Positions

by Richard Mulcaster

Wherin therfore consisteth the health of the bodie, and how is it to be maintained vntill such time, as nature shall dismantle, and pull it downe her selfe? To aunswere this question, and withall to declare, how great an officer to health exercise is: I will first shew, wherin health doth consiste, and how diseases do come: then how health is maintained, and disease auoided: Last of all how great a parte is appointed for exercise to plaie in the perfourmaunce therof, bycause I saye, and not I alone, but Galen also that great Physician, neither Galen[3] onely, though sufficient alone, but all that euer liued, and were cheife of that liuerie, that who so can applie the minde well with learning, and the bodie with exercise, shall make both a wise minde, and a healthfull bodie in their best kinde. Wherfore seing I haue set downe wherin the traine of the minde doth consist, so much as the Elementarie course doth admit, and must perfourme, and so farre as these my Positions require at this time, whose profession is not to tary, though it tuche them: I wil now handle that other part of exercise, wherwith the bodie is either to be kept in health, or to be helpt to health: and that not onely in the Elementarie, to whom this treatise should seeme to aunswere, but also in the generall student during his whole life: which must alwaye rule himselfe by those circunstances, which direct the application of exercise, according to time, age, &c. and shalbe handled herafter.

What is health and sicknesse.

There be in the bodie of man, the force of foure elementes, fire and aire, water and earth, and the pith of their primitiue, and principall qualities, heat and couldnesse, moysture and drynesse, which the Physicians call the similarie partes, of the similitude and likenesse that they haue, not the one to the other, but the partes of eche to their owne whole, bycause euerie least part, or degree of these great ones, beare the name of the whole, as euerie part or parcell of fier, is called fier, no lesse then the whole fier, of water, water, of aier, aier, of earth, earth, and euerie degree of heat, is heat, of cold, is cold, of moysture, is moysture, of drynesse, is drynesse, though greater and smaller, lesse and more, be epithetes vnto them, as either their quantitie, or qualitie doth sprede or close.

There be also in the same bodie certaine instrumentall partes, compounded and consisting in substance of the similarie, which the bodie doth vse in the executing of the naturall functions, and workinges therof. Now when these similarie partes be so tempered, and disposed, as no one doth excede any other in proportion to ouerrule, but all be as one in consent to preserue: and the instrumentall partes also be so correspondent one to an other, in composition and greatnesse, in number and measure, as nature thorough the temperature of the first, may absolutely vse the perfectnesse of the last, to execute and perfourme without let or stoppe, what appertaineth to the maintenaunce of her selfe: it is called health, and the contrarie, disease, both in the whole bodie, and in euery part therof. In the whole bodie by distemperature of the whole, in some part, by composition, out of place, and disioynted, by greatnes, being to bigge or to small: by measure, being misshapen and fashionles: by number, being to many and needlesse: or to few, and failing. This health whether it be in the middle degre, wherin all executions be complete without any sensible let: and no infirmitie appeareth, that the bodie feeles with any plaine offence: Or if it be in the perfectest degree, which is so seldom, as neuer any saw, bycause of great frailty, and brittlenesse in our nature: it neuer continueth in one estate, but altereth still, and runnes to ruyne, without both speedy and daily, nay without hourely reparation.

The causes which alter, and chaunge it so, be somtime from within the bodie, and were borne with it: sometime from without, and yet not without daunger. From within, the verie propertie and pithe of our originall substance, and matter whence we grew, altereth vs first, which as it beginneth, and groweth in moysture, so it endeth, and stayeth in drynesse, and in the ende decayeth the bodie with to much drynesse, which extreame though naturall withering, we call olde age, which though it come by course, and commaundement of nature, yet beareth it the name, and title of disease, bycause it decayeth the bodie, and deliuereth it to death. From within also, the continuall rebating, and falling awaye of somwhat from the bodie, occasioneth much chaunge, nay that is most cause of greatest chaunge, and killeth incontinent by meere defect, if it be not supplyed.

