Humanitext Reader

Hippocrates · Prognostic §12-14

Prognosis from the Characteristics of Urine, Vomit, and Sputum

Passage 5 of 10 · Greek

Summary

Chapters 12 to 14 detail the various prognostic indicators for predicting the course and curability of a disease, or imminent danger to life, based on the specific characteristics and states of urine, vomit, and sputum.

§1212.
12.
Τὸ δὲ οὖρον ἄριστόν ἐστιν, ὅταν ᾖ λευκή τε ἡ ὑπόστασις, καὶ λείη, καὶ ὁμαλὴ παρὰ πάντα τὸν χρόνον, ἔστ᾿ ἂν κριθῇ ἡ γοῦσος· σημαίνει γὰρ ἀσφάλειάν τε καὶ νούσημα ὀλιγοχρόνιον ἔσεσθαι.
As for the urine, it is best when the sediment is white, smooth, and even during the whole time, until the disease is resolved; for it signifies safety and that the disease will be of short duration.
Εἰ δὲ διαλείποι, καὶ ποτὲ μὲν καθαρὸν οὐρέοιτο, ποτὲ δὲ ὑφίσταται τὸ λευκὸν καὶ λεῖον, χρονιωτέρη γίγνεται ἡ νοῦσος καὶ ἧσσον ἀσφαλής.
But if it should intermit, and at one time be passed clear, and at another have the white and smooth sediment, the disease becomes longer and less safe.
Εἰ δὲ εἴη τό τε οὖρον ὑπέρυθρον καὶ ἡ ὑπόστασις αὐτέου ὁμοίη καὶ λείη, πολυχρονιώτερον μὲν τοῦτο τοῦ πρώτου γίγνεται, σωτήριον δὲ κάρτα.
If the urine should be reddish, and its sediment of the same kind and smooth, this becomes longer than the first, but is highly favorable.
Κριμνώδεες δὲ ἐν τοῖσιν οὔροισιν αἱ ὑποστάσιες, πονηραί· τουτέων δέ εἰσι κακίους αἱ πεταλώδεες· αἱ λευκαὶ δὲ καὶ λεπταὶ, κάρτα φλαῦραι· τουτέων δ᾿ ἔτι κακίους εἰσὶν αἱ πιτυρώδεες.
Gritty sediments in the urine are bad; worse than these are the scaly ones; and those that are white and thin are very poor; while worse than these still are the bran-like ones.
Νεφέλαι δὲ ἐμφερόμεναι τοῖσιν οὔροισι, λευκαὶ μὲν ἀγαθαὶ, μέλαιναι δὲ φλαῦραι.
Clouds floating in the urine, if white, are good, but if black, are poor.
Ἔστ᾿ ἂν δὲ πυῤῥόν τε εἴη τὸ οὖρον καὶ λεπτὸν, σημαίνει τὸ νούσημα ἄπεπτον εἶναι· ἢν δὲ καὶ πουλυχρόνιον εἴη τοἰοῦτον ἐὸν, κίνδυνος μὴ οὐ δυνήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος διαρκέσαι, ἔστ᾿ ἂν πεπανθῇ ἡ νοῦσος.
As long as the urine is yellowish and thin, it signifies that the disease is unconcocted; and if it should remain so for a long time, there is danger that the patient will not be able to hold out until the disease is concocted.
Θανατωδέστερα δὲ τῶν οὔρων τά τε δυσώδεα καὶ ὑδατώδεα καὶ μέλανα καὶ παχέα· ἔστι δὲ τοῖσι μὲν ἀνδράσι καὶ τῇσι γυναιξὶ τὰ μέλανα τῶν οὔρων κάκιστα, τοῖσι δὲ παιδίοισι τὰ ὑδατώδεκ.
More deadly than these in the urine are those which are fetid, watery, black, and thick; black urine is the worst for men and women, and watery for children.
Ὁκόσοι δ᾿ ἂν οὖρα λεπτὰ καὶ ὠμὰ οὐρέωσι πουλὺν χρόνον, ἢν τἄλλα ὡς περιεσομένοισι σημεῖα ᾖ, τουτέοισιν ἀπόστασιν δεῖ προσδέχεσθαι ἐς τὰ κάτω τῶν φρενῶν χωρία.
Those who pass thin and unconcocted urine for a long time, if the other signs indicate recovery, should expect an abscess to the regions below the diaphragm.
Καὶ τὰς λιπαρότητας δὲ τὰς ἄνω ἐφισταμένας ἀραχνοειδέας μέμφεσθαι· ξυντήξιος γὰρ σημεῖα.
One should also disapprove of the fatty substances floating on the surface like spider webs; for they are signs of wasting.
Σκοπέειν δὲ χρὴ τῶν οὔρων, ἐν οἷσιν αἱ νεφέλαι, ἤν τε ἂνω, ἤν τε κάτω ἔωσι, καὶ τὰ χρώματα ὁκοῖα ἴσχουσι, καὶ τὰς μὲν κάτω φερομένας ξὺν τοῖσι χρώμασιν, οἷσιν εἴρηται, ἀγαθὰς εἶναι νομίζειν καὶ ἐπαινέειν, τὰς δὲ ἄνω ξὺν τοῖσι χρώμασιν, οἷσιν εἴρηται, κακὰς εἶναι, καὶ μέμφεσθαι.
One must observe the clouds in the urine, whether they are up or down, and what colors they have; and those which carry downwards with the colors mentioned should be deemed good and praised, but those which carry upwards with the colors mentioned are bad and should be disapproved.
Μὴ ἐξαπατάτω δέ σε, ἤν γε ἡ κύστις τι νούσημα ἔχουσα τῶν οὔρων τὰ τοιαῦτα ἀποδιδῷ· οὐ γὰρ τοῦ ὅλου σώματος σημεῖόν ἐστιν, ἀλλ᾿ αὐτῆς καθ᾿ ἑωυτῆς.
