Description of diabetes by Aretaeus

Aretaeus (Greek: Ἀρεταῖος) is one of the most celebrated of the ancient Greek physicians, of whose life, however, few particulars are known. He presumably was a native or at least a citizen of Cappadocia, a Roman province in Asia Minor (Turkey), and most likely lived around first century CE. He is generally styled "the Cappadocian" (Καππάδοξ).

Description of diabetes by Aretaeus
Diabetes is a dreadful affliction, not very frequent among men,
being a melting down of the flesh and limbs into urine. The
patients never stop making water and the flow is incessant, like
the opening of aqueducts. Life is short, unpleasant and painful,
thirst unquenchable, drinking excessive, and disproportionate
to the large quantity of urine, for yet more urine is passed. One
cannot stop them either from drinking or making water. If for a
while they abstain from drinking, their mouths become parched
and their bodies dry; the viscera seem scorched up, the patients
are affected by nausea, restlessness and a burning thirst, and
within a short time, they expire.
Adapted from Papaspyros S.
 The History of Diabetes Mellitus, 2nd edn.Stuttgart: Thieme, 1964.