§2#2περὶ δὲ τῆς τῶν ἀρτηριῶν κινήσεως, ὁμοίως ἔν τε ταῖς ἀναπνοαῖς καὶ ταῖς ἐπισχέσεσι γιγνομένης, οὔ φασι χρῆναι θαυμάζειν οἱ Ἐρασιστράτειοι, τοσοῦτον γὰρ μόνον παραλλάττειν αὐτὴν τῆς ἐν τῷ κατὰ φύσιν διοικήσεως, ὅτι μὴ παρὰ τοῦ πνεύμονος, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τῆς μεγάλης ἀρτηρίας ἡ καρδία τὴν ὁλκὴν τοῦ πνεύματος ποιησαμένη πάλιν εἰς ἐκείνην πέμπει· καὶ δι’ αὐτό γέ φασι πνίγεσθαι τὸ ζῶον, ὅτι τῆς παρὰ τοῦ πνεύμονος ἐστέρηται χορηγίας.
Concerning the movement of the arteries, which occurs in like manner both during respiration and during its holdings, the Erasistrateans say that one must not wonder at it; for they say it differs from that in the natural administration only by so much, namely because the heart, having made the draft of the pneuma not from the lung, but from the great artery, sends it back into that artery; and for this very reason, they say, the animal suffocates, because it is deprived of the supply from the lung.
τὰ μὲν δὴ πρὸς ἑκατέρων ἀντιλεγόμενα τοιαῦτα τετύχηκεν ὄντα, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ἔτι τὸ μήπω μὲν εἰρημένον, νῦν δὲ ἰδίᾳ καὶ χωρὶς τῶν ἄλλων εἰρησόμενον, ὅτι μοι δοκεῖ περαίνειν ἐναργέστατον μόνον.
Now, the counter-arguments on both sides happen to be of this sort, and in addition to these, there is still that which has not yet been spoken, but will now be spoken individually and apart from the others, because it seems to me alone to conclude most clearly.
ἐν μὲν γὰρ δὴ ταῖς ἐπισχέσεσι τῆς ἀναπνοῆς τί τὸ κωλῦόν ἐστιν ἕλκειν μὲν τὴν καρδίαν ἐκ τοῦ πνεύμονος ἀέρα, συστέλλεσθαι δὲ τὸν θώρακα, πεφυκότα γε τοῦτο πάσχειν;
For during the holdings of respiration, what is it that prevents the heart from drawing air from the lung, and the thorax from contracting, since it is naturally disposed to undergo this?
εἰ μὲν γὰρ μήτε διαστῆναι, μήτε συνιζῆσαι δυνάμενον ὄργανον ἦν, ἴσως ἃν τινα νοῦν εἶχε τὸ πρὸς Ἐρασιστράτου λεγόμενον.
For if it were an organ capable neither of expanding nor of collapsing, perhaps what was said by Erasistratus would make some sense.
ἐπειδὴ δὲ κατ’ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον συστέλλεσθαι δύναται, τί κωλύει καὶ νῦν εἰς τοσοῦτον συνιζάνειν αὐτὸν, εἰς ὅσον ὑπὸ τῆς καρδίας ἐκκενοῦται;
But since, according to that very man, it is able to contract, what prevents it even now from collapsing to such an extent as it is emptied by the heart?
τά τε γὰρ ἄλλα καὶ διὰ μυῶν ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ ζώου προαιρέσεως κινεῖσθαί φησιν ὁ Ἐρασίστρατος τὸν θώρακα, κᾂν ὁτιοῦν χαλεπὸν θλίψῃ πανταχόθεν αὐτὸν τοῖς μυσὶ, μετὰ τοῦ κωλῦσαι τὴν ἄνωθεν κένωσιν, ὅπερ ἐν ταῖς καλουμέναις τοῦ πνεύματος καταλήψεσι κᾀν ταῖς ἀποπατήσεσι γίνεται.
