fluids, or an excretion of them, or passion; or by externals, such as wines, food, exercises, and whatever will rectify the intemperament. The natural powers are weakened by want of food, watchfulness, immoderate evacuations, grief, cares, and more especially pains inducing syncope, and whatever forms an intemperament. Some inexperienced persons have thought a hard pulse strong, but a person of experienced understanding and touch will not mistake them; for a strong pulse, being mostly accompanied with greatness, is swelled up to loftiness and strikes the finger forcibly; but the hard does not admit of greatness, on account of the unyielding state of the artery. Wherefore a pulse becomes hard owing to the hardness of the artery. This is occasioned by immoderate cold, or dryness, or tension proceeding from inflammation, or spasm. To the hardness, moreover, are joined smallness, quickness, and sometimes density instead of greatness accompanying, owing to the exciting want. A soft pulse follows a humid state of the artery. An artery is rendered more humid by things not preternatural, such as more liquid food, immoderate baths, much sleep, a more abundant diet, and hilarity; and by preternatural causes, such as coma, lethargy, dropsy, and the other pituitous affections. A full pulse indicates an abundance of fluids, or plethora from food, or from drinking wine, as the empty, on the other hand, indicates deficiency of food or evacuation. When the body of the artery feels warmer under the finger, this indicates great heat in the heart, while the rest of the body is cold, or a certain spasmodic state of the arteries, which are warmed by the violent motion. Archigenes says that the place of the artery will particularly be found warmer in catochus and in those who are about to be affected with somnolency. With regard to rhythm, when the ratio of the times of motion and rest is equal, it indicates a proper temperament of the body, or no great departure from it, as in early age, and the otherwise well-regulated bodies. But when the time of rest is greater than that of motion, this indicates that heat prevails, as in adults and those of the adjoining ages; as, in aged bodies, which are entirely cold, the time of motion is greater than that of rest. It is to be remarked that inequality in regard to rhythm, being the measure of that as to quickness and density, this holds the place as it were of the _matériel_ to the rhythm.