256 Ulisse Aldrovandi

# MORAL LESSONS DERIVED FROM HUMAN AILMENTS

Since we have summarized "natural" and "non-natural" things in just a few words, we shall now also briefly explain those things termed "contrary to nature" by physicians, insofar as they can be adapted to human morals. Just as pulses are diligently examined by physicians so that the affections of the heart may be perceived, so too should "moral physicians"—such as a Prince or a Ruler—occasionally weigh the "pulses" of their subjects with such care that they may know the dispositions of their hearts and pull those who do wrong back from a crooked path.

Or let the name of "moral physician" be assigned to the confessor, who must observe the pulses of those confessing with great industry so that he might understand the inward states of the heart. Therefore, we must now examine the primary afflictions that ravage the human body, specifically as they serve moral instruction. Beginning with diseases of the head, we first consider alopecia, which occurs when sharp humors erode the roots of the hair. The Prince is the head, and the hair represents the people subject to his power. Thus, when the "hair"—that is, the subjects—is infected by foul humors (namely, the bad examples of Princes), they immediately fall away into luxury and are loosened.

Baldness is also caused by the falling out of hair, and it can signify the deprivation of virtues brought about by the violence of sin. Just as a young man suffering from baldness can acquire hair once again, whereas an old man is freed from baldness with difficulty or never, so too a young man "bald" from lost virtues is adorned anew with these "hairs of virtue" through the power of penance. An old man achieves this only with difficulty, as the vices of the elderly seem to be incorrigible. Indeed, we find this sentiment in Proverbs: *A young man trained in his way, even when he is old, will not depart from it.*

Next, we must consider epilepsy, a major disease of the head, so named by the Greeks because the upper parts are seized; among its various names, it is also known as the "sacred disease." This condition arises when humors occupy the ventricles of the brain and the passage of the animal spirits is intercepted. The patient then falls in a convulsion and, with foaming at the mouth, grinding of teeth, and facial distortion, seems to tremble throughout the entire body.

This affliction is undoubtedly to be compared to the sickness of pride, which can truly be called a "sacred disease" since it has triumphed even over holy and perfect men. It is called epilepsy as if it were a "harming of the upper parts," and not without reason, since it cast down the heavenly Angels; for we read in the sacred pages: *The Lord hath destroyed the seats of proud leaders.*

This affliction of pride is generated when the foul humors of vainglory are carried to the ventricles of the mind—specifically when a man contemplates the nobility of his lineage, the strength of his body, or the abundance of his riches, or when he marvels at himself on account of some mediocre learning. Then, every movement of right action is hindered, and the soul falls headlong from the state of grace. Thus are introduced the tremor of despair, the grinding of anger and turmoil, the foam of cursing, and the distortion of the face—that is, the foulness of bad habit.

Paralysis is also counted among the diseases of the head. It afflicts when the nerves descending from the head are deprived of sensation and movement. The cause of this sickness can stem from obstructing humors, from consuming heat, from constricting cold, or from a wound that breaks the continuity of the parts. By paralysis, we are to understand sin, which undoubtedly takes away the sense of discretion and the movement of right action. This can arise from the humors of voluptuous delight obstructing the mind, or from the heat of avarice and ambition, or from the cold of fear and despair, or finally from the wound of envy and wrath.