Else with a halter wilt thou lead thy body into ill.
Yeawait a little after thou hast eatenbrother mine；Then drinkand peradventure thus shalt thou attain unto thy will.'
（Q.）'What food is it that giveth not rise to ailments？'（A.）
'That which is not eaten but after hungerand when it is eatenthe ribs are not filled with iteven as saith Galen the physician'Whoso will take in foodlet him go slowly and he shall not go wrong.'To end with the saying of the Prophet，（whom God bless and preserve，）'The stomach is the home of diseaseand abstinence is the beginning of curefor the origin of every disease is indigestion，that is to saycorruption of the meat in the stomach.'（Q.）
'What sayst thou of the bath？'（A.）'Let not the full man enter it. Quoth the Prophet'The bath is the delight of the house，for that it cleanseth the body and calleth to mind the fire [of hell].'（Q.）'What waters are best for bathing？'（A.）
'Those whose waters are sweet and plains wide and whose air is pleasant and wholesomeits climate [or seasons] being fair，autumn and summer and winter and spring.'（Q.）'What kind of food is the most excellent？'（A.）'That which women make and which has not cost overmuch trouble and which is readily digested. The most excellent of food is brewis
according to the saying of the Prophet'Brewis excels other foodeven as Aa茂sheh excels other women.'（Q.）'What kind of seasoning is most excellent？'（A.）'Flesh meat（quoth the Prophet）is the most excellent of seasonings；for that it is the delight of this world and the next.'（Q.）'What kind of meat is the most excellent？'（A.）'Mutton；but jerked meat is to be avoidedfor there is no profit in it.'（Q.）'What of fruits？'（A.）'Eat them in their prime and leave them when their season is past.'（Q.）'What sayst thou of drinking water？'（A.）'Drink it not in large quantities nor by gulps，or it will give thee the headache and cause divers kinds of harm；neither drink it immediately after the bath nor after copulation or eating（except it be after the lapse of fifteen minutes for a young and forty for an old man）or waking from sleep.'（Q.）'What of drinking wine？'（A.）'Doth not the prohibition suffice thee in the Book of God the Most High，where He saith'Verilywine and casting lots and idols and divining arrows are an abomination of the fashion of the Devil：