"What sport is toward ?" said he, raising his brows.
Gerard coloured a little, and told him the learned doctor was going to flebotomize him and cauterize him; that was all.
"Ay! indeed; and yon imp, what bloweth he hot coals for ?" "What should it be for," said the doctor to Gerard, "but to cauterize the vein when opened and the poisonous blood let free?
'Tis the only safe way.

Avicenna indeed recommends a ligature of the vein; but how 'tis to be done he saith not, nor knew he himself I wot, nor any of the spawn of Ishmael.

For me, I have no faith in such tricksy expedients; and take this with you for a safe principle: 'Whatever an Arab or Arabist says is right, must be wrong.'" "Oh, I see now what 'tis for," said Denys; "and art thou so simple as to let him put hot iron to thy living flesh?
didst ever keep thy little finger but ten moments in a candle?
and this will be as many minutes.
Art not content to burn in purgatory after thy death?
must thou needs buy a foretaste on't here ?" "I never thought of that," said Gerard gravely; "the good doctor spake not of burning, but of cautery; to be sure 'tis all one, but cautery sounds not so fearful as burning." "Imbecile! That is their art; to confound a plain man with dark words, till his hissing flesh lets him know their meaning.

Now listen to what I have seen.

When a soldier bleeds from a wound in battle, these leeches say, 'Fever.