§22.
2.
Τὸ δὲ νούσημα τοῦτο οὐδέν τί μοι δοκέει θειότερον εἶναι τῶν λοιπῶν, ἀλλὰ φύσιν μὲν ἔχει ἣν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα νουσήματα, καὶ πρόφασιν ὅθεν ἕκαστα γίνεται·
But this disease seems to me to be no more divine than the rest, but it has a nature, just as other diseases have, and a cause from which each arises.
φύσιν δὲ τοῦτο καὶ πρόφασιν ἀπὸ ταὐτοῦ τὸ θεῖον γίνεσθαι ἀφ’ ὅτου καὶ τἄλλα πάντα, καὶ ἰητὸν εἶναι, καὶ οὐδὲν ἧσσον ἑτέρων, ὅ τι ἂν μὴ ἤδη ὑπὸ χρόνου πολλοῦ καταβεβιασμένον ἔῃ, ὥστε ἤδη εἶναι ἰσχυρότερον τῶν φαρμάκων τῶν προσφερομένων.
And the divine in this disease gets its nature and cause from the same source whence all other things arise. It is also curable, and no less so than others, unless it has already been mastered by a long time, so as to be stronger than the remedies applied.
Ἄρχεται δὲ ὥσπερ καὶ τἄλλα νουσήματα κατὰ γένος·
And it begins, just as other diseases, according to heredity.
εἰ γὰρ ἐκ φλεγματώδεος φλεγματώδης, καὶ ἐκ χολώδεος χολώδης γίνεται, καὶ ἐκ φθινώδεος φθινώδης, καὶ ἐκ σπληνώδεος σπληνώδης, τί κωλύει ὅτῳ πατὴρ καὶ μήτηρ εἴχετο, τούτῳ τῷ νοσήματι καὶ τῶν ἐκγόνων ἔχεσθαί τινα;
For if a phlegmatic parent produces a phlegmatic child, a bilious a bilious, a consumptive a consumptive, and a splenetic a splenetic, what prevents that, when a father or mother was afflicted with this disease, some of their offspring should also be afflicted with it?
ὡς ὁ γόνος ἔρχεται πάντοθεν τοῦ σώματος, ἀπό τε τῶν ὑγιηρῶν ὑγιηρὸς, ἀπό τε τῶν νοσερῶν νοσερός.
For the seed comes from all parts of the body, healthy from the healthy parts, and diseased from the diseased.
Ἕτερον δὲ μέγα τεκμήριον ὅτι οὐδὲν θειότερόν ἐστι τῶν λοιπῶν νουσημάτων· τοῖσι γὰρ φλεγματώδεσι φύσει γίνεται τοῖσι δὲ χολώδεσιν οὐ προσπίπτει·
And there is another great proof that it is no more divine than other diseases; for it attacks the phlegmatic by nature, but does not afflict the bilious.
καίτοι εἰ θειότερόν ἐστι τῶν ἄλλων, τοῖσιν ἅπασιν ὁμοίως ἔδει γίνεσθαι τὴν νοῦσον ταύτην, καὶ μὴ διακρίνειν μήτε χολώδεα μήτε φλεγματώδεα.
And yet, if it were more divine than the others, this disease ought to attack all alike, and make no distinction between the bilious and the phlegmatic.
§33.
3.
Ἀλλὰ γὰρ αἴτιος ὁ ἐγκέφαλος τούτου τοῦ πάθεος, ὥσπερ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων νουσημάτων τῶν μεγίστων·
But in fact, the brain is the cause of this affliction, just as it is of the other greatest diseases.
ὁτέῳ δὲ τρόπῳ καὶ ἐξ οἵης προφάσιος γίνεται, ἐγὼ φράσω σαφέως.
In what manner and from what cause it arises, I shall clearly explain.
Ὁ ἐγκέφαλος τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐστὶ διπλόος ὥσπερ καὶ τοῖσιν ἄλλοισι ζώοισιν ἅπασιν· τὸ δὲ μέσον αὐτοῦ διείργει μῆνιγξ λεπτή·
The brain of man is double, just as it is in all other animals, and a thin membrane divides the middle of it.
διὸ οὐκ αἰεὶ κατὰ τωὐτὸ τῆς κεφαλὴς ἀλγέει, ἀλλ’ ἐν μέρει ἑκάτερον, ὁτὲ δὲ ἅπασαν.
Therefore, the head does not always ache in the same place, but on each side in turn, and sometimes all over.
Καὶ φλέβες δ’ ἐς αὐτὸν τείνουσιν ἐξ ἅπαντος τοῦ σώματος, πολλαὶ καὶ λεπταὶ, δύο δὲ παχεῖαι, ἡ μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἥπατος, ἡ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ σπληνός.
And veins run to it from all the body, many and slender, and two thick ones, one from the liver and the other from the spleen.
Καὶ ἡ μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἥπατος ὧδ’ ἔχει· τὸ μέν τι τῆς φλεβὸς κάτω τείνει διὰ τῶν ἐπὶ δεξιὰ παρ’ αὐτὸν τὸν νεφρὸν καὶ τὴν ψυὴν ἐς τὸ ἐντὸς τοῦ μηροῦ, καὶ καθήκει ἐς τὸν πόδα; καὶ καλέεται κοίλη φλέψ·
And the one from the liver is as follows: a part of the vein runs downwards through the right side, along the kidney itself and the psoas muscle into the inner part of the thigh, and reaches down to the foot; and it is called the hollow vein.
ἡ δὲ ἑτέρη ἄνω τείνει διὰ φρενῶν τῶν δεξιῶν καὶ τοῦ πλεύμονος· ἀπέσχισται δὲ καὶ ἐς τὴν καρδίην καὶ ἐς τὸν βραχίονα τὸν δεξιόν·
The other part runs upwards through the right diaphragm and the lung; and it is also branched off into the heart and into the right arm.
τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν ἄνω φέρει διὰ τῆς κληῖδος ἐς τὰ δεξιὰ τοῦ αὐχένος, ἐς αὐτὸ τὸ δέρμα, ὥστε κατάδηλός εἶναι·
The remainder is carried upwards through the clavicle to the right side of the neck, to the skin itself, so as to be clearly visible.
παρὰ δὲ τὸ οὖς κρύπτεται καὶ ἐνταῦθα σχίζεται, καὶ τὸ μὲν παχύτατον καὶ μέγιστον καὶ κοιλότατον ἐς τὸν ἐγκέφαλον τελευτᾷ, τὸ δὲ ἐς τὸ οὖς τὸ δεξιὸν φλέβιον λεπτὸν, τὸ δὲ ἐς τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν τὸν δεξιὸν, τὸ δὲ ἐς τὸν μυκτῆρα.
Near the ear it is hidden, and there it divides, and the thickest, largest, and most hollow part ends in the brain, while a slender vein goes to the right ear, another to the right eye, and another to the nostril.
Ἀπὸ μὲν τοῦ ἥπατος οὕτως ἔχει τῶν φλεβῶν.
Such is the arrangement of the veins from the liver.
Διατέταται δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ σπληνὸς φλὲψ ἐς τὰ ἀριστερὰ καὶ κάτω καὶ ἄνω, ὥσπερ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἥπατος, λεπτοτέρη δὲ καὶ ἀσθενεστέρη.
And from the spleen also a vein is stretched to the left, downwards and upwards, just as from the liver, but more slender and weaker.