The Works of Aristotle the Famous Philosopher Containing his Complete Masterpiece and Family Physician; his Experienced Midwife, his Book of Problems and his Remarks on Physiognomy

Q. Among all living creatures, why hath man only his countenance lifted up towards Heaven. A. 1. From the will of the Creator. But although this answer be true, yet it seemeth n...

There are four things which denominate a woman's natural labour; the first is, that it be at the full time, for if a woman comes before her time, it cannot be termed natural lab...

In showing the duty of a midwife, when the child-bearing woman's labour is unnatural, it will be requisite to show, in the first place, what I mean by unnatural labour, for that...

Natural barrenness is when a woman is barren, though the instruments of generation are perfect both in herself and in her husband, and no preposterous or diabolical course used...

Hair that hangs down without curling, if it be of a fair complexion, thin and soft withal, signifies a man to be naturally faint-hearted, and of a weak body, but of a quiet and...

This I mention first, as it is often the first and most common distemper which happens to little infants, after their birth; many children being so troubled therewith, that it c...

Conception is nothing but an action of the womb, by which the prolific seed is received and retained, that an infant may be engendered and formed out of it. There are two sorts...

The end of all that we have been treating of is, the bringing forth of a child into the world with safety both to the mother and the infant, as the whole time of a woman's pregn...

If the woman's labour be hard and difficult, greater care must be taken than at other times. And, first of all, the situation of the womb and her position in lying must be acros...

In this chapter I am to treat of the womb, which the Latins call _matrix_. Its parts are two; the mouth of the womb and the bottom of it. The mouth is an orifice at the entrance...

In the last chapter I treated of conception, showed what it was, how accomplished and its signs, and how she who has conceived ought to order herself during the time of her preg...

I have already said, that the womb is the field of generation; and if this field be corrupted, it is vain to expect any fruit, although it be ever so well sown. It is, therefore...

As soon as she is laid in her bed, let her be placed in it conveniently for ease and rest, which she stands in great need of to recover herself of the great fatigue she underwen...

_Of the Green-Sickness in Virgins, with its causes, signs and cures; together with the chief occasions of Barrenness in Women, and the Means to remove the Cause, and render them...

_The reason why children are like their parents; and that the Mother's imagination contributes thereto; and whether the man or the woman is the cause of the male or female child._

_That Man's Soul is not propagated by their parents, but is infused by its Creator, and can neither die nor corrupt. At what time it is infused. Of its immortality and certainty...

This, which if simply considered, will be found to be merely the cause of an effect, is called in English, "the suffocation of the mother," not because the womb is strangled, bu...

_Of Monsters and Monstrous Births; and the several reasons thereof, according to the opinions of the Ancients. Also, whether the Monsters are endowed with reasonable Souls; and...

The cause of this suppression is either external or internal. The external cause may be heat or dryness of air, want of sleep, too much work, violent exercise, etc., whereby the...

That divine Providence, which, with a wisdom peculiar to itself, has appointed woman to conceive by coition with man, and to bear and bring forth children, has provided for nour...

When a young couple are married, they naturally desire children; and therefore adopt the means that nature has appointed to that end. But notwithstanding their endeavours they m...

A large and full breast, shows a man valiant and courageous, but withal proud and hard to deal with, quickly angry, and very apprehensive of an injury; he whose breast is narrow...

The learned say, that truth is manifested by comparing contraries, and so, as I have above spoken of the suppression of menstruation, it is now necessary that I should treat of...

From the womb, not only the menstruous blood proceeds, but many evacuations, which were summed up by the ancients under the title of _rhoos gunaikeios_,[6] which is the distilla...

_Virginity, what it is, in what it consists, and how vitiated; together with the Opinions of the Learned about the Change of Sex in the Womb, during the Operation of Nature in f...

This disease may be defined as an inarticulate shapeless piece of flesh, begotten in the womb as if it were true conception. In this definition we must note two things: (1) beca...

Being engaged in this fourth part to show what judgment may be drawn, according to physiognomy, from the several parts of the body, and coming in order to speak of the hands, it...

These pains frequently afflict the woman no less than the pain of her labour, and are, by the more ignorant, many times taken the one for the other; and sometimes they happen bo...

_The Opinion of the Learned concerning Children conceived and born within Seven Months; with Arguments upon the Subject to prevent Suspicion of Incontinency, and bitter Contest...

Before conception, if the body be too hot, dry or moist, employ such treatment as to counteract the symptoms; if the blood be vitiated purify it, if plethoric, open the liver ve...

The womb is joined to its neck in the lower part of the _Hypogastrium_ where the hips are the widest and broadest, as they are greater and broader there than those of men, and i...

Having thus given the necessary directions to pregnant women, how to manage their health during their pregnancy, I will now add what is necessary for them to do, in order that t...

When the child's navel-string hath been cut according to the rules prescribed, let the midwife presently cleanse it from the excrements and filth it brings into the world with i...

If it were not for the public benefit, especially for that of the professors and practitioners of the art of midwifery, I would refrain from treating the secrets of Nature, beca...

Without doubt the uniting of hearts in holy wedlock is of all conditions the happiest; for then a man has a second self to whom he can reveal his thoughts, as well as a sweet co...

There are very few, except some professional debauchees, who will not readily agree that "Marriage is honourable to all," being ordained by Heaven in Paradise; and without which...

If a woman has had very hard labour, it is necessary that she should be wrapped up in a sheep's skin, taken off before it is cold, applying the fleshy side to her veins and bell...

Physiognomy is an ingenious science, or knowledge of nature, by which the inclinations and dispositions of every creature are understood, and because some of the members are unc...

The phlegmon, or inflammation of the matrix, is a humour which affects the whole womb, and is accompanied by unnatural heat, by obstruction and by an accumulation of corrupt blood.

Ignorance often makes women the murderesses of the fruit of their own body, for many, having conceived and finding themselves out of order, and not rightly knowing the cause, go...

The descent of the womb is caused by a relaxation of the ligatures, whereby the matrix is carried backward, and in some women it protrudes to the size of an egg, and there are t...

Uterine dropsy is an unnatural swelling, caused by the collection of wind or phlegm in the cavity, membranes or substance of the womb, on account of the want of innate heat and...

The womb is placed in the _hypogastrium_, or lower part of the body, in the cavity called the _pelvis_, having the straight gut on one side to protect it against the hardness of...

By errors in marriage, I mean the unfitness of the persons marrying to enter into this state, and that both with respect to age and the constitution of their bodies; and, theref...

The external parts, commonly called the _pudenda_, are designed to cover the great orifice and to receive the man's penis or yard in the act of sexual intercourse, and to give p...

Having given a description of the organs of generation in women, with the anatomy of the fabric of the womb, I shall now, in order to finish the first part of this treatise, des...

Having spoken thus largely of Physiognomy, and the judgment given thereby concerning the dispositions and inclinations of men and women, it will be convenient here to show how a...

A _scirrhus_, or a hard unnatural swelling of the matrix is generally produced by neglected, or imperfectly cured phlegm, which, insensibly, hinders the functions of the womb, a...

When the fruit of the womb comes forth before the seventh month (that is, before it comes to maturity), it is said to be abortive; and, in effect, the children prove abortive, t...

As Nature has a mutual desire for copulation in every creature, for the increase and propagation of its kind, and more especially in man, the lord of creation and the masterpiec...

The weeping of the womb is an unnatural flow of blood, coming from it in drops, like tears, and causing violent pains in it, and occurring at no fixed period or time. By some it...

In the body of man the head and feet are the principal parts, being the index which heaven has laid open to every one's view to make a judgment therefrom, therefore I have been...

Since the duties of a midwife have such a great influence on the well-doing or the contrary of both women and children, in the first place, she must be diligent in gaining all s...

I have given this Part the title of The Experienced Midwife, because it is chiefly designed for those who profess Midwifery, and contains whatever is necessary for them to know...

A midwife who wishes to acquit herself well in her employment, ought certainly not to enter upon it rashly or unadvisedly, but with all imaginable caution, remembering that she...

Having finished the first part of this book, and wherein, I hope, amply made good my promise to the reader, I am now come to treat only of those distempers to which they are mor...