Humanitext Reader

Pseudo-Lucian · Ocypus §81-173

Soterichos' Examination and Diagnosis of Gout

Passage 2 of 2 · Greek

Summary

Soterichos, the physician, examines Ocypus' foot and attempts an incision, but Ocypus refuses out of fear. The Tutor exposes Ocypus' lie, and the physician diagnoses his condition as the incurable "Podagra" (gout).

§81δειλὸν δὲ βῆμα κοὐχ ἁπλοῦν τιθῶ ποδί.
And I make a timid and not simple step with my foot.
§82Πόθεν;
Whence?
τί παθών;
Having suffered what?
μήνυσον, ἢ ποίῳ τρόπῳ;
Declare it, or in what way?
§83μαθὼν ἀλήθειαν γὰρ ἰατρὸς ἀσφαλῶς §84κρεῖττον πρόσεισι, σφάλλεται δὲ μὴ μαθών.
For having learned the truth, a physician will approach with certainty and better, but not having learned, he fails.
§85Δρόμον τιν’ ἀσκῶν καὶ τέχνην γυμναστικὴν §86δεινῶς ἐπλήγην ὑπὸ φίλων ὁμηλίκων.
Practising a certain run and the gymnastic art, I was terribly hurt by friends of my own age.
§87Πῶς οὖν ἀηδὴς οὐ πάρεστι φλεγμονὴ §88τόπου κατ’ αὐτοῦ κοὐκ ἔχεις τιν’ ἐμβροχήν;
How is it then that no unpleasant inflammation is present in that very place, and you have no wet dressing?
§89Οὐ γὰρ στέγω τὰ δεσμὰ τῶν ἐριδίων, §90εὐμορφίαν ἄχρηστον εἰς πολλοὺς καλήν.
For I do not tolerate the bonds of woolen bandages, a useless beauty which is good in the eyes of many.
§91Τί οὖν δοκεῖ σοι;
What then do you think?
κατακνήσω σου τὸν πόδα;
Shall I scarify your foot?
§92ἂν γὰρ παράσχῃς μοί σε, γιγνώσκειν σε χρή, §93ὡς ταῖς τομαῖσι πλεῖστον αἷμά σου κενῶ.
For if you surrender yourself to me, you must know that by incisions I shall empty a great deal of your blood.
§94Ποίησον εἴ τι καινὸν ἐξευρεῖν ἔχεις, §95ἵν᾿ εὐθὺ δεινὸν ἐκ ποδῶν παύσῃς πόνον.
Do so, if you have any new remedy to find, so that you may straightway stop the terrible pain from my feet.
§96Ἰδού, σιδηρόχαλκον ἐπιφέρω τομήν. §97ὀξεῖαν, αἱμόδιψον, ἡμιστρόγγυλον.
Behold, I apply an incision with iron and bronze, sharp, bloodthirsty, half-rounded.
§98Ἔα, ἔα.
Ah, ah!
§99Σῶτερ, τί ποιεῖς;
Soter, what are you doing?
μὴ τύχοις σωτηρίας.
May you not obtain salvation!
§100τολμᾷς σιδηρόσπαρτον ἐπιβαλεῖν πόνον;
Do you dare to impose a pain sown with iron?
§101μηδὲν κατειδὼς προσφέρεις κακὸν ποσί.
Knowing nothing, you bring evil to his feet.
§102ψευδεῖς γὰρ ἔκλυες ὧν ἀκήκοας λόγων.
For you heard false words of what you have listened to.
§103οὐ γὰρ πάλαισιν ἢ δρόμοισιν, ὡς λέγει, §104ἀσκῶν ἐπλήγη.
For he was not hurt while practising wrestling or running, as he says.
τοῦτο γοῦν ἄκουέ μου.
Hear this at least from me.
§105ἦλθεν μὲν οὖν τὸ πρῶτον ὑγιὴς ἐν δόμοις, §106φαγὼν δὲ πολλὰ καὶ πιὼν ὁ δυστυχὴς §107κλίνης ὕπερθε καταπεσὼν ὑπνοῖ μόνος·
Indeed at first he came home healthy, but having eaten and drunk much, the wretched man fell down upon the bed and slept alone.
§108ἔπειτα νυκτὸς διυπνίσας ἐχραύγασεν §109ὡς δαίμονι πληγείς, καὶ φόβος πάντας λάβεν.
Then in the night, having woken up, he cried out as if struck by a demon, and fear seized everyone.
§110ἔλεξε δ’, Οἴμοι, πόθεν ἔχω κακὴν τύχην;
And he said: 'Alas, whence do I have this evil fortune?
§111δαίμων τάχα κρατῶν τις ἐξωθεῖ ποδός. §112πρὸς ταῦτα νυκτὸς ἀνακαθήμενος μόνος §113ὁποῖα κῆρυξ ἐξεθρήνει τὸν πόδα.
Some demon, perhaps ruling, pushes me out of my foot.' In response to this, sitting up alone in the night, like a herald he lamented his foot.
