§1## ΓΑΛΗΝΟΥ ΟΤΙ ΑΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΙΑΤΡΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΟΣ.
Οἷόν τι πεπόνθασιν οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀθλητῶν, ἐπιθυμοῦντες μὲν ὀλυμπιονῖκαι γενέσθαι, μηδὲν δὲ πράττειν, ὡς τούτου τυχεῖν, ἐπιτηδεύοντες, τοιοῦτόν τι καὶ τοῖς πολλοῖς τῶν ἰατρῶν συμβέβηκεν.
## GALEN: THAT THE BEST PHYSICIAN IS ALSO A PHILOSOPHER. The very same thing that has happened to the majority of athletes, who desire indeed to become Olympic victors, but practice nothing that would enable them to attain this, has also happened to the majority of physicians.
ἐπαινοῦσι μὲν γὰρ Ἱπποκράτην, καὶ πρῶτον ἁπάντων ἡγοῦνται, γενέσθαι δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐν ὁμοίοις ἐκείνῳ, πάντα μᾶλλον ἢ τοῦτο πράττουσι.
For they praise Hippocrates and consider him the first of all, yet they do everything rather than this, namely, to become similar to him.
ὁ μὲν γὰρ οὐ μικρὰν μοῖραν εἰς ἰατρικήν φησι συμβάλλεσθαι τὴν ἀστρονομίαν, καὶ δηλονότι τὴν ταύτης ἡγουμένην ἐξ ἀνάγκης γεωμετρίαν.
For he says that astronomy contributes no small part to medicine, and clearly geometry as well, which necessarily precedes it.
οἱ δ’ οὐ μόνον αὐτοὶ μετέρχονται τούτων οὐδέτερον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς μετιοῦσι μέμφονται.
But they themselves not only pursue neither of these, but also blame those who do pursue them.
καὶ μὲν δὴ καὶ φύσιν σώματος, ὁ μὲν ἀκριβῶς ἀξιοῖ γιγνώσκειν, ἀρχὴν εἶναι φάσκων αὐτὴν τοῦ κατ’ ἰατρικὴν λόγου παντός.
And indeed, concerning the nature of the body, he deems it necessary to know it accurately, claiming that it is the beginning of the entire medical discourse.
οἱ δ’ οὕτω καὶ περὶ τούτων σπουδάζουσι, ὡς οὐ μόνον ἑκάστου τῶν μορίων οὐσίαν ἢ πλοκὴν, ἢ διάπλασιν, ἢ μέγεθος, ἢ τὴν πρὸς τὰ παρακείμενα κοινωνίαν, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ τὴν θέσιν ἐπίστανται.
But they are so negligent about this that they do not know not only the substance, composition, formation, size, or connection with adjacent parts of each of the organs, but not even their position.
καὶ μέν γε ὡς ἐκ τοῦ μὴ γιγνώσκειν κατ’ εἴδη τε καὶ γένη διαιρεῖσθαι τὰ νοσήματα, συμβαίνει τοῖς ἰατροῖς ἁμαρτάνειν τῶν θεραπευτικῶν σκοπῶν, Ἱπποκράτει μὲν εἴρηται προτρέποντι τὴν λογικὴν ἡμᾶς ἐξασκεῖν θεωρίαν.
And furthermore, that because of not knowing how to divide diseases by species and genera, it happens that physicians fail in their therapeutic aims, has been stated by Hippocrates as he exhorts us to practice logical theory.
οἱ δὲ νῦν ἰατροὶ τοσοῦτον ἀποδέουσιν ἠσκῆσθαι κατ’ αὐτὴν, ὥστε καὶ τοῖς ἀσκοῦσιν, ὡς ἄχρηστα μεταχειριζομένοις, ἐγκαλοῦσι.
But modern physicians are so far from having been trained in it that they even accuse those who do practice it of handling useless things.
οὕτω δὲ καὶ τοῦ προγιγνώσκειν τε τὰ προγεγονότα, καὶ τὰ παρόντα καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα γενήσεσθαι τῷ κάμνοντι νοσήματα, πολλὴν χρῆναι πεποιῆσθαι πρόνοιαν, Ἱπποκράτης φησίν.
In the same way, Hippocrates says that one must take great foresight in foreknowing the past, present, and future diseases of the sick.
οἱ δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος τῆς τέχνης ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἐσπουδάκασιν, ὥστ’, εἴ τις αἱμοῤῥαγίαν ἢ ἱδρῶτα προείπῃ, γόητά τε καὶ παραδοξολόγον ἀποκαλοῦσιν.
But they have cared so little about this part of the art that, if anyone predicts a hemorrhage or sweat, they call him a sorcerer and a speaker of paradoxes.
