§8#1Παρίτω δ’ ἐπ’ αὐτῷ δεύτερος ὁ ἐμπειρικὸς, ᾧδέ πως λέγων· Ἐγὼ τῶν φαινομένων πλέον οὐδὲν οἶδα, οὐδὲ ἐπαγγέλλομαί τι σοφώτερον, ὧν πολλάκις ἐθεασάμην.
And let the Empiricist come forward second after him, speaking somewhat as follows: "I know nothing more than the phenomena, nor do I profess anything wiser than what I have often observed.
εἰ μὲν δὴ ἀτιμάζοις τὸ φαινόμενον, ὥσπερ τινὸς ἔμπροσθεν ἀκοῦσαί μοι δοκῶ σοφιστοῦ, καὶ ἡμῖν ὥρα πρὸς τοὺς τιμῶντας αὐτὸ τὸ φαινόμενον ἀπαλλάττεσθαι, οὐδ’ ἂν ἤδη νικῴης νίκην Καδμείαν.
If indeed you should dishonor the phenomenon, as I think I heard some sophist doing just now, then it is time for us to depart to those who honor this very phenomenon, and you would not even win a Cadmean victory.
εἰ δ’, ὥσπερ καὶ κατ’ ἀρχὰς ἤκουσά σου, τὸ μὲν ἄδηλον ἅπαν ἄχρηστον εἶναι φάσκοντος, ἕπεσθαι δ’ ὁμολογοῦντος τοῖς ἐναργέσι, τάχα ἄν σοι δείξαιμι τὸ παρορώμενον, ὑπομνήσας τοῦ φαινομένου.
But if, as indeed I heard from you at the beginning when you said that everything non-evident is useless and agreed to follow what is clear, I might quickly show you what you have overlooked, by reminding you of the phenomenon.
δηχθέντες ὑπὸ κυνὸς λυττῶντος ἄνθρωποι δύο πρὸς τοὺς συνήθεις ἰατροὺς ἐπορεύθησαν ἰάσεως δεόμενοι.
Two men bitten by a rabid dog went to their usual doctors, needing a cure.
μικρὸν δ’ ἦν ἑκατέρων τὸ ἕλκος, ὡς μηδὲ τὸ δέρμα πᾶν διηρῆσθαι.
And the wound of each was small, so that not even the whole skin was torn.
καὶ τὴν θεραπείαν ὁ μὲν ἕτερος αὐτῶν ἐποιεῖτο τοῦ ἕλκους μόνον, μηδὲν ἄλλο πολυπραγμονῶν, καὶ ὀλίγων γε ἡμερῶν ὑγιὲς ἀπέφηνε τὸ μέρος.
And one of them treated the wound alone, busying himself with nothing else, and in a few days rendered the part healthy.
ὁ δὲ ἕτερος, ἐπειδὴ λυττᾷν ἔγνω τὸν κύνα, τοσοῦτον ἀπέδει τοῦ σπεύδειν εἰς οὐλὴν ἄγειν τὸ ἕλκος, ὥστε αὐτὸ τοὐναντίον ἀεὶ καὶ μᾶλλον εἰργάζετο μεῖζον, ἰσχυροῖς τε καὶ δριμέσι χρώμενος φαρμάκοις ἕως χρόνου συχνοῦ, καὶ πίνειν προσηνάγκαζεν αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ χρόνῳ τούτῳ φάρμακα, καὶ λύττης ἰάματα, ὡς ἔφασκεν αὐτός.
But the other, since he knew that the dog was rabid, was so far from hastening to bring the wound to a scar that, on the contrary, he always made it larger and larger, using powerful and sharp drugs for a considerable time, and forced him during this time to drink drugs, and remedies for rabies, as he himself claimed.
καὶ δὴ καὶ οὕτως ἐτελεύτα τὸ συμβὰν ἀμφοτέροις. ὁ μὲν ἐσώθη τε καὶ ὑγιὴς ἐγένετο, ὁ πίνων τὰ φάρμακα· ὁ δὲ ἕτερος, οὐδὲν ἔχειν οἰόμενος κακὸν, ἐξαίφνης ἔδεισέ τε τὸ ὕδωρ, καὶ σπασθεὶς ἀπέθανεν.
And indeed, what happened to both of them ended in this way: the one who drank the drugs was saved and became healthy; but the other, thinking he had nothing wrong, suddenly became afraid of water and, seized with spasms, died.
