§2Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν οὐδὲν οὕτω χρήσιμόν ἐστι, καὶ μάλιστα ἐν τοῖς πυρετοῖς, ὡς τὸ προγινώσκειν τὰς ἀρχὰς τῶν ἐσομένων παροξυσμῶν, ἐὰν μέν τις εὐθέως ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς οἷός τε ᾖ στοχασμῷ τεχνικῷ τοῦτ’ ἐξεργάζεσθαι, μέγιστα τὸν κάμνοντα δι’ ὅλου τοῦ νοσήματος ὠφελήσει· ἐὰν δ’ εὐθὺς μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀδυνατήσῃ, προϊόντος δὲ τοῦ χρόνου δυνηθῇ, κατὰ τὸν ὑπόλοιπον χρόνον ὀνήσει τὸν κάμνοντα· καὶ ὅσῳ γὰρ θᾶττον εἰς πρόνοιαν ἀφίκηται τῆς τοῦ νοσήματος ἰδέας, τοσούτῳ πλέονα χρόνον ὠφελήσει τὸν νοσοῦντα.
Since, therefore, nothing is so useful, especially in fevers, as to foreknow the beginnings of the coming paroxysms, if someone is able straight from the beginning, by technical conjecture, to accomplish this, he will benefit the patient greatly throughout the entire disease; but if he should be unable immediately at the beginning, but becomes able as time goes on, he will benefit the patient during the remaining time; for the sooner he arrives at a foreknowledge of the form of the disease, the longer the time he will benefit the sick person.
πειρατέον μὲν οὖν εὐθὺς ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς διαγινώσκειν ὁποῖός τίς ἐστιν ὁ πυρετὸς, ὡς ἐν τοῖς περὶ κρίσεων ὑπομνήμασι δέδεικται, καὶ τά γε πολλὰ βεβαίως ἐστὶ γνῶναι τοῦτον διὰ τῶν ἐν ἐκείνοις γνωρισμάτων·
We must, therefore, try immediately from the beginning to diagnose what kind of fever it is, as has been shown in the commentaries On Crises, and for the most part indeed it is possible to know this securely through the signs in those works.
εἰ δέ τις ἀμφιβολία γενηθείη κατὰ τὴν πρώτην ἡμέραν, ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ διακριτέον αὐτήν· εἰ δὲ καὶ ταύτην γέ ποτε ἐκφύγοι, τῇ τρίτῃ γε πάντως γνωρισθήσεται· εἰ δ’ ἄρα καὶ ταύτην γέ ποτε διεκφύγοι κατὰ τὸ σπάνιον, ἀλλ’ ἐν τῇ τετάρτῃ ἐξ ἀνάγκης γνωρισθήσεται· εἰ δὲ μηδ’ ἐν ταύτῃ τις ἤδη τὴν ἰδέαν τοῦ νοσήματος ἐγνώρισεν, ἀλλ’ ἔτ’ ἀπορεῖ, πολὺ μέρος οὗτος τῆς τέχνης ἀγνοεῖ.
But if any doubt should arise on the first day, it must be resolved on the second; and even if it should ever escape this day, it will certainly be known on the third; and even if indeed it should ever escape this day in rare cases, yet on the fourth day it will necessarily be known; but if even on this day someone has not yet recognized the form of the disease, but is still in doubt, he is ignorant of a large part of the art.
τά τε γὰρ ἄλλα καὶ οἱ παροξυσμοὶ πάντες οἱ ἐν τοῖς πυρετοῖς ἤτοι καθ’ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν, ἢ διὰ τρίτης, ἢ διὰ τετάρτης ἀπαντῶσιν· ἐν μὲν τοῖς πλείστοις νοσήμασιν, ἐφ’ ὧν δὴ καὶ μάλιστά ἐστι χρεία τῆς προγνώσεως τοῦ μέλλοντος ἔσεσθαι παροξυσμοῦ, διὰ τρίτης καὶ καθ’ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν· ἐν ὀλιγίστοις δέ τισι διὰ τετάρτης.
For, among other things, all the paroxysms in fevers occur either every day, or every other day, or every third day; in most diseases, in which indeed there is especially need of foreknowledge of the coming paroxysm, every other day and every day; but in very few, every third day.
ἀλλ’ ἴσως τίς φησι τῶν νεωτέρων τουτωνὶ σοφιστῶν καὶ διὰ πέμπτης ἡμέρας γίγνεσθαί τινας περιόδους καὶ δι’ ἕκτης καὶ ἑβδόμης, καί τινας ἄλλας ἄχρι παμπόλλων ἡμερῶν ἐκτεινομένας, οὓς ὄντως ἔστι μακαρίσαι τῆς θαυμαστῆς συνέσεως, εἰ μὴ παρακολουθοῦσιν ἐξ ὧν λέγουσιν ἄρδην ἀναιροῦντες τὸ χρήσιμον ἁπάσης τῆς περὶ τύπων πραγματείας.
But perhaps some of these newer sophists say that there are also some periods occurring every fifth day, and every sixth, and seventh, and some others extending to very many days, whom indeed one might congratulate on their wonderful intelligence, if they did not fail to perceive that by what they say they utterly destroy the utility of the whole treatise on types.
