were composed by the order of Haroun er Rachid by the most celebrated physicians of his time, whom he had asked to inform him of the remedies for successfully combating the ills caused by coition.

Eat slowly, if your food shall do you good,
And take good care, that it be well digested.
Beware of things which want hard mastication;
They are bad nourishment, so keep from them.
Drink not directly after finishing your meal,
Or else you go halfway to meet an illness.
Keep not within you what is of excess,
And if you were in most susceptible circles,
Attend to this well before seeking your bed,
For rest this is the first necessity.
From medicines and drugs keep well away,
And do not use them unless very ill.
Use all precautions proper, for they keep
Your body sound, and are the best support.
Don't be too eager for round-breasted women;
Excess of pleasure soon will make you feeble,
And in coition you may find a sickness;
And then you find too late that in coition
Our spring of life runs into woman's vulva.
And before all beware of aged women,
For their embraces will to you be poison.
Each second day a bath should wash you clean;
Remember these precepts and follow them.

All sages and physicians agree in saying that the ills which afflict man originate with the abuse of coition. The man therefore who wishes to preserve his health, and particularly his sight, and who wants to lead a pleasant life, will indulge with moderation in love's pleasures, aware that the greatest evils may spring therefrom.