- Source
- Galen. Claudii Galeni Opera Omnia, Volume 4. Kühn, Karl Gottlob, editor. Leipzig: Knobloch, 1822.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
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- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0057.tlg025.humanitext-grc1:1#1
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Galen defines the concepts of "state" (hexis) and "good constitution" (euexia), distinguishing between absolute and relative states. Citing Hippocrates, he explains that the extreme constitution of athletes is relative and therefore dangerous, unlike absolute good constitution.
ΓΑΛΗΝΟΥ ΠΕΡΙ ΕΥΕΞΙΑΣ ΒΙΒΛΙΟΝ. Τὸ τῆς ἕξεως ὄνομα κατὰ παντὸς ἐπιφέρειν εἰθίσμεθα τοῦ μονίμου τε καὶ δυσλύτου,1 καὶ οὐδὲν μᾶλλον ἐπαινοῦντες, ἢ ψέγοντες. ἀλλ’ ὅταν εὐεξίαν ἢ καχεξίαν εἴπωμεν, ἤδη τηνικαῦτα διορίζομεν, ὁποίαν τινὰ τὴν ἕξιν εἶναί φαμεν. ἀγαθὴ μὲν οὖν ἁπλῶς ἕξις ἐν ἀρίστῃ κατασκευῇ γίνεται σώματος, οὐχ ἁπλῶς δὲ καὶ καθ’ ἑκάστην φύσιν σώματος. ἡ μέντοι καχεξία περὶ πᾶσαν συνίσταται κατασκευὴν σώματος, εἴθ’ ἁπλῶς, εἴτ’ ἐν τῷ πρός τι λέγοιτο. χρὴ τοίνυν ἀναμνησθῆναι τῶν περὶ ἀρίστης κατασκευῆς εἰρημένων ἰδίᾳ τὸν βουλόμενον ἀκριβῶς ἐπιγνῶναι, τί ποτέ ἐστιν ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν εὐεξία. πλάτος γὰρ ἱκανὸν ἐχούσης τῆς ὑγείας, ὡς πολλάκις ἐν ἑτέροις ἐπιδέδεικται, τὴν μὲν ἐπίτασιν αὐτῆς εὐεξίαν ὀνομάζουσιν οἱ παλαιοὶ φιλόσοφοί τε καὶ ἰατροὶ, τὴν δὲ ἔκλυσιν ἰδίῳ μὲν οὐκέτι προσαγορεύουσιν ὀνόματι, τὸ δὲ τοῦ παντὸς γένους ὡσαύτως ὑγείαν καλοῦντες. ὥστ’ ἀρίστη τις ὑγεία ἡ εὐεξία, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐν τοῖς ἄριστα κατεσκευασμένοις γίνεται σώμασιν. εἰ γάρ τι μὴ τοιοῦτον, οὐκ ἂν δέξαιτο τὴν ἀρίστην ὑγείαν, ὥστ’ οὐδὲ τὴν εὐεξίαν. εἰ δὲ ἐν τῷ πρός τι,2 κατὰ τὴν ἑκάστου φύσιν γίνεται, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μετὰ προσθήκης λέγεται Δίωνος, εἰ οὕτως ἔτυχεν, ἢ Μίλωνος εὐεξία, οὐχ ἁπλῶς εὐεξία. ἡ μέν γε τοῦ Μίλωνος, καὶ ἡ τοῦ Ἡρακλέους, καὶ ἡ τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως ἁπλῶς τ’ εἰσὶν εὐεξίαι καὶ χωρὶς προσθήκης ὀνομάζονται, καθάπερ καὶ καλὸς μὲν ὁ Ἀχιλλεὺς ἁπλῶς, ὁ δὲ πίθηκος οὐχ ἁπλῶς, ἀλλ’ ὡς πίθηκος καλός. ἐκ τῶν μετὰ προσθήκης ἐστὶ λεγομένων καὶ ἡ τῶν ἀθλητῶν εὐεξία, καὶ δεόντως ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς ὁ Ἱπποκράτης ἔλεγεν· Ἐν τοῖσι γυμναστικοῖσιν αἱ ἐπ’ ἄκρον εὐεξίαι σφαλεραί.3 οὐ γὰρ δὴ τήν γε ἁπλῶς ὀνομαζομένην εὐεξίαν, ἐπειδὰν εἰς ἄκρον ἥκῃ, σφαλερὰν εἶναί φησιν. αὐτὸ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτό ἐστιν αὐτῇ τὸ εἰς ἄκρον ἥκειν,4 τὸ πασῶν τοῦ σώματος τῶν διαθέσεων ὑπάρχειν ἡ ἀσφαλεστάτη. ἀλλ’ ἡ τῶν ἀθλητῶν, ἢ τῶν γυμναστικῶν, ἢ ὅπως ἂν ἐθέλοι τις ὀνομάζειν εὐεξίαν, διότι μὴ ἁπλῶς ἐστιν εὐεξία ἡ ἀρίστη διάθεσις σώματος, εὐλόγως εἰς ἄκρον ἰοῦσα σφαλερωτάτη γίνεται. διάθεσις γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀθλητικὴ οὐ φύσει, ἕξις ὑγιεινὴ κρείσσων. τῆς μὲν οὖν ὑγιεινῆς ἕξεως ἡ τελειότης εὐεξία ἐστί· τῆς δὲ τῶν ἀθλητῶν διαθέσεως οὐχ ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ μετὰ προσθήκης, ὡς εὔμορφος πίθηκος,5 καὶ πῆχυς μέγας, καὶ ἄδικος χοῖνιξ, καὶ ἀδόκιμος δραχμή. εἴτε γὰρ ὁ πῆχυς μέγας, οὐκέθ’ ἁπλῶς πῆχυς, ἀλλ’ ὅλον τοῦτο μέγας πῆχυς, εἴτε ἡ χοῖνιξ ἄδικος, οὐκέθ’ ἁπλῶς χοῖνιξ, ἀλλ’ ὅλον τοῦτο χοῖνιξ ἄδικος. ὡσαύτως δὲ κᾀπὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων τὸ χωρὶς τῆς προσθήκης ἁπλῶς ὀνομαζόμενον οὐ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐστι φύσεως τῷ μετὰ προσθήκης λεγομένῳ.
