Of Medicine, in Eight BooksCelsus, Aulus Cornelius
History
Of Medicine, in Eight Books
Celsus, Aulus Cornelius
Medicine, Greek and Roman
It is fit to know then, that all leguminous vegetables, and those
grains, which are made into bread, are of the strongest kind of food
(I call that the strongest, in which there is the most nourishment)
also every quadruped, that is tame, all large wild beasts, such as
the wild goat, deer, wild boar, wild ass; every great bird, such as
the goose, peacock, and crane; all large fishes, the cetus(32), and
others of a like size; also honey, and cheese. So that it is no wonder
that particular kind of bread(33) should be very strong, which is
made of corn, fat, honey, and cheese. Of a middle nature ought to be
reckoned those pot-herbs, whose roots or bulbusses we use for food;
amongst quadrupeds the hare; all birds, from the least upwards to the
phœnicopter(34); also all fish, that will not bear salt, or such, as
are salted whole. Of the weakest kind are all potherbs, and whatever
grows on a stalk, such as the gourd, and cucumber, and caper, and all
the apple kind, olives, snails(35), and also conchylia(36).
But although these are thus distinguished, yet there are great
differences between things even of the same class; and one is either
more substantial, or weaker than another. For instance, there is more
nourishment in bread, than in any thing else. Wheat is more firm
than millet: and that again than barley: and the strongest kind of
wheat is the siligo(37); after that the finest flour; next, that
which has nothing taken from it, which the Greeks call autopyron[AX]:
still weaker than these is the second flour: the weakest is grey
bread. Amongst the leguminous vegetables the bean or lentil is more
substantial than pease. Amongst the potherbs, turnep and navew gentle,
and all the bulbous kind (in which I rank the onion also, and garlick)
are more substantial than the parsnip, or that which is particularly
called radicula (garden radish.) Also cabbage, and betes, and leeks,
are stronger than lettuce, or gourd, or asparagus. But amongst the
fruits of the surculous tribe, grapes, figs, nuts, dates, apples
properly so called, are of the firmer kind. And amongst these the juicy
are stronger than the mealy(38) fruits. Also of these birds, which
are of the middle kind, those are stronger, which make more use of
their feet, than their wings: and of those, that trust more to flying,
the larger birds are stronger than the small ones, as the beccaficos,
and thrush(39). And those also, which live in the water, afford a
lighter food than those, which cannot swim. Amongst the tame animals
pork is lightest; beef heaviest. Also of the wild, the larger any
animal is, so much the stronger food it is. And of those fishes also,
which are of the middle kind, the heaviest, though we make most use of
them, are first all those, that are made salsamenta(40), such as the
lacertus(41); next such, as though more tender than the other, yet
are in themselves hard, as the aurata, corvus, sparus, oculata; in the
next rank are the plani fish, after which lighter still are lupi and
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