§114ἐπεὶ δ’ ἀλέκτωρ ἡμέραν ἐσάλπισεν, §115οὗτος προσῆλθε χεῖρα θεὶς ἐμοὶ πικρὰν §116θρηνῶν πυρέσσων ἐπ’ ἐμοὶ βάζων * * *
And when the cock trumpeted the day, he came near, laying a bitter hand upon me, lamenting, feverish, shouting at me...
§117ἃ πρὶν δὲ σοὶ κατεῖπε, πάντ’ ἐψεύσατο. §118τὰ δεινὰ κρύπτων τῆς νόσου μυστήρια.
But what he told you before, he lied in everything, hiding the terrible mysteries of the disease.
§119Γέρων μὲν αἰεὶ τοῖς λόγοις ὁπλίζεται §120καυχώμενος τὰ πάντα, μηδὲ ἓν σθένων.
An old man indeed is always armed with words, boasting of everything, though strong in not even one thing.
§121ὁ γὰρ πονῶν τι καὶ φίλοις ψευδὴ λέγων §122πεινῶντ’ ἔοικε μαστίχην μασωμένῳ.
For he who suffers something and speaks falsehood to his friends, is like a hungry man chewing mastic.
§123Πλανᾷς ἅπαντας, ἄλλα δ’ ἐξ ἄλλων λέγεις, §124λέγων πονεῖν μέν, ὃ δὲ πονεῖς οὔπω λέγεις.
You deceive everyone, and say one thing after another, saying indeed that you are in pain, but what pain you suffer you do not yet say.
§125Πῶς οὖν φράσω σοι τοῦ πάθους τὴν συμφοράν;
How then shall I declare to you the misfortune of my suffering?
§126πάσχων γὰρ οὐδὲν οἶδα, πλὴν πονῶ μόνον.
For suffering I know nothing, except only that I am in pain.
§127Ὅταν ἀφορμῆς δίχα πονῇ τις τὸν πόδα, §128πλάσσει τὸ λοιπὸν οὓς θέλει κενοὺς λόγους §129εἰδὼς τὸ δεινὸν ᾧ συνέζευκται κακῷ.
Whenever someone suffers in his foot without an external cause, he invents thereafter whatever empty words he wishes, knowing the terrible evil to which he has been yoked.
§130καὶ νῦν μὲν ἀκμὴν εἷς. . . . .
And now indeed for a while one...
§131ἐπὰν δὲ καὶ τὸν ἕτερον ἀλγήσῃς πόδα, §132στένων δακρύσεις.
but when you also suffer pain in the other foot, you will weep with groans.
ἓν δέ σοι φράσαι θέλω· §133τοῦτ’ ἔστ’ ἐχεῖνο, Κἂν θέλῃς, κἂν μὴ θέλῃς.
One thing I want to tell you: This is that, whether you wish it or not.
§134Τί δ’ ἔστ’ ἐκεῖνο γ’, εἰπέ, καὶ τί κλῄζεται;
But what is 'that' indeed, speak, and what is it called?
§135Ἔχει μὲν ὄνομα συμφορᾶς γέμον διπλῆς.
It indeed has a name full of double misfortune.
§136Οἴμοι.
Alas.
τί τοῦτο;
What is this?
λέξον, ὦ, δέομαι, γέρον.
Speak, oh, I beg you, old man.
§137Ἐκ τοῦ τόπου μὲν οὗ πονεῖς ἀρχὴν ἔχει.
It has its origin from the place where you suffer.
§138Ποδὸς μὲν ἀρχὴν ὄνομ’ ἔχει, καθὼς λέγεις;
Does it have a name beginning with 'foot', as you say?
§139Τούτῳ σὺ πρόσθες ἐπὶ τέλει δεινὴν ἄγραν.
To this do you add at the end a terrible prey.
§140Καὶ πῶς με τὸν δύστηνον ἔτι. . . .
And how me the wretched one further...
§141Ζεινή περ οὖσα.
Being terrible indeed.
φείδεται γὰρ οὐδενός.
For it spares no one.
§142Σωτήρ, τί λέγεις;
Soter, what do you say?
τί δέ με. . . . . ;
And why me...?
§143Ἄφες με μικρόν ἠλόγημαι σοῦ χάριν.
Leave me for a bit; I have been neglected for your sake.
§144Τί δ’ ἔστι δεινὸν ἢ τί συμβέβηκέ μοι;
But what is terrible, or what has happened to me?
§145Εἰς δεινὸν ἦλθες πόνον ἀχώριστον ποδός.
You have come into a terrible pain inseparable from the foot.
§146Οὐκοῦν με δεῖ πρόχωλον ἐξαντλεῖν βίον;
Must I then drag out a lame life?
§147Χωλὸς μὲν ἂν ᾖς, οὐδέν ἐστι, μὴ φοβοῦ.
If you should be lame, it is nothing, do not fear.
§148Τί δ’ ἔστι χεῖρον;
But what is worse?
§149Ἀμφοῖν ποδοῖν σε συμποδισθῆναι μένει.
It remains for you to be bound by both feet.
