§1## ΠΕΡΙ ΦΥΣΙΟΣ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΥ.
1.
## ON THE NATURE OF MAN 1.
Ὅστις μὲν εἴωθεν ἀκούειν λεγόντων ἀμφὶ τῆς φύσιος τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης προσωτέρω ἢ ὁκόσον αὐτέης ἐς ἰητρικὴν ἐφήκει, τουτέῳ· μὲν οὐκ ἐπιτήδειος ὅδε ὁ λόγος ἀκούειν·
For anyone who is accustomed to hearing people speak about human nature further than as much of it as reaches into medicine, this discourse is not suitable to hear.
οὔτε γὰρ τὸ πάμπαν ἠέρα λέγω τὸν ἄνθρωπον εἶναι, οὔτε πῦρ, οὔτε ὕδωρ, οὔτε γῆν, οὔτ’ ἄλλο οὐδὲν, ὅ τι μὴ φανερόν ἐστιν ἐνεὸν ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ· ἀλλὰ τοῖσι βουλομένοισι ταῦτα λέγειν παρίημι.
For I do not say that man is entirely air, nor fire, nor water, nor earth, nor any other thing that is not clearly present in man; rather, I leave these things to those who wish to say them.
Δοκέουσι μέντοι μοι οὐκ ὀρθῶς γινώσκειν οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγοντες· γνώμῃ μὲν γὰρ τῇ αὐτέῃ πάντες χρέονται, λέγουσι δὲ οὐ ταὐτά· ἀλλὰ τῆς μὲν γνώμης τὸν ἐπίλογον τὸν αὐτὸν ποιέονται.
However, those who say such things do not seem to me to judge correctly; for though they all use the same idea, they do not say the same things, yet they make the conclusion of their idea the same.
Φασί τε γὰρ ἕν τι εἶναι, ὅ τί ἐστι, καὶ τοῦτ’ εἶναι τὸ ἕν τε καὶ τὸ πᾶν, κατὰ δὲ τὰ οὐνόματα οὐχ ὁμολογέουσιν·
For they say that what exists is some one thing, and that this is the one and the all, but they do not agree on the names.
λέγει δ’ αὐτέων ὁ μέν τις φάσκων ἠέρα εἶναι τοῦτο τὸ ἕν τε καὶ τὸ πᾶν, ὁ δὲ πῦρ, ὁ δὲ ὕδωρ, ὁ δὲ γῆν, καὶ ἐπιλέγει ἕκαστος τῷ ἑωυτοῦ λόγῳ μαρτύριά τε καὶ τεκμήρια, ἅ γέ ἐστιν οὐδέν.
One of them claims that this one and all is air, another fire, another water, and another earth, and each adds to his own argument proofs and testimonies that are of no account.
Ὅτε γὰρ τῇ μὲν αὐτέῃ γνώμῃ πάντες χρέονται, λέγουσι δ’ οὐ τὰ αὐτὰ, δῆλον ὅτι οὐδὲ γινώσκουσιν αὐτά.
For when they all use the same idea but do not say the same things, it is clear that they do not even understand these things.
Γνοίη δ’ ἄν τις τόδε μάλιστα παραγενόμενος αὐτέοισιν ἀντιλέγουσιν· πρὸς γὰρ ἀλλήλους ἀντιλέγοντες οἱ αὐτοὶ ἄνδρες τῶν αὐτέων ἐναντίον ἀκροατέων οὐδέποτε τρὶς ἐφεξῆς ὁ αὐτὸς περιγίνεται ἐν τῷ λόγῳ, ἀλλὰ ποτὲ μὲν οὗτος ἐπικρατέει, ποτὲ δὲ οὗτος, ποτὲ δὲ ᾧ ἂν τύχῃ μάλιστα ἡ γλῶσσα ἐπιῤῥυεῖσα πρὸς τὸν ὄχλον.
One would understand this best by being present when they argue; for when the same men argue against each other in the presence of the same listeners, the same person never wins three times in succession in the debate, but sometimes this one prevails, sometimes that one, and sometimes whoever happens to have his tongue flow most smoothly before the crowd.
Καίτοι δίκαιόν ἐστι τὸν φάντα ὀρθῶς γινώσκειν ἀμφὶ τῶν πρηγμάτων παρέχειν αἰεὶ ἐπικρατέοντα τὸν λόγον τὸν ἑωυτοῦ, εἴπερ ἐόντα γινώσκει καὶ ὀρθῶς ἀποφαίνεται.
And yet, it is right for the one who claims to judge correctly about things to always present his own argument as prevailing, if indeed he knows what exists and declares it correctly.
Ἀλλ’ ἐμοί γε δοκέουσιν οἱ τοιοῦτοι ἄνθρωποι αὐτοὶ ἑωυτοὺς καταβάλλειν ἐν τοῖσιν ὀνόμασι τῶν λόγων αὐτέων ὑπὸ ἀσυνεσίης, τὸν δὲ Μελίσσου λόγον ὀρθοῦν.
But to me, such men seem to overthrow themselves by their own lack of understanding in the names of their very arguments, and rather to confirm the argument of Melissus.
§22.
