95. Medicine

Disease is but deficiency or excess of three life forces,
defined by writers of scientific texts as air, fire and water.

The body requires no medicine if you eat
only after the food you have already eaten is digested. 

Once digestion is complete, eat with moderation; 
that is the way to prolong the life of the body. 

Assured the last meal has digested and sensing a keen appetite,
savor only foods that are fully agreeable.

Life remains unharmed when one eats with restraint,
refraining from foods that have proven disagreeable.

The pleasures of health abide in the man who eats moderately.
The pains of disease dwell with him who eats excessively. 

The thoughtless glutton who gorges himself beyond the limits 
of his digestive fires will be consumed by limitless ills.

Diagnose the illness, trace its cause, 
seek the appropriate remedy and apply it skillfully. 

An accomplished doctor prescribes a remedy after considering
the patient's nature, the disease's nature and the time of year.

Medicine consists of a patient, a physician, a prescription
and a nurse--each of these having four parts.