< Habits of body and mind. >

He thought much and with excellent method and stedinesse, which made him seldome make a false step.

His bookes, vide page 22. ☞ He had very few bookes. I never sawe (nor Sir William Petty) above halfe a dozen about him in his chamber. Homer and Virgil were commonly on his table; sometimes Xenophon, or some probable historie, and Greek Testament, or so.

Reading. He had read much, if one considers his long life; but his contemplation was much more then his reading. He was wont to say that if he had read as much as other men, he should have knowne no more then other men.

His physique. He seldome used any physique (quaere Sir W<illiam> P<etty>). What 'twas I have forgot, but will enquire of Mr. Shelbrooke his apothecary at the Black Spread-eagle in the Strand.

Memorandum—Mr. Hobbes was very sick and like to dye at Bristoll-house in Queen Street, about 1668.

He had a sicknes, anno....

He was wont to say that he had rather have the advice, or take physique from an experienced old woman, that had been at many sick people's bed-sides, then from the learnedst but unexperienced physitian.

'Tis not consistent with an harmonicall soule to be a woman-hater, neither had he an abhorrescence to good wine but ...—this only inter nos.

Temperance and diet. He was, even in his youth, (generally) temperate, both as to wine and women, (et tamen haec omnia mediocriter)—

Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.

I have heard him say that he did beleeve he had been in excesse in his life, a hundred times; which, considering his great age, did not amount to above once a yeare. When he did drinke, he would drinke to excesse to have the benefitt of vomiting, which he did easily; by which benefit neither his witt was disturbt longer then he was spuing nor his stomach oppressed; but he never was, nor could not endure to be, habitually a good fellow, i.e. to drinke every day wine with company, which, though not to drunkennesse, spoiles the braine.

For his last 30+ yeares, his dyet, etc., was very moderate and regular. After sixty he dranke no wine, his stomach grew weak, and he did eate most fish, especially whitings, for he sayd he digested fish better then flesh. He rose about seaven, had his breakefast of bread and butter; and tooke his walke, meditating till ten; then he did putt downe the minutes of his thoughts, which he penned in the afternoon.

He had an inch thick board about 16 inches square, whereon paper was pasted. On this board he drew his lines (schemes). When a line came into his head, he would, as he was walking, take a rude memorandum of it, to preserve it in his memory till he came to his chamber. ☞ He was never idle; his thoughts were always working.

His dinner was provided for him exactly by eleaven, for he could not now stay till his lord's howre—scil. about two: that his stomach could not beare.

After dinner he tooke a pipe of tobacco, and then threw himselfe immediately on his bed, with his band off, and slept (tooke a nap of about halfe an howre).

In the afternoon he penned his morning thoughts.

Exercises. Besides his dayly walking, he did twice or thrice a yeare play at tennis (at about 75 he did it); then went to bed there and was well rubbed. This he did believe would make him live two or three yeares the longer.

In the countrey, for want of a tennis-court, he would walke up-hill and downe-hill in the parke, till he was in a great sweat, and then give the servant some money to rubbe him.

Prudence. He gave to his amanuensis, James Wheldon (the earle of Devon's baker; who writes a delicate hand), his pention at Leicester, yearly, to wayte on him, and take a care of him, which he did performe to him living and dying, with great respect and diligence: for which consideration he made him his executor.

Habit. In cold weather he commonly wore a black velvet coate, lined with furre; if not, some other coate so lined. But all the yeare he wore a kind of bootes of Spanish leather, laced or tyed along the sides with black ribons.

Singing. He had alwayes bookes of prick-song lyeing on his table:—e.g. of H. Lawes' etc. Songs—which at night, when he was abed, and the dores made fast, and was sure nobody heard him, he sang aloud (not that he had a very good voice) but for his health's sake: he did beleeve it did his lunges good, and conduced much to prolong his life.

Shaking palsey. He had the shaking palsey in his handes; which began in France before the yeare 1650, and haz growne upon him by degrees, ever since, so that he haz not been able to write very legibly since 1665 or 1666, as I find by some of his letters to me.