Singular Antipathies, or a Dissertation on the Natural but Miraculous Loathing, Hatred, and Abstinence from Food and Drink

The single judgment of our CORNERUS Johannes Cornerus, the official mentioned on the previous page who was unable to attend due to illness. concerning me will easily protect me—just as the shield of AJAX protected TEUCER original: "Teucrum clypeus Ajacis." In the Iliad, the archer Teucer often stood behind the massive shield of his half-brother Ajax for protection while shooting. The speaker implies Cornerus’s endorsement acts as his protective shield against critics.—so that I am not attacked as an innocent man by idle people (of whom the earth and sea are full) either by the bites of envy or the barks of slander. Furthermore, this will win me favor and a hearing among you, LISTENERS, so that you will receive the reason for which I have come onto this stage with both mind and ears, in accordance with your singular kindness. And so here I fix my foot; I am content with this one thing: that if I say nothing more, you should know that there are many other things favoring this action of mine. I consider the whole cause of my speech to be told, and it would be nothing if anyone anxiously but fruitlessly searched for another.

Nor indeed in this philosophical assembly will I prepare a long speech about PHILOSOPHY in general, which is truly a gift of GOD and the sweetest food for the soul; nor have I decided to speak specifically about its parts and aids; nor am I here to pursue its benefits and praises, lest I be judged to be doing what has already been done original: "actum agere," a Latin legal and theatrical idiom for repeating a finished task needlessly and writing an Iliad after Homer original: "post Homerum... Iliada scribere," a proverb meaning to undertake a task that has already been perfected by a master, the source of geniuses.

Concerning ANTIPATHY or loathing, nausea, abstinence, and the miraculous hatred of food and drink in certain people, I shall say something for the sake of an introduction, and so that I may not be entirely without a contribution Greek original: ἀσύμβολος (asymbolos). In ancient Greek social gatherings, a "symbolon" was a contribution to a communal meal; to be "asymbolos" meant to enjoy the feast without bringing anything to the table..

For we see that not a few sitting at the table with us abstain entirely from Meat or Fish. We see that they do not taste Wine, Beer, Milk, or Honey, and do not touch Cheese, Butter, or Apples. And there are those who cannot digest Strawberries, Garlic, or Eggs, nor endure the scent of a ROSE or an APPLE. We see, I say, Listeners, we see all these things. But those who can explain the cause here—I mean an adequate, necessary, and sufficient cause These are technical terms from Scholastic logic used to define a complete scientific explanation—are rare; and if I were to say there are almost none, I would certainly say nothing wrong nor against the truth.