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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §1.82.1-1.82.3

Egyptian Preventive Medicine, Public Care, and Medical Laws

Passage 83 of 406 · Greek

Summary

This passage describes the preventive medical treatments of the Egyptians, their public healthcare system during campaigns, and the strict penalties for doctors who deviate from established sacred medical texts.

§1.82.1τὰς δὲ νόσους προκαταλαμβανόμενοι θεραπεύουσι τὰ σώματα κλυσμοῖς καὶ νηστείαις καὶ ἐμέτοις, ἐνίοτε μὲν καθʼ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν, ἐνίοτε δὲ τρεῖς ἢ τέτταρας ἡμέρας διαλείποντες. §1.82.2φασὶ γὰρ πάσης τροφῆς ἀναδοθείσης τὸ πλέον εἶναι περιττόν, ἀφʼ οὗ γεννᾶσθαι τὰς νόσους· ὥστε τὴν προειρημένην θεραπείαν ἀναιροῦσαν τὰς ἀρχὰς τῆς νόσου μάλιστʼ ἂν παρασκευάσαι τὴν ὑγίειαν. §1.82.3κατὰ δὲ τὰς στρατείας καὶ τὰς ἐπὶ τῆς χώρας ἐκδημίας θεραπεύονται πάντες οὐδένα μισθὸν ἰδίᾳ διδόντες· οἱ γὰρ ἰατροὶ τὰς μὲν τροφὰς ἐκ τοῦ κοινοῦ λαμβάνουσι, τὰς δὲ θεραπείας προσάγουσι κατὰ νόμον ἔγγραφον, ὑπὸ πολλῶν καὶ δεδοξασμένων ἰατρῶν ἀρχαίων συγγεγραμμένον.
And preventing diseases they treat their bodies with enemas, fasts, and emetics, sometimes every day, and sometimes leaving an interval of three or four days. For they say that of all food that is taken into the body, the greater part is superfluous, from which diseases are generated; so that the aforementioned treatment, by destroying the origins of disease, would best produce health. And during military campaigns and travels throughout the country, everyone is treated without paying any fee individually; for the physicians receive their support from the public treasury, and apply their treatments according to a written law, compiled by many famous ancient physicians.
κἂν τοῖς ἐκ τῆς ἱερᾶς βίβλου νόμοις ἀναγινωσκομένοις ἀκολουθήσαντες ἀδυνατήσωσι σῶσαι τὸν κάμνοντα, ἀθῷοι παντὸς ἐγκλήματος ἀπολύονται, ἐὰν δέ τι παρὰ τὰ γεγραμμένα ποιήσωσι, θανάτου κρίσιν ὑπομένουσιν, ἡγουμένου τοῦ νομοθέτου τῆς ἐκ πολλῶν χρόνων παρατετηρημένης θεραπείας καὶ συντεταγμένης ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρίστων τεχνιτῶν ὀλίγους ἂν γενέσθαι συνετωτέρους.
And if, having followed the laws read out from the sacred book, they are unable to save the patient, they are acquitted of all accusation; but if they do anything contrary to what is written, they undergo trial for death, since the lawgiver believed that few people would become wiser than the treatment observed for many years and compiled by the best practitioners.

Notes

  1. 1.82.2ἀφʼ οὗ γεννᾶσθαι — The infinitive γεννᾶσθαι is used in the relative clause introduced by ἀφʼ οὗ because it is in indirect discourse dependent on the preceding φασί.
  2. 1.82.3ὀλίγους ἂν γενέσθαι συνετωτέρους — This is an accusative with infinitive construction governed by ἡγουμένου. The combination of ἄν with the infinitive γενέσθαι expresses potentiality ('would become'). The genitive τῆς ... θεραπείας is a genitive of comparison dependent on the comparative adjective συνετωτέρους.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §1.82.1-1.82.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:1.82.1-1.82.3

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