¶ … Jacme d'Agramont: Regimen of Protection against Epidemics The objective of this study is to answer the following questions: (1) According to Jacme, what is the "pestilence"? How does his definition of pestilence fit into the "Western traditional medicine" framework? (2) How does Jacme explain how plague is caused? What is the "Western traditional medicine" rationale behind his explanation of the plague causation? (3) What is the "Western traditional medicine" rationale behind Jacme's explanation of the symptoms of the plague? And (4) What is the "Western traditional medicine" rationale behind Jacme's advice for avoiding (or surviving) the plague?

Pestilence

Jacme states that pestilence arises from diverse changes in the air "as well as in its qualities as in its substance causing diverse properties from which arise "diverse consequences." Jacme writes that pestilence is a "contra-natural change of the air in its qualities or in its substance; from which arise in living things corruptions and sudden deaths and various maladies in certain determined regions beyond their ordinary." (Reynals and Winslow, 1949, p.60)

Jacme writes that pestilence "is change" of the air. Change in the quality of the earth and water is held by Jacme to be unable to cause pestilence "unless it is followed by change in the air." (Reynals and Winslow, 1949, p.61) This statement is qualified by Jacme in the statement that a pestilence may occur among the fish due to the water quality or substance and while mortality is seen among fish this is not linked to mortality of men and birds or other animals. The pestilence spoken of by Jacme is stated to be "common to all beasts and all living things because in such times we see how serpents...

Plague
Plague is stated by Jacme to be caused by God's judgment upon mankind. For example, Jacme holds up examples in the Holy Scripture such as the plagues of the Pharaohs (Exod. 7 and 8,9,10 and 11th Chapters). Jacme states that another cause of the plague is "from wicked men, children of the devil, who with venoms and diverse poisons corrupt the foodstuffs with evil skill and malevolent industry." (p.5) Wallis (p.9) writes that modern historians are viewing the Black Death as a disease and are reported as being "deeply interested in debates over which disease (as modern science defines disease) it was." (p.9)

Wallis states that by contrast "the first descriptions of the great mortality by physicians paint a dramatic picture of cosmic catastrophe in which human illness and death played a significant, but not necessarily a starring role." (p.9) Wallis writes that Jacme d'Agramont held that the Black Death "was a time of change, not exclusively or even primarily a disease." (p.9) Wallis states that according to Jacme there was an ecological disaster occurring but Jacme did not feel a need to attempt scientific investigation of the causes of this disaster on the earth but somewhat adhered to the thought that the plague resulted from…