hem/ And they ought to enquere the cause of theyr
sekenessis and the sygnes and tokens of theyr maladyes/ As is rehercid
in the bookes of the au[ct]ours by ryght grete diligence/ And specially
in the bookes of ypocras galyene and of Auycene And whan many maysters
and phisicyens ben assemblid to fore the pacyent or seke man/ They ought
not there to argue and dispute one agaynst an other/ But they ought to
make good and symple colacion to geder. In suche wyse as they be not
seen in theyr desputynge one agaynst an other/ for to encroche and gete
more glorye of the world to them self/ than to trete the salute and
helthe of the pacyent and seke man/ I meruayll why that whan they fee
and knowe that whan the seke man hath grete nede of helthe wherfore than
they make gretter obiection of contraryousnes for as moche as the lyf
of man is demened and put amonge them but hit is be cause that he is
reputed most sage and wise that argueth and bryngeth in moste subtyltes/
And alle this maner is amonge doctours of lawe that treteth no thynge of
mannes lyf. But of temporelle thynges/ that he is holden most wyse and
best lerned/ that by his counceyll can beste acorde the contencions and
discencions of men And therfore ought the phisicyens and cyrurgyens leue
whan they be to fore the seke men all discencions and contrariousnes of
wordes/ in suche wyse that hit appere that they studye more for to cure
the seke men than for to despute And therfore is the phisicien duly
sette to fore the quene/ So that it is figured that he ought to haue in
hymself chastite and contynence of body For hit apperteyneth somtyme
vnto the phisicien to visite and cure Quenes duchesses and countesses
and alle other ladyes and see and beholde some secrete sekenessis that
falle and come otherwhile in the secretis of nature And therfore hit
apperteyneth to them that they be chaste and followe honeste and
chastite/ and that they be ensample to other of good contynence/ For
valerian reherceth that ypocras was of meruayllous contynence of his
body/ For whan he was in the scoles of Athenes/ he had by hym a ryght
fayr woman whyche was comyn And the yonge scolers and the Ioly felaws
that were students promisyd to the woman a besa[=u]t/ yf she myght or
coude torne the corage of ypocras for to haue to doon wyth her/ And she
cam to hym by nyght and dyde so moche by her craft that she laye wyth
hym in his bedd/ but she coude neuer do so moche y't she myghte corrumpe
his chaste li