§3Αἱ βλάβαι τοῖς σώμασιν ἡμῶν, αἱ μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν ἔξωθεν αἰτιῶν, αἱ δ’ ἀπὸ τῶν τῆς τροφῆς ὁρμῶνται περιττωμάτων.
The damages to our bodies originate, some from external causes, others from the residues of food.
αἱ μὲν ἀπ’ αὐτῶν τῶν ἔξωθεν αἰτιῶν ἐγκαυθεῖσί τε καὶ ψυχθεῖσιν, ὑγρανθεῖσί τε καὶ ξηρανθεῖσι πέρα τοῦ προσήκοντος.
Those from the external causes themselves occur when we are heated or chilled, moistened or dried beyond what is fitting.
ἐν τούτῳ δὲ τῷ γένει καὶ κόπους, καὶ λύπας, καὶ ἀγρυπνίας, καὶ φροντίδας ὅσα τ’ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα θετέον.
In this class must also be placed fatigues, griefs, sleeplessness, anxieties, and all other such things.
ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν τῆς τροφῆς περιττωμάτων διτταὶ μὲν κατὰ γένος, ὅτι καὶ ταῦτα διττὰ, τὰ μὲν τῷ ποσῷ, τὰ δὲ τῷ ποιῷ διοχλοῦνται, πολυειδεῖς δὲ κατ’ εἶδος.
Those from the residues of food are twofold by genus (since these too are twofold, disturbing either in quantity or in quality), and multiform by species.
ὅτι μὲν οὖν τοῖς ἔξωθεν αἰτίοις τὸ συμμέτρως διακείμενον σῶμα δυσάλωτόν ἐστι, πρόδηλον μὲν κᾀξ αὐτῆς τῆς εὐκρασίας, χαλεπῶς καὶ μόγις εἰς ἀμετρίαν κράσεως ἀφικνουμένης τῷ πάντη τῶν ἄκρων ἀφεστάναι πλεῖστον.
That, therefore, the well-proportioned body is hard to be conquered by external causes is already manifest from its good temperament itself, which arrives at an imbalance of temperament only with difficulty and trouble, because it is at the greatest distance in every direction from the extremes.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ καλῶς ἐνεργεῖν ἄριστ’ ἂν εἴη παρεσκευασμένον εἰς δυσπάθειαν, ἥκιστα καμάτοις ἁλισκόμενον.
Furthermore, from its performing its activities well, it would be best prepared for resistance to affection, being least overcome by fatigues.
ὑπάρχει δ’ εὐθὺς τῷ τοιούτῳ σώματι καὶ εὐχυμότατον τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων εἶναι, ὥστε καὶ λύπης, καὶ θυμοῦ, καὶ ἀγρυπνίας, καὶ φροντίδος, ὄμβρων τε καὶ αὐχμῶν, καὶ λοιμῶν, καὶ πάντων ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν τῶν νοσερῶν αἰτιῶν ῥᾷον τῶν ἄλλων ἀνέξεται σωμάτων.
And it belongs immediately to such a body to be also of the best humors of all others, so that it will endure grief, anger, sleeplessness, anxiety, rains, droughts, plagues, and simply speaking, all pathogenic causes, more easily than other bodies.
μάλιστα γὰρ δὴ τὰ κακόχυμα πρὸς τῶν τοιούτων αἰτιῶν ἐξελέγχεται ῥᾳδίως, ὡς ἂν ἤδη καὶ καθ’ ἑαυτῶν πλησίον ἡκουσῶν νόσων.
For indeed, those with bad humors are most easily exposed by such causes, as though they were already close to diseases even by themselves.
οὕτω μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν ἔξωθεν ἡμῖν προσπιπτόντων καὶ λυπούντων τὸ σῶμα δυσαλωτότατός ἐστιν ἡ εἰρημένη διάθεσις.
Thus, by things falling upon us from without and distressing the body, the aforementioned disposition is most difficult to conquer.
ὅτι δὲ οὐδ’ ὑπὸ τῶν τῆς τροφῆς περιττωμάτων εὐάλωτος ὑπάρχει νόσοις, ᾧδ’ ἂν μάλιστα καὶ τόδε μάθοις, εἰ λογίσαιο μήτε πλῆθος ἐν τῇ τοιαύτῃ φύσει μήτε κακοχυμίαν οὐδεμίαν ἢ ἀθροίζεσθαι ῥᾳδίως, ἢ ἀθροισθεῖσαν λυμαίνεσθαί τι τοῖς ζώοις.
And that it is not easily conquered by diseases even by the residues of food, you may learn this best of all if you consider that neither a multitude nor any bad humor in such a nature is either easily accumulated, or, having accumulated, does any harm to the living beings.
ἥ τε γὰρ συμμετρία τῶν φυσικῶν ἐνεργειῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλας καὶ ἡ καθ’ ἑκάστην αὐτῶν ἀρετὴ καὶ γίνεσθαι κωλύει τὰ περιττώματα, καὶ γεννώμενα ῥᾳδίως ἐκκρίνει, κᾂν εἰ μείνειε δέ ποτε μέχρι πλείονος, ἥκιστα νικᾶται πρὸς αὐτῶν.
For both the proportion of the natural activities to one another and the excellence of each of them prevent the residues from being produced, and easily excrete them when they are produced; and even if they should ever remain for a longer time, it is least overcome by them.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ ὑπὸ τῶν νοσερῶν αἰτιῶν ῥᾳδίως νικᾶσθαι ταῖς ἀσθενέσι τε καὶ δυσκράτοις φύσεσιν ὑπάρχει, τὸ δ’ ἀντέχειν ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ταῖς εὐκράτοις καὶ ἰσχυραῖς, ὁποίαν εἶναι τὴν ἀρίστην ἔφαμεν.
For to be easily overcome by pathogenic causes belongs to weak and ill-tempered natures, whereas to resist for the longest time belongs to well-tempered and strong ones, of which kind we said the best constitution is.
ἔχεις δ’ αὐτῆς ἐν μὲν τοῖς περὶ κράσεων ὑπομνήμασιν ὡς εὐκράτου τὰ γνωρίσματα, κατὰ δὲ τὸ ἑπτακαιδέκατον τῆς περὶ χρείας μορίων ὡς συμμέτρως ἐχούσης τοῖς ὀργανικοῖς μορίοις, καὶ νῦν δ’ ἂν οὐδὲν ἧττον ἐκ τῶν νῦν εἰρησομένων ἀναμνησθείης αὐτῶν.
And you have the diagnostic features of it as well-tempered in the treatises 'On Temperaments', and as being well-proportioned in its organic parts in the seventeenth book of 'On the Usefulness of the Parts'; and now none the less you may be reminded of them from what will now be said.
ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οὐκ ἐστενωμένον, οὐδ’ ἁπλοῦν ἀκριβῶς, οὐδ’ ἄτμητον πρᾶγμα τὴν ὑγείαν ἐδείξαμεν ἐν τοῖς περὶ αὐτῆς λόγοις, ἀλλ’ εἰς ἱκανὸν πλάτος ἐκτείνεσθαι δυναμένην, δοκεῖ μοι καλῶς ἔχειν, εἰ μέλλει χρήσιμος ὁ λόγος ἔσεσθαι τοῖς ἐργαζομένοις τὴν τέχνην, μὴ μόνον τὸ σπάνιον ἐν αὐτῷ σῶμα καὶ οἷον παράδειγμα τοῦ Πολυκλείτου κανόνος ἐν τῷ λόγῳ πλάττειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἀπολειπομένων μὲν αὐτοῦ κατά τι, μὴ μέντοι κατάφωρον ἤδη καὶ μέγα τὸ σφάλμα κεκτημένων ἀναμνησθῆναι.
For since we have shown in our discussions on health that it is not a narrow, nor strictly simple, nor indivisible thing, but capable of extending to a sufficient breadth, it seems to me to be well, if the discussion is to be useful to those who practice the art, not only to model in our discussion the body that is rare in it and like a model of the Canon of Polyclitus, but also to make mention of those that fall short of it in some respect, yet do not possess an error that is already obvious and great.
τό τε γὰρ ἑτοίμως γνωρίζειν τὴν ἀρίστην κατασκευὴν τοῦ σώματος, εἰ καὶ σπανίως ἡ γένεσις αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ τὰς ἄλλας ἁπάσας, αἷς ὁμιλοῦμεν ὁσημέραι, διαγινώσκειν ῥᾳδίως οὕτως ἂν μάλιστα ἡμῖν ὑπάρξαι.
For both to readily recognize the best constitution of the body, even if its occurrence is rare, and to easily diagnose all the other ones with which we meet daily, would in this way especially belong to us.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἄκρως ἐν ἅπασι κατωρθωμένον, ὡς μήτε τῶν ὁμοιομερῶν μήτε τῶν ὀργανικῶν μορίων μηδὲν ἔχειν ἀμέτρως διακείμενον, οὐ πάνυ τι συνεχῶς, ἀλλ’ ἐν μακροτέραις χρόνων περιόδοις εἴωθε γίνεσθαι, τὸ δ’ ἀπολειπόμενον βραχὺ τοῦδε κᾂν συνεχῶς θεάσαιο.
For that which is perfectly correct in all respects, so as to have nothing of either the homogeneous or the organic parts immoderately disposed, is not accustomed to occur very continuously, but in longer periods of time; but that which falls slightly short of this, you may behold even continuously.