People felt themselves more able to demand the right to privacy, the right of self-expression, and the right to free exercise of their will. There was a greater interest in introspection and in the recognition of the individual personality. The average number of children born into a family was between three and four, of whom two or three survived to adulthood. But this statistic covers a wide variation in family size. Upper-class families had more children, sometimes as many as sixteen.
Noxious gasses are harmful humours that cause an imbalance in the body.
One of the symptoms of this condition is hysteria . Below is one artist's rendition of Succubus, a female demon who has sexual intercourse with sleeping men. Succubus is often depicted with horns and wings. Since blood contained all the humours , the practice of bloodletting was thought to provide a method for directly manipulating or correcting the conditions which could be traced to any humour. It was believed to be effective against plethora, overeating, too little exercise, dissipation, and just plain living.