Inaugural Medical Dissertation on the Procreation of Male Offspring

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C 3

...in southern regions, women outnumber men fourfold, while in northern regions the number of men either exceeds or equals that of women. Both today’s thinkers and Aristotle original: "Aristoteles sect. 16. probl. 33." Aristotle was a foundational figure in ancient biology; his "Problems" explored various natural phenomena. long ago asserted that the air produces a great alteration in health.

§. LV.

An effect of health is the ability to exercise the body through movement and labor, and these preserve health best of all. Therefore, anyone who desires to father male children should exercise his body with more than moderate movement. This is the advice that Hippocrates original: "Cous." Referring to the "Man of Cos," the famous Greek physician Hippocrates. once gave to the womanish and soft Scythians An ancient nomadic people of Central Asia, often described by Greek writers as having physical constitutions weakened by their lifestyle. to combat sterility. We see the effect of this warning in the Holy Scriptures, where it is said of the people of Israel: the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and grew. This oppression consisted of strenuous labor under a harsh and hot lifestyle; nevertheless, they primarily fathered males (Exodus 1:7, 16).

§. LVI.

Moderation in all things is the most healthful virtue, and the opposite is equally true. Therefore, those who indulge in sex venerem Literally "Venus," the goddess of love, used here as a euphemism for sexual intercourse. more than is proper, or even those who were previously celibate but then indulge excessively, are frustrated in their hope for sons—or at least healthy ones. For the longer we abstain from sex, the more time Nature has for "cooking" The author refers to the Galenic theory of "concoction," where the body uses heat to refine blood into more potent substances like semen. the seed and forging the spirits In 18th-century medicine, "animal spirits" were believed to be refined fluids that carried life and vigor through the nerves.. This is why old men sometimes father males; because they are, so to speak, "full" of these natural delights, they visit these sacred rites A poetic reference to sexual intercourse. less frequently.

§. LVII.

Just as it is of great importance who and of what quality the person is who prepares for the act of generation (as previously stated), so too does the time at which it is practiced matter. I judge the best time to be 8 or 10 days before the menstrual cleansing, or better yet, 3 or 4 days after the cleansing. At that time, the blood is entirely purified original: "defecatus." Used here in the archaic sense of being cleared of impurities or dregs., yet its quantity is not lacking. However, intercourse during the time of menstruation is forbidden by the laws of both reason and revelation (Leviticus 15:24). Bonaciolus Ludovico Bonacioli (1475–1536), an Italian physician known for his influential works on pregnancy and female anatomy. agrees, saying: It happens by its very nature that it is more auspicious for women to conceive following the feminine flow. And Venette Jean Venette (1633–1698), a French physician whose book on "Conjugal Love" was a famous early modern manual on human sexuality. says: Women generate males for several days after the menstrual flow, but they generate females a few days before the flow, or just as the menses are ceasing.