Vulgar Bodies and Nasty Trades

Both Galen and Fracastoro used the term seeds or semina to describe epidemic agents; keeping with that horticultural metaphor, predisposed bodies provided fertile soil for invading particles to take root, while other bodies were less welcoming. Writing during the epidemic, Harvey answered that same perennial question—“Why are some bodies more exposed to the contagion than others?” Despite the constant presence of claims linking contagion to disorder or vice, threats about the pathogenic qualities of the plebeian body consistently crept beyond subgroups like criminals or vagrants to voice sweeping statements about the poor generally.

Source: www.laphamsquarterly.org