| [p. 39]
this they sought to take away. The strongest
part of the sweet is the sweetest, of the bitter
the most bitter, of the acid the most acid, and
each of all the component parts of man has its
extreme. For these they saw are component
parts of man, and that they are injurious to
him ; for there is in man salt and bitter, sweet
and acid, astringent and insipid, | Or "flat," the opposite of
"sharp." |
and a vast number
of other things, possessing properties of all sorts,
both in number and in strength. These, when
mixed and compounded with one another are neither
apparent nor do they hurt a man ; but when one of
them is separated off, and stands alone, then it is
apparent and hurts a man. Moreover, of the foods
that are unsuitable for us and hurt a man when
taken, each one of them is either bitter, or salt,
or acid, or something else uncompounded and
strong, and for this reason we are disordered by
them, just as we are by the secretions separated
off in the body. But all things that a man eats
or drinks are plainly altogether free from such an
uncompounded and potent humour, e.g. bread, cake,
and suchlike, which men are accustomed constantly
to use in great quantity, except the highly seasoned
delicacies which gratify his appetite and greed.
And from such foods, when plentifully partaken of
by a man, there arises no disorder at all or isolation
of the powers resident in the body, but
strength,
growth and nourishment in great measure arise from
them, for no other reason except that they are
well compounded, and have nothing undiluted and
strong, but form a single, simple whole.
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