{"product_id":"du-chesne-diaeteticon-polyhistoricon-1606","title":"Diaeteticon polyhistoricon","description":"\u003cp\u003eOpus utique varium, magnae utilitatis ac delectationis, quod multa Historica, Philosophica, \u0026amp; Medica, tam conservandae sanitati, quam variis curandis morbis necessaria contineat Polyhistorical Dietetics. A varied work, of great utility and delight, containing many things historical, philosophical, and medical, necessary both for preserving health and for curing various diseases. 1606 First Edition Pp. [1] f.e., 6, 171 [recte 170], 369-463, [6], [1] r.e. Parisiis [Paris] Claudium Morellum Contemporary limp vellum, hand written title and long-stitch sewing visible at spine, traces of two ties lacking. Faint early handwritten inscription at top edge of title page. The engraved author's portrait normally on *4 is missing. Some occasional foxing. A very good copy of this foundational treatise. First edition of this notable compendium of medical secrets by Du Chesne, physician to Henri IV, Calvinist diplomat, and one of the most combative promoters of chemical medicine in late sixteenth-century France.his Paracelsian treatise on dietetics, hygiene, maladies and the deleterious passions of the soul (like lust or avarice), he addresses the distinct cause of illness, situating it within a broader social context while incorporating historical anecdotes, and outlining symptoms, effects, and recommended treatments and dietary regimens. The volume was issued almost simultaneously to its French counterpart, Le Pourtraict de la sante, in an interesting case of self-translation which speaks to the large interest and popularity of the work. Drawing on ancient, medieval, and contemporary sources, it attempts to reconcile inherited medical authority with the newer ambitions of chemical medicine, in a moment when medicine, moral philosophy, household regimen, and chemical therapeutics could still meet within a single learned architecture, before the modern separation of diet, psychology, pharmacology, and moral conduct. The work is structured in three sections, following the Galenic framework of the non-naturals, enriched throughout with Paracelsian interpretation and extensive historical and medical citation. Section One, devoted to the perturbations of the soul, comprises nine chapters examining the medical consequences of ambition, avarice, envy, carnal love (amor venereus), wrath arising from bilious affection, joy, fear, and sadness. Each is treated through a combination of historical exempla, symptomatology, physiological analysis, and therapeutic guidance, forming a discourse that bridges moral philosophy and medicine. The notable chapter \"De amore venereo\" (Cap. V) traces erotic pathology from desire through jealousy, fury, and vengeance, to the ultimate fear of punishment, accompanied by marginal glosses identifying the \"fructus venereæ amoris.\" Section Two addresses the external non-naturals, including air, winds, and alimentation. Pathological discussions encompass sudor anglicus (sweating sickness), scurvy, Alsatian colic, Hungarian fever, and scrofula, alongside detailed treatment of bread and potable preparations. Central to this section is Chapter VI, \"De Vino, aliisque potibus\" (from fol. 104), a substantial and self-contained treatise on wine. Du Chesne presents wine as a divine gift for the recreation of the heart, before establishing a systematic taxonomy by colour (white, straw, pale, ruby, granato), taste (sweet, austere, pontic, mature, unripe), consistency (subtle and spirituous versus dense and sedimented), and odour. French wines receive extended attention: those of Narbonnais, Beaune, and Burgundy for their body and vigour, Gascon wines for their thickness, and Bordeaux wines, notably those circulating through the vast urban cellars described as extending beyond the city itself. Wines of Coussy, d'Hai, and Orléans are singled out as the most salubrious, favoured by French kings for their lightness and lack of noxious vapours. The discussion proceeds to the medicinal virtues of wine, extensively citing Hippocrates, Galen, Aëtius, Oribasius, and particularly Alexander of Tralles on its use in fever, phrenitis, and consumption. The chapter concludes with observations on wine in old age (after Celsus), its use as an antidote to rabid dog bite, and comparative notes on Norman cider and aqua vitae. Section Three offers practical regimens for daily life, treating herbs, fruits, meats, poultry, fish, harmful animal parts, condiments, and foods functioning both as nourishment and remedy, as well as drinks and the medicinal application of wine. Among the more notable passages are recommendations for dental hygiene, including powders of red coral and rose preparations, and a striking denunciation of sugar, described as concealing \"under its whiteness a great blackness,\" causing thirst and dental decay, and to be particularly avoided by the young. The preliminary leaves contain laudatory Latin verses. The tabula capitum at the conclusion provides a detailed index to all three sections, followed by a substantial errata leaf. We suspect Du Chesne knew it all already: he makes diet the quiet engine of health, weighing wine, air, and food with almost moral urgency. He lingers on wine's subtleties, classifying it like a physician of taste, while prescribing daily regimens that bind kitchen to clinic. What charms us are the curiosities: coral powders for teeth, sugar hiding a \"blackness,\" and unruly passions - lust, envy, wrath - corroding the body as surely as any ill-chosen meal.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"La Fenice Antiquaria","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48150053716203,"sku":"141-1606--1800-230-2026","price":1560.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0766\/2000\/5611\/files\/00141_IMG_8023.jpg?v=1777187167","url":"https:\/\/fenicebooks.com\/en-eux\/products\/du-chesne-diaeteticon-polyhistoricon-1606","provider":"La Fenice Antiquaria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}