

summer

 

aperitive


subject

 

thought

 

celestial

 
rained
 
looked
 

esteem

 

admirable

 

infallible

 

operation

 

understanding


preservation
 

spoken

 

hearing

 

friend

 

offended

 
sawing
 

advise

 

played

 

nation

 

spoiled