The celebrated Chancellor Bacon, according to
Mead, was very delicate, and was accustomed to fall into a state
of great feebleness at every moon-set without any other
imaginable cause. He never recovered from his swooning until the
moon reappeared.
Nothing is more common than the idiosyncrasy which certain people
display for certain foods. The trite proverb, "What is one man's
meat is another man's poison," is a genuine truth, and is
exemplified by hundreds of instances. Many people are unable to
eat fish without subsequent disagreeable symptoms. Prominent
among the causes of urticaria are oysters, crabs, and other shell
fish, strawberries, raspberries, and other fruits. The abundance
of literature on this subject makes an exhaustive collection of
data impossible, and only a few of the prominent and striking
instances can be reported.
Amatus Lusitanus speaks of vomiting and diarrhea occurring each
time a certain Spaniard ate meat. Haller knew a person who was
purged violently by syrup of roses. The son of one of the friends
of Wagner would vomit immediately after the ingestion of any
substance containing honey. Bayle has mentioned a person so
susceptible to honey that by a plaster of this substance placed
upon the skin this untoward effect was produced.
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