Radical heat, also called innate heat, was part of an ancient Greek system of medicine which considered the imbalance between radical heat and radical moisture to be the origin of human health issues. This theory had largely fallen out of fashion by the eighteenth century.
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Radical Heat Term Timeline in Tristram Shandy
The timeline below shows where the term Radical Heat appears in Tristram Shandy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 5: Chapters 29-35
...the next chapter on the subject of health. He and Yorick debate the roles of radical heat and radical moisture in the body, the tension between which is the source of all...
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Book 5: Chapters 36-43
Chapter 36. Returning to radical heat and radical moisture, Walter argues that doctors and chemists have mistaken animal fats for radical...
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...a textbook case of excessive radical moisture. Trim, however, thought to maintain the balance of radical heat and radical moisture with hot wine and spices. Yorick asks Trim for his opinion, and...
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...Trim what his conclusions are, and Trim replies that radical moisture is ditch water and radical heat is burnt brandy, and each that individual only needs enough brandy and a pipe to...
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