For among other things, Erasistratus says that the thorax is moved through muscles by the choice of the animal, and if any difficulty at all presses upon it, it squeezes it from all sides with the muscles, along with preventing the upper evacuation, which happens in the so-called holdings of breath and in defecations.
πανταχόθεν γὰρ ἐν ταῖς τοιαύταις ἐνεργείαις θλίβομέν τε τὸν θώρακα καὶ συστέλλομεν, βιαίως κλείσαντες τὸν ἄνω πόρον τῆς τραχείας ἀρτηρίας, ὡς μηδὲν δι’ αὐτῆς κενοῦσθαι.
For from all sides in such activities we squeeze and contract the thorax, having forcibly closed the upper passage of the windpipe, so that nothing is evacuated through it.
ὡς, εἴγε μὴ μόνον θλίψαιμεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτον ἀνοίξαιμεν, λάβρος ἐκτὸς ὁ ἀὴρ μετά τινος φέρεται ψόφου, καὶ καλεῖται τὸ τοιοῦτον ἐκφύσησίς τις, ἀπὸ τῆς ἀψόφου μόνον ἐκπνοῆς διαφέρουσα πλήθει καὶ τάχει κενώσεως.
So that, if we should not only squeeze but also open this, the air is carried outside violently with a certain noise, and such a thing is called a kind of blowing out, differing from the noiseless expiration only in the quantity and speed of evacuation.
ἵνα γὰρ εἰσπνευσθεὶς ἀὴρ ἀθρόως αὖθις ἀντεκπνευσθῇ, τάσεως πολλῆς πανταχόθεν ἐδέησε τῷ θώρακι.
For in order that the inhaled air may be breathed out again all at once, much tension from all sides was needed for the thorax.
τὸ μὲν δὴ τῆς τάσεως κοινὸν τρισὶν ἐνεργείαις, τὸ δὲ ἠνεῶχθαι τὸν ἄνω πόρον ἴδιον τῆς ἐκφυσήσεως.
Now, the tension is common to the three activities, but the having of the upper passage opened is peculiar to the blowing out.
οὐδὲν μὲν οὖν χαλεπὸν, οὐδ’ ὅταν ἐπέχωμεν τὴν ἀναπνοὴν, θλίβειν πανταχόθεν τὸν θώρακα, κλείσαντας τὸν ἄνω πόρον· οὕτως γὰρ οὐχ ὅπως ἀντιπράττειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ συνεργεῖν ἑλκούσῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ δυνήσεται.
It is therefore nothing difficult, even when we hold our breath, to squeeze the thorax from all sides, having closed the upper passage; for in this way, so far from opposing, it will even be able to cooperate with the drawing heart.
καὶ φανερῶς ἐξελήλεγκται ψεῦδος ὂν τὸ πρὸς Ἐρασιστράτου λεγόμενον, ὡς οὐχ οἷόν τέ ἐστι τὴν καρδίαν μεταλαβεῖν ἐκ πνεύμονος ἀέρα κατὰ τὰς ἐπισχέσεις τῆς ἀναπνοῆς.
And what was said by Erasistratus has been clearly proved to be false, namely that it is impossible for the heart to receive air from the lung during the holdings of respiration.
ἔστι γὰρ ἑκάστῳ τὴν πεῖραν ἐφ’ ἑαυτοῦ λαβεῖν, μυριάκις εἰσπνεύσαντα πλεῖστον θλίβειν πανταχόθεν τὸν θώρακα καὶ μηδὲν ἀντεκπνέοντα.
For it is possible for each one to take the trial upon himself, after having inhaled as much as possible ten thousand times, to squeeze the thorax from all sides and not breathe out at all.
φανήσεται γὰρ σφύζουσα μὲν ἐν τούτῳ ἡ καρδία, πνιγόμενος δ’ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, καὶ τοσοῦτόν γε μᾶλλον καὶ θᾶττον πνιγόμενος, ὅσον πλεῖον εἰσέπνευσεν.