σχολῇ γ’ ἂν οὗτοι τἄλλα προλέγοντός τινος ἀνάσχοιντο· σχολῇ δ’ ἄν ποτε τῆς διαίτης τὸ σχῆμα πρὸς τὴν μέλλουσαν ἔσεσθαι τοῦ νοσήματος ἀκμὴν καταστήσαιντο· καὶ μὴν Ἱπποκράτης οὕτως γε διαιτᾷν κελεύει.
Hardly indeed would they tolerate someone predicting other things; hardly would they ever establish the form of regimen with a view to the future peak of the disease; and yet Hippocrates commands us to regulate regimen in exactly this way.
τί δὴ οὖν ἐστὶ τὸ ὑπόλοιπον εἰς ὃ ζηλοῦσι τἀνδρός;
What, then, is left for which they emulate the man?
ὁ γὰρ δὴ τήνδε τῆς ἑρμηνείας δεινότητα, τῷ μέν γε καὶ τοῦτο κατώρθωται.
Is it indeed the excellence of his style? For this too was successfully achieved by him.
τοῖς δ’ οὕτω τοὐναντίον, ὥστε πολλοὺς αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἰδεῖν καθ’ ἓν ὄνομα δὶς ἁμαρτάνοντας, ὃ μηδ’ ἐπινοῆσαι ῥᾴδιον.
But for them, the opposite is so true that one can see many of them making double mistakes in a single word, which is not even easy to conceive.
§2διόπερ ἔδοξέ μοι ζητῆσαι τὴν αἰτίαν, ἥ τίς ποτ’ ἐστὶ, δι’ ἣν, καίτοι θαυμάζονται ἅπαντες τὸν ἄνδρα, μήτ’ ἀναγινώσκουσιν αὐτοῦ τὰ συγγράμματα, μήτ’, εἰ καί τῳ τοῦτο παρασταίη, συνίησι τῶν λεγομένων, ἢ, εἰ καὶ τοῦτο εὐτυχήσειεν, ἀσκήσει τὴν θεωρίαν ἐπεξέρχεται, βεβαιώσασθαί τε καὶ εἰς ἕξιν ἀγαγεῖν βουλόμενος, εὑρίσκων δὴ καὶ σύμπαντα κατορθούμενα βουλήσει τε καὶ δυνάμει τοῖς ἀνθρώποις παραγιγνόμενα.
Therefore, it seemed good to me to investigate the cause, whatever it may be, why, although everyone admires the man, they neither read his treatises, nor, if this should ever occur to someone, do they understand what is said, or, even if they should be fortunate in this, do they pursue the theory with practice, wishing to confirm it and bring it to a habit, since I find that all successes are achieved by men through both will and power.
θατέρου δ’ αὐτῶν ἀτυχήσαντι τὸ καὶ τοῦ τέλους αὐτῶν ἀναγκαῖον ἀποτυχεῖν.
And if they fail in either of these, they must necessarily fail of their goal.
αὐτίκα γέ τοι τοὺς ἀθλητὰς, ἢ διὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος ἀφυΐαν, ἢ διὰ τὴν τῆς ἀσκήσεως ἀμέλειαν ὁρῶμεν ἀποτυγχάνοντας τοῦ τέλους.
For instance, we see athletes failing of their goal either because of the unfitness of their body or because of their neglect of practice.
οὕτω δ’ ἂν καὶ ἡ τοῦ σώματος φύσις ἀξιόνικος ᾖ, καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀσκήσεως ἄμεμπτα, τίς μηχανὴ μὴ οὐ πολλῷ ἀνελέσθαι τόνδε στεφανίτας ἀγῶνας;
But if the nature of the body is worthy of victory and the practice is blameless, what way is there that such a person should not win the crown in many contests?
ἆρ’ οὖν ἐν ἀμφοτέροις οἱ νῦν ἰατροὶ δυστυχοῦσιν, οὔτε δύναμιν, οὔτε βούλησιν ἀξιόλογον ἐπιφερόμενοι, περὶ τὴν τῆς τέχνης ἄσκησιν, ἢ τὸ μὲν ἕτερον αὐτοῖς ὑπάρχει, θατέρου δ’ ἀπολείπονται.
Do modern physicians, then, fail in both, bringing neither power nor notable will to the practice of the art, or do they possess the one but fall short of the other?
τὸ μὲν δὴ μηδένα φύεσθαι δύναμιν ἔχοντα ψυχικὴν ἱκανὴν καταδέξασθαι τέχνην οὕτω φιλάνθρωπον, οὔ μοι δοκεῖ λόγον ἔχειν.
