From the works of Athenaeus. Preparation for Producing Children.

"Those entering into the production of children should be in a very strong state with respect to soul and body. That is, the soul [must be] tranquil and neither in pain, distress, nor seized with some other passion, while the body [must be] healthy and in no way generally diminished. It is not from those who are tranquil and healthy, but those who are sick that sicknesses arise [in offspring], both in the whole body and in each part of it. For this reason, in fact, it is useful to prepare by regimen, making use of exercises that are sufficient and separate from any bad passions, and of foods that are easy to digest, productive of good humors, nutritious, and moderately wet and warm, [while] refraining from those that are too hot: acidic juice, rue, cardamom, rocket, savory, onion, garlic, generally, foods that are pungent, sour, bitter and salty. And in addition, let them behave well with respect to these things even on the days beforehand, so that the semen that is collected is sufficient and has been concocted, and so that an impulse and suggestion for sex should truly be inflamed, because the body is excited. For those who constantly have sexual intercourse gather seeds that are raw and unripe, as Andreas says. In general, one should give an interval [between periods] of pregnancy to those women planning on producing children. For, in general women who are constantly pregnant become very malnourished and grow very ill in their bodies, and the offspring they give birth to are in about the same state. The equivalent appears to happen also in the case of plants. For plants that frequently bear and produce much fruit also grow old faster, while plants that are sterile and produce little fruit [grow old] after a longer period of time. Thus, trees which often produce a great amount of fruit decayed due to the abundance, because their nature was exhausted on the fruit."

ἐκ τῶν Ἀθηναίου. παρασκευὴ πρὸς παιδοποιΐαν.

«τοὺς δ' ἐπὶ παιδοποιΐαν ἰόντας καὶ ψυχῇ καὶ σώματι χρὴ διακεῖσθαι κράτιστα· τοῦτο δ' ἐστὶ τῆς μὲν ψυχῆς εὐσταθούσης καὶ μήτε λύπαις μήτε μερίμναις σὺν πόνοις μήτε ἄλλῳ πάθει κατεχομένης, τοῦ δὲ σώματος ὑγιαίνοντος καὶ κατὰ μηδὲν ἁπλῶς ἐλασσουμένου· ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν εὐσταθῶν καὶ τῶν ὑγιεινῶν οὐχί, ἀλλὰ τῶν νοσερῶν, [ὑγιεῖ καὶ] νοσερὰ καθ' ὅλον τε τὸν ὄγκον καὶ καθ' ἕκαστον αὐτοῦ μέρος· διὸ καὶ προδιαιτᾶσθαι χρήσιμον, γυμνασίοις μὲν αὐτάρκως καὶ χωρὶς πάσης κακοπαθείας κεχρημένους, τροφαῖς δ' εὐκατεργάστοις καὶ εὐχύμοις καὶ εὐτρόφοις καὶ μετρίως ὑγροτέραις καὶ θερμοτέραις, ἀπεχομένους τῶν θερμαντικωτέρων, ὀποῦ, πηγάνου, καρδάμου, εὐζώμου, θύμβρας, κρομμύων, σκορόδων, κοινῶς τῶν δριμέων καὶ ὀξέων καὶ πικρῶν καὶ ἁλυκῶν. καὶ πρὸς τούτοις εὐτακτείτωσαν δὴ καὶ ταύτας τὰς ἔμπροσθεν ἡμέρας, ὅπως ἱκανόν τε καὶ πεπεμμένον ὑπάρχῃ τὸ συνηγμένον σπέρμα, καὶ ὁρμὴ καὶ ὑπόμνησις καῇ γε περὶ τῆς μίξεως, ὀργῶντος τοῦ σώματος· οἱ γὰρ συνεχῶς πλησιάζοντες ὠμὰ καὶ ἄωρα τρυγῶσι τὰ σπέρματα, καθά φησιν Ἀνδρέας. καθόλου δὲ ταῖς παιδογονίας προνοουμέναις διάλειμμα δοτέον τῆς συλλήψεως· αἱ γὰρ συνεχῶς καθόλου συλλαμβάνουσαι αὐταί τε ἀτροφώταται καὶ κακοφυέστεραι γίνονται τοῖς σώμασι καὶ τὰ βρέφη τίκτουσι καὶ αὐτὰ παραπλήσια. τὸ δ' ἀνάλογον ἔοικε συμβαίνειν καὶ περὶ τὰ φυτά· τὰ γὰρ πολύφορα καὶ πολύκαρπα καὶ αὐτὰ θᾶττον καταγηρῶσιν, τὰ δὲ στεριφὰ καὶ ὀλιγόκαρπα χρονιώτερα. πολλάκις οὖν ὑπερκαρπήσαντες δένδροι δι' εὐθένειαν εὐρωτίασαν διὰ τὸ ἐξαναλῶσαι τὴν φύσιν εἰς τοὺς καρπούς.»

Oribasius, Collectiones medicae (libri incerti) 23 (115,33-116,20 Raeder)