§150Οἴμοι.
Alas.
πόθεν μοι καινὸς εἰσῆλθεν πόνος §151ποδὸς δι᾿ ἄλλου. καί με συμπάσχει κακῶς;
Whence has a new pain entered me through the other foot, and afflicts me wretchedly?
§152ἢ πῶς ὅλος πέπηγα μεταβῆναι θέλων;
Or how am I entirely frozen when wishing to move?
§153δειλαίνομαι δὲ πολλὰ μεταστῆσαι πόδα, §154νήπιος, ὁποῖα βρέφος ἄφνω φοβούμενος.
And I fear greatly to move my foot, foolish, like an infant suddenly frightened.
§155ἀλλ’ ἄντομαί σε πρὸς θεῶν, Σωτήριχε, §156εἴπερ τι τέχνη σὴ δύναται, μηδὲν φθονῶν §157θεράπευσον ἡμᾶς, εἰ δὲ μή, διοίχομαι·
But I entreat you by the gods, Soterichos, if your art can do anything, heal me without grudging; otherwise, I am undone.
§158πάσχω γὰρ ἀφανῶς, κατὰ ποδὼν τοξεύομαι.
For I suffer invisibly, and I am shot with arrows at my feet.
§159Τοὺς μὲν πλανήτας περιελὼν λόγους ἐγώ, §160τοὺς τῶν ἰατρῶν τῶν ὁμιλούντων μόνον, §161ἔργῳ δὲ μηδὲν εἰδότων σωτήριον.
I, having cast aside the misleading words, those of the physicians who only talk, but know nothing saving in deed.
§162τὰ πάντα σοι πάσχοντι συντόμως φράσω.
I shall tell you everything briefly as you suffer.
§163ἄφευκτον ἦλθες πρῶτον ἐς βάθος κακῶν·
First, you have come into an inescapable depth of evils.
§164οὐ γὰρ σιδηρόπλαστον ὑπεδύσω βάσιν, §165ὃ τοῖς κακούργοις εὑρέθη τεκμήριον.
For you did not put on a base fashioned of iron, which was invented as a token for criminals.
§166δεινὴν δὲ καὶ κρυφαῖον εἰς πάντας κάκην, §167ἧς οὐκ ἂν ἂραιτ’ ἄχθος ἀνθρώπων φύσις.
But a terrible and hidden evil upon all, whose weight human nature cannot bear.
§168Αἰαῖ αἰαῖ, οἴμοι οἴμοι.
Alas, alas, ah me, ah me.
§169πόθεν μὲ τρυπᾷ τὸν πόδα κρυπτὸς πόνος;
Whence does a hidden pain pierce my foot?
§170δέξασθε χεῖρας τὰς ἐμὰς πρὸ τοῦ πεσεῖν, §171ὁποῖα Σάτυροι Βακχίους ὑπ’ ὠλένας.
Receive my hands before I fall, just as Satyrs support Bacchus under his arms.
§172Γέρων μέν εἰμι, πλὴν ἰδού, σοὶ πείθομαι, §173καὶ τὸν νέον σὲ χειραγωγῶ πρέσβυς ὤν.
I am indeed an old man, yet behold, I obey you, and being an elder I lead you, a young man, by the hand.

Notes

  1. 81τιθῶ — First-person singular present active indicative of τίθημι. In combination with βῆμα, it forms an idiomatic expression meaning 'to make/take a step'. The dative ποδί functions as a dative of instrument/means.
  2. 89εὐμορφίαν — An accusative of apposition to the preceding sentence or action (sometimes called an accusative of sentence-relation), describing the bandages as a useless vanity.
  3. 122πεινῶντ’ — Elided form of πεινῶντι (present active participle of πεινάω, masculine dative singular). It functions, together with μασωμένῳ, as the dative complement of the verb ἔοικε ('resembles').
  4. 139πρόσθες — Second-person singular second aorist active imperative of προστίθημι. It is a instruction to 'add' the second part (ἄγρα) to the first part (πούς) in a wordplay revealing the disease's name, Podagra.
  5. 171Βακχίους ὑπ’ ὠλένας — An accusative prepositional phrase governed by ὑπό ('under the arms of Bacchus'), representing the mythological image of Satyrs supporting the drunken Bacchus from both sides.

Cite this passage

Pseudo-Lucian, Ocypus §81-173. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0061.tlg005.humanitext-grc1:81-173

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