Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Rosa Anglica (Author: [unknown])

section 24

24

Item I suppose, for example, that there comes an imposthume of the breast or lungs from phlegm, along with drunkenness, and rawness of humours, and there is little good blood present then, because of the quantity of phlegm and the fever; no one denies that in such a case, letting a vein is not good nor any other sudden quenching; if any one say bloodletting avails not in this case, it is true, for the good blood would go out and leave the bad within. I say against this that Nature is wise, and there is no limit to her skill in ruling the animal, and if that is true, she will retain the good blood inside for herself, and let the bad go. Item Galen says, it is the blood that Nature purges ultimately from the superfluous substance of the humours; therefore she retains the good blood for herself at last, through her skill: the bad blood will go out and the good blood will remain within. Galen(?)

p.45

says the contrary of this in The Regimen of Health, where he says blood-letting avails not in this case. This is the reason: because a vein is only beneficial in two cases, i.e. when red blood alone has the dominance, or else all the other humours combined, according to Galen; and sanguine humour has not the dominance here, for it does not increase (?), but diminishes, nor the other humours combined, but the crude humours only hold sway; and so in this case, according to the rule of Galen, blood-letting does not avail.