Note 660 — BOOK I.—OF THE EPIDEMICS.

Galen, in his Commentary, remarks that the fatal issue of this case might have been anticipated after the return of the fever on the third day, with a complication of bad symptoms, such as great thirst, dry tongue, black urine, delirium, coldness of the extremities, and so forth. The modern reader will be struck with the description of the respiration, namely, that the patient seemed like a person who forgot for a time the besoin de respirer, and then, as it were, suddenly recollected himself. Such is the meaning of the expression as explained by Galen in his Commentary, and in his work On Difficulty of Breathing. By “rare” is always meant “few in number.” The reader will remark that this is a striking case of a fever having regular exacerbations on the even days, and slight remissions on the uneven.