CHAPTER VI
TREATMENT OF FEVERS CALLED LENTICULAES^

I will now deal with special fevers, and I shall discuss first
the treatment of those fevers which are not truly pestilent, but
are called only malignant, for instance such as appeared over
so wide an area in the years 1505 and 1528.  Bome called these
lenticulae, others puncticulae, or peticulae. I think that we
ought to discuss these very carefully, because they often return
in epidemics, or often break out without epidemics, and are
even now observed in Italy, in fact in certain districts they are
very familiar. I shall first of all relate by what method the
doctors treated them when first they encountered them as un—
known phenomena. For there arose so violent a disagreement
among the doctors that they were almost a laughing—stock.

"To begin with the question of diet: some ordered the sick to
be generously and freely nourished, because they said that the
vital energy was much reduced, and that thus did Hippocrates
prescribe, thus Avicenna, that Prince of Medicine. Others,
again, presceribed &a very light diet, because they held that the
ailment was due to serious plethora; others hesitated to go to
extremes, and held a middle course as being safer.  SBome gave
the patients unmixed wine to drink, others water, either plain
or mixed with pomegranate wine. 'There was the same differ—
ence of opinion about phlebotomy, for some drew blood at once,
and freely, others refused to open a vein at any time, on the
ground that they had observed that a majority of those who
had undergone this treatment died. Of this latter group, some
thought well to take a middle course, and opened the hemor—
rhoidal veins.  Again, on the question of evacuations there was
the same dissension. Some employed violent drugs, others
either none at all or the milder sort. 'There were also some
who said that that kind of fever must be stopped by sweating.
In this dispute the empiries and chemists also played their
part, and employed for their treatment certain sublimated

223