Indeed, that no one is born with sufficient mental power to receive so philanthropic an art does not seem to me to make sense.
ὁμοίου γὰρ τοῦ κόσμου καὶ τότ’ ὄντος, καὶ νῦν, καὶ μήτε τῶν ὡρῶν τῆς τάξεως ὑπηλλαγμένης, μήτε τῆς ἡλιακῆς περιόδου μετακεκοσμημένης, μήτ’ ἄλλου τινὸς ἀστέρος, ἢ ἀπλανοῦς, ἢ πλανωμένου μεταβολήν τινα ἐσχηκότος.
For the cosmos was similar then and now, and neither has the order of the seasons been altered, nor has the solar cycle been changed, nor has any other star, whether fixed or wandering, undergone any change.
εὔλογον δὲ διὰ μοχθηρὰν τροφήν, ἣν οἱ νῦν ἄνθρωποι τρέφονται, καὶ διὰ τὸ τὸν πλοῦτον ἀρετῆς εἶναι τιμιώτερον, οὔθ’ οἶος Φειδίας ἐν πλάσταις, οὔθ’ οἶος Ἀπελλῆς ἐν γραφεῦσιν, οὔθ’ οἶος Ἱπποκράτης ἐν ἰατροῖς, ἔτι γενέσθαι τινά.
But it is reasonable that, due to the bad education in which modern men are brought up, and because wealth is more honored than virtue, no one like Phidias among sculptors, nor Apelles among painters, nor Hippocrates among physicians, is born anymore.
καίτοι τό γε ὑστέροις τῶν παλαιῶν ἡμῖν γεγονέναι, καὶ τὸ τὰς τέχνας ὑπ’ ἐκείνων ἐπὶ πλεῖστον προηγμένας παραλαμβάνειν οὐ μικρὸν ἦν πλεονέκτημα.
And yet, the fact that we were born later than the ancients and received the arts advanced to the greatest degree by them was no small advantage.
τὰ γοῦν ὑφ’ Ἱπποκράτους εὑρημένα χρόνῳ παμπόλλῳ ῥᾷστον ἦν ἐν ὀλιγίστοις ἔτεσιν ἐκμαθόντα τῷ λοιπῷ χρόνῳ τοῦ βίου πρὸς τὴν τῶν λειπόντων εὕρεσιν καταχρήσασθαι.
At any rate, what was discovered by Hippocrates over a very long time was easiest to learn thoroughly in a very few years, and to use the remaining time of life for the discovery of what is left.
ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐνδέχεται πλοῦτον ἀρετῆς τιμιώτερον ὑποθέμενον, καὶ τὴν τέχνην οὐκ εὐεργεσίας ἀνθρώπων ἕνεκεν, ἀλλὰ χρηματισμοῦ μαθόντα, τοῦ τέλους τοῦ κατ’ αὐτὴν ἐφίεσθαι.
But it is not possible for one who assumes wealth to be more honored than virtue, and who learns the art not for the sake of benefiting men but for making money, to aim at the goal of the art.
φθάσουσι γὰρ ἕτεροι πλουτῆσαι, πρὶν ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τὸ τέλος αὐτῆς ἐξικέσθαι.
For others will reach wealth before we can arrive at its goal.
οὐ γὰρ δὴ δυνατὸν ἅμα χρηματίζεσθαί τε, καὶ οὕτω μεγάλην ἐπασκεῖν τέχνην, ἀλλ’ ἀνάγκη καταφρονῆσαι θατέρου τὸν ἐπὶ θάτερον ὁρμήσαντα σφοδρότερον.
For it is indeed not possible to make money and at the same time practice so great an art, but it is necessary that the one who has rushed more violently toward the one should despise the other.
ἆρ’ οὖν ἔχομέν τινα τῶν νῦν ἀνθρώπων εἰπεῖν, εἰς τοσοῦτον μόνον ἐφιέμενον χρημάτων κτήσεως, εἰς ὅσον ὑπηρετεῖν ἐξ αὐτῆς ταῖς ἀναγκαίαις χρείαις τοῦ σώματος;
Can we, then, mention any of modern men who desires the acquisition of money only so much as is sufficient to serve the necessary needs of the body from it?
ἔστι τις ὁ δυνάμενος οὐ μόνον λόγῳ πλάσασθαι, ἀλλ’ ἔργῳ διδάξασθαι τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν πλούτου τὸν ὅρον, ἄχρι τοῦ μὴ πεινῇν, μὴ διψῇν, μὴ ῥιγοῦν προϊόντος;
Is there anyone who is able not only to form in speech, but to teach in deed, the limit of natural wealth, which goes as far as not hungering, not thirsting, and not shivering?