2.
Περὶ μὲν οὖν τουτέων ἀρκέει μοι τὰ εἰρημένα.
Now concerning these matters, what has been said is enough for me.
Τῶν δὲ ἰητρῶν οἱ μέν τινες λέγουσιν, ὡς ὥνθρωπος αἷμα μοῦνόν ἐστιν, οἱ δ’ αὐτέων χολήν φασιν εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἔνιοι δέ τινες φλέγμα· ἐπίλογον δὲ ποιεῦνται καὶ οὗτοι πάντες τὸν αὐτόν·
But as for physicians, some say that man is only blood, others of them say that man is bile, and some say phlegm; and all these also make the same conclusion.
ἓν γάρ τι εἶναί φασιν, ὅ τι ἕκαστος αὐτέων βούλεται ὀνομάσας, καὶ τοῦτο ἓν ἐὸν μεταλλάσσειν τὴν ἰδέην καὶ τὴν δύναμιν, ἀναγκαζόμενον ὑπό τε τοῦ θερμοῦ καὶ τοῦ ψυχροῦ, καὶ γίνεσθαι καὶ γλυκὺ καὶ πικρὸν καὶ λευκὸν καὶ μέλαν καὶ παντοῖόν τι ἄλλο.
For they say that there is some one thing, whatever each of them wishes to name it, and that this, being one, changes its form and its power, being compelled by heat and cold, and becomes sweet, bitter, white, black, and every other sort of thing.
Ἐμοὶ δὲ οὐδὲ ταῦτα δοκέει ὧδε ἔχειν·
But to me, these things do not seem to be so either.
οἱ μὲν οὖν πλεῖστοι τοιαῦτά τινα καὶ ἔτι ἐγγύτατα τουτέων ἀποφαίνονται.
Most people, then, declare things of this sort or very close to them.
Ἐγὼ δέ φημι, εἰ ἓν ἦν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, οὐδέποτ’ ἂν ἤλγεεν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν ἦν ὑφ’ ὅτου ἀλγήσειεν ἓν ἐών· εἰ δ’ οὖν καὶ ἀλγήσειεν, ἀνάγκη καὶ τὸ ἰώμενον ἓν εἶναι·
But I say that if man were one, he would never feel pain; for being one, there would be nothing from which he could feel pain; and even if he did feel pain, the cure would also have to be one.
νυνὶ δὲ πολλά· πολλὰ γάρ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ σώματι ἐνεόντα, ἃ, ὁκόταν ὑπ’ ἀλλήλων παρὰ φύσιν θερμαίνηταί τε καὶ ψύχηται, καὶ ξηραίνηταί τε καὶ ὑγραίνηται, νούσους τίκτει· ὥστε πολλαὶ μὲν ἰδέαι τῶν νουσημάτων, πολλὴ δὲ καὶ ἡ ἴησις αὐτέων ἐστίν.
But as it is, there are many cures; for there are many things present in the body which, when they are heated and cooled, and dried and moistened by one another contrary to nature, produce diseases; so that there are many forms of diseases, and many cures for them.
Ἀξιῶ δὲ ἔγωγε τὸν φάσκοντα αἷμα εἶναι μοῦνον τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ἄλλο μηδὲν, δεικνύναι αὐτὸν μὴ μεταλλάσσοντα τὴν ἰδέην μηδὲ γίνεσθαι παντοῖον, ἀλλ’ ἢ ὥρην τινὰ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ἢ τῆς ἡλικίης τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἐν ᾗ αἷμα ἐνεὸν φαίνεται μοῦνον ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ· εἰκὸς γὰρ εἶναι μίαν γέ τινα ὥρην, ἐν ᾗ φαίνεται αὐτὸ ἐφ’ ἑωυτοῦ ἐνεόν·
And I require the one who claims that man is only blood and nothing else, to show that it does not change its form or become all sorts of things, except for some season of the year or some period of human life in which blood alone appears to be present in man; for it is likely that there is at least some one season in which it appears present by itself.
τὰ αὐτὰ δὲ λέγω καὶ περὶ τοῦ φάσκοντος φλέγμα μοῦνον εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ περὶ τοῦ χολὴν φάσκοντος εἶναι.
And I say the same things also about the one who claims that man is only phlegm, and about the one who claims he is bile.
Ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἀποδείξω, ἃ ἂν φήσω τὸν ἄνθρωπον εἶναι, καὶ κατὰ τὸν νόμον καὶ κατὰ τὴν φύσιν, ἀεὶ τὰ αὐτὰ ἐόντα ὁμοίως, καὶ νέου ἐόντος καὶ γέροντος, καὶ τῆς ὥρης ψυχρῆς ἐούσης καὶ θερμῆς, καὶ τεκμήρια παρέξω, καὶ ἀνάγκας ἀποφανῶ, δι’ ἃς ἕκαστον αὔξεταί τε καὶ φθίνει ἐν τῷ σώματι.
For I will demonstrate that the things I claim man to be are always the same, both by convention and by nature, in the same way, whether a person is young or old, and whether the season is cold or hot, and I will provide proofs, and declare the necessities through which each increases and decreases in the body.