Let it not deceive you, if the bladder, having some disease, should yield such qualities in the urine; for it is not a sign of the whole body, but of the bladder itself.
§1313.
13.
Ἔμετος δὲ ὠφελιμώτατος ὁ φλέγματος καὶ χολῆς ξυμμεμιγμένων ὅτι μάλιστα· καὶ μὴ παχὺς κάρτα, μηδὲ πολὺς ἐμεέσθω· οἱ γὰρ ἀκρητέστεροι κακίους εἰσίν.
Vomiting is most beneficial when phlegm and bile are mixed as much as possible; and let it not be too thick, nor vomited in great quantity; for those that are more unmixed are worse.
Εἰ δὲ εἴη τὸ ἐμεύμενον πρασοειδὲς, ἢ πελιὸν, ἢ μέλαν, ὅ τι ἂν ᾖ τουτέων τῶν χρωμάτων, νομίζειν χρὴ πονηρὸν εἶναι· εἰ δὲ καὶ πάντα τὰ χρώματα δ ωὀτὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐμέοι, κάρτα ὀλέθριον τοῦτο γίγνεται· τάχιστον δὲ θάνατον σημαίνει τὸ πελιὸν τῶν ἐμεσμάτων, εἰ ὄζει δυσῶδες.
If the vomited matter should be leek-green, or livid, or black, whichever of these colors it may be, one must deem it to be bad; and if the same patient should vomit all these colors, it becomes highly fatal; and the livid among the vomits, if it smells fetid, signifies the speediest death.
Πᾶσαι δὲ αἱ ὑπόσαπροι καὶ δυσώδεες ὀσμαὶ κακαὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖσιν ἐμεομένοισιν.
All sourish and fetid smells are bad in all vomits.
§1414.
14.
Πτύελον χρὴ ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖσιν ἀλγήμασι τοῖσι περὶ τὸν πλεύμονα καὶ τὰς πλευρὰς ταχέως τε ἀναπτύεσθαι καὶ εὐπετέως, ξυμμεμιγμένον τε φαίνεσθαι τὸ ξανθὸν ἰσχυρῶς τῷ πτυέλῳ.
In all pains about the lungs and the flanks, sputum should be spit up quickly and easily, and the yellow should appear strongly mixed with the sputum.
Εἰ γὰρ πολλῷ ὕστερον μετὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ὀδύνης ἀναπτύοιτο, ξανθὸν ἐὸν, ἢ πυῤῥὸν, ἢ πολλὴν βῆχα παρέχον, ἢ μὴ ἰσχυρῶς ξυμμεμιγμένον, κάκιον γίγνεται· τό τε γὰρ ξανθὸν ἄκρητον ἐὸν κινδυνῶδες, τὸ δὲ λευκὸν καὶ γλίσχρον καὶ στρογγύλον ἀλυσιτελές.
For if it should be spit up long after the beginning of the pain, being yellow, or reddish, or causing much coughing, or not being strongly mixed, it becomes worse; for the unmixed yellow is dangerous, and the white, sticky, and round is of no advantage.
Κακὸν δὲ καὶ τὸ χλωρὸν ἐὸν κάρτα καὶ τὸ ἀφρῶδες· εἰ δὲ εἴη οὕτως ἄκρητον ὥστε καὶ μέλαν φαίνεσθαι, δεινότερόν ἐστι τοῦτο ἐκείνων· κακὸν δὲ καὶ ἢν μηδὲν ἀνακαθαίρηται, μηδὲ προΐῃ ὁ πλεύμων, ἀλλὰ πλήρης ἐὼν ζέῃ ἐν τῇ φάρυγγι.
It is also bad when it is very green and frothy; and if it should be so unmixed that it even appears black, this is more terrible than those; and it is also bad if nothing is cleared out, and the lungs do not discharge, but being full, boil in the throat.
Κορύζας δὲ καὶ πταρμοὺς ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖσι περὶ τὸν πλεύμονα νουσήμασι προγεγονέναι, ἢ ἐπιγενέσθαι, κακόν· ἀλλ᾿ ἐν τοῖσιν ἄλλοισι νουσήμασι τοῖσι θανατωδεστάτοισιν οἱ πταρμοὶ λυσιτελέουσιν.
Cold in the head and sneezing, before or after, in all diseases about the lungs, are bad; but in other most deadly diseases, sneezing is beneficial.
Αἵματι δὲ ξυμμεμιγμένον μὴ πολλῷ πτύελον ξανθὸν ἐν τοῖσι περιπλευμονικοῖσιν, ἐν ἀρχῇ μὲν τῆς νούσου πτυόμενον, περιεστικὸν καὶ κάρτα ὠφελεέι· ἑβδομαίῳ δὲ ἐόντι καὶ παλαιοτέρῳ ἧσσον ἀσφαλές.
Sputum that is yellow and mixed with not much blood, when spit up in patients with pneumonia at the beginning of the disease, indicates recovery and is very beneficial; but on the seventh day or later, it is less safe.
Πάντα δὲ πτύελα πονηρά ἐστιν ὁκόσα ἂν τὴν ὀδύνην μὴ παύῃ.
All sputa are bad which do not stop the pain.
Κάκιστα δὲ τὰ μέλανα, ὡς διαγέγραπται.
The worst are the black ones, as has been described.
Τὰ δὲ παύοντα ὀδύνην, πάντων ἀμείνω ἀναπτυόμενα.
But those which stop the pain are the best of all that are spit up.

Notes

  1. p.140ἔστ᾿ ἂν κριθῇ ἡ γοῦσος — The conjunction of time limit ἔστε (until) combined with the particle ἄν and the aorist subjunctive passive κριθῇ indicates the temporal boundary until the disease is resolved (reaches its crisis). Note that γοῦσος is a scribal or typographical error for νοῦσος (disease).
  2. p.140κίνδυνος μὴ οὐ δυνήσεται — Introduced by the noun of fearing/danger κίνδυνος, the construction μὴ οὐ with the future indicative (δυνήσεται) expresses the fear or danger that 'the patient will not be able to'. The double negative μὴ οὐ is regularly used after expressions of negative import to reinforce the negative inside the dependent clause.
  3. p.142Ὁκόσοι δ᾿ ἂν οὖρα λεπτὰ καὶ ὠμὰ οὐρέωσι πουλὺν χρόνον... τουτέοισιν ἀπόστασιν δεῖ προσδέχεσθαι — An anaphoric structure where the general conditional relative clause introduced by Ὁκόσοι ('all those who...') is picked up in the main clause by the demonstrative pronoun in the dative τουτέοισιν ('in these patients'). This layout clearly defines the target of the impersonal verb δεῖ ('it is necessary') in the main clause.
  4. p.144ἀκρητέστεροι — The comparative form of the adjective ἄκρητος (unmixed, pure). Here it denotes a state where phlegm and bile are not blended but rather vomited up in their separate (unmixed) forms, indicating a worse prognosis.
  5. p.144ὅ τι ἂν ᾖ τουτέων τῶν χρωμάτων — A generalizing or concessive relative clause consisting of the compound relative pronoun ὅστις with ἄν and the subjunctive ᾖ, modifying the preceding phrase to mean 'whichever of these (previously mentioned) colors it may be.'

Cite this passage

Hippocrates, Prognostic §12-14. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0627.tlg003.humanitext-grc1:12-14

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.