§2.11Διὰ τί οὔτ’ ἀθρόου ὄντος τοῦ πυρὸς μᾶλλον ἱδροῦσιν, οὔτ’ ἐλάττονος ἀεί, ἀλλὰ πλείονος ἐπεισφερομένου;
Why do people sweat more not when the heat is present all at once, nor when it is always decreasing, but when more heat is gradually introduced?
οἱ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς πυριατηρίοις ἱδροῦσι μᾶλλον ἢ εὐθὺς εἰ εἴη τοσοῦτον.
For those in the steam baths sweat more than if that much heat were present immediately.
ἢ ὅτι τὸ σύμμετρον ἕκαστον ἐργάζεται;
Is it because the moderate amount produces each result?
οὐκοῦν εἰ τὸ τόσον ποιεῖ, τὸ πλεῖον οὐ ποιήσει πλεῖον ἢ μᾶλλον τοὐναντίον, ὅτι τῷ τὸ σύμμετρον εἶναι ἐργάζεται τὸ ἔργον.
Therefore, if this amount produces sweat, a greater amount of heat will not produce more, but rather the contrary, because it produces its effect by being moderate.
διὰ μὲν οὖν τοῦτο οὐχὶ πρὸς πλεῖον μᾶλλον ἱδροῦσιν, διὰ δὲ τὸ πρὸς ἕκαστον ἄλλην εἶναι συμμετρίαν, καὶ τὸ πεποιηκὸς μηκέτι ποιεῖν προστιθεμένου μᾶλλον.
For this reason, then, they do not sweat more in response to more heat, but because there is a different moderation for each stage, and when more heat is added, that which has already produced its effect no longer does so.
οὐ γὰρ ταὐτὸ προοδοποεῖται εἰς ἕκαστον καὶ ἐπιτηδείως ἔχειν παρασκευάζει, καὶ ἤδη τοῦτο ἐργάζεται, ἀλλ’ ἕτερον.
For the same thing does not pave the way for each stage and prepare the body to be in a suitable condition, and already produce this effect, but a different thing does.
τὸ μὲν οὖν ὀλίγον μᾶλλον ἢ πολὺ προωδοποίησεν καὶ παρεσκεύασεν τὸ σῶμα πρὸς τὸ ἱδροῦν·
Thus, the small amount of heat, rather than the large, paved the way and prepared the body for sweating; but another, greater moderation is needed to actually produce it.
ἄλλης δὲ δεῖ συμμετρίας καὶ πλείονος πρὸς τὸ ποιῆσαι. τοῦτο δὲ οὐκέτι ποιεῖ ὃ πεποίηκεν, ἀλλὰ μετ’ αὐτὸ ὕστερον, ἄλλο τῆς συμμετρίας γινόμενον.
And this no longer produces what has already been produced, but afterwards, after it, because another kind of moderation arises.
§2.12Διὰ τί ἀποστλεγγισαμένοις μᾶλλον ῥεῖ ὁ ἱδρὼς ἢ ἐῶσιν ἐπιμεῖναι;
Why does sweat flow more for those who scrape themselves with a strigil than for those who allow it to remain?
πότερον διὰ τὸ καταψύχεσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἔξω;
Is it because they are cooled by the air outside?
ἢ ὅτι ὥσπερ πῶμα γίνεται ὁ ἔξω ἱδρὼς ἐπὶ τοῖς πόροις, ὥστε κωλύει τοῦ ἔσωθεν τὴν ὁρμήν.
Or is it because the sweat on the outside becomes like a cover over the pores, so that it prevents the impulse of that which is within?
§2.13Διὰ τί τὸ πήγανον δυσώδεις τοὺς ἱδρῶτας ποιεῖ, καὶ ἔνια τῶν μύρων;
Why does rue, and some perfumes, make sweat foul-smelling?
ἢ ὅτι ὧν ἐν τῇ ὀσμῇ βαρύτης ἔνι, ταῦτα κεραννύμενα ταῖς περιττωματικαῖς ὑγρότησι κακωδεστέραν ποιεῖ τὴν ὀσμήν;
Is it because those things in whose scent there is heaviness, when mixed with the residual moistures, make the smell more offensive?
§2.14Διὰ τί ἱδροῦμεν τὸν νῶτον μᾶλλον ἢ τά πρόσθεν;
Why do we sweat more on our back than on our front?
ἢ ὅτι ἐν μὲν τῷ πρόσθεν ἐστὶ τόπος ἐντός, εἰς ὃν ἀποχετεύεται τὸ ὑγρόν, ἐν δὲ τῷ ὄπισθεν οὐκ ἔστιν, ἀλλ’ ἔξω τὴν ἔκκρισιν ἀναγκαῖον γίνεσθαι.
Is it because in the front there is an internal space into which the moisture is channeled, whereas in the back there is none, but the excretion must of necessity occur on the outside?
τὸ δ’ αὐτό ἐστιν αἴτιον καὶ ὅτι τὴν κοιλίαν ἧττον ἱδροῦμεν ἢ τὸ στῆθος.
And the same reason explains why we sweat less on the belly than on the chest.
ἔτι δὲ ὅτι μᾶλλον διαφυλακτικόν ἐστι τοῦ ἱδρῶτος τὰ νῶτα καὶ τὰ ὄπισθεν ἢ τὰ πρόσθεν διὰ τὸ μᾶλλον τὰ ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ὄπισθεν ἀποψύχεσθαι.
