*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43383 ***
GALEN
ON THE NATURAL FACULTIES
WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY
ARTHUR JOHN BROCK, M.D.
EDINBURGH
LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN
NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
MCMXVI
PREFACE
The text used is (with a few unimportant modifications) that of Kühn
(Vol. II), as edited by Georg Helmreich; Teubner, Leipzig, 1893. The
numbers of the pages of Kühn's edition are printed at the side of the
Greek text, a parallel mark (||) in the line indicating the exact
point of division between Kühn's pages.
Words in the English text which are enclosed in square brackets are
supplementary or explanatory; practically all explanations, however,
are relegated to the footnotes or introduction. In the footnotes,
also, attention is drawn to words which are of particular philological
interest from the point of view of modern medicine.
I have made the translation directly from the Greek; where passages of
special difficulty occurred, I have been able to compare my own
version with Linacre's Latin translation (1523) and the French
rendering of Charles Daremberg (1854-56); in this respect I am also
peculiarly fortunate in having had the help of Mr. A. W. Pickard
Cambridge of Balliol College, Oxford, who most kindly went through the
proofs and made many valuable suggestions from the point of view of
exact scholarship.
My best thanks are due to the Editors for their courtesy and for the
kindly interest they have taken in the work. I have also gratefully to
acknowledge the receipt of much assistance and encouragement from Sir
William Osler, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford, and from
Dr. J. D. Comrie, first lecturer on the History of Medicine at Edinburgh
University. Professor D'Arcy W. Thompson of University College,
Dundee, and Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, late director of the Royal
Botanic Gardens at Kew, have very kindly helped me to identify several
animals and plants mentioned by Galen.
I cannot conclude without expressing a word of gratitude to my former
biological teachers, Professors Patrick Geddes and J. Arthur Thomson.
The experience reared on the foundation of their teaching has gone far
to help me in interpreting the great medical biologist of Greece.
I should be glad to think that the present work might help, however
little, to hasten the coming reunion between the "humanities" and
modern biological science; their present separation I believe to be
against the best interest of both.
A. J. B.
22nd Stationary Hospital, Aldershot.
_March_, 1916.
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE v
INTRODUCTION ix
BIBLIOGRAPHY xli
SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTERS xliii
BOOK I 1
BOOK II 115
BOOK III 221
INDEX AND GLOSSARY 333
INTRODUCTION
[Sidenote: Hippocrates and Galen.]
If the work of Hippocrates be taken as representing the foundation
upon which the edifice of historical Greek medicine was reared, then
the work of Galen, who lived some six hundred years later, may be
looked upon as the summit or apex of the same edifice. Galen's merit
is to have crystallised or brought to a focus all the best work of the
Greek medical schools which had preceded his own time. It is
essentially in the form of Galenism that Greek medicine was
transmitted to after ages.
[Sidenote: The Beginnings of Medicine in Greece.]
The ancient Greeks referred the origins of medicine to a god Asklepios
(called in Latin Aesculapius), thereby testifying to their
appreciation of the truly divine function of the healing art. The
emblem of Aesculapius, familiar in medical symbolism at the present
day, was a staff with a serpent coiled round it, the animal typifying
wisdom in general, and more particularly the wisdom of the
medicine-man, with his semi-miraculous powers over life and death.
"_Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves._"
[Sidenote: The Asclepiea or Health-Temples.]
The temples of Aesculapius were scattered over the ancient Hellenic
world. To them the sick and ailing resorted in crowds. The treatment,
which was in the hands of an hereditary priesthood, combined the best
of the methods carried on at our present-day health-resorts, our
hydropathics, sanatoriums, and nursing-homes. Fresh air, water-cures,
massage, gymnastics, psychotherapy, and natural methods in general
were chiefly relied on.
[Sidenote: Hippocrates and the Unity of the Organism.]
Hippocrates, the "Father of Medicine" (5th to 4th centuries, B.C.) was
associated with the Asclepieum of Cos, an island off the south-west
coast of Asia Minor, near Rhodes. He apparently revitalized the work
of the health-temples, which had before his time been showing a
certain decline in vigour, coupled with a corresponding excessive
tendency towards sophistry and priestcraft.
Celsus says: "_Hippocrates Cous primus quidem ex omnibus memoria
dignis ab studio sapientiae disciplinam hanc separavit_." He means
that Hippocrates first gave the physician an independent standing,
separating him from the cosmological speculator. Hippocrates confined
the medical man to medicine. He did with medical thought what Socrates
did with thought in general--he "brought it down from heaven to
earth." His watchword was "Back to Nature!"
At the same time, while assigning the physician his post, Hippocrates
would not let him regard that post as sacrosanct. He set his face
against any tendency to mystery-mongering, to exclusiveness, to
sacerdotalism. He was, in fact, opposed to the spirit of
trade-unionism in medicine. His concern was rather with the
physician's duties than his "rights."
At the dawn of recorded medical history Hippocrates stands for the
fundamental and primary importance of _seeing clearly_--that is of
_clinical observation_. And what he observed was that the human
organism, when exposed to certain abnormal conditions--certain
stresses--tends to behave in a certain way: that in other words, each
"disease" tends to run a certain definite course. To him a disease was
essentially a process, one and indivisible, and thus his practical
problem was essentially one of _prognosis_--"what will be the natural
course of this disease, if left to itself?" Here he found himself to
no small extent in opposition with the teaching of the neighbouring
medical school of Cnidus, where a more static view-point laid special
emphasis upon the minutiae of _diagnosis_.
Observation taught Hippocrates to place unbounded faith in the
recuperative powers of the living organism--in what we sometimes call
nowadays the _vis medicatrix Naturae_. His observation was that even
with a very considerable "abnormality" of environmental stress the
organism, in the large majority of cases, manages eventually by its
own inherent powers to adjust itself to the new conditions. "Merely
give Nature a chance," said the father of medicine in effect, "and
most diseases will cure themselves." And accordingly his treatment
was mainly directed towards "giving Nature a chance."
His keen sense of the solidarity (or rather, of the constant
interplay) between the organism and its environment (the "conditions"
to which it is exposed) is instanced in his book, "Airs, Waters, and
Places." As we recognise, in our popular everyday psychology, that "it
takes two to make a quarrel," so Hippocrates recognised that in
pathology, it takes two (organism and environment) to make a disease.
As an outstanding example of his power of clinical observation we may
recall the _facies Hippocratica_, an accurate study of the countenance
of a dying man.
His ideals for the profession are embodied in the "Hippocratic oath."
[Sidenote: Anatomy.]
Impressed by this view of the organism as a unity, the Hippocratic
school tended in some degree to overlook the importance of its
constituent _parts_. The balance was re-adjusted later on by the
labours of the anatomical school of Alexandria, which, under the aegis
of the enlightened Ptolemies, arose in the 3rd century B.C. Two
prominent exponents of anatomy belonging to this school were
Herophilus and Erasistratus, the latter of whom we shall frequently
meet with in the following pages (_v._ p. 95 _et seq._).
[Sidenote: The Empirics.]
After the death of the Master, the Hippocratic school tended, as so
often happens with the best of cultural movements, to show signs
itself of diminishing vitality: the letter began to obscure and hamper
the spirit. The comparatively small element of theory which existed in
the Hippocratic physiology was made the groundwork of a somewhat
over-elaborated "system." Against this tendency on the part of the
"Dogmatic" or "Rationalist" school there arose, also at Alexandria,
the sect of the Empiricists. "It is not," they said, "the cause but
the cure of diseases that concerns us; not how we digest, but what is
digestible."
[Sidenote: Greek Medicine in Rome.]
Horace said "_Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit_." Political
domination, the occupation of territory by armies, does not
necessarily mean real conquest. Horace's statement applied to medicine
as to other branches of culture.
The introducer of Greek medicine into Rome was Asclepiades (1st
century B.C.). A man of forceful personality, and equipped with a
fully developed philosophic system of health and disease which
commended itself to the Roman _savants_ of the day, he soon attained
to the pinnacle of professional success in the Latin capital: he is
indeed to all time the type of the fashionable (and somewhat "faddy")
West-end physician. His system was a purely mechanistic one, being
based upon the atomic doctrine of Leucippus and Democritus, which had
been completed by Epicurus and recently introduced to the Roman public
in Lucretius's great poem "_De Rerum Natura_." The disbelief of
Asclepiades in the self-maintaining powers of the living organism are
exposed and refuted at considerable length by Galen in the volume
before us.
[Sidenote: The Methodists.]
Out of the teaching of Asclepiades that physiological processes depend
upon the particular way in which the ultimate indivisible molecules
come together ([Greek: en tê poia synodô tôn prôtôn ekeinôn sômatôn
tôn apathôn]) there was developed by his pupil, Themison of Laodicea,
a system of medicine characterised by the most engaging simplicity
both of diagnosis and treatment. This so-called "Methodic" system was
intended to strike a balance between the excessive leaning to
apriorism shown by the Rationalist (Hippocratic) school and the
opposite tendency of the Empiricists. "A pathological theory we must
have," said the Methodists in effect, "but let it be simple." They
held that the molecular groups constituting the tissues were traversed
by minute channels ([Greek: poroi], "pores"); all diseases belonged to
one or other of two classes; if the channels were constricted the
disease was one of _stasis_ ([Greek: stegnôsis]), and if they were
dilated the disease was one of _flux_ ([Greek: rhysis]). Flux and
stasis were indicated respectively by increase and diminution of the
natural secretions; treatment was of opposites by opposites--of
stasis by methods causing dilatation of the channels, and conversely.
Wild as it may seem, this pathological theory of the Methodists
contained an element of truth; in various guises it has cropped up
once and again at different epochs of medical history; even to-day
there are pathologists who tend to describe certain classes of disease
in terms of vaso-constriction and vaso-dilatation. The vice of the
Methodist teaching was that it looked on a disease too much as
something fixed and finite, an independent _entity_, to be considered
entirely apart from its particular setting. The Methodists illustrate
for us the tyranny of _names_. In its defects as in its virtues this
school has analogues at the present day; we are all acquainted with
the medical man to whom a name (such, let us say, as "tuberculosis,"
"gout," or "intestinal auto-intoxication") stands for an entity, one
and indivisible, to be treated by a definite and unvarying formula.
To such an individual the old German saying "_Jedermann hat am Ende
ein Bischen Tuberkulose_" is simply--incomprehensible.
[Sidenote: Galen.]
All the medical schools which I have mentioned were still holding
their ground in the 2nd century A.D., with more or less popular
acceptance, when the great Galen made his entry into the world of
Graeco-Roman medicine.
[Sidenote: His Nature and Nurture.]
Claudius Galenus was born at Pergamos in Asia Minor in the year
A.D. His father was one Nicon, a well-to-do architect of that city. "I
had the great good fortune," says Galen,[1] "to have as a father a
highly amiable, just, good, and benevolent man. My mother, on the
other hand, possessed a very bad temper; she used sometimes to bite
her serving-maids, and she was perpetually shouting at my father and
quarrelling with him--worse than Xanthippe with Socrates. When,
therefore, I compared the excellence of my father's disposition with
the disgraceful passions of my mother, I resolved to embrace and love
the former qualities, and to avoid and hate the latter."
Nicon called his son [Greek: Galênos], which means _quiet, peaceable_,
and although the physician eventually turned out to be a man of
elevated character, it is possible that his somewhat excessive leaning
towards controversy (exemplified in the following pages) may have
resulted from the fact that he was never quite able to throw off the
worst side of the maternal inheritance.
His father, a man well schooled in mathematics and philosophy, saw to
it that his son should not lack a liberal education. Pergamos itself
was an ancient centre of civilisation, containing, among other
culture-institutions, a library only second in importance to that of
Alexandria itself; it also contained an Asclepieum.
Galen's training was essentially eclectic: he studied all the chief
philosophical systems of the time--Platonic, Aristotelian, Stoic, and
Epicurean--and then, at the age of seventeen, entered on a course of
medical studies; these he pursued under the best teachers at his own
city, and afterwards, during a period of _Wanderjahre_, at Smyrna,
Alexandria, and other leading medical centres.
Returning to Pergamos, he received his first professional
appointment--that of surgeon to the gladiators. After four years here
he was drawn by ambition to Rome, being at that time about thirty-one
years of age. At Rome the young Pergamene attained a brilliant
reputation both as a practitioner and as a public demonstrator of
anatomy; among his patients he finally numbered even the Emperor
Marcus Aurelius himself.
Medical practice in Rome at this time was at a low ebb, and Galen took
no pains to conceal his contempt for the ignorance, charlatanism, and
venality of his fellow-practitioners. Eventually, in spite of his
social popularity, he raised up such odium against himself in medical
circles, that he was forced to flee the city. This he did hurriedly
and secretly in the year 168 A.D., when thirty-six years of age. He
betook himself to his old home at Pergamos, where he settled down once
more to a literary life.
His respite was short, however, for within a year he was summoned back
to Italy by imperial mandate. Marcus Aurelius was about to undertake
an expedition against the Germans, who at that time were threatening
the northern frontiers of the Empire, and he was anxious that his
consulting physician should accompany him to the front. "Patriotism"
in this sense, however, seems to have had no charms for the Pergamene,
and he pleaded vigorously to be excused. Eventually, the Emperor gave
him permission to remain at home, entrusting to his care the young
prince Commodus.
Thereafter we know little of Galen's history, beyond the fact that he
now entered upon a period of great literary activity. Probably he died
about the end of the century.
[Sidenote: Subsequent History of Galen's Works.]
Galen wrote extensively, not only on anatomy, physiology, and medicine
in general, but also on logic; his logical proclivities, as will be
shown later, are well exemplified in his medical writings. A
considerable number of undoubtedly genuine works of his have come down
to us. The full importance of his contributions to medicine does not
appear to have been recognized till some time after his death, but
eventually, as already pointed out, the terms Galenism and Greek
medicine became practically synonymous.
A few words may be devoted to the subsequent history of his writings.
[Sidenote: Byzantine Medicine.]
During and after the final break-up of the Roman Empire came times or
confusion and of social reconstruction, which left little opportunity
for scientific thought and research. The Byzantine Empire, from the
4th century onwards, was the scene of much internal turmoil, in which
the militant activities of the now State-established Christian church
played a not inconsiderable part. The Byzantine medical scholars
were at best compilers, and a typical compiler was Oribasius,
body-physician to the Emperor Julian (4th century, A.D.); his
excellent _Synopsis_ was written in order to make the huge mass of
the Galenic writings available for the ordinary practitioner.
[Sidenote: Arabian Medicine.]
Greek medicine spread, with general Greek culture, throughout Syria,
and from thence was carried by the Nestorians, a persecuted heretical
sect, into Persia; here it became implanted, and hence eventually
spread to the Mohammedan world. Several of the Prophet's successors
(such as the Caliphs Harun-al-Rashid and Abdul-Rahman III) were great
patrons of Greek learning, and especially of medicine. The Arabian
scholars imbibed Aristotle and Galen with avidity. A partial
assimilation, however, was the farthest stage to which they could
attain; with the exception of pharmacology, the Arabians made
practically no independent additions to medicine. They were
essentially systematizers and commentators. "_Averrois che il gran
comento feo_"[2] may stand as the type _par excellence_ of the Moslem
sage.
Avicenna (Ebn Sina), (10th to 11th century) is the foremost name in
Arabian medicine: his "Book of the Canon in Medicine," when translated
into Latin, even overshadowed the authority of Galen himself for some
four centuries. Of this work the medical historian Max Neuburger says:
"Avicenna, according to his lights, imparted to contemporary medical
science the appearance of almost mathematical accuracy, whilst the art
of therapeutics, although empiricism did not wholly lack recognition,
was deduced as a logical sequence from theoretical (Galenic and
Aristotelian) premises."
[Sidenote: Introduction of Arabian Medicine to the West.
Arabo-Scholastic Period.]
Having arrived at such a condition in the hands of the Mohammedans,
Galenism was now destined to pass once more to the West. From the 11th
century onwards Latin translations of this "Arabian" Medicine (being
Greek medicine in oriental trappings) began to make their way into
Europe; here they helped to undermine the authority of the one medical
school of native growth which the West produced during the Middle
Ages--namely the School of Salerno.
Blending with the Scholastic philosophy at the universities of Naples
and Montpellier, the teachings of Aristotle and Galen now assumed a
position of supreme authority: from their word, in matters scientific
and medical, there was no appeal. In reference to this period the
Pergamene was referred to in later times as the "Medical Pope of the
Middle Ages."
It was of course the logical side of Galenism which chiefly commended
it to the mediaeval Schoolmen, as to the essentially speculative
Moslems.
[Sidenote: The Renascence.]
The year 1453, when Constantinople fell into the hands of the Turks,
is often taken as marking the commencement of the Renascence. Among
the many factors which tended to stimulate and awaken men's minds
during these spacious times was the rediscovery of the Greek classics,
which were brought to Europe by, among others, the scholars who fled
from Byzantium. The Arabo-Scholastic versions of Aristotle and Galen
were now confronted by their Greek originals. A passion for Greek
learning was aroused. The freshness and truth of these old writings
helped to awaken men to a renewed sense of their own dignity and
worth, and to brace them in their own struggle for self-expression.
Prominent in this "Humanist" movement was the English physician,
Thomas Linacre (_c._ 1460-1524) who, having gained in Italy an
extraordinary zeal for the New Learning, devoted the rest of his life,
after returning to England, to the promotion of the _litterae
humaniores_, and especially to making Galen accessible to readers of
Latin. Thus the "_De Naturalibus Facultatibus_" appeared in London in
1523, and was preceded and followed by several other translations,
all marked by minute accuracy and elegant Latinity.
Two new parties now arose in the medical world--the so-called "Greeks"
and the more conservative "Arabists."
[Sidenote: Paracelsus.]
But the swing of the pendulum did not cease with the creation of the
liberal "Greek" party; the dazzling vision of freedom was to drive
some to a yet more anarchical position. Paracelsus, who flourished in
the first half of the 16th century, may be taken as typifying this
extremist tendency. His one cry was, "Let us away with all authority
whatsoever, and get back to Nature!" At his first lecture as professor
at the medical school of Basle he symbolically burned the works of
Galen and of his chief Arabian exponent, Avicenna.
[Sidenote: The Renascence Anatomists.]
But the final collapse of authority in medicine could not be brought
about by mere negativism. It was the constructive work of the
Renascence anatomists, particularly those of the Italian school, which
finally brought Galenism to the ground.
Vesalius (1514-64), the modern "Father of Anatomy," for dissecting
human bodies, was fiercely assailed by the hosts of orthodoxy,
including that stout Galenist, his old teacher Jacques Dubois (Jacobus
Sylvius). Vesalius held on his way, however, proving, _inter alia_,
that Galen had been wrong in saying that the interventricular septum
of the heart was permeable (_cf._ present volume, p. 321).
Michael Servetus (1509-53) suggested that the blood, in order to get
from the right to the left side of the heart, might have to pass
through the lungs. For his heterodox opinions he was burned at the
stake.
Another 16th-century anatomist, Andrea Cesalpino, is considered by the
Italians to have been a discoverer of the circulation of the blood
before Harvey; he certainly had a more or less clear idea of the
circulation, but, as in the case of the "organic evolutionists before
Darwin," he failed to prove his point by conclusive demonstration.
[Sidenote: William Harvey (1578-1657).]
William Harvey, the great Englishman who founded modern experimental
physiology and was the first to establish not only the fact of the
circulation but also the physical laws governing it, is commonly
reckoned the Father of Modern Medicine. He owed his interest in the
movements of the blood to Fabricio of Acquapendente, his tutor at
Padua, who drew his attention to the valves in the veins, thus
suggesting the idea of a circular as opposed to a to-and-fro motion.
Harvey's great generalisation, based upon a long series of experiments
_in vivo_, was considered to have given the _coup de grâce_ to the
Galenic physiology, and hence threw temporary discredit upon the whole
system of medicine associated therewith.
Modern medicine, based upon a painstaking research into the details
of physiological function, had begun.
[Sidenote: Back to Galen!]
While we cannot sufficiently commend the results of the long modern
period of research-work to which the labours of the Renascence
anatomists from Vesalius to Harvey form a fitting prelude, we yet by
no means allow that Galen's general medical outlook was so entirely
invalidated as many imagine by the conclusive demonstration of his
anatomical errors. It is time for us now to turn to Galen again after
three hundred years of virtual neglect: it may be that he will help us
to see something fundamentally important for medical practice which is
beyond the power even of our microscopes and _X_-rays to reveal. While
the value of his work undoubtedly lies mainly in its enabling us to
envisage one of the greatest of the early steps attained by man in
medical knowledge, it also has a very definite intrinsic value of its
own.
[Sidenote: Galen's Debt to his Precursors.]
No attempt can be made here to determine how much of Galen's work is,
in the true sense of the word, original, and how much is drawn from
the labours of his predecessors. In any case, there is no doubt that
he was much more than a mere compiler and systematizer of other men's
work: he was great enough to be able not merely to collect, to digest,
and to assimilate all the best of the work done before his time, but,
adding to this the outcome of his own observations, experiments, and
reflections, to present the whole in an articulated "system" showing
that perfect balance of parts which is the essential criterion of a
work of art. Constantly, however, in his writings we shall come across
traces of the influence of, among others, Plato, Aristotle, and
writers of the Stoic school.
[Sidenote: Influence of Hippocrates on Galen.]
Although Galen is an eclectic in the best sense of influence of the
term, there is one name to which he pays a very special tribute--that
of his illustrious forerunner Hippocrates. Him on quite a number of
occasions he actually calls "divine" (_cf._ p. 293).
"Hippocrates," he says, "was the first known to us of all who have
been both physicians and philosophers, in that _he was the first to
recognise what nature does_." Here is struck the keynote of the
teaching of both Hippocrates and Galen; this is shown in the volume
before us, which deals with "the _natural_ faculties"--that is with
the faculties of this same "Nature" or vital principle referred to in
the quotation.
[Sidenote: "The Natural Faculties."]
If Galen be looked on as a crystallisation of Greek medicine, then
this book may be looked on as a crystallisation of Galen. Within its
comparatively short compass we meet with instances illustrating
perhaps most of the sides of this many-sided writer. The "Natural
Faculties" therefore forms an excellent prelude to the study of his
larger and more specialised works.
[Sidenote: Galen's "Physiology."]
What, now, is this "Nature" or biological principle upon which Galen,
like Hippocrates, bases the whole of his medical teaching, and which,
we may add, is constantly overlooked--if indeed ever properly
apprehended--by many physiologists of the present day? By using this
term Galen meant simply that, when we deal with a living thing, we are
dealing primarily with a unity, which, _quâ_ living, is not further
divisible; all its parts can only be understood and dealt with as
being _in relation to_ this principle of unity. Galen was thus led to
criticise with considerable severity many of the medical and surgical
specialists of his time, who acted on the assumption (implicit if not
explicit) that the whole was merely the sum of its parts, and that if,
in an ailing organism, these parts were treated each in and for
itself, the health of the whole organism could in this way be
eventually restored.
Galen expressed this idea of the unity of the organism by saying that
it was governed by a _Physis_ or Nature ([Greek: hê physis hêper
dioikei to zôon]), with whose "faculties" or powers it was the
province of [Greek: physiologia] (physiology, Nature-lore) to deal.
It was because Hippocrates had a clear sense of this principle that
Galen called him master. "Greatest," say the Moslems, "is Allah, and
Mohammed is his prophet." "Greatest," said Galen, "is the Physis, and
Hippocrates is its prophet." Never did Mohammed more zealously
maintain the unity of the Godhead than Hippocrates and Galen the unity
of the organism.
[Sidenote: Galen's Physics.]
But we shall not have read far before we discover that the term
_Physiology_, as used by Galen, stands not merely for what we
understand by it nowadays, but also for a large part of _Physics_ as
well. This is one of the chief sources of confusion in his writings.
Having grasped, for example, the uniqueness of the process of
_specific selection_ ([Greek: holkê tou oikeiou]), by which the
tissues nourish themselves, he proceeds to apply this principle in
explanation of entirely different classes of phenomena; thus he mixes
it up with the physical phenomenon of the attraction of the lodestone
for iron, of dry grain for moisture, etc. It is noteworthy, however,
in these latter instances, that he does not venture to follow out his
comparison to its logical conclusion; he certainly stops short of
hinting that the lodestone (like a living organ or tissue)
_assimilates_ the metal which it has attracted!
Setting aside, however, these occasional half-hearted attempts to
apply his principle of a [Greek: physis] in regions where it has no
natural standing, we shall find that in the field of biology Galen
moves with an assurance bred of first-hand experience.
[Sidenote: The Mechanical Physicists.]
Against his attempt to "biologize" physics may be set the converse
attempt of the mechanical Atomist school. Thus in Asclepiades he found
a doughty defender of the view that physiology was "merely" physics.
Galen's ire being roused, he is not content with driving the enemy out
of the biological camp, but must needs attempt also to dislodge him
from that of physics, in which he has every right to be.
[Sidenote: The Anatomists.]
In defence of the universal validity of his principle, Galen also
tends to excessive disparagement of morphological factors; witness his
objection to the view of the anatomist Erasistratus that the calibre
of vessels played a part in determining the secretion of fluids (p.
123), that digestion was caused by the mechanical action of the
stomach walls (p. 243), and dropsy by induration of the liver (p.
171).
[Sidenote: Characteristics of the Living Organism.]
While combating the atomic explanation of physical processes, Galen of
course realised that there were many of these which could only be
explained according to what we should now call "mechanical laws." For
example, non-living things could be subjected to [Greek: phora]
(passive motion), they answered to the laws of gravity ([Greek: tais
tôn hylôn oiakizomena rhopais], p. 126). Furthermore, Galen did not
fail to see that living things also were not entirely exempted from
the operation of these laws; they too may be at least partly subject
to gravity (_loc. cit._); a hollow organ exerts, by virtue of its
cavity, an attraction similar to that of dilating bellows, as well as,
by virtue of the living tissue of its walls, a specifically "vital" or
selective kind of attraction (p. 325).
As a type of characteristically vital action we may take _nutrition_,
in which occurs a phenomenon which Galen calls _active motion_
([Greek: drastikê kinêsis]) or, more technically, _alteration_
([Greek: alloiôsis]). This active type of motion cannot be adequately
stated in terms of the passive movements (groupings and re-groupings)
of its constituent parts according to certain empirical "laws."
Alteration involves _self-movement_, a self-determination of the
organism or organic part. Galen does not attempt to explain this
fundamental characteristic of _alteration_ any further; he contents
himself with referring his opponents to Aristotle's work on the
"Complete Alteration of Substance" (p. 9).
The most important characteristic of the Physis or Nature is its
[Greek: technê]--its artistic creativeness. In other words, the living
organism is a creative artist. This feature may be observed typically
in its primary functions of _growth_ and _nutrition_; these are
dependent on the characteristic _faculties_ or powers, by virtue of
which each part draws to itself what is proper or appropriate to it
([Greek: to oikeion]) and rejects what is foreign ([Greek: to
allotrion]), thereafter appropriating or assimilating the attracted
material; this assimilation is an example of the _alteration_ (or
qualitative change) already alluded to; thus the food eaten is
"altered" into the various tissues of the body, each of these having
been provided by "Nature" with its own specific faculties of
attraction and repulsion.
[Sidenote: The Three Categories.]
Any of the operations of the living part may be looked on in three
ways, either (_a_) as a [Greek: dynamis], faculty, potentiality;
(_b_) as an [Greek: energeia], which is this [Greek: dynamis] in
operation; or (_c_) as an [Greek: ergon], the product or effect of the
[Greek: energeia].[3]
[Sidenote: Galen's Method.]
Like his master Hippocrates, Galen attached fundamental importance to
clinical observation--to the evidence of the senses as the
indispensable groundwork of all medical knowledge. He had also,
however, a forte for rapid generalisation from observations, and his
logical proclivities disposed him particularly to deductive
reasoning. Examples of an almost Euclidean method of argument may be
found in the _Natural Faculties_ (_e.g._ Book III. chap. i.). While
this method undoubtedly gave him much help in his search for truth, it
also not unfrequently led him astray. This is evidenced by his
attempt, already noted, to apply the biological principle of the
[Greek: physis] in physics. Characteristic examples of attempts to
force facts to fit premises will be found in Book II. chap. ix., where
our author demonstrates that yellow bile is "virtually" dry, and also,
by a process of exclusion, assigns to the spleen the function of
clearing away black bile. Strangest of all is his attempt to prove
that the same principle of specific attraction by which the ultimate
tissues nourish themselves (and the lodestone attracts iron!) accounts
for the reception of food into the stomach, of urine into the kidneys,
of bile into the gall-bladder, and of semen into the uterus.
These instances are given, however, without prejudice to the system of
generalisation and deduction which, in Galen's hands, often proved
exceedingly fruitful. He is said to have tried "to unite professional
and scientific medicine with a philosophic link." He objected,
however, to such extreme attempts at simplification of medical science
as that of the Methodists, to whom diseases were isolated entities,
without any relationships in time or space (_v._ p. xv. _supra_).
He based much of his pathological reasoning upon the "humoral theory"
of Hippocrates, according to which certain diseases were caused by one
or more of the four humours (blood, phlegm, black and yellow bile)
being in excess--that is, by various _dyscrasiae_. Our modern
conception of "hormone" action shows certain resemblances with this
theory.
Besides observation and reasoning, Galen took his stand on
_experiment_; he was one of the first of experimental physiologists,
as is illustrated in the present book by his researches into the
function of the kidneys (p. 59 _et seq._). He also conducted a long
series of experiments into the physiology of the spinal cord, to
determine what parts controlled movement and what sensibility.
As a practitioner he modelled his work largely on the broad and simple
lines laid down by Hippocrates. He had also at his disposal all the
acquisitions of biological science dating from the time of Aristotle
five hundred years earlier, and reinforced by the discoveries in
anatomy made by the Alexandrian school. To these he added a large
series of researches of his own.
Galen never confined himself to what one might call the academic or
strictly orthodox sources of information; he roamed the world over for
answers to his queries. For example, we find him on his journeys
between Pergamos and Rome twice visiting the island of Lemnos in order
to procure some of the _terra sigillata_, a kind of earth which had a
reputation for healing the bites of serpents and other wounds. At
other times he visited the copper-mines of Cyprus in search for
copper, and Palestine for the resin called Balm of Gilead.
By inclination and training Galen was the reverse of a "party-man." In
the _Natural Faculties_ (p. 55) he speaks of the bane of sectarian
partizanship, "harder to heal than any itch." He pours scorn upon the
ignorant "Erasistrateans" and "Asclepiadeans," who attempted to hide
their own incompetence under the shield of some great man's name
(_cf._ p. 141).
Of the two chief objects of his censure in the _Natural Faculties_,
Galen deals perhaps less rigorously with Erasistratus than with
Asclepiades. Erasistratus did at least recognize the existence of a
vital principle in the organism, albeit, with his eye on the
structures which the scalpel displayed he tended frequently to forget
it. The researches of the anatomical school of Alexandria had been
naturally of the greatest service to surgery, but in medicine they
sometimes had a tendency to check progress by diverting attention from
the whole to the part.
[Sidenote: The Pneuma or Spirit.]
Another novel conception frequently occurring in Galen's writings is
that of the _Pneuma_ (_i.e._ the breath, _spiritus_). This word is
used in two senses, as meaning (1) the inspired air, which was drawn
into the left side of the heart and thence carried all over the body
by the arteries; this has not a few analogies with oxygen,
particularly as its action in the tissues is attended with the
appearance of the so-called "innate heat." (2) A vital principle,
conceived as being made up of matter in the most subtle imaginable
state (_i.e._ air). This vital principle became resolved into three
kinds: (_a_) [Greek: pneuma physikon] or _spiritus naturalis_, carried
by the veins, and presiding over the subconscious vegetative life;
this "natural spirit" is therefore practically equivalent to the
[Greek: physis] or "nature" itself. (_b_) The [Greek: pneuma zôtikon]
or _spiritus vitalis_; here particularly is a source of error, since
the air already alluded to as being carried by the arteries tends to
be confused with this principle of "individuality" or relative
autonomy in the circulatory (including, perhaps, the vasomotor)
system. (_c_) The [Greek: pneuma psychikon] or _spiritus animalis_
(anima = [Greek: psychê]), carried by longitudinal canals in the nerves;
this corresponds to the [Greek: psychê].
This view of a "vital principle" as necessarily consisting of matter
in a finely divided, fluid, or "etheric" state is not unknown even in
our day. Belief in the fundamental importance of the Pneuma formed the
basis of the teaching of another vitalist school in ancient Greece,
that of the Pneumatists.
[Sidenote: Galen and the Circulation of the Blood.]
It is unnecessary to detail here the various ways in which Galen's
physiological views differ from those of the Moderns, as most of these
are noticed in footnotes to the text of the present translation. His
ignorance of the circulation of the blood does not lessen the force of
his general physiological conclusions to the extent that might be
anticipated. In his opinion, the great bulk of the blood travelled
with a to-and-fro motion in the veins, while a little of it, mixed
with inspired air, moved in the same way along the arteries; whereas
we now know that all the blood goes outward by the arteries and
returns by the veins; in either case blood is carried to the tissues
by blood-vessels, and Galen's ideas of tissue-nutrition were
wonderfully sound. The ingenious method by which (in ignorance of the
pulmonary circulation) he makes blood pass from the right to the left
ventricle, may be read in the present work (p. 321). As will be seen,
he was conversant with the "anastomoses" between the ultimate branches
of arteries and veins, although he imagined that they were not used
under "normal" conditions.
[Sidenote: Galen's Character.]
Galen was not only a man of great intellectual gifts, but one also of
strong moral fibre. In his short treatise "That the best Physician is
also a Philosopher" he outlines his professional ideals. It is
necessary for the efficient healer to be versed in the three branches
of "philosophy," viz.: (_a_) _logic_, the science of how to think;
(_b_) _physics_, the science of what is--_i.e._ of "Nature" in the
widest sense; (_c_) _ethics_, the science of what to do. The amount of
toil which he who wishes to be a physician must undergo--firstly, in
mastering the work of his predecessors and afterwards in studying
disease at first hand--makes it absolutely necessary that he should
possess perfect self-control, that he should scorn money and the weak
pleasures of the senses, and should live laborious days.
Readers of the following pages will notice that Galen uses what we
should call distinctly immoderate language towards those who ventured
to differ from the views of his master Hippocrates (which were also
his own). The employment of such language was one of the few
weaknesses of his age which he did not transcend. Possibly also his
mother's choleric temper may have predisposed him to it.
The fact, too, that his vivisection experiments (_e.g._ pp. 59, 273)
were carried out apparently without any kind of anaesthetisation being
even thought of is abhorrent to the feelings of to-day, but must be
excused also on the ground that callousness towards animals was then
customary, men having probably never thought much about the subject.
[Sidenote: Galen's Greek Style.]
Galen is a master of language, using a highly polished variety of
Attic prose with a precision which can be only very imperfectly
reproduced in another tongue. Every word he uses has an exact and
definite meaning attached to it. Translation is particularly difficult
when a word stands for a physiological conception which is not now
held; instances are the words _anadosis_, _prosthesis_, and
_prosphysis_, indicating certain steps in the process by which
nutriment is conveyed from the alimentary canal to the tissues.
Readers will be surprised to find how many words are used by Galen
which they would have thought had been expressly coined to fit modern
conceptions; thus our author employs not merely such terms as
_physiology_, _phthisis_, _atrophy_, _anastomosis_, but also
_haematopoietic_, _anaesthesia_, and even _aseptic_! It is only fair,
however, to remark that these terms, particularly the last, were not
used by Galen in quite their modern significance.
[Sidenote: Summary.]
To resume, then: What contribution can Galen bring to the art of
healing at the present day? It was not, surely, for nothing that the
great Pergamene gave laws to the medical world for over a thousand
years!
Let us draw attention once more to:
(1) The high ideal which he set before the profession.
(2) His insistence on immediate contact with nature as the primary
condition for arriving at an understanding of disease; on the need for
due consideration of previous authorities; on the need also for
reflection--for employment of the mind's eye ([Greek: hê logikê
theôria]) as an aid to the physical eye.
(3) His essentially broad outlook, which often helped him in the
comprehension of a phenomenon through his knowledge of an analogous
phenomenon in another field of nature.
(4) His keen appreciation of the unity of the organism, and of the
inter-dependence of its parts; his realisation that the vital
phenomena (physiological and pathological) in a living organism can
only be understood when considered in relation to the _environment_ of
that organism or part. This is the foundation for the war that Galen
waged _à outrance_ on the Methodists, to whom diseases were things
without relation to anything. This dispute is, unfortunately, not
touched upon in the present volume. What Galen combated was the
tendency, familiar enough in our own day, to reduce medicine to the
science of finding a label for each patient, and then treating not the
patient, but the label. (This tendency, we may remark in parenthesis,
is one which is obviously well suited for the _standardising_ purposes
of a State medical service, and is therefore one which all who have
the weal of the profession at heart must most jealously watch in the
difficult days that lie ahead.)
(5) His realisation of the inappropriateness and inadequacy of
physical formulae in explaining physiological activities. Galen's
disputes with Asclepiades over [Greek: ta prôta ekeina sômata ta
apathê], over the [Greek: anarma stoicheia kai lêrôdeis onkoi], is but
another aspect of his quarrel with the Methodists regarding their
pathological "units," whose primary characteristic was just this same
[Greek: apatheia] (impassiveness to environment, "unimpressionability").
We have of course our Physiatric or Iatromechanical school at the
present day, to whom such processes as absorption from the alimentary
canal, the respiratory interchange of gases, and the action of the renal
epithelium are susceptible of a purely physical explanation.[4]
(6) His quarrel with the Anatomists, which was in essence the same as
that with the Atomists, and which arose from his clear realisation
that that primary and indispensable desideratum, a view of the whole,
could never be obtained by a mere summation of partial views; hence,
also, his sense of the dangers which would beset the medical art if it
were allowed to fall into the hands of a mere crowd of competing
specialists without any organising head to guide them.
[1] _On the Affections of the Mind_, p. 41 (Kühn's ed.).
[2] "Averrhoës who made the great Commentary" (Dante). It
was Averrhoës (Ebn Roshd) who, in the 12th century,
introduced Aristotle to the Mohammedan world, and the
"Commentary" referred to was on Aristotle.
[3] What appear to me to be certain resemblances between
the Galenical and the modern vitalistic views of Henri
Bergson may perhaps be alluded to here. Galen's vital
principle, [Greek: hê technikê physis] ("creative
growth"), presents analogies with _l'Evolution créatrice_:
both manifest their activity in producing qualitative
change ([Greek: alloiôsis], _changement_): in both, the
creative change cannot be analysed into a series of static
states, but is one and continuous. In Galen, however, it
comes to an end with the _development of the individual_,
whereas in Bergson it continues indefinitely as the
_evolution of life_. The three aspects of organic life may
be tabulated thus:--
[Greek: dynamis] [Greek: energeia] [Greek: ergon]
Work to be done. Work being done. Work done, finished.
Future aspect. Present aspect. Past aspect.
Function. Structure.
The _élan vital_. A "thing."
A changing which
cannot be understood
as a sum of static
parts; a constant
becoming, never
stopping--at least
till the [Greek: ergon]
is reached.
Bergson's Bergson's Bergson's "outlook
"teleological" "philosophical" of physical
aspect. aspect. science."
Galen recognized "creativeness" ([Greek: technê]) in the
_development_ of the individual and its parts (ontogeny)
and in the maintenance of these, but he failed to
appreciate the creative _evolution_ of species
(phylogeny), which is, of course, part of the same
process. To the teleologist the possibilities ([Greek:
dynameis]) of the Physis are limited, to Bergson they
are unlimited. Galen and Bergson agree in attaching most
practical importance to the middle category--that of
Function.
While it must be conceded that Galen, following
Aristotle, had never seriously questioned the fixity of
species, the following quotation from his work _On
Habits_ (chap. ii.) will show that he must have at least
had occasional glimmerings of our modern point of view
on the matter. Referring to _assimilation_, he says:
"Just as everything we eat or drink becomes _altered in
quality_, so of course also does the altering factor
itself become altered.... A clear proof of the
assimilation of things which are being nourished to that
which is nourishing them is the change which occurs in
plants and seeds; this often goes so far that what is
highly noxious in one soil becomes, when transplanted
into another soil, not merely harmless, but actually
useful. This has been largely put to the test by those
who compose memoirs on farming and on plants, as also by
zoological authors who have written on the changes which
occur according to the countries in which animals live.
Since, therefore, not only is the nourishment altered by
the creature nourished, but the latter itself also
undergoes some slight alteration, _this slight
alteration must necessarily become considerable in the
course of time_, and thus properties resulting from
prolonged habit must come to be on a par with natural
properties."
Galen fails to see the possibility that the "natural"
properties themselves originated in this way, as
activities which gradually became habitual--that is to
say, that the effects of _nurture_ may become a "second
nature," and so eventually _nature_ itself.
The whole passage, however, may be commended to modern
biologists--particularly, might one say, to those
bacteriologists who have not yet realised how
extraordinarily _relative_ is the term "specificity"
when applied to the subject-matter of their science.
[4] In terms of filtration, diffusion, and osmosis.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Codices
Bibliothèque Nationale. Paris. No. 2267.
Library of St. Mark. Venice. No. 275.
Translations
Arabic translations by Honain in the Escurial Library, and
in the Library at Leyden. Hebrew translation in the
Library at Bonn. Latin translations in the Library of
Gonville and Caius College (MSS.), No. 947; also by
Linacre in editions published, London, 1523; Paris,
1528; Leyden, 1540, 1548, and 1550; also by C.G. Kühn,
Leipzig, 1821.
Commentaries and Appreciations
Nic. de Anglia in Bib. Nat. Paris (MSS.), No. 7015; J.
Rochon, _ibidem_, No. 7025; J. Segarra, 1528; J. Sylvius,
1550, 1560; L. Joubert, 1599; M. Sebitz, 1644, 1645;
J.B. Pacuvius, 1554; J.C.G. Ackermann, 1821, in
the introduction to Kühn's translation, p. lxxx; Ilberg
in articles on "Die Schriftstellerei des Klaudios
Galenos," in _Rhein. Mus._, Nos. 44, 47, 51, and 52
(years 1889, 1892, 1896 and 1897); I. von Mueller in
_Quæstiones Criticae de Galeni libris_, Erlangen, 1871;
Steinschneider in Virchow's _Archiv_, No. cxxiv. for
1891; Wenrich in _De auctorum graecorum versionibus
et commentariis syriacis, arabicis, armiacis, persisque_,
Leipzig, 1842.
SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTERS
BOOK I
Chapter I
Distinction between the effects of (_a_) the organism's
_psyche_ or soul (_b_) its _physis_ or nature. The
author proposes to confine himself to a consideration of
the latter--the vegetative--aspect of life.
Chapter II
Definition of terms. Different kinds of _motion_.
_Alteration_ or qualitative change. Refutation of the
Sophists' objection that such change is only apparent,
not real. The four fundamental qualities of Hippocrates
(later Aristotle). Distinction between _faculty_,
_activity_ (function), and _effect_ (work or product).
Chapter III
It is by virtue of the _four qualities_ that each part
functions. Some authorities subordinate the dry and the
moist principles to the hot and the cold. Aristotle
inconsistent here.
Chapter IV
We must suppose that there are _faculties_ corresponding
in number to the visible _effects_ (or products) with
which we are familiar.
Chapter V
Genesis, growth, and nutrition. Genesis (embryogeny)
sub-divided into histogenesis and organogenesis. Growth
is a tridimensional expansion of the solid parts formed
during genesis. Nutrition.
Chapter VI
The process of genesis (embryogeny) from insemination
onwards. Each of the simple, elementary, homogeneous
parts (tissues) is produced by a special blend of the
four primary alterative faculties (such secondary
alterative faculties being _ostopoietic_,
_neuropoietic_, etc.). A special _function_ and _use_
also corresponds to each of these special tissues. The
bringing of these tissues together into _organs_ and the
disposal of these organs is performed by another faculty
called _diaplastic_, _moulding_, or _formative_.
Chapter VII
We now pass from genesis to _growth_. Growth essentially
a post-natal process; it involves two factors, expansion
and nutrition, explained by analogy of a familiar
child's game.
Chapter VIII
Nutrition.
Chapter IX
These three primary faculties (genesis, growth,
nutrition) have various others subservient to them.
Chapter X
Nutrition not a simple process. (1) Need of subsidiary
organs for the various stages of alteration, _e.g._, of
bread into blood, of that into bone, etc. (2) Need also
of organs for excreting the non-utilizable portions of
the food, _e.g._, much vegetable matter is superfluous.
(3) Need of organs of a third kind, for distributing the
pabulum through the body.
Chapter XI
Nutrition analysed into the stages of application
(_prosthesis_), adhesion (_prosphysis_), and
assimilation. The stages illustrated by certain
pathological conditions. Different shades of meaning of
the term _nutriment_.
Chapter XII
The two chief medico-philosophical schools--Atomist and
Vitalist. Hippocrates an adherent of the latter
school--his doctrine of an original principle or
"nature" in every living thing (doctrine of the unity of
the organism).
Chapter XIII
Failure of Asclepiades to understand the functions of
kidneys and ureters. His hypothesis of vaporization of
imbibed fluids is here refuted. A demonstration of
urinary secretion in the living animal; the forethought
and artistic skill of Nature vindicated. Refutation also
of Asclepiades's disbelief in the special selective
action of purgative drugs.
Chapter XIV
While Asclepiades denies _in toto_ the obvious fact of
specific attraction, Epicurus grants the fact, although
his attempt to explain it by the atomic hypothesis
breaks down. Refutation of the Epicurean theory of
magnetic attraction. Instances of specific attraction of
thorns and animal poisons by medicaments, of moisture by
corn, etc.
Chapter XV
It now being granted that the urine is secreted by the
kidneys, the _rationale_ of this secretion is enquired
into. The kidneys are not mechanical filters, but are by
virtue of their _nature_ possessed of a specific faculty
of attraction.
