§1414.
14.
Οἶδα μὲν γὰρ καὶ τάδε δήπου, ὅτι διαφέρει ἐς τὸ σῶμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καθαρὸς ἄρτος ἢ ξυγκομιστὸς, ἢ ἀπτίστων πυρῶν ἢ ἐπτισμένων, ἢ πολλῷ ὕδατι πεφυρημένος, ἢ ὀλίγῳ, ἰσχυρῶς πεφυρημένος ἢ ἀφύρητος, ἢ ἔξοπτος, ἢ ἔνωμος, ἄλλα τε πρὸς τουτέοισι μυρία· ὡς δ᾿ αὔτως καὶ περὶ μάζης· καὶ αἱ δυνάμιες μεγάλαι τε ἑκάστου, καὶ οὐδὲν ἡ ἑτέρη τῇ ἑτέρῃ ἐοικυῖα.
For I know this well too, that it makes a difference to the body of a man whether bread is pure or wholemeal, whether made from unwinnowed wheat or winnowed, whether kneaded with much water or little, whether strongly kneaded or unkneaded, whether well-baked or underbaked, and countless other things besides these; and likewise also concerning barley-cake; and the powers of each are great, and none is like the other.
Ὅστις δὲ ταῦτα οὐκ ἐπέσκεπται, ἢ σκεπτόμενος οὐκ οἶδε, πῶς ἄν τι οὗτος δύναιτο τῶν κατὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον παθημάτων εἰδέναι;
And whoever has not examined these things, or does not know them though having examined them, how could he know anything of the sufferings of man?
ὑπὸ γὰρ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου τουτέων πάσχει τε καὶ ἑτεροιοῦται ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἢ τοῖον ἢ τοῖον· καὶ διὰ τουτέων πᾶς ὁ βίος καὶ ὑγιαίνοντι, καὶ ἐκ νούσου ἀνατρεφομένῳ, καὶ κάμνοντι.
For by each one of these things man suffers and is altered in this way or that; and through these his whole life is directed, whether he is in health, or recovering from illness, or sick.
Οὐκ ἂν οὖν ἕτερα τουτέων χρησιμώτερα, οὐδ᾿ ἀναγκαιότερα ἔῃ εἰδέναι δήπου.
Therefore, there could not indeed be other things more useful or more necessary to know than these.
Ὥστε καλῶς καὶ λογισμῷ προσήκοντι ζητήσαντες πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου φύσιν εὗρον αὐτὰ οἱ πρῶτοι εὑρόντες, καὶ ᾠήθησαν ἀξίην τὴν τέχνην θεῷ προσθεῖναι, ὡς καὶ νομίζεται.
So that the first discoverers, having investigated them beautifully and with fitting reasoning in relation to the nature of man, found them, and thought the art worthy to attribute to a god, as indeed it is customary to believe.
Οὐ γὰρ τὸ ξηρὸν, οὐδὲ τὸ ὑγρὸν, οὐδὲ τὸ θερμὸν, οὐδὲ τὸ ψυχρὸν, οὐδ᾿ ἄλλο τουτέων οὐδὲν ἡγησάμενοι οὔτε λυμαίνεσθαι οὔτε προσδέεσθαι οὐδενὸς τουτέων τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἰσχυρὸν ἑκάστου καὶ τὸ κρέσσον τῆς φύσιος τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης· οὗ μὴ ἠδύνατο κρατέειν, τοῦτο βλάπτειν ἡγήσαντο, καὶ τοῦτο ἐζήτησαν ἀφελέειν.
For they did not think that the dry, nor the wet, nor the hot, nor the cold, nor any of these things either harmed man or that man needed any of them, but the strong element of each and that which is superior to human nature; that which man could not master, this they thought did harm, and this they sought to take away.
Ἰσχυρότατον δέ ἐστι τοῦ μὲν γλυκέος τὸ γλυκύτατον, τοῦ δὲ πικροῦ τὸ πικρότατον, τοῦ δὲ ὀξέος τὸ ὀξύτατον, ἑκάστου δὲ πάντων τῶν ἐόντων ἡ ἀκμή· ταῦτα γὰρ ἑώρων καὶ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐνεόντα καὶ λυμαινόμενα τὸν ἄνθρωπον.
