the aphorisms

by hippocrates

"so what do you do all day?" is frequently asked of me since i've been out of school and unemployed. i keep myself busy with study and hobbies. today i came across 'the aphorisms' by hippocrates. bound in leather, this volume smelled like it's been around for decades and not opened for almost as long. each aphorism was printed on one page in greek, latin, and english.

hippocrates frequently implicates bloodletting:

Pregnant women if plethoric may be purged from the fourth to the seventh month; but even within these periods moderately: earlier or later purging must be cautiously avoided.

The back part of the head being in pain, relief is found by opening a vein in the forehead.

he also often invokes common sense:

Neither fasting nor fulness, nor any other excess, is advantageous.

Delirium attended with laughter is less dangerous than delirium
attended with a serious mood.

and the occasional hedging of advice:

Fumigation with aromatics promotes menstruation, and would be
useful in many other cases, if it did not occasion heaviness of the
head.

the book makes a great christmas gift for someone who appreciates camp by anachronism.