§1#3Παρὰ μὲν Ἱπποκράτους ἀρκεῖ τὰ δεῦρο τοῦδε γεγραμμένα παραδείγματα περὶ τῆς τῶν ἐθῶν δυνάμεως, Ἐρασίστρατος δ’ ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ περὶ παραλύσεως ὧδέ πως ἔγραψεν· ,,δεῖ δὲ πολλὴν πάνυ ἐπίσκεψιν ποιήσασθαι περὶ συνηθείας καὶ ἀσυνηθείας καὶ ἀσυνηθείας τὸν μέλλοντα κατὰ τρόπον ἰατρεύειν·
On the part of Hippocrates, the examples written up to this point concerning the power of habits are sufficient. On the other hand, Erasistratus wrote in the second book of his *On Paralysis* somewhat as follows: 'It is necessary for the one who is going to practice medicine in a proper manner to make a very great investigation concerning habit and lack of habit.
λέγω δὴ τὸ τοιοῦτο· πόνους τοὺς μὲν συνήθεις πολλοὺς πονοῦντες ἄκοποι διατελοῦσιν ὄντες, τοὺς δὲ ἀσυνήθεις ὀλίγους πονήσαντες ὑπόκοποι γίνονται·
Indeed, I mean something like this: while performing many accustomed labors, people remain free from fatigue; but having performed few unaccustomed ones, they become fatigued.
βρώματά τε ὅσα συνήθη δυσπεπτότερα ὄντα ἔνιοι ῥᾷον πέττουσιν ἢ τὰ ἀσυνήθη εὐπεπτότερα ὄντα·
And indeed, some people digest more easily foods that are accustomed, even though they are harder to digest, than unaccustomed ones that are easier to digest.
ἐκκρίσεις δὲ τὰς συνήθεις, κἂν ἀλυσιτελεῖς ὦσιν, εἰς συνήθειαν δὲ ἥκωσιν, ἐπιζητεῖ τὸ σῶμα καὶ ἀποστερούμενον τούτων εἰς νόσους ἐμπίπτει, οἷον γίνεται περί τε τὰς τῶν αἱμορροΐδων φορὰς καὶ καθάρσεις, ἃς ἔνιοι αὑτοῖς συνήθεις ποιοῦνται, καὶ δὴ ἑλκῶν κατὰ χρόνον ἐκπιπτόντων καὶ ἰχωρροούντων, καὶ ὡς ἐνίοις κατὰ τινας καιροὺς χολέραι γίνονται.
And as for accustomed excretions, even if they are useless, yet once they have come into habit, the body seeks them, and when deprived of them, it falls into diseases, as happens, for instance, in the case of discharges of hemorrhoids and purgings which some make customary for themselves, and indeed of ulcers that break out over time and discharge serous matter, and how cholera occurs in some at certain times.
ἁπάσας γὰρ τὰς τοιαύτας ἐκκρίσεις ἀλυσιτελεῖς οὔσας ἐπιζητεῖ τὸ σῶμα καὶ μὴ γινομένων αὐτῶν κατὰ τοὺς εἰθισμένους καιροὺς εἰς πάθη οὐ σμικρὰ ἐμπίπτουσιν, οἷς συνήθη τὰ τοιαῦτα.
For the body seeks all such excretions, even though they are useless, and if they do not occur at the accustomed times, those to whom such things are customary fall into no small sufferings.
φαίνεται δὲ καί τινα τοιαῦτα γινόμενα κατὰ τὰς συνηθείας ὧν ἐπιστάμεθα ἐπῶν ἰάμβων· εἴ τις κελεύσειεν ἡμᾶς εἰπεῖν ἐκ μέσου στίχους δύο ἢ τρεῖς ἀσυνήθεις ὄντας τοῦ τοιούτου, οὐκ ἂν εὐπόρως δυναίμεθα· κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἐφεξῆς ἀρίθμησιν ἐπὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς τούτους ἐλθόντες στίχους ἐξ ἑτοίμου ῥᾳδίως ἐροῦμεν, συνεθιζόμενοι δὲ καὶ τὸ πρότερον εἰρημένον εὐπόρως ποιοῦμεν.
And indeed, some such things appear to happen also in connection with the habits of the epic or iambic verses which we know; if someone should order us to recite from the middle two or three verses, being unaccustomed to such a thing, we would not be easily able to do so; but coming to these same verses according to the consecutive order, we will say them readily from a prepared state, and indeed by becoming accustomed, we also perform easily that which was mentioned before.
συμβαίνει δὲ καὶ τοιοῦτόν τι· οἱ μὲν ἀσυνήθεις τοῦ μανθάνειν βραδέως τε καὶ ὀλίγον μανθάνουσι, συνηθέστεροι δὲ γενόμενοι πολὺ πλεῖον καὶ ῥᾷον τοῦτο ποιοῦσι.
And something of this sort also happens: those who are unaccustomed to learning learn both slowly and little, but having become more accustomed, they do this much more and more easily.
