Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Rosa Anglica (Author: [unknown])
section 50
50
Note, moreover these are good signs in every disease; the sick man's force strong and he himself constant447 and the breathing good, and he evacuates easily and entirely the matter of the disease; equal heat in the body; and no violent thirst; that he be right as regards urine, faeces, sweat and sleep. And whoever is thus, will get over any material sickness. The author of this treatise puts that into Latin verse; and these are his words in Gaelic,448 (i.e.) force, mind, lightness, spirit, sleep, and beating. Gaddesden says, these signs are good in
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this disease, and this is how he explains them: the force to be strong and powerful; lightness,449 that is, the patient finds relief from the sickness after the signs of digestion; 450 and speaks with reason; spirit (?) i.e. the species of heat or cold evenly balanced; of sound mind i.e. he should be sane with no ravings arising therefrom; sleep, i.e. to be good, and untroubled by imaginings or ugly visions; beating, i.e. a strong beat apparent in the pulse, for unless it were thus the symptoms would be bad.451 But although Avicenna says we did not know how many good signs we viewed with horror, such as the heaviness of sleep, the exhaustion of the pulse, and the want of sweat; yet the patient came out of it at last to the crisis. Nevertheless that happens seldom, and therefore these signs are dubious, and therefore an accurate prophecy cannot be made here, as happens often in acute sicknesses. This word ‘beating’ can be explained another way; i.e. the beating of food on being chewed in the mouth: for it is a good sign if the sick man can masticate his food well, and beat it hard with the teeth, and swallow it properly.452