And the strongest is the sweetest of the sweet, the bitterest of the bitter, the most acid of the acid, and the peak of each of all existing things; for they saw that these things were present in man and harmed man.
Ἔνι γὰρ ἀνθρώπῳ καὶ πικρὸν καὶ ἁλμυρὸν, καὶ γλυκὺ καὶ ὀξὺ, καὶ στρυφνὸν καὶ πλαδαρὸν, καὶ ἄλλα μυρία, παντοίας δυνάμιας ἔχοντα, πλῆθός τε καὶ ἰσχύν.
For there are in man both the bitter and the salty, and the sweet and the acid, and the astringent and the flaccid, and countless other things, possessing powers of every kind, in quantity and strength.
Ταῦτα μὲν μεμιγμένα καὶ κεκρημένα ἀλλήλοισιν οὔτε φανερά ἐστιν, οὔτε λυπέει τὸν ἄνθρωπον· ὅταν δέ τι τουτέων ἀποκριθῇ, καὶ αὐτὸ ἐφ᾿ ἑωυτοῦ γένηται, τότε καὶ φανερόν ἐστι καὶ λυπέει τὸν ἄνθρωπον.
These things, when mixed and blended with one another, are neither apparent nor do they pain man; but when one of them is separated and exists by itself, then it is both apparent and pains man.
Τοῦτο δὲ, τῶν βρωμάτων ὅσα ἡμῖν ἀνεπιτήδειά ἐστι καὶ λυμαίνεται τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐμπεσόντα, τουτέων ἕκαστον ἢ πικρόν τι καὶ ἄκρητόν ἔστιν, ἢ ἁλμυρὸν ἢ ὀξὺ, ἢ ἄλλο τι ἄκρητόν τε καὶ ἰσχυρὸν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ταρασσόμεθα ὑπ᾿ αὐτέων, ὥσπερ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν τῷ σώματι ἀποκρινομένων.
And this: of those foods which are unsuitable for us and harm man when they enter, each is either bitter and unmixed, or salty, or acid, or some other unmixed and strong thing, and for this reason we are disturbed by them, just as we are by the substances secreted in the body.
Πάντα δὲ ὅσα ἄνθρωπος ἐσθίει ἢ πίνει, τὰ τοιαῦτα βρώματα ἥκιστα τουτέου χυμοῦ ἀκρήτου τε καὶ διαφέροντος δῆλα ἔσται μετέχοντα, οἷον ἄρτος τε καὶ μᾶζα καὶ τὰ ἑπόμενα τουτέοισιν οἷσιν εἴθισται ὥνθρωπος πλείστοισί τε καὶ αἰεὶ χρέεσθαι, ἔξω τῶν πρὸς ἡδονήν τε καὶ κόρον ἠρτυμένων τε καὶ ἐσκευασμένων· καὶ ἀπὸ τουτέων πλείστων ἐσιόντων ἐς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ταραχή τε καὶ ἀπόκρισις τῶν ἀμφὶ τὸ σῶμα δυναμίων ἥκιστα γίνεται, ἰσχὺς δὲ, καὶ αὔξησις, καὶ τροφὴ μάλιστα, δι᾿ οὐδὲν ἕτερον γίνεται, ἢ ὅτι εὖ τε ξυγκέκρηται, καὶ οὐδὲν ἔχει ἄκρητον, οὐδὲ ἰσχυρὸν, ἀλλ᾿ ὅλον ἕν τε γέγονε καὶ ἁπλόον καὶ μὴ ἰσχυρόν.
But of all the things man eats or drinks, such foods as bread and barley-cake and those which follow them, which man is accustomed to use most and always, will clearly have the least share of this unmixed and distinct humor, excluding those seasoned and prepared for pleasure and satiety; and when these enter man in the greatest quantity, disturbance and secretion of the powers concerning the body happen least, and strength, growth, and nourishment happen most, for no other reason than that they are well blended and have nothing unmixed or strong, but the whole has become one, simple and not strong.
§1515.
15.
Ἀπορέω δ᾿ ἔγωγε, οἱ τὸν λόγον ἐκεῖνον λέγοντες, καὶ ἀπάγοντες ἐκ ταύτης τῆς ὁδοῦ ἐπὶ ὑπόθεσιν τὴν τέχνην, τίνα ποτὲ τρόπον θεραπεύσουσι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ὥσπερ ὑποτίθενται.