ἆρά σοι δοκεῖ μάτην τὸ προκαταρκτικὸν αἴτιον ἐν τούτοις ἐρευνᾶσθαι;
Do you think that the antecedent cause is investigated in vain in these cases?
ἢ δι’ ἄλλο τι ἀπέθανεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, πλὴν διὰ τὴν ὀλιγωρίαν τοῦ ἰατροῦ, μήτε πυνθανομένου περὶ τῆς αἰτίας μηδὲν, μήτε τὴν τετηρημένην ἐπ’ αὐτῇ θεραπείαν παραλαβόντος;
Or did the man die for any other reason than the negligence of the doctor, who neither asked anything about the cause nor adopted the treatment observed for it?
ἐμοὶ μὲν γὰρ οὐ δι’ ἄλλο τι οὐδὲν φαίνεται, ἢ διὰ τοῦτο.
For to me indeed it appears to be for no other reason than this.
ἐπεὶ δὲ τῷ φαινομένῳ ἕπομαι, παρελθεῖν οὐ δύναμαι τοιοῦτον οὐδὲν αἴτιον.
And since I follow the phenomenon, I cannot pass by any such cause.
οὕτω δὲ καὶ ἡλικίαν οὐ δύναμαι παραδραμεῖν, οὐδὲ ἀτιμάζειν.
And so too I cannot overlook age, nor dishonor it.
καὶ γὰρ κᾀνταῦθ’ ἀναγκάζει με πιστεύειν τὸ φαινόμενον, τῶν αὐτῶν κατὰ πάντα παθῶν οὐ πάντη τὴν αὐτὴν θεραπείαν ἐχόντων, ἀλλ’ ἔστιν ὅτε τοσοῦτον διαφέρουσιν ἐν ταῖς διαφόροις ἡλικίαις, ὥστε μηδὲ ποσότητι μόνον, ἢ τρόπῳ βοηθημάτων διαλλάττειν, ἀλλ’ ὅλῳ τῷ γένει.
For here too the phenomenon forces me to believe, since the same affections in all respects do not have entirely the same treatment, but sometimes they differ so much in different ages that they differ not only in the quantity or manner of remedies, but in their whole genus.
πλευριτικοὺς γοῦν πολλοὺς ἀκμάζοντάς τε καὶ ἰσχυροὺς εἶδον ἐγὼ πολλάκις, καὶ ὑφ’ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν φλεβοτομουμένους, ἀλλ’ οὐδένα τῶν ἐν ἐσχάτῳ γήρᾳ, ἢ κομιδῇ σμικρὸν παῖδα· οὔθ’ ὑμεῖς ἐτολμήσατε διὰ φλεβὸς κενοῦν, οὔτ’ ἄλλος οὐδεὶς οὐδεπώποτε.
At any rate, I have often seen many pleurisy patients, in their prime and strong, bled by us ourselves, but no one in extreme old age, or a very small child; neither did you dare to evacuate through a vein, nor did anyone else ever.
τί δὲ, ὅταν Ἱπποκράτης εἴπῃ, ὑπὸ κύνα, καὶ πρὸ κυνὸς ἐργώδεες αἱ φαρμακεῖαι;
And what about when Hippocrates says, 'Under the Dog star, and before the Dog star, purgings are troublesome'?
καὶ ὅταν αὖ πάλιν, θέρεος φαρμακεύειν τὰς ἄνω, χειμῶνος δὲ τὰς κάτω;
And when, again, 'In summer purge the upper cavities, and in winter the lower'?
πότερον ἀληθεύειν ὑμῖν, ἢ ψεύδεσθαι δοκεῖ;
Does he seem to you to speak the truth, or to lie?
καθ’ ἑκάτερον γὰρ ἀπορήσειν ὑμᾶς ἀποκρίσεως οἴομαι.
For in either case, I think you will be at a loss for an answer.
ψεύδεσθαι μὲν γὰρ εἰ φαίητε, τὸ φαινόμενον ἀτιμάζετε, ὃ τιμᾷν προσποιεῖσθε. φαίνεται γὰρ οὕτως ἔχειν τἀληθὲς, ὡς Ἱπποκράτης λέγει.
For if you say he lies, you dishonor the phenomenon, which you pretend to honor; for the truth appears to be just as Hippocrates says."