GALEN’S TREATISE ON GOOD CONSTITUTION. We are accustomed to apply the name of “state” to everything that is stable and hard to dissolve, praising it no more than blaming it. But when we say “good constitution” or “bad constitution”, we already at that moment define what kind of state we say it is. Thus, an absolutely good state occurs in the best constitution of a body, but not absolutely so in the case of each individual nature of a body. However, bad constitution is established in every constitution of a body, whether it is spoken of absolutely or relatively. Therefore, he who wishes to understand accurately what “good constitution” absolutely speaking is, must recall what has been said individually about the best constitution. For since health has a sufficient range, as has often been demonstrated in other works, the ancient philosophers and physicians call its intensification “good constitution”, while they no longer designate its slackening by a specific name, calling it likewise “health” after the name of the whole genus. Thus, good constitution is a kind of best health, and for this reason it occurs in the best-constituted bodies. For if a body is not of such a kind, it would not receive the best health, and thus not even good constitution. But if it is in a relative sense, it occurs according to each individual’s nature, and for this reason it is spoken of with an addition, as the good constitution of Dion, if it so happens, or of Milo, and not absolutely as good constitution. For that of Milo, of Heracles, and of Achilles are indeed absolutely good constitutions and are named without addition, just as Achilles is beautiful absolutely, but the ape is not absolutely beautiful, but beautiful as an ape. Among those spoken of with an addition is also the good constitution of athletes, and Hippocrates rightly said of it: “In gymnastic exercises, the extreme good constitutions are dangerous.” For he does not say that the constitution named absolutely, when it reaches the extreme, is dangerous. For this very thing, namely reaching the extreme, is for it to be the safest of all the dispositions of the body. But the good constitution of athletes or of gymnasts, or however one might wish to name it, since it is not absolutely the best disposition of the body, reasonably becomes extremely dangerous when it goes to the extreme. For he says, “The athletic disposition is not natural; a healthy state is better.” Therefore, the perfection of a healthy state is good constitution; but that of the athletic disposition is not absolutely so, but with an addition, like a beautiful ape, a great cubit, an unjust choenix, and a counterfeit drachma. For if the cubit is great, it is no longer absolutely a cubit, but the whole thing is a “great cubit”; and if the choenix is unjust, it is no longer absolutely a choenix, but the whole thing is an “unjust choenix”. Likewise in all other cases, that which is named absolutely without addition is not of the same nature as that which is spoken of with an addition.
- 1τοῦ μονίμου τε καὶ δυσλύτου
Genitive of the substantivized adjectives, modifying the preceding παντὸς to mean "over everything that is stable and hard to dissolve."
- 1εἰ δὲ ἐν τῷ πρός τι
An ellipsis of a verb like γίνεται, expressing the condition "but if [good constitution] is relative (in relation to something)."
- 1Ἐν τοῖσι γυμναστικοῖσιν αἱ ἐπ’ ἄκρον εὐεξίαι σφαλεραί
A quotation from Hippocrates' Aphorisms 1.3, featuring the Ionic dative plural τοῖσι (= τοῖς) and omitting the copula εἰσίν.
- 1αὐτὸ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτό ἐστιν αὐτῇ τὸ εἰς ἄκρον ἥκειν
The demonstrative pronoun τοῦτο and the articular infinitive τὸ εἰς ἄκρον ἥκειν are in apposition. The dative αὐτῇ is a dative of possession or reference ("for it [the absolute good constitution]").
- 1ὡς εὔμορφος πίθηκος
A series of examples where the addition of an adjective modifies or restricts the primary definition of the noun (e.g., an "unjust choenix"), showing that its essence differs from the noun when named absolutely.