There is a certain sacrifice of very ancient institution, which the
chief magistrate or archon performs always in the common-hall, and every
private person in his own house. 'Tis called the driving out of bulimy;
for they whip out of doors some one of their servants with a bunch of
willow rods, repeating these words, Get out of doors, bulimy; and enter
riches and health. Therefore in my year there was a great concourse of
people present at the sacrifice; and, after all the rites and ceremonies
of the sacrifice were over, when we had seated ourselves again at the
table, there was an inquiry made first of all into the signification of
the word bulimy, then into the meaning of the words which are repeated
when the servant is turned out of doors. But the principal dispute was
concerning the nature of it, and all its circumstances. First, as for
the word bulimy, it was agreed upon by all to denote a great and public
famine, especially among us who use the Aeolic dialect, putting [Greek
omitted] for [Greek omitted]. For it was not called by the ancients
[Greek omitted] but [Greek omitted], that is, [Greek omitted], much
hunger. We concluded that it was not the same with the disease called
Bubrostis, by an argument fetched out of Metrodorus's Ionics. For the
said Metrodorus informs us that the Smyrnaeans, who were once Aeolians,
sacrificed to Bubrostis a black bull cut into pieces with the skin on,
and so burnt it. Now, forasmuch as every species of hunger resembles
a disease, but more particularly Bulimy, which is occasioned by an
unnatural disposition of the body, these two differ as riches and
poverty, health and sickness. But as the word NAUSEATE [Greek omitted]
first took its name from men who were sea-sick in a ship, and afterwards
custom prevailed so far that the word was applied to all persons that
were any way in like sort affected; so the word BULIMY, rising at first
from hence, was at last extended to a more large and comprehensive
signification. What has been hitherto said was a general club of the
opinions of all those who were at table.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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