Chapter XVI
Erasistratus, again, by his favourite principle of
_horror vacui_ could never explain the secretion of
urine by the kidneys. While, however, he acknowledged
that the kidneys do secrete urine, he makes no attempt
to explain this; he ignores, but does not attempt to
refute, the Hippocratic doctrine of specific
_attraction_. "Servile" position taken up by Asclepiades
and Erasistratus in regard to this function of urinary
secretion.
Chapter XVII
Three other attempts (by adherents of the Erasistratean
school and by Lycus of Macedonia) to explain how the
kidneys come to separate out urine from the blood. All
these ignore the obvious principle of attraction.
BOOK II
Chapter I
In order to explain dispersal of food from alimentary
canal _viâ_ the veins (_anadosis_) there is no need to
invoke with Erasistratus, the _horror vacui_, since here
again the principle of specific attraction is operative;
moreover, blood is also driven forward by the
compressing action of the stomach and the contractions
of the veins. Possibility, however, of Erasistratus's
factor playing a certain minor _rôle_.
Chapter II
The Erasistratean idea that bile becomes separated out
from the blood in the liver because, being the thinner
fluid, it alone can enter the narrow stomata of the
bile-ducts, while the thicker blood can only enter the
wider mouths of the hepatic venules.
Chapter III
The morphological factors suggested by Erasistratus are
quite inadequate to explain biological happenings.
Erasistratus inconsistent with his own statements. The
immanence of the _physis_ or nature; her shaping is not
merely external like that of a statuary, but involves
the entire substance. In genesis (embryogeny) the semen
is the active, and the menstrual blood the passive,
principle. Attractive, alterative, and formative
faculties of the semen. Embryogeny is naturally followed
by growth; these two functions distinguished.
Chapter IV
Unjustified claim by Erasistrateans that their founder
had associations with the Peripatetic (Aristotelian)
school. The characteristic physiological tenets of that
school (which were all anticipated by Hippocrates) in no
way agree with those of Erasistratus, save that both
recognize the purposefulness of Nature; in practice,
however, Erasistratus assumed numerous exceptions to
this principle. Difficulty of understanding why he
rejected the biological principle of attraction in
favour of anatomical factors.
Chapter V
A further difficulty raised by Erasistratus's statement
regarding secretion of bile in the liver.
Chapter VI
The same holds with nutrition. Even if we grant that
veins may obtain their nutrient blood by virtue of the
_horror vacui_ (chap. i.), how could this explain the
nutrition of nerves? Erasistratus's hypothesis of minute
elemental nerves and vessels within the ordinary visible
nerves simply throws the difficulty further back. And is
Erasistratus's minute "simple" nerve susceptible of
further analysis, as the Atomists would assume? If so,
this is opposed to the conception of a constructive and
artistic Nature which Erasistratus himself shares with
Hippocrates and the writer. And if his minute nerve is
really elementary and not further divisible, then it
cannot, according to his own showing, contain a cavity;
therefore the _horror vacui_ does not apply to it. And
how could this principle apply to the restoration to its
original bulk of a part which had become thin through
disease, where more matter must become attached than
runs away? A quotation from Erasistratus shows that he
did acknowledge an "attraction," although not exactly in
the Hippocratic sense.
Chapter VII
In the last resort, the ultimate living elements
(Erasistratus's _simple vessels_) must draw in their
food by virtue of an inherent attractive faculty like
that which the lodestone exerts on iron. Thus the
process of anadosis, from beginning to end, can be
explained without assuming a _horror vacui_.
Chapter VIII
Erasistratus's disregard for the humours. In respect to
excessive formation of bile, however, prevention is
better than cure: accordingly we must consider its
pathology. Does blood pre-exist in the food, or does it
come into existence in the body? Erasistratus's purely
anatomical explanation of _dropsy_. He entirely avoids
the question of the four qualities (_e.g._ the
importance of innate heat) in the generation of the
humours, etc. Yet the problem of blood-production is no
less important than that of gastric digestion. Proof
that bile does not pre-exist in the food. The four
fundamental qualities of Hippocrates and Aristotle. How
the humours are formed from food taken into the veins:
when heat is in proportionate amount, blood results;
when in excess, bile; when deficient, phlegm. Various
conditions determining cold or warm temperaments. The
four primary diseases result each from excess of one of
the four qualities. Erasistratus unwillingly
acknowledges this when he ascribes the indigestion
occurring in fever to _impaired function_ of the
stomach. For what causes this _functio laesa_? Proof
that it is the fever (excess of innate heat).
If, then, heat plays so important a part in abnormal
functioning, so must it also in normal (_i.e._ causes of
eucrasia involved in those of dyscrasia, of physiology
in those of pathology). A like argument explains the
_genesis of the humours_. Addition of warmth to things
already warm makes them bitter; thus honey turns to bile
in people who are already warm; where warmth deficient,
as in old people, it turns to useful blood. This is a
proof that bile does not pre-exist, as such, in the
food.
Chapter IX
The _functions of organs_ also depend on the way in
which the four qualities are mixed--_e.g._ the
contracting function of the stomach. Treatment only
possible when we know the _causes_ of errors of
function. The Erasistrateans practically Empiricists in
this respect. On an appreciation of the meaning of a
_dyscrasia_ follows naturally the Hippocratic principle
of treating opposites by opposites (_e.g._ cooling the
over-heated stomach, warming it when chilled, etc.).
Useless in treatment to know merely the function of each
organ; we must know the _bodily condition_ which upsets
this function. Blood is warm and moist. Yellow bile is
warm and (virtually, though not apparently) dry. Phlegm
is cold and moist. The fourth possible combination (cold
and dry) is represented by _black bile_. For the
clearing out of this humour from the blood, Nature has
provided the spleen--an organ which, according to
Erasistratus, fulfils no purpose. Proof of the
importance of the spleen is the jaundice, toxaemia,
etc., occurring when it is diseased. Erasistratus's
failure to mention the views of leading authorities on
this organ shows the hopelessness of his position. The
Hippocratic view has now been demonstrated deductively
and inductively. The classical view as to the generation
of the humours. Normal and pathological forms of yellow
and black bile. Part played by the _innate heat_ in
their production. Other kinds of bile are merely
transition-stages between these extreme types. Abnormal
forms removed by liver and spleen respectively. Phlegm,
however, does not need a special excretory organ, as it
can undergo entire metabolism in the body.
Need for studying the works of the Ancients carefully,
in order to reach a proper understanding of this
subject.
BOOK III
Chapter I
A recapitulation of certain points previously
demonstrated. Every part of the animal has an attractive
and an alterative (assimilative) faculty; it attracts
the nutrient juice which is proper to it. Assimilation
is preceded by adhesion (_prosphysis_) and that again,
by application (_prosthesis_). Application the goal of
attraction. It would not, however, be followed by
adhesion and assimilation if each part did not also
possess a faculty for _retaining in position_ the
nutriment which has been applied. _A priori_ necessity
for this _retentive_ faculty.
Chapter II
The same faculty to be proved _a posteriori_. Its
corresponding _function_ (_i.e._ the activation of this
faculty or potentiality) well seen in the large hollow
organs, notably the uterus and stomach.
Chapter III
Exercise of the retentive faculty particularly well seen
in the uterus. Its object is to allow the embryo to
attain full development; this being completed, a new
faculty--the expulsive--hitherto quiescent, comes into
play. Characteristic signs and symptoms of pregnancy.
Tight grip of uterus on growing embryo, and accurate
closure of os uteri during operation of the retentive
faculty. Dilatation of os and expulsive activities of
uterus at full term, or when foetus dies. Prolapse from
undue exercise of this faculty. _Rôle_ of the midwife.
Accessory muscles in parturition.
Chapter IV
Same two faculties seen in stomach. _Gurglings_ or
_borborygmi_ show that this organ is weak and is not
gripping its contents tightly enough. Undue delay of
food in a weak stomach proved not to be due to
narrowness of pylorus: length of stay depends on whether
_digestion_ (another instance of the characteristically
vital process of _alteration_) has taken place or not.
Erasistratus wrong in attributing digestion merely to
the mechanical action of the stomach walls. When
digestion completed, then pylorus opens and allows
contents to pass downwards, just as os uteri when
development of embyro completed.
Chapter V
If attraction and elimination always proceeded _pari
passu_, the content of these hollow organs (including
gall-bladder and urinary bladder) would never vary in
amount. A _retentive_ faculty, therefore, also logically
needed. Its existence demonstrated. Expulsion determined
by qualitative and quantitative changes of contents.
"Diarrhoea" of stomach. Vomiting.
Chapter VI
Every organic part has an _appetite_ and _aversion_ for
the qualities which are appropriate and foreign to it
respectively. Attraction necessarily leads to a certain
_benefit_ received. This again necessitates _retention_.
Chapter VII
Interaction between two bodies; the stronger masters the
weaker; a deleterious drug masters the forces of the
body, whereas food is mastered by them; this mastery is
an _alteration_, and the amount of alteration varies
with the different organs; thus a partial alteration is
effected in mouth by saliva, but much greater in
stomach, where not only gastric juice, but also bile,
pneuma, innate heat (_i.e._ oxidation?), and other
powerful factors are brought to bear on it; need of
considerable alteration in stomach as a
transition-stage between food and blood; appearance of
faeces in intestine another proof of great alteration
effected in stomach. Asclepiades's denial of real
qualitative change in stomach rebutted. Erasistratus's
denial that digestion in any way resembles a _boiling_
process comes from his taking words too literally.
Chapter VIII
Erasistratus denies that the stomach exerts any pull in
the act of swallowing. That he is wrong, however, is
proved by the anatomical structure of the stomach--its
inner coat with longitudinal fibres obviously acts as a
_vis a fronte_ (attraction), whilst its outer coat
exercises through the contraction of its circular fibres
a _vis a tergo_ (propulsion); the latter also comes into
play in vomiting. The stomach uses the oesophagus as a
kind of hand, to draw in its food with. The functions of
the two coats proved also by vivisection. Swallowing
cannot be attributed merely to the force of gravity.
Chapter IX
These four faculties which subserve nutrition are thus
apparent in many different parts of the body.
Chapter X
Need for elaborating the statements of the ancient
physicians. Superiority of Ancients to Moderns. This
state of affairs can only be rectified by a really
efficient education of youth. The chief requisites of
such an education.
Chapter XI
For the sake of the few who realty wish truth, the
argument will be continued. A third kind of fibre--the
_oblique_--subserves _retention_; the way in which this
fibre is disposed in different coats.
Chapter XII
The factor which brings the expulsive faculty into
action is essentially a condition of the organ or its
contents which is the reverse of that which determined
attraction. Analogy between abortion and normal
parturition. Whatever produces _discomfort_ must be
expelled. That discomfort also determines expulsion of
contents from gall-bladder is not so evident as in the
case of stomach, uterus, urinary bladder, etc., but can
be logically demonstrated.
Chapter XIII
Expulsion takes place through the same channel as
attraction (_e.g._, in stomach, gall-bladder, uterus).
Similarly the delivery (_anadosis_) of nutriment to the
liver from the food-canal _viâ_ the mesenteric veins may
have its direction reversed. Continuous give-and-take
between different parts of the body; superior strength
of certain parts is natural, of others acquired. When
liver contains abundant food and stomach depleted,
latter may draw on former; this occurs when animal can
get nothing to eat, and so prevents starvation.
Similarly, when one part becomes over-distended, it
tends to deposit its excess in some weaker part near it;
this passes it on to some still weaker part, which
cannot get rid of it; hence _deposits_ of various kinds.
Further instances of reversal of the normal direction of
anadosis from the food canal through the veins. Such
reversal of functions would in any case be expected _a
priori_. In the vomiting of intestinal obstruction,
matter may be carried backwards all the way from the
intestine to the mouth; not surprising, therefore, that,
under certain circumstances, food-material might be
driven right back from the skin-surface to the
alimentary canal (_e.g._ in excessive chilling of
surface); not much needed to determine this reversal of
direction. Action of purgative drugs upon terminals of
veins; one part draws from another until whole body
participates; similarly in intestinal obstruction, each
part passes on the irritating substance to its weaker
neighbour. Reversal of direction of flow occurs not
merely on occasion but also constantly (as in arteries,
lungs, heart, etc.). The various stages of normal
nutrition described. Why the stomach sometimes draws
back the nutriment it had passed on to portal veins and
liver. A similar ebb and flow in relation to the spleen.
Comparison of the parts of the body to a lot of animals
at a feast. The valves of the heart are a provision of
Nature to prevent this otherwise inevitable
regurgitation, though even they are not quite efficient.
Chapter XIV
The superficial arteries, when they dilate, draw in air
from the atmosphere, and the deeper ones a fine,
vaporous blood from the veins and heart. Lighter matter
such as air will always be drawn in preference to
heavier; this is why the arteries in the food-canal draw
in practically none of the nutrient matter contained in
it.
Chapter XV
The two kinds of attraction--the mechanical attraction
of dilating bellows and the "physical" (vital)
attraction by living tissue of nutrient matter which is
specifically allied or appropriate to it. The former
kind--that resulting from _horror vacui_--acts primarily
on light matter, whereas vital attraction has no
essential concern with such mechanical factors. A hollow
organ exercises, by virtue of its cavity, the former
kind of attraction, and by virtue of the living tissue
of its walls, the second kind. Application of this to
question of contents of arteries; _anastomoses of
arteries and veins_. _Foramina in interventricular
septum of heart_, allowing some blood to pass from right
to left ventricle. Large size of aorta probably due to
fact that it not merely carries the pneuma received from
the lungs, but also some of the blood which percolates
through septum from right ventricle. Thus arteries carry
not merely pneuma, but also some light vaporous blood,
which certain parts need more than the ordinary thick
blood of the veins. The organic parts must have their
blood-supply sufficiently near to allow them to absorb
it; comparison with an irrigation system in a garden.
Details of the process of nutrition in the ultimate
specific tissues; some are nourished from the blood
directly; in others a series of intermediate stages must
precede complete assimilation; for example, marrow is an
intermediate stage between blood and bone.
From the generalisations arrived at in the present work
we can deduce the explanation of all kinds of particular
phenomena; an instance is given, showing the
co-operation of various factors previously discussed.
GALEN
ON THE NATURAL FACULTIES[5]
BOOK I
I
Since feeling and voluntary motion are peculiar to animals, whilst
growth and nutrition are common to plants as well, we may look on the
former as effects[6] of the _soul_[7] and the latter as effects of the
_nature_.[8] And if there be anyone who allows a share in soul to
plants as well, and separates the two kinds of soul, naming the kind
in question _vegetative_, and the other _sensory_, this person is not
saying anything else, although his language is somewhat unusual. We,
however, for our part, are convinced that the chief merit of language
is clearness, and we know that nothing detracts so much from this as
do unfamiliar terms; accordingly we employ those terms which the bulk
of people are accustomed to use, and we say that animals are governed
at once by their soul and by their nature, and plants by their nature
alone, and that growth and nutrition are the effects of nature, not of
soul.
GALÊNOU
PERI PHYSIKÔN DYNAMEÔN
A
I
Epeidê to men aisthanesthai te kai kineisthai kata 1
proairesin idia tôn zôôn esti, to d' auxanesthai te kai
trephesthai koina kai tois phytois, eiê an ta men
protera tês psychês, ta de deutera tês physeôs erga. ei
de tis kai tois phytois psychês metadidôsi kai
diairoumenos autas onomazei phytikên men tautên,
aisthêtikên de tên heteran, legei men oud' houtos alla,
tê lexei d' ou pany tê synêthei kechrêtai. all' hêmeis
ge megistên lexeôs aretên saphêneian einai pepeismenoi
kai tautên eidotes || hyp' oudenos houtôs hôs hypo tôn 2
asynêthôn onomatôn diaphtheiromenên, hôs tois pollois
ethos, houtôs onomazontes hypo men psychês th' hama kai
physeôs ta zôa dioikeisthai phamen, hypo de physeôs
monês ta phyta kai to g' auxanesthai te kai trephesthai
physeôs erga phamen, ou psychês.
II
Thus we shall enquire, in the course of this treatise, from what
_faculties_ these effects themselves, as well as any other effects of
nature which there may be, take their origin.
First, however, we must distinguish and explain clearly the various
terms which we are going to use in this treatise, and to what things
we apply them; and this will prove to be not merely an explanation of
terms but at the same time a demonstration of the effects of nature.
When, therefore, such and such a body undergoes no change from its
existing state, we say that it is _at rest_; but, if it departs from
this in any respect we then say that in this respect it _undergoes
motion_.[9] Accordingly, when it departs in various ways from its
pre-existing state, it will be said to undergo various kinds of
motion. Thus, if that which is white becomes black, or what is black
becomes white, it undergoes motion in respect to _colour_; or if what
was previously sweet now becomes bitter, or, conversely, from being
bitter now becomes sweet, it will be said to undergo motion in respect
to _flavour_; to both of these instances, as well as to those
previously mentioned, we shall apply the term _qualitative motion_.
And further, it is not only things which are altered in regard to
colour and flavour which, we say, undergo motion; when a warm thing
becomes cold, and a cold warm, here, too we speak of its undergoing
motion; similarly also when anything moist becomes dry, or dry
moist. Now, the common term which we apply to all these cases is
_alteration_.
This is one kind of motion. But there is another kind which occurs in
bodies which change their position, or as we say, pass from one place
to another; the name of this is _transference_.[10]
These two kinds of motion, then, are simple and primary, while
compounded from them we have _growth_ and _decay_,[11] as when a small
thing becomes bigger, or a big thing smaller, each retaining at the
same time its particular form. And two other kinds of motion are
_genesis_ and _destruction_,[12] genesis being a coming into
existence,[13] and destruction being the opposite.
Now, common to all kinds of motion is _change from the pre-existing
state_, while common to all conditions of rest is _retention of the
pre-existing state_. The Sophists, however, while allowing that bread
in turning into blood becomes changed as regards sight, taste, and
touch, will not agree that this change occurs in reality. Thus some of
them hold that all such phenomena are tricks and illusions of our
senses; the senses, they say, are affected now in one way, now in
another, whereas the underlying substance does not admit of any of
these changes to which the names are given. Others (such as
Anaxagoras)[14] will have it that the qualities do exist in it, but
that they are unchangeable and immutable from eternity to eternity,
and that these apparent alterations are brought about by _separation_
and _combination_.
Now, if I were to go out of my way to confute these people, my
subsidiary task would be greater than my main one. Thus, if they do
not know all that has been written, "On Complete Alteration of
Substance"[15] by Aristotle, and after him by Chrysippus,[16] I must
beg of them to make themselves familiar with these men's writings. If,
however, they know these, and yet willingly prefer the worse views to
the better, they will doubtless consider my arguments foolish also. I
have shown elsewhere that these opinions were shared by Hippocrates,
who lived much earlier than Aristotle. In fact, of all those known to
us who have been both physicians and philosophers Hippocrates was the
first who took in hand to demonstrate that there are, in all, four
mutually interacting _qualities_, and that to the operation of these
is due the genesis and destruction of all things that come into and
pass out of being. Nay, more; Hippocrates was also the first to
recognise that all these qualities undergo an intimate mingling with
one another; and at least the beginnings of the proofs to which
Aristotle later set his hand are to be found first in the writings of
Hippocrates.
As to whether we are to suppose that the _substances_ as well as their
_qualities_ undergo this intimate mingling, as Zeno of Citium
afterwards declared, I do not think it necessary to go further into
this question in the present treatise;[17] for immediate purposes we
only need to recognize the _complete alteration of substance_. In
this way, nobody will suppose that bread represents a kind of
meeting-place[18] for bone, flesh, nerve, and all the other parts, and
that each of these subsequently becomes separated in the body and goes
to join its own kind;[19] before any separation takes place, the whole
of the bread obviously becomes blood; (at any rate, if a man takes no
other food for a prolonged period, he will have blood enclosed in his
veins all the same).[20] And clearly this disproves the view of those
who consider the elements[21] unchangeable, as also, for that matter,
does the oil which is entirely used up in the flame of the lamp, or
the faggots which, in a somewhat longer time, turn into fire.
I said, however, that I was not going to enter into an argument with
these people, and it was only because the example was drawn from the
subject-matter of medicine, and because I need it for the present
treatise, that I have mentioned it. We shall then, as I said, renounce
our controversy with them, since those who wish may get a good grasp
of the views of the ancients from our own personal investigations into
these matters.
The discussion which follows we shall devote entirely, as we
originally proposed, to an enquiry into the number and character of
the _faculties_ of Nature, and what is the effect which each naturally
produces. Now, of course, I mean by an effect[22] that which has
already come into existence and has been completed by the
_activity_[23] of these faculties--for example, blood, flesh, or
nerve. And _activity_ is the name I give to the active change or
_motion_, and the _cause_ of this I call a _faculty_. Thus, when food
turns into blood, the motion of the food is passive, and that of the
vein active. Similarly, when the limbs have their position altered, it
is the muscle which produces, and the bones which undergo the motion.
In these cases I call the motion of the vein and of the muscle an
_activity_, and that of the food and the bones a _symptom_ or
_affection_,[24] since the first group undergoes _alteration_ and the
second group is merely _transported_. One might, therefore, also speak
of the _activity_ as an _effect_ of Nature[25]--for example,
digestion, absorption,[26] blood-production; one could not, however,
in every case call the effect an activity; thus flesh is an effect of
Nature, but it is, of course, not an activity. It is, therefore, clear
that one of these terms is used in two senses, but not the other.
II
Kai zêtêsomen kata tonde ton logon, hypo tinôn gignetai
dynameôn auta dê tauta kai ei dê ti allo physeôs ergon
estin.
Alla proteron ge dielesthai te chrê kai mênysai saphôs
hekaston tôn onomatôn, hois chrêsometha kata tonde ton
logon, kai eph' ho ti pheromen pragma. genêsetai de
tout' euthys ergôn physikôn didaskalia syn tais tôn
onomatôn exêgêsesin.
Hotan oun ti sôma kata mêden exallattêtai tôn
proÿparchontôn, hêsychazein auto phamen; ei d' existaito
pê, kat' ekeino kineisthai. kai toinyn epei polyeidôs
existatai, polyeidôs kai kinêthêsetai. kai gar ei leukon
hyparchon melainoito kai ei melan leukainoito, kineitai
kata chroan, kai ei glyky teôs hyparchon authis || 3
austêron ê empalin ex austêrou glyky genoito, kai tout'
an kineisthai legoito kata ton chymon. amphô de tauta te
kai ta proeirêmena kata tên poiotêta kineisthai
lechthêsetai kai ou monon ge ta kata tên chroan ê ton
chymon exallattomena kineisthai phamen, alla kai to
thermoteron ek psychroterou genomenon ê psychroteron ek
thermoterou kineisthai kai touto legomen, hôsper ge kai
ei ti xêron ex hygrou ê hygron ek xêrou gignoito. koinon
de kata toutôn hapantôn onoma pheromen tên alloiôsin.
Hen ti touto genos kinêseôs. heteron de genos epi tois
tas chôras ameibousi sômasi kai topon ek topou
metallattein legomenois, onoma de kai toutô phora.
Hautai men oun hai dyo kinêseis haplai kai prôtai,
synthetoi d' ex autôn auxêsis te kai phthisis, hotan ex
elattonos ti meizon ê ek meizonos elatton genêtai
phylatton to oikeion eidos. heterai de dyo kinêseis
genesis kai phthora, genesis men hê eis ousian agôgê,
phthora d' hê enantia.
Pasais de tais kinêsesi koinon exallaxis tou || 4
proÿparchontos, hôsper oun kai tais hêsychiais hê
phylakê tôn proÿparchontôn. all' hoti men exallattetai
kai pros tên opsin kai pros tên geusin kai pros tên
haphên haima gignomena ta sitia, synchôrousin; hoti de
kai kat' alêtheian, ouketi touth' homologousin hoi
sophistai. hoi men gar tines autôn hapanta ta toiauta
tôn hêmeterôn aisthêseôn apatas tinas kai paragôgas
nomizousin allot' allôs paschousôn, tês hypokeimenês
ousias mêden toutôn, hois eponomazetai, dechomenês; hoi
de tines einai men en autê boulontai tas poiotêtas,
ametablêtous de kai atreptous ex aiônos eis aiôna kai
tas phainomenas tautas alloiôseis tê diakrisei te kai
synkrisei gignesthai phasin hôs Anaxagoras.
Ei dê toutous ektrapomenos exelenchoimi, meizon an moi
to parergon tou ergou genoito. ei men gar ouk isasin,
hosa peri tês kath' holên tên ousian alloiôseôs
Aristotelei te kai met' auton Chrysippô gegraptai,
parakalesai chrê tois ekeinôn autous homilêsai
grammasin; ei de gignôskontes epeith' hekontes ta cheirô
pro tôn beltionôn || hairountai, mataia dêpou kai ta 5
hêmetera nomiousin. hoti de kai Hippokratês houtôs
egignôsken Aristotelous eti proteros ôn, en heterois
hêmin apodedeiktai. prôtos gar houtos hapantôn hôn ismen
iatrôn te kai philosophôn apodeiknyein epecheirêse
tettaras einai tas pasas drastikas eis allêlas
poiotêtas, hyph' hôn gignetai te kai phtheiretai panth',
hosa genesin te kai phthoran epidechetai. kai mentoi kai
to kerannysthai di' allêlôn autas holas di' holôn
Hippokratês hapantôn prôtos egnô; kai tas archas ge tôn
apodeixeôn, hôn hysteron Aristotelês metecheirisato,
par' ekeinô prôtô gegrammenas estin heurein.
Ei d' hôsper tas poiotêtas houtô kai tas ousias di'
holôn kerannysthai chrê nomizein, hôs hysteron
apephênato Zênôn ho Kittieus, ouch hêgoumai dein eti
peri toutou kata tonde ton logon epexienai. monên gar
eis ta paronta deomai gignôskesthai tên di' holês tês
ousias alloiôsin, hina mê tis ostou kai sarkos kai
neurou kai tôn allôn hekastou moriôn hoionei misgankeian
tina tô artô nomisê periechesthai kapeit' en || tô 6
sômati diakrinomenon hôs to homophylon hekaston ienai.
kaitoi pro ge tês diakriseôs haima phainetai gignomenos
ho pas artos. ei goun pampollô tis chronô mêden all' eiê
sition prospheromenos, ouden hêtton en tais phlepsin
haima periechomenon hexei. kai phanerôs touto tên tôn
ametablêta ta stoicheia tithemenôn exelenchei doxan,
hôsper oimai kai toulaion eis tên tou lychnou phloga
katanaliskomenon hapan kai ta xyla pyr mikron hysteron
gignomena.
Kaitoi to g' antilegein autois êrnêsamên, all' epei tês
iatrikês hylês ên to paradeigma kai chrêzô pros ton
paronta logon autou, dia tout' emnêmoneusa. katalipontes
oun, hôs ephên, tên pros toutous antilogian, <enon> tois
boulomenois ta tôn palaiôn ekmanthanein kax hôn hêmeis
idia peri autôn epeskemmetha.
Ton ephexês logon hapanta poiêsometha zêtountes hyper
hôn ex archês prouthemetha, posai te kai tines eisin hai
tês physeôs dynameis kai ti poiein ergon hekastê
pephyken. ergon de dêlonoti kalô to gegonos êdê kai
sympeplê||rômenon hypo tês energeias autôn, hoion to 7
haima, tên sarka, to neuron; energeian de tên drastikên
onomazô kinêsin kai tên tautês aitian dynamin. epei gar
en tô to sition haima gignesthai pathêtikê men hê tou
sitiou, drastikê d' hê tês phlebos gignetai kinêsis,
hôsautôs de kan tô metapherein ta kôla kinei men ho mys,
kineitai de ta osta, tên men tês phlebos kai tôn myôn
kinêsin energeian einai phêmi, tên de tôn sitiôn te kai
tôn ostôn symptôma te kai pathêma; ta men gar
alloioutai, ta de pheretai. tên men oun energeian
enchôrei kalein kai ergon tês physeôs, hoion tên pepsin,
tên anadosin, tên haimatôsin, ou mên to g' ergon ex
hapantos energeian; hê gar toi sarx ergon men esti tês
physeôs, ou mên energeia ge. dêlon oun, hôs thateron men
tôn onomatôn dichôs legetai, thateron d' ou.
III
It appears to me, then, that the vein, as well as each of the other
parts, functions in such and such a way according to the manner in
which _the four qualities_[27] are mixed. There are, however, a
considerable number of not undistinguished men--philosophers and
physicians--who refer action to the Warm and the Cold, and who
subordinate to these, as passive, the Dry and the Moist; Aristotle, in
fact, was the first who attempted to bring back the causes of the
various special activities to these principles, and he was followed
later by the Stoic school. These latter, of course, could logically
make active principles of the Warm and Cold, since they refer the
change of the elements themselves into one another to certain
_diffusions_ and _condensations_.[28] This does not hold of Aristotle,
however; seeing that he employed the four qualities to explain the
genesis of the elements, he ought properly to have also referred the
causes of all the special activities to these. How is it that he uses
the four qualities in his book "On Genesis and Destruction," whilst in
his "Meteorology," his "Problems," and many other works he uses the
two only? Of course, if anyone were to maintain that in the case of
animals and plants the Warm and Cold are _more_ active, the Dry and
Moist _less_ so, he might perhaps have even Hippocrates on his side;
but if he were to say that this happens in all cases, he would, I
imagine, lack support, not merely from Hippocrates, but even from
Aristotle himself--if, at least, Aristotle chose to remember what he
himself taught us in his work "On Genesis and Destruction," not as a
matter of simple statement, but with an accompanying demonstration. I
have, however, also investigated these questions, in so far as they
are of value to a physician, in my work "On Temperaments."
III
Emoi men oun kai hê phleps kai tôn allôn hapantôn
hekaston dia tên ek tôn tettarôn poian krasin hôdi pôs
energein dokei. eisi de ge mên ouk oligoi tines andres
|| oud' adoxoi, philosophoi te kai iatroi, tô men thermô 8
kai tô psychrô to dran anapherontes, hypoballontes d'
autois pathêtika to xêron te kai to hygron. kai prôtos
g' Aristotelês tas tôn kata meros hapantôn aitias eis
tautas anagein peiratai tas archas, êkolouthêse d'
hysteron autô kai ho apo tês stoas choros. kaitoi
toutois men, hôs an kai autôn tôn stoicheiôn tên eis
allêla metabolên chysesi te tisi kai pilêsesin
anapherousin, eulogon ên archas drastikas poiêsasthai to
thermon kai to psychron, Aristotelei d' ouch houtôs,
alla tais tettarsi poiotêsin eis tên tôn stoicheiôn
genesin chrômenô beltion ên kai tas tôn kata meros
aitias hapasas eis tautas anagein. ti dêpot' oun en men
tois peri geneseôs kai phthoras tais tettarsi chrêtai,
en de tois meteôrologikois kai tois problêmasi kai
allothi pollachothi tais dyo monais? ei men gar hôs en
tois zôois te kai tois phytois mallon men dra to thermon
kai to psychron, hêtton de to xêron kai to hygron
apophainoito tis, isôs an echoi kai ton Hippokratên
sympsêphon; ei d' hôsautôs en || hapasin, ouket' oimai 9
synchôrêsein touto mê hoti ton Hippokratên alla mêd'
auton ton Aristotelên memnêsthai ge boulomenon hôn en
tois peri geneseôs kai phthoras ouch haplôs alla met'
apodeixeôs autos hêmas edidaxen. alla peri men toutôn
kan tois peri kraseôn, eis hoson iatrô chrêsimon,
epeskepsametha.
IV
The so-called _blood-making_[29] faculty in the veins, then, as well
as all the other faculties, fall within the category of relative
concepts; primarily because the faculty is the cause of the activity,
but also, accidentally, because it is the cause of the effect. But if
the cause is relative to something--for it is the cause of what
results from it, and of nothing else--it is obvious that the faculty
also falls into the category of the relative; and so long as we are
ignorant of the true essence of the cause which is operating, we call
it a _faculty_. Thus we say that there exists in the veins a
blood-making faculty, as also a digestive[30] faculty in the stomach,
a pulsatile[31] faculty in the heart, and in each of the other parts a
special faculty corresponding to the function or activity of that
part. If, therefore, we are to investigate methodically the number and
kinds of faculties, we must begin with the effects; for each of these
effects comes from a certain activity, and each of these again is
preceded by a cause.
IV
Hê d' oun dynamis hê en tais phlepsin hê haimatopoiêtikê
prosagoreuomenê kai pasa d' allê dynamis en tô pros ti
nenoêtai; prôtôs men gar tês energeias aitia, êdê de kai
tou ergou kata symbebêkos. all' eiper hê aitia pros ti,
tou gar hyp' autês genomenou monou, tôn d' allôn
oudenos, eudêlon, hoti kai hê dynamis en tô pros ti. kai
mechri g' an agnoômen tên ousian tês energousês aitias,
dynamin autên onomazomen, einai tina legontes en tais
phlepsin haimatopoiêtikên, hôsautôs de kan tê koilia
peptikên kan tê kardia sphygmikên kai kath' hekaston tôn
allôn idian tina tês || kata to morion energeias. eiper 10
oun methodô melloimen exeurêsein, hoposai te kai hopoiai
tines hai dynameis eisin, apo tôn ergôn autôn arkteon;
hekaston gar autôn hypo tinos energeias gignetai kai
toutôn hekastês proêgeitai tis aitia.
V
The effects of Nature, then, while the animal is still being formed in
the womb, are all the different _parts_ of its body; and after it has
been born, an effect in which all parts share is the progress of each
to its full size, and thereafter its maintenance of itself as long as
possible.
The activities corresponding to the three effects mentioned are
necessarily three--one to each--namely, Genesis, Growth, and
Nutrition. Genesis, however, is not a simple activity of Nature, but
is compounded of _alteration_ and of _shaping_.[32] That is to say, in
order that bone, nerve, veins, and all other [tissues] may come into
existence, the _underlying substance_ from which the animal springs
must be _altered_; and in order that the substance so altered may
acquire its appropriate shape and position, its cavities, outgrowths,
attachments, and so forth, it has to undergo a _shaping_ or
_formative_ process.[33] One would be justified in calling this
substance which undergoes alteration the _material_ of the animal,
just as wood is the material of a ship, and wax of an image.
_Growth_ is an increase and expansion in length, breadth, and
thickness of the solid parts of the animal (those which have been
subjected to the moulding or shaping process). _Nutrition_ is an
addition to these, without expansion.
V
Erga toinyn tês physeôs eti men kyoumenou te kai
diaplattomenou tou zôou ta sympant' esti tou sômatos
moria, gennêthentos de koinon eph' hapasin ergon hê eis
to teleion hekastô megethos agôgê kai meta tauth' hê
mechri tou dynatou diamonê.
Energeiai d' epi trisi tois eirêmenois ergois treis ex
anankês, eph' hekastô mia, genesis te kai auxêsis kai
threpsis. all' hê men genesis ouch haplê tis energeia
tês physeôs, all' ex alloiôseôs te kai diaplaseôs esti
synthetos. hina men gar ostoun genêtai kai neuron kai
phleps kai tôn allôn hekaston, alloiousthai chrê tên
hypobeblêmenên ousian, ex hês gignetai to zôon; hina de
kai schêma to deon kai thesin kai koilotêtas tinas kai
apophyseis kai symphyseis kai talla || ta toiauta 11
ktêsêtai, diaplattesthai chrê tên alloioumenên ousian,
hên dê kai hylên tou zôou kalôn, hôs tês neôs ta xyla
kai tês eikonos ton kêron, ouk an hamartois.
Hê d' auxêsis epidosis esti kai diastasis kata mêkos kai
platos kai bathos tôn stereôn tou zôou moriôn, hônper
kai hê diaplasis ên, hê de threpsis prosthesis tois
autois aneu diastaseôs.
VI
Let us speak then, in the first place, of Genesis, which, as we have
said, results from _alteration_ together with _shaping_.
The seed having been cast into the womb or into the earth (for there
is no difference),[34] then, after a certain definite period, a great
number of parts become constituted in the substance which is being
generated; these differ as regards moisture, dryness, coldness and
warmth,[35] and in all the other qualities which naturally derive
therefrom.[36] These derivative qualities, you are acquainted with, if
you have given any sort of scientific consideration to the question of
genesis and destruction. For, first and foremost after the qualities
mentioned come the other so-called _tangible_ distinctions, and after
them those which appeal to taste, smell, and sight. Now, tangible
distinctions are hardness and softness, viscosity, friability,
lightness, heaviness, density, rarity, smoothness, roughness,
thickness and thinness; all of these have been duly mentioned by
Aristotle.[37] And of course you know those which appeal to taste,
smell, and sight. Therefore, if you wish to know which alterative
faculties are primary and elementary, they are moisture, dryness,
coldness, and warmth, and if you wish to know which ones arise from
the combination of these, they will be found to be in each animal of a
number corresponding to its _sensible elements_. The name _sensible
elements_ is given to all the _homogeneous_[38] parts of the body, and
these are to be detected not by any system, but by personal
observation of dissections.[39]
Now Nature constructs bone, cartilage, nerve, membrane, ligament,
vein, and so forth, at the first stage of the animal's genesis,[40]
employing at this task a faculty which is, in general terms,
generative and alterative, and, in more detail, warming, chilling,
drying, or moistening; or such as spring from the blending of
these, for example, the bone-producing, nerve-producing, and
cartilage-producing faculties[41] (since for the sake of clearness
these names must be used as well).
Now the peculiar[42] flesh of the liver is of this kind as well, also
that of the spleen, that of the kidneys, that of the lungs, and that
of the heart; so also the proper substance of the brain, stomach,
gullet, intestines, and uterus is _a sensible element_, of similar
parts all through, simple, and uncompounded. That is to say, if you
remove from each of the organs mentioned its arteries, veins, and
nerves,[43] the substance remaining in each organ is, from the point
of view of the senses, simple and elementary. As regards those organs
consisting of two dissimilar _coats_,[44] of which each is simple, of
these organs the coats are the elements--for example, the coats of the
stomach, oesophagus, intestines, and arteries; each of these two coats
has an alterative faculty peculiar to it, which has engendered it from
the menstrual blood of the mother. Thus the _special_ alterative
faculties in each animal are of the same number as the elementary
parts[45]; and further, the _activities_ must necessarily correspond
each to one of the special parts, just as each part has its special
_use_--for example, those ducts which extend from the kidneys into the
bladder, and which are called _ureters_; for these are not arteries,
since they do not pulsate nor do they consist of two coats; and they
are not veins, since they neither contain blood, nor do their coats
in any way resemble those of veins; from nerves they differ still more
than from the structures mentioned.
"What, then, are they?" someone asks--as though every part must
necessarily be either an artery, a vein, a nerve, or a complex of
these,[46] and as though the truth were not what I am now stating,
namely, that every one of the various organs has its own particular
substance. For in fact the two bladders--that which receives the
urine, and that which receives the yellow bile--not only differ from
all other organs, but also from one another. Further, the ducts which
spring out like kinds of conduits from the gall-bladder and which pass
into the liver have no resemblance either to arteries, veins or
nerves. But these parts have been treated at a greater length in my
work "On the Anatomy of Hippocrates," as well as elsewhere.
As for the actual substance of the coats of the stomach, intestine,
and uterus, each of these has been rendered what it is by a special
alterative faculty of Nature; while the bringing of these
together,[47] the combination therewith of the structures which are
inserted into them, the outgrowth into the intestine,[48] the shape of
the inner cavities, and the like, have all been determined by a
faculty which we call the shaping or formative faculty[49]; this
faculty we also state to be _artistic_--nay, the best and highest
art--doing everything for some purpose, so that there is nothing
ineffective or superfluous, or capable of being better disposed. This,
however, I shall demonstrate in my work "On the Use of Parts."
VI
Peri prôtês oun tês geneseôs eipômen, hên ex alloiôseôs
th' hama kai diaplaseôs elegomen gignesthai.
Katablêthentos dê tou spermatos eis tên mêtran ê eis tên
gên, ouden gar diapherei, chronois tisin hôrismenois
pampolla synistatai moria tês gennômenês ousias
hygrotêti kai xêrotêti kai psychrotêti kai thermotêti
kai tois allois hapasin, hosa toutois hepetai,
diapheronta. ta d' hepomena gignôskeis, eiper holôs
ephilosophêsas ti peri geneseôs kai phthoras; hai loipai
gar tôn haptôn onomazomenôn diaphorôn tais eirêmenais
hepontai prôtai kai malista, meta de tau||tas hai 12
geustai te kai osphrêtai kai horatai. sklêrotês men oun
kai malakotês kai glischrotês kai kraurotês kai
kouphotês kai barytês kai pyknotês kai araiotês kai
leiotês kai trachytês kai pachytês kai leptotês haptai
diaphorai kai eirêtai peri pasôn Aristotelei kalôs.
oistha de dêpou kai tas geustas te kai osphrêtas kai
horatas diaphoras. hôst', ei men tas prôtas te kai
stoicheiôdeis alloiôtikas dynameis zêtoiês, hygrotês
esti kai xêrotês kai psychrotês kai thermotês; ei de tas
ek tês toutôn kraseôs genomenas, tosautai kath' hekaston
esontai zôon, hosaper an autou ta aisthêta stoicheia
hyparchê; kaleitai d' aisthêta stoicheia ta homoiomerê
panta tou sômatos moria; kai taut' ouk ek methodou tinos
all' autoptên genomenon ekmathein chrê dia tôn anatomôn.
Ostoun dê kai chondron kai neuron kai hymena kai
syndesmon kai phleba kai panth' hosa toiauta kata tên
prôtên tou zôou genesin hê physis apergazetai dynamei
chrômenê katholou men eipein tê gennêtikê te kai
alloiô||tikê, kata meros de thermantikê te kai psyktikê 13
kai xêrantikê kai hygrantikê kai tais ek tês toutôn
kraseôs genomenais, hoion ostopoiêtikê te kai
neuropoiêtikê kai chondropoiêtikê; saphêneias gar heneka
kai toutois tois onomasi chrêsteon.
Esti goun kai hê idia sarx tou hêpatos ek toutou tou
genous kai hê tou splênos kai hê tôn nephrôn kai hê tou
pneumonos kai hê tês kardias houtô de kai tou enkephalou
to idion sôma kai tês gastros kai tou stomachou kai tôn
enterôn kai tôn hysterôn aisthêton stoicheion estin
homoiomeres te kai haploun kai asyntheton; ean gar
exelês hekastou tôn eirêmenôn tas artêrias te kai tas
phlebas kai ta neura, to hypoloipon sôma to kath'
hekaston organon haploun esti kai stoicheiôdes hôs pros
aisthêsin. hosa de tôn toioutôn organôn ek dyoin
synkeitai chitônôn ouch homoiôn men allêlois, haplou d'
hekaterou, toutôn hoi chitônes eisi ta stoicheia
kathaper tês te gastros kai tou stomachou kai tôn
enterôn kai tôn artêriôn, kai kath' hekateron ge tôn
chitônôn idios hê alloiôtikê dynamis hê ek tou para tês
|| mêtros epimêniou gennêsasa to morion, hôste tas kata 14
meros alloiôtikas dynameis tosautas einai kath' hekaston
zôon, hosaper an echê ta stoicheiôdê moria. kai men ge
kai tas energeias idias hekastô tôn kata meros anankaion
hyparchein hôsper kai tas chreias, hoion kai tôn apo tôn
nephrôn eis tên kystin diêkontôn porôn, hoi dê kai
ourêtêres kalountai. houtoi gar out' artêriai eisin,
hoti mête sphyzousi mêt' ek dyoin chitônôn synestêkasin,
oute phlebes, hoti mêth' haima periechousi mêt' eoiken
autôn ho chitôn kata ti tô tês phlebos; alla kai neurôn
epi pleon aphestêkasin ê tôn eirêmenôn.
Ti pot' oun eisin? erôta tis, hôsper anankaion on hapan
morion ê artêrian ê phleba ê neuron hyparchein ê ek
toutôn peplechthai kai mê tout' auto to nyn legomenon,
hôs idios hekastô tôn kata meros organôn estin hê ousia.
kai gar kai hai kysteis hekaterai hê te to ouron
hypodechomenê kai hê tên xanthên cholên ou monon tôn
allôn hapantôn alla kai allêlôn diapherousi kai hoi eis
to hêpar apophyomenoi || poroi, kathaper stomachoi tines 15
apo tês cholêdochou kysteôs, ouden out' artêriais oute
phlepsin oute neurois eoikasin. alla peri men toutôn epi
pleon en allois te tisi kan tois peri tês Hippokratous
anatomês eirêtai.
Hai de kata meros hapasai dynameis tês physeôs hai
alloiôtikai autên men tên ousian tôn chitônôn tês
koilias kai tôn enterôn kai tôn hysterôn apetelesan,
hoiaper esti; tên de synthesin autôn kai tên tôn
emphyomenôn plokên kai tên eis to enteron ekphysin kai
tên tês endon koilotêtos idean kai tall' hosa toiauta
dynamis tis hetera dieplasen, hên diaplastikên
onomazomen, hên dê kai technikên einai legomen, mallon
d' aristên kai akran technên kai panta tinos heneka
poiousan, hôs mêden argon einai mêde peritton mêd' holôs
houtôs echon, hôs dynasthai beltion heterôs echein. alla
touto men en tois peri chreias moriôn apodeixomen. || 16
VII
Passing now to the faculty of Growth[50] let us first mention that
this, too, is present in the foetus _in utero_ as is also the
nutritive faculty, but that at that stage these two faculties are, as
it were, _handmaids_ to those already mentioned,[51] and do not
possess in themselves supreme authority. When, however, the animal[52]
has attained its complete size, then, during the whole period
following its birth and until the acme is reached, the faculty of
growth is predominant, while the alterative and nutritive faculties
are accessory--in fact, act as its handmaids. What, then, is the
property of this faculty of growth? To extend in every direction that
which has already come into existence--that is to say, the solid parts
of the body, the arteries, veins, nerves, bones, cartilages,
membranes, ligaments, and the various _coats_ which we have just
called elementary, homogeneous, and simple. And I shall state in what
way they gain this extension in every direction, first giving an
illustration for the sake of clearness.