Furthermore, is it because the back and the rear parts are more preservative of sweat than the front, because the front is cooled more than the back?
ὅπερ ἐστὶν αἴτιον καὶ τοῦ τὰς μασχάλας ἱδροῦν τάχιστα καὶ μάλιστα· ἥκιστα γὰρ ψύχονται.
This is also the reason why the armpits sweat most quickly and most of all; for they are cooled least.
ἔτι δὲ σαρκωδέστερά ἐστι τὰ περὶ τὸν νῶτον τῶν πρόσθεν, ὥστε ὑγρότερα.
Furthermore, is it because the parts around the back are fleshier than the front, and so are moister?
πλείων δὲ ὑγρότης ἐστὶν ἐν τοῖς ὄπισθεν· ὁ γὰρ μυελὸς κατὰ τὴν ῥάχιν ὢν ὑγρασίαν πολλὴν παρέχει.
And there is more moisture in the rear parts; for the spinal marrow, being along the spine, provides much moisture.
§2.15Διὰ τί ἐφ’ ἅ κατακείμεθα οὐχ ἱδροῦμεν;
Why do we not sweat on the parts upon which we lie?
ἢ ὅτι θερμὸς ὢν ὁ τόπος ᾦ ἁπτόμεθα κωλύει διιέναι τὸν ἱδρῶτα· ἀναξηραίνει γὰρ αὐτόν.
Is it because the place we touch, being hot, prevents the sweat from passing through; for it dries it up?
ἔτι δὲ θλίβεται, θλιβόμενον δὲ διαχεῖται τὸ αἷμα, οὗ συμβαίνοντος καταψύχεται μᾶλλον.
Furthermore, is it because it is compressed, and when compressed, the blood is dispersed, and when this happens, it is cooled more?
σημεῖον δὲ ἡ νάρκη· κατάψυξίς τε γάρ ἐστι τὸ πάθος, καὶ γίνεται ἐκ θλίψεως ἢ πληγῆς.
Numbness is a sign of this; for this condition is a cooling, and it arises from compression or a blow.
§2.16Διὰ τί οἱ καθεύδοντες μᾶλλον ἱδροῦσιν;
Why do those who sleep sweat more?
ἢ διὰ τὴν ἀντιπερίστασιν;
Is it due to antiperistasis?
ἀθροισθὲν γὰρ τὸ θερμὸν ἐντὸς ἐξελαύνει τὸ ὑγρόν.
For the heat, being gathered inside, drives the moisture out.
§2.17Διὰ τί τὸ πρόσωπον μάλιστα ἱδροῦσιν ἀσαρκότατον ὄν;
Why does the face sweat most of all, although it is the least fleshy part?
ἢ ὅτι εὐίδρωτα μὲν ὅσα ὕφυγρα καὶ ἀραιά, ἡ δὲ κεφαλὴ τοιαύτη;
Is it because those parts that are moist and porous are prone to sweat, and the head is of this nature?
ὑγρότητα χὰρ οἰκείαν ἔχει πλείστην.
For it has the greatest amount of its own moisture.
δηλοῦσι δὲ αἱ φλέβες τείνουσαι ἐντεῦθεν, καὶ οἱ κατάρροι ἐξ αὐτῆς, καὶ ὁ ἐγκέφαλος ὑγρός, καὶ οἱ πόροι πολλοί.
This is shown by the vessels stretching from there, the catarrhs from it, the brain being moist, and the pores being many.
σημεῖον δὲ αἱ τρίχες ὅτι πολλοὶ οἱ πόροι εἰσί, περαίνοντες ἔξω.
The hair is a sign that the pores are many, ending on the outside.
οὔκουν ἐκ τῶν κάτω ὁ ἱδρώς, ἀλλ’ ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς γίνεται.
Therefore, the sweat does not arise from the lower parts, but from the head.
διὸ ἱδροῦσι καὶ πρῶτον καὶ μάλιστα τὸ μέτωπον· ὑπόκειται γὰρ πρῶτον· τὸ δὲ ὑγρὸν κάτω ῥεῖ, ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἄνω.
Wherefore the forehead also sweats first and most of all; for it lies immediately below, and moisture flows downward, not upward.
§2.18Διὰ τί οἱ ἱδροῦντες ἐὰν ψυχθῶσιν ἢ ὕδατι ἢ πνεύματι, ναυτιῶσιν;
Why do those who are sweating, if they are cooled either by water or by the wind, feel nausea?
πότερον τὸ ὑγρὸν ψυχθὲν ἔστη ἀθρόον, ἔμπροσθεν οὐκ ἠρεμοῦν διὰ τὸ ῥεῖν;
Is it because the moisture, being cooled, stopped all at once, whereas previously it was not at rest because of its flowing?
ἢ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα διιὸν ἔξω γινόμενον ἱδρὼς διὰ τὴν ψύξιν, τοῦτο ἔσω ψυχθὲν πρὶν ἐξελθεῖν ὑγρὸν ἐγένετο, καὶ προσπεσὸν ποιεῖ τὴν ναυτίαν;
Or is it because the breath, which by passing through was to become sweat when outside, was cooled inside before coming out due to the chilling, and thus became liquid, and by falling upon the internal parts produces the nausea?