§1111.
11.
Σκέψασθαι δὲ χρὴ διὰ τίνας προφάσιας αὐτέοισι· ταῦτα ξυνέβη·
And one must consider for what reasons these things happened to them.
τῷ μὲν, οἶμαι, μεμαθηκότι μονοσιτέειν, ὅτι οὐκ ἀνέμεινε τὸν χρόνον τὸν ἱκανὸν μέχρις αὐτέου ἡ κοιλίη τῶν τῇ προτεραίῃ προσενηνεγμένων σιτίων ἀπολαύσῃ τελέως, καὶ ἐπικρατήσῃ, καὶ λαπαχθῇ τε καὶ ἡσυχάσῃ, ἀλλ᾿ ἐπιζέουσάν τε καὶ ἐζυμωμένην καινὰ ἐπεσηνέγκατο·
For the one accustomed to eat once a day, I think, [it happened] because he did not wait for the sufficient time until his digestive tract had completely digested, mastered, emptied, and quieted down from the food taken on the previous day, but introduced new food while it was still boiling and fermenting.
αἱ δὲ τοιαῦται κοιλίαι πολλῷ τε βραδύτερον πέσσουσι, καὶ πλέονος δέονται ἀναπαύσιός τε καὶ ἡσυχίης.
For such digestive tracts digest much slower, and require more rest and quiet.
Ὁ δὲ μεμαθηκὼς ἀριστίζεσθαι, ὅτι οὐκ, ἐπειδὴ τάχιστα ἐδεήθη τροφῆς τὸ σῶμα, καὶ τὰ πρότερα κατανάλωτο, καὶ οὐκ εἶχεν οδὐεμίην ἀπόλαυσιν, εὐθέως αὐτέῳ παρεγένετο καινὴ τροφὴ, φθίνει δὴ καὶ ξυντήκεται ὑπὸ λιμοῦ.
But for the one accustomed to take lunch, because new food was not immediately supplied to him as soon as the body needed nourishment, and the previous food had been consumed, and it had no benefit left, he wastes away and melts due to hunger.
Πάντα γὰρ, ἃ λέγω πάσχειν τὸν τοιοῦτον ἄνθρωπον, λιμῷ ἀνατίθημι.
For all that I say such a man suffers, I attribute to hunger.
Φημὶ δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἀνθρώπους ἅπαντας, οἵ τινες ἂν ὁγιαίνοντες ἄσιτοι δύο ἢ τρεῖς ἡμέρας γένωνται, ταῦτα πείσεσθαι οἷα περὶ τῶν ἀναρίστων γενομένων εἴρηκα.
And I say that all other men as well, whoever while healthy go without food for two or three days, will suffer these same things as I have described concerning those who did not take lunch.
§1212.
12.
Τὰς δὲ τοιαύτας φύσιας ἔγωγέ φημι, τὰς ταχέως τε καὶ ἰσχυρῶς τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἀπολαυούσας, ἀσθενεστέρας εἶναι τῶν ἑτέρων·
And I say that such constitutions, which feel the effects of errors quickly and strongly, are weaker than the others.
ἐγγύτατα δὲ τοῦ ἀσθενέοντός ἐστιν ὁ ἀσθενής· ἔστι δὲ ἀσθενέστερος ὁ ἀσθενέων, καὶ μᾶλλον αὐτέῳ προσήκει ὅ τι ἂν τοῦ καιροῦ ἀποτυγχάνῃ, πονέειν.
And the weak person is closest to the sick person; and the sick person is weaker, and it is more appropriate for him to suffer whatever mistake he makes regarding the proper time.
Χαλεπὸν, μὴ τοιαύτης ἀκριβίης ἐούσης περὶ τὴν τέχνην, τυγχάνειν αἰεὶ τοῦ ἀτρεκεστάτου· πολλὰ δὲ εἴδεα κατ᾿ ἰητρικὴν ἐς τοσαύτην ἀκριβίην ἥκει, περὶ ὧν εἰρήσεται.
It is difficult, since there is no such exactness in the art, to always hit upon the most precise truth; but many aspects in medicine have reached such exactness, concerning which it will be spoken.
Οὐ φημὶ δὴ διὰ τοῦτο δεῖν τὴν τέχνην ὡς οὐκ ἐοῦσαν οὐδὲ καλῶς ζητεομένην τὴν ἀρχαίην ἀποβαλέσθαι, εἰ μὴ ἔχει περὶ πάντα ἀκριβίην, ἀλλὰ πολὺ μᾶλλον, διὰ τὸ ἐγγὺς, οἶμαι, τοῦ ἀτρεκεστάτου ὁμοῦ δύνασθαι ἥκειν λογισμῷ, προσίεσθαι, καὶ ἐκ πολλῆς ἀγνωσίης θαυμάζειν τὰ ἐξευρημένα, ὡς καλῶς καὶ ὀρθῶς ἐξεύρηται, καὶ οὐκ ἀπὸ τύχης.
Therefore, I do not say that because of this we must reject the ancient art as non-existent or as not well investigated, if it does not have exactness in all things, but much rather, because it is able, I think, to come very close to the most precise truth through reasoning, we should accept it, and from great ignorance admire the things discovered, how beautifully and correctly they have been discovered, and not by chance.
§1313.
13.
Ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν τὸν καινὸν τρόπον τὴν τέχνην ἐξ ὁποθέσιος ζητεόντων λόγου ἐπανελθεῖν βούλομαι.
But I wish to return to the argument concerning those who investigate the art in the new way, based on a hypothesis.
Εἰ γάρ ἐστι θερμὸν, ἢ ψυχρὸν, ἢ ξηρὸν, ἢ ὁργὸν τὸ λυμαινόμενον τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ δεῖ τὸν ὀρθῶς ἰητρεύοντα βοηθέειν τῷ μὲν θερμῷ ἐπὶ τὸ ψυχρὸν, τῷ δὲ ψυχρῷ ἐπὶ τὸ θερμὸν, τῷ δὲ ξηρῷ ἐπὶ τὸ ὁγρὸν, τῷ δ᾿ ὑγρῷ ἐπὶ τὸ ξηρόν· ἔστω μοι ἄνθρωπος μὴ τῶν ἰσχυρῶν φύσει, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἀσθενεστέρων· οὗτος δὲ πυροὺς ἐσθιέτω οὓς ἂν ἀπὸ τῆς ἅλω ἀνέλῃ, ὠμοὺς καὶ ἀργοὺς, καὶ κρέα ὠμὰ, καὶ πινέτω ὕδωρ.
For if it is the hot, or the cold, or the dry, or the wet that harms a man, and it is necessary for one who treats correctly to apply remedy to the hot with the cold, to the cold with the hot, to the dry with the wet, and to the wet with the dry; let there be for me a man, not of those strong by nature, but of the weaker; and let this man eat wheat which he has taken from the threshing floor, raw and unprocessed, and raw meat, and let him drink water.
Ταύτῃ χρεόμενος τῇ διαίτῃ, εὖ οἶδ᾿ ὅτι πείσεται πολλὰ καὶ δεινά· καὶ γὰρ πόνους πονήσει, καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀσθενὲς ἔσται, καὶ ἡ κοιλίη φθαρήσεται, καὶ ζῇν πουλὺν χρόνον οὐ δυνήσεται.
Using this diet, I know well that he will suffer many terrible things; for he will suffer pains, and his body will be weak, and his digestive tract will be ruined, and he will not be able to live for a long time.
Τί δεῖ τοιγαροῦν βοήθημα παρασκευάσασθαι ὧδ᾿ ἔχοντι;
What remedy, therefore, must be prepared for someone in this state?
θερμὸν, ἢ ψυχρὸν, ἢ ξηρὸν, ἢ ὑγρόν;
Hot, or cold, or dry, or wet?
δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι τουτέων τι.
For it is clear that it must be one of these.
Εἰ γὰρ τὸ λυμαινόμενόν ἐστι τουτέων τὸ ἕτερον, τῷ ὑπεναντίῳ προσήκει λῦσαι, ὡς ὁ ἐκείνων λόγος ἔχει.
For if the harming element is one of these, it is appropriate to dissolve it with the opposite, as their theory holds.
Τὸ μὲν γὰρ βεβαιότατόν τε καὶ προφανέστατον φάρμακον ἀφελόντα τὰ διαιτήματα οἷσιν ἐχρῶτο· ἀντὶ μὲν τῶν πυρῶν ἄρτον διδόναι, ἀντὶ δὲ τῶν ὠμῶν κρεῶν ἑφθὰ, πιεῖν τε ἐπὶ τούτοισιν οἴνου, ταῦτα μεταβάλλοντα οὐχ οἷόν τε μὴ ὁγιέα γενέσθαι, ἤν γε μὴ παντάπασιν ᾖ διεφθαρμένος ὑπὸ χρόνου τε καὶ τῆς διαίτης.
For the most secure and most obvious remedy is, having removed the diets which he was using, to give bread instead of wheat, and boiled meat instead of raw meat, and to drink wine in addition to these; by changing to these, it is impossible for him not to become healthy, unless indeed he has been completely ruined by time and the diet.
Τί δὴ φήσομεν;
What then shall we say?
πότερον αὐτέῳ ὁπὸ ψυχροῦ κακοπαθέοντι θερμὰ ταῦτα προσενέγκαντες ὠφέλησαν, ἢ τἀναντία;
Whether, when he was suffering from the cold, did we benefit him by administering these hot things, or the opposite?
οἶμαι γὰρ ἔγωγε πολλὴν ἀπορίην ἐρωτηθέντι παρασχεῖν·
For I think that to the one who is asked this, it will present great difficulty.
ὁ γὰρ τὸν ἄρτον σκευάζων τῶν πυρῶν τὸ θερμὸν, ἢ τὸ ψυχρὸν, ἢ τὸ ξηρὸν, ἢ τὸ ὑγρὸν ἀφείλατο;
For did the one who prepares the bread take away from the wheat the hot, or the cold, or the dry, or the wet?
οὗτος γὰρ καὶ πυρὶ καὶ ὕδατι δίδοται, καὶ πολλοῖσιν εἴργασται, ὧν ἕκαστον ἰδίην δύναμιν καὶ φύσιν ἔχει, καὶ τὰ μὲν τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ἀποβέβληκεν, ἄλλοισι δὲ κέκρηται καὶ μέμικται.
For it is subjected to both fire and water, and is processed by many things, each of which has its own power and nature, and has lost some of its existing qualities, and has been mixed and combined with others.