γίνεται δὲ καὶ περὶ τὰς ζητήσεις ὅμοιον· οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀσυνήθεις τὸ παράπαν τοῦ ζητῆσαι ἐν ταῖς πρώταις κινήσεσι τῆς διανοίας τυφλοῦνται καὶ ἀποσκοτοῦνται καὶ εὐθέως ἀφίστανται τοῦ ζητεῖν κοπιῶντες τῇ διανοίᾳ καὶ ἐξαδυνατοῦντες οὐχ ἧττον ἢ ὅσοι πρὸς δρόμους ἀσυνήθεις ὄντες προσέρχονται·
And a similar thing happens also concerning investigations: for those who are altogether unaccustomed to investigating are blinded and darkened in the first movements of thought, and immediately desist from investigating, growing weary in thought and becoming powerless no less than those who, being unaccustomed, proceed to races.
ὁ δὲ συνήθης τῷ ζητεῖν πάντη διαδυόμενός τε καὶ ζητῶν τῇ διανοίᾳ καὶ μεταφερόμενος ἐπὶ πολλοὺς τόπους οὐκ ἀφίσταται τῆς ζητήσεως, οὐχ ὅτι ἐν μέρει ἡμέρας ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ ἐν παντὶ βίῳ ἀναπαύων τὴν ζήτησιν·
But the one accustomed to investigating, penetrating everywhere and seeking with his thought, and being carried over to many places, does not desist from investigation, resting his investigation not just during a part of a day, but not even during his whole life.
καὶ μεταφέρων ἐπ’ ἄλλας ἐννοίας τὴν διάνοιαν οὐκ ἀλλοτρίας τοῦ ζητουμένου προβάλλει ἕως ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἐλθεῖν.
And shifting his thought to other concepts, he projects things not foreign to the object of inquiry, until he arrives at the proposed goal.
οὕτω φαίνεται ἄχρι νῦν τὰ τῆς συνηθείας ἰσχύειν ἐν ἅπασι τοῖς ἡμετέροις πάθεσιν ὁμοίως τοῖς τε ψυχικοῖς καὶ τοῖς σωματικοῖς.
Thus, up to now, the effects of habit appear to hold power in all our conditions, alike in both the mental and the physical.
περὶ μὲν δὴ τούτων εἰς τὸ παρὸν ἱκανῶς εἰρήσθω· ἐν δὲ τοῖς καθόλου λόγοις ὑπὲρ ἰατρικῆς λεγομένοις ἐπὶ πλέον ἐξηρίθμηται ἀναγκαίαν ἔχοντα τὴν ἐπίσκεψιν, εἰ μέλλοι μὴ πολλὰ τῶν κατ’ ἰατρικὴν χωλεύειν. “Ταῦτα μὲν οἱ ἐνδοξότατοι τῶν ἰατρῶν, Ἐρασίστρατος καὶ Ἱπποκράτης, εἰρήκασι περὶ δυνάμεως ἐθῶν, οὐ λόγῳ τὴν εὕρεσιν αὐτῶν ἀνατιθέντες, ἀλλ’ ἐκ τῶν ἐναργῶς φαινομένων διδαχθέντες, ὅπερ ἀμέλει καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων ὅσοι μὴ καθάπερ ὕες ἢ ὄνοι ζῶσιν, ἀλλὰ παρακολουθοῦσιν ὑφ’ ὧν ὠφελοῦνταί τε καὶ βλάπτονται.
Concerning these things, indeed, let enough have been said for the present; but in the general discourses spoken on behalf of medicine, they have been enumerated at greater length, as having a necessary investigation, if many of the things in medicine are not to limp.' These things indeed the most famous of physicians, Erasistratus and Hippocrates, have said concerning the power of habits, attributing their discovery not to theory, but having been instructed by clearly apparent phenomena, which, of course, is also the case with those other human beings who do not live like pigs or donkeys, but follow along with the things by which they are benefited and harmed.
πάρεστι γοῦν αὐτῶν ἀκούειν ὁσημέραι λεγόντων εἰθίσθαι τῷδε τῷ βρώματι καὶ τῷδε τῷ πόματι καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μὴ δύνασθαι καταλιπεῖν αὐτά· καὶ γὰρ καὶ βλάπτεσθαι κατὰ τὰς μεταβολάς.
At any rate, it is possible to hear them saying daily that they are accustomed to this food and that drink, and for this reason they are unable to abandon them; and indeed that they are harmed by the changes.
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων λέγουσιν, οἷον ἀλουσίας λουτρῶν, ἱππασίας κυνηγεσίων, δρόμου πάλης, ἀγρυπνιῶν ὕπνων, ἡλιώσεως ψύξεως, φροντίδων ὅσα τ’ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα.
And likewise they speak also concerning their pursuits, such as lack of bathing, bathing, horsemanship, hunting, running, wrestling, sleeplessness, sleep, exposure to sun, cold, worries, and all other such things.