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Galen · Sects for Beginners §1

The Aim of Medicine and the Two Primary Sects

Passage 1 of 12 · Greek

Summary

Galen defines the aim of medicine as health and its end as the acquisition of health, noting the necessity of medical knowledge. He outlines the origin of the two primary sects—the Empiricists, who rely solely on experience, and the Rationalists, who also admit reason—and explains their various alternative designations.

§1## ΓΑΛΗΝΟΥ ΠΕΡΙ ΑΙΡΕΣΕΩΝ ΤΟΙΣ ΕΙΣΑΓΟΜΕΝΟΙΣ. Τῆς ἰατρικῆς τέχνης σκοπὸς μὲν ἡ ὑγεία, τέλος δὲ ἡ κτῆσις αὐτῆς.
## GALEN'S ON THE SECTS FOR BEGINNERS. The aim of the medical art is health, and its end is the acquisition of it.
ἐξ ὧν δ’ ἄν τις ἢ μὴ παροῦσαν ὑγείαν ἐργάζοιτο, ἢ παροῦσαν διαφυλάττοι, γινώσκεσθαι μὲν ἀναγκαῖον τοῖς ἰατροῖς.
It is necessary for physicians to know the means by which one might either produce health when it is absent, or preserve it when it is present.
καλεῖται δὲ τὰ μὲν ἐργαζόμενα μὴ οὖσαν ὑγείαν, ἰάματά τε καὶ βοηθήματα, τὰ δὲ φυλάττοντα τὴν οὖσαν ὑγείαν, ὑγιεινὰ διαιτήματα.
Those things which produce health when it is absent are called remedies and aids, while those which preserve existing health are called healthy regimens.
ταυτ’ ἄρα καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν ἰατρικὴν, ὑγιεινῶν καὶ νοσερῶν ἐπιστήμην ὁ παλαιὸς λόγος φησίν· ὑγιεινὰ μὲν καλῶν, τά τε φυλάσσοντα τὴν οὖσαν ὑγείαν, καὶ τὰ τὴν διεφθαρμένην ἀνασώζοντα· νοσερὰ δὲ τἀναντία τούτων.
Therefore indeed, ancient doctrine also calls the medical art itself the "knowledge of healthy and diseased things," calling "healthy" those things which preserve existing health and those which restore what has been impaired, and "diseased" the opposites of these.
δεῖται γὰρ ἀμφοῖν ὁ ἰατρὸς τῆς γνώσεως, ὑπὲρ τοῦ τὰ μὲν ἑλεῖν, τὰ δὲ φυγεῖν.
For the physician needs the knowledge of both, in order to choose the former and avoid the latter.
ὅθεν δὲ τὴν τούτων ἐπιστήμην εὐπορίσαντο, οὐκέθ’ ὁμοίως παρὰ πᾶσιν ὡμολόγηται, ἀλλ’ οἱ μὲν τὴν ἐμπειρίαν μόνην ἀρκεῖν φασι τῇ τέχνῃ, τοῖς δὲ καὶ ὁ λόγος οὐ μικρὰ δοκεῖ συντελεῖν.
But from what source they acquired the knowledge of these things is no longer agreed upon in the same way by all; rather, some say that experience alone is sufficient for the art, while to others reason also seems to contribute not a little.
ὀνομάζονται δὲ, οἱ μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐμπειρίας μόνης ὁρμώμενοι, παρωνύμως ἐκείνῃ ἐμπειρικοί· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ τοῦ λόγου, λογικοί.
And those who set out from experience alone are called, by derivation from it, Empiricists; likewise, those who set out from reason are called Rationalists.
καὶ δύο εἰσὶν αὗται πρῶται τῆς ἰατρικῆς αἱρέσεις, ἡ μὲν ἑτέρα, διὰ πείρας ἰοῦσα πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἰαμάτων εὕρεσιν, ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα, δι’ ἐνδείξεως.
And these are the first two sects of medicine: the one proceeding through experience toward the discovery of remedies, and the other through indication.
καὶ ὀνόματά γε ταῖς αἱρέσεσιν ἔθεντο, ἐμπειρικήν τε καὶ λογικήν. καλεῖν δέ εἰσιν εἰθισμένοι, τὴν μὲν ἐμπειρικὴν, τηρητικήν τε καὶ μνημονευτικήν· τὴν δὲ λογικὴν, δογματικήν τε καὶ ἀναλογιστικήν. καὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας ὁμοίως ταῖς αἱρέσεσιν ἔθεντο, ἐμπειρικούς τε καὶ τηρητικοὺς καὶ μνημονευτικοὺς τῶν φαινομένων, ὅσοι τὴν ἐμπειρίαν εἵλοντο· λογικοὺς δὲ καὶ δογματικοὺς καὶ ἀναλογιστικοὺς, ὅσοι τὸν λόγον προσήκαντο.
And they indeed gave names to these sects, "Empirical" and "Rational." And they are accustomed to call the Empirical sect "observational" and "memorial," and the Rational sect "dogmatic" and "analogical." And they likewise gave names to the men in accordance with their sects: "Empiricists," "observers," and "memorists of phenomena" to all those who chose experience; and "rationalists," "dogmatists," and "analogists" to all those who accepted reason.

Notes

  1. 1ἐξ ὧν δ’ ἄν τις ἢ μὴ παροῦσαν ὑγείαν ἐργάζοιτο, ἢ παροῦσαν διαφυλάττοι — The relative clause introduced by ὧν with ἄν and the optative verbs (ἐργάζοιτο, διαφυλάττοι) expresses potentiality or a generalized conditional circumstance. The antecedent of ὧν is implied from the previous sentence as the means or things by which health is acquired or maintained.
  2. 1ταῦτ’ ἄρα — The pronoun taῦτα is used as an adverbial accusative of cause or respect ("for this reason"). Combined with the particle ἄρα ("then," "therefore indeed"), it logically transitions from the previous definition to the ancient definition that follows.
  3. 1εἰσὶν εἰθισμένοι — A periphrastic perfect passive construction (third-person plural) of the verb ἐθίζω ("to accustom"). Followed by the infinitive καλεῖν, it expresses an ongoing habit or custom ("they are accustomed to call").
  4. 1τοὺς ἄνδρας ὁμοίως ταῖς αἱρέσεσιν ἔθεντο — The verb ἔθενto is the middle aorist of τίθημι in the sense of "to give a name." It forms a double accusative construction where τοὺς ἄνδρας is the direct object and the following accusatives (such as ἐμπειρικούς) act as object complements. The dative ταῖς αἱρέσεσιν is governed by the adverb ὁμοίως, expressing comparison ("similarly to the sects").

Cite this passage

Galen, Sects for Beginners §1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0057.tlg004.humanitext-grc1:1

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