# History of Monsters, 257

Phrenitis is a disorder of the head in which the patient suffers a loss of mental faculties. Therefore, a diligent physician attends to him by shaving his hair and opening a vein, then orders the patient to be bound and to lie down in a dark room. The phrenetic person is comparable to a sinner who, having turned away from reason, embraces every kind of vice like a brute animal. In such a case, the spiritual physician must immediately remove the "hair"—that is, the occasion for crimes—and reduce the "blood" of sin through confession. He must also place the criminal in a dark place, namely in solitude, removing him from public business and spectacles, and finally restrain him with the bonds of divine precepts so that he may regain his lost mental health as quickly as possible.

Lethargy is the opposite of this disease; for while phrenitis is produced by a hot cause, lethargy arises from a cold one, causing the sufferer to fall into a deep sleep. It is the general opinion of physicians that it is a lethal sign when phrenitis degenerates into lethargy, and conversely, one should not despair when the opposite occurs. Those suffering from lethargy are likened to hypocrites and traitors, who outwardly appear as simple men, as if sleeping, while inwardly they overflow with the worst vices. Phrenetics, however, are compared to public sinners whose vices are manifest to everyone. For this reason, if it happens that a phrenetic becomes lethargic—that is, if a public sinner becomes a hidden one—this is considered a very bad sign, since the veiled vices of hypocrites are more harmful, as they are believed by everyone to be virtues. But if the opposite occurs, and someone moves from lethargy toward phrenitis—namely, that the hidden crimes of a sinner are made manifest—this promises a great hope for salvation, since manifest vices are not only less harmful but can also be more easily corrected.

Finally, sneezing is a violent concussion of the brain, excited by nature to drive out superfluous fluids. This motion unburdens the brain, shakes the whole body, produces a noise around the nostrils, and ultimately brings a great hope for future health. This condition is compared to contrition, which moves the "brain" of the mind through self-examination, produces the "noise" of confession, and unburdens the mind from the superfluity of vices through satisfaction, thus promising the soul a certain hope of salvation.

Human eyes are troubled by various ailments. First, they suffer from a loss of continuity and inflammation stirred up by dust, wind, smoke, the brilliance of a bright body, excessive wine drinking, sexual pleasure, and finally by sharp foods. The eye can be explained as the soul, which gazes upon and understands all things; or we may represent the intellect and the will through the two eyes. Indeed, these eyes of the heart incur various diseases of vice: they are wounded by envy, disturbed by the dust of avarice, and vexed by the smoke of pride and the wind of vainglory. Sometimes they are offended by excessive brightness—namely, when the eyes of the mind peer too curiously into divine mysteries—according to that passage in Isaiah: *My eyes have grown dim looking upward.* Furthermore, the eyes of the mind are infested by the intoxication of perverse doctrine, defiled by sexual pleasure, and finally attacked by the sharpness of the foods of anger. For the Psalmist wrote: *My eye is troubled by fury.* What if the eye should incur blindness? For a man deprived of his sight always goes along feeling his way with his hand or a staff, or he must trust a boy leading him. The sinner is likened to one born blind because he strives to investigate things that do not belong to him; furthermore, he is not his own master, since he trusts and obeys the Devil and the World.

If deafness of the ears is congenital from youth, it is rendered incurable. Likewise, the deafness of stubbornness, when it occurs in the young and has become deep-seated, undoubtedly requires not the aid of nature or medical help, but a miracle.

The mouth is particularly prone to overflow with foul odors, which arise from many causes—namely, from the corruption of the gums, from ulcers of the palate, from poorly affected parts of the chest, from putrid humors of the stomach, and sometimes even from the whole body. The "moral mouth" is speech, and the foulness of the mouth is represented by obscene words. This usually depends on various causes: first, from the gums of the mind corrupted by heresy; second, from the ulcers of cursing; third, from parts of the chest vexed by envy; fourth, from the putrid humor of a lustful stomach; and finally, from the whole body when a man is infamous and violates the reputation of others. From the mouth we must come to the throat, which often suffers from quinsy. But when a swelling appears on the neck in this condition, physicians conceive a hope for health; if otherwise, they assert that one must despair. The sinner's throat is often occupied by this disease, and at that time