Theses de sudore

especially of pale bile Galen, Method of Medicine, book 14, ch. 1; On Preserving Health, book 4, ch. 4; On the Causes of Symptoms, book 3, ch. 2.

XXXIX.

Bloody sweat is also found, as attested by Aristotle, On the Parts of Animals, book 3, chapter 5, and History of Animals, book 3, chapter 19. And Theophrastus, in his book On Sweats, citing Mona the physician. It occurs either due to the mouths of the veins gaping too widely, or from a plethora of thinner blood (which is διαπίδησις diapedesis/oozing through), or finally due to excessive agitation of the spirits, which usually happens during very vehement emotions of the mind. To this, we believe we can piously attribute the sweat of the Messiah on the Mount of Olives. The same is written by authors about George Castriot, the most famous Prince of the Epirotes, whom the Turks called Scanderbeg, whose lips ejaculated blood due to heroic anger in battle.

XL.

Sweats occur over the whole body due to a redundancy of serum, vigorous heat, and laxity of the pores.

XLI.

But in a specific part, if it is either more rare or so weak due to some symptom that it cannot perform its duty except with great labor and sweat, as in gout, knee-gout gonagra, or arthritis. Add that nature is always accustomed to send excrement to where it is more easily received.

APPENDIX

Since these things are so, we deny that the Aphorism of Hippocrates 38, book 4, in which he writes "In whatever part the sweat is, there is the disease," is true in an absolute sense. For phrenitis and pleurisy are not rarely judged through sweat of the whole body, even though the πρωτοπαθικὸν primary seat of the disease of these diseases is not the whole body, but for the former the meninges of the brain, and for the latter the membrane lining the ribs. Thus Hippocrates in Coacae Praedictiones Coan Prognostics, book 6, section 2, says that those who perceive pain around the liver or the mouth of the stomach sweat much over the whole body. Conversely, we see very often that gout sufferers sweat in their feet when they have gathered a little bad juice in the stomach. Who will claim the feet are the source of the disease?

XLII.

Differences regarding time remain. If sweats occur in winter, they mostly have an evident external cause; for humors are far thicker, and the passages more obstructed, than would allow sweat to be stirred up.