Galen · Whom to Purge, With Which Cleansing Drugs, and When §3.1-3.3

Mixing Aromatics to Protect the Stomach and Harmony of Purgatives

Passage 6 of 6 · Greek

Summary

Explains the necessity of mixing aromatic substances to mitigate the harmfulness of purging medicines to the stomach, and the importance of harmony between mixed purgatives to avoid irregular evacuation.

§3.1Πάντων δὲ τῶν καθαιρόντων φαρμάκων κακούντων τὴν γαϲτέρα, καὶ μάλιϲτα αὐτῆϲ τὸ ϲτόμα, διότι νευρωδέϲτατόν ἐϲτι καὶ αἰϲθητικώτατον, ἡ μῖξιϲ ἐπενοήθη τῶν εὐωδῶν, ὅπωϲ μὴ μόνη μηδ᾿ ἀκραιφνὴϲ. ἡ δύναμιϲ αὐτῶν ἅπτηται τοῦ ϲτόματοϲ τῆϲ γαϲτρόϲ χρὴ δ᾿

Since all purging medicines harm the belly, and especially its mouth, because it is extremely sinewy and most sensitive, the mixture of aromatic substances was devised, so that their power should not touch the mouth of the belly alone or in an unmixed state.

§3.2εἶναι τὰ μιγνύμενα ϲπέρματα τυιαῦτα, καὶ τὴν κακίαν πέφυκεν ἀμβλύνειν καὶ τὴν ἐνέργειαν αὐτῶν μὴ κωλύειν, λεπτυντικῆϲ τε καὶ τμητικῆϲ ὄντα δυνάμεωϲ, καὶ τοὺϲ παχεῖϲ χυμοὺϲ τέμνειν καὶ τὰϲ ὁδοὺϲ αὐτῶν, δι᾿ ὧν ἐκκενοῦνται, διοίγειν τε καὶ ἀναϲτομοῦν.

And it is necessary that the seeds mixed in should be of such a kind as are naturally suited to blunt the harmfulness and not to hinder their activity, being of a thinning and cutting power, and to cut the thick humors and to open and dilate the passages through which they are evacuated.

§3.3δεῖ δὲ καὶ ὁμονοεῖν ἀλλήλοιϲ τὰ μιγνύμενα καθαρτικὰ καὶ κατὰ μηδὲν ϲταϲιάζειν, ἡ δὲ ϲτάϲιϲ αὐτῶν γινέϲθω, οὐχ ὅταν τὸ μὲν χολῆϲ, εἰ τύχοι. τὸ δὲ φλέγματοϲ ᾖ κενωτικόν (ἀμφότερα γὰρ ἐκκενοῦϲθαι δύναται κατὰ τὸν οὐτὸν τρόπον), ἀλλ᾿ ὅταν τὸ μὲν εὐθέωϲ. τὸ δὲ μετὰ πολὺ τῆϲ προϲφορᾶϲ πεφύκῃ κινεῖν τὴν κάθαρϲιν· ἀνώμαλοϲ γὰρ οὕτωϲ ἡ κένωϲιϲ γίνεται, προϲενεχθέντων ἅμα· λέγω δ᾿ ἀνώμαλον, ὅταν ἤδη παύεϲθαι δοκούϲηϲ αὐτῆϲ ἀρχὴ πάλιν ἑτέραϲ κενώϲεωϲ γίνηται.

And it is also necessary that the purging medicines mixed together agree with each other and do not conflict in any way. And let their conflict be deemed to happen, not when one is evacuant of bile, if it so happens, and the other of phlegm (for both can be evacuated in the same manner), but when one is naturally suited to move the purging immediately, and the other long after the administration; for in this way the evacuation becomes irregular, when they are administered together; and I call it irregular, when, while it already seems to be ceasing, there occurs again the beginning of another evacuation.

Notes

1Πάντων δὲ τῶν καθαιρόντων φαρμάκων κακούντων τὴν γαϲτέρα — Genitive absolute construction expressing the cause ('since all purging medicines harm...') for the subsequent main clause. Here, γαστήρ refers not only to the anatomical 'stomach' but also to the gastrointestinal tract or belly as a whole.
p.227τοιαῦτα, καὶ τὴν κακίαν πέφυκεν ἀμβλύνειν — The correlative relative pronoun ἃ (or ὥστε of result) is omitted after τοιαῦτα. πέφυκεν (perfect of φύω) means 'is naturally suited to' and governs the infinitives ἀμβλύνειν and μὴ κωλύειν, forming a restrictive or explanatory clause ('such as are naturally suited to blunt the harm and not to hinder...').
5ἡ δὲ ϲτάϲιϲ αὐτῶν γινέϲθω — The third-person singular present imperative γινέσθω is used here by the author to establish a definition or rule within the argument ('let their conflict be deemed to happen...').
10παύεϲθαι δοκούϲηϲ αὐτῆϲ — Genitive absolute construction. The pronoun αὐτῆς is feminine genitive, referring to κένωσις (evacuation) from the preceding sentence. παύεσθαι (to cease) is a present infinitive, meaning 'when it [the evacuation] already seems to be ceasing'.

Cite this passage

Galen, Whom to Purge, With Which Cleansing Drugs, and When §3.1-3.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0057.tlg073.humanitext-grc2:3.1-3.3

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