From that general laxity of the fibres, which is demonstrated to the senses themselves by the softness of the muscles, by the force of the artery, and by that laxity of the gums which throws out sound teeth without any pain; from that general laxity, I say, arises that weakness which oppresses so many learned men, and which I lately lamented to see, whilst, as a friend and physician, I sat by our beloved ALPHONSUS[34], to whom the wishes of the public had promis’d the age of NESTOR; and all the hopes I had of his recovering his health were immediately banish’d, by a weakness greater than any I remember ever to have seen, and which the Herculean labours of his mind had brought upon a thin body. How great and irrepairable a loss was then sustain’d by religion, virtue, the church, the city, his unfortunate family, and the youth of this academy! What a man, what a colleague, what a friend have we lost, illustrious professors! one who, as EUPHRATES of old, was remarkable for the greatest sanctity of manners, for the utmost care in the discharge of all the duties incumbent upon him, which were many in number; one whose complaisance was equal, who was entirely free from austerity, whose presence excited reverence, and not dread, for he was severe upon vices, not upon men; whose learning was extensive, whose discourse was copious, various, and, above all, pleasing, and yet not without a Platonic sublimity; one, in short, who was capable of persuading and working upon such as were most averse to his documents: having liv’d in the utmost veneration, he left behind him the highest regret for his loss. But to return to our subject from this sad digression. Thus have I treated of the two first causes of the diseases of the learned; others remain still to be spoken of; and the first that occurs, whilst I am upon the subject of inaction, is the very posture of constant sitting, with the body stooping, and the legs bent; for this both hurts the lower extremities, and, by obstructing the viscera of the abdomen, soon occasions all sorts of disorders arising from indigestion: and those learned doctors prudently consult their health, who indulge their meditations, not indeed standing, for that posture is not without its inconveniences, but walking. And this is one of the bad effects of sitting, that it greatly obstructs the passage of the blood in the abdominal veins, which makes it stagnate at the anus, where it meets with less resistance, and causes those shocking piles that torment so many literati, and, though praised by some, certainly do much more harm than good.