Part 8
And many and serious complaints attacked many persons in the region
of the belly. In the first place, tenesmus, accompanied with pain,
attacked many, but more especially children, and all who had not attained
to puberty; and the most of these died. There were many cases of lientery
and of dysentery; but these were not attended with much pain. The
evacuations were bilious, and fatty, and thin, and watery; in many
instances the disease terminated in this way, with and without fever;
there were painful tormina and volvuli of a malignant kind; copious
evacuations of the contents of the guts, and yet much remained behind;
and the passages did not carry off the pains, but yielded with difficulty
to the means administered; for in most cases purgings were hurtful
to those affected in this manner; many died speedily, but in many
others they held out longer. In a word, all died, both those who had
acute attacks and those who had chronic, most especially from affections
of the belly, for it was the belly which carried them all off.