Children take the bladders of pigs, fill them with air, and then rub
them on ashes near the fire, so as to warm, but not to injure them.
This is a common game in the district of Ionia, and among not a few
other nations. As they rub, they sing songs, to a certain measure,
time, and rhythm, and all their words are an exhortation to the
bladder to increase in size. When it appears to them fairly well
distended, they again blow air into it and expand it further; then
they rub it again. This they do several times, until the bladder seems
to them to have become large enough. Now, clearly, in these doings of
the children, the more the interior cavity of the bladder increases in
size, the thinner, necessarily, does its substance become. But, if the
children were able to bring nourishment to this thin part, then they
would make the bladder big in the same way that Nature does. As it is,
however, they cannot do what Nature does, for to imitate this is
beyond the power not only of children, but of any one soever; it is a
property of Nature alone.
It will now, therefore, be clear to you that _nutrition_ is a
necessity for growing things. For if such bodies were distended, but
not at the same time nourished, they would take on a false appearance
of growth, not a true growth. And further, to be distended _in all
directions_ belongs only to bodies whose growth is directed by Nature;
for those which are distended by us undergo this distension in one
direction but grow less in the others; it is impossible to find a body
which will remain entire and not be torn through whilst we stretch it
in the three dimensions. Thus Nature alone has the power to expand a
body in all directions so that it remains unruptured and preserves
completely its previous form.
Such then is _growth_, and it cannot occur without the nutriment which
flows to the part and is worked up into it.
VII
Epi de tên auxêtikên êdê metabantes dynamin auto touth'
hypomnêsômen prôton, hôs hyparchei men kai autê tois
kyoumenois hôsper kai hê threptikê; all' hoion
hypêretides tines eisi tênikauta tôn proeirêmenôn
dynameôn, ouk en hautais echousai to pan kyros. epeidan
de to teleion apolabê megethos to zôon, en tô meta tên
apokyêsin chronô panti mechri tês akmês hê men auxêtikê
tênikauta kratei; boêthoi d' autês kai hoion hypêretides
hê t' alloiôtikê dynamis esti kai hê threptikê. ti oun
to idion esti tês auxêtikês dynameôs? eis pan meros
ekteinai ta pephykota. kaleitai d' houtô ta sterea moria
tou sômatos, artêriai kai phlebes kai neura kai osta kai
chondroi kai hymenes kai syndesmoi kai hoi chitônes
hapantes, hous stoicheiôdeis te kai homoiomereis kai
haplous oligon emprosthen ekaloumen. hotô de tropô tên
eis pan meros ektasin ischousin, egô phrasô paradeigma
ti proteron eipôn heneka tou saphous. || 17
Tas kysteis tôn hyôn labontes hoi paides plêrousi te
pneumatos kai tribousin epi tês tephras plêsion tou
pyros, hôs aleainesthai men, blaptesthai de mêden; kai
pollê g' hautê hê paidia peri te tên Iônian kai en
allois ethnesin ouk oligois estin. epilegousi de dê kai
tin' epê tribontes en metrô te tini kai melei kai
rhythmô kai esti panta ta rhêmata tauta parakeleusis tê
kystei pros tên auxêsin. epeidan d' hikanôs autois
diatetasthai dokê, palin emphysôsi te kai epidiateinousi
kai authis tribousi kai touto pleonakis poiousin, achris
an autois hê kystis hikanôs echein dokê tês auxêseôs.
all' en toutois ge tois ergois tôn paidôn enargôs, hoson
eis megethos epididôsin hê entos eurychôria tês kysteôs,
tosouton anankaion eis leptotêta kathaireisthai to sôma
kai ei ge tên leptotêta tautên anatrephein hoioi t' êsan
hoi paides, homoiôs an tê physei tên kystin ek mikras
megalên apeirgazonto. nyni de tout' autois endei to
ergon oude kath' hena tropon eis mimêsin endechomenon
achthênai mê hoti tois || paisin all' oud' allô tini; 18
monês gar tês physeôs idion estin.
Hôst' êdê soi dêlon, hôs anankaia tois auxanomenois hê
threpsis. ei gar diateinoito men, anatrephoito de mê,
phantasian pseudê mallon, ouk auxêsin alêthê ta toiauta
sômata ktêsetai. kaitoi kai to diateinesthai pantê
monois tois hypo physeôs auxanomenois hyparchei. ta gar
hyph' hêmôn diateinomena sômata kata mian tina diastasin
touto paschonta meioutai tais loipais, oud' estin
heurein ouden, ho syneches eti menon kai adiaspaston eis
tas treis diastaseis epekteinai dynametha. monês oun tês
physeôs to pantê diistanai syneches heautô menon eti kai
tên archaian hapasan idean phylatton to sôma.
Kai tout' estin hê auxêsis aneu tês epirrheousês te kai
prosplattomenês trophês mê dynamenê genesthai.
VIII
We have, then, it seems, arrived at the subject of Nutrition, which is
the third and remaining consideration which we proposed at the outset.
For, when the matter which flows to each part of the body in the form
of nutriment is being worked up into it, this activity is _nutrition_,
and its cause is the _nutritive faculty_. Of course, the kind of
activity here involved is also an _alteration_, but not an alteration
like that occurring at the stage of _genesis_.[53] For in the latter
case something comes into existence which did not exist previously,
while in nutrition the inflowing material becomes assimilated to that
which has already come into existence. Therefore, the former kind of
alteration has with reason been termed _genesis_, and the latter,
_assimilation_.
VIII
Kai toinyn ho logos hêkein eoiken ho peri tês threpseôs,
hos dê loipos esti kai tritos hôn ex archês
prouthemetha. tou gar epirrheontos en eidei trophês
panti || moriô tou trephomenou sômatos prosplattomenou 19
threpsis men hê energeia, threptikê de dynamis hê aitia.
alloiôsis men dê kantautha to genos tês energeias, all'
ouch hoiaper hê en tê genesei. ekei men gar ouk on
proteron hysteron egeneto, kata de tên threpsin tô êdê
gegonoti synexomoioutai to epirrheon kai dia tout'
eulogôs ekeinên men tên alloiôsin genesin, tautên d'
exomoiôsin ônomasan.
IX
Now, since the three faculties of Nature have been exhaustively dealt
with, and the animal would appear not to need any others (being
possessed of the means for growing, for attaining completion, and for
maintaining itself as long a time as possible), this treatise might
seem to be already complete, and to constitute an exposition of all
the faculties of Nature. If, however, one considers that it has not
yet touched upon any of _the parts_ of the animal (I mean the stomach,
intestines, liver, and the like), and that it has not dealt with the
faculties resident in these, it will seem as though merely a kind of
introduction had been given to the practical parts of our teaching.
For the whole matter is as follows: Genesis, growth, and nutrition are
the first, and, so to say, the principal effects of Nature; similarly
also the faculties which produce these effects--the first
faculties--are three in number, and are the most dominating of all.
But as has already been shown, these need the service both of each
other, and of yet different faculties. Now, these which the faculties
of generation and growth require have been stated. I shall now say
what ones the nutritive faculty requires.
IX
Epeidê de peri tôn triôn dynameôn tês physeôs autarkôs
eirêtai kai phainetai mêdemias allês prosdeisthai to
zôon, echon ge kai hopôs auxêthê kai hopôs teleiôthê kai
hopôs heôs pleistou diaphylachthê, doxeie men an isôs
hikanôs echein ho logos houtos êdê kai pasas exêgeisthai
tas tês physeôs dynameis. all' ei tis palin ennoêseien,
hôs oudenos oudepô tôn tou zôou moriôn ephêpsato,
koilias legô kai enterôn kai hêpatos kai tôn homoiôn,
oud' exêgêsato tas en autois dynameis, authis doxeien an
hoion prooimion ti monon eirêsthai tês chrêsimou
didaskalias. || to gar sympan hôd' echei. genesis kai 20
auxêsis kai threpsis ta prôta kai hoion kephalaia tôn
ergôn esti tês physeôs; hôste kai hai toutôn ergastikai
dynameis hai prôtai treis eisi kai kyriôtatai; deontai
d' eis hypêresian, hôs êdê dedeiktai, kai allêlôn kai
allôn. tinôn men oun hê gennêtikê te kai auxêtikê
deontai, eirêtai, tinôn d' hê threptikê, nyn eirêsetai.
X
For I believe that I shall prove that the organs which have to do with
the disposal[54] of the nutriment, as also their faculties, exist for
the sake of this _nutritive faculty_. For since the action of this
faculty[55] is _assimilation_, and it is impossible for anything to be
assimilated by, and to change into anything else unless they already
possess a certain _community and affinity_ in their qualities,[56]
therefore, in the first place, any animal cannot naturally derive
nourishment from any kind of food, and secondly, even in the case of
those from which it can do so, it cannot do this at once. Therefore,
by reason of this law,[57] every animal needs several organs for
_altering_ the nutriment. For in order that the yellow may become red,
and the red yellow, one simple process of alteration is required, but
in order that the white may become black, and the black white, all the
intermediate stages are needed.[58] So also, a thing which is very
soft cannot all at once become very hard, nor _vice versa_; nor,
similarly can anything which has a very bad smell suddenly become
quite fragrant, nor again, can the converse happen.
How, then, could blood ever turn into bone, without having first
become, as far as possible, thickened and white? And how could bread
turn into blood without having gradually parted with its whiteness and
gradually acquired redness? Thus it is quite easy for blood to become
flesh; for, if Nature thicken it to such an extent that it acquires a
certain consistency and ceases to be fluid, it thus becomes original
newly-formed flesh; but in order that blood may turn into bone, much
time is needed and much elaboration and transformation of the blood.
Further, it is quite clear that bread, and, more particularly lettuce,
beet, and the like, require a great deal of alteration in order to
become blood.
This, then, is one reason why there are so many organs concerned in
the alteration of food. A second reason is the nature of the
_superfluities_.[59] For, as we are unable to draw any nourishment
from grass, although this is possible for cattle, similarly we can
derive nourishment from radishes, albeit not to the same extent as
from meat; for almost the whole of the latter is mastered by our
natures[60]; it is transformed and altered and constituted useful
blood; but, in the radish, what is appropriate[61] and able of being
altered (and that only with difficulty, and with much labour) is the
very smallest part; almost the whole of it is surplus matter, and
passes through the digestive organs, only a very little being taken up
into the veins as blood--nor is this itself entirely utilisable blood.
Nature, therefore had need of a second process of separation for the
superfluities in the veins. Moreover, these superfluities need, on the
one hand, certain fresh routes to conduct them to the outlets, so that
they may not spoil the useful substances, and they also need certain
_reservoirs_, as it were, in which they are collected till they reach
a sufficient quantity, and are then discharged.
Thus, then, you have discovered bodily parts of a second kind,
consecrated in this case to the [removal of the] superfluities of the
food. There is, however, also a third kind, for carrying the pabulum
in every direction; these are like a number of roads intersecting the
whole body.
Thus there is one entrance--that through the mouth--for all the
various articles of food. What receives nourishment, however, is not
one single part, but a great many parts, and these widely separated;
do not be surprised, therefore, at the abundance of organs which
Nature has created for the purpose of nutrition. For those of them
which have to do with alteration prepare the nutriment suitable for
each part; others separate out the superfluities; some pass these
along, others store them up, others excrete them; some, again, are
paths for the transit[62] in all directions of the _utilisable_
juices. So, if you wish to gain a thorough acquaintance with all the
faculties of Nature,[63] you will have to consider each one of these
organs.
Now in giving an account of these we must begin with those effects of
Nature, together with their corresponding parts and faculties, which
are closely connected with the purpose to be achieved.[64]
X
Dokô gar moi deixein ta peri tên tês trophês oikonomian
organa te kai tas dynameis autôn dia tautên gegonota.
epeidê gar hê energeia tautês tês dynameôs exomoiôsis
estin, homoiousthai de kai metaballein eis allêla pasi
tois ousin adynaton, ei mê tina echoi koinônian êdê kai
syngeneian en tais poiotêsi, dia touto prôton men ouk ek
pantôn edesmatôn pan zôon trephesthai pephyken, epeita
d' oud' ex hôn hoion t' estin oud' ek toutôn parachrêma,
kai dia tautên tên anankên pleionôn organôn alloiôtikôn
tês trophês hekaston || tôn zôôn chrêzei. hina men gar 21
to xanthon erythron genêtai kai to erythron xanthon,
haplês kai mias deitai tês alloiôseôs; hina de to leukon
melan kai to melan leukon, hapasôn tôn metaxy. kai
toinyn kai to malakôtaton ouk an athroôs sklêrotaton kai
to sklêrotaton ouk an athroôs malakôtaton genoito,
hôsper oude to dysôdestaton euôdestaton oud' empalin to
euôdestaton dysôdestaton exaiphnês genoit' an.
Pôs oun ex haimatos ostoun an pote genoito mê
pachynthentos ge proteron epi pleiston autou kai
leukanthentos ê pôs ex artou to haima mê kata brachy men
apothemenou tên leukotêta, kata brachy de lambanontos
tên erythrotêta? sarka men gar ex haimatos genesthai
rhaston; ei gar eis tosouton auto pachyneien hê physis,
hôs systasin tina schein kai mêket' einai rhyton, hê
prôtê kai neopagês houtôs an eiê sarx; ostoun d' hina
genêtai, pollou men deitai chronou, pollês d' ergasias
kai metabolês tô haimati. hoti de kai tô artô kai poly
mallon thrida||kinê kai teutlô kai tois homoiois 22
pampollês deitai tês alloiôseôs eis haimatos genesin,
oude tout' adêlon.
Hen men dê tout' aition tou polla genesthai ta peri tên
tês trophês alloiôsin organa. deuteron d' hê tôn
perittômatôn physis. hôs gar hypo botanôn oud' holôs
dynametha trephesthai, kaitoi tôn boskêmatôn
trephomenôn, houtôs hypo rhaphanidos trephometha men,
all' ouch hôs hypo tôn kreôn. toutôn men gar oligou dein
holôn hê physis hêmôn kratei kai metaballei kai alloioi
kai chrêston ex autôn haima synistêsin; en de tê
rhaphanidi to men oikeion te kai metablêthênai
dynamenon, mogis kai touto kai syn pollê tê katergasia,
pantapasin elachiston; holê d' oligou dein esti
perittômatikê kai diexerchetai ta tês pepseôs organa,
bracheos ex autês eis tas phlebas analêphthentos
haimatos kai oude toutou teleôs chrêstou. deuteras oun
authis edeêse diakriseôs tê physei tôn en tais phlepsi
perittômatôn. kai chreia kai toutois hodôn te tinôn
heterôn epi tas ek||kriseis auta paragousôn, hôs mê 23
lymainoito tois chrêstois, hypodochôn te tinôn hoion
dexamenôn, en hais hotan eis hikanon plêthos aphikêtai,
tênikaut' ekkrithêsetai.
Deuteron dê soi kai touto to genos tôn en tô sômati
moriôn exeurêtai tois perittômasi tês trophês
anakeimenon. allo de triton hyper tou pantê pheresthai,
kathaper tines hodoi pollai dia tou sômatos holou
katatetmêmenai.
Mia men gar eisodos hê dia tou stomatos hapasi tois
sitiois, ouch hen de to trephomenon alla pampolla te kai
pampoly diestôta. mê toinyn thaumaze to plêthos tôn
organôn, hosa threpseôs heneken hê physis edêmiourgêse.
ta men gar alloiounta proparaskeuazei tên epitêdeion
hekastô moriô trophên, ta de diakrinei ta perittômata,
ta de parapempei, ta d' hypodechetai, ta d' ekkrinei, ta
d' hodoi tês pantê phoras eisi tôn chrêstôn chymôn,
hôst', eiper boulei tas dynameis tês physeôs hapasas
ekmathein, hyper hekastou toutôn an eiê soi tôn organôn
episkepteon.
Archê d' autôn tês didaskalias, hosa || tou telous engys 24
erga te tês physeôs esti kai moria kai dynameis autôn.
XI
Let us once more, then, recall the actual purpose for which Nature has
constructed all these parts. Its name, as previously stated, is
_nutrition_, and the definition corresponding to the name is: _an
assimilation of that which nourishes to that which receives
nourishments_.[65] And in order that this may come about, we must
assume a preliminary process of _adhesion_,[66] and for that, again,
one of _presentation_.[67] For whenever the juice which is destined to
nourish any of the parts of the animal is emitted from the vessels, it
is in the first place dispersed all through this part, next it is
presented, and next it adheres, and becomes completely assimilated.
The so-called white [leprosy] shows the difference between
assimilation and adhesion, in the same way that the kind of dropsy
which some people call _anasarca_ clearly distinguishes presentation
from adhesion. For, of course, the genesis of such a dropsy does not
come about as do some of the conditions of atrophy and wasting,[68]
from an insufficient supply of moisture; the flesh is obviously moist
enough,--in fact it is thoroughly saturated,--and each of the solid
parts of the body is in a similar condition. While, however, the
nutriment conveyed to the part does undergo presentation, it is still
too watery, and is not properly transformed into a _juice_,[69] nor
has it acquired that viscous and agglutinative quality which results
from the operation of _innate heat_;[70] therefore, adhesion cannot
come about, since, owing to this abundance of thin, crude liquid, the
pabulum runs off and easily slips away from the solid parts of the
body. In white [leprosy], again, there is adhesion of the nutriment
but no real assimilation. From this it is clear that what I have just
said is correct, namely, that in that part which is to be nourished
there must first occur presentation, next adhesion, and finally
assimilation proper.
Strictly speaking, then, _nutriment_ is that which is actually
nourishing, while the _quasi-nutriment_ which is not yet nourishing
(_e.g._ matter which is undergoing adhesion or presentation) is not,
strictly speaking, nutriment, but is so called only by an
equivocation. Also, that which is still contained in the veins, and
still more, that which is in the stomach, from the fact that it is
destined to nourish if properly elaborated, has been called
"nutriment." Similarly we call the various kinds of food "nutriment,"
not because they are already nourishing the animal, nor because they
exist in the same state as the material which actually is nourishing
it, but because they are able and destined to nourish it if they be
properly elaborated.
This was also what Hippocrates said, viz., "Nutriment is what is
engaged in nourishing, as also is quasi-nutriment, and what is
destined to be nutriment." For to that which is already being
assimilated he gave the name of _nutriment_; to the similar material
which is being presented or becoming adherent, the name of
_quasi-nutriment_; and to everything else--that is, contained in the
stomach and veins--the name of _destined nutriment_.
XI
Autou de dê palin anamnêsteon hêmin tou telous, houper
heneka tosauta te kai toiauta tê physei dedêmiourgêtai
moria. to men oun onoma tou pragmatos, hôsper kai
proteron eirêtai, threpsis; ho de kata tounoma logos
homoiôsis tou trephontos tô trephomenô. hina d' hautê
genêtai, proêgêsasthai chrê prosphysin, hina d' ekeinê,
prosthesin. epeidan gar ekpesê tôn angeiôn ho mellôn
threpsein hotioun tôn tou zôou moriôn chymos, eis hapan
auto diaspeiretai prôton, epeita prostithetai kapeita
prosphyetai kai teleôs homoioutai.
Dêlousi d' hai kaloumenai leukai tên diaphoran
homoiôseôs te kai prosphyseôs, hôsper to genos ekeino
tôn hyderôn, ho tines onomazousin ana sarka, diorizei
saphôs prosthesin prosphyseôs. ou gar endeia dêpou tês
epirrheousês hygrotêtos, hôs eniai tôn atrophiôn te kai
phthiseôn, hê tou toioutou genesis hyderou || 25
synteleitai. phainetai gar hikanôs hê te sarx hygra kai
diabrochos hekaston te tôn stereôn tou sômatos moriôn
hôsautôs diakeimenon. alla prosthesis men tis gignetai
tês epipheromenês trophês, hate d' hydatôdesteras ousês
eti kai mê pany ti kechymômenês mêde to glischron ekeino
kai kollôdes, ho dê tês emphytou thermasias oikonomia
prosgignetai, kektêmenês hê prosphysis adynatos estin
epiteleisthai plêthei leptês hygrotêtos apeptou
diarrheousês te kai rhadiôs olisthainousês apo tôn
stereôn tou sômatos moriôn tês trophês. en de tais
leukais prosphysis men tis gignetai tês trophês, ou mên
exomoiôsis ge. kai dêlon en tôde to mikrô prosthen
rhêthen hôs orthôs elegeto to dein prosthesin men
prôton, ephexês de prosphysin, epeit' exomoiôsin
genesthai tô mellonti trephesthai.
Kyriôs men oun to trephon êdê trophê, to d' hoion men
trophê, oupô de trephon, hopoion esti to prosphyomenon ê
prostithemenon, trophê men ou kyriôs, homônymôs de
trophê; to d' en tais phlepsin eti periechomenon || kai 26
toutou mallon eti to kata tên gastera tô mellein pote
threpsein, ei kalôs katergastheiê, keklêtai trophê. kata
tauta de kai tôn edesmatôn hekaston trophên onomazomen
oute tô trephein êdê to zôon oute tô toiouton hyparchein
hoion to trephon, alla tô dynasthai te kai mellein
trephein, ei kalôs katergastheiê.
Touto gar ên kai to pros Hippokratous legomenon; "Trophê
de to trephon, trophê kai to hoion trophê kai to
mellon." to men gar homoioumenon êdê trophên ônomase, to
d' hoion men ekeino prostithemenon ê prosphyomenon hoion
trophên; to d' allo pan, hoson en tê gastri kai tais
phlepsi periechetai, mellon.
XII
It is quite clear, therefore, that nutrition must necessarily be a
process of assimilation of that which is nourishing to that which is
being nourished. Some, however, say that this assimilation does not
occur in reality, but is merely apparent; these are the people who
think that Nature is not artistic, that she does not show forethought
for the animal's welfare, and that she has absolutely no native powers
whereby she alters some substances, attracts others, and discharges
others.
Now, speaking generally, there have arisen the following two sects in
medicine and philosophy among those who have made any definite
pronouncement regarding Nature. I speak, of course, of such of them as
know what they are talking about, and who realize the logical sequence
of their hypotheses, and stand by them; as for those who cannot
understand even this, but who simply talk any nonsense that comes to
their tongues, and who do not remain definitely attached either to one
sect or the other--such people are not even worth mentioning.
What, then, are these sects, and what are the logical consequences of
their hypotheses?[71] The one class supposes that all substance which
is subject to genesis and destruction is at once _continuous_[72] and
susceptible of _alteration_. The other school assumes substance to be
unchangeable, unalterable, and sub-divided into fine particles, which
are separated from one another by empty spaces.
All people, therefore, who can appreciate the logical sequence of an
hypothesis hold that, according to the second teaching, there does not
exist any substance or faculty peculiar either to Nature or to
Soul,[73] but that these result from the way in which the primary
corpuscles,[74] which are unaffected by change, come together.
According to the first-mentioned teaching, on the other hand, Nature
is not posterior to the corpuscles, but is a long way prior to them
and older than they; and therefore in their view it is Nature which
puts together the bodies both of plants and animals; and this she does
by virtue of certain faculties which she possesses--these being, on
the one hand, attractive and assimilative of what is appropriate, and,
on the other, expulsive of what is foreign. Further, she skilfully
moulds everything during the stage of genesis; and she also provides
for the creatures after birth, employing here other faculties again,
namely, one of affection and forethought for offspring, and one of
sociability and friendship for kindred. According to the other school,
none of these things exist in the natures[75] [of living things], nor
is there in the soul any original innate idea, whether of agreement or
difference, of separation or synthesis, of justice or injustice, of
the beautiful or ugly; all such things, they say, arise in us _from
sensation and through sensation_, and animals are steered by certain
images and memories.
Some of these people have even expressly declared that the soul
possesses no reasoning faculty, but that we are led like cattle by the
impression of our senses, and are unable to refuse or dissent from
anything. In their view, obviously, courage, wisdom, temperance, and
self-control are all mere nonsense, we do not love either each other
or our offspring, nor do the gods care anything for us. This school
also despises dreams, birds, omens, and the whole of astrology,
subjects with which we have dealt at greater length in another
work,[76] in which we discuss the views of Asclepiades the
physician.[77] Those who wish to do so may familiarize themselves with
these arguments, and they may also consider at this point which of the
two roads lying before us is the better one to take. Hippocrates took
the first-mentioned. According to this teaching, substance is one and
is subject to _alteration_; there is a consensus in the movements of
air and fluid throughout the whole body;[78] Nature acts throughout in
an artistic and equitable manner, having certain faculties, by virtue
of which each part of the body draws to itself the juice which is
proper to it, and, having done so, attaches it to every portion of
itself, and completely assimilates it; while such part of the juice as
has not been mastered,[79] and is not capable of undergoing complete
alteration and being assimilated to the part which is being nourished,
is got rid of by yet another (an expulsive) faculty.
XII
Hoti men oun anankaion homoiôsin tin' einai tou
trephontos tô trephomenô tên threpsin, antikrys dêlon.
ou mên hyparchousan ge tautên tên homoiôsin, alla
phainomenên monon einai phasin hoi mête technikên
oiomenoi tên physin einai mête pronoêtikên tou zôou
mêth' holôs tinas oikeias echein dynameis, hais chrômenê
ta men alloioi, ta d' helkei, || ta d' ekkrinei. 27
Kai hautai dyo gegonasin haireseis kata genos en iatrikê
te kai philosophia tôn apophênamenôn ti peri physeôs
andrôn, hosoi g' autôn gignôskousin, ho ti legousi, kai
tên akolouthian hôn hypethento theôrousi th' hama kai
diaphylattousin. hosoi de mêd' auto touto syniasin, all'
haplôs, ho ti an epi glôttan elthê, lêrousin, en
oudetera tôn haireseôn akribôs katamenontes, oude
memnêsthai tôn toioutôn prosêkei.
Tines oun hai dyo haireseis hautai kai tis hê tôn en
autais hypotheseôn akolouthia? tên hypobeblêmenên ousian
genesei kai phthora pasan hênômenên th' hama kai
alloiousthai dynamenên hypetheto thateron genos tês
haireseôs, ametablêton de kai analloiôton kai
katatetmêmenên eis lepta kai kenais tais metaxy chôrais
dieilêmmenên hê loipê.
Kai toinyn hosoi ge tês akolouthias tôn hypotheseôn
aisthanontai, kata men tên deuteran hairesin oute
physeôs oute psychês idian tina nomizousin ousian ê
dynamin hyparchein, || all' en tê poia synodô tôn prôtôn 28
ekeinôn sômatôn tôn apathôn apoteleisthai. kata de tên
proteran eirêmenên hairesin ouch hystera tôn sômatôn hê
physis, alla poly protera te kai presbytera. kai toinyn
kata men toutous hautê ta sômata tôn te phytôn kai tôn
zôôn synistêsi dynameis tinas echousa tas men helktikas
th' hama kai homoiôtikas tôn oikeiôn, tas d' apokritikas
tôn allotriôn, kai technikôs hapanta diaplattei te
gennôsa kai pronoeitai tôn gennômenôn heterais authis
tisi dynamesi, sterktikê men tini kai pronoêtikê tôn
engonôn, koinônikê de kai philikê tôn homogenôn. kata d'
au tous heterous oute toutôn ouden hyparchei tais
physesin out' ennoia tis esti tê psychê symphytos ex
archês ouk akolouthias ou machês, ou diaireseôs ou
syntheseôs, ou dikaiôn ouk adikôn, ou kalôn ouk
aischrôn, all' ex aisthêseôs te kai di' aisthêseôs
hapanta ta toiauth' hêmin engignesthai phasi kai
phantasiais tisi kai mnêmais oiakizesthai ta zôa.
Enioi || d' autôn kai rhêtôs apephênanto mêdemian einai 29
tês psychês dynamin, hê logizometha, all' hypo tôn
aisthêtôn agesthai pathôn hêmas kathaper boskêmata pros
mêden ananeusai mêd' anteipein dynamenous. kath' hous
dêlonoti kai andreia kai phronêsis kai sôphrosynê kai
enkrateia lêros esti makros kai philoumen out' allêlous
oute ta engona kai tois theois ouden hêmôn melei.
kataphronousi de kai tôn oneiratôn kai tôn oiônôn kai
tôn symbolôn kai pasês astrologias, hyper hôn hêmeis men
idia di' heterôn grammatôn epi pleon eskepsametha peri
tôn Asklêpiadou tou iatrou skopoumenoi dogmatôn. enesti
de tois boulomenois kakeinois men homilêsai tois logois
kai nyn d' êdê skopein, hôsper tinôn dyoin hodôn hêmin
prokeimenôn, hopoteran beltion esti trepesthai.
Hippokratês men gar tên proteran rhêtheisan etrapeto,
kath' hên hênôtai men hê ousia kai alloioutai kai
sympnoun holon esti kai syrrhoun to sôma kai hê physis
hapanta technikôs kai dikaiôs prattei dynameis echousa,
kath' has hekaston tôn moriôn helkei men || eph' heauto 30
ton oikeion heautô chymon, helxan de prosphyei te panti
merei tôn en hautô kai teleôs exomoioi, to de mê
kratêthen en toutô mêde tên pantelê dynêthen alloiôsin
te kai homoiotêta tou trephomenou katadexasthai di'
heteras au tinos ekkritikês dynameôs apotribetai.
XIII
Now the extent of exactitude and truth in the doctrines of Hippocrates
may be gauged, not merely from the way in which his opponents are at
variance with obvious facts, but also from the various subjects of
natural research themselves--the functions of animals, and the rest.
For those people who do not believe that there exists in any part of
the animal a faculty for attracting _its own special quality_[80] are
compelled repeatedly to deny obvious facts.[81] For instance,
Asclepiades, the physician,[82] did this in the case of the kidneys.
That these are organs for secreting [separating out] the urine, was
the belief not only of Hippocrates, Diocles, Erasistratus,
Praxagoras,[83] and all other physicians of eminence, but practically
every butcher is aware of this, from the fact that he daily observes
both the position of the kidneys and the duct (termed the ureter)
which runs from each kidney into the bladder, and from this
arrangement he infers their characteristic use and faculty. But, even
leaving the butchers aside, all people who suffer either from frequent
dysuria or from retention of urine call themselves "nephritics,"[84]
when they feel pain in the loins and pass sandy matter in their water.
I do not suppose that Asclepiades ever saw a stone which had been
passed by one of these sufferers, or observed that this was preceded
by a sharp pain in the region between kidneys and bladder as the stone
traversed the ureter, or that, when the stone was passed, both the
pain and the retention at once ceased. It is worth while, then,
learning how his theory accounts for the presence of urine in the
bladder, and one is forced to marvel at the ingenuity of a man who
puts aside these broad, clearly visible routes,[85] and postulates
others which are narrow, invisible--indeed, entirely imperceptible.
His view, in fact, is that the fluid which we drink passes into the
bladder by being resolved into vapours, and that, when these have been
again condensed, it thus regains its previous form, and turns from
vapour into fluid. He simply looks upon the bladder as a sponge or a
piece of wool, and not as the perfectly compact and impervious body
that it is, with two very strong coats. For if we say that the vapours
pass through these coats, why should they not pass through the
peritoneum[86] and the diaphragm, thus filling the whole abdominal
cavity and thorax with water? "But," says he, "of course the
peritoneal coat is more impervious than the bladder, and this is why
it keeps out the vapours, while the bladder admits them." Yet if he
had ever practised anatomy, he might have known that the outer coat of
the bladder springs from the peritoneum and is essentially the same as
it, and that the inner coat, which is peculiar to the bladder, is more
than twice as thick as the former.
Perhaps, however, it is not the thickness or thinness of the coats,
but the _situation_ of the bladder, which is the reason for the
vapours being carried into it? On the contrary, even if it were
probable for every other reason that the vapours accumulate there, yet
the situation of the bladder would be enough in itself to prevent
this. For the bladder is situated below, whereas vapours have a
natural tendency to rise upwards; thus they would fill all the region
of the thorax and lungs long before they came to the bladder.
But why do I mention the situation of the bladder, peritoneum, and
thorax? For surely, when the vapours have passed through the coats of
the stomach and intestines, it is in the space between these and the
peritoneum[87] that they will collect and become liquefied (just as in
dropsical subjects it is in this region that most of the water
gathers).[88] Otherwise the vapours must necessarily pass straight
forward through everything which in any way comes in contact with
them, and will never come to a standstill. But, if this be assumed,
then they will traverse not merely the peritoneum but also the
epigastrium, and will become dispersed into the surrounding air;
otherwise they will certainly collect under the skin.
Even these considerations, however, our present-day Asclepiadeans
attempt to answer, despite the fact that they always get soundly
laughed at by all who happen to be present at their disputations on
these subjects--so difficult an evil to get rid of is this sectarian
partizanship, so excessively resistant to all cleansing processes,
harder to heal than any itch!
Thus, one of our Sophists who is a thoroughly hardened disputer and as
skilful a master of language as there ever was, once got into a
discussion with me on this subject; so far from being put out of
countenance by any of the above-mentioned considerations, he even
expressed his surprise that I should try to overturn obvious facts by
ridiculous arguments! "For," said he, "one may clearly observe any day
in the case of any bladder, that, if one fills it with water or air
and then ties up its neck and squeezes it all round, it does not let
anything out at any point, but accurately retains all its contents.
And surely," said he, "if there were any large and perceptible
channels coming into it from the kidneys the liquid would run out
through these when the bladder was squeezed, in the same way that it
entered?"[89] Having abruptly made these and similar remarks in
precise and clear tones, he concluded by jumping up and
departing--leaving me as though I were quite incapable of finding any
plausible answer!
The fact is that those who are enslaved to their sects are not merely
devoid of all sound knowledge, but they will not even stop to learn!
Instead of listening, as they ought, to the reason why liquid can
enter the bladder through the ureters, but is unable to go back again
the same way,--instead of admiring Nature's artistic skill[90]--they
refuse to learn; they even go so far as to scoff, and maintain that
the kidneys, as well as many other things, have been made by Nature
_for no purpose!_[91] And some of them who had allowed themselves to
be shown the ureters coming from the kidneys and becoming implanted in
the bladder, even had the audacity to say that these also existed for
no purpose; and others said that they were spermatic ducts, and that
this was why they were inserted into the neck of the bladder and not
into its cavity. When, therefore, we had demonstrated to them the real
spermatic ducts[92] entering the neck of the bladder lower down than
the ureters, we supposed that, if we had not done so before, we would
now at least draw them away from their false assumptions, and convert
them forthwith to the opposite view. But even this they presumed to
dispute, and said that it was not to be wondered at that the semen
should remain longer in these latter ducts, these being more
constricted, and that it should flow quickly down the ducts which came
from the kidneys, seeing that these were well dilated. We were,
therefore, further compelled to show them in a still living animal,
the urine plainly running out through the ureters into the bladder;
even thus we hardly hoped to check their nonsensical talk.
Now the method of demonstration is as follows. One has to divide the
peritoneum in front of the ureters, then secure these with ligatures,
and next, having bandaged up the animal, let him go (for he will not
continue to urinate). After this one loosens the external bandages and
shows the bladder empty and the ureters quite full and distended--in
fact almost on the point of rupturing; on removing the ligature from
them, one then plainly sees the bladder becoming filled with urine.
When this has been made quite clear, then, before the animal urinates,
one has to tie a ligature round his penis and then to squeeze the
bladder all over; still nothing goes back through the ureters to the
kidneys. Here, then, it becomes obvious that not only in a dead
animal, but in one which is still living, the ureters are prevented
from receiving back the urine from the bladder. These observations
having been made, one now loosens the ligature from the animal's penis
and allows him to urinate, then again ligatures one of the ureters and
leaves the other to discharge into the bladder. Allowing, then, some
time to elapse, one now demonstrates that the ureter which was
ligatured is obviously full and distended on the side next to the
kidneys, while the other one--that from which the ligature had been
taken--is itself flaccid, but has filled the bladder with urine. Then,
again, one must divide the full ureter, and demonstrate how the urine
spurts out of it, like blood in the operation of venesection; and
after this one cuts through the other also, and both being thus
divided, one bandages up the animal externally. Then when enough time
seems to have elapsed, one takes off the bandages; the bladder will
now be found empty, and the whole region between the intestines and
the peritoneum full of urine, as if the animal were suffering from
dropsy. Now, if anyone will but test this for himself on an animal, I
think he will strongly condemn the rashness of Asclepiades, and if he
also learns the reason why nothing regurgitates from the bladder into
the ureters, I think he will be persuaded by this also of the
forethought and art shown by Nature in relation to animals.[93]
Now Hippocrates, who was the first known to us of all those who have
been both physicians and philosophers inasmuch as he was the first to
recognize what Nature effects, expresses his admiration of her, and is
constantly singing her praises and calling her "just." Alone, he says,
she suffices for the animal in every respect, performing of her own
accord and without any teaching all that is required. Being such, she
has, as he supposes, certain _faculties_, one attractive of what is
appropriate,[94] and another eliminative of what is foreign, and she
nourishes the animal, makes it grow, and expels its diseases by
crisis.[95] Therefore he says that there is in our bodies a
concordance in the movements of air and fluid, and that everything is
in sympathy. According to Asclepiades, however, nothing is naturally
in sympathy with anything else, all substance being divided and broken
up into inharmonious elements and absurd "molecules." Necessarily,
then, besides making countless other statements in opposition to plain
fact, he was ignorant of Nature's faculties, both that attracting what
is appropriate, and that expelling what is foreign. Thus he invented
some wretched nonsense to explain blood-production and _anadosis_,[96]
and, being utterly unable to find anything to say regarding the
clearing-out[97] of superfluities, he did not hesitate to join issue
with obvious facts, and, in this matter of urinary secretion, to
deprive both the kidneys and the ureters of their activity, by
assuming that there were certain invisible channels opening into the
bladder. It was, of course, a grand and impressive thing to do, to
mistrust the obvious, and to pin one's faith in things which could not
be seen!
Also, in the matter of the yellow bile, he makes an even grander and
more spirited venture; for he says this is actually generated in the
bile-ducts, not merely separated out.
How comes it, then, that in cases of jaundice two things happen at the
same time--that the dejections contain absolutely no bile, and that
the whole body becomes full of it? He is forced here again to talk
nonsense, just as he did in regard to the urine. He also talks no less
nonsense about the black bile and the spleen, not understanding what
was said by Hippocrates; and he attempts in stupid--I might say
insane--language, to contradict what he knows nothing about.
And what profit did he derive from these opinions from the point of
view of treatment? He neither was able to cure a kidney ailment, nor
jaundice, nor a disease of black bile, nor would he agree with the
view held not merely by Hippocrates but by all men regarding
drugs--that some of them purge away yellow bile, and others black,
some again phlegm, and others the thin and watery superfluity[98]; he
held that all the substances evacuated[99] were _produced by the drugs
themselves_, just as yellow bile is produced by the biliary passages!
It matters nothing, according to this extraordinary man, whether we
give a hydragogue or a cholagogue in a case of dropsy, for these all
equally purge[99] and dissolve the body, and produce a solution having
such and such an appearance, which did not exist as such before![100]
Must we not, therefore, suppose he was either mad, or entirely
unacquainted with practical medicine? For who does not know that if a
drug for attracting phlegm be given in a case of jaundice it will not
even evacuate four _cyathi_[101] of phlegm? Similarly also if one of
the hydragogues be given. A cholagogue, on the other hand, clears away
a great quantity of bile, and the skin of patients so treated at once
becomes clear. I myself have, in many cases, after treating the liver
condition, then removed the disease by means of a single purgation;
whereas, if one had employed a drug for removing phlegm one would have
done no good.
Nor is Hippocrates the only one who knows this to be so, whilst those
who take experience alone as their starting-point[102] know otherwise;
they, as well as all physicians who are engaged in the practice of
medicine, are of this opinion. Asclepiades, however is an exception;
he would hold it a betrayal of his assumed "elements"[103] to confess
the truth about such matters. For if a single drug were to be
discovered which attracted such and such a humour only, there would
obviously be danger of the opinion gaining ground that there is in
every body[104] a faculty which attracts its own particular quality.
He therefore says that safflower,[105] the Cnidian berry,[106] and
_Hippophaes_,[107] do not draw phlegm from the body, but actually make
it. Moreover, he holds that the flower and scales of bronze, and burnt
bronze itself, and germander,[108] and wild mastich[109] dissolve the
body into water, and that dropsical patients derive benefit from these
substances, not because they are purged by them, but because they are
rid of substances which actually help to increase the disease; for, if
the medicine does not evacuate[110] the dropsical fluid contained in
the body, but generates it, it aggravates the condition further.
Moreover, scammony, according to the Asclepiadean argument, not only
fails to evacuate[110] the bile from the bodies of jaundiced subjects,
but actually turns the useful blood into bile, and dissolves the body;
in fact it does all manner of evil and increases the disease.
And yet this drug may be clearly seen to do good to numbers of people!
"Yes," says he, "they derive benefit certainly, but merely in
proportion to the evacuation." ... But if you give these cases a drug
which draws off phlegm they will not be benefited. This is so obvious
that even those who make experience alone their starting-point[111]
are aware of it; and these people make it a cardinal point of their
teaching to trust to no arguments, but only to what can be clearly
seen. In this, then, they show good sense; whereas Asclepiades goes
far astray in bidding us distrust our senses where obvious facts
plainly overturn his hypotheses. Much better would it have been for
him not to assail obvious facts, but rather to devote himself entirely
to these.
Is it, then, these facts only which are plainly irreconcilable with
the views of Asclepiades? Is not also the fact that in summer yellow
bile is evacuated in greater quantity by the same drugs, and in winter
phlegm, and that in a young man more bile is evacuated, and in an old
man more phlegm? Obviously each drug attracts something which already
exists, and does not generate something previously non-existent. Thus
if you give in the summer season a drug which attracts phlegm to a
young man of a lean and warm habit, who has lived neither idly nor too
luxuriously, you will with great difficulty evacuate a very small
quantity of this humour, and you will do the man the utmost harm. On
the other hand, if you give him a cholagogue, you will produce an
abundant evacuation and not injure him at all.
Do we still, then, disbelieve that each drug attracts _that humour
which is proper to it_?[112] Possibly the adherents of Asclepiades
will assent to this--or rather, they will--not possibly, but
certainly--declare that they disbelieve it, lest they should betray
their darling prejudices.
XIII
Mathein d' enestin ou monon ex hôn hoi tanantia
tithemenoi diapherontai tois enargôs phainomenois, eis
hoson orthotêtos te kai alêtheias hêkei ta Hippokratous
dogmata, alla kax autôn tôn kata meros en tê physikê
theôria zêtoumenôn tôn t' allôn hapantôn kai tôn en tois
zôois energeiôn. hosoi gar oudemian oudeni moriô
nomizousin hyparchein helktikên tês oikeias poiotêtos
dynamin, anankazontai pollakis enantia legein tois
enargôs phainomenois, hôsper kai Asklêpiadês ho iatros
epi tôn nephrôn epoiêsen, hous ou monon Hippokratês ê
Dioklês ê Erasistratos ê Praxagoras ê tis allos iatros
aristos organa diakritika tôn ourôn pepisteukasin
hyparchein, alla kai hoi || mageiroi schedon hapantes 31
isasin, hosêmerai theômenoi tên te thesin autôn kai ton
aph' hekaterou poron eis tên kystin emballonta, ton
ourêtêra kaloumenon, ex autês tês kataskeuês
analogizomenoi tên te chreian autôn kai tên dynamin. kai
pro ge tôn mageirôn hapantes anthrôpoi kai dysourountes
pollakis kai pantapasin ischourountes, hotan algôsi men
ta kata tas psoas, psammôdê d' exourôsin, nephritikous
onomazousi sphas autous.
Asklêpiadên d' oimai mêde lithon ourêthenta pote
theasasthai pros tôn houtô paschontôn mêd' hôs
proêgêsato kata tên metaxy tôn nephrôn kai tês kysteôs
chôran odynê tis oxeia dierchomenou tou lithou ton
ourêtêra mêd' hôs ourêthentos autou ta te tês odynês kai
ta tês ischourias epausato parachrêma. pôs oun eis tên
kystin tô logô paragei to ouron, axion akousai kai
thaumasai tandros tên sophian, hos katalipôn houtôs
eureias hodous enargôs phainomenas aphaneis kai stenas
kai pantapasin anaisthêtous || hypetheto. bouletai gar 32
eis atmous analyomenon to pinomenon hygron eis tên
kystin diadidosthai kapeit' ex ekeinôn authis allêlois
syniontôn houtôs apolambanein auto tên archaian idean
kai gignesthai palin hygron ex atmôn atechnôs hôs peri
spongias tinos ê eriou tês kysteôs dianooumenos, all' ou
sômatos akribôs pyknou kai steganou dyo chitônas
ischyrotatous kektêmenou, di' hôn eiper dierchesthai
phêsomen tous atmous, ti dêpot' ouchi dia tou
peritonaiou kai tôn phrenôn dielthontes eneplêsan
hydatos to t' epigastrion hapan kai ton thôraka? alla
pachyteros, phêsin, esti dêladê kai steganôteros ho
peritonaios chitôn tês kysteôs kai dia tout' ekeinos men
apostegei tous atmous, hê de kystis paradechetai. all'
eiper anatetmêkei pote, tach' an êpistato ton men
exôthen chitôna tês kysteôs apo tou peritonaiou
pephykota tên autên ekeinô physin echein, ton d'
endothen ton autês tês kysteôs idion pleon ê diplasion
ekeinou to pachos hyparchein.
All' isôs oute to || pachos outh' hê leptotês tôn 33
chitônôn, all' hê thesis tês kysteôs aitia tou
pheresthai tous atmous eis autên. kai mên ei kai dia
talla panta pithanon ên autous entauthoi
synathroizesthai, to ge tês theseôs monês autarkes
kôlysai. katô men gar hê kystis keitai, tois d' atmois
symphytos hê pros to meteôron phora, hôste poly proteron
an eplêsan hapanta ta kata ton thôraka te kai ton
pneumona, prin epi tên kystin aphikesthai.
Kaitoi ti theseôs kysteôs kai peritonaiou kai thôrakos
mnêmoneuô? diekpesontes gar dêpou tous te tês koilias
kai tôn enterôn chitônas hoi atmoi kata tên metaxy
chôran autôn te toutôn kai tou peritonaiou
synathroisthêsontai kai hygron entauthoi genêsontai,
hôsper kai tois hyderikois en toutô tô chôriô to
pleiston athroizetai tou hydatos, ê pantôs autous chrê
pheresthai prosô dia pantôn tôn hopôsoun homilountôn kai
mêdepoth' histasthai. all' ei kai touto tis hypothoito,
diekpesontes an houtôs ou to peritonaion monon alla kai
to epigastrion, eis to periechon skedastheien ê pantôs
an hypo tô dermati || synathroistheien. 34
Alla kai pros taut' antilegein hoi nyn Asklêpiadeioi
peirôntai, kaitoi pros hapantôn aei tôn paratynchanontôn
autois, hotan peri toutôn erizôsi, katagelômenoi. houtôs
ara dysapotripton ti kakon estin hê peri tas haireseis
philotimia kai dyseknipton en tois malista kai psôras
hapasês dysiatoteron.
Tôn goun kath' hêmas tis sophistôn ta t' alla kai peri
tous eristikous logous hikanôs synkekrotêmenos kai
deinos eipein, eiper tis allos, aphikomenos emoi poth'
hyper toutôn eis logous, tosouton apedei tou
dysôpeisthai pros tinos tôn eirêmenôn, hôste kai
thaumazein ephasken emou ta saphôs phainomena logois
lêrôdesin anatrepein epicheirountos. enargôs gar
hosêmerai theôreisthai tas kysteis hapasas, ei tis autas
emplêseien hydatos ê aeros, eita dêsas ton trachêlon
piezoi pantachothen, oudamothen methieisas ouden, all'
akribôs hapan entos heautôn stegousas. kaitoi g' eiper
êsan tines ek tôn nephrôn eis autas hêkontes aisthêtoi
kai megaloi poroi, pantôs an, ephê, di' ekeinôn, hôsper
eisêei to || hygron eis autas, houtô kai thlibontôn 35
exekrineto. tauta kai ta toiaut' eipôn exaiphnês
aptaistô kai saphei tô stomati teleutôn anapêdêsas apêei
katalipôn hêmas hôs oude pithanês tinos antilogias
euporêsai dynamenous.
Houtôs ou monon hygies ouden isasin hoi tais hairesesi
douleuontes, all' oude mathein hypomenousi. deon gar
akousai tên aitian, di' hên eisienai men dynatai dia tôn
ourêtêrôn eis tên kystin to hygron, exienai d' authis
opisô tên autên hodon ouketh' hoion te, kai thaumasai
tên technên tês physeôs, oute mathein ethelousi kai
loidorountai proseti matên hyp' autês alla te polla kai
tous nephrous gegonenai phaskontes. eisi d' hoi kai
deichthênai parontôn autôn tous apo tôn nephrôn eis tên
kystin emphyomenous ourêtêras hypomeinantes etolmêsan
eipein hoi men, hoti matên kai houtoi gegonasin, hoi d',
hoti spermatikoi tines eisi poroi kai dia touto kata ton
trachêlon autês, ouk eis to kytos emphyontai. deixantes
oun hêmeis autois tous hôs alêthôs spermatikous porous
katôterô tôn ourêtêrôn || emballontas eis ton trachêlon, 36
nyn goun, ei kai mê proteron, ôêthêmen apaxein te tôn
pseudôs hypeilêmmenôn epi te tanantia metastêsein
autika. hoi de kai pros tout' antilegein etolmôn ouden
einai thaumaston eipontes, en ekeinois men hôs an
steganôterois ousin epi pleon hypomenein to sperma, kata
de tous apo tôn nephrôn hôs an hikanôs aneurysmenous
ekrein dia tacheôn. hêmeis oun ênankasthêmen autois tou
loipou deiknyein eisreon tê kystei dia tôn ourêtêrôn to
ouron enargôs epi zôntos eti tou zôou, mogis an houtô
pote tên phlyarian autôn epischêsein elpizontes.
Ho de tropos tês deixeôs esti toiosde. dielein chrê to
pro tôn ourêtêrôn peritonaion, eita brochois autous
eklabein kapeit' epidêsantas easai to zôon; ou gar an
ourêseien eti. meta de tauta lyein men tous exôthen
desmous, deiknynai de kenên men tên kystin, mestous d'
hikanôs kai diatetamenous tous ourêtêras kai
kindyneuontas rhagênai kapeita tous brochous autôn
aphelontas enargôs horan êdê plêroumenên ourou tên
kystin.
Epi de toutô || phanenti, prin ourêsai to zôon, brochon 37
autou peribalein chrê tô aidoiô kapeita thlibein
pantachothen tên kystin. oude gar an ouden eti dia tôn
ourêtêrôn epanelthoi pros tous nephrous. kan toutô dêlon
gignetai to mê monon epi tethneôtos alla kai periontos
eti tou zôou kôlyesthai metalambanein authis ek tês
kysteôs tous ourêtêras to ouron. epi toutois ophtheisin
epitrepein êdê to zôon ourein lyontas autou ton epi tô
aidoiô brochon, eit' authis epibalein men thaterô tôn
ourêtêrôn, easai de ton heteron eis tên kystin syrrhein
kai tina dialipontas chronon epideiknyein êdê, pôs ho
men heteros autôn ho dedemenos mestos kai diatetamenos
kata ta pros tôn nephrôn merê phainetai, ho d' heteros
ho lelymenos autos men chalaros esti, peplêrôke d' ourou
tên kystin. eit' authis diatemein prôton men ton plêrê
kai deixai, pôs exakontizetai to ouron ex autou,
kathaper en tais phlebotomiais to haima, meta tauta de
kai ton heteron authis diatemein kapeit' epidêsai to
zôon exôthen, amphoterôn diêrêmenôn, || eith' hotan 38
hikanôs echein dokê, lysai ton desmon. heurethêsetai gar
hê men kystis kenê, plêres d' ourou to metaxy tôn
enterôn te kai tou peritonaiou chôrion hapan, hôs an ei
kai hyderikon ên to zôon. taut' oun ei tis autos kath'
heauton boulêtheiê basanizein epi zôou, megalôs moi
dokei katagnôsesthai tês Asklêpiadou propeteias. ei de
dê kai tên aitian mathoi, di' hên ouden ek tês kysteôs
eis tous ourêtêras antekrei, peisthênai an moi dokei kai
dia toude tên eis ta zôa pronoian te kai technên tês
physeôs.
Hippokratês men oun hôn ismen iatrôn te kai philosophôn
prôtos hapantôn, hôs an kai prôtos epignous ta tês
physeôs erga, thaumazei te kai dia pantos autên hymnei
dikaian onomazôn kai monên exarkein eis hapanta tois
zôois phêsin, autên ex hautês adidaktôs prattousan
hapanta ta deonta; toiautên d' ousan autên eutheôs kai
dynameis hypelaben echein helktikên men tôn oikeiôn,
apokritikên de tôn allotriôn kai trephein te kai auxein
au||tên ta zôa kai krinein ta nosêmata; kai dia tout' en 39
tois sômasin hêmôn sympnoian te mian einai phêsi kai
syrrhoian kai panta sympathea. kata de ton Asklêpiadên
ouden oudeni sympathes esti physei, diêrêmenês te kai
katatethrausmenês eis anarma stoicheia kai lêrôdeis
onkous hapasês tês ousias. ex anankês oun alla te myria
tois enargôs phainomenois enantiôs apephênato kai tês
physeôs êgnoêse tên te tôn oikeiôn epispastikên dynamin
kai tên tôn allotriôn apokritikên. epi men oun tês
exaimatôseôs te kai anadoseôs exeure tina psychran
adoleschian; eis de tên tôn perittômatôn katharsin ouden
holôs heurôn eipein ouk ôknêsen homose chôrêsai tois
phainomenois, epi men tês tôn ourôn diakriseôs
aposterêsas men tôn te nephrôn kai tôn ourêtêrôn tên
energeian, adêlous de tinas porous eis tên kystin
hypothemenos; touto gar ên dêladê mega kai semnon
apistêsanta tois phainomenois pisteusai tois adêlois.
Epi || de tês xanthês cholês eti meizon autô kai 40
neanikôteron esti to tolmêma; gennasthai gar autên en
tois cholêdochois angeiois, ou diakrinesthai legei.
Pôs oun tois ikterikois ham' amphô sympiptei, ta men
diachôrêmata mêden holôs en hautois echonta cholês,
anapleôn d' autois gignomenon holon to sôma? lêrein
palin entauth' anankazetai tois epi tôn ourôn eirêmenois
paraplêsiôs. lêrei d' ouden hêtton kai peri tês melainês
cholês kai tou splênos oute ti poth' hyph' Hippokratous
eirêtai synieis antilegein t' epicheirôn hois ouk oiden
emplêktô tini kai manikô stomati.
Ti dê to kerdos ek tôn toioutôn dogmatôn eis tas
therapeias ektêsato? mête nephritikon ti nosêma
dynasthai therapeusai mêt' ikterikon mête melancholikon,
alla kai peri tou pasin anthrôpois ouch Hippokratei
monon homologoumenou tou kathairein tôn pharmakôn enia
men tên xanthên cholên, enia de tên melainan, alla de
tina phlegma kai tina to lepton kai hydatôdes perittôma,
mêde peri toutôn synchôrein, all' hyp' autôn tôn
pharmakôn gignesthai legein toiouton hekaston tôn
kenoumenôn, hôsper hypo tôn cholê||dochôn porôn tên 41
cholên; kai mêden diapherein kata ton thaumaston
Asklêpiadên ê hydragôgon didonai tois hyderiôsin ê
cholagôgon pharmakon; hapanta gar homoiôs kenoun kai
syntêkein to sôma kai to syntêgma toionde ti phainesthai
poiein, mê proteron hyparchon toiouton.
Ar' oun ou mainesthai nomisteon auton ê pantapasin
apeiron einai tôn ergôn tês technês? tis gar ouk oiden,
hôs, ei men phlegmatos agôgon dotheiê pharmakon tois
ikteriôsin, ouk an oude tettaras kyathous kathartheien;
houtô d' oud' ei tôn hydragôgôn ti; cholagôgô de
pharmakô pleiston men ekkenoutai cholês, autika de
katharos tois houtô kathartheisin ho chrôs gignetai.
pollous goun hêmeis meta to therapeusai tên en tô hêpati
diathesin hapax kathêrantes apêllaxamen tou pathêmatos.
ou mên oud' ei phlegmatos agôgô kathairois pharmakô,
pleon an ti diapraxaio.
Kai taut' ouch Hippokratês men houtôs oide gignomena,
tois d' apo tês empeirias monês hormômenois heterôs
egnôstai, alla kakei||nois hôsautôs kai pasin iatrois, 42
hois melei tôn ergôn tês technês, houtô dokei plên
Asklêpiadou. prodosian gar einai nenomike tôn stoicheiôn
hôn hypetheto tên alêthê peri tôn toioutôn homologian.
ei gar holôs heuretheiê ti pharmakon helktikon toude
tinos tou chymou monou, kindynos kratein dêladê tô logô
to en hekastô tôn sômatôn einai tina dynamin
epispastikên tês oikeias poiotêtos. dia touto knêkon men
kai kokkon ton knidion kai hippophaes ouch helkein ek
tou sômatos alla poiein to phlegma phêsin; anthos de
chalkou kai lepida kai auton ton kekaumenon chalkon kai
chamaidryn kai chamaileonta eis hydôr analyein to sôma
kai tous hyderikous hypo toutôn ou kathairomenous
oninasthai alla kenoumenous synauxontôn dêladê to
pathos. ei gar ou kenoi to periechomenon en tois sômasin
hydatôdes hygron all' auto genna, tô nosêmati
prostimôreitai. kai men ge kai hê skammônia pros tô mê
kenoun ek tou sômatos tôn ikterikôn tên cholên eti kai
to chrêston haima cholên ergazomenê || kai syntêkousa to 43
sôma kai têlikauta kaka drôsa kai to pathos epauxousa
kata ge ton Asklêpiadou logon.
Homôs enargôs horatai pollous ôphelousa. nai, phêsin,
oninantai men, all' autô monô tô logô tês kenôseôs. kai
mên ei phlegmatos agôgon autois doiês pharmakon, ouk
onêsontai. kai touth' houtôs enarges estin, hôste kai
hoi apo monês tês empeirias hormômenoi gignôskousin
auto. kaitoi toutois ge tois andrasin auto dê tout' esti
philosophêma, to mêdeni logô pisteuein alla monois tois
enargôs phainomenois. ekeinoi men oun sôphronousin;
Asklêpiadês de parapaiei tais aisthêsesin hêmas apistein
keleuôn, entha to phainomenon anatrepei saphôs autou tas
hypotheseis. kaitoi makrô g' ên ameinon ouch homose
chôrein tois phainomenois all' ekeinois anathesthai to
pan.
Ar' oun tauta monon enargôs machetai tois Asklêpiadou
dogmasin ê kai to therous men pleiona kenousthai tên
xanthên cholên hypo tôn autôn pharmakôn, cheimônos de to
phlegma, kai neaniskô men pleiona tên cholên, presbytê
de to phlegma? phainetai || gar hekaston helkein tên 44
ousan, ouk auto gennan tên ouk ousan. ei goun ethelêsais
neaniskô tini tôn ischnôn kai thermôn hôra therous mêt'
argôs bebiôkoti mêt' en plêsmonê phlegmatos agôgon
dounai pharmakon, oligiston men kai meta bias pollês
ekkenôseis tou chymou, blapseis d' eschatôs ton
anthrôpon; empalin d' ei cholagôgon doiês, kai pampoly
kenôseis kai blapseis ouden.
Ar' apistoumen eti tô mê ouch hekaston tôn pharmakôn
epagesthai ton oikeion heautô chymon? isôs phêsousin hoi
ap' Asklêpiadou, mallon d' ouk isôs, alla pantôs
apistein erousin, hina mê prodôsi ta philtata.
XIV
Let us pass on, then, again to another piece of nonsense; for the
sophists do not allow one to engage in enquiries that are of any
worth, albeit there are many such; they compel one to spend one's time
in dissipating the fallacious arguments which they bring forward.
What, then, is this piece of nonsense? It has to do with the famous
and far-renowned stone which draws iron [the lodestone]. It might be
thought that this would draw[113] their minds to a belief that there
are in all bodies certain _faculties_ by which they attract their own
proper qualities.
Now Epicurus, despite the fact that he employs in his _Physics_[114]
elements similar to those of Asclepiades,[115] yet allows that iron is
attracted by the lodestone,[116] and chaff by amber. He even tries to
give the cause of the phenomenon. His view is that the atoms which
flow from the stone are related in shape to those flowing from the
iron, and so they become easily interlocked with one another; thus it
is that, after colliding with each of the two compact masses (the
stone and the iron) they then rebound into the middle and so become
entangled with each other, and draw the iron after them. So far, then,
as his hypotheses regarding causation[117] go, he is perfectly
unconvincing; nevertheless, he does grant that there is an attraction.
Further, he says that it is on similar principles that there occur in
the bodies of animals the dispersal of nutriment[118] and the
discharge of waste matters, as also the actions of cathartic drugs.
Asclepiades, however, who viewed with suspicion the incredible
character of the cause mentioned, and who saw no other credible cause
on the basis of his supposed elements, shamelessly had recourse to the
statement that nothing is in any way attracted by anything else. Now,
if he was dissatisfied with what Epicurus said, and had nothing better
to say himself, he ought to have refrained from making hypotheses, and
should have said that Nature is a constructive artist and that the
substance of things is always tending towards unity and also towards
alteration because its own parts act upon and are acted upon by one
another.[119] For, if he had assumed this, it would not have been
difficult to allow that this constructive nature has powers which
attract appropriate and expel alien matter. For in no other way could
she be constructive, preservative of the animal, and eliminative of
its diseases,[120] unless it be allowed that she conserves what is
appropriate and discharges what is foreign.
But in this matter, too, Asclepiades realized the logical sequence of
the principles he had assumed; he showed no scruples, however, in
opposing plain fact; he joins issue in this matter also, not merely
with all physicians, but with everyone else, and maintains that there
is no such thing as a crisis, or critical day,[121] and that Nature
does absolutely nothing for the preservation of the animal. For his
constant aim is to follow out logical consequences and to upset
obvious fact, in this respect being opposed to Epicurus; for the
latter always stated the observed fact, although he gives an
ineffective explanation of it. For, that these small corpuscles
belonging to the lodestone rebound, and become entangled with other
similar particles of the iron, and that then, by means of this
entanglement (which cannot be seen anywhere) such a heavy substance as
iron is attracted--I fail to understand how anybody could believe
this. Even if we admit this, the same principle will not explain the
fact that, when the iron has another piece brought in contact with it,
this becomes attached to it.
For what are we to say? That, forsooth, some of the particles that
flow from the lodestone collide with the iron and then rebound back,
and that it is by these that the iron becomes suspended? that others
penetrate into it, and rapidly pass through it by way of its empty
channels?[122] that these then collide with the second piece of iron
and are not able to penetrate it although they penetrated the first
piece? and that they then course back to the first piece, and produce
entanglements like the former ones?
The hypothesis here becomes clearly refuted by its absurdity. As a
matter of fact, I have seen five writing-stylets of iron attached to
one another in a line, only the first one being in contact with the
lodestone, and the power[123] being transmitted through it to the
others. Moreover, it cannot be said that if you bring a second stylet
into contact with the lower end of the first, it becomes held,
attached, and suspended, whereas, if you apply it to any other part of
the side it does not become attached. For the power of the lodestone
is distributed in all directions; it merely needs to be in contact
with the first stylet at any point; from this stylet again the power
flows, as quick as a thought, all through the second, and from that
again to the third. Now, if you imagine a small lodestone hanging in a
house, and in contact with it all round a large number of pieces of
iron, from them again others, from these others, and so on,--all these
pieces of iron must surely become filled with the corpuscles which
emanate from the stone; therefore, this first little stone is likely
to become dissipated by disintegrating into these emanations.[124]
Further, even if there be no iron in contact with it, it still
disperses into the air, particularly if this be also warm.
"Yes," says Epicurus, "but these corpuscles must be looked on as
exceedingly small, so that some of them are a ten-thousandth part of
the size of the very smallest particles carried in the air." Then do
you venture to say that so great a weight of iron can be suspended by
such small bodies? If each of them is a ten-thousandth part as large
as the dust particles which are borne in the atmosphere, how big must
we suppose the hook-like extremities by which they interlock with each
other[125] to be? For of course this is quite the smallest portion of
the whole particle.
Then, again, when a small body becomes entangled with another small
body, or when a body in motion becomes entangled with another also in
motion, they do not rebound at once. For, further, there will of
course be others which break in upon them from above, from below, from
front and rear, from right and left, and which shake and agitate them
and never let them rest. Moreover, we must perforce suppose that each
of these small bodies has a large number of these hook-like
extremities. For by one it attaches itself to its neighbours, by
another--the topmost one--to the lodestone, and by the bottom one to
the iron. For if it were attached to the stone above and not
interlocked with the iron below, this would be of no use.[126] Thus,
the upper part of the superior extremity must hang from the lodestone,
and the iron must be attached to the lower end of the inferior
extremity; and, since they interlock with each other by their sides as
well, they must, of course, have hooks there too. Keep in mind also,
above everything, what small bodies these are which possess all these
different kinds of outgrowths. Still more, remember how, in order that
the second piece of iron may become attached to the first, the third
to the second, and to that the fourth, these absurd little particles
must both penetrate the passages in the first piece of iron and at the
same time rebound from the piece coming next in the series, although
this second piece is naturally in every way similar to the first.
Such an hypothesis, once again, is certainly not lacking in audacity;
in fact, to tell the truth, it is far more shameless than the previous
ones; according to it, when five similar pieces of iron are arranged
in a line, the particles of the lodestone which easily traverse the
first piece of iron rebound from the second, and do not pass readily
through it in the same way. Indeed, it is nonsense, whichever
alternative is adopted. For, if they do rebound, how then do they pass
through into the third piece? And if they do not rebound, how does the
second piece become suspended to the first? For Epicurus himself
looked on the rebound as the active agent in attraction.
But, as I have said, one is driven to talk nonsense whenever one gets
into discussion with such men. Having, therefore, given a concise and
summary statement of the matter, I wish to be done with it. For if one
diligently familiarizes oneself with the writings of Asclepiades, one
will see clearly their logical dependence on his first principles, but
also their disagreement with observed facts. Thus, Epicurus, in his
desire to adhere to the facts, cuts an awkward figure by aspiring to
show that these agree with his principles, whereas Asclepiades
safeguards the sequence of principles, but pays no attention to the
obvious fact. Whoever, therefore, wishes to expose the absurdity of
their hypotheses, must, if the argument be in answer to Asclepiades,
keep in mind his disagreement with observed fact; or if in answer to
Epicurus, his discordance with his principles. Almost all the other
sects depending on similar principles are now entirely extinct, while
these alone maintain a respectable existence still. Yet the tenets of
Asclepiades have been unanswerably confuted by Menodotus the
Empiricist, who draws his attention to their opposition to phenomena
and to each other; and, again, those of Epicurus have been confuted by
Asclepiades, who adhered always to logical sequence, about which
Epicurus evidently cares little.
Now people of the present day do not begin by getting a clear
comprehension of these sects, as well as of the better ones,
thereafter devoting a long time to judging and testing the true and
false in each of them; despite their ignorance, they style themselves,
some "physicians" and others "philosophers." No wonder, then, that
they honour the false equally with the true. For everyone becomes like
the first teacher that he comes across, without waiting to learn
anything from anybody else. And there are some of them, who, even if
they meet with more than one teacher, are yet so unintelligent and
slow-witted that even by the time they have reached old age they are
still incapable of understanding the steps of an argument.... In the
old days such people used to be set to menial tasks.... What will be
the end of it God knows!
Now, we usually refrain from arguing with people whose principles are
wrong from the outset. Still, having been compelled by the natural
course of events to enter into some kind of a discussion with them, we
must add this further to what was said--that it is not only cathartic
drugs which naturally attract their special qualities,[127] but also
those which remove thorns and the points of arrows such as sometimes
become deeply embedded in the flesh. Those drugs also which draw out
animal poisons or poisons applied to arrows all show the same faculty
as does the lodestone. Thus, I myself have seen a thorn which was
embedded in a young man's foot fail to come out when we exerted
forcible traction with our fingers, and yet come away painlessly and
rapidly on the application of a medicament. Yet even to this some
people will object, asserting that when the inflammation is dispersed
from the part the thorn comes away of itself, without being pulled out
by anything. But these people seem, in the first place, to be unaware
that there are certain drugs for drawing out inflammation and
different ones for drawing out embedded substances; and surely if it
was on the cessation of an inflammation that the abnormal matters were
expelled, then all drugs which disperse inflammations ought, _ipso
facto_, to possess the power of extracting these substances as
well.[128]
And secondly, these people seem to be unaware of a still more
surprising fact, namely, that not merely do certain medicaments draw
out thorns and others poisons, but that of the latter there are some
which attract the poison of the viper, others that of the
sting-ray,[129] and others that of some other animal; we can, in fact,
plainly observe these poisons deposited on the medicaments. Here,
then, we must praise Epicurus for the respect he shows towards obvious
facts, but find fault with his views as to causation. For how can it
be otherwise than extremely foolish to suppose that a thorn which we
failed to remove by digital traction could be drawn out by these
minute particles?
Have we now, therefore, convinced ourselves that everything which
exists[130] possesses a faculty by which it attracts its proper
quality, and that some things do this more, and some less?
Or shall we also furnish our argument with the illustration afforded
by _corn_?[131] For those who refuse to admit that anything is
attracted by anything else, will, I imagine, be here proved more
ignorant regarding Nature than the very peasants. When, for my own
part, I first learned of what happens, I was surprised, and felt
anxious to see it with my own eyes. Afterwards, when experience also
had confirmed its truth, I sought long among the various sects for an
explanation, and, with the exception of that which gave the first
place to _attraction_, I could find none which even approached
plausibility, all the others being ridiculous and obviously quite
untenable.
What happens, then, is the following. When our peasants are bringing
corn from the country into the city in wagons, and wish to filch some
away without being detected, they fill earthen jars with water and
stand them among the corn; the corn then draws the moisture into
itself through the jar and acquires additional bulk and weight, but
the fact is never detected by the onlookers unless someone who knew
about the trick before makes a more careful inspection. Yet, if you
care to set down the same vessel in the very hot sun, you will find
the daily loss to be very little indeed. Thus corn has a greater power
than extreme solar heat of drawing to itself the moisture in its
neighbourhood.[132] Thus the theory that the water is carried towards
the rarefied part of the air surrounding us[133] (particularly when
that is distinctly warm) is utter nonsense; for although it is much
more rarefied there than it is amongst the corn, yet it does not take
up a tenth part of the moisture which the corn does.
XIV
Palin oun kai hêmeis eph' heteran metabômen adoleschian;
ou gar epitrepousin hoi sophistai tôn axiôn ti zêtêmatôn
procheirizesthai kaitoi pampollôn hyparchontôn, alla
katatribein anankazousi ton chronon eis tên tôn
sophismatôn, hôn proballousi, lysin.
Tis oun hê adoleschia? hê endoxos hautê kai
polythrylêtos lithos hê ton sidêron || epispômenê. tacha 45
gar an hautê pote tên psychên autôn epispasaito
pisteuein einai tinas en hekastô tôn sômatôn helktikas
tôn oikeiôn poiotêtôn dynameis.
Epikouros men oun kaitoi paraplêsiois Asklêpiadê
stoicheiois pros tên physiologian chrômenos homôs
homologei, pros men tês hêrakleias lithou ton sidêron
helkesthai, pros de tôn êlektrôn ta kyrêbia kai peiratai
ge kai tên aitian apodidonai tou phainomenou. tas gar
aporrheousas atomous apo tês lithou tais aporrheousais
apo tou sidêrou tois schêmasin oikeias einai phêsin,
hôste periplekesthai rhadiôs. proskrouousas oun autas
tois synkrimasin hekaterois tês te lithou kai tou
sidêrou kapeit' eis to meson apopallomenas houtôs
allêlais te periplekesthai kai synepispasthai ton
sidêron. to men oun tôn hypotheseôn eis tên aitiologian
apithanon antikrys dêlon, homôs d' oun homologei tên
holkên. kai houtô ge kai kata ta sômata tôn zôôn phêsi
gignesthai tas t' anadoseis kai tas diakriseis tôn
perittômatôn kai tas tôn kathairontôn pharmakôn
energeias.
Asklêpiadês dê to te tês eirêmenês aitias apithanon || 46
hypidomenos kai mêdemian allên eph' hois hypetheto
stoicheiois exeuriskôn pithanên epi to mêd' holôs
helkesthai legein hypo mêdenos mêden anaischyntêsas
etrapeto, deon, ei mêth' hois Epikouros eipen êresketo
mêt' alla beltiô legein eichen, apostênai tôn
hypotheseôn kai tên te physin eipein technikên kai tên
ousian tôn ontôn henoumenên te pros heautên aei kai
alloioumenên hypo tôn heautês moriôn eis allêla drôntôn
te kai paschontôn. ei gar tauth' hypetheto, chalepon
ouden ên tên technikên ekeinên physin homologêsai
dynameis echein epispastikên men tôn oikeiôn,
apokritikên de tôn allotriôn. ou gar di' allo ti g' ên
autê to technikê t' einai kai tou zôou diasôstikê kai
tôn nosêmatôn kritikê para to prosiesthai men kai
phylattein to oikeion, apokrinein de to allotrion.
All' Asklêpiadês kantautha to men akolouthon tais
archais hais hypetheto syneiden, ou mên tên ge pros to
phainomenon enargôs êdesthê machên, all' homose || 47
chôrei kai peri toutou pasin ouk iatrois monon all' êdê
kai tois allois anthrôpois oute krisin einai tina legôn
outh' hêmeran krisimon outh' holôs ouden epi sôtêria tou
zôou pragmateusasthai tên physin. aei gar to men
akolouthon phylattein bouletai, to d' enargôs
phainomenon anatrepein empalin Epikourô. titheis gar
ekeinos aei to phainomenon aitian autou psychran
apodidôsi. ta gar apopallomena smikra sômata tês
hêrakleias lithou toioutois heterois periplekesthai
moriois tou sidêrou kapeita dia tês periplokês tautês
mêdamou phainomenês epispasthai bareian houtôs ousian
ouk oid' hopôs an tis peistheiê. kai gar ei touto
synchôrêsomen, to ge tô sidêrô palin heteron prostethen
ti synaptesthai tên autên aitian ouketi prosietai.
Ti gar eroumen? ê dêladê tôn aporrheontôn tês lithou
moriôn enia men proskrousanta tô sidêrô palin
apopallesthai kai tauta men einai, di' hôn kremannysthai
symbainei ton sidêron, ta d' eis auton eisdyomena dia
tôn || kenôn porôn diexerchesthai tachista kapeita tô 48
parakeimenô sidêrô proskrouonta mêt' ekeinon diadynai
dynasthai, kaitoi ton ge prôton diadynta, palindromounta
d' authis epi ton proteron heteras authis ergazesthai
tais proterais homoias periplokas?
Enargôs gar entautha to lêrôdes tês aitias elenchetai.
grapheia goun oida pote sidêra pente kata to syneches
allêlois synaphthenta, tou prôtou men monou tês lithou
psausantos, ex ekeinou d' eis talla tês dynameôs
diadotheisês; kai ouk estin eipein, hôs, ei men tô katô
tou grapheiou perati prosagois heteron, echetai te kai
synaptetai kai krematai to prosenechthen; ei d' allô
tini merei tôn plagiôn prostheiês, ou synaptetai. pantê
gar homoiôs hê tês lithou diadidotai dynamis, ei monon
hapsaito kata ti tou prôtou grapheiou. kai mentoi kak
toutou palin eis to deuteron holon hê dynamis hama
noêmati diarrhei kax ekeinou palin eis to triton holon.
ei dê noêsais smikran tina lithon hêrakleian en oikô
tini kremamenên, eit' en kyklô psauonta pampolla sidêria
kakeinôn palin hetera kakeinôn alla kai tout' achri
pleionos, hapanta || dêpou pimplasthai dei ta sidêria 49
tôn aporrheontôn tês lithou sômatôn. kai kindyneuei
diaphorêthênai to smikron ekeino lithidion eis tas
aporrhoas dialythen. kaitoi, kan ei mêden parakeoit'
autô sidêrion, eis ton aera skedannytai, malist' ei kai
thermos hyparchoi.
Nai, phêsi, smikra gar auta chrê pany noein, hôste tôn
empheromenôn tô aeri psêgmatôn toutôn dê tôn smikrotatôn
ekeinôn enia myrioston einai meros. eit' ex houtô
smikrôn tolmate legein kremannysthai barê têlikauta
sidêrou? ei gar hekaston autôn myrioston esti meros tôn
en tô aeri pheromenôn psêgmatôn, pêlikon chrê noêsai to
peras autôn to ankistroeides, hô peripleketai pros
allêla? pantôs gar dêpou touto smikrotaton estin holou
tou psêgmatos.
Eita mikron mikrô, kinoumenon kinoumenô periplaken ouk
euthys apopalletai. kai gar dê kai all' atta pantôs
autois, ta men anôthen, ta de katôthen, kai ta men
emprosthen, ta d' opisthen, ta d' ek tôn dexiôn, ta d'
ek tôn aristerôn || ekrêgnymena seiei te kai brattei kai 50
menein ouk ea. kai mentoi kai polla chrê noein ex
anankês hekaston ekeinôn tôn smikrôn sômatôn echein
ankistrôdê perata. di' henos men gar allêlois
synaptetai, di' heterou d' henos tou men hyperkeimenou
tê lithô, tou d' hypokeimenou tô sidêrô. ei gar anô men
exaphtheiê tês lithou, katô de tô sidêrô mê symplakeiê,
pleon ouden. hôste tou men hyperkeimenou to anô meros
ekkremasthai chrê tês lithou, tou d' hypokeimenou tô
katô perati synêphthai ton sidêron. epei de kak tôn
plagiôn allêlois peripleketai, pantôs pou kantautha
echei ta ankistra. kai memnêso moi pro pantôn, hopôs
onta smikra tas toiautas kai tosautas apophyseis echei.
kai toutou mallon eti, pôs, hina to deuteron sidêrion
synaphthê tô prôtô kai tô deuterô to triton kakeinô to
tetarton, hama men diexerchesthai chrê tous porous tauti
ta smikra kai lêrôdê psêgmata, hama d' apopallesthai tou
met' auto || tetagmenou, kaitoi kata pan homoiou tên 51
physin hyparchontos.
Oude gar hê toiautê palin hypothesis atolmos, all', ei
chrê talêthes eipein, makrô tôn emprosthen
anaischyntotera, pente sidêriôn homoiôn allêlois ephexês
tetagmenôn dia tou prôtou diadyomena rhadiôs tês lithou
ta moria kata to deuteron apopallesthai kai mê dia
toutou kata ton auton tropon hetoimôs diexerchesthai.
kai mên hekaterôs atopon. ei men gar apopalletai, pôs
eis to triton ôkeôs diexerchetai? ei d' ouk apopalletai,
pôs kremannytai to deuteron ek tou prôtou? tên gar
apopalsin autos hypetheto dêmiourgon tês holkês.
All', hoper ephên, eis adoleschian anankaion empiptein,
epeidan tis toioutois andrasi dialegêtai. syntomon oun
tina kai kephalaiôdê logon eipôn apallattesthai
boulomai. tois Asklêpiadou grammasin ei tis epimelôs
homilêseie, tên te pros tas archas akolouthian tôn
toioutôn dogmatôn akribôs an ekmathoi kai tên pros ta
phainomena machên. ho men oun Epikouros ta phainomena
phylattein boulomenos aschêmonei || philotimoumenos 52
epideiknyein auta tais archais homologounta; ho d'
Asklêpiadês to men akolouthon tais archais phylattei,
tou phainomenou d' ouden autô melei. hostis oun bouletai
tên atopian exelenchein tôn hypotheseôn, ei men pros
Asklêpiadên ho logos autô gignoito, tês pros to
phainomenon hypomimnêsketô machês; ei de pros Epikouron,
tês pros tas archas diaphônias. hai d' allai schedon
haireseis hai tôn homoiôn archôn echomenai teleôs
apesbêsan, hautai d' eti monai diarkousin ouk agennôs.
kaitoi ta men Asklêpiadou Mênodotos ho empeirikos
aphyktôs exelenchei, tên te pros ta phainomena machên
hypomimnêskôn auton kai tên pros allêla; ta d' Epikourou
palin ho Asklêpiadês echomenos aei tês akolouthias, hês
ekeinos ou pany ti phainetai phrontizôn.
All' hoi nyn anthrôpoi, prin kai tautas ekmathein tas
haireseis kai tas allas tas beltious kapeita chronô
pollô krinai te kai basanisai to kath' hekastên autôn
alêthes te kai pseudos, hoi men iatrous heautous, hoi de
philosophous onomazousi mêden eidotes. || ouden oun 53
thaumaston episês tois alêthesi ta pseudê tetimêsthai.
hotô gar an hekastos prôtô peritychê didaskalô, toioutos
egeneto, mê perimeinas mêden eti par' allou mathein.
enioi d' autôn, ei kai pleiosin entychoien, all' houtô
g' eisin asynetoi te kai bradeis tên dianoian, hôste kai
gegêrakotes oupô syniasin akolouthian logou. palai de
tous toioutous epi tas banausous apelyon technas. alla
tauta men es ho ti teleutêsei theos oiden.
Hêmeis d' epeidê, kaitoi pheugontes antilegein tois en
autais tais archais euthys esphalmenois, homôs
ênankasthêmen hyp' autês tôn pragmatôn tês akolouthias
eipein tina kai dialechthênai pros autous, eti kai touto
prosthêsomen tois eirêmenois, hôs ou monon ta
kathaironta pharmaka pephyken epispasthai tas oikeias
poiotêtas alla kai ta tous skolopas anagonta kai tas tôn
belôn akidas eis poly bathos sarkos empeparmenas eniote.
kai mentoi kai hosa tous ious tôn thêriôn ê tous
empepharmagmenous tois belesin anelkei, kai tauta tên
autên tais hêrakleiais lithois epi||deiknytai dynamin. 54
egôg' oun oida pote katapeparmenon en podi neaniskou
skolopa tois men daktylois helkousin hêmin biaiôs ouk
akolouthêsanta, pharmakou d' epitethentos alypôs te kai
dia tacheôn anelthonta. kaitoi kai pros touto tines
antilegousi phaskontes, hotan hê phlegmonê lythê tou
merous, automaton exienai ton skolopa pros oudenos
anelkomenon. all' houtoi ge prôton men agnoein eoikasin,
hôs alla men esti phlegmonês, alla de tôn houtô
katapeparmenôn helktika pharmaka; kaitoi g' eiper
aphlegmantôn genomenôn exekrineto ta para physin, hosa
phlegmonês esti lytika, taut' euthys an ên kakeinôn
helktika.
Deuteron d', ho kai mallon an tis thaumaseien, hôs ou
monon alla men tous skolopas, alla de tous ious exagei
pharmaka, alla kai autôn tôn tous ious helkontôn ta men
ton tês echidnês, ta de ton tês trygonos, ta d' allou
tinos epispatai kai saphôs estin idein tois pharmakois
epikeimenous autous. entauth' oun Epikouron men epainein
chrê tês pros || to phainomenon aidous, memphesthai de 55
ton logon tês aitias. hon gar hêmeis helkontes tois
daktylois ouk anêgagomen skolopa, touton hypo tôn
smikrôn ekeinôn anelkesthai psêgmatôn, pôs ou pantapasin
atopon einai chrê nomizein?
Ar' oun êdê pepeismetha tôn ontôn hekastô dynamin tin'
hyparchein, hê tên oikeian helkei poiotêta, to men
mallon, to d' hêtton?
Ê kai to tôn pyrôn eti paradeigma procheirisometha tô
logô? phanêsontai gar oimai kai tôn geôrgôn autôn
amathesteroi peri tên physin hoi mêden holôs hypo
mêdenos helkesthai synchôrountes; hôs egôge prôton men
akousas to gignomenon ethaumasa kai autos êboulêthên
autoptês autou katastênai. meta tauta de, hôs kai ta tês
peiras hômologei, tên aitian skopoumenos en pampollô
chronô kata pasas tas haireseis oudemian allên heurein
hoios t' ên oud' achri tou pithanou proïousan alla
katagelastous te kai saphôs exelenchomenas tas allas
hapasas plên tês tên holkên presbeuousês.
Esti de to gignomenon toionde. katakomizontes hoi par'
hêmin geôrgoi tous || ek tôn agrôn pyrous eis tên polin 56
en hamaxais tisin, hotan hyphelesthai boulêthôsin, hôste
mê phôrathênai, kerami' atta plêrôsantes hydatos mesois
autois enistasin. helkontes oun ekeinoi dia tou keramiou
to hygron eis hautous onkon men kai baros prosktôntai,
katadêloi d' ou pany gignontai tois horôsin, ei mê tis
propepysmenos êdê periergoteron episkopoito. kaitoi g'
ei boulêtheiês en hêliô katatheinai pany thermô tauton
angeion, elachiston pantelôs heurêseis to dapanômenon
eph' hekastês hêmeras. houtôs ara kai tês hêliakês
thermasias tês sphodras ischyroteran hoi pyroi dynamin
echousin helkein eis heautous tên plêsiazousan
hygrotêta. lêros oun entautha makros hê pros to
leptomeres phora tou periechontos hêmas aeros kai
malisth' hotan hikanôs ê thermos, poly men hyparchontos
ê kata tous pyrous leptomeresterou, dechomenou d' oude
to dekaton meros tês eis ekeinous metalambanomenês
hygrotêtos.
XV
Since then, we have talked sufficient nonsense--not willingly, but
because we were forced, as the proverb says, "to behave madly among
madmen"--let us return again to the subject of urinary secretion. Here
let us forget the absurdities of Asclepiades, and, in company with
those who are persuaded that the urine does pass through the kidneys,
let us consider what is the character of this function. For, most
assuredly, either the urine is conveyed by its own motion to the
kidneys, considering this the better course (as do we when we go off
to market![134]), or, if this be impossible, then some other reason
for its conveyance must be found. What, then, is this? If we are not
going to grant the kidneys a faculty for attracting this particular
quality,[135] as Hippocrates held, we shall discover no other reason.
For, surely everyone sees that either the kidneys must attract the
urine, or the veins must propel it--if, that is, it does not move of
itself. But if the veins did exert a propulsive action when they
contract, they would squeeze out into the kidneys not merely the
urine, but along with it the whole of the blood which they
contain.[136] And if this is impossible, as we shall show, the
remaining explanation is that the kidneys do exert traction.
And how is propulsion by the veins impossible? The situation of the
kidneys is against it. They do not occupy a position beneath the
hollow vein [vena cava] as does the sieve-like [ethmoid] passage in
the nose and palate in relation to the surplus matter from the
brain;[137] they are situated on both sides of it. Besides, if the
kidneys are like sieves, and readily let the thinner serous
[whey-like] portion through, and keep out the thicker portion, then
the whole of the blood contained in the vena cava must go to them,
just as the whole of the wine is thrown into the filters. Further, the
example of milk being made into cheese will show clearly what I mean.
For this, too, although it is all thrown into the wicker strainers,
does not all percolate through; such part of it as is too fine in
proportion to the width of the meshes passes downwards, and this is
called _whey_ [serum]; the remaining thick portion which is destined
to become cheese cannot get down, since the pores of the strainers
will not admit it. Thus it is that, if the blood-serum has similarly
to percolate through the kidneys, the whole of the blood must come to
them, and not merely one part of it.
What, then, is the appearance as found on dissection?
One division of the vena cava is carried upwards[138] to the heart,
and the other mounts upon the spine and extends along its whole length
as far as the legs; thus one division does not even come near the
kidneys, while the other approaches them but is certainly not inserted
into them. Now, if the blood were destined to be purified by them as
if they were sieves, the whole of it would have to fall into them, the
thin part being thereafter conveyed downwards, and the thick part
retained above. But, as a matter of fact, this is not so. For the
kidneys lie on either side of the vena cava. They therefore do not act
like sieves, filtering fluid sent to them by the vena cava, and
themselves contributing no force. They obviously exert traction; for
this is the only remaining alternative.
_How_, then, do they exert this traction? If, as Epicurus thinks, all
attraction takes place by virtue of the _rebounds_ and _entanglements_
of atoms, it would be certainly better to maintain that the kidneys
have no attractive action at all; for his theory, when examined, would
be found as it stands to be much more ridiculous even than the theory
of the lodestone, mentioned a little while ago. Attraction occurs in
the way that Hippocrates laid down; this will be stated more clearly
as the discussion proceeds; for the present our task is not to
demonstrate this, but to point out that no other cause of the
secretion of urine can be given except that of attraction by the
kidneys,[139] and that this attraction does not take place in the way
imagined by people who do not allow Nature a faculty of her own.[140]
For if it be granted that there is any attractive faculty at all in
those things which are governed by Nature,[141] a person who attempted
to say anything else about the absorption of nutriment[142] would be
considered a fool.
XV
Epei d' hikanôs êdoleschêsamen ouch hekontes, all', hôs
hê paroimia phêsi, mainomenois anankasthentes
sym||manênai, palin epi tên tôn ourôn epanelthômen 57
diakrisin, en hê tôn men Asklêpiadou lêrôn
epilathômetha, meta de tôn pepeismenôn diêtheisthai ta
oura dia tôn nephrôn, tis ho tropos tês energeias estin,
episkepsômetha; pantôs gar ê ex hautôn epi tous nephrous
pheretai ta oura touto beltion einai nomizonta, kathaper
hêmeis, hopotan eis tên agoran apiômen; ê, ei tout'
adynaton, heteron ti chrê tês phoras autôn exeurein
aition. ti dê tout' estin? ei gar mê tois nephrois
dôsomen tina dynamin helktikên tês toiautês poiotêtos,
hôs Hippokratês enomizen, ouden heteron exeurêsomen.
hoti men gar êtoi toutous helkein auto prosêken ê tas
phlebas pempein, eiper ge mê ex heautou pheretai, panti
pou dêlon. all' ei men hai phlebes peristellomenai
proôthoien, ouk ekeino monon, alla syn autô kai to pan
haima to periechomenon en heautais eis tous nephrous
ekthlipsousin; ei de tout' adynaton, hôs deixomen,
leipetai tous nephrous helkein.
Pôs oun adynaton touto? tôn nephrôn hê thesis
antibainei. ou gar dê houtô g' hypokeintai tê koilê
phlebi || kathaper tois ex enkephalou perittômasin en te 58
tê rhini kai kata tên hyperôan hoi tois êthmois homoioi
poroi, all' hekaterôthen autê parakeintai. kai mên,
eiper homoiôs tois êthmois hoson an ê leptoteron kai
teleôs orrhôdes, touto men hetoimôs diapempousi, to de
pachyteron apostegousin, hapan ep' autous ienai chrê to
haima to periechomenon en tê koilê phlebi, kathaper eis
tous trygêtous ho pas oinos emballetai. kai men ge kai
to tou galaktos tou tyroumenou paradeigma saphôs an, ho
boulomai legein, endeixaito. kai gar kai touto pan
emblêthen eis tous talarous ou pan diêtheitai, all'
hoson men an ê leptoteron tês eurytêtos tôn plokamôn,
eis to katantes pheretai kai touto men orrhos
eponomazetai; to loipon de to pachy to mellon esesthai
tyros, hôs an ou paradechomenôn auto tôn en tois
talarois porôn, ou diekpiptei katô. kai toinyn, eiper
houtô mellei diêtheisthai tôn nephrôn ho tou haimatos
orrhos, hapan ep' autous hêkein chrê to haima kai mê to
men nai, to d' ou. || 59
Pôs oun echei to phainomenon ek tês anatomês?
To men heteron meros tês koilês anô pros tên kardian
anapheretai, to loipon d' epibainei tê rhachei kath'
holês autês ekteinomenon achri tôn skelôn, hôste to men
heteron oud' engys aphikneitai tôn nephrôn, to loipon de
plêsiazei men, ou mên eis autous ge kataphyetai. echrên
d', eiper emellen hôs di' êthmôn autôn katharthêsesthai
to haima, pan empiptein eis autous kapeita katô men
pheresthai to lepton, ischesthai d' anô to pachy. nyni
d' ouch houtôs echei; plagioi gar hekaterôthen tês
koilês phlebos hoi nephroi keintai. oukoun hôs êthmoi
diêthousi, pempousês men ekeinês, autoi d' oudemian
eispheromenoi dynamin, all' helkousi dêlonoti; touto gar
eti leipetai.
Pôs oun helkousin? ei men, hôs Epikouros oietai tas
holkas hapasas gignesthai kata tas tôn atomôn apopalseis
te kai periplokas, ameinon ên ontôs eipein autous mêd'
helkein holôs; poly gar an houtô ge tôn epi tês
hêrakleias lithou mikrô prosthen eirê||menôn ho logos 60
exetazomenos heuretheiê geloioteros; all' hôs
Hippokratês êbouleto. lechthêsetai de saphesteron epi
proêkonti tô logô. nyni gar ou touto prokeitai
didaskein, all' hôs out' allo ti dynaton eipein aition
einai tês tôn ourôn diakriseôs plên tês holkês tôn
nephrôn outh' houtô gignesthai tên holkên, hôs hoi
mêdemian oikeian didontes tê physei dynamin oiontai
gignesthai.
Toutou gar homologêthentos, hôs estin holôs tis en tois
hypo physeôs dioikoumenois dynamis helktikê, lêrôdês
nomizoit' an ho peri anadoseôs trophês allo ti legein
epicheirôn.
XVI
Now, while Erasistratus[143] for some reason replied at great length
to certain other foolish doctrines, he entirely passed over the view
held by Hippocrates, not even thinking it worth while to mention it,
as he did in his work "On Deglutition"; in that work, as may be seen,
he did go so far as at least to make mention of the word _attraction_,
writing somewhat as follows:
"Now, the stomach does not appear to exercise any attraction."[143]
But when he is dealing with _anadosis_ he does not mention the
Hippocratic view even to the extent of a single syllable. Yet we
should have been satisfied if he had even merely written this:
"Hippocrates lies in saying 'The flesh[144] attracts both from the
stomach and from without,' for it cannot attract either from the
stomach or from without." Or if he had thought it worth while to state
that Hippocrates was wrong in criticizing the weakness of the neck of
the uterus, "seeing that the orifice of the uterus has no power of
attracting semen,"[145] or if he [Erasistratus] had thought proper to
write any other similar opinion, then we in our turn would have
defended ourselves in the following terms:
"My good sir, do not run us down in this rhetorical fashion without
some proof; state some definite objection to our view, in order that
either you may convince us by a brilliant refutation of the ancient
doctrine, or that, on the other hand, we may convert you from your
ignorance." Yet why do I say "rhetorical"? For we too are not to
suppose that when certain rhetoricians pour ridicule upon that which
they are quite incapable of refuting, without any attempt at argument,
their words are really thereby constituted rhetoric. For rhetoric
proceeds by persuasive reasoning; words without reasoning are
buffoonery rather than rhetoric. Therefore, the reply of Erasistratus
in his treatise "On Deglutition" was neither rhetoric nor logic. For
what is it that he says? "Now, the stomach does not appear to exercise
any traction." Let us testify against him in return, and set our
argument beside his in the same form. _Now, there appears to be no
peristalsis[146] of the gullet._ "And how does this appear?" one of
his adherents may perchance ask. "For is it not indicative of
_peristalsis_ that always when the upper parts of the gullet contract
the lower parts dilate?" Again, then, we say, "And in what way does
the attraction of the stomach not appear? For is it not indicative of
_attraction_ that always when the lower parts of the gullet dilate the
upper parts contract?" Now, if he would but be sensible and recognize
that this phenomenon is not more indicative of the one than of the
other view, but that it applies equally to both,[147] we should then
show him without further delay the proper way to the discovery of
truth.
We will, however, speak about the stomach again. And the dispersal of
nutriment [anadosis] need not make us have recourse to the theory
regarding the _natural tendency of a vacuum to become refilled_,[148]
when once we have granted the attractive faculty of the kidneys. Now,
although Erasistratus knew that this faculty most certainly existed,
he neither mentioned it nor denied it, nor did he make any statement
as to his views on the secretion of urine.
Why did he give notice at the very beginning of his "General
Principles" that he was going to speak about natural
activities--firstly what they are, how they take place, and in what
situations--and then, in the case of urinary secretion, declared that
this took place through the kidneys, but left out its method of
occurrence? It must, then, have been for no purpose that he told us
how digestion occurs, or spends time upon the secretion of biliary
superfluities;[149] for in these cases also it would have been
sufficient to have named the parts through which the function takes
place, and to have omitted the method. On the contrary, in these cases
he was able to tell us not merely through what organs, but also in
what way it occurs--as he also did, I think, in the case of
_anadosis_; for he was not satisfied with saying that this took place
through the veins, but he also considered fully the method, which he
held to be from the tendency of a vacuum to become refilled.
Concerning the secretion of urine, however, he writes that this occurs
through the kidneys, but does not add in what _way_ it occurs. I do
not think he could say that this was from the tendency of matter to
fill a vacuum,[150] for, if this were so, nobody would have ever died
of retention of urine, since no more can flow into a vacuum than has
run out. For, if no other factor comes into operation[151] save only
this tendency by which a vacuum becomes refilled, no more could ever
flow in than had been evacuated. Nor could he suggest any other
plausible cause, such, for example, as the expression of nutriment by
the stomach[152] which occurs in the process of anadosis; this had
been entirely disproved in the case of blood in the vena cava;[153] it
is excluded, not merely owing to the long distance, but also from the
fact that the overlying heart, at each diastole, robs the vena cava by
violence of a considerable quantity of blood.
In relation to the lower part of the vena cava[154] there would still
remain, solitary and abandoned, the specious theory concerning the
filling of a vacuum. This, however, is deprived of plausibility by the
fact that people die of retention of urine, and also, no less, by the
situation of the kidneys. For, if the whole of the blood were carried
to the kidneys, one might properly maintain that it all undergoes
purification there. But, as a matter of fact, the whole of it does not
go to them, but only so much as can be contained in the veins going to
the kidneys;[155] this portion only, therefore, will be purified.
Further, the thin serous part of this will pass through the kidneys as
if through a sieve, while the thick sanguineous portion remaining in
the veins will obstruct the blood flowing in from behind; this will
first, therefore, have to run back to the vena cava, and so to empty
the veins going to the kidneys; these veins will no longer be able to
conduct a second quantity of unpurified blood to the kidneys--occupied
as they are by the blood which had preceded, there is no passage left.
What power have we, then, which will draw back the purified blood from
the kidneys? And what power, in the next place, will bid this blood
retire to the lower part of the vena cava, and will enjoin on another
quantity coming from above not to proceed downwards before turning off
into the kidneys?
Now Erasistratus realized that all these ideas were open to many
objections, and he could only find one idea which held good in all
respects--namely, that of _attraction_. Since, therefore, he did not
wish either to get into difficulties or to mention the view of
Hippocrates, he deemed it better to say nothing at all as to the
manner in which secretion occurs.
But even if he kept silence, I am not going to do so. For I know that
if one passes over the Hippocratic view and makes some other
pronouncement about the function of the kidneys, one cannot fail to
make oneself utterly ridiculous. It was for this reason that
Erasistratus kept silence and Asclepiades lied; they are like slaves
who have had plenty to say in the early part of their career, and have
managed by excessive rascality to escape many and frequent
accusations, but who, later, when caught in the act of thieving,
cannot find any excuse; the more modest one then keeps silence, as
though thunderstruck, whilst the more shameless continues to hide the
missing article beneath his arm and denies on oath that he has ever
seen it. For it was in this way also that Asclepiades, when all subtle
excuses had failed him and there was no longer any room for nonsense
about "conveyance towards the rarefied part [of the air],"[156] and
when it was impossible without incurring the greatest derision to say
that this superfluity [_i.e._ the urine] is generated by the kidneys
as is bile by the canals in the liver--he, then, I say, clearly lied
when he swore that the urine does not reach the kidneys, and
maintained that it passes, in the form of vapour, straight from the
region of the vena cava,[157] to collect in the bladder.
Like slaves, then, caught in the act of stealing, these two are quite
bewildered, and while the one says nothing, the other indulges in
shameless lying.
XVI
Erasistratos d' ouk oid' hopôs heterais men tisi doxais
euêthesin anteipe dia makrôn, hyperebê de teleôs tên
Hippokratous, oud' achri tou mnêmoneusai monon autês,
hôs en tois peri kataposeôs epoiêsen, axiôsas. en
ekeinois men gar achri tosoutou phainetai mnêmoneuôn,
hôs tounom' eipein tês holkês monon hôde pôs graphôn;
"Holkê men oun tês koilias oudemia phainetai einai";
peri de tês || anadoseôs ton logon poioumenos oud' achri 61
syllabês mias emnêmoneuse tês Hippokrateiou doxês.
kaitoi g' epêrkesen an hêmin, ei kai tout' egrapse
monon, hôs Hippokratês eipôn "Sarkes holkoi kai ek
koiliês kai exôthen" pseudetai; oute gar ek tês koilias
out' exôthen helkein dynantai. ei de kai hoti mêtras
aitiômenos arrhôston auchena kakôs eipen "Ou gar dynatai
auteês ho stomachos eirysai tên gonên," ê ei kai ti
toiouton allo graphein ho Erasistratos êxiôse, tot' an
kai hêmeis pros auton apologoumenoi eipomen;
Ô gennaie, mê rhêtorikôs hêmôn katatreche chôris
apodeixeôs, all' eipe tina katêgorian tou dogmatos, hin'
ê peisthômen soi hôs kalôs exelenchonti ton palaion
logon ê metapeisômen hôs agnoounta. kaitoi ti legô
rhêtorikôs? mê gar, epeidê tines tôn rhêtorôn, ha
malist' adynatousi dialyesthai, tauta diagelasantes oud'
epicheirousin antilegein, êdê pou touto kai hêmeis
hêgômeth' einai to rhêtorikôs; to gar dia logou pithanou
esti to || rhêtorikôs, to d' aneu logou bômolochikon, ou 62
rhêtorikon. oukoun oute rhêtorikôs oute dialektikôs
anteipen ho Erasistratos en tô peri tês kataposeôs logô.
ti gar phêsin? "Holkê men oun tês koilias oudemia
phainetai einai." palin oun autô par' hêmôn antimartyrôn
ho autos logos antiparaballesthô; peristolê men oun tou
stomachou oudemia phainetai einai. kai pôs ou phainetai?
tach' an isôs eipoi tis tôn ap' autou; to gar aei tôn
anôthen autou merôn systellomenôn diastellesthai ta katô
pôs ouk esti tês peristolês endeiktikon? authis oun
hêmeis, kai pôs ou phainetai, phêsomen, hê tês koilias
holkê? to gar aei tôn katôthen merôn tou stomachou
diastellomenôn systellesthai ta anô pôs ouk esti tês
holkês endeiktikon? ei de sôphronêseie pote kai gnoiê to
phainomenon touto mêden mallon tês heteras tôn doxôn
hyparchein endeiktikon all' amphoterôn einai koinon,
houtôs an êdê deixaimen autô tên orthên hodon tês tou
alêthous heureseôs.
Alla peri men tês koilias authis. hê de tês trophês
anadosis ouden deitai || tês pros to kenoumenon 63
akolouthias hapax ge tês helktikês dynameôs epi tôn
nephrôn hômologêmenês, hên kaitoi pany saphôs alêthê
gignôskôn hyparchein ho Erasistratos out' emnêmoneusen
out' anteipen outh' holôs apephênato, tin' echei doxan
hyper tês tôn ourôn diakriseôs.
Ê dia ti proeipôn euthys kat' archas tôn kath' holou
logôn, hôs hyper tôn physikôn energeiôn erei, prôton
tines t' eisi kai pôs gignontai kai dia tinôn topôn, epi
tês tôn ourôn diakriseôs, hoti men dia nephrôn,
apephênato, to d' hopôs gignetai parelipe? matên oun
hêmas kai peri tês pepseôs edidaxen, hopôs gignetai, kai
peri tês tou cholôdous perittômatos diakriseôs
katatribei. êrkei gar eipein kantautha ta moria, di' hôn
gignetai, to d' hopôs paralipein. alla peri men ekeinôn
eiche legein, ou monon di' hôn organôn alla kai kath'
hontina gignetai tropon, hôsper oimai kai peri tês
anadoseôs; ou gar êrkesen eipein autô monon, hoti dia
phlebôn, alla kai pôs epexêlthen, hoti tê pros || to 64
kenoumenon akolouthia; peri de tôn ourôn tês diakriseôs,
hoti men dia nephrôn gignetai, graphei, to d' hopôs
ouketi prostithêsin. oude gar oimai tê pros to
kenoumenon akolouthia ên eipein; houtô gar an oudeis
hyp' ischourias apethanen oudepote mê dynamenou pleionos
epirrhyênai pote para to kenoumenon; allês gar aitias
mêdemias prostetheisês, alla monês tês pros to
kenoumenon akolouthias podêgousês to syneches, ouk
enchôrei pleon epirrhyênai pote tou kenoumenou. all'
oud' allên tina prostheinai pithanên aitian eichen, hôs
epi tês anadoseôs tên ekthlipsin tês gastros. all' hautê
g' epi tou kata tên koilên haimatos apôlôlei teleôs, ou
tô mêkei monon tês apostaseôs eklytheisa, alla kai tô
tên kardian hyperkeimenên exarpazein autês sphodrôs
kath' hekastên diastolên ouk oligon haima.
Monê dê tis eti kai pantôn erêmos apeleipeto tôn
sophismatôn en tois katô tês koilês hê pros || to 65
kenoumenon akolouthia, dia te tous epi tais ischouriais
apothnêskontas apolôlekuia tên pithanotêta kai dia tên
tôn nephrôn thesin ouden hêtton, ei men gar hapan ep'
autous ephereto to haima, deontôs an tis hapan ephasken
auto kathairesthai. nyni de, ou gar holon alla tosouton
autou meros, hoson hai mechri nephrôn dechontai phlebes,
ep' autous erchetai, monon ekeino katharthêsetai. kai to
men orrhôdes autou kai lepton hoion di' êthmôn tinôn tôn
nephrôn diadysetai; to d' haimatôdes te kai pachy kata
tas phlebas hypomenon empodôn stêsetai tô katopin
epirrheonti. palindromein oun auto proteron epi tên
koilên anankaion kai kenas houtôs ergazesthai tas epi
tous nephrous iousas phlebas, hai deuteron ouketi
parakomiousin ep' autous akatharton haima; kateilêphotos
gar autas tou proterou parodos oudemia leleiptai. tis
oun hêmin hê dynamis apaxei palin opisô tôn nephrôn to
katharon haima? tis de touto men diadexamenê keleusei
palin pros to katô meros ienai tês koilês, heterô d'
anôthen epipheromenô prostaxei, prin || epi tous 66
nephrous apelthein, mê pheresthai katô?
Taut' oun hapanta synidôn ho Erasistratos aporiôn mesta
kai mian monên doxan euporon heurôn en hapasi tên tês
holkês, out' aporeisthai boulomenos oute tên
Hippokratous ethelôn legein ameinon hypelabe siôpêteon
einai peri tou tropou tês diakriseôs.
All' ei kakeinos esigêsen, hêmeis ou siôpêsomen; ismen
gar, hôs ouk endechetai parelthonta tên Hippokrateion
doxan, eith' heteron ti peri nephrôn energeias eiponta
mê ou katagelaston einai pantapasi. dia tout'
Erasistratos men esiôpêsen, Asklêpiadês d' epseusato
paraplêsiôs oiketais lalois men ta prosthen tou biou kai
polla pollakis enklêmata dialysamenois hypo perittês
panourgias, ep' autophôrô de pote kateilêmmenois, eit'
ouden exeuriskousi sophisma kapeit' entautha tou men
aidêmonesterou siôpôntos, hoion apoplêxia tini
kateilêmmenou, tou d' anaischyntoterou kryptontos men
eth' hypo malês to zêtoumenon, exomnymenou de kai mêd'
heôrakenai pôpote phaskontos. houtô gar toi kai ho
Asklêpiadês || epileipontôn auton tôn tês panourgias 67
sophismatôn kai mête tês pros to leptomeres phoras
echousês eti chôran entauthoi lêreisthai mêth' hôs hypo
tôn nephrôn gennatai touti to perittôma, kathaper hypo
tôn en hêpati porôn hê cholê, dynaton on eiponta mê ou
megiston ophlein gelôta, exomnytai te kai pseudetai
phanerôs, ou diêkein legôn epi tous nephrous to ouron
all' atmoeidôs euthys ek tôn kata tên koilên merôn eis
tên kystin athroizesthai.
Houtoi men oun tois ep' autophôrô kateilêmmenois
oiketais homoiôs ekplagentes ho men esiôpêsen, ho d'
anaischyntôs pseudetai.
XVII
Now such of the younger men as have dignified themselves with the
names of these two authorities by taking the appellations
"Erasistrateans" or "Asclepiadeans" are like the _Davi_ and
_Getae_--the slaves introduced by the excellent Menander into his
comedies. As these slaves held that they had done nothing fine unless
they had cheated their master three times, so also the men I am
discussing have taken their time over the construction of impudent
sophisms, the one party striving to prevent the lies of Asclepiades
from ever being refuted, and the other saying stupidly what
Erasistratus had the sense to keep silence about.
But enough about the Asclepiadeans. The Erasistrateans, in attempting
to say how the kidneys let the urine through, will do anything or
suffer anything or try any shift in order to find some plausible
explanation which does not demand the principle of _attraction_.
Now those near the times of Erasistratus maintain that the parts above
the kidneys receive pure blood, whilst the watery residue, being
heavy, tends to run downwards; that this, after percolating through
the kidneys themselves, is thus rendered serviceable, and is sent, as
blood, to all the parts below the kidneys.
For a certain period at least this view also found favour and
flourished, and was held to be true; after a time, however, it became
suspect to the Erasistrateans themselves, and at last they abandoned
it. For apparently the following two points were assumed, neither of
which is conceded by anyone, nor is even capable of being proved. The
first is the heaviness of the serous fluid, which was said to be
produced in the vena cava, and which did not exist, apparently, at the
beginning, when this fluid was being carried up from the stomach to
the liver. Why, then, did it not at once run downwards when it was in
these situations? And if the watery fluid is so heavy, what
plausibility can anyone find in the statement that it assists in the
process of _anadosis_?
In the second place there is this absurdity, that even if it be agreed
that all the watery fluid does fall downwards, and only when it is in
the vena cava,[158] still it is difficult, or, rather, impossible, to
say through what means it is going to fall into the kidneys, seeing
that these are not situated below, but on either side of the vena
cava, and that the vena cava is not inserted into them, but merely
sends a branch[159] into each of them, as it also does into all the
other parts.
What doctrine, then, took the place of this one when it was condemned?
One which to me seems far more foolish than the first, although it
also flourished at one time. For they say, that if oil be mixed with
water and poured upon the ground, each will take a different route,
the one flowing this way and the other that, and that, therefore, it
is not surprising that the watery fluid runs into the kidneys, while
the blood falls downwards along the vena cava. Now this doctrine also
stands already condemned. For why, of the countless veins which spring
from the vena cava, should blood flow into all the others, and the
serous fluid be diverted to those going to the kidneys? They have not
answered the question which was asked; they merely state what happens
and imagine they have thereby assigned the reason.
Once again, then (the third cup to the Saviour!),[160] let us now
speak of the worst doctrine of all, lately invented by Lycus of
Macedonia,[161] but which is popular owing to its novelty. This Lycus,
then, maintains, as though uttering an oracle from the inner
sanctuary, that urine is _residual matter from the nutrition of the
kidneys_![162] Now, the amount of urine passed every day shows clearly
that it is the whole of the fluid drunk which becomes urine, except
for that which comes away with the dejections or passes off as sweat
or insensible perspiration. This is most easily recognized in winter
in those who are doing no work but are carousing, especially if the
wine be thin and diffusible; these people rapidly pass almost the same
quantity as they drink. And that even Erasistratus was aware of this
is known to those who have read the first book of his "General
Principles."[163] Thus Lycus is speaking neither good Erasistratism,
nor good Asclepiadism, far less good Hippocratism. He is, therefore,
as the saying is, like a white crow, which cannot mix with the genuine
crows owing to its colour, nor with the pigeons owing to its size. For
all this, however, he is not to be disregarded; he may, perhaps, be
stating some wonderful truth, unknown to any of his predecessors.
Now it is agreed that all parts which are undergoing nutrition produce
a certain amount of residue, but it is neither agreed nor is it
likely, that the kidneys alone, small bodies as they are, could hold
four whole _congii_,[164] and sometimes even more, of residual matter.
For this surplus must necessarily be greater in quantity in each of
the larger viscera; thus, for example, that of the lung, if it
corresponds in amount to the size of the viscus, will obviously be
many times more than that in the kidneys, and thus the whole of the
thorax will become filled, and the animal will be at once suffocated.
But if it be said that the residual matter is equal in amount in each
of the other parts, where are the _bladders_, one may ask, through
which it is excreted? For, if the kidneys produce in drinkers three
and sometimes four _congii_ of superfluous matter, that of each of the
other viscera will be much more, and thus an enormous barrel will be
needed to contain the waste products of them all. Yet one often
urinates practically the same quantity as one has drunk, which would
show that the whole of what one drinks goes to the kidneys.
Thus the author of this third piece of trickery would appear to have
achieved nothing, but to have been at once detected, and there still
remains the original difficulty which was insoluble by Erasistratus
and by all others except Hippocrates. I dwell purposely on this topic,
knowing well that nobody else has anything to say about the function
of the kidneys, but that either we must prove more foolish than the
very butchers[165] if we do not agree that the urine passes through
the kidneys; or, if one acknowledges this, that then one cannot
possibly give any other reason for the secretion than the principle of
attraction.
Now, if the movement of urine does not depend on the tendency of a
vacuum to become refilled,[166] it is clear that neither does that of
the blood nor that of the bile; or if that of these latter does so,
then so also does that of the former. For they must all be
accomplished in one and the same way, even according to Erasistratus
himself.
This matter, however, will be discussed more fully in the book
following this.
XVII
Tôn de neôterôn hosoi tois toutôn onomasin heautous
esemnynan Erasistrateious te kai Asklêpiadeious
eponomasantes, homoiôs tois hypo tou beltistou Menandrou
kata tas kômôdias eisagomenois oiketais, Daois te tisi
kai Getais, ouden hêgoumenois sphisi peprachthai
gennaion, ei mê tris exapatêseian ton despotên, houtô
kai autoi kata pollên scholên anaischynta sophismata
synethesan, hoi men, hina mêd' holôs exelenchtheiê pot'
|| Asklêpiadês pseudomenos, hoi d', hina kakôs eipôsin, 68
ha kalôs esiôpêsen Erasistratos.
Alla tôn men Asklêpiadeiôn halis. hoi d' Erasistrateioi
legein epicheirountes, hopôs hoi nephroi diêthousi to
ouron, hapanta drôsi te kai paschousi kai pantoioi
gignontai pithanon exeurein ti zêtountes aition holkês
mê deomenon.
Hoi men dê plêsion Erasistratou tois chronois genomenoi
ta men anô tôn nephrôn moria katharon haima lambanein
phasi, tô de baros echein to hydatôdes perittôma
brithein te kai hyporrhein katô; diêthoumenon d'
entautha kata tous nephrous autous chrêston houtô
genomenon hapasi tois katô tôn nephrôn epipempesthai to
haima.
Kai mechri ge tinos eudokimêsen hêde hê doxa kai êkmase
kai alêthês enomisthê; chronô d' hysteron kai autois
tois Erasistrateiois hypoptos ephanê kai teleutôntes
apestêsan autês. aiteisthai gar edokoun dyo tauta mête
synchôroumena pros tinos all' oud' apodeichthênai
dynamena, prôton men to baros tês orrhôdous hygrotêtos
en tê koilê || phlebi gennômenon, hôsper ouk ex archês 69
hyparchon, hopot' ek tês koilias eis hêpar anephereto.
ti dê oun ouk euthys en ekeinois tois chôriois hyperrhei
katô? pôs d' an tô doxeien eulogôs eirêsthai syntelein
eis tên anadosin hê hydatôdês hygrotês, eiper houtôs
esti bareia?
Deuteron d' atopon, hoti kan katô synchôrêthê pheresthai
pasa kai mê kat' allo chôrion ê tên koilên phleba, tina
tropon eis tous nephrous empeseitai, chalepon, mallon d'
adynaton eipein, mêt' en tois katô meresi keimenôn autôn
tês phlebos all' ek tôn plagiôn mêt' emphyomenês eis
autous tês koilês all' apophysin tina monon eis
hekateron pempousês, hôsper kai eis talla panta moria.
Tis oun hê diadexamenê tautên doxa katagnôstheisan? emoi
men êlithiôtera makrô phainetai tês proteras. êkmase d'
oun kai hautê pote. phasi gar, ei kata tês gês
ekchytheiê memigmenon elaion hydati, diaphoron hekateron
hodon badieisthai kai rhyêsesthai to men têde, to de
têde. thaumaston oun ouden einai phasin, ei to men
hydatôdes hygron eis tous ne||phrous rhei, to d' haima 70
dia tês koilês pheretai katô. kategnôstai oun êdê kai
hêde hê doxa. dia ti gar apo tês koilês myriôn
ekpephykuiôn phlebôn haima men eis tas allas hapasas, hê
d' orrhôdês hygrotês eis tas epi tous nephrous
pheromenas ektrepetai? tout' auto to zêtoumenon ouk
eirêkasin, alla to gignomenon eipontes monon oiontai tên
aitian apodedôkenai.
Palin oun, to triton tô sôtêri, tên cheiristên hapasôn
doxan exeurêmenên nyn hypo Lykou tou Makedonos,
eudokimousan de dia to kainon êdê legômen. apephênato
gar dê ho Lykos houtos, hôsper ex adytou tinos chrêsmon
apophthengomenos, perittôma tês tôn nephrôn threpseôs
einai to ouron. hoti men oun auto to pinomenon hapan
ouron gignetai, plên ei ti meta tôn diachôrêmatôn
hypêlthen ê eis hidrôtas apechôrêsen ê eis tên adêlon
diapnoên, enargôs endeiknytai to plêthos tôn kath'
hekastên hêmeran ouroumenôn. en cheimôni de malista
mathein estin epi tôn argountôn men, kôthônizomenôn de,
kai malist' ei leptos ho oinos eiê kai porimos. ourousi
|| gar houtoi dia tacheôn oligou dein, hosonper kai 71
pinousin. hoti de kai ho Erasistratos houtôs egignôsken,
hoi to prôton anegnôkotes autou syngramma tôn katholou
logôn epistantai. hôsth' ho Lykos out' alêthê phainetai
legôn out' Erasistrateia, dêlon d' hôs oud'
Asklêpiadeia, poly de mallon oud' Hippokrateia. leukô
toinyn kata tên paroimian eoike koraki mêt' autois tois
koraxin anamichthênai dynamenô dia tên chroan mête tais
peristerais dia to megethos, all' outi pou toutou g'
heneka paropteos; isôs gar ti legei thaumaston, ho
mêdeis tôn emprosthen egnô.
To men oun hapanta ta trephomena moria poiein ti
perittôma synchôroumenon, to de tous nephrous monous,
houtô smikra sômata, choas holous tettaras ê kai pleious
ischein eniote perittômatos outh' homologoumenon oute
logon echon; to gar hekastou tôn meizonôn splanchnôn
perittôma pleion anankaion hyparchein. hoion autika to
tou pneumonos, eiper analogon tô megethei tou splanchnou
gignoito, pollapla||sion estai dêpou tou kata tous 72
nephrous, hôsth' holos men ho thôrax emplêsthêsetai,
pnigêsetai d' autika to zôon. all' ei ison phêsei tis
gignesthai to kath' hekaston tôn allôn moriôn perittôma,
dia poiôn kysteôn ekkrinetai? ei gar hoi nephroi tois
kôthônizomenois treis ê tettaras eniote choas poiousi
perittômatos, hekastou tôn allôn splanchnôn pollô
pleious esontai kai pithou tinos houtô megistou deêsei
tou dexomenou ta pantôn perittômata. kaitoi pollakis,
hoson epie tis, oligou dein ourêsen hapan, hôs an epi
tous nephrous pheromenou tou pomatos hapantos.
Eoiken oun ho to triton exapatôn houtos ouden anyein
all' euthys gegonenai kataphôros kai menein eti to ex
archês aporon Erasistratô te kai tois allois hapasi plên
Hippokratous. diatribô d' hekôn en tô topô saphôs eidôs,
hoti mêden eipein echei mêdeis allos peri tês tôn
nephrôn energeias, all' anankaion ê tôn mageirôn
amathesterous phainesthai mêd' hoti diêtheitai di' autôn
to ouron homologountas ê || touto synchôrêsantas mêden 73
et' echein eipein heteron aition tês diakriseôs plên tês
holkês.
All' ei mê tôn ourôn hê phora tê pros to kenoumenon
akolouthia gignetai, dêlon, hôs oud' hê tou haimatos
oud' hê tês cholês ê eiper ekeinôn kai toutou; panta gar
hôsautôs anankaion epiteleisthai kai kat' auton ton
Erasistraton.
Eirêsetai d' epi pleon hyper autôn en tô meta tauta
grammati.
[5] That is, "On the Natural Powers," the powers of the
_Physis_ or Nature. By that Galen practically means what
we would call the physiological or biological powers,
the characteristic faculties of the living organism; his
Physis is the subconscious vital principle of the animal
or plant. Like Aristotle, however, he also ascribes
quasi-vital properties to inanimate things, _cf._
Introduction, p. xxvii.
[6] _Ergon_, here rendered an _effect_, is literally a
_work_ or _deed_; strictly speaking, it is something
_done_, _completed_, as distinguished from _energeia_,
which is the actual _doing_, the _activity_ which
produces this _ergon_, _cf._ p. 13, and Introduction, p.
xxx.
[7] Gk. _psyche_, Lat. _anima_.
[8] Gk. _physis_, Lat. _natura_.
[9] _Motion_ (kinesis) is Aristotle's general term for
what we would rather call _change_. It includes various
kinds of change, as well as movement proper, _cf._
Introduction, p. xxix.
[10] "Conveyance," "transport," "transit"; purely
mechanical or passive motion, as distinguished from
_alteration_ (qualitative change).
[11] "Waxing and waning," the latter literally
_phthisis_, a wasting or "decline;" _cf._ Scotch
_divining_, Dutch _verdwijnen_.
[12] Becoming and perishing: Latin, _generatio et
corruptio_.
[13] "Ad substantiam productio seu ad formam processus"
(Linacre).
[14] "Preformationist" doctrine of Anaxagoras. To him
the apparent alteration in qualities took place when a
number of minute pre-existing bodies, all bearing the
same quality, came together in sufficient numbers to
impress that quality on the senses. The factor which
united the minute quality-bearers was Nous. "In the
beginning," says Anaxagoras, "all things existed
together--then came Nous and brought them into order."
[15] "De ea alteratione quae per totam fit substantiam"
(Linacre).
[16] The systematizer of Stoicism and successor of Zeno.
[17] Note characteristic impatience with metaphysics. To
Galen, as to Hippocrates and Aristotle, it sufficed to
look on the qualitative differences apprehended by the
senses as fundamental. Zeno of Citium was the founder of
the Stoic school; on the further analysis by this school
of the _qualities_ into _bodies_ _cf._ p. 144, note 3
(203).
[18] A rallying-ground: lit. a place where two glens
meet.
[19] Thus according to Gomperz (_Greek Thinkers_), the
hypothesis of Anaxagoras was that "the bread ... already
contained the countless forms of matter as such which
the human body displays. Their minuteness of size would
withdraw them from our perception. For the defect or
'weakness' of the senses is the narrowness of their
receptive area. These elusive particles are rendered
visible and tangible by the process of _nutrition_,
which combines them."
[20] Therefore the blood must have come from the bread.
The food from the alimentary canal was supposed by Galen
to be converted into blood in and by the portal veins,
_cf._ p. 17.
[21] By "elements" is meant all homogeneous, amorphous
substances, such as metals, &c., as well as the
elementary _tissues_.
[22] Work or product. Lat. _opus_. _cf._ p. 3, note 2
(6).
[23] Operation, activation, or functioning. Lat.
_actio_. _cf._ _loc. cit._
[24] _i.e._ a concomitant (secondary) or passive
affection. Galen is contrasting active and passive
"motion." _cf._ p. 6, note 1 (10).
[25] As already indicated, there is no exact English
equivalent for the Greek term _physis_, which is a
principle immanent in the animal itself, whereas our
term "Nature" suggests something more transcendent; we
are forced often, however, to employ it in default of a
better word. _cf._ p. 2, note 1 (5).
[26] In Greek _anadosis_. This process includes two
stages: (1) transmission of food from alimentary canal
to liver (rather more than our "absorption"); (2)
further transmission from liver to tissues. _Anadosis_
is lit. a yielding-up, a "delivery;" it may sometimes be
rendered "dispersal." "Distribution" (_diadosis_) is a
further stage; _cf._ p. 163, note 4 (230).
[27] _cf._ p. 9.
[28] Since heat and cold tend to cause diffusion and
condensation respectively.
[29] Lit. _haematopoietic_. _cf._ p. 11, note 3 (20).
[30] Lit. _peptic_.
[31] Lit. _sphygmic_.
[32] _Genesis_ corresponds to the intrauterine life, or
what we may call _embryogeny_. _Alteration_ here means
histogenesis or tissue-production; _shaping_ or
_moulding_ (in Greek _diaplasis_) means the ordering of
these tissues into organs (organogenesis).
[33] _cf._ p. 25, note 4 (49).
[34] Note inadequate analogy of semen with fertilised
seeds of plants (_i.e._ of gamete with zygote). Strictly
speaking, of course, semen corresponds to pollen. _cf._
p. 130, note 2 (188).
[35] _i.e._ the four primary qualities; _cf._ chap. iii.
_supra_.
[36] Various secondary or derivative differences in the
tissues. Note pre-eminence of sense of touch.
[37] _De Anima_, ii. _et seq._
[38] Lit. _homoeomerous_ = of similar parts throughout,
"the same all through." He refers to the elementary
tissues, conceived as not being susceptible of further
analysis.
[39] That is, by the bodily eye, and not by the mind's
eye. The observer is here called an _autoptes_ or
"eye-witness." Our medical term _autopsy_ thus means
literally a _persona inspection_ of internal parts,
ordinarily hidden.
[40] _i.e._ "alteration" is the earlier of the two
stages which constitute embryogeny or "genesis." _cf._
p. 18, note 1 (32).
[41] The terms Galen actually uses are: _ostopoietic_,
_neuropoietic_, _chondropoietic_.
[42] As we should say, _parenchyma_ (a term used by
Erasistratus).
[43] Those were all the elemental tissues that
Aristotle, for example, had recognized; other tissues
(_e.g._ flesh or muscle) he believed to be complexes of
these.
[44] Or _tunics_.
[45] _i.e._ tissues.
[46] As, for example, Aristotle had held; _cf._ p. 23,
note 3 (43). Galen added many new tissues to those described
by Aristotle.
[47] Lit. _synthesis_.
[48] By this is meant the _duodenum_, considered as an
outgrowth or prolongation of the stomach towards the
intestines.
[49] _cf._ p. 19, note 2 (33).
[50] Lit. the _auxetic_ or _incremental_ faculty.
[51] _i.e._ to the alterative and shaping faculties
(histogenetic and organogenetic).
[52] If the reading is correct we can only suppose that
Galen meant _the embryo_.
[53] _i.e._ not the pre-natal development of tissue
already described. _cf._ chap. vi.
[54] Administration, lit. "economy."
[55] The _activation_ or _functioning_ of this faculty,
the faculty _in actual operation_. _cf._ p. 3, note 2
(6).
[56] "Un rapport commun et une affinité" (Daremberg).
"Societatem aliquam cognationemque in qualitatibus"
(Linacre). _cf._ p. 36, note 2 (61).
[57] Lit. "necessity"; more _restrictive_, however, than
our "law of Nature." _cf._ p. 314, note 1 (386).
[58] His point is that no great change, in colours or in
anything else, can take place at one step.
[59] Not quite our "waste _products_," since these are
considered as being partly synthetic, whereas the Greek
_perittomata_ were simply superfluous substances which
could not be used and were thrown aside.
[60] Note "our natures," _cf._ p. 12, note 4 (25); p. 47,
note 1 (75).
[61] The term [Greek: oikeios], here rendered
_appropriate_, is explained on p. 33. _cf._ also
footnote on same page. Linacre often translated it
_conveniens_, and it may usually be rendered _proper_,
_peculiar_, _own special_, or _own particular_ in
English. Sometimes it is almost equal to _akin_,
_cognate_, _related_: _cf._ p. 319, note 2 (394). With
Galen's [Greek: oikeios] and [Greek: allotrios] we may
compare the German terms _eigen_ and _fremd_ used by
Aberhalden in connection with his theory of defensive
ferments in the blood-serum.
[62] Transit, _cf._ p. 6, note 1 (10).
[63] _i.e._ of the living organism, _cf._ p. 2, note 1
(5).
[64] _i.e._ with nutrition.
[65] We might perhaps say, more shortly, "assimilation
of food to feeder," or, "of food to fed"; Linacre
renders, "nutrimenti cum nutrito assimilatio."
[66] Lit. _prosphysis_, _i.e._ attachment, implantation.
[67] Lit. _prosthesis_, "apposition." One is almost
tempted to retain the terms _prosthesis_ and
_prosphysis_ in translation, as they obviously
correspond much more closely to Galen's physiological
conceptions than any English or semi-English words can.
[68] Lit. _phthisis_. _cf._ p. 6, note 2 (11). Now
means _tuberculosis_ only.
[69] More literally, "chymified." In _anasarca_ the
subcutaneous tissue is soft, and pits on pressure. In
the "white" disease referred to here (by which is
probably meant _nodular leprosy_) the same tissues are
indurated and "brawny." The principle of certain
diseases being best explained as cases of _arrest_ at
various stages of the metabolic path is recognized in
modern pathology, although of course the instances given
by Galen are too crude to stand.
[70] The effects of _oxidation_ attributed to the heat
which accompanies it? _cf._ p. 141, note 1 (199); p.
254, note 1 (332).
[71] Here follows a contrast between the Vitalists and
the Epicurean Atomists. _cf._ p. 153 _et seq._
[72] A unity or _continuum_, an _individuum_.
[73] Lit. to the _physis_ or the _psyche_; that is, a
denial of the autonomy of physiology and psychology.
[74] Lit. _somata_.
[75] For "natures" in the plural, involving the idea of
a separate nature immanent in each individual, _cf._ p.
36, note 1 (60).
[76] A lost work.
[77] For Asclepiades _v._ p. 49, note 5 (82).
[78] "Le corps tout entier a unité de souffle
(_perspiration et expiration_) et unité de flux
(_courants_, _circulation des liquides_)" (Daremberg).
"Conspirabile et confluxile corpus esse" (Linacre).
Apparently Galen refers to the pneuma and the various
humours. _cf._ p. 293, note 2 (366).
[79] _i.e._ "appropriated"; very nearly "assimilated."
[80] "Attractricem convenientis qualitatis vim"
(Linacre). _cf._ p. 36, note 2 (61).
[81] Lit. "obvious phenomena."
[82] Asclepiades of Bithynia, who flourished in the
first half of the first century B.C., was an adherent of
the atomistic philosophy of Democritus, and is the
typical representative of the Mechanistic school in
Graeco-Roman medicine; he disbelieved in any principle
of individuality ("nature") in the organism, and his
methods of treatment, in accordance with his pathology,
were mechano-therapeutical. _cf._ p. 64, note 3 (100).
[83] Diocles of Carystus was the chief representative of
the Dogmatic or Hippocratic school in the first half of
the fourth century B.C. Praxagoras was his disciple, and
followed him in the leadership of the school. For
Erasistratus, _cf._ p. 95 _et seq._
[84] Sufferers from kidney-trouble.
[85] The ureters.
[86] Unless otherwise stated, "peritoneum" stands for
parietal peritoneum alone.
[87] In the peritoneal cavity.
[88] Contrast, however, _anasarca_, p. 41.
[89] Regurgitation, however, is prevented by the fact
that the ureter runs for nearly one inch obliquely
through the bladder wall before opening into its cavity,
and thus an efficient _valve_ is produced.
[90] On the [Greek: technê] (artistic or creative skill)
shown by the living organism ([Greek: physis]) _v._ pp.
25, 45, 47; Introduction, p. xxix.
[91] Direct denial of Aristotle's dictum that "Nature
does nothing in vain." We are reminded of the view of
certain modern laboratory physicians and surgeons that
the _colon_ is a "useless" organ, _cf._ Erasistratus, p.
143.
[92] The _vasa deferentia_.
[93] "De l'habileté et de la prévoyance de la nature à
l'égard des animaux" (Daremberg). _cf._ p. 56, note 1
(90).
[94] _cf._ p. 36, note 2 (61).
[95] The morbid material passed successively through the
stages of "crudity," "coction" (_pepsis_), and
"elimination" (_crisis_). For "critical days" _cf._ p.
74, note 1 (121).
[96] This was the process by which nutriment was taken
up from the alimentary canal; "absorption," "dispersal;"
_cf._ p. 13, note 5 (26). The subject is dealt with more
fully in chap. xvi.
[97] Lit. _catharsis_.
[98] _i.e._ urine.
[99] On use of [Greek: kenoô] _v._ p. 67, note 9 (110).
[100] _i.e._ bile and phlegm had no existence as such
before the drugs were given; they are the products of
dissolved tissue. Asclepiades did not believe that
diseases were due to a _materia peccans_, but to
disturbances in the movements of the molecules ([Greek:
onkoi]) which constitute the body; thus, in opposition
to the humoralists such as Galen, he had no use for
drugs. _cf._ p. 49, note 5 (82).
[101] About 4 oz., or one-third of a pint.
[102] The Empiricists, _cf._ Introduction, p. xiii.
[103] His [Greek: onkoi] or molecules.
[104] He does not say "organized" or "living" body;
inanimate things were also thought to possess "natures";
_cf._ p. 2, note 1 (5).
[105] Carthamus tinctorius.
[106] Daphne Gnidium.
[107] Euphorbia acanthothamnos.
[108] Teucrium chamaedrys.
[109] Atractylis gummifera.
[110] On use of [Greek: kenoô] _cf._ p. 98, note 1 (148).
[111] Empiricist physicians.
[112] Note that drugs also have "natures"; _cf._ p. 66,
note 3 (104), and pp. 83-84.
[113] Pun here.
[114] Lit. _physiology_, _i.e._ _nature-lore_, almost
our "Natural Philosophy"; _cf._ Introduction, p. xxvi.
[115] The ultimate particle of Epicurus was the [Greek:
atomos] or atom (lit. "non-divisible"), of Asclepiades,
the [Greek: onkos] or molecule. Asclepiades took his
atomic theory from Epicurus, and he again from
Democritus; _cf._ p. 49, note 5 (82).
[116] Lit. _Herculean stone_.
[117] Lit. _aetiology_.
[118] _Anadosis_; _cf._ p. 62, note 1 (96).
[119] _cf._ p. 45.
[120] The _vis conservatrix et medicatrix Naturae_.
[121] _cf._ p. 61, note 3 (95). The _crisis_ or resolution in
fevers was observed to take place with a certain
regularity; hence arose the doctrine of "critical days."
[122] These were hypothetical spaces or channels between
the atoms; _cf._ Introduction, p. xiv.
[123] He means the specific drawing power or faculty of
the lodestone.
[124] _cf._ our modern "radium-emanations."
[125] _cf._ Ehrlich's hypothesis of "receptors" in
explanation of the "affinities" of animal cells.
[126] _i.e._ from the point of view of the theory.
[127] _cf._ p. 69, note 2 (112).
[128] That is to say, the two properties should go
together in all cases--which they do not.
[129] _Trygon pastinaca_.
[130] _cf._ p. 66, note 3 (104).
[131] The way that corn can attract moisture.
[132] Specific attraction of the "proper" quality; _cf._
p. 85, note 3 (130).
[133] Theory of evaporation insufficient to account for
it. _cf._ p. 104, note 1 (156).
[134] Playful suggestion of free-will in the urine.
[135] Specific attraction, _cf._ p. 87, note 2 (233).
[136] _i.e._ there would be no selective action.
[137] Nasal mucus was supposed to be the non-utilizable
part of the nutriment conveyed to the brain, _cf._ p.
214, note 3 (297).
[138] He means from its origin in the liver (_i.e._ in
the three hepatic veins). His idea was that the upper
division took nutriment to heart, lungs, head, etc., and
the lower division to lower part of body. On the
relation of right auricle to vena cava and right
ventricle, _cf._ p. 321, notes 4 (398) and 5 (399).
[139] We arrive at our belief by excluding other
possibilities.
[140] _i.e._ the mechanistic physicists. _cf._ pp.
45-47.
[141] _cf._ p. 85, note 3 (130).
[142] The subject of _anadosis_ is taken up in the next
chapter. _cf._ also p. 62, note 1 (96).
[143] On Erasistratus _v._ Introd. p. xii. His view that the
stomach exerts no _holké_, or attraction, is dealt with
more fully in Book III., chap. viii.
[144] _i.e._ the tissues.
[145] _cf._ p. 291.
[146] _Peristalsis_ may be used here to translate Gk.
_peristolé_, meaning the contraction and dilation of
muscle-fibres _circularly_ round a lumen, _cf._ p. 263,
note 2 (341).
[147] For a demonstration that this phenomenon is a
conclusive proof neither of _peristolé_ nor of real
vital _attraction_, but is found even in dead bodies
_v._ p. 267.
[148] This was Erasistratus's favourite principle, known
in Latin as the "horror vacui" and in English as
"Nature's abhorrence of a vacuum," although these terms
are not an exact translation of the Greek. [Greek: to
kenoumenon] probably means _the vacuum_, not the _matter
evacuated_, although Galen elsewhere uses [Greek: kenoô]
in the latter (non-classical) sense, _e.g._ pp. 67, 215.
Akolouthia is a _following-up_, a _sequence_, almost a
_consequence_.
[149] _v._ p. 123.
[150] _cf._ Book II., chap. i.
[151] Vital factor necessary over and above the
mechanical.
[152] _cf._ p. 119, note 2 (173).
[153] pp. 91, 93.
[154] _i.e._ the part below the liver; _cf._ p. 91, note
2 (138).
[155] Renal veins.
[156] _cf._ p. 87, note 3 (133).
[157] [Greek: koilên]: the usual reading is [Greek:
koilian], which would make it "from the region of the
alimentary canal." _cf._ p. 118, note 1 (171).
[158] Not at an earlier stage, when it is still on its
way from the alimentary canal to the liver.
[159] _i.e._ a renal vein.
[160] In a toast, the third cup was drunk to Zeus Sôtêr
(the Saviour).
[161] An anatomist of the Alexandrian school.
[162] _cf._ nasal mucus, p. 90, note 1 (137).
[163] "Sur l'Ensemble des Choses" (Daremberg).
[164] About twelve quarts. This is about five times as
much as the average daily excretion, and could only be
passed if a very large amount of wine were drunk.
[165] _cf._ p. 51.
[166] Horror vacui. Note analogical reasoning; _cf._ p.
289, note 1 (360).
BOOK II
I
In the previous book we demonstrated that not only Erasistratus, but
also all others who would say anything to the purpose about urinary
secretion, must acknowledge that the kidneys possess some faculty
which attracts to them this particular quality existing in the
urine.[167] Besides this we drew attention to the fact that the urine
is not carried through the kidneys into the bladder by one method, the
blood into parts of the animal by another, and the yellow bile
separated out on yet another principle. For when once there has been
demonstrated in any one organ, the drawing, or so-called
_epispastic_[168] faculty, there is then no difficulty in transferring
it to the rest. Certainly Nature did not give a power such as this to
the kidneys without giving it also to the vessels which abstract the
biliary fluid,[169] nor did she give it to the latter without also
giving it to each of the other parts. And, assuredly, if this is true,
we must marvel that Erasistratus should make statements concerning the
delivery of nutriment from the food-canal[170] which are so false as
to be detected even by Asclepiades. Now, Erasistratus considers it
absolutely certain that, if anything flows from the veins, one of two
things must happen: either a completely empty space will result, or
the contiguous quantum of fluid will run in and take the place of that
which has been evacuated. Asclepiades, however, holds that not one of
two, but one of three things must be said to result in the emptied
vessels: either there will be an entirely empty space, or the
contiguous portion will flow in, or the vessel will contract. For
whereas, in the case of reeds and tubes it is true to say that, if
these be submerged in water, and are emptied of the air which they
contain in their lumens, then either a completely empty space will be
left, or the contiguous portion will move onwards; in the case of
veins this no longer holds, since their coats can collapse and so fall
in upon the interior cavity. It may be seen, then, how false this
hypothesis--by Zeus, I cannot call it a demonstration!--of
Erasistratus is.
And, from another point of view, even if it were true, it is
superfluous, if the stomach[171] has the power of compressing the
veins, as he himself supposed, and the veins again of contracting upon
their contents and propelling them forwards.[172] For, apart from
other considerations, no _plethora_[173] would ever take place in the
body, if delivery of nutriment resulted merely from the tendency of a
vacuum to become refilled. Now, if the compression of the stomach
becomes weaker the further it goes, and cannot reach to an indefinite
distance, and if, therefore, there is need of some other mechanism to
explain why the blood is conveyed in all directions, then the
principle of the refilling of a vacuum may be looked on as a necessary
addition;[174] there will not, however, be a plethora in any of the
parts coming after the liver,[175] or, if there be, it will be in the
region of the heart and lungs; for the heart alone of the parts which
come after the liver draws the nutriment into its right ventricle,
thereafter sending it through the _arterioid vein_[176] to the lungs
(for Erasistratus himself will have it that, owing to the membranous
excrescences,[177] no other parts save the lungs receive nourishment
from the heart). If, however, in order to explain how plethora comes
about, we suppose the force of compression by the stomach to persist
indefinitely, we have no further need of the principle of the
refilling of a vacuum, especially if we assume contraction of the
veins in addition--as is, again, agreeable to Erasistratus himself.
BOOK II
B
I
Hoti men oun anankaion estin ouk Erasistratô monon alla 74
kai tois allois hapasin, hosoi mellousi peri diakriseôs
ourôn erein ti chrêston, homologêsai dynamin tin'
hyparchein tois nephrois helkousan eis heautous poiotêta
toiautên, hoia en tois ourois esti, dia tou prosthen
epidedeiktai grammatos, anamimnêskontôn ham' autô kai
touth' hêmôn, hôs ouk allôs men eis tên kystin pheretai
ta oura dia tôn nephrôn, allôs d' eis hapanta tou zôou
ta moria to haima, kat' allon de tina tropon hê xanthê
cholê diakrinetai. deichtheisês gar enargôs eph' henos
|| houtinosoun organou tês helktikês te kai epispastikês 75
onomazomenês dynameôs ouden eti chalepon epi ta loipa
metapherein autên; ou gar dê tois men nephrois hê physis
edôke tina toiautên dynamin, ouchi de ge kai tois to
cholôdes hygron helkousin angeiois oude toutois men,
ouketi de kai tôn allôn moriôn hekastô. kai mên ei tout'
alêthes esti, thaumazein chrê tou Erasistratou pseudeis
houtô logous hyper anadoseôs trophês eipontos, hôs mêd'
Asklêpiadên lathein. kaitoi g' oietai pantos mallon
alêthes hyparchein, hôs, eiper ek tôn phlebôn aporrheoi
ti, dyoin thateron ê kenos estai topos athroôs ê to
syneches epirrhyêsetai tên basin anaplêroun tou
kenoumenou. all' ho g' Asklêpiadês ou dyoin thateron
phêsin, alla triôn hen ti chrênai legein epi tois
kenoumenois angeiois hepesthai ê kenon athroôs topon ê
to syneches akolouthêsein ê systalêsesthai to angeion.
epi men gar tôn kalamôn kai tôn auliskôn tôn eis to
hydôr kathiemenôn alêthes eipein, hoti kenoumenou tou
periechomenou kata tên || eurychôrian autôn aeros ê 76
kenos athroôs estai topos ê akolouthêsei to syneches;
epi de tôn phlebôn ouket' enchôrei, dynamenou dê tou
chitônos autôn eis heauton synizanein kai dia touto
katapiptein eis tên entos eurychôrian. houtô men dê
pseudês hê peri tês pros to kenoumenon akolouthias ouk
apodeixis ma Di' eipoim' an all' hypothesis
Erasistrateios.
Kath' heteron d' au tropon, ei kai alêthês eiê, perittê,
tês men koilias enthlibein tais phlepsi dynamenês, hôs
autos hypetheto, tôn phlebôn d' au peristellesthai tô
enyparchonti kai proôthein auto. ta te gar alla kai
plêthos ouk an en tô sômati genoito, tê pros to
kenoumenon akolouthia monê tês anadoseôs epiteloumenês.
ei men oun hê tês gastros enthlipsis eklyetai proïousa
kai mechri pantos adynatos estin exikneisthai kai dia
tout' allês tinos dei mêchanês eis tên pantê phoran tou
haimatos, anankaia men hê pros to kenoumenon akolouthia
prosexeurêtai; plêthos d' en oudeni tôn meth' hêpar
estai || moriôn, ê, eiper ara, peri tên kardian te kai 77
ton pneumona. monê gar hautê tôn meth' hêpar eis tên
dexian hautês koilian helkei tên trophên, eita dia tês
phlebos tês artêriôdous ekpempei tô pneumoni; tôn gar
allôn ouden oud' autos ho Erasistratos ek kardias
bouletai trephesthai dia tên tôn hymenôn epiphysin. ei
de g', hina plêthos genêtai, phylaxomen achri pantos tên
rhômên tês kata tên koilian enthlipseôs, ouden eti
deometha tês pros to kenoumenon akolouthias, malist' ei
kai tên tôn phlebôn synypothoimetha peristolên, hôs au
kai tout' autô palin areskei tô Erasistratô.
II
Let me draw his attention, then, once again, even if he does not wish
it, to the kidneys, and let me state that these confute in the very
clearest manner such people as object to the principle of
_attraction_. Nobody has ever said anything plausible, nor, as we
previously showed, has anyone been able to discover, by any means,
any other cause for the secretion of urine; we necessarily appear mad
if we maintain that the urine passes into the kidneys in the form of
vapour, and we certainly cut a poor figure when we talk about the
tendency of a vacuum to become refilled;[178] this idea is foolish in
the case of blood, and impossible, nay, perfectly nonsensical, in the
case of the urine.[179]
This, then, is one blunder made by those who dissociate themselves
from the principle of attraction. Another is that which they make
about the _secretion of yellow bile_. For in this case, too, it is not
a fact that when the blood runs past the mouths [stomata] of the
bile-ducts there will be a thorough separation out [secretion] of
biliary waste-matter. "Well," say they, "let us suppose that it is not
secreted but carried with the blood all over the body." But, you
sapient folk, Erasistratus himself supposed that Nature took thought
for the animals' future, and was workmanlike in her method; and at the
same time he maintained that the biliary fluid was useless in every
way for the animals. Now these two things are incompatible. For how
could Nature be still looked on as exercising forethought for the
animal when she allowed a noxious humour such as this to be carried
off and distributed with the blood?...
This, however, is a small matter. I shall again point out here the
greatest and most obvious error. For if the yellow bile adjusts itself
to the narrower vessels and stomata, and the blood to the wider ones,
for no other reason than that blood is thicker and bile thinner, and
that the stomata of the veins are wider and those of the bile-ducts
narrower,[180] then it is clear that this watery and serous
superfluity,[181] too, will run out into the bile-ducts quicker than
does the bile, exactly in proportion as it is thinner than the bile!
How is it, then, that it does not run out? "Because," it may be said,
"urine is thicker than bile!" This was what one of our Erasistrateans
ventured to say, herein clearly disregarding the evidence of his
senses, although he had trusted these in the case of the bile and
blood. For, if it be that we are to look on bile as thinner than blood
because it runs more, then, since the serous residue[181] passes
through fine linen or lint or a sieve more easily even than does bile,
by these tokens bile must also be thicker than the watery fluid. For
here, again, there is no argument which will demonstrate that bile is
thinner than the serous superfluities.
But when a man shamelessly goes on using circumlocutions, and never
acknowledges when he has had a fall, he is like the amateur wrestlers,
who, when they have been overthrown by the experts and are lying on
their backs on the ground, so far from recognizing their fall,
actually seize their victorious adversaries by the necks and prevent
them from getting away, thus supposing themselves to be the winners!
II
Anamnêsteon oun authis auton, kan mê boulêtai, tôn
nephrôn kai lekteon, hôs elenchos houtoi phanerôtatos
hapantôn tôn apochôrountôn tês holkês; oudeis gar ouden
out' eipe pithanon, all' oud' exeurein eiche kat' oudena
tropon, hôs emprosthen edeiknymen, heteron aition ourôn
diakriseôs, all' anankaion ê mainesthai dokein, ei
phêsaimen atmoei||dôs eis tên kystin ienai to ouron ê 78
aschêmonein tês pros to kenoumenon akolouthias
mnêmoneuontas, lêrôdous men ousês kapi tou haimatos,
adynatou de kai êlithiou pantapasin epi tôn ourôn.
Hen men dê touto sphalma tôn apostantôn tês holkês;
heteron de to peri tês kata tên xanthên cholên
diakriseôs. oude gar oud' ekei pararrheontos tou
haimatos ta stomata tôn cholêdochôn angeiôn akribôs
diakrithêsetai to cholôdes perittôma. kai mê
diakrinesthô, phasin, alla synanapheresthô tô haimati
pantê tou sômatos. all', ô sophôtatoi, pronoêtikên tou
zôou kai technikên autos ho Erasistratos hypetheto tên
physin. alla kai to cholôdes hygron achrêston einai
pantapasi tois zôois ephasken. ou symbainei d' allêlois
amphô tauta. pôs gar an eti pronoeisthai tou zôou
doxeien epitrepousa synanapheresthai tô haimati
mochthêron houtô chymon?
Alla tauta men smikra; to de megiston kai saphestaton
palin entauth' hamartêma kai dê phrasô. eiper gar di'
ouden all' ê hoti pachyteron men esti to haima,
leptotera d' hê || xanthê cholê kai ta men tôn phlebôn 79
eurytera stomata, ta de tôn cholêdochôn angeiôn
stenotera, dia touth' hê men cholê tois stenoterois
angeiois te kai stomasin enarmottei, to d' haima tois
euryterois, dêlon, hôs kai to hydatôdes touto kai
orrhôdes perittôma tosoutô proteron eisryêsetai tois
cholêdochois angeiois, hosô leptoteron esti tês cholês.
pôs oun ouk eisrei? hoti pachyteron esti nê Dia to ouron
tês cholês; touto gar etolmêse tis eipein tôn kath'
hêmas Erasistrateiôn apostas dêlonoti tôn aisthêseôn,
hais episteusen epi te tês cholês kai tou haimatos. eite
gar hoti mallon hê cholê tou haimatos rhei, dia touto
leptoteran autên hêmin esti nomisteon, eith' hoti di'
othonês ê rhakous ê tinos êthmou rhaon diexerchetai kai
tautês to orrhôdes perittôma, kata tauta ta gnôrismata
pachytera tês hydatôdous hygrotêtos kai hautê genêsetai.
palin gar oud' entautha logos oudeis estin, hos
apodeixei leptoteran tên cholên tôn orrhôdôn
perittômatôn.
All' hotan tis anaischyntê periplekôn te kai mêpô
katapeptôkenai synchôrôn, || homoios estai tois idiôtais 80
tôn palaistôn, hoi katablêthentes hypo tôn palaistrikôn
kai kata tês gês hyptioi keimenoi tosoutou deousi to
ptôma gnôrizein, hôste kai kratousi tôn auchenôn autous
tous katabalontas ouk eôntes apallattesthai, kan toutô
nikan hypolambanousi.
III
Thus, every hypothesis of _channels_[182] as an explanation of natural
functioning is perfect nonsense. For, if there were not _an inborn
faculty_ given by Nature to each one of the organs at the very
beginning, then animals could not continue to live even for a few
days, far less for the number of years which they actually do. For let
us suppose they were under no guardianship, lacking in creative
ingenuity[183] and forethought; let us suppose they were steered only
by material forces,[184] and not by any special _faculties_ (the one
attracting what is proper to it, another rejecting what is foreign,
and yet another causing alteration and adhesion of the matter destined
to nourish it); if we suppose this, I am sure it would be ridiculous
for us to discuss natural, or, still more, psychical, activities--or,
in fact, life as a whole.[185]
For there is not a single animal which could live or endure for the
shortest time if, possessing within itself so many different parts, it
did not employ faculties which were attractive of what is appropriate,
eliminative of what is foreign, and alterative of what is destined for
nutrition. On the other hand, if we have these faculties, we no longer
need _channels_, little or big, resting on an unproven hypothesis, for
explaining the secretion of urine and bile, and the conception of some
_favourable situation_ (in which point alone Erasistratus shows some
common sense, since he does regard all the parts of the body as having
been well and truly placed and shaped by Nature).
But let us suppose he remained true to his own statement that Nature
is "artistic"--this Nature which, at the beginning, well and truly
shaped and disposed all the parts of the animal,[186] and, after
carrying out this function (for she left nothing undone), brought it
forward to the light of day, endowed with certain faculties necessary
for its very existence, and, thereafter, gradually increased it until
it reached its due size. If he argued consistently on this principle,
I fail to see how he can continue to refer natural functions to the
smallness or largeness of canals, or to any other similarly absurd
hypothesis. For this Nature which shapes and gradually adds to the
parts is most certainly extended throughout their whole substance. Yes
indeed, she shapes and nourishes and increases them through and
through, not on the outside only. For Praxiteles and Phidias and all
the other statuaries used merely to decorate their material on the
outside, in so far as they were able to touch it; but its inner parts
they left unembellished, unwrought, unaffected by art or forethought,
since they were unable to penetrate therein and to reach and handle
all portions of the material. It is not so, however, with Nature.
Every part of a bone she makes bone, every part of the flesh she makes
flesh, and so with fat and all the rest; there is no part which she
has not touched, elaborated, and embellished. Phidias, on the other
hand, could not turn wax into ivory and gold, nor yet gold into wax:
for each of these remains as it was at the commencement, and becomes a
perfect statue simply by being clothed externally in a form and
artificial shape. But Nature does not preserve the original character
of any kind of matter; if she did so then all parts of the animal
would be blood--that blood, namely, which flows to the semen from the
impregnated female and which is, so to speak, like the statuary's wax,
a single uniform matter, subjected to the artificer. From this blood
there arises no part of the animal which is as red and moist [as blood
is], for bone, artery, vein, nerve, cartilage, fat, gland, membrane,
and marrow are not blood, though they arise from it.
I would then ask Erasistratus himself to inform me what the altering,
coagulating, and shaping agent is. He would doubtless say, "Either
Nature or the semen," meaning the same thing in both cases, but
explaining it by different devices. For that which was previously
semen, when it begins to procreate and to shape the animal, becomes,
so to say, a special _nature_.[187] For in the same way that Phidias
possessed the faculties of his art even before touching his material,
and then activated these in connection with this material (for every
faculty remains inoperative in the absence of its proper material), so
it is with the semen: its faculties it possessed from the
beginning,[188] while its activities it does not receive from its
material, but it manifests them in connection therewith.
And, of course, if it were to be overwhelmed with a great quantity of
blood, it would perish, while if it were to be entirely deprived of
blood it would remain inoperative and would not turn into a _nature_.
Therefore, in order that it may not perish, but may become a _nature_
in place of semen, there must be an afflux to it of a little
blood--or, rather, one should not say a little, but a quantity
commensurate with that of the semen. What is it then that measures the
quantity of this afflux? What prevents more from coming? What ensures
against a deficiency? What is this third overseer of animal generation
that we are to look for, which will furnish the semen with a due
amount of blood? What would Erasistratus have said if he had been
alive, and had been asked this question? Obviously, the semen itself.
This, in fact, is the artificer analogous with Phidias, whilst the
blood corresponds to the statuary's wax.
Now, it is not for the wax to discover for itself how much of it is
required; that is the business of Phidias. Accordingly the artificer
will draw to itself as much blood as it needs. Here, however, we must
pay attention and take care not unwittingly to credit the semen with
reason and intelligence; if we were to do this, we would be making
neither semen nor a nature, but an actual living animal.[189] And if
we retain these two principles--that of proportionate attraction[190]
and that of the non-participation of intelligence--we shall ascribe to
the semen a faculty for attracting blood similar to that possessed by
the lodestone for iron.[191] Here, then, again, in the case of the
semen, as in so many previous instances, we have been compelled to
acknowledge some kind of attractive faculty.
And what is the semen? Clearly the active principle of the animal, the
material principle being the menstrual blood.[192] Next, seeing that
the active principle employs this faculty primarily, therefore, in
order that any one of the things fashioned by it may come into
existence, it [the principle] must necessarily be possessed of its own
faculty. How, then, was Erasistratus unaware of it, if the primary
function of the semen be to draw to itself a due proportion of blood?
Now, this fluid would be in due proportion if it were so thin and
vaporous, that, as soon as it was drawn like dew into every part of
the semen, it would everywhere cease to display its own particular
character; for so the semen will easily dominate and quickly
assimilate it--in fact, will use it as food. It will then, I imagine,
draw to itself a second and a third quantum, and thus by feeding it
acquires for itself considerable bulk and quantity.[193] In fact, _the
alterative faculty_ has now been discovered as well, although about
this also Erasistratus has not written a word. And, thirdly the
_shaping_[194] faculty will become evident, by virtue of which the
semen firstly surrounds itself with a thin membrane like a kind of
superficial condensation; this is what was described by Hippocrates in
the sixth-day birth, which, according to his statement, fell from the
singing-girl and resembled the pellicle of an egg. And following this
all the other stages will occur, such as are described by him in his
work "On the Child's Nature."
But if each of the parts formed were to remain as small as when it
first came into existence, of what use would that be? They have, then,
to grow. Now, how will they grow? By becoming extended in all
directions and at the same time receiving nourishment. And if you will
recall what I previously said about the bladder which the children
blew up and rubbed,[195] you will also understand my meaning better as
expressed in what I am now about to say.
Imagine the heart to be, at the beginning, so small as to differ in no
respect from a millet-seed, or, if you will, a bean; and consider how
otherwise it is to become large than by being extended in all
directions and acquiring nourishment throughout its whole substance,
in the way that, as I showed a short while ago, the semen is
nourished. But even this was unknown to Erasistratus--the man who
sings the artistic skill of Nature! He imagines that animals grow like
webs, ropes, sacks, or baskets, each of which has, woven on to its end
or margin, other material similar to that of which it was originally
composed.
But this, most sapient sir, is not growth, but genesis! For a bag,
sack, garment, house, ship, or the like is said to be still coming
into existence [undergoing genesis] so long as the appropriate form
for the sake of which it is being constructed by the artificer is
still incomplete. Then, when does it grow? Only when the basket, being
complete, with a bottom, a mouth, and a belly, as it were, as well as
the intermediate parts, now becomes larger in all these respects. "And
how can this happen?" someone will ask. Only by our basket suddenly
becoming an animal or a plant; for growth belongs to living things
alone. Possibly you imagine that a house _grows_ when it is being
built, or a basket when being plaited, or a garment when being woven?
It is not so however. Growth belongs to that which has already been
completed in respect to its form, whereas the process by which that
which is still _becoming_ attains its form is termed not growth but
genesis. That which _is_, grows, while that which _is not_, becomes.
III
Lêros oun makros hapasa porôn hypothesis eis physikên
energeian. ei mê gar dynamis tis symphytos hekastô tôn
organôn hypo tês physeôs euthys ex archês dotheiê,
diarkein ou dynêsetai ta zôa, mê hoti tosouton arithmon
etôn all' oud' hêmerôn oligistôn; anepitropeuta gar
easantes auta kai technês kai pronoias erêma monais tais
tôn hylôn oiakizomena rhopais, oudamou dynameôs oudemias
tês men helkousês to prosêkon heautê, tês d' apôthousês
to allotrion, tês d' alloiousês te kai prosphyousês to
threpson, ouk oid' hopôs ouk an eiêmen katagelastoi peri
te tôn physikôn energeiôn dialegomenoi kai poly mallon
eti peri tôn psychikôn kai || sympasês ge tês zôês. 81
Oude gar zên oude diamenein oudeni tôn zôôn oud' eis
elachiston chronon estai dynaton, ei tosauta kektêmenon
en heautô moria kai houtô diapheronta mêth' helktikê tôn
oikeiôn chrêsetai dynamei mêt' apokritikê tôn allotriôn
mêt' alloiôtikê tôn threpsontôn. kai mên ei tautas
echoimen, ouden eti porôn mikrôn ê megalôn ex
hypotheseôs anapodeiktou lambanomenôn eis ourou kai
cholês diakrisin deometha kai tinos epikairou theseôs,
en hô monô sôphronein eoiken ho Erasistratos hapanta
kalôs tethênai te kai diaplasthênai ta moria tou sômatos
hypo tês physeôs oiomenos.
All' ei parakolouthêseien heautô physin onomazonti
technikên, euthys men ex archês hapanta kalôs
diaplasasan te kai diatheisan tou zôou ta moria, meta de
tên toiautên energeian, hôs ouden eleipen, eti
proagagousan eis phôs auto syn tisi dynamesin, hôn aneu
zên ouk êdynato, kai meta tauta kata brachy
prosauxêsasan achri tou prepontos megethous, ouk oida
pôs hypomenei porôn smikrotêsin || ê megethesin ê tisin 82
allais houtô lêrôdesin hypothesesi physikas energeias
epitrepein. hê gar diaplattousa ta moria physis ekeinê
kai kata brachy prosauxousa pantôs dêpou di' holôn autôn
ektetatai; kai gar hola di' holôn ouk exôthen monon auta
diaplattei te kai trephei kai prosauxei. Praxitelês men
gar ê Pheidias ê tis allos agalmatopoios exôthen monon
ekosmoun tas hylas, katha kai psauein autôn êdynanto, to
bathos d' akosmêton kai argon kai atechnon kai
apronoêton apelipon, hôs an mê dynamenoi katelthein eis
auto kai katadynai kai thigein hapantôn tês hylês tôn
merôn. hê physis d' ouch houtôs, alla to men ostou meros
hapan ostoun apotelei, to de sarkos sarka, to de pimelês
pimelên kai tôn allôn hekaston; ouden gar estin
apsauston autê meros oud' anexergaston oud' akosmêton.
alla ton men kêron ho Pheidias ouk êdynato poiein
elephanta kai chryson, all' oude ton chryson kêron;
hekaston gar autôn menon, hoion ên ex archês, exôthen
monon êmphiesmenon eidos ti kai schêma technikon, agalma
teleion || gegonen. hê physis d' oudemias eti phylattei 83
tôn hylôn tên archaian idean; haima gar an ên houtôs
hapanta tou zôou ta moria, to para tês kyousês epirrheon
tô spermati, dikên kêrou tinos hylê mia kai monoeidês
hypobeblêmenê tô technitê. gignetai d' ex autês ouden
tôn tou zôou moriôn out' erythron houtôs outh' hygron.
ostoun gar kai artêria kai phleps kai neuron kai
chondros kai pimelê kai adên kai hymên kai myelos anaima
men, ex haimatos de gegone.
Tinos alloiôsantos kai tinos pêxantos kai tinos
diaplasantos edeomên an moi ton Erasistraton auton
apokrinasthai. pantôs gar an eipen êtoi tên physin ê to
sperma, tauton men legôn kath' hekateron, diaphorois d'
epinoiais hermêneuôn; ho gar ên proteron sperma, touth',
hotan arxêtai phyein te kai diaplattein to zôon, physis
tis gignetai. kathaper gar ho Pheidias eiche men tas
dynameis tês technês kai prin psauein tês hylês, enêrgei
d' autais peri tên hylên--hapasa gar dynamis argei
aporousa tês oikeias hylês--, houtô kai to sperma tas
men || dynameis oikothen ekektêto, tas d' energeias ouk 84
ek tês hylês elaben, alla peri tên hylên epedeixato.
Kai mên ei pollô men epiklyzoito tô haimati to sperma,
diaphtheiroit' an; ei d' holôs aporoiê pantapasin
argoun, ouk an genoito physis. hin' oun mête phtheirêtai
kai gignêtai physis anti spermatos, oligon epirrhein
anankaion autô tou haimatos, mallon d' ouk oligon legein
chrê, alla symmetron tô plêthei tou spermatos. tis oun
ho metrôn autou to poson tês epirrhoês? tis ho kôlyôn
ienai pleon? tis ho protrepôn, hin' endeesteron mê iê?
tina zêtêsomen entautha triton epistatên tou zôou tês
geneseôs, hos chorêgêsei tô spermati to symmetron haima?
ti an eipen Erasistratos, ei zôn taut' êrôtêthê? to
sperma auto dêlonoti; touto gar estin ho technitês ho
analogôn tô Pheidia, to d' haima tô kêrô proseoiken.
Oukoun prepei ton kêron auton heautô to metron
exeuriskein, alla ton Pheidian. helxei dê tosouton
haimatos ho technitês eis heauton, hoposou deitai. all'
en||tautha chrê prosechein êdê ton noun kai skopein, mê 85
pôs lathômen tô spermati logismon tina kai noun
charisamenoi; houtô gar an oute sperma poiêsaimen oute
physin all' êdê zôon auto. kai mên ei phylaxomen
amphotera, tên th' holkên tou symmetrou kai to chôris
logismou, dynamin tina, kathaper hê lithos helktikên
eiche tou sidêrou, kai tô spermati phêsomen hyparchein
haimatos epispastikên. ênankasthêmen oun palin
kantautha, kathaper êdê pollakis emprosthen, helktikên
tina dynamin homologêsai kata to sperma.
Ti d' ên to sperma? hê archê tou zôou dêlonoti hê
drastikê; hê gar hylikê to katamênion estin. eit' autês
tês archês prôtê tautê tê dynamei chrômenês, hina
genêtai tôn hyp' autês ti dedêmiourgêmenôn, amoiron
einai tês oikeias dynameôs ouk endechetai. pôs oun
Erasistratos autên ouk oiden, ei dê prôtê men hautê tou
spermatos energeia to symmetron haimatos epispasthai
pros heauto? symmetron d' an eiê to lepton houtô kai
atmôdes, hôst' euthys eis pan morion helkomenon tou
spermatos drosoeidôs mêdamou tên || heautou 86
paremphainein idean. houtô gar autou kai kratêsei
rhadiôs to sperma kai tacheôs exomoiôsei kai trophên
heautô poiêsetai kapeit' oimai deuteron epispasetai kai
triton, hôs onkon heautô kai plêthos axiologon
ergasasthai traphenti. kai mên êdê kai hê alloiôtikê
dynamis exeurêtai mêd' autê pros Erasistratou
gegrammenê. tritê d' an hê diaplastikê phaneiê, kath'
hên prôton men hoion epipagon tina lepton hymena
peritithêsin heautô to sperma, ton hyph' Hippokratous
epi tês hektaias gonês, hên ekpesein elege tês
mousourgou, tô tôn ôôn eikasthenta chitôni; meta de
touton êdê kai tall', hosa pros ekeinou legetai dia tou
peri physios paidiou syngrammatos.
All' ei tôn diaplasthentôn hekaston houtô meineie
smikron, hôs ex archês egeneto, ti an eiê pleon?
auxanesthai toinyn auta chrê. pôs oun auxêthêsetai?
pantê diateinomena th' hama kai trephomena. kai moi tôn
emprosthen eirêmenôn epi tês kysteôs, hên hoi paides
emphysôntes etribon, anamnêstheis mathêsê mallon || kak 87
tôn nyn rhêthêsomenôn.
Ennoêson gar dê tên kardian houtô men mikran einai kat'
archas, hôs kenchrou mêden diapherein ê, ei boulei,
kyamou, kai zêtêson, hopôs an allôs hautê genoito megalê
chôris tou pantê diateinomenên trephesthai di' holês
heautês, hôs oligô prosthen edeiknyto to sperma
trephomenon. all' oude tout' Erasistratos oiden ho tên
technên tês physeôs hymnôn, all' houtôs auxanesthai ta
zôa nomizei kathaper tina krêseran ê seiran ê sakkon ê
talaron, hôn hekastô kata to peras epiplekomenôn homoiôn
heterôn tois ex archês auta syntitheisin hê prosthesis
gignetai.
Alla touto g' ouk auxêsis estin alla genesis, ô
sophôtate; gignetai gar ho thylakos eti kai ho sakkos
kai thoimation kai hê oikia kai to ploion kai tôn allôn
hekaston, hotan mêdepô to prosêkon eidos, hou charin
hypo tou technitou dêmiourgeitai, sympeplêrômenon ê.
pot' oun auxanetai? hotan êdê teleios ôn ho talaros, hôs
echein pythmena te tina kai stoma kai hoion gastera kai
ta toutôn metaxy, meizôn hapasi toutois genêtai. kai pôs
|| estai touto? phêsei tis. pôs d' allôs ê ei zôon 88
exaiphnês ê phyton ho talaros hêmin genoito? monôn gar
tôn zôntôn hê auxêsis. sy d' isôs oiei tên oikian
oikodomoumenên auxanesthai kai ton talaron plekomenon
kai thoimation hyphainomenon. all' ouch hôd' echei; tou
men gar êdê sympeplêrômenou kata to eidos hê auxêsis,
tou d' eti gignomenou hê eis to eidos hodos ouk auxêsis
alla genesis onomazetai; auxanetai men gar to on,
gignetai de to ouk on.
IV
This also was unknown to Erasistratus, whom nothing escaped, if his
followers speak in any way truly in maintaining that he was familiar
with the Peripatetic philosophers. Now, in so far as he acclaims
Nature as being an artist in construction, even I recognize the
Peripatetic teachings, but in other respects he does not come near
them. For if anyone will make himself acquainted with the writings
of Aristotle and Theophrastus, these will appear to him to consist
of commentaries on the Nature-lore [physiology][196] of
Hippocrates--according to which the principles of heat, cold, dryness
and moisture act upon and are acted upon by one another, the hot
principle being the most active, and the cold coming next to it in
power; all this was stated in the first place by Hippocrates and
secondly by Aristotle.[197] Further, it is at once the Hippocratic and
the Aristotelian teaching that the parts which are being nourished
receive that nourishment throughout their whole substance, and that,
similarly, processes of _mingling_ and _alteration_ involve the entire
substance.[198] Moreover, that digestion is a species of alteration--a
transmutation of the nutriment into the proper quality of the thing
receiving it; that blood-production also is an alteration, and
nutrition as well; that growth results from extension in all
directions, combined with nutrition; that alteration is effected
mainly by the warm principle, and that therefore digestion, nutrition,
and the generation of the various humours, as well as the qualities of
the surplus substances, result from the _innate heat_;[199] all these
and many other points besides in regard to the aforesaid faculties,
the origin of diseases, and the discovery of remedies, were correctly
stated first by Hippocrates of all writers whom we know, and were in
the second place correctly expounded by Aristotle. Now, if all these
views meet with the approval of the Peripatetics, as they undoubtedly
do, and if none of them satisfy Erasistratus, what can the
Erasistrateans possibly mean by claiming that their leader was
associated with these philosophers? The fact is, they revere him as a
god, and think that everything he says is true. If this be so, then we
must suppose the Peripatetics to have strayed very far from truth,
since they approve of none of the ideas of Erasistratus. And, indeed,
the disciples of the latter produce his connection with the
Peripatetics in order to furnish his Nature-lore with a respectable
pedigree.
Now, let us reverse our argument and put it in a different way from
that which we have just employed. For if the Peripatetics were correct
in their teaching about Nature, there could be nothing more absurd
than the contentions of Erasistratus. And, I will leave it to the
Erasistrateans themselves to decide; they must either advance the one
proposition or the other. According to the former one the Peripatetics
had no accurate acquaintance with Nature, and according to the second,
Erasistratus. It is my task, then, to point out the opposition between
the two doctrines, and theirs to make the choice....
But they certainly will not abandon their reverence for Erasistratus.
Very well, then; let them stop talking about the Peripatetic
philosophers. For among the numerous physiological teachings regarding
the genesis and destruction of animals, their health, their diseases,
and the methods of treating these, there will be found one only which
is common to Erasistratus and the Peripatetics--namely, the view that
Nature does everything for some purpose, and nothing in vain.
But even as regards this doctrine their agreement is only verbal; in
practice Erasistratus makes havoc of it a thousand times over. For,
according to him, the spleen was made for no purpose, as also the
omentum; similarly, too, the arteries which are inserted into
kidneys[200]--although these are practically the largest of all those
that spring from the great artery [aorta]! And to judge by the
Erasistratean argument, there must be countless other useless
structures; for, if he knows nothing at all about these structures, he
has little more anatomical knowledge than a butcher, while, if he is
acquainted with them and yet does not state their use, he clearly
imagines that they were made for no purpose, like the spleen. Why,
however, should I discuss these structures fully, belonging as they do
to the treatise "On the Use of Parts," which I am personally about to
complete?
Let us, then, sum up again this same argument, and, having said a few
words more in answer to the Erasistrateans, proceed to our next topic.
The fact is, these people seem to me to have read none of Aristotle's
writings, but to have heard from others how great an authority he was
on "Nature," and that those of the Porch[201] follow in the steps of
his Nature-lore; apparently they then discovered a single one of the
current ideas which is common to Aristotle and Erasistratus, and made
up some story of a connection between Erasistratus and these
people.[202] That Erasistratus, however, has no share in the
Nature-lore of Aristotle is shown by an enumeration of the aforesaid
doctrines, which emanated first from Hippocrates, secondly from
Aristotle, thirdly from the Stoics (with a single modification,
namely, that for them the _qualities_ are _bodies_).[203]
Perhaps, however, they will maintain that it was in the matter of
_logic_ that Erasistratus associated himself with the Peripatetic
philosophers? Here they show ignorance of the fact that these
philosophers never brought forward false or inconclusive arguments,
while the Erasistratean books are full of them.
So perhaps somebody may already be asking, in some surprise, what
possessed Erasistratus that he turned so completely from the doctrines
of Hippocrates, and why it is that he takes away the attractive
faculty from the biliary[204] passages in the liver--for we have
sufficiently discussed the kidneys--alleging [as the cause of
bile-secretion] a favourable situation, the narrowness of vessels, and
_a common space_ into which the veins from the gateway [of the
liver][205] conduct the unpurified blood, and from which, in the first
place, the [biliary] passages take over the bile, and secondly, the
[branches] of the vena cava take over the purified blood. For it would
not only have done him no harm to have mentioned the idea of
_attraction_, but he would thereby have been able to get rid of
countless other disputed questions.
IV
Kai taut' Erasistratos ouk oiden, hon ouden lanthanei,
eiper holôs alêtheuousin hoi ap' autou phaskontes
hômilêkenai tois ek tou peripatou philosophois auton.
achri men oun tou tên physin hymnein hôs technikên kagô
gnôrizô ta tou peripatou dogmata, tôn d' allôn ouden
oud' engys. ei gar tis homilêseie tois Aristotelous kai
Theophrastou grammasi, tês Hippokratous an auta doxeie
physiologias hypomnêmata synkeisthai, to thermon kai to
psychron || kai to xêron kai to hygron eis allêla drônta 89
kai paschonta kai toutôn autôn drastikôtaton men to
thermon, deuteron de tê dynamei to psychron Hippokratous
tauta sympanta prôtou, deuterou d' Aristotelous
eipontos. trephesthai de di' holôn hautôn ta trephomena
kai kerannysthai di' holôn ta kerannymena kai
alloiousthai di' holôn ta alloioumena, kai tauth'
Hippokrateia th' hama kai Aristoteleia. kai tên pepsin
alloiôsin tin' hyparchein kai metabolên tou trephontos
eis tên oikeian tou trephomenou poiotêta, tên d'
exaimatôsin alloiôsin einai kai tên threpsin hôsautôs
kai tên auxêsin ek tês pantê diataseôs kai threpseôs
gignesthai, tên d' alloiôsin hypo tou thermou malista
synteleisthai kai dia touto kai tên pepsin kai tên
threpsin kai tên tôn chymôn hapantôn genesin, êdê de kai
tois perittômasi tas poiotêtas hypo tês emphytou
thermasias engignesthai, tauta sympanta kai pros toutois
hetera polla ta te tôn proeirêmenôn dynameôn kai ta || 90
tôn nosêmatôn tês geneseôs kai ta tôn iamatôn tês
heureseôs Hippokratês men prôtos hapantôn hôn ismen
orthôs eipen, Aristotelês de deuteros orthôs exêgêsato.
kai mên ei tauta sympanta tois ek tou peripatou dokei,
kathaper oun dokei, mêden d' autôn areskei tô
Erasistratô, ti pote bouletai tois Erasistrateiois hê
pros tous philosophous ekeinous tou tês haireseôs autôn
hêgemonos homilia? thaumazousi men gar auton hôs theon
kai pant' alêtheuein nomizousin. ei d' houtôs echei
tauta, pampoly dêpou tês alêtheias esphalthai chrê
nomizein tous ek tou peripatou philosophous, hois mêden
hôn Erasistratos hypelambanen areskei. kai mên hôsper
tin' eugeneian autô tês physiologias tên pros tous
andras ekeinous synousian ekporizousi.
Palin oun anastrepsômen ton logon heterôs ê hôs oligô
prosthen etychomen eipontes. eiper gar hoi ek tou
peripatou kalôs ephysiologêsan, ouden an eiê
lêrôdesteron Erasistratou kai didômi tois
Erasistrateiois autois tên hairesin; ê gar ton proteron
logon ê touton || prosêsontai. legei d' ho men proteros 91
ouden orthôs egnôkenai peri physeôs tous peripatêtikous,
ho de deuteros Erasistraton. emon men oun hypomnêsai tôn
dogmatôn tên machên, ekeinôn d' hê hairesis.
All' ouk an apostaien tou thaumazein Erasistraton;
oukoun siôpatôsan peri tôn ek tou peripatou philosophôn.
pampollôn gar ontôn dogmatôn physikôn peri te genesin
kai phthoran tôn zôôn kai hygieian kai nosous kai tas
therapeias autôn hen monon heurethêsetai tauton
Erasistratô kakeinois tois andrasi, to tinos heneka
panta poiein tên physin kai matên mêden.
Alla kai auto touto mechri logou koinon, ergô de
myriakis Erasistratos auto diaphtheirei; matên men gar
ho splên egeneto, matên de to epiploon, matên d' hai eis
tous nephrous artêriai kataphyomenai, schedon hapasôn
tôn apo tês megalês artêrias apoblastanousôn ousai
megistai, matên d' alla myria kata ge ton Erasistrateion
logon; haper ei men oud' holôs gignôskei, brachei
mageirou sophôteros estin en tais anatomais, ei d' eidôs
ou legei tên chreian autôn, oietai || dêlonoti 92
paraplêsiôs tô splêni matên auta gegonenai. kaitoi ti
taut' epexerchomai tês peri chreias moriôn pragmateias
onta mellousês hêmin idia perainesthai?
Palin oun analabômen ton auton logon eipontes te ti
brachy pros tous Erasistrateious eti tôn ephexês
echômetha. dokousi gar moi mêden anegnôkenai tôn
Aristotelous houtoi syngrammatôn, all' allôn akouontes,
hôs deinos ên peri physin ho anthrôpos kai hôs hoi apo
tês stoas kat' ichnê tês ekeinou physiologias
badizousin, eith' heurontes hen ti tôn peripheromenôn
dogmatôn koinon autô pros Erasistraton anaplasai tina
synousian autou pros ekeinous tous andras. all' hoti men
tês Aristotelous physiologias ouden Erasistratô
metestin, ho katalogos tôn proeirêmenôn endeiknytai
dogmatôn, ha prôtou men Hippokratous ên, deuterou d'
Aristotelous, tritôn de tôn Stôïkôn, henos monou
metatithemenou tou tas poiotêtas einai sômata.
Tacha d' an tês logikês heneka theôrias hômilêkenai
phaien ton Erasistraton tois ek tou peripatou
philosophois, ouk eidotes, hôs ekeinoi men pseu||deis 93
kai aperantous ouk egrapsan logous, ta d' Erasistrateia
biblia pampollous echei tous toioutous.
Tach' an oun êdê tis thaumazoi kai diaporoiê, ti pathôn
ho Erasistratos eis tosouton tôn Hippokratous dogmatôn
apetrapeto kai dia ti tôn en hêpati porôn tôn
cholêdochôn, halis gar êdê nephrôn, aphelomenos tên
helktikên dynamin epikairon aitiatai thesin kai stomatôn
stenotêta kai chôran tina koinên, eis hên paragousi men
hai apo tôn pylôn to akatharton haima, metalambanousi de
proteroi men hoi poroi tên cholên, deuterai d' hai apo
tês koilês phlebos to katharon haima. pros gar tô mêden
an blabênai tên holkên eipôn allôn myriôn emellen
amphisbêtoumenôn apallaxesthai logôn.
V
At the actual moment, however, the Erasistrateans are engaged in a
considerable battle, not only with others but also amongst themselves,
and so they cannot explain the passage from the first book of the
"General Principles," in which Erasistratus says, "Since there are two
kinds of vessels opening[206] at the same place, the one kind
extending to the gall-bladder and the other to the vena cava, the
result is that, of the nutriment carried up from the alimentary canal,
that part which fits both kinds of stomata is received into both kinds
of vessels, some being carried into the gall-bladder, and the rest
passing over into the vena cava." For it is difficult to say what we
are to understand by the words "opening at the same place" which are
written at the beginning of this passage. Either they mean there is a
_junction_[207] between the termination of the vein which is on the
concave surface of the liver[208] and two other vascular terminations
(that of the vessel on the convex surface of the liver[209] and that
of the bile-duct), or, if not, then we must suppose that there is, as
it were, a common space for all three vessels, which becomes filled
from the lower vein,[210] and empties itself both into the bile-duct
and into the branches of the vena cava. Now, there are many
difficulties in both of these explanations, but if I were to state
them all, I should find myself inadvertently writing an exposition of
the teaching of Erasistratus, instead of carrying out my original
undertaking. There is, however, one difficulty common to both these
explanations, namely, that the whole of the blood does not become
purified. For it ought to fall into the bile-duct as into a kind of
sieve, instead of going (running, in fact, rapidly) past it, into the
larger stoma, by virtue of the impulse of _anadosis_.
Are these, then, the only inevitable difficulties in which the
argument of Erasistratus becomes involved through his disinclination
to make any use of the attractive faculty, or is it that the
difficulty is greatest here, and also so obvious that even a child
could not avoid seeing it?
V
Hôs nyn ge polemos ou smikros esti tois Erasistrateiois
ou pros tous allous monon alla kai pros allêlous, ouk
echousin, hopôs exêgêsôntai tên ek tou prôtou tôn
katholou logôn lexin, en hê phêsin; "Eis to || auto d' 94
anestomômenôn heterôn anestomômenôn heterôn dyo angeiôn
tôn t' epi tên cholêdochon teinontôn kai tôn epi tên
koilên phleba symbainei tês anapheromenês ek tês koilias
trophês ta enarmozonta hekaterois tôn stomatôn eis
hekatera tôn angeiôn metalambanesthai kai ta men epi tên
cholêdochon pheresthai, ta d' epi tên koilên phleba
peraiousthai." to gar "eis to auto anestomômenôn," ho
kat' archas tês lexeôs gegraptai, ti pote chrê noêsai,
chalepon eipein. êtoi gar houtôs eis tauton, hôste tô
tês en tois simois phlebos perati synaptein dyo hetera
perata, to t' en tois kyrtois kai to tou cholêdochou
porou, ê, ei mê houtô, chôran tina koinên epinoêsai chrê
tôn triôn angeiôn hoion dexamenên tina, plêroumenên men
hypo tês katô phlebos, ekkenoumenên d' eis te tous
cholêdochous porous kai tas tês koilês aposchidas; kath'
hekateran de tôn exêgêseôn atopa polla, peri hôn ei
pantôn legoimi, lathoim' an emauton exêgêseis
Erasistratou graphôn, ouch, hoper ex archês prouthemên,
perainôn. koinon d' amphoterais tais exêgêsesin atopon
to mê || kathairesthai pan to haima. chrê gar hôs eis 95
êthmon tina to cholêdochon angeion empiptein auto, ou
parerchesthai kai pararrhein ôkeôs eis to meizon stoma
tê rhymê tês anadoseôs pheromenon.
Ar' oun en toutois monon aporiais aphyktois ho
Erasistratou logos enechetai mê boulêthentos chrêsasthai
tais helktikais dynamesin eis mêden, ê sphodrotata men
en toutois kai saphôs houtôs, hôs an mêde paida lathein?
VI
And if one looks carefully into the matter one will find that even
Erasistratus's reasoning on the subject of _nutrition_, which he takes
up in the second book of his "General Principles," fails to escape
this same difficulty. For, having conceded one premise to the
principle that matter tends to fill a vacuum, as we previously showed,
he was only able to draw a conclusion in the case of the veins and
their contained blood.[211] That is to say, when blood is running
away through the stomata of the veins, and is being dispersed, then,
since an absolutely empty space cannot result, and the veins cannot
collapse (for this was what he overlooked), it was therefore shown to
be necessary that the adjoining quantum of fluid should flow in and
fill the place of the fluid evacuated. It is in this way that we may
suppose the veins to be nourished; they get the benefit of the blood
which they contain. But how about the nerves?[212] For they do not
also contain blood. One might obviously say that they draw their
supply from the veins.[213] But Erasistratus will not have it so. What
further contrivance, then, does he suppose? He says that a nerve has
within itself veins and arteries, like a rope woven by Nature out of
three different strands. By means of this hypothesis he imagined that
his theory would escape from the idea of _attraction_. For if the
nerve contain within itself a blood-vessel it will no longer need the
adventitious flow of other blood from the real vein lying adjacent;
this fictitious vessel, perceptible only in theory,[214] will suffice
it for nourishment.
But this, again, is succeeded by another similar difficulty. For this
small vessel will nourish itself, but it will not be able to nourish
this adjacent simple nerve or artery, unless these possess some innate
proclivity for attracting nutriment. For how could the _nerve_, being
simple, attract its nourishment, as do the composite veins, by virtue
of the tendency of a vacuum to become refilled? For, although
according to Erasistratus, it contains within itself a cavity of
sorts, this is not occupied with blood, but with _psychic
pneuma_,[215] and we are required to imagine the nutriment introduced,
not into this cavity, but into the vessel containing it, whether it
needs merely to be nourished, or to grow as well. How, then, are we to
imagine it introduced? For this simple vessel [_i.e._ nerve] is so
small--as are also the other two--that if you prick it at any part
with the finest needle you will tear the whole three of them at once.
Thus there could never be in it a perceptible space entirely empty.
And an emptied space which merely existed in theory could not compel
the adjacent fluid to come and fill it.
At this point, again, I should like Erasistratus himself to answer
regarding this small elementary nerve, whether it is actually one and
definitely continuous, or whether it consists of many small bodies,
such as those assumed by Epicurus, Leucippus, and Democritus.[216] For
I see that the Erasistrateans are at variance on this subject. Some of
them consider it one and continuous, for otherwise, as they say, he
would not have called it _simple_; and some venture to resolve it into
yet other elementary bodies. But if it be one and continuous, then
what is evacuated from it in the so-called _insensible transpiration_
of the physicians will leave no empty space in it; otherwise it would
not be one body but many, separated by empty spaces. But if it
consists of many bodies, then we have "escaped by the back door," as
the saying is, to Asclepiades, seeing that we have postulated certain
_inharmonious elements_. Once again, then, we must call Nature
"inartistic"; for this necessarily follows the assumption of such
elements.
For this reason some of the Erasistrateans seem to me to have done
very foolishly in reducing the simple vessels to elements such as
these. Yet it makes no difference to me, since the theory of both
parties regarding nutrition will be shown to be absurd. For in these
minute simple vessels constituting the large perceptible nerves, it is
impossible, according to the theory of those who would keep the former
continuous, that any "refilling of a vacuum" should take place, since
no vacuum can occur in a continuum even if anything does run away; for
the parts left come together (as is seen in the case of water) and
again become one, taking up the whole space of that which previously
separated them. Nor will any "refilling" occur if we accept the
argument of the other Erasistrateans, since none of their _elements_
need it. For this principle only holds of things which are
perceptible, and not of those which exist merely in theory; this
Erasistratus expressly acknowledges, for he states that it is not a
vacuum such as this, interspersed in small portions among the
corpuscles, that his various treatises deal with, but a vacuum which
is clear, perceptible, complete in itself, large in size, evident, or
however else one cares to term it (for, what Erasistratus himself says
is, that "there cannot be a perceptible space which is entirely
empty"; while I, for my part, being abundantly equipped with terms
which are equally elucidatory, at least in relation to the present
topic of discussion, have added them as well).
Thus it seems to me better that we also should help the Erasistrateans
with some contribution, since we are on the subject, and should advise
those who reduce the vessel called _primary_ and _simple_ by
Erasistratus into other elementary bodies to give up their opinion;
for not only do they gain nothing by it, but they are also at variance
with Erasistratus in this matter. That they gain nothing by it has
been clearly demonstrated; for this hypothesis could not escape the
difficulty regarding _nutrition_. And it also seems perfectly evident
to me that this hypothesis is not in consonance with the view of
Erasistratus, when it declares that what he calls simple and primary
is composite, and when it destroys the principle of Nature's artistic
skill.[217] For, if we do not grant a certain _unity of
substance_[218] to these simple structures as well, and if we arrive
eventually at inharmonious and indivisible elements,[219] we shall
most assuredly deprive Nature of her artistic skill, as do all the
physicians and philosophers who start from this hypothesis. For,
according to such a hypothesis, Nature does not precede, but is
secondary to the _parts_ of the animal.[220] Now, it is not the
province of what comes secondarily, but of what pre-exists, to shape
and to construct. Thus we must necessarily suppose that the faculties
of Nature, by which she shapes the animal, and makes it grow and
receive nourishment, are present from the seed onwards; whereas none
of these inharmonious and non-partite corpuscles contains within
itself any formative, incremental,[221] nutritive, or, in a word, any
artistic power; it is, by hypothesis, unimpressionable and
untransformable,[222] whereas, as we have previously shown,[223] none
of the processes mentioned takes place without transformation,
alteration, and complete intermixture. And, owing to this necessity,
those who belong to these sects are unable to follow out the
consequences of their supposed elements, and they are all therefore
forced to declare Nature devoid of art. It is not from us, however,
that the Erasistrateans should have learnt this, but from those very
philosophers who lay most stress on a preliminary investigation into
the elements of all existing things.
Now, one can hardly be right in supposing that Erasistratus could
reach such a pitch of foolishness as to be incapable of recognizing
the logical consequences of this theory, and that, while assuming
Nature to be artistically creative, he would at the same time break up
substance into insensible, inharmonious, and untransformable elements.
If, however, he will grant that there occurs in the elements a process
of alteration and transformation, and that there exists in them unity
and continuity, then that _simple vessel_ of his (as he himself names
it) will turn out to be single and uncompounded. And the simple vein
will receive nourishment from itself, and the nerve and artery from
the vein. How, and in what way? For, when we were at this point
before, we drew attention to the disagreement among the
Erasistrateans,[224] and we showed that the nutrition of these simple
vessels was impracticable according to the teachings of both parties,
although we did not hesitate to adjudicate in their quarrel and to do
Erasistratus the honour of placing him in the better sect.[225]
Let our argument, then, be transferred again to the doctrine which
assumes this _elementary nerve_[226] to be a single, simple, and
entirely unified structure, and let us consider how it is to be
nourished; for what is discovered here will at once be found to be
common also to the school of Hippocrates.
It seems to me that our enquiry can be most rigorously pursued in
subjects who are suffering from illness and have become very
emaciated, since in these people all parts of the body are obviously
atrophied and thin, and in need of additional substance and
feeding-up; for the same reason the ordinary _perceptible_ nerve,
regarding which we originally began this discussion, has become thin,
and requires nourishment. Now, this contains within itself various
parts, namely, a great many of these primary, invisible, minute
nerves, a few simple arteries, and similarly also veins. Thus, all its
elementary nerves have themselves also obviously become emaciated;
for, if they had not, neither would the nerve as a whole; and of
course, in such a case, the whole nerve cannot require nourishment
without each of these requiring it too. Now, if on the one hand they
stand in need of feeding-up, and if on the other the principle of the
refilling of a vacuum[227] can give them no help--both by reason of
the difficulties previously mentioned and the actual thinness, as I
shall show--we must then seek another cause for nutrition.
How is it, then, that the tendency of a vacuum to become refilled is
unable to afford nourishment to one in such a condition? Because its
rule is that only so much of the contiguous matter should succeed as
has flowed away. Now this is sufficient for nourishment in the case
of those who are in good condition, for, in them, what is
_presented_[228] must be equal to what has flowed away. But in the
case of those who are very emaciated and who need a great restoration
of nutrition, unless what was presented were many times greater than
what has been emptied out, they would never be able to regain their
original habit. It is clear, therefore, that these parts will have to
exert a greater amount of _attraction_, in so far as their
requirements are greater. And I fail to understand how Erasistratus
does not perceive that here again he is putting the cart before the
horse. Because, in the case of the sick, there must be a large amount
of _presentation_[228] in order to feed them up, he argues that the
factor of "refilling"[227] must play an equally large part. And how
could much _presentation_ take place if it were not preceded by an
abundant _delivery_[229] of nutriment? And if he calls the conveyance
of food through the veins delivery, and its assumption by each of
these simple and visible nerves and arteries not delivery but
_distribution_,[230] as some people have thought fit to name it, and
then ascribes conveyance through the veins to the principle of
vacuum-refilling alone, let him explain to us the assumption of food
by the hypothetical elements.[231] For it has been shown that at least
in relation to these there is no question of the refilling of a vacuum
being in operation, and especially where the parts are very
attenuated. It is worth while listening to what Erasistratus says
about these cases in the second book of his "General Principles": "In
the ultimate simple [vessels], which are thin and narrow, presentation
takes place from the adjacent vessels, the nutriment being attracted
through the sides of the vessels and deposited in the empty spaces
left by the matter which has been carried away." Now, in this
statement firstly I admit and accept the words "through the sides."
For, if the simple nerve were actually to take in the food through its
mouth, it could not distribute it through its whole substance; for the
mouth is dedicated to the psychic pneuma.[232] It can, however, take
it in through its sides from the adjacent simple vein. Secondly, I
also accept in Erasistratus's statement the expression which precedes
"through the sides." What does this say? "The nutriment being
attracted through the sides of the vessels." Now I, too, agree that it
is attracted, but it has been previously shown that this is not
through the tendency of evacuated matter to be replaced.
VI
Ei d' episkopoito tis epimelôs, oud' ho peri threpseôs
autou logos, hon en tô deuterô tôn katholou logôn
diexerchetai, tas autas aporias ekpheugei. tê gar pros
to kenoumenon akolouthia synchôrêthentos henos lêmmatos,
hôs prosthen edeiknymen, eperaine ti peri phlebôn monôn
kai tou kat' autas haimatos. ekreontos gar tinos kata ta
stomat' autôn kai diaphoroumenou kai mêt' athroôs topou
kenou dynamenou genesthai mête tôn phlebôn sympesein,
touto gar ên to paraleipomenon, anankaion ên hepesthai
to syneches anaplêroun tou kenou||menou tên basin. hai 96
men dê phlebes hêmin houtô threpsontai tou periechomenou
kat' autas haimatos apolauousai; ta de neura pôs? ou gar
dê kan toutois estin haima. procheiron men gar ên
eipein, helkonta para tôn phlebôn; all' ou bouletai. ti
pot' oun kantautha epitechnatai? phlebas echein en
heautô kai artêrias to neuron hôsper tina seiran ek
triôn himantôn diapherontôn tê physei peplegmenên. ôêthê
gar ek tautês tês hypotheseôs ekpheuxesthai tô logô tên
holkên; ou gar an eti deêsesthai to neuron en heautô
periechon haimatos angeion epirrhytou tinos exôthen ek
tês parakeimenês phlebos tês alêthinês haimatos heterou,
all' hikanon autô pros tên threpsin esesthai to
katepseusmenon angeion ekeino to logô theôrêton.
Alla kantautha palin auton homoia tis aporia diedexato.
touti gar to smikron angeion heauto men threpsei, to
parakeimenon mentoi neuron ekeino to haploun ê tên
artêrian ouch hoion t' estai trephein aneu tou symphyton
tin' hyparchein autois holkên tês trophês. || tê men gar 97
pros to kenoumenon akolouthia pôs an eti dynaito tên
trophên epispasthai to haploun neuron, hôsper hai
phlebes hai synthetoi? koilotês men gar tis estin en
autô kat' auton, all' ouch haimatos hautê g' alla
pneumatos psychikou mestê. deometha d' hêmeis ouk eis
tên koilotêta tautên eisagein tô logô tên trophên all'
eis to periechon autên angeion, eit' oun trephesthai
monon eite kai auxesthai deoito. pôs oun eisaxomen?
houtô gar esti smikron ekeino to haploun angeion kai
mentoi kai tôn allôn hekateron, hôst', ei tê leptotatê
belonê nyxeias ti meros, hama diairêseis ta tria. topos
oun aisthêtos athroôs kenos ouk an pot' en autô genoito;
logô de theôrêtos topos kenoumenos ouk ên anankastikos
tês tou synechous akolouthias.
Êboulomên d' au palin moi kantautha ton Erasistraton
auton apokrinasthai peri tou stoicheiôdous ekeinou
neurou tou smikrou, poteron hen ti kai syneches akribôs
estin ê ek pollôn kai smikrôn sômatôn, hôn Epikouros kai
Leukippos kai Dêmokritos hypethento, syn||keitai. kai 98
gar kai peri toutou tous Erasistrateious horô
diapheromenous. hoi men gar hen ti kai syneches auto
nomizousin ê ouk an haploun eirêsthai pros autou phasi;
tines de kai touto dialyein eis hetera stoicheiôdê
tolmôsin. all' ei men hen ti kai syneches esti, to
kenoumenon ex autou kata tên adêlon hypo tôn iatrôn
onomazomenên diapnoên oudemian en heautô kataleipsei
chôran kenên. houtô gar ouch hen alla polla genêsetai,
dieirgomena dêpou tais kenais chôrais. ei d' ek pollôn
synkeitai, tê kêpaia kata tên paroimian pros Asklêpiadên
apechôrêsamen anarma tina stoicheia tithemenoi. palin
oun atechnos hêmin hê physis legesthô; tois gar
toioutois stoicheiois ex anankês touth' hepetai.
Dio dê moi kai dokousin amathôs pany tên eis ta toiauta
stoicheia tôn haplôn angeiôn eisagein dialysin enioi tôn
Erasistrateiôn. emoi goun ouden diapherei. kath'
hekaterous gar atopos ho tês threpseôs estai logos,
ekeinois tois haplois angeiois tois smikrois tois
syntitheisi ta megala || te kai aisthêta neura kata men 99
tous synechê phylattontas auta mê dynamenês genesthai
tês pros to kenoumenon akolouthias, hoti mêden en tô
synechei gignetai kenon, kan aporrheê ti; synerchetai
gar pros allêla ta kataleipomena moria, kathaper epi tou
hydatos horatai, kai palin hen gignetai panta tên chôran
tou diaphorêthentos auta katalambanonta; kata de tous
heterous, hoti tôn stoicheiôn ekeinôn ouden deitai tês
pros to kenoumenon akolouthias. epi gar tôn aisthêtôn
monôn, ouk epi tôn logô theôrêtôn echei dynamin, hôs
autos ho Erasistratos homologei diarrhêdên, ou peri tou
toioutou kenou phaskôn hekastote poieisthai ton logon,
ho kata brachy parespartai tois sômasin, alla peri tou
saphous kai aisthêtou kai athroou kai megalou kai
enargous kai hopôs an allôs onomazein ethelês.
Erasistratos men gar autos aisthêton athroôs ou phêsi
dynasthai genesthai kenon; egô d' ek periousias
euporêsas onomatôn tauton dêloun en ge tô nyn prokeimenô
logô dynamenôn kai talla prosethêka.
Kallion oun moi dokei kai || hêmas ti syneisenenkasthai 100
tois Erasistrateiois, epeidê kata touto gegonamen, kai
symbouleusai tois to prôton ekeino kai haploun hyp'
Erasistratou kaloumenon angeion eis heter' atta sômata
stoicheiôdê dialyousin apostênai tês hypolêpseôs, hôs
pros tô mêden echein pleon eti kai diapheromenois
Erasistratô. hoti men oun ouden echei pleon,
epidedeiktai saphôs; oude gar êdynêthê diaphygein tên
peri tês threpseôs aporian hê hypothesis; hoti d' oud'
Erasistratô symphônos estin, ho ekeinos haploun kai
prôton onomazei, syntheton apophainousa, kai tên tês
physeôs technên anairousa, prodêlon kai tout' einai moi
dokei. ei mê gar kan tois haplois toutois henôsin tina
tês ousias apoleipsomen, all' eis anarma kai amerista
katabêsometha stoicheia, pantapasin anairêsomen tês
physeôs tên technên, hôsper kai pantes hoi ek tautês
hormômenoi tês hypotheseôs iatroi kai philosophoi.
deutera gar tôn tou zôou moriôn kata tên toiautên
hypothesin hê physis, ou prôtê gignetai. diaplattein de
|| kai dêmiourgein ou tou deuterou gegonotos, alla tou 101
proÿparchontos estin; hôst' anankaion estin euthys ek
spermatôn hypothesthai tas dynameis tês physeôs, hais
diaplattei te kai auxanei kai trephei to zôon; all'
ekeinôn tôn sômatôn tôn anarmôn kai amerôn ouden en
heautô diaplastikên echei dynamin ê auxêtikên ê
threptikên ê holôs technikên; apathes gar kai
ametablêton hypokeitai. tôn d' eirêmenôn ouden aneu
metabolês kai alloiôseôs kai tês di' holôn kraseôs
gignetai, kathaper kai dia tôn emprosthen enedeixametha.
kai dia tautên tên anankên ouk echontes, hopôs ta
akoloutha tois stoicheiois, hois hypethento,
phylattoien, hoi apo tôn toioutôn haireseôn hapantes
atechnon ênankasthêsan apophênasthai tên physin. kaitoi
tauta g' ou par' hêmôn echrên manthanein tous
Erasistrateious, alla par' autôn tôn philosophôn, hois
malista dokei prôton episkopeisthai ta stoicheia tôn
ontôn hapantôn.
Oukoun oud' Erasistraton an tis orthôs achri tosautês
amathias nomizoi proêkein, hôs mêde tautên gnôrisai
dynêthênai tên akolou||thian, all' hama men hypothesthai 102
technikên tên physin, hama d' eis apathê kai anarma kai
ametablêta stoicheia katathrausai tên ousian. kai mên ei
dôsei tin' en tois stoicheiois alloiôsin te kai
metabolên kai henôsin kai synecheian, hen asyntheton
autô to haploun angeion ekeino, kathaper kai autos
onomazei, genêsetai. all' hê men haplê phleps ex hautês
traphêsetai, to neuron de kai hê artêria para tês
plebos. pôs kai tina tropon? en toutô gar dê kai
prosthen genomenoi tô logô tês tôn Erasistrateiôn
diaphônias emnêmoneusamen, epedeixamen de kai kath'
hekaterous men aporon einai tên tôn haplôn ekeinôn
angeiôn threpsin, alla kai krinai tên machên autôn ouk
ôknêsamen kai timêsai ton Erasistraton eis tên beltiona
metastêsantes hairesin.
Authis oun epi tên hen haploun hênômenon heautô pantê to
stoicheiôdes ekeino neuron hypotithemenên hairesin ho
logos metabas episkopeisthô, pôs traphêsetai; to gar
heurethen entautha koinon an êdê kai tês Hippokratous
haireseôs genoito.
Kallion d' an moi dokô to zêtou||menon epi tôn 103
nenosêkotôn kai sphodra kataleleptysmenôn basanisthênai.
panta gar toutois enargôs phainetai ta moria tou sômatos
atropha kai lepta kai pollês prosthêkês te kai
anathrepseôs deomena. kai toinyn kai to neuron touto to
aisthêton, eph' houper ex archês epoiêsamên ton logon,
ischnon men hikanôs gegone, deitai de threpseôs. echei
d' en heautô merê pampolla men ekeina ta prôta kai
aorata neura ta smikra kai tinas artêrias haplas oligas
kai phlebas homoiôs. hapant' oun autou ta neura ta
stoicheiôdê kataleleptyntai dêlonoti kai auta, ê, ei
mêd' ekeina, oude to holon. kai toinyn kai threpseôs ou
to men holon deitai neuron, hekaston d' ekeinôn ou
deitai. kai mên ei deitai men anathrepseôs, ouden d' hê
pros to kenoumenon akolouthia boêthein autois dynatai
dia te tas emprosthen eirêmenas aporias kai dia tên
hypoguion ischnotêta, kathaper deixô, zêtêteon hêmin
estin heteran aitian threpseôs.
Pôs oun hê pros to kenoumenon akolouthia trephein
adynatos esti ton houtô diakeimenon? hoti tosouton
akolouthein || anankazei tôn synechôn, hoson aporrhei. 104
touto d' epi men tôn euektountôn hikanon estin eis tên
threpsin, isa gar ep' autôn einai chrê tois aporrheousi
ta prostithemena; epi de tôn eschatôs ischnôn kai pollês
anathrepseôs deomenôn ei mê pollaplasion eiê to
prostithemenon tou kenoumenou, tên ex archês hexin
analabein ouk an pote dynainto. dêlon oun, hôs helkein
auta deêsei tosoutô pleion, hosô kai deitai pleionos.
Erasistratos de kantautha proteron poiêsas to deuteron
ouk oid' hopôs ouk aisthanetai. dioti gar, phêsi, pollê
prosthesis eis anathrepsin gignetai tois nenosêkosi, dia
touto kai hê pros tautên akolouthia pollê. pôs d' an
pollê prosthesis genoito mê proêgoumenês anadoseôs
dapsilous? ei de tên dia tôn phlebôn phoran tês trophês
anadosin kalei, tên d' eis hekaston tôn haplôn kai
aoratôn ekeinôn neurôn kai artêriôn metalêpsin ouk
anadosin alla diadosin, hôs tines onomazein êxiôsan,
eita || tên dia tôn phlebôn monê tê pros to kenoumenon 105
akolouthia phêsi gignesthai, tên eis ta logô theôrêta
metalêpsin hêmin exêgêsasthô. hoti men gar ouket' epi
toutôn hê pros to kenoumenon akolouthia legesthai
dynatai kai malist' epi tôn eschatôs ischnôn,
apodedeiktai. ti de phêsin ep' autôn en tô deuterô tôn
katholou logôn ho Erasistratos, axion epakousai tês
lexeôs; "Tois d' eschatois te kai haplois, leptois te
kai stenois ousin, ek tôn parakeimenôn angeiôn hê
prosthesis symbainei eis ta kenômata tôn apenechthentôn
kata ta plagia tôn angeiôn helkomenês tês trophês kai
katachôrizomenês." ek tautês tês lexeôs prôton men to
kata ta plagia prosiemai te kai apodechomai; kata men
gar auto to stoma to haploun neuron ouk an dynaito
dechomenon tên trophên houtôs eis holon heauto
dianemein; anakeitai gar ekeino tô psychikô pneumati;
kata de to plagion ek tês parakeimenês phlebos tês
haplês enchôrei labein auto. deuteron d' apodechomai tôn
ek tês Erasistratou lexeôs onomatôn to gegrammenon
ephexês tô kata ta plagia. || ti gar phêsi? "Kata ta 106
plagia tôn angeiôn helkomenês tês trophês." hoti men oun
helketai, kai hêmeis homologoumen, hoti d' ou tê pros to
kenoumenon akolouthia, dedeiktai prosthen.
VII
Let us, then, consider together how it is attracted. How else than in
the way that iron is attracted by the lodestone, the latter having a
faculty attractive of this particular quality [existing in iron]?[233]
But if the beginning of anadosis depends on the squeezing action of
the stomach,[234] and the whole movement thereafter on the peristalsis
and propulsive action of the veins, as well as on the traction exerted
by each of the parts which are undergoing nourishment, then we can
abandon the principle of replacement of evacuated matter, as not being
suitable for a man who assumes Nature to be a skilled artist; thus we
shall also have avoided the contradiction of Asclepiades[235] though
we cannot refute it: for the disjunctive argument used for the
purposes of demonstration is, in reality, disjunctive not of two but
of three alternatives; now, if we treat the disjunction as a
disjunction of two alternatives, one of the two propositions assumed
in constructing our proof must be false; and if as a disjunctive of
three alternatives, no conclusion will be arrived at.
VII
Exeurômen oun koinê, pôs helketai. pôs d' allôs ê hôs ho
sidêros hypo tês hêrakleias lithou dynamin echousês
helktikên toiautês poiotêtos? all' ei tên men archên tês
anadoseôs hê tês koilias enthlipsis parechetai, tên de
meta tauta phoran hapasan hai te phlebes peristellomenai
kai proôthousai kai tôn trephomenôn hekaston epispômenon
eis heauto, tês pros to kenoumenon akolouthias
apostantes, hôs ou prepousês andri technikên hypothemenô
tên physin, houtôs an êdê kai tên antilogian eiêmen
pepheugotes tên Asklêpiadou mê dynamenoi ge lyein autên.
to gar eis tên apodeixin paralambanomenon lêmma to
diezeugmenon ouk ek dyoin all' ek triôn esti kata ge tên
alêtheian diezeugmenon. ei men oun hôs ek dyoin autô
chrê||saimetha, pseudos estai ti tôn eis tên apodeixin 107
pareilêmmenôn; ei d' hôs ek triôn, aperantos ho logos
genêsetai.
VIII
Now Erasistratus ought not to have been ignorant of this if he had
ever had anything to do with the Peripatetics--even in a dream. Nor,
similarly, should he have been unacquainted with the genesis of the
_humours_, about which, not having even anything moderately plausible
to say, he thinks to deceive us by the excuse that the consideration
of such matters is not the least useful. Then, in Heaven's name, is it
useful to know how food is digested in the stomach, but unnecessary to
know how _bile_ comes into existence in the veins? Are we to pay
attention merely to the evacuation of this humour, and not to its
genesis? As though it were not far better to prevent its excessive
development from the beginning than to give ourselves all the trouble
of expelling it![236] And it is a strange thing to be entirely unaware
as to whether its genesis is to be looked on as taking place in the
body, or whether it comes from without and is contained in the food.
For, if it was right to raise this problem, why should we not make
investigations concerning the _blood_ as well--whether it takes its
origin in the body, or is distributed through the food as is
maintained by those who postulate _homoemeries_?[237] Assuredly it
would be much more useful to investigate what kinds of food are
suited, and what kinds unsuited, to the process of
blood-production[238] rather than to enquire into what articles of
diet are easily mastered by the activity of the stomach, and what
resist and contend with it. For the choice of the latter bears
reference merely to digestion, while that of the former is of
importance in regard to the generation of useful blood. For it is not
equally important whether the aliment be imperfectly chylified[239] in
the stomach or whether it fail to be turned into useful blood. Why is
Erasistratus not ashamed to distinguish all the various kinds of
digestive failure and all the occasions which give rise to them,
whilst in reference to the errors of blood-production he does not
utter a single word--nay, not a syllable? Now, there is certainly to
be found in the veins both thick and thin blood; in some people it is
redder, in others yellower, in some blacker, in others more of the
nature of phlegm. And one who realizes that it may smell offensively
not in one way only, but in a great many different respects (which
cannot be put into words, although perfectly appreciable to the
senses), would, I imagine, condemn in no measured terms the
carelessness of Erasistratus in omitting a consideration so essential
to the practice of our art.
Thus it is clear what errors in regard to the subject of _dropsies_
logically follow this carelessness. For, does it not show the most
extreme carelessness to suppose that the blood is prevented from going
forward into the liver owing to the _narrowness of the passages_, and
that dropsy can never occur in any other way? For, to imagine that
dropsy is never caused by the spleen[240] or any other part, but
always by induration of the liver,[241] is the standpoint of a man
whose intelligence is perfectly torpid and who is quite out of touch
with things that happen every day. For, not merely once or twice, but
frequently, we have observed dropsy produced by chronic haemorrhoids
which have been suppressed,[242] or which, through immoderate
bleeding, have given the patient a severe chill; similarly, in women,
the complete disappearance of the monthly discharge,[243] or an undue
evacuation such as is caused by violent bleeding from the womb, often
provoke dropsy; and in some of them the so-called female flux ends in
this disorder. I leave out of account the dropsy which begins in the
flanks or in any other susceptible part; this clearly confutes
Erasistratus's assumption, although not so obviously as does that kind
of dropsy which is brought about by an excessive chilling of the whole
constitution; this, which is the primary reason for the occurrence of
dropsy, results from a failure of blood-production,[244] very much
like the diarrhoea which follows imperfect digestion of food;
certainly in this kind of dropsy neither the liver nor any other
viscus becomes indurated.
The learned Erasistratus, however, overlooks--nay, despises--what
neither Hippocrates, Diocles, Praxagoras, nor Philistion[245]
despised, nor indeed any of the best philosophers, whether Plato,
Aristotle, or Theophrastus; he passes by whole functions as though it
were but a trifling and casual department of medicine which he was
neglecting, without deigning to argue whether or not these authorities
are right in saying that the bodily parts of all animals are governed
by the Warm, the Cold, the Dry and the Moist, the one pair being
active and the other passive, and that among these the Warm has most
power in connection with all functions, but especially with the
genesis of the humours.[246] Now, one cannot be blamed for not
agreeing with all these great men, nor for imagining that one knows
more than they; but not to consider such distinguished teaching worthy
either of contradiction or even mention shows an extraordinary
arrogance.
Now, Erasistratus is thoroughly small-minded and petty to the last
degree in all his disputations--when, for instance, in his treatise
"On Digestion,"[247] he argues jealously with those who consider that
this is a process of putrefaction of the food; and, in his work "On
Anadosis,"[248] with those who think that the anadosis of blood
through the veins results from the contiguity of the arteries; also,
in his work "On Respiration," with those who maintain that the air is
forced along by contraction. Nay, he did not even hesitate to
contradict those who maintain that the urine passes into the bladder
in a vaporous state,[249] as also those who say that imbibed fluids
are carried into the lung. Thus he delights to choose always the most
valueless doctrines, and to spend his time more and more in
contradicting these; whereas on the subject of the _origin of blood_
(which is in no way less important than the chylification[250] of food
in the stomach) he did not deign to dispute with any of the ancients,
nor did he himself venture to bring forward any other opinion, despite
the fact that at the beginning of his treatise on "General Principles"
he undertook to say how all the various natural functions take place,
and through what parts of the animal! Now, is it possible that, when
the faculty which naturally digests food is weak, the animal's
digestion fails, whereas the faculty which turns the digested food
into blood cannot suffer any kind of impairment?[251] Are we to
suppose this latter faculty alone to be as tough as steel and
unaffected by circumstances? Or is it that weakness of this faculty
will result in something else than dropsy? The fact, therefore, that
Erasistratus, in regard to other matters, did not hesitate to attack
even the most trivial views, whilst in this case he neither dared to
contradict his predecessors nor to advance any new view of his own,
proves plainly that he recognized the fallacy of his own way of
thinking.[252]
For what could a man possibly say about blood who had no use for
_innate heat_? What could he say about yellow or black bile, or
phlegm? Well, of course, he might say that the bile could come
directly from without, mingled with the food! Thus Erasistratus
practically says so in the following words: "It is of no value in
practical medicine to find out whether a fluid of this kind[253]
arises from the elaboration of food in the stomach-region, or whether
it reaches the body because it is mixed with the food taken in from
outside." But, my very good Sir, you most certainly maintain also that
this humour has to be evacuated from the animal, and that it causes
great pain if it be not evacuated. How, then, if you suppose that no
good comes from the bile, do you venture to say that an investigation
into its origin is of no value in medicine?
Well, let us suppose that it is contained in the food, and not
specifically secreted in the liver (for you hold these two things
possible). In this case, it will certainly make a considerable
difference whether the ingested food contains a minimum or a maximum
of bile; for the one kind is harmless, whereas that containing a large
quantity of bile, owing to the fact that it cannot be properly
purified[254] in the liver, will result in the various
affections--particularly jaundice--which Erasistratus himself states
to occur where there is much bile. Surely, then, it is most essential
for the physician to know in the first place, that the bile is
contained in the food itself from outside, and, secondly, that for
example, beet contains a great deal of bile, and bread very little,
while olive oil contains most, and wine least of all, and all the
other articles of diet different quantities. Would it not be absurd
for any one to choose voluntarily those articles which contain more
bile, rather than those containing less?
What, however, if the bile is not contained in the food, but comes
into existence in the animal's body? Will it not also be useful to
know what _state of the body_ is followed by a greater, and what by a
smaller occurrence of bile?[255] For obviously it is in our power to
alter and transmute morbid states of the body--in fact, to give them a
turn for the better. But if we did not know in what respect they were
morbid or in what way they diverged from the normal, how should we be
able to ameliorate them?
Therefore it is not useless in treatment, as Erasistratus says, to
know the actual truth about the genesis of bile. Certainly it is not
impossible, or even difficult to discover that the reason why _honey_
produces yellow bile is not that it contains a large quantity of this
within itself, but because it [the honey] undergoes change, becoming
_altered_ and transmuted into bile. For it would be bitter to the
taste if it contained bile from the outset, and it would produce an
equal quantity of bile in every person who took it. The facts,
however, are not so.[256] For in those who are in the prime of life,
especially if they are warm by nature and are leading a life of toil,
the honey changes entirely into yellow bile. Old people, however, it
suits well enough, inasmuch as the alteration which it undergoes is
not into bile, but into blood. Erasistratus, however, in addition to
knowing nothing about this, shows no intelligence even in the division
of his argument; he says that it is of no practical importance to
investigate whether the bile is contained in the food from the
beginning or comes into existence as a result of gastric digestion. He
ought surely to have added something about its genesis in liver and
veins, seeing that the old physicians and philosophers declare that it
along with the blood is generated in these organs. But it is
inevitable that people who, from the very outset, go astray, and
wander from the right road, should talk such nonsense, and should,
over and above this, neglect to search for the factors of most
practical importance in medicine.
Having come to this point in the argument, I should like to ask those
who declare that Erasistratus was very familiar with the Peripatetics,
whether they know what Aristotle stated and demonstrated with regard
to our bodies being compounded out of the Warm, the Cold, the Dry and
the Moist, and how he says that among these the Warm is the most
active, and that those animals which are by nature warmest have
abundance of blood, whilst those that are colder are entirely lacking
in blood, and consequently in winter lie idle and motionless, lurking
in holes like corpses. Further, the question of the colour of the
blood has been dealt with not only by Aristotle but also by
Plato.[257] Now I, for my part, as I have already said, did not set
before myself the task of stating what has been so well demonstrated
by the Ancients, since I cannot surpass these men either in my views
or in my method of giving them expression. Doctrines, however, which
they either stated without demonstration, as being self-evident (since
they never suspected that there could be sophists so degraded as to
contemn the truth in these matters), or else which they actually
omitted to mention at all--these I propose to discover and prove.
Now in reference to the _genesis of the humours_, I do not know that
any one could add anything wiser than what has been said by
Hippocrates, Aristotle, Praxagoras, Philotimus[258] and many other
among the Ancients. These men demonstrated that when the nutriment
becomes altered in the veins by the innate heat, blood is produced
when it is in moderation, and the other humours when it is not in
proper proportion. And all the observed facts[259] agree with this
argument. Thus, those articles of food, which are by nature warmer are
more productive of bile, while those which are colder produce more
phlegm. Similarly of the periods of life, those which are naturally
warmer tend more to bile, and the colder more to phlegm. Of
occupations also, localities and seasons, and, above all, of
natures[260] themselves, the colder are more phlegmatic, and the
warmer more bilious. Also cold diseases result from phlegm, and warmer
ones from yellow bile. There is not a single thing to be found which
does not bear witness to the truth of this account. How could it be
otherwise? For, seeing that every part functions in its own special
way because of the manner in which the four qualities are compounded,
it is absolutely necessary that the function [activity] should be
either completely destroyed, or, at least hampered, by any damage to
the qualities, and that thus the animal should fall ill, either as a
whole, or in certain of its parts.
Also the diseases which are primary and most generic are four in
number, and differ from each other in warmth, cold, dryness and
moisture. Now, Erasistratus himself confesses this, albeit
unintentionally;[261] for when he says that the digestion of food
becomes worse in fever, not because the innate heat has ceased to be
in due proportion, as people previously supposed, but because the
stomach, with its activity impaired, cannot contract and triturate as
before--then, I say, one may justly ask him what it is that has
impaired the activity of the stomach.
Thus, for example, when a bubo develops following an accidental
wound[262] gastric digestion does not become impaired _until after the
patient has become fevered_; neither the bubo nor the sore of itself
impedes in any way or damages the activity of the stomach. But if
fever occurs, the digestion at once deteriorates, and we are also
right in saying that the activity of the stomach at once becomes
impaired. We must add, however, by what it has been impaired. For the
wound was not capable of impairing it, nor yet the bubo, for, if they
had been, then they would have caused this damage before the fever as
well. If it was not these that caused it, then it was the excess of
heat[263] (for these two symptoms occurred besides the bubo--an
alteration in the arterial and cardiac movements[264] and an excessive
development of natural heat). Now the alteration of these movements
will not merely not impair the function of the stomach in any way: it
will actually prove an additional help among those animals in which,
according to Erasistratus, the _pneuma_, which is propelled through
the arteries and into the alimentary canal, is of great service in
digestion;[265] there is only left, then, the disproportionate heat to
account for the damage to the gastric activity. For the pneuma is
driven in more vigorously and continuously, and in greater quantity
now than before; thus in this case, the animal whose digestion is
promoted by pneuma will digest more, whereas the remaining
factor--abnormal heat--will give them indigestion. For to say, on the
one hand, that the pneuma has a certain property by virtue of which it
promotes digestion, and then to say that this property disappears in
cases of fever, is simply to admit the absurdity. For when they are
again asked what it is that has altered the pneuma, they will only be
able to reply, "the abnormal heat," and particularly if it be the
pneuma in the food canal which is in question (since this does not
come in any way near the bubo).
Yet why do I mention those animals in which the property of the pneuma
plays an important part, when it is possible to base one's argument
upon human beings, in whom it is either of no importance at all, or
acts quite faintly and feebly?[266] But Erasistratus himself agrees
that human beings digest badly in fevers, adding as the cause that the
activity of the stomach has been impaired. He cannot, however, advance
any other cause of this impairment than abnormal heat. But if it is
not by accident that the abnormal heat impairs this activity, but by
virtue of its own essence and power, then this abnormal heat must
belong to the _primary diseases_. But, indeed, if _disproportion_ of
heat belongs to the primary diseases, it cannot but be that a
_proportionate_ blending [eucrasia] of the qualities produces the
normal activity.[267] For a disproportionate blend [dyscrasia] can
only become a cause of the primary diseases through derangement of the
eucrasia. That is to say, it is because the [normal] activities arise
from the eucrasia that the primary impairments of these activities
necessarily arise from its derangement.
I think, then, it has been proved to the satisfaction of those people
who are capable of seeing logical consequences, that, even according
to Erasistratus's own argument, the cause of the normal functions is
eucrasia of the Warm.[268] Now, this being so, there is nothing
further to prevent us from saying that, in the case of each function,
eucrasia is followed by the more, and dyscrasia by the less favourable
alternative. And, therefore, if this be the case, we must suppose
blood to be the outcome of proportionate, and yellow bile of
disproportionate heat. So we naturally find yellow bile appearing in
greatest quantity in ourselves at the warm periods of life, in warm
countries, at warm seasons of the year, and when we are in a warm
condition; similarly in people of warm temperaments, and in connection
with warm occupations, modes of life, or diseases.
And to be in doubt as to whether this humour has its genesis in the
human body or is contained in the food is what you would expect from
one who has--I will not say failed to see that, when those who are
perfectly healthy have, under the compulsion of circumstances, to fast
contrary to custom, their mouths become bitter and their urine
bile-coloured, while they suffer from gnawing pains in the
stomach--but has, as it were, just made a sudden entrance into the
world, and is not yet familiar with the phenomena which occur there.
Who, in fact, does not know that anything which is overcooked grows at
first salt and afterwards bitter? And if you will boil honey itself,
far the sweetest of all things, you can demonstrate that even this
becomes quite bitter. For what may occur as a result of boiling in the
case of other articles which are not warm by nature, exists naturally
in honey; for this reason it does not become sweeter on being boiled,
since exactly the same quantity of heat as is needed for the
production of sweetness exists from beforehand in the honey. Therefore
the external heat, which would be useful for insufficiently warm
substances, becomes in the honey a source of damage, in fact an
excess; and it is for this reason that honey, when boiled, can be
demonstrated to become bitter sooner than the others. For the same
reason it is easily transmuted into bile in those people who are
naturally warm, or in their prime, since warm when associated with
warm becomes readily changed into a disproportionate combination and
turns into bile sooner than into blood. Thus we need a cold
temperament and a cold period of life if we would have honey brought
to the nature of blood.[269] Therefore Hippocrates not improperly
advised those who were naturally bilious not to take honey, since they
were obviously of too warm a temperament. So also, not only
Hippocrates, but all physicians say that honey is bad in bilious
diseases but good in old age; some of them having discovered this
through the indications afforded by its nature, and others simply
through experiment,[270] for the Empiricist physicians too have made
precisely the same observation, namely, that honey is good for an old
man and not for a young one, that it is harmful for those who are
naturally bilious, and serviceable for those who are phlegmatic. In a
word, in bodies which are warm either through nature, disease, time of
life, season of the year, locality, or occupation, honey is productive
of bile, whereas in opposite circumstances it produces blood.
But surely it is impossible that the same article of diet can produce
in certain persons bile and in others blood, if it be not that the
genesis of these humours is accomplished _in the body_. For if all
articles of food contained bile from the beginning and of themselves,
and did not produce it by undergoing change in the animal body, then
they would produce it similarly in all bodies; the food which was
bitter to the taste would, I take it, be productive of bile, while
that which tasted good and sweet would not generate even the smallest
quantity of bile. Moreover, not only honey but all other sweet
substances are readily converted into bile in the aforesaid bodies
which are warm for any of the reasons mentioned.
Well, I have somehow or other been led into this discussion,--not in
accordance with my plan, but compelled by the course of the argument.
This subject has been treated at great length by Aristotle and
Praxagoras, who have correctly expounded the view of Hippocrates and
Plato.
VIII
Kai taut' ouk echrên agnoein ton Erasistraton, eiper kan
onar pote tois ek tou peripatou synetychen, hôsper oun
oude ta peri tês geneseôs tôn chymôn, hyper hôn ouden
echôn eipein oude mechri tou metriou pithanon oietai
parakrouesthai skêptomenos, hôs oude chrêsimos holôs
estin hê tôn toioutôn episkepsis. eit', ô pros theôn,
hopôs men ta sitia kata tên gastera pettetai chrêsimon
epistasthai, pôs d' en tais phlepsin hê cholê gignetai,
peritton? kai tês kenôseôs ara phrontisteon autês monês,
amelêteon de tês geneseôs? hôsper ouk ameinon hyparchon
makrô to kôlyein euthys ex archês gennasthai pleiona tou
pragmat' echein ekkenountas. thaumaston de kai to
diaporein, eit' en tô sômati tên genesin autês
hypotheteon eit' euthys exôthen en tois sitiois
periechesthai phateon. ei gar dê touto kalôs êporêtai,
ti ouchi kai peri tou haimatos episkepsometha, poteron
en tô sômati || lambanei tên genesin ê tois sitiois 108
parespartai, kathaper hoi tas homoiomereias
hypotithemenoi phasi? kai mên pollô g' ên chrêsimôteron
zêteisthai, poia tôn sitiôn homologei tê tês haimatôseôs
energeia kai poia diapheretai, tou zêtein, tina men tê
tês gastros energeia nikatai rhadiôs, tina d' antibainei
kai machetai. toutôn men gar hê eklexis eis pepsin
monên, ekeinôn d' eis haimatos chrêstou diapherei
genesin. oude gar ison estin ê mê kalôs en tê gastri
chylôthênai tên trophên ê mê chrêston haima gennêthênai.
pôs d' ouk aideitai tas men tês pepseôs apotychias
diairoumenos, hôs pollai t' eisi kai kata pollas
gignontai prophaseis, hyper de tôn tês haimatôseôs
sphalmatôn oud' achri rhêmatos henos oud' achri syllabês
mias phthenxamenos? kai mên heurisketai ge kai pachy kai
lepton en tais phlepsin haima kai tois men erythroteron,
tois de xanthoteron, tois de melanteron, tois de
phlegmatôdesteron. ei d' hoti kai dysôdes ouch hena
tropon all' en pollais pany diaphorais arrhêtois men
logô, sa||phestatais d' aisthêsesi phainetai gignomenon, 109
eideiê tis, ouk an oimai metriôs eti katagnôsesthai tês
Erasistratou rhathymias auton houtô g' anankaian eis ta
erga tês technês theôrian paralipontos.
Enargê gar dê kai ta peri tôn hyderôn hamartêmata tê
rhathymia tautê kata logon êkolouthêkota. to te gar tê
stenochôria tôn hodôn kôlyesthai nomizein prosô tou
hêpatos ienai to haima kai mêdepot' an allôs hyderon
dynasthai systênai pôs ouk eschatên endeiknytai
rhathymian? to te mê dia ton splêna mêde di' allo ti
morion, all' aei dia ton en tô hêpati skirrhon hyderon
oiesthai gignesthai teleôs argou tên dianoian anthrôpou
kai mêdeni tôn hosêmerai gignomenôn parakolouthountos.
epi men ge chroniais haimorrhoïsin epischetheisais ê dia
kenôsin ametron eis psyxin eschatên agagousais ton
anthrôpon ouch hapax oude dis alla pollakis êdê
tetheametha systantas hyderous, hôsper ge kai gynaixin
hê te tês eph' hekastô mêni katharseôs apôleia pantelês
kai ametros kenôsis, hotan haimorrhagêsôsi poth' hai
mêtrai sphodrôs, epekalesanto pol||lakis hyderon kai 110
tisin autôn kai ho gynaikeios onomazomenos rhous eis
tout' eteleutêse to pathos, hina tous apo tôn keneônôn
archomenous ê allou tinos tôn epikairôn moriôn hyderous
paralipô, saphôs men kai autous exelenchontas tên
Erasistrateion hypolêpsin, all' ouch houtôs enargôs hôs
hoi dia katapsyxin sphodran tês holês hexeôs
apoteloumenoi. prôtê gar hautê geneseôs hyderôn aitia
dia tên apotychian tês haimatôseôs gignomenê tropon
homoiotaton tais epi tê tôn sitiôn apepsia diarrhoiais.
ou mên eskirrhôtai ge kata tous toioutous hyderous oud'
allo ti splanchnon oude to hêpar.
All' Erasistratos ho sophos hyperidôn kai kataphronêsas,
hôn outh' Hippokratês oute Dioklês oute Praxagoras oute
Philistiôn all' oude tôn aristôn philosophôn oudeis
katephronêsen oute Platôn out' Aristotelês oute
Theophrastos, holas energeias hyperbainei kathaper ti
smikron kai to tychon tês technês paralipôn meros oud'
anteipein axiôsas, eit' orthôs eite kai mê || sympantes 111
houtoi thermô kai psychrô kai xêrô kai hygrô, tois men
hôs drôsi, tois d' hôs paschousi, ta kata to sôma tôn
zôôn hapantôn dioikeisthai phasi kai hôs to thermon en
autois eis te tas allas energeias kai malist' eis tên
tôn chymôn genesin to pleiston dynatai. alla to men mê
peithesthai tosoutois te kai têlikoutois andrasi kai
pleon autôn oiesthai ti gignôskein anemesêton, to de
mêt' antilogias axiôsai mête mnêmês houtôs endoxon dogma
thaumastên tina tên hyperopsian endeiknytai.
Kai mên smikrotatos esti tên gnômên kai tapeinos
eschatôs en hapasais tais antilogiais en men tois peri
tês pepseôs logois tois sêpesthai ta sitia nomizousi
philotimôs antilegôn, en de tois peri tês anadoseôs tois
dia tên parathesin tôn artêriôn anadidosthai to dia tôn
phlebôn haima nomizousin, en de tois peri tês anapnoês
tois periôtheisthai ton aera phaskousin. ouk ôknêse d'
oude tois atmoeidôs eis tên kystin ienai ta oura
nomizousin anteipein oude tois eis || ton pneumona 112
pheresthai to poton. houtôs en hapasi tas cheiristas
epilegomenos doxas agalletai diatribôn epi pleon en tais
antilogiais; epi de tês tou haimatos geneseôs ouden
atimoteras ousês tês en tê gastri chylôseôs tôn sitiôn
out' anteipein tini tôn presbyterôn êxiôsen out' autos
eisêgêsasthai tin' heteran gnômên etolmêsen, ho peri
pasôn tôn physikôn energeiôn en archê tôn katholou logôn
hyposchomenos erein, hopôs te gignontai kai di' hôntinôn
tou zôou moriôn. ê tês men pettein ta sitia pephykuias
dynameôs arrhôstousês apeptêsei to zôon, tês d'
haimatousês ta pephthenta ouden estai pathêma to
parapan, all' adamantinê tis hêmin hautê monê kai
apathês estin? ê allo ti tês arrhôstias autês ekgonon
hyparxei kai ouch hyderos? dêlos oun enargôs estin ho
Erasistratos ex hôn en men tois allois oude tais
phaulotatais doxais antilegein ôknêsen, entauthoi d'
out' anteipein tois prosthen out' autos eipein ti kainon
etolmêse, to sphalma tês heautou gnôrizôn haireseôs.
Ti gar an kai legein eschen hyper haimatos || anthrôpos 113
eis mêden tô symphytô thermô chrômenos? ti de peri
xanthês cholês ê melainês ê phlegmatos? hoti nê Dia
dynaton estin anamemigmenên tois sitiois euthys exôthen
paragignesthai tên cholên. legei goun hôde pôs autois
onomasi; "Poteron d' en tê peri tên koilian katergasia
tês trophês gennatai toiautê hygrasia ê memigmenê tois
exôthen prospheromenois paragignetai, ouden chrêsimon
pros iatrikên epeskephthai." kai mên, ô gennaiotate, kai
kenousthai chrênai phaskeis ek tou zôou ton chymon
touton kai megalôs lypein, ei mê kenôtheiê. pôs oun
ouden ex autou chrêston hypolambanôn gignesthai tolmas
achrêston legein eis iatrikên einai tên peri tês
geneseôs autou skepsin?
Hypokeisthô gar en men tois sitiois periechesthai, mê
diakrinesthai d' akribôs en hêpati; tauta gar amphotera
nomizeis einai dynata. kai mên ou smikron entautha to
diapheron ê elachistên ê pampollên cholên en heautois
periechonta prosarasthai sitia. ta men gar akindyna, ta
de pampollên periechonta tô mê dynasthai pasan autên en
|| hêpati katharthênai kalôs aitia katastêsetai tôn t' 114
allôn pathôn, hôn autos ho Erasistratos epi plêthei
cholês gignesthai phêsi, kai tôn ikterôn ouch hêkista.
pôs oun ouk anankaiotaton iatrô gignôskein, prôton men,
hôs en tois sitiois autois exôthen hê cholê periechetai,
deuteron d', hôs to men teutlon, ei tychoi, pampollên,
ho d' artos elachistên kai to men elaion pleistên, ho d'
oinos oligistên hekaston te tôn allôn anison tô plêthei
periechei tên cholên? pôs gar ouk an eiê geloiotatos,
hos an hekôn hairêtai ta pleiona cholên en heautois
periechonta pro tôn enantiôn?
Ti d' ei mê periechetai men en tois sitiois hê cholê,
gignetai d' en tois tôn zôôn sômasin? ê ouchi kai kata
touto chrêsimon epistasthai, tini men katastasei sômatos
hepetai pleiôn autês hê genesis, tini d' elattôn?
alloioun gar dêpou kai metaballein hoioi t' esmen kai
trepein epi to beltion aei tas mochthêras katastaseis
tou sômatos. all' ei mê gignôskoimen, kathoti mochthêrai
kai hopê tês deousês existantai, pôs an autas epanagein
hoioi t' eiêmen epi to || kreitton? 115
Oukoun achrêston estin eis tas iaseis, hôs Erasistratos
phêsin, epistasthai talêthes auto peri geneseôs cholês.
ou mên oud' adynaton oud' asaphes exeurein, hoti mê tô
pleistên en heautô periechein to meli tên xanthên cholên
all' en tô sômati metaballomenon eis autên alloioutai te
kai trepetai. pikron te gar an ên geuomenois, ei cholên
exôthen euthys en heautô perieichen hapasi t' an
hôsautôs tois anthrôpois ison autês egenna to plêthos.
all' ouch hôd' echei talêthes. en men gar tois akmazousi
kai malist' ei physei thermoteroi kai bion eien biountes
talaipôron, hapan eis xanthên cholên metaballei to meli;
tois gerousi d' hikanôs estin epitêdeion, hôs an ouk eis
cholên all' eis haima tên alloiôsin en ekeinois
lambanon. Erasistratos de pros tô mêden toutôn
gignôskein oude peri tên diairesin tou logou sôphronei,
poteron en tois sitiois hê cholê periechetai euthys ex
archês ê kata tên en tê koilia katergasian egeneto,
mêden einai chrêsimon eis iatrikên epeskephthai legôn.
echrên || gar dêpou prostheinai ti kai peri tês en 116
hêpati kai phlepsi geneseôs autês, en toisde tois
organois gennasthai tên cholên hama tô haimati tôn
palaiôn iatrôn te kai philosophôn apophênamenôn. alla
tois euthys ex archês sphaleisi kai diamartanousi tês
orthês hodou toiauta te lêrein anankaion esti kai
proseti tôn chrêsimôtatôn eis tên technên paralipein tên
zêtêsin.
Hêdeôs d' an entautha tou logou gegonôs êromên tous
homilêsai phaskontas auton epi pleiston tois ek tou
peripatou philosophois, ei gignôskousin, hosa peri tou
kekrasthai ta sômath' hêmôn ek thermou kai psychrou kai
xêrou kai hygrou pros Aristotelous eirêtai te kai
apodedeiktai, kai hôs to thermon en autois esti to
drastikôtaton kai hôs tôn zôôn hosa men thermotera
physei, tauta pantôs enaima, ta d' epi pleon psychrotera
pantôs anaima kai dia touto tou cheimônos arga kai
akinêta keitai phôleuonta dikên nekrôn. eirêtai de kai
peri tês chroias tou haimatos ouk Aristotelei monon,
alla kai Platôni. kai hêmeis nyn, hoper êdê kai prosthen
eipon, || ou ta kalôs apodedeigmena tois palaiois legein 117
prouthemetha, mête tê gnômê mête tê lexei tous andras
ekeinous hyperbalesthai dynamenoi; ta d' êtoi chôris
apodeixeôs hôs enargê pros autôn eirêmena dia to mêd'
hyponoêsai mochthêrous houtôs esesthai tinas sophistas,
hoi kataphronêsousi tês en autois alêtheias, ê kai
paraleleimmena teleôs hyp' ekeinôn axioumen heuriskein
te kai apodeiknynai.
Peri de tês tôn chymôn geneseôs ouk oid', ei echei tis
heteron prostheinai sophôteron hôn Hippokratês eipe kai
Aristotelês kai Praxagoras kai Philotimos kai alloi
polloi tôn palaiôn. apodedeiktai gar ekeinois tois
andrasin alloioumenês tês trophês en tais phlepsin hypo
tês emphytou thermasias haima men hypo tês symmetrias
tês kat' autên, hoi d' alloi chymoi dia tas ametrias
gignomenoi; kai toutô tô logô panth' homologei ta
phainomena. kai gar tôn edesmatôn hosa men esti
thermotera physei, cholôdestera, ta de psychrotera
phlegmatikôtera; kai tôn hêlikiôn hôsautôs
cholôdeste||rai men hai thermoterai physei, 118
phlegmatôdesterai d' hai psychroterai; kai tôn
epitêdeumatôn de kai tôn chôrôn kai tôn hôrôn kai poly
dê proteron eti tôn physeôn autôn hai men psychroterai
phlegmatôdesterai, cholôdesterai d' hai thermoterai; kai
nosêmatôn ta men psychra tou phlegmatos ekgona, ta de
therma tês xanthês cholês; kai holôs ouden estin heurein
tôn pantôn, ho mê toutô tô logô martyrei. pôs d' ou
mellei? dia gar tên ek tôn tettarôn poian krasin
hekastou tôn moriôn hôdi pôs energountos anankê pasa kai
dia tên blabên autôn ê diaphtheiresthai teleôs ê
empodizesthai ge tên energeian kai houtô nosein to zôon
ê holon ê kata ta moria.
Kai ta prôta ge kai genikôtata nosêmata tettara ton
arithmon hyparchei thermotêti kai psychrotêti kai
xêrotêti kai hygrotêti diapheronta. touto de kai autos
ho Erasistratos homologei kaitoi mê boulomenos. hotan
gar en tois pyretois cheirous tôn sitiôn tas pepseis
gignesthai legê, mê dioti tês emphytou || thermasias hê 119
symmetria diephthartai, kathaper hoi prosthen
hypelambanon, all' hoti peristellesthai kai tribein hê
gastêr ouch homoiôs dynatai beblammenê tên energeian,
eresthai dikaion auton, hypo tinos hê tês gastros
energeia beblaptai.
Genomenou gar, ei tychoi, boubônos epi prosptaismati,
prin men pyrexai ton anthrôpon, ouk an cheiron hê gastêr
pepseien; ou gar hikanon ên oudeteron autôn outh' ho
boubôn oute to helkos empodisai ti kai blapsai tên
energeian tês koilias; ei de pyrexeien, euthys men hai
pepseis gignontai cheirous, euthys de kai tên energeian
tês gastros beblaphthai phamen orthôs legontes. all'
hypo tinos eblabê, prostheinai chrê tô logô. to men gar
helkos ouch hoion t' ên autên blaptein, hôsper oud' ho
boubôn; ê gar an eblapse kai pro tou pyretou. ei de mê
tauta, dêlon, hôs hê tês thermasias pleonexia. dyo gar
tauta prosegeneto tô boubôni, hê tês kata tas artêrias
te kai tên kardian kinêseôs alloiôsis kai hê tês kata
physin thermasias pleonexia. all' hê men tês kinêseôs
alloiôsis ou monon ouden blapsei tên energeian tês
ga||stros, alla kai prosôphelêsei kat' ekeina tôn zôôn, 120
en hois eis tên pepsin hypetheto pleiston dynasthai to
dia tôn artêriôn eis tên koilian empipton pneuma. dia
loipên oun eti kai monên tên ametron thermasian hê blabê
tês energeias tê gastri. to men gar pneuma sphodroteron
te kai synechesteron kai pleon empiptei nyn ê proteron.
hôste tautê men mallon pepsei ta dia to pneuma kalôs
pettonta zôa, dia loipên d' eti tên para physin
thermasian apeptêsei. to gar kai tô pneumati phanai tin'
hyparchein idiotêta, kath' hên pettei, kapeita tautên
pyrettontôn diaphtheiresthai kath' heteron tropon estin
homologêsai to atopon. erôtêthentes gar authis, hypo
tinos êlloiôthê to pneuma, monên hexousin apokrinesthai
tên para physin thermasian kai malist' epi tou kata tên
koilian; oude gar plêsiazei kat' ouden touto tô boubôni.
Kaitoi ti tôn zôôn ekeinôn, en hois hê tou pneumatos
idiotês mega dynatai, mnêmoneuô, paron ep' anthrôpois,
en hois ê ouden ê pantapasin amy||dron ti kai mikron 121
ôphelei, poieisthai ton logon? all' hoti men en tois
pyretois houtoi kakôs pettousin, homologei kai autos kai
tên g' aitian prostitheis beblaphthai phêsi tês gastros
tên energeian. ou mên allên ge tina prophasin tês blabês
eipein echei plên tês para physin thermasias. all' ei
blaptei tên energeian hê para physin thermasia mê kata
ti symbebêkos, alla dia tên hautês ousian te kai
dynamin, ek tôn prôtôn an eiê nosêmatôn; kai mên ouk
endechetai tôn prôtôn men einai nosêmatôn tên ametrian
tês thermasias, tên d' energeian hypo tês eukrasias mê
gignesthai. oude gar di' allo ti dynaton gignesthai tên
dyskrasian aitian tôn prôtôn nosêmatôn all' ê dia tên
eukrasian diaphtheiromenên. tô gar hypo tautês
gignesthai tas energeias anankê kai tas prôtas autôn
blabas diaphtheiromenês gignesthai.
Hoti men oun kai kat' auton ton Erasistraton hê eukrasia
tou thermou tôn energeiôn aitia, tois theôrein to
akolouthon dynamenois hikanôs apodedeichthai nomizô.
toutou d' hyparchontos hêmin ouden eti chalepon || eph' 122
hekastês energeias tê men eukrasia to beltion hepesthai
legein, tê de dyskrasia ta cheirô. kai toinyn eiper
tauth' houtôs echei, to men haima tês symmetrou
thermasias, tên de xanthên cholên tês ametrou nomisteon
hyparchein engonon. houtô gar kai hêmin en te tais
thermais hêlikiais kai tois thermois chôriois kai tais
hôrais tou etous tais thermais kai tais thermais
katastasesin, hôsautôs de kai tais thermais krasesi tôn
anthrôpôn kai tois epitêdeumasi te kai tois diaitêmasi
kai tois nosêmasi tois thermois eulogôs hê xanthê cholê
pleistê phainetai gignomenê.
To d' aporein, eit' en tois sômasi tôn anthrôpôn ho
chymos houtos echei tên genesin eit' en tois sitiois
periechetai, mêd' hoti tois hygiainousin amemptôs, hotan
asitêsôsi para to ethos hypo tinos peristaseôs pragmatôn
anankasthentes, pikron men to stoma gignetai, cholôdê de
ta oura, daknetai d' hê gastêr, heôrakotos estin all'
hôsper exaiphnês nyn eis ton kosmon elêlythotos kai mêpô
ta kat' auton phainomena gignôskontos. epei tis ouk
oiden, hôs hekaston tôn hepsomenôn epi pleon halykôteron
men to prôton, hysteron || de pikroteron gignetai? kan 123
ei to meli boulêtheiês auto to pantôn glykytaton epi
pleiston hepsein, apodeixeis kai touto pikrotaton; ho
gar tois allois, hosa mê physei therma, para tês
hepsêseôs engignetai, tout' ek physeôs hyparchei tô
meliti. dia tout' oun hepsomenon ou gignetai glykyteron;
hoson gar echrên einai thermotêtos eis genesin
glykytêtos, akribôs autô touto pan oikothen hyparchei.
ho toinyn exôthen tois ellipôs thermois ên ôphelimon,
tout' ekeinô blabê te kai ametria gignetai kai dia touto
thatton tôn allôn hepsomenon apodeiknytai pikron. di'
auto de touto kai tois thermois physei kai tois
akmazousin eis cholên hetoimôs metaballetai. thermô gar
thermon plêsiazon eis ametrian kraseôs hetoimôs
existatai kai phthanei cholê gignomenon, ouch haima.
deitai toinyn psychras men kraseôs anthrôpou, psychras
d' hêlikias, hin' eis haimatos agêtai physin. oukoun apo
tropou synebouleusen Hippokratês tois physei
pikrocholois mê prospherein to meli, hôs an thermoteras
|| dêlonoti kraseôs hyparchousin. houtô de kai tois 124
nosêmasi tois pikrocholois polemion einai to meli kai tê
tôn gerontôn hêlikia philion ouch Hippokratês monon alla
kai pantes iatroi legousin, hoi men ek tês physeôs autou
tên dynamin endeixamenês heurontes, hoi d' ek tês peiras
monês. oude gar oude tois apo tês empeirias iatrois
heteron ti para tauta tetêrêtai gignomenon, alla
chrêston men geronti, neô d' ou chrêston, kai tô men
physei pikrocholô blaberon, ôphelimon de tô
phlegmatôdei; kai tôn nosêmatôn hôsautôs tois men
pikrocholois echthron, tois de phlegmatôdesi philion;
heni de logô tois men thermois sômasin ê dia physin ê
dia noson ê di' hêlikian ê di' hôran ê dia chôran ê di'
epitêdeuma cholês gennêtikon, haimatos de tois
enantiois.
Kai mên ouk endechetai tauton edesma tois men cholên
gennan, tois d' haima mê ouk en tô sômati tês geneseôs
autôn epiteloumenês. ei gar dê oikothen ge kai par'
heautou tôn edesmatôn hekaston echon kai ouk en tois tôn
zôôn sômasi || metaballomenon egenna tên cholên, en 125
hapasin an homoiôs autên tois sômasin egenna kai to men
pikron exô geuomenois ên an oimai cholês poiêtikon, ei
de ti glyky kai chrêston, ouk an oude to brachytaton ex
autou cholês egennato. kai mên ou to meli monon, alla
kai tôn allôn hekaston tôn glykeôn tois proeirêmenois
sômasi tois di' hotioun tôn eirêmenôn thermois ousin eis
cholên hetoimôs existatai.
Kaitoi taut' ouk oid' hopôs exênechthên eipein ou
proelomenos all' hyp' autês tou logou tês akolouthias
anankastheis. eirêtai d' epi pleiston hyper autôn
Aristotelei te kai Praxagora tên Hippokratous kai
Platônos gnômên orthôs exêgêsamenois.
IX
For this reason the things that we have said are not to be looked upon
as proofs but rather as indications of the dulness[271] of those who
think differently, and who do not even recognise what is agreed on by
everyone and is a matter of daily observation. As for the scientific
proofs of all this, they are to be drawn from these principles of
which I have already spoken[272]--namely, that bodies act upon and are
acted upon by each other in virtue of the Warm, Cold, Moist and Dry.
And if one is speaking of any activity, whether it be exercised by
vein, liver, arteries, heart, alimentary canal, or any part, one will
be inevitably compelled to acknowledge that this activity depends upon
the way in which the four qualities are blended. Thus I should like to
ask the Erasistrateans why it is that the stomach contracts upon the
food, and why the veins generate blood. There is no use in recognizing
the mere fact of contraction, without also knowing the _cause_; if we
know this, we shall also be able to rectify the failures of function.
"This is no concern of ours," they say; "we do not occupy ourselves
with such causes as these; they are outside the sphere of the
_practitioner_,[273] and belong to that of the _scientific
investigator_."[274] Are you, then, going to oppose those who maintain
that the cause of the function of every organ is a natural
eucrasia,[275] that the dyscrasia is itself known as a _disease_, and
that it is certainly by this that the activity becomes impaired? Or,
on the other hand, will you be convinced by the proofs which the
ancient writers furnished? Or will you take a midway course between
these two, neither perforce accepting these arguments as true nor
contradicting them as false, but suddenly becoming
sceptics--Pyrrhonists, in fact? But if you do this you will have to
shelter yourselves behind the Empiricist teaching. For how are you
going to be successful in treatment, if you do not understand the real
essence of each disease? Why, then, did you not call yourselves
Empiricists from the beginning? Why do you confuse us by announcing
that you are investigating natural activities with a view to
treatment? If the stomach is, in a particular case, unable to exercise
its peristaltic and grinding functions, how are we going to bring it
back to the normal if we do not know the _cause_ of its disability?
What I say is[276] that we must cool the over-heated stomach and warm
the chilled one; so also we must moisten the one which has become
dried up, and conversely; so, too, in combinations of these
conditions; if the stomach becomes at the same time warmer and drier
than normally, the first principle of treatment is at once to chill
and moisten it; and if it become colder and moister, it must be warmed
and dried; so also in other cases. But how on earth are the followers
of Erasistratus going to act, confessing as they do that they make no
sort of investigation into the cause of disease? For the fruit of the
enquiry into activities is that by knowing the causes of the
dyscrasiae one may bring them back to the normal, since it is of no
use for the purposes of treatment merely to know what the activity of
each organ is.
Now, it seems to me that Erasistratus is unaware of this fact also,
that the actual disease is that condition of the body which, not
accidentally, but primarily and of itself, impairs the normal
function. How, then, is he going to diagnose or cure diseases if he is
entirely ignorant of what they are, and of what kind and number? As
regards the stomach, certainly, Erasistratus held that one should at
least investigate _how_ it digests the food. But why was not
investigation also made as to the primary originative cause of this?
And, as regards the veins and the blood, he omitted even to ask the
question "_how?_"
Yet neither Hippocrates nor any of the other physicians or
philosophers whom I mentioned a short while ago thought it right to
omit this; they say that when the heat which exists naturally in every
animal is well blended and moderately moist it generates blood; for
this reason they also say that the blood is a _virtually_ warm and
moist humour, and similarly also that yellow bile is warm and dry,
even though for the most part it appears moist. (For in them the
_apparently_ dry would seem to differ from the _virtually_ dry.) Who
does not know that brine and sea-water preserve meat and keep it
uncorrupted,[277] whilst all other water--the drinkable kind--readily
spoils and rots it? And who does not know that when yellow bile is
contained in large quantity in the stomach, we are troubled with an
unquenchable thirst, and that when we vomit this up, we at once become
much freer from thirst than if we had drunk very large quantities of
fluid? Therefore this humour has been very properly termed warm, and
also virtually dry. And, similarly, _phlegm_ has been called cold and
moist; for about this also clear proofs have been given by Hippocrates
and the other Ancients.
Prodicus[278] also, when in his book "On the Nature of Man" he gives
the name "phlegm" (from the verb [Greek: pephlechthai]) to that
element in the humours which has been burned or, as it were,
over-roasted, while using a different terminology, still keeps to the
fact just as the others do; this man's innovations in nomenclature
have also been amply done justice to by Plato.[279] Thus, the
white-coloured substance which everyone else calls _phlegm_, and which
Prodicus calls _blenna_ [mucus],[280] is the well-known cold, moist
humour which collects mostly in old people and in those who have been
chilled[281] in some way, and not even a lunatic could say that this
was anything else than cold and moist.
If, then, there is a warm and moist humour, and another which is warm
and dry, and yet another which is moist and cold, is there none which
is virtually _cold and dry_? Is the fourth combination of
temperaments, which exists in all other things, non-existent in the
humours alone? No; the _black bile_ is such a humour. This, according
to intelligent physicians and philosophers, tends to be in excess, as
regards seasons, mainly in the fall of the year, and, as regards ages,
mainly after the prime of life. And, similarly, also they say that
there are cold and dry modes of life, regions, constitutions, and
diseases. Nature, they suppose, is not defective in this single
combination like the three other combinations, it extends everywhere.
At this point, also, I would gladly have been able to ask Erasistratus
whether his "artistic" Nature has not constructed any organ for
_clearing away_ a humour such as this. For whilst there are two organs
for the excretion of urine, and another of considerable size for that
of yellow bile, does the humour which is more pernicious than these
wander about persistently in the veins mingled with the blood? Yet
Hippocrates says, "Dysentery is a fatal condition if it proceeds from
black bile"; while that proceeding from yellow bile is by no means
deadly, and most people recover from it; this proves how much more
pernicious and acrid in its potentialities is black than yellow bile.
Has Erasistratus, then, not read the book, "On the Nature of Man," any
more than any of the rest of Hippocrates's writings, that he so
carelessly passes over the consideration of the humours? Or, does he
know it, and yet voluntarily neglect one of the finest studies[282] in
medicine? Thus he ought not to have said anything about the
_spleen_,[283] nor have stultified himself by holding that an artistic
Nature would have prepared so large an organ for no purpose. As a
matter of fact, not only Hippocrates and Plato--who are no less
authorities on Nature than is Erasistratus--say that this viscus also
is one of those which cleanse the blood, but there are thousands of
the ancient physicians and philosophers as well who are in agreement
with them. Now, all of these the high and mighty Erasistratus affected
to despise, and he neither contradicted them nor even so much as
mentioned their opinion. Hippocrates, indeed, says that the spleen
wastes in those people in whom the body is in good condition, and all
those physicians also who base themselves on experience[284] agree
with this. Again, in those cases in which the spleen is large and is
increasing from internal suppuration, it destroys the body and fills
it with evil humours;[285] this again is agreed on, not only by
Hippocrates, but also by Plato and many others, including the Empiric
physicians. And the jaundice which occurs when the spleen is out of
order is darker in colour, and the cicatrices of ulcers are dark. For,
generally speaking, when the spleen is drawing the atrabiliary[286]
humour into itself to a less degree than is proper, the blood is
unpurified, and the whole body takes on a bad colour. And when does it
draw this in to a less degree than proper? Obviously, when it [the
spleen] is in a bad condition. Thus, just as the kidneys, whose
function it is to attract the urine, do this badly when they are out
of order, so also the spleen, which has in itself a native power of
attracting an atrabiliary quality,[287] if it ever happens to be weak,
must necessarily exercise this attraction badly, with the result that
the blood becomes thicker and darker.
Now all these points, affording as they do the greatest help in the
diagnosis and in the cure of disease were entirely passed over by
Erasistratus, and he pretended to despise these great men--he who does
not despise ordinary people, but always jealously attacks the most
absurd doctrines. Hence, it was clearly because he had nothing to say
against the statements made by the ancients regarding the function and
utility of the spleen, and also because he could discover nothing new
himself, that he ended by saying nothing at all. I, however, for my
part, have demonstrated, firstly from the _causes_ by which everything
throughout nature is governed (by the causes I mean the Warm, Cold,
Dry and Moist) and secondly, from obvious bodily phenomena, that there
must needs be a cold and dry humour.[288] And having in the next place
drawn attention to the fact that this humour is black bile
[atrabiliary] and that the viscus which clears it away is the
spleen--having pointed this out by help of as few as possible of the
proofs given by ancient writers, I shall now proceed to what remains
of the subject in hand.
What else, then, remains but to explain clearly what it is that
happens in the generation of the humours, according to the belief and
demonstration of the Ancients? This will be more clearly understood
from a comparison. Imagine, then, some new wine which has been not
long ago pressed from the grape, and which is fermenting and
undergoing _alteration_ through the agency of its contained heat.[289]
Imagine next two residual substances produced during this process of
alteration, the one tending to be light and air-like and the other to
be heavy and more of the nature of earth; of these the one, as I
understand, they call the _flower_ and the other the _lees_. Now you
may correctly compare yellow bile to the first of these, and black
bile to the latter, although these humours have not the same
appearance when the animal is in normal health as that which they
often show when it is not so; for then the yellow bile becomes
_vitelline_,[290] being so termed because it becomes like the yolk of
an egg, both in colour and density; and again, even the black bile
itself becomes much more malignant than when in its normal
condition,[291] but no particular name has been given to [such a
condition of] the humour, except that some people have called it
_corrosive_ or _acetose_, because it also becomes sharp like vinegar
and corrodes the animal's body--as also the earth, if it be poured out
upon it--and it produces a kind of fermentation and seething,
accompanied by bubbles--an abnormal putrefaction having become added
to the natural condition of the black humour. It seems to me also that
most of the ancient physicians give the name _black humour_ and not
_black bile_ to the normal portion of this humour, which is discharged
from the bowel and which also frequently rises to the top [of the
stomach-contents]; and they call _black bile_ that part which, through
a kind of combustion and putrefaction, has had its quality changed to
acid. There is no need, however, to dispute about names, but we must
realise the facts, which are as follow:--
In the genesis of blood, everything in the nutriment[292] which
belongs naturally to the thick and earth-like part of the food,[292]
and which does not take on well the alteration produced by the innate
heat--all this the spleen draws into itself. On the other hand, that
part of the nutriment which is roasted, so to speak, or burnt (this
will be the warmest and sweetest part of it, like honey and fat),
becomes _yellow bile_, and is cleared away through the so-called
biliary[293] vessels; now, this is thin, moist, and fluid, not like
what it is when, having been roasted to an _excessive_ degree, it
becomes yellow, fiery, and thick, like the yolk of eggs; for this
latter is already abnormal, while the previously mentioned state is
natural. Similarly with the black humour: that which does not yet
produce, as I say, this seething and fermentation on the ground, is
natural, while that which has taken over this character and faculty is
unnatural; it has assumed an acridity owing to the combustion caused
by abnormal heat, and has practically become transformed into
ashes.[294] In somewhat the same way burned lees differ from unburned.
The former is a warm substance, able to burn, dissolve, and destroy
the flesh. The other kind, which has not yet undergone combustion, one
may find the physicians employing for the same purposes that one uses
the so-called _potter's earth_ and other substances which have
naturally a combined drying and chilling action.
Now the vitelline bile also may take on the appearance of this
combusted black bile, if ever it chance to be roasted, so to say, by
fiery heat. And all the other forms of bile are produced, some from a
blending of those mentioned, others being, as it were,
transition-stages in the genesis of these or in their conversion into
one another. And they differ in that those first mentioned are unmixed
and unique, while the latter forms are diluted with various kinds of
_serum_. And all the serums in the humours are waste substances, and
the animal body needs to be purified from them. There is, however, a
natural use for the humours first mentioned, both thick and thin; the
blood is purified both by the spleen and by the bladder beside the
liver, and a part of each of the two humours is put away, of such
quantity and quality that, if it were carried all over the body, it
would do a certain amount of harm. For that which is decidedly thick
and earthy in nature, and has entirely escaped alteration in the
liver, is drawn by the spleen into itself[295]; the other part which
is only moderately thick, after being elaborated [in the liver], is
carried all over the body. For the blood in many parts of the body has
need of a certain amount of thickening, as also, I take it, of the
_fibres_ which it contains. And the use of these has been discussed by
Plato,[296] and it will also be discussed by me in such of my
treatises as may deal with the use of parts. And the blood also needs,
not least, the yellow humour, which has as yet not reached the extreme
stage of combustion; in the treatises mentioned it will be pointed out
what purpose is subserved by this.
Now Nature has made no organ for clearing away _phlegm_, this being
cold and moist, and, as it were, half-digested nutriment; such a
substance, therefore, does not need to be evacuated, but remains in
the body and undergoes _alteration_ there. And perhaps one cannot
properly give the name of _phlegm_ to the surplus-substance which runs
down from the brain,[297] but one should call it _mucus_ [blenna] or
_coryza_--as, in fact, it is actually termed; in any case it will be
pointed out, in the treatise "On the Use of Parts," how Nature has
provided for the evacuation of this substance. Further, the device
provided by Nature which ensures that the phlegm which forms in the
stomach and intestines may be evacuated in the most rapid and
effective way possible--this also will be described in that
commentary. As to that portion of the phlegm which is carried in the
veins, seeing that this is of service to the animal it requires no
evacuation. Here too, then, we must pay attention and recognise that,
just as in the case of each of the two kinds of bile, there is one
part which is useful to the animal and in accordance with its nature,
while the other part is useless and contrary to nature, so also is it
with the phlegm; such of it as is sweet is useful to the animal and
according to nature, while, as to such of it as has become bitter or
salt, that part which is bitter is completely undigested, while that
part which is salt has undergone putrefaction. And the term "_complete
indigestion_" refers of course to the second digestion--that which
takes place in the veins; it is not a failure of the first
digestion--that in the alimentary canal--for it would not have become
a humour at the outset if it had escaped this digestion also.
It seems to me that I have made enough reference to what has been said
regarding the genesis and destruction of humours by Hippocrates,
Plato, Aristotle, Praxagoras, and Diocles, and many others among the
Ancients; I did not deem it right to transport the whole of their
final pronouncements into this treatise. I have said only so much
regarding each of the humours as will stir up the reader, unless he be
absolutely inept, to make himself familiar with the writings of the
Ancients, and will help him to gain more easy access to them. In
another treatise[298] I have written on the humours according to
Praxagoras, son of Nicarchus; although this authority makes as many as
ten humours, not including the blood (the blood itself being an
eleventh), this is not a departure from the teaching of Hippocrates;
for Praxagoras divides into species and varieties the humours which
Hippocrates first mentioned, with the demonstration proper to each.
Those, then, are to be praised who explain the points which have been
duly mentioned, as also those who add what has been left out; for it
is not possible for the same man to make both a beginning and an end.
Those, on the other hand, deserve censure who are so impatient that
they will not wait to learn any of the things which have been duly
mentioned, as do also those who are so ambitious that, in their lust
after novel doctrines, they are always attempting some fraudulent
sophistry, either purposely neglecting certain subjects, as
Erasistratus does in the case of the humours, or unscrupulously
attacking other people, as does this same writer, as well as many of
the more recent authorities.
But let this discussion come to an end here, and I shall add in the
third book all that remains.
IX
Mê toinyn hôs apodeixeis hyph' hêmôn eirêsthai nomizein
ta toiauta mallon ê peri tês tôn allôs gignôskontôn
anaisthêsias endeixeis, hoi mêde ta pros hapantôn
homologoumena kai kath' hekastên hêmeran phainomena
gignôskousin; tas d' apodeixeis autôn tas kat' epistêmên
ex ekeinôn chrê lambanein tôn archôn, hôn êdê kai
prosthen || eipomen, hôs to dran kai paschein eis allêla 126
tois sômasin hyparchei kata to thermon kai psychron kai
xêron kai hygron. kai eite phlebas eith' hêpar eit'
artêrias eite kardian eite koilian eit' allo ti morion
energein tis phêseien hêntinoun energeian, aphyktois
anankais anankasthêsetai dia tên ek tôn tettarôn poian
krasin homologêsai tên energeian hyparchein autô. dia ti
gar hê gastêr peristelletai tois sitiois, dia ti d' hai
phlebes haima gennôsi, para tôn Erasistrateiôn edeomên
akousai. to gar hoti peristelletai monon auto kath'
heauto gignôskein oudepô chrêston, ei mê kai tên aitian
eideiêmen; houtô gar an oimai kai ta sphalmata
therapeusaimen. ou melei, phasin, hêmin oude
polypragmonoumen eti tas toiautas aitias; hyper iatron
gar eisi kai tô physikô prosêkousi. poteron oun oud'
antereite tô phaskonti tên men eukrasian tên kata physin
aitian einai tês energeias hekastô tôn organôn, tên d'
au dyskrasian noson t êdê kaleisthai kai pantôs hyp'
au||tês blaptesthai tên energeian? ê peisthêsesthe tais 127
tôn palaiôn apodeixesin? ê triton ti kai meson hekaterou
toutôn praxete mêth' hôs alêthesi tois logois ex anankês
peithomenoi mêt' antilegontes hôs pseudesin, all'
aporêtikoi tines exaiphnês kai Pyrrhôneioi genêsesthe?
kai mên ei touto drasete, tên empeirian anankaion hymin
prostêsasthai. tô gar an eti tropô kai tôn iamatôn
euporoiête tên ousian hekastou tôn nosêmatôn agnoountes?
ti oun ouk ex archês empeirikous hymas autous ekalesate?
ti de pragmath' hêmin parechete physikas energeias
epangellomenoi zêtein iaseôs heneken? ei gar adynatos hê
gastêr esti tini peristellesthai kai tribein, pôs autên
eis to kata physin epanaxomen agnoountes tên aitian tês
adynamias? egô men phêmi tên men hypertethermasmenên
empsykteon hêmin einai, tên d' epsygmenên thermanteon;
houtô de kai tên exêrasmenên hygranteon, tên d'
hygrasmenên xêranteon. alla kai || kata syzygian, ei 128
thermotera tou kata physin hama kai xêrotera tychoi
gegenêmenê, kephalaion einai tês iaseôs empsychein th'
hama kai hygrainein; ei d' au psychrotera te kai
hygrotera, thermainein te kai xêrainein kapi tôn allôn
hôsautôs; hoi d' ap' Erasistratou ti pote kai praxousin
oud' holôs zêtein tôn energeiôn tas aitias
homologountes? ho gar toi karpos tês peri tôn energeiôn
zêtêseôs houtos esti, to tas aitias tôn dyskrasiôn
eidota eis to kata physin epanagein autas, hôs auto ge
monon to gnônai tên hekastou tôn organôn energeian hêtis
estin oupô chrêston eis tas iaseis.
Erasistratos de moi dokei kai auto tout' agnoein, hôs,
hêtis an en tô sômati diathesis blaptê tên energeian mê
kata ti symbebêkos alla prôtôs te kai kath' heautên,
hautê to nosêma estin auto. pôs oun eti diagnôstikos te
kai iatikos estai tôn nosêmatôn agnoôn holôs auta tina
t' esti kai posa kai poia? kata men dê tên gastera to ge
tosouton Erasistratos êxiôse zêteisthai to pôs pettetai
ta sitia; || to d' hêtis prôtê te kai archêgos aitia 129
toutou, pôs ouk epeskepsato? kata de tas phlebas kai to
haima kai auto to pôs parelipen.
All' outh' Hippokratês out' allos tis hôn oligô prosthen
emnêmoneusa philosophôn ê iatrôn axion ôet' einai
paralipein; alla tên kata physin en hekastô zôô
thermasian eukraton te kai metriôs hygran ousan haimatos
einai phasi gennêtikên kai di' auto ge touto kai to
haima thermon kai hygron einai phasi tê dynamei chymon,
hôsper tên xanthên cholên thermên kai xêran einai, ei
kai hoti malisth' hygra phainetai. diapherein gar autois
dokei to kata phantasian hygron tou kata dynamin. ê tis
ouk oiden, hôs halmê men kai thalatta taricheuei ta krea
kai asêpta diaphylattei, to d' allo pan hydôr to potimon
hetoimôs diaphtheirei te kai sêpei? tis d' ouk oiden,
hôs xanthês cholês en tê gastri periechomenês pollês
apaustô dipsei synechometha kai hôs emesantes autên
euthys adipsoi gignometha mallon ê ei pampoly poton
prosêrametha? || thermos oun eulogôs ho chymos houtos 130
eirêtai kai xêros kata dynamin, hôsper ge kai to phlegma
psychron kai hygron. enargeis gar kai peri toutou
pisteis Hippokratei te kai tois allois eirêntai
palaiois.
Prodikos d' en tô peri physeôs anthrôpou grammati to
synkekaumenon kai hoion hyperôptêmenon en tois chymois
onomazôn phlegma para to pephlechthai tê lexei men
heterôs chrêtai, phylattei mentoi to pragma kata tauto
tois allois. tên d' en tois onomasi tandros toutou
kainotomian hikanôs endeiknytai kai Platôn. alla touto
ge to pros hapantôn anthrôpôn onomazomenon phlegma to
leukon tên chroan, ho blennan onomazei Prodikos, ho
psychros kai hygros chymos estin houtos kai pleistos
tois te gerousi kai tois hopôsdêpote psygeisin
athroizetai kai oudeis oude mainomenos an allo ti ê
psychron kai hygron eipoi an auton.
Ar' oun thermos men tis esti kai hygros chymos kai
thermos kai xêros heteros kai hygros kai psychros allos,
oudeis d' esti psychros kai xêros tên dynamin, all' hê
tetartê syzygia tôn kraseôn || en hapasi tois allois 131
hyparchousa monois tois chymois ouch hyparchei? kai mên
hê ge melaina cholê toioutos esti chymos, hon hoi
sôphronountes iatroi kai philosophoi pleonektein ephasan
tôn men hôrôn tou etous en phthinopôrô malista, tôn d'
hêlikiôn en tais meta tên akmên. houtô de kai diaitêmata
kai chôria kai katastaseis kai nosous tinas psychras kai
xêras einai phasin; ou gar dê chôlên en tautê monê tê
syzygia tên physin einai nomizousin all' hôsper tas
allas treis houtô kai tênde dia pantôn ektetasthai.
Êuxamên oun kantauth' erôtêsai dynasthai ton
Erasistraton, ei mêden organon hê technikê physis
edêmiourgêse kathartikon tou toioutou chymou, alla tôn
men ourôn ara tês diakriseôs estin organa dyo kai tês
xanthês cholês heteron ou smikron, ho de toutôn
kakoêthesteros chymos alatai dia pantos en tais phlepsin
anamemigmenos tô haimati. kaitoi "Dysenteriê," phêsi pou
Hippokratês, "ên apo cholês melainês arxêtai,
thanasimon," ou mên hê g' apo tês xan||thês cholês 132
archomenê pantôs olethrios, all' hoi pleious ex autês
diasôzontai. tosoutô kakoêthestera te kai drimytera tên
dynamin hê melaina cholê tês xanthês estin. ar' oun oute
tôn allôn anegnô ti tôn tou Hippokratous grammatôn ho
Erasistratos ouden oute to peri physeôs anthrôpou
biblion, hin' houtôs argôs parelthoi tên peri tôn chymôn
episkepsin, ê gignôskei men, hekôn de paraleipei
kallistên tês technês theôrian? echrên oun auton mêde
peri tou splênos eirêkenai ti mêd' aschêmonein hypo tês
technikês physeôs organon têlikouton matên hêgoumenon
kateskeuasthai. kai mên ouch Hippokratês monon ê Platôn,
ouden ti cheirous Erasistratou peri physin andres, hen
ti tôn kathairontôn to haima kai tout' einai phasi to
splanchnon, alla kai myrioi syn autois alloi tôn palaiôn
iatrôn te kai philosophôn, hôn hapantôn prospoiêsamenos
hyperphronein ho gennaios Erasistratos out' anteipen
outh' holôs tês doxês autôn emnêmoneuse. kai mên hosois
ge to sôma thallei, toutois ho splên phthinei, phêsin
Hippokratês, kai hoi apo tês || empeirias hormômenoi 133
pantes homologousin iatroi. kai hosois g' au megas kai
hypoulos auxanetai, toutois kataphtheirei te kai
kakochyma ta sômata tithêsin, hôs kai touto palin ouch
Hippokratês monon alla kai Platôn alloi te polloi kai
hoi apo tês empeirias homologousin iatroi. kai hoi apo
splênos de kakopragountos ikteroi melanteroi kai tôn
helkôn hai oulai melainai. katholou gar, hotan
endeesteron ê prosêken eis heauton helkê ton
melancholikon chymon, akatharton men to haima,
kakochroun de to pan gignetai sôma. pote d' endeesteron
helkei? ê dêlon hoti kakôs diakeimenos? hôsper oun tois
nephrois energeias ousês helkein ta oura kakôs helkein
hyparchei kakopragousin, houtô kai tô splêni poiotêtos
melancholikês helktikên en heautô dynamin echonti
symphyton arrhôstêsanti pote tautên anankaion helkein
kakôs kan tôde pachyteron êdê kai melanteron gignesthai
to haima.
Taut' oun hapanta pros te tas diagnôseis tôn nosêmatôn
kai tas iaseis megistên parechