12 THE MASTER OF GAME 



three days to put down evil humours and his 

 superfluities, and also make him void (purge). 

 But for a hunter one need not do so, for he may 

 have no repletion on account of the little meat, 

 and by the travail that he hath. And, supposing 

 that which can not be, and that he were full of 

 wicked humours, yet men know well that the best 

 way to terminate sickness that can be is to sweat. 

 And when the hunters do their office on horseback 

 or on foot they sweat often, then if they have any 

 evil in them, it must (come) away in the sweating ; 

 so that he keep from cold after the heat. There- 

 fore it seemeth to me I have proved enough. 

 Leeches ordain for a sick man little meat and 

 sweating for the terminating and healing of all 

 things. And since hunters eat little and sweat 

 always, they should live long and in health. 

 Men desire in this world to live long in health 

 and in joy, and after death the health of the soul. 

 And hunters have all these things. Therefore 

 be ye all hunters and ye shall do as wise men. 

 Wherefore I counsel to all manner of folk of what 

 estate or condition that they be, that they love 

 hounds and hunting and the pleasure of hunting 

 beasts of one kind or another, or hawking. For 

 to be idle and to have no pleasure in either hounds 

 or hawks is no good token. For as saith in his 

 book Phœbus the Earl of Foix that noble hunter, he 

 saw never a good man that had not pleasure in 



