§4Τὸ μὲν οὖν ἀκριβῶς εὔκρατον μέσον ἐστὶν ἁπλοῦ τε καὶ σκληροῦ, καὶ δασέος καὶ ψιλοῦ τριχῶν, καὶ φλέβας εὐρείας ἔχοντος ἢ στενὰς, καὶ σφυγμοὺς μεγάλους ἢ μικρούς.
So the precisely well-tempered is the mean between soft and hard, hairy and hairless, having wide or narrow veins, and large or small pulses.
τὸ δ’ ἀκριβῶς σύμμετρον τοῖς ὀργανικοῖς μορίοις ἑνὶ κεφαλαίῳ περιληφθὲν, οἷός περ ὁ Πολυκλείτου κανὼν ὑπάρχειν ἐλέγετο.
And the precisely well-proportioned in its organic parts, to encompass it in one summary, is such as the Canon of Polyclitus was said to be.
ὅσα δὲ ἤδη θερμότερα τοῦ προσήκοντός ἐστιν, οὐ μὴν πολλῷ γε, ψυχρότερα δὲ καὶ ὑγρότερα καὶ ξηρότερα μετρίως, καίτοι μέρος ἓν οὐκ ὀρθῶς διαπεπλασμένον ἔχοντα, ταῦτα σύμπαντα καὶ πλεονεκτεῖν ἐνίοτε τοῦ συμμέτρου δόξειεν.
But as many as are already warmer than what is fitting, though not by much, or moderately colder, moister, and drier, even though they have one part not correctly formed, all these might sometimes even seem to have an advantage over the well-proportioned.
αὐτίκα τὸ μὲν σκληρότερον αὐτοῦ σῶμα δυσπαθέστερόν ἐστιν ἅπασι τοῖς ἔξωθεν αἰτίοις, τὸ δ’ ἁπαλώτερον τοῖς ἔνδοθεν.
For example, the body that is harder than it is less susceptible to all external causes, while the softer is less susceptible to internal ones.
οὕτω δὲ καὶ τὸ μὲν πυκνότερον τοῖς ἔξωθεν, τὸ δὲ ἀραιότερον τοῖς ἔνδοθεν.
And likewise, the denser to external causes, and the rarer to internal ones.
τὸ γοῦν ὑφ’ Ἱπποκράτους εἰρημένον ἐν τῷ περὶ τροφῆς· Ἀραιότης σώματος εἰς διαπνοὴν, οἷς πλεῖον ἀφαιρέεται, ὑγιεινότερον, οἷς ἔλασσον, νοσωδέστερον· περὶ τῶν ἐκ τῆς τροφῆς περιττωμάτων εἰς ὑγείαν καὶ νόσον συντελούντων εἴρηται.
At any rate, what was said by Hippocrates in 'On Food': 'Rareness of the body for perspiration: for those from whom more is removed, it is healthier; for those from whom less, more disease-prone'—has been said concerning the residues from food which contribute to health and disease.
οὐ γὰρ δή γε περὶ τῶν ὑγιεινῶν ἁπλῶς ἢ νοσερῶν σωμάτων ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ βιβλίῳ προὔκειτο λέγειν αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ περὶ πάντων τῶν ἐκ τῆς τροφῆς γινομένων ἀγαθῶν τε καὶ κακῶν τὸν λόγον ποιούμενος εὐλόγως ἐμνημόνευσε καὶ τῶν, ὅσον ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν περιττώμασιν, ὑγιεινῶν καὶ νοσερῶν σωμάτων.
For surely it was not his purpose in that book to speak about healthy or disease-prone bodies absolutely, but making his discourse about all the good and bad things arising from food, he reasonably made mention also of bodies that are healthy or disease-prone, so far as concerns the residues from them.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀραιότερον ὑγιεινότερον, ὅσον ἐπὶ τοῖσδε, τὸ δὲ πυκνότερον νοσερώτερον.