ὅσοι μὲν γὰρ ἀγνοεῖν ὁμολογοῦντες ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης ἡμέρας εἴδη διαγινώσκειν πυρετῶν, ἀναμένουσι τὰς μέχρι τῆς τετάρτης, οὔτε πεμπταίαν τινὰ περίοδον, οὔθ’ ἑκταίαν, οὔτε τούτων ἐξωτέρω τινὰ ἑωρακέναι φάσκοντες, εἰ καὶ μὴ τῇ β΄ καὶ τῇ γ΄ τῶν ἡμερῶν, ἀλλὰ ταῖς γ΄ ἑξῆς ἐλπίζειν τι δύνανται περὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος παροξυσμοῦ· τοῖς δ’ εἰς πολὺ πλῆθος ἡμερῶν ἐκτείνουσι τὰς περιόδους ἀδύνατον προγνῶναι τὸν ἐσόμενον παροξυσμόν.
For those who, confessing that they are ignorant of diagnosing the kinds of fevers from the first day, wait until the fourth, saying that they have seen neither a quintan period, nor a sextan, nor any further than these, even if not on the second and third days, yet on the three successive days they can have some expectation concerning the coming paroxysm; but for those who extend the periods to a great multitude of days, it is impossible to foreknow the coming paroxysm.
αὐτίκα γοῦν τῷ κατὰ τὴν πρώτην ἡμέραν γενομένῳ δυνατόν ἐστι καὶ ἀμφημεριῷ καὶ τριταίνῳ καὶ τεταρταίῳ καὶ πεμπταίῳ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ἐφεξῆς ὑπάρχειν.
For instance, to that which occurred on the first day, it is possible to be both quotidian, tertian, quartan, quintan, and all those in succession.
ἐὰν οὖν γενηθῇ κατὰ τὴν δευτέραν ἡμέραν παροξυσμὸς, ἄν τε καὶ μὴ, περὶ τῆς τρίτης ἡμέρας ἐλπίζειν οὐδὲν ἕξουσιν οἱ τὰς μακρὰς περιόδους εἰσηγούμενοι.
If, therefore, a paroxysm occurs on the second day, or even if it does not, those who introduce the long periods will have nothing to expect concerning the third day.
καὶ τοίνυν ὑποκείσθω μετὰ τὴν πρώτην ἡμέραν, μήτ’ ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ, μήτ’ ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ, μήτ’ ἐν τῇ τετάρτῃ γεγονέναι παροξυσμόν.
And so, let it be assumed that after the first day, a paroxysm has occurred neither on the second, nor on the third, nor on the fourth.
οἱ μὲν τὰς τρεῖς μόνας εἰδότες περιόδους ἀνιστᾶσί τε τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀπὸ τῆς κλίνης, καὶ τῶν συνήθων ἔχεσθαι κελεύουσιν, ἀπηλλάχθαι νομίζοντες ἁπάσης ὑποψίας· οἱ δὲ καὶ τὰς ἑξῆς, ὅσαι πολυήμεροι, γίγνεσθαι φάσκοντες, ὁμοίως ὑποπτεύειν τὴν ε΄ ἡμέραν εἰσὶ δίκαιοι, καθάπερ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ἔμπροσθεν· οὕτω δὲ καὶ τὴν στ΄ καὶ τὴν ζ΄ καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τὰς ἐφεξῆς ὑποπτεύουσιν.
Those who know only the three periods raise the person from the bed and order him to attend to his usual activities, believing him to be rid of all suspicion; but those who say that the subsequent ones, which are of many days, also occur, are justified in suspecting the fifth day in the same way as the others before it; and thus they also suspect the sixth, the seventh, and the others in succession.
εἰ δὲ καὶ γένοιτό τις καὶ ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ τῶν ἡμερῶν παροξυσμὸς, ἄδηλον εἴτε κατ’ ἀμφημερινοῦ σχῆμα πρὸς τὸν ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ γεγονότα τὴν ἀναλογίαν ἐφύλαξεν, εἴτ’ ἐστὶν ἑτέρας ἀρχὴ περιόδου.
And if a paroxysm should occur on the second day, it is unclear whether it preserved its proportion in relation to the one that occurred on the first day according to the form of a quotidian, or whether it is the beginning of another period.
κατὰ ταὐτὰ δ’ εἰ καὶ κατὰ τὴν τρίτην ἐπὶ τῇ δευτέρᾳ γενηθείη.
In the same way, if it should occur on the third day after the second.
τῷ γὰρ ἀγνοοῦντι διαγινώσκειν εὐθὺς ἐξ ἀρχῆς, εἴτε ἀμφημερινός ἐστιν, εἴτε τριταῖος, εἴτ’ ἄλλος τις πυρετὸς, ἄδηλον εἴθ’ εἷς ἐστιν ἀμφημερινὸς, εἴτε δυοῖν ἐπιπλοκὴ τριταίοιν, εἴτε καὶ τριῶν τεταρταίων, καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων δὲ τῶν μειζόνων περιόδων ὁ αὐτὸς λόγος.
For to the one who is ignorant of diagnosing immediately from the beginning, whether it is a quotidian, or a tertian, or some other fever, it is unclear whether it is one quotidian, or a complication of two tertians, or even of three quartans, and the same reasoning applies to the other larger periods.
ὅτι μὲν οὖν ὅσοι νομίζουσι πολλὰς εἷναι περιόδους, οὐ μόνας τὰς τρεῖς, οὐδέποτε δυνήσονται προγνῶναι τὸν ἐσόμενον παροξυσμὸν, ἤδη δέδεικται.
That, therefore, as many as believe that there are many periods, and not only the three, will never be able to foreknow the coming paroxysm, has already been shown.