For the heart will be seen beating in this state, but the person suffocating, and indeed suffocating so much more and more quickly, the more he has inhaled.
ὅπερ καὶ αὐτὸ μετρίως ἐνδείκνυται, μὴ τῆς οὐσίας, ἀλλὰ τῆς ποιότητος τοῦ πνεύματος δεῖσθαι τὴν καρδίαν.
Which indeed itself moderately indicates that the heart needs not the substance, but the quality of the pneuma.
εἰ γὰρ ἡ καρδία τῆς οὐσίας ἐδεῖτο, μειζόνως ἂν ἐκ τῆς ἀπορίας αὐτῆς, ἤπερ ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς εὐπορίας, αἱ βλάβαι συνέπιπτον.
For if the heart needed the substance, the harms would have occurred in a greater degree from its lack than from its abundance.
οὐ μὴν φαίνεταί γε τοῦτο γιγνόμενον, ἀλλ’, ὅταν εὐπορῇ πλείστου πνεύματος, ἀνιᾶται τηνικαῦτα μάλιστα.
But indeed this is not seen to happen, but rather, when it has an abundance of the most pneuma, at that time it is distressed most.
τρίτον ἐπὶ τούτοις οὐ τὸ τυχὸν γνώρισμα τὸ τὴν ἴασιν τοῖς οὕτω πνιγομένοις ἐκπνοὴν εἶναι.
Thirdly, in addition to these, it is no ordinary sign that the cure for those suffocating in this way is expiration.
χρῆν δὲ μᾶλλον εἰσπνοὴν εἶναι, εἰ δι’ ἔνδειαν οὐσίας ἀέρος ἐπνιγόμεθα.
But it ought rather to have been inspiration, if we were suffocating through lack of the substance of air.
τρία δὴ ταῦτα φανερῶς καταβάλλει τὸν Ἐρασιστράτου λόγον, ἓν μὲν δὴ καὶ πρῶτον, τὸ δύνασθαι τὴν καρδίαν ἕλκειν ἀέρα κατὰ τὰς τῆς ἀναπνοῆς ἐπισχέσεις, οὐδὲν γὰρ ἐφάνη πρὸς τοῦτο ἀντιπράττων ὁ θώραξ, ἕτερον δὲ δεύτερον, τὸ τηνικαῦτα πνίγεσθαι μᾶλλον, ἡνίκα εἰσπνεύσωμεν πλέον, καὶ τρίτον, τὸ μηδ’ εἰ πάνυ σφόδρα θλίβομεν τὸν θώρακα πανταχόθεν ἐν ταῖς ἐπισχέσεσι τῆς ἀναπνοῆς, δαπανᾶσθαι τὸν ἀέρα πρὸς τῆς καρδίας, ἀλλ’ ὀρέγεσθαι τὸ ζῶον ἐκπνεῦσαι, καὶ τοῦτ’ εἶναι τὸ τῆς πνίξεως ἄκος.
These three things clearly overthrow the argument of Erasistratus: first and foremost, that the heart is able to draw air during the holdings of respiration, for the thorax was seen to oppose nothing to this; and second, that one suffocates more at that time when we have inhaled more; and third, that not even if we squeeze the thorax very violently from all sides during the holdings of respiration, is the air consumed by the heart, but the animal desires to breathe out, and this is the cure for suffocation.
ἐκ τούτων μὲν δὴ φανερῶς περαίνεται τὸ μὴ δι’ ἔνδειαν οὐσίας ἀέρος, ἀλλὰ δι’ ἄλλο τι πνίγεσθαι τὰ ζῶα.
From these things, then, it is clearly concluded that animals suffocate not through a lack of the substance of air, but through something else.
πρὸς δὲ τὰς ὑπολοίπους τῶν εἰρημένων ἀμφισβητήσεων αὖθις μεταβάντες, ἐπισκεψώμεθα πρότερον, οἳ λέγουσιν ἀληθέστερα.
But turning back to the remaining disputes of those mentioned, let us first examine which ones speak more truly.