To these two causes of inward alteration, there aunswere two other forreine causes, both vnholesome, and perillous, the aire, which enuironneth vs, and violence, which is offered vs. The former of the two, decaing our health with to much heat, cold, drynesse, and moysture of it selfe: or by noysomnesse of the soile, and corruption in circunstance. The second, by strong hand brusing, or breaking, wounding or wiping awaie, of some one part of the bodie, or els killing the whole consort of the bodie with the soule, and taking away life from it. These foure ouerthrowes of our bodies and health, olde age, waste, aire, and violence, finde by helpe of nature, and arte, certaine oppositions, which either diuert them quite, if they maye be auoided, or kepe them of longer, if they maye be differred, or mittigate their malice, when it is perceiued. For forreine violence, foresight will looke to, where casualtie commaundes not, and cannot be foreseene. For infection by the aire, that it do not corrupte and marre so much as it would, wisedome will prouide, and defende the bodie from the iniuries, and wronges therof. That olde age grow not on to fast, circunspectnes in diet, consideration in clothes, diligence in well doing, wil easely prouide, both for the minde not to enfect, first it selfe and then the bodie: and for the bodie not to enforce the minde, by too impotent desires. That waste weare not, meat takes in chardge, to supplie that is drye, and decayeth: drinke promiseth to restore moysture, when it doth diminishe: the breath it selfe, and arteriall pulse, looke to heating and cooling. And Physick in generall professing foresight to preuent euills, and offering redresse, when they haue done harme, so not incurable, doth direct both those and all other meanes. Now in all these helpes, and most beneficiall aides of our afflicted nature, which deuiseth all meanes to saue her selfe harmelesse, and deliteth therin, when she is discharged of infirmities, to much stuffes and stiffles, to litle straites and pines, both vndoe the naturall. To much meat cloyes, to litle faintes, both perishe the principall. To much liquour drownes, to litle dryes, both corrupt the carcasse. Heat burnes, cold chilles, in excesse both to much, in defect both to litle, and both causes to decaie. Mediocritie preserueth not onely in these but in whatsoeuer els.

Exercise.

But now what place hath exercise here? to helpe nature by motion in all these her workinges, and wayes for health: to encrease and encourage the naturall heat, that it maye digest quickly and expell strongly: to fashion and frame all the partes of the bodie to their naturall and best hauiour: to helpe to rid needelesse, and superfluous humours: reffuse and reiected excrementes, which nature leaues for naught, when she hath sufficiently fed, and wisheth rather they were seene abrode, then felt within. And be not these great benefites? to defend the body by defeating diseases? to stay the minde, by strengthening of her meane? to assist nature being both daily, and daungerously, assailed both within and without? to helpe life to continue long? to force death, to kepe farre a loufe?

Now as all constitutions be not of one and the same mould, and as all partes be not moued alike, with any one thing: so the exercises must alter, and be appropriate to each: that both the constitution may be continued in her best kinde, and all the partes preserued to their best vse, which exercises being compared among themselues one to an other, be more or lesse, but being applyed to the partie kepe alwayes in a meane, when they meane to do good. Concerning students, for whose health my care is greatest, the lesse they eate, the lesse they neede to voide: and therfore small diet in them, best preuenteth all superfluities, which they cannot auoide, if their diet be great and their exercise small. Their exercise must also be very moderate, and not alter to much, for feare of to great distemperature in that, which must continue moderate: and with all it should be ordinarie, that the habit may be holesome, and sudden chaunge giue no cause of greater inconuenience. Wherfore to auoide distemperature the enemie to health, and so consequently to life, and to maintaine the naturall constitution so, as it may serue to the best, wherin her duetie lyeth, and liue to the longest, that in nature it can, besides the diet, which must be small, as nature is a pickler, and requires but small pittaunce: besides clothing which should be thin euen from the first swadling to harden, and thick the flesh: I do take this traine by exercise, which I wishe to be ioyned with learning, to be a marueilous furtherer.

But for diet to auoide inward daungers, and clothing to auert outward iniuries, and all such preuentions, as are not proper to teachers, though in communitie more proper then to any common man: I set them ouer to parentes, and other well willers, which will see to them, that they faile not in those thinges: and if they do, will fly to Physicians, by their helpe to salue that, which themselues may forsee. For exercises I will deale, which to commend more then they will commend them selues, when I shall shew both what they be, and the particular profites of euery one of them, which I chuse from the rest, were me thinke verie needlesse, and cheifly to me, which seeme sufficiently to praise them, in that I do place them among principles of prerogatiue. But as in the soule I did picke out certaine pointes, whervnto I applyed the training principles: so likewise in the bodie, may I not also seuer some certaine partes, whervnto my preceptes must principally be conformed? that shall not neede. For as in the soule the frute of traine doth better and make complete euen that which I tuched not, and so consequently the whole soule: so in the bodie, those exercises which seeme to be appointed for some speciall partes, bycause they stirre those partes most, do qualifie the whole bodie, and make it most actiue. Wherefore as there I did promise not to anatomise the soule, as neither dealing with Diuines nor Philosophers: so do I not here make profession to shew the anatomie of the bodie, as medling neither with Physicians nor Surgeans, otherwise then any of them foure can helpe me in exercise. To the which effect, and ende, I will onely cull out from whence I can, such speciall notes, as both Philosophers, and Phisicians do know to be most true, and both the learned, and vnlearned, will confesse to be for them: and such also, as the training maisters may easely both helpe, and encrease in their owne triall. For both reason, and rule, do alwaye commaunde, that the maister be by, when exercise is vsed, thorough whose ouerlooking the circunstance is kept, which helpeth to health, and the contrarie shunned, which in exercise doth harme. In the elder yeares, reason at the elbow must serue the student, as in these younger, the maisters preference helpes to direct the child.