dent parents, anxious for the safety of their offspring, will know how to use these admonitions.
14. When at length the infants may be accustomed gradually to other aliment, it must be begun prudently with such nutritious substances as approximate to their natural aliment—mainly soft, sweet, and easy of digestion. It is extremely hurtful (as is the custom with many) to accustom infants to medicine; because by this means obstruction is occasioned to natural digestion in the stomach, and consequently to their growth. For medicine and food are in their nature opposites; the latter supplies the body with blood and vital humors, whereas the former opposes, by drying them up and expelling them; besides, medicine taken when not required becomes a habit of nature and loses its power, so as to be useless in the time of need, from being assimilated to nature. Nay, what is still worse, infants used to medicine from their tender years, never attain perfect strength and sound health, being rendered feeble, sickly, infirm, pale-faced, imbecile, cancerous; finally, they anticipate fate and die prematurely.
15. Wherefore, Oh beloyed parents, if you would be numbered among the wise, just as you would avoid giving them poison, so avoid giving medicine to your children except in cases of necessity. Avoid also drink and food warm and acrid in their nature, such as dishes seasoned largely with pepper or salt. He who feeds his offspring with such food, or refreshes them with such drink, acts in the same manner as an imprudent gardener, who, being desirous that his plants should grow and flourish quickly, in order to warm the roots, covers them with lime. No doubt such plants will increase and put forth buds, but they will soon begin to become arid and dwindle away; and, while they seem to be flourishing, perish at the root. If you doubt this, make the experiment, and you will find how insalubrious these nutriments are for children. God has assigned and ordained milk as food for
