For I would not have anyone as fastidious as that Greek woman Calis, sister of Nicephorus, emperor of Constantinople, and wife of Domenico Selvo, doge of Venice. From incredible self-indulgence, “she refused to use common water”—she would use no ordinary water. But she died “with such an abundance of extremely foul pus,” as my author says: of so disgusting a disease that no water could wash her clean.

Plato would not have a traveller stay in a city that is not governed by laws, or has no swift stream flowing past it; “for the former corrupts the mind, the latter the health”—one corrupts the body, the other the mind.

But this is more than necessary. Excessive fastidiousness is wrong; in an emergency, any water is allowed. Still, pure water is best and, as Pindar maintains, better than gold. It is a special ornament and a great advantage to a city, according to Vegetius, when fresh springs are enclosed within its walls. At Corinth, almost in the middle of the town, there was “a lofty citadel abounding in springs”—a splendid hill full of freshwater springs. If nature does not supply them, human ingenuity must.

It is astonishing to read of those stupendous aqueducts and the enormous sums spent in ancient Rome, Constantinople, Carthage, Alexandria and other populous cities to convey good and wholesome water. Read Frontinus, Lipsius on the wonders of Rome, Pliny, book 3, chapter 11, and Strabo's Geography.

The aqueduct of Claudius was especially remarkable: carried on arches for fifteen miles, each arch 109 feet high. They had fourteen other such aqueducts, besides reservoirs and cisterns—seven hundred, I believe. Every house had its own pipes and channels to supply its needs.

Peter Gillius, in his detailed description of Constantinople, speaks of an old cistern that he went down to inspect: 336 feet long and 180 feet wide, built of marble, roofed with vaulting supported by 336 pillars, twelve feet apart and arranged in eleven rows, to hold fresh water.

Enormous sums were formerly spent on channels and cisterns from the Nile to Alexandria, to the wonder of our own age. Their cisterns are so skilfully cemented and constructed that an observer would take them to be made from a single stone: once the foundations have been laid and the cistern made, the house is half built.

The aqueduct at Segovia in Spain is greatly admired nowadays: three tiers of pillars, one above another, conveying fresh water to every house. But almost every city is full of such aqueducts.

Among the rest, everlasting praise is due to the man who brought that new stream to the north side of London at his own expense, and to Mr Otho Nicholson, founder of our waterworks and elegant conduit in Oxford. Such importance has every age attached to having a convenient supply of this element.

Although Galen has objected to water that runs through lead pipes, “because of the white lead formed in them”—that greasy white lead which causes dysentery and diarrhoea—Alsarius Crucius of Genoa rightly replies that this contradicts common experience. If it were true, most of our Italian cities, Montpellier in France and countless others would suffer this harm; but there is no such thing.

As for how private households should supply themselves, let them consult P. Crescentius, On Agriculture, book 1, chapter 4; Pamphilus Hirelacus; and the other writers.

Among fish, those living in waters with gravelly or sandy beds are most approved: pike, perch, trout, gudgeon, smelt, flounder and so on. Hippolytus Salvianus objects to carp, but I will confidently say with Dubravius that it is an excellent food, provided it does not come from muddy pools and retain an unpleasant taste. The sea urchin is highly recommended by Oribasius, Aetius and most of our recent writers.

Crato, consultation 21, book 2, condemns every kind of fruit as liable to decay, yet allows it sometimes after meals, as a second course: it keeps vapours down and has its uses. Sweet fruits are best, such as sweet cherries, plums, sweet apples, pearmains and pippins. Laurentius praises these as having a particular virtue against this disease, and Plater extols them: “they are suitable in every way as specific remedies.” But they must be prepared to counteract their tendency to cause wind.

Ripe grapes and sun-dried raisins are good, as are muskmelons when properly prepared and used sparingly. Figs are allowed, and blanched almonds. Trallianus disapproves of figs; Salvianus disapproves of olives and capers, which others particularly favour, and the same disagreement applies to pistachio nuts.

Montanus and Mercurialis, following Avenzoar, allow peaches, pears and apples, baked and eaten after meals, provided they are prepared with sugar and aniseed or fennel seed. They may then be taken with benefit because they strengthen the stomach and keep vapours down.

The same may be said of preserved cherries and plums, and preserves made from plums, quinces and so on; but one must not drink after eating them. Pomegranates, lemons and oranges are allowed if they are not too sour.

Crato allows no herbs or greens except borage, bugloss, endive, fennel, aniseed and balm. Callenius and Arnoldus permit lettuce, spinach, beets and so on. Crato likewise allows no roots at all to be eaten. Some approve of potatoes and parsnips, but all must be prepared to counteract wind. No raw salads: the greens should be cooked in broths, as Laurentius prescribes, and Crato recommends many of them in this form. Alternatively, borage, hops and balm may be steeped in the patient's usual drink.

Avenzoar praises pomegranate juice, if it is sweet, and especially rosewater, which he would have used in every dish. This is the practice in the hot countries around Damascus, where, if we may believe Varthema's accounts, many hogsheads of rosewater are offered for sale in the market at once, so great is the demand for it.