Celsus’ “De Medicina”: A Latin-English Summary (Part 2)
Exercise and diet are the cornerstones of good health, says Celsus.
In Part 1 of this series, Celsus gave a brief overview of the history of medicine. Here in Part 2, he provides practical advice on how to become and stay healthy — no medication needed. From today’s perspective we would say that Celsus taught integrative medicine, an approach that was pervasive in antiquity.
As always, I have shortened some of the quotes to make them more accessible to modern readers.
Of Cold Baths And Intermittent Fasting
While nowadays medicine is all about treating illness, in Celsus’ time it was no less about prevention. The Roman thus begins his book with advice on how to remain healthy:
Sanus homo, qui et bene valet et suae spontis est, nullis obligare se legibus debet, ac neque medico neque iatroalipta egere.
A healthy person, who is vigorous and self-determined, does not need to obey any strict rules, nor depend on a doctor or physical therapist.
While Celsus denies the necessity of strict rules, he does give some strong advice:
Hunc oportet varium habere vitae genus: modo ruri esse, modo in urbe, saepiusque in agro; navigare, venari, quiescere interdum, sed frequentius se exercere.
The healthy person should follow a varied lifestyle, that is, be now in nature, now in the city, but more often on the countryside; sail by ship, go hunting, rest occasionally, but more often exercise.
The rationale is simple:
Siquidem ignavia corpus hebetat, labor firmat, illa maturam senectutem, hic longam adulescentiam reddit.
For idleness weakens the body, physical exertion strengthens it; the former makes us age fast, the latter keeps us young.
Celsus recommends variety in all daily activities:
Prodest etiam interdum balineo, interdum aquis frigidis uti; modo ungui, modo id ipsum neglegere.
It also helps to sometimes bathe in warm, sometimes in cold water; sometimes put lotion on, sometimes not.
The same is true for nutrition:
Nullum genus cibi fugere, quo populus utatur; interdum in convictu esse, interdum ab eo se retrahere; modo plus iusto, modo non amplius adsumere.
(It helps to) avoid no kind of food that is common; sometimes attend banquets, sometimes stay away; sometimes eat too much, sometimes not.
A word of caution: Romans could stay healthy eating anything because there were no processed foods. Modern poisons such as high-fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated fat were not invented yet. No carte blanche here, sorry. The image at the top of this article shows what Celsus regarded as “food that is common”.
The next piece of advice relates to a modern trend:
Bis die potius quam semel cibum capere, et semper quam plurimum, dummodo hunc concoquat.
(It helps to) eat twice per day rather than once, and always as much as possible, congestion permitting.
This will be an eye opener for many readers. Romans asked themselves whether it was better to eat one or two meals a day. No one ever thought of eating three (with one exception — see below). Our habit of indulging in breakfast, lunch and dinner came up in the middle ages. In recent years, a growing number of nutritionists have come to advocate “intermittent fasting”, which is nothing else than the regimen recommended by Celsus.
Now here’s the exception — condemned by Celsus:
Sed ut huius generis exercitationes cibique necessariae sunt, sic athletici supervacui: nam et intermissus propter civiles aliquas necessitates ordo exercitationis corpus adfligit, et ea corpora, quae more eorum repleta sunt, celerrime et senescunt et aegrotant.
But while the kind of exercise and diet described above is necessary, the kind that athletes follow is excessive: first, the body is harmed when their (strict) exercise regimen is interrupted by work obligations, and second, the bodies that are stuffed with food in the athletes’ manner both age and become sick fast.
Reading between the lines, we can understand why Celsus advocates variety. If the body gets used to a strict regimen of diet or exercise, it will be disturbed when the regimen is interrupted. Many people have experienced getting sick while on vacation because something was different from at home. According to Celsus we should not get used to anything, staying ready to adapt to changing circumstances. Some food for thought.
Healthy Habits For The Rest of Us
Now here’s a surprise: for Celsus, most of us do not belong to the healthy category! We thus have to take special precautions.
At imbecillis, quo in numero magna pars urbanorum omnesque paene cupidi litterarum sunt, observatio maior necessaria est, ut, quod vel corporis vel loci vel studii ratio detrahit, cura restituat.
But the weakly person, to which category many city dwellers and almost all intellectuals belong, needs to be more careful, so that (special) care may restore what their physical shape, place of residence, and study habits have destroyed.
What are the urban health problems that Celsus alludes to? Here is an example:
Ex his igitur qui bene concoxit, mane tuto surget; qui parum, quiescere debet, et si mane surgendi necessitas fuit, redormire; qui non concoxit, ex toto conquiescere ac neque labori se neque exercitationi neque negotiis credere.
Who digested well, for instance, can safely rise in the morning; who digested incompletely, should rest and go to bed again if he had to rise; who did not digest at all, should take full rest and not attempt any work, exercise, or business.
If you don’t know what Celsus is talking about, ask your friends. Around 43% of the global population experience digestive problems such as chronic constipation or irritable bowel syndrome (source). Among the suspected causes are stress, a diet low in fiber, and lack of exercise, the hallmarks of a sedentary lifestyle.
Another problem that many of us know all too well are frequent colds:
Cavere meridianum solem, matutinum et vespertinum frigus, ne modo frigus, modo calor moveat; quae res maxime gravidines destillationesque concitat.
(The weakly person) should beware the midday sun, the morning and evening cold, so as to avoid alternating stimulation by cold and heat, which regularly causes cold in the head and a running nose.
It is interesting how Celsus differentiates his advice. While he encourages healthy people to take hot and cold baths, he warns ailing city dwellers to stay away from extremes.
Addressing the causes of our mediocre health, Celsus asks us to exercise daily:
Quem interdiu vel domestica vel civilia officia tenuerunt, huic tempus aliquod servandum curationi corporis sui est. Prima autem eius curatio exercitatio est.
Who has been busy all day with domestic or civil obligations should reserve some time for the care of his body, the most important care being exercise.
He even gives some suggestions on how to exercise:
Commode vero exercent clara lectio, arma, pila, cursus, ambulatio, atque haec non utique plana commodior est, siquidem melius ascensus quoque et descensus cum quadam varietate corpus moveat.
Good ways to exercise are reading aloud, training with weapons, ball games, running, and walking; the latter being less effective on even ground, as walking up and down hill is more challenging for the body and adds some variety.
In case you wonder how intense your exercise should be, Celsus has an answer for that, too:
Exercitationis autem plerumque finis esse debet sudor aut certe lassitudo, quae citra fatigationem sit, idque ipsum modo minus, modo magis faciendum est.
After exercising one should mostly be sweaty, or certainly exhausted, but not worn out, and sometimes more, sometimes less so.
Again, Celsus misses no occasion to advocate variety.
He next turns to the topic of diet:
Ubi ad cibum ventum est, numquam utilis est nimia satietas, saepe inutilis nimia abstinentia.
Coming to food, excessive satiety is never useful, excessive abstinence often harmful.
Like modern nutritionists, Celsus also considers practical aspects of dieting:
Condita omnia duabus causis inutilia sunt, quoniam et plus propter dulcedinem adsumitur, et quod modo par est, tamen aegrius concoquitur.
All canned fruits are unsuitable for two reasons: more is consumed owing to their sweetness, and even moderate amounts are difficult to digest.
He knew that sugary foods can cause stomach acidity:
Secunda mensa bono stomacho nihil nocet, in inbecillo coacescit.
A dessert does not harm a healthy stomach, but it causes acidity in a weak one.
In sum, Celsus offers some amazingly modern advice on a healthy lifestyle, plus a theory of the virtues of variety that seems worth pursuing.