But I am at a loss as to how those who speak that theory, and lead the art away from this path to a hypothesis, will ever treat men as they hypothesize.
Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν αὐτέοισιν, ὡς ἐγὼ οἶμαι, ἐξευρημένον αὐτό τι ἐφ᾿ ἑωυτοῦ θερμὸν, ἢ ψυχρὸν, ἢ ξηρὸν, ἢ ὑγρὸν, μηδενὶ ἄλλῳ εἴδεϊ κοινωνέον, ἀλλ᾿ οἶμαι ἔγωγε ταῦτα πόματα καὶ βρώματα αὐτέοισιν ὑπάρχειν οἷσι πάντες χρεόμεθα.
For they have not, as I think, discovered anything that is hot, or cold, or dry, or wet by itself, sharing in no other form; but I think that they have available only these same drinks and foods which we all use.
Προστιθέασι δὲ τῷ μὲν εἶναι θερμῷ, τῷ δὲ ψυχρῷ, τῷ δὲ ξηρῷ, τῷ δὲ ὑγρῷ.
But they attribute to one thing the quality of being hot, to another cold, to another dry, and to another wet.
Ἐπεὶ ἐκεῖνό γε ἄπορον προστάξαι τῷ κάμνοντι, θερμόν τι προσενέγκασθαι· εὐθὺς γὰρ ἐρωτήσει, τί ἐστιν; ὥστε ληρέειν ἀνάγκη, ἢ ἐς τουτέων τι τῶν γινωσκομένων καταφεύγειν.
Since it is indeed impossible to order a sick person to 'take something hot'; for he will immediately ask, 'What is it?' so that one must either talk nonsense or flee to one of these known things.
Εἰ δὲ δὴ τυγχάνει τὸ μὲν θερμὸν ἐὸν στριφνὸν, ἄλλο δὲ θερμὸν ἐὸν πλαδαρὸν, ἄλλο δὲ θερμὸν, ἄραδον ἔχον (ἔστι γὰρ καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ θερμὰ καὶ ἄλλας πολλὰς δυνάμιας ὁπεναντίας ἑωυτοῖσιν ἔχοντα), δεήσει δέ τι αὐτέων προσενεγκεῖν, ἢ τὸ θερμὸν καὶ στριφνὸν, ἢ τὸ θερμὸν καὶ πλαδαρὸν, ἢ ἅμα τὸ ψυχρὸν καὶ στριφνὸν (ἔστι γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο), καὶ τὸ ψυχρόν τε καὶ πλαδαρόν· ὡς μὲν γὰρ ἔγωγε οἶδα, πᾶν τοὐναντίον ἀφ᾿ ἑκατέρου αὐτέων ἀποβαίνει, καὶ οὐ μόνον ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν σκύτεϊ καὶ ἐν ξύλῳ καὶ ἐν ἄλλοισι πολλοῖσιν ἅ ἐστιν ἀνθρώπου ἀναισθητότερα· οὐ γὰρ τὸ θερμόν ἐστι τὸ τὴν μεγάλην δύναμιν ἔχον, ἀλλὰ τὸ στρυφνὸν καὶ τὸ πλαδαρὸν, καὶ τἆλλα ὅσα μοι εἴρηται, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, καὶ ἕξω τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, καὶ ἐσθιόμενα καὶ πινόμενα καὶ ἔξωθεν ἐπιχριόμενά τε καί πως πλασσόμενα.
But if it happens that one hot thing is astringent, and another hot thing is flaccid, and another hot thing causes disturbance (for there are indeed many other hot things having many other powers opposite to one another), and it is necessary to administer one of them, either the hot and astringent, or the hot and flaccid, or at the same time the cold and astringent (for this too exists), or the cold and flaccid; for as far as I know, the exact opposite results from each of them, and not only in man, but also in leather, in wood, and in many other things which are less sensitive than man; for it is not the hot that has the great power, but the astringent and the flaccid, and the other things which I have mentioned, both in man and outside of man, whether eaten and drunk or applied externally as ointments and plasters.