For the rarer is healthier, so far as concerns these, and the denser is more disease-prone.
ἔμπαλιν δὲ τοῖς ἔξωθεν αἰτίοις ἅπασιν τὸ μὲν ἀραιότερον εὐαλωτότερον, τὸ δὲ πυκνότερον δυσπαθέστερον.
But conversely, in relation to all external causes, the rarer is more easily conquered, while the denser is less susceptible.
ὥστε τὸ σύμμετρον σῶμα πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀγαθοῖς οὐδ’ ἀραιὸν ἢ πυκνὸν ἔχομεν εἰπεῖν, ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ τῶν ἄλλων ὑπερβολῶν μέσον, οὕτω καὶ τῶνδε πλεονεκτεῖ κατά τι τῶν ὑπερβαλλόντων ἑκάτερον.
So that we cannot say that the well-proportioned body, in addition to its other goods, is either rare or dense, but just as it is the mean of the other excesses, so also in these cases it has an advantage in some respect over each of the exceeding ones.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ πυκνότερον ἧττον τοῖς ἔξωθεν αἰτίοις εὐάλωτον, τὸ δ’ ἀραιότερον τοῖς ἔνδοθεν.
For the denser is less easily conquered by external causes, and the rarer by internal ones.
ἀμφοτέροις δὲ δυσάλωτον ἀκριβῶς μὲν οὐκ ἂν εὕροις οὐδὲν, μετρίως δέ πως τὸ μέσον ἁπασῶν τῶν ὑπερβολῶν, ὃ δὴ καὶ πάντων σωμάτων ὑγιεινότατον εἶναί φαμεν.
And you would find nothing that is precisely hard to conquer by both, but in a moderate way, the mean of all excesses is so, which indeed we say is the healthiest of all bodies.
οὕτω δὲ καὶ τὸ μὲν ξηρότερον τοῦ συμμέτρου σώματος τοῖς ὑγραίνουσιν αἰτίοις ἅπασίν ἐστι δυσαλωτότερον, τὸ δ’ ὑγρότερον τοῖς ξηραίνουσιν.
And likewise, the drier than the well-proportioned body is harder to conquer by all moistening causes, and the moister by drying ones.
ὥσθ’, ὅπερ μοι ἐλέχθη μικρῷ πρόσθεν, οὐ πάντα πάντων ἐστὶ δυσπαθέστατον τὸ μέσον, ἀλλ’ ἑκάστου μὲν καθ’ ἕν τι χεῖρον, ἁπάντων δὲ αἱρετώτατον.
So that, as was said by me a little before, the mean is not in all respects the least susceptible of all, but in each respect it is worse than some one thing, yet it is the most desirable of all.
ὅτι δ’ οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον, ἢ μέγα τὸ τοιοῦτον, ἢ μικρὸν, ἢ μέσον ὑπάρχειν, εἴρηται μὲν κᾀν τοῖς περὶ κράσεων, οὐδὲν δ’ ἧττον εἰρήσεται καὶ νῦν· ὡς τὸ μὲν μέγα καὶ διὰ πλῆθος ὕλης, τὸ δὲ σμικρὸν καὶ διὰ βραχύτητα γίνεται τοιοῦτον, ὥσπερ ἀνδριὰς μέγας μὲν ἐκ χαλκοῦ πολλοῦ, μικρὸς δὲ ἐξ ὀλίγου, σύμμετρον δ’ εἶναι τοῖς μορίοις ἑκάτερον οὐδὲν κωλύει.
That it is not necessary for such a body to be either large, or small, or medium, has been said also in the treatises 'On Temperaments', but nonetheless it will be said now too: that the large becomes such also because of the abundance of matter, and the small because of its scarcity, just as a statue is large from much bronze, and small from little, but nothing prevents each from being well-proportioned in its parts.
καὶ δὴ καὶ σῶμα τὸ μὲν μήτ’ εἶναι πυκνὸν ἐπιδήλως, μήτ’ ἀραιὸν, μήτε σκληρὸν, μήτε μαλακὸν, μήτε λάσιον, μήτε ψιλὸν, εὐκρατότατόν ἐστιν, ὁπηλίκον ἦν μεγέθει· εἰ δὲ καὶ τὰς συμμετρίας τῶν ὀργανικῶν μορίων τὰς πρὸς ἄλληλα σώζοι, κάλλιστόν τε ἂν οὕτως ἰδέσθαι κατωρθωμένον τελέως ἐν τῇ κατασκευῇ ὑπάρχον.
And indeed, a body that is neither manifestly dense, nor rare, nor hard, nor soft, nor hairy, nor hairless, is the most well-tempered, of whatever size it may be; and if it should also preserve the proportions of the organic parts to one another, it would thus be most beautiful to behold and perfectly correct in its constitution.
τὸ δὲ μεῖζον τοῦ δέοντος, ἢ σμικρότερον, κατὰ διττὰς αἰτίας γίνεται· τὸ μὲν μεῖζον ἢ διὰ πλεονεξίαν ὑγρότητος, ἢ ὕλης, τὸ δ’ ἔλαττον ἢ διὰ ξηρότητα κρατοῦσαν, ἢ ὕλης ἔνδειαν.
But that which is larger than necessary, or smaller, occurs due to twofold causes: the larger either due to an excess of moisture, or of matter; and the smaller either due to a dominant dryness, or a deficiency of matter.
αὔξησις μὲν γὰρ, ἔστ’ ἂν τὰ ὀστᾶ κρατυνθῇ, κρατύνεται δὲ ἐπὶ σμικρῷ μεγέθει δι’ ὕλης ἔνδειαν ἢ ξηρότητα.
For growth continues until the bones are hardened, and they are hardened at a small size because of deficiency of matter or dryness.
ὥστε οὐχ ἁπλῶς οὔτε τὸ μέγεθος ὑγρότητος σημεῖον οὔθ’ ἡ σμικρότης ξηρότητος.
So that, absolutely speaking, neither is size a sign of moisture, nor smallness of dryness.
παύεται γὰρ τῆς αὐξήσεως ἢ πρωϊαίτερον ἢ ὀψιαίτερον ἕκαστον ἐπὶ διττῇ προφάσει.
For each ceases from growth either earlier or later due to a twofold reason.
ὥστε ἀλλ’ εἰ μὲν τὸ μέγα, καὶ μαλακὸν εὐθὺς ὑπάρχει, τὸ δὲ σμικρὸν, σκληρὸν, εἴη ἂν οὕτω τὸ μὲν ὑγρὸν, τὸ δὲ ξηρόν.
So that if, on the one hand, the large is also immediately soft, and the small is hard, in this way the former would be moist, and the latter dry.
ἀλλ’ εἰ ταῦτα ἀχώριστα, περιττὸν εἰς μέγεθος ἢ σμικρότητα βλέπειν· ἀρκεῖ γὰρ τὰ τῶν κράσεων ἴδια γνωρίσματα.
But if these are inseparable, it is superfluous to look at size or smallness; for the proper diagnostic features of the temperaments are sufficient.
διῄρηται δὲ ἐπὶ πλέον ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἐν τοῖς περὶ κράσεων.
And they have been distinguished at greater length in the treatises 'On Temperaments'.
εἴπερ οὖν ταῦθ’ οὕτως ἔχει, τὴν ἀρίστην κατασκευὴν ἐν δυοῖν τούτοιν θετέον, εὐκρασίᾳ μὲν τῶν ὁμοιομερῶν, συμμετρίᾳ δὲ τῶν ὀργανικῶν.
If, therefore, these things are so, we must place the best constitution in these two: the well-tempered state of the homogeneous parts, and the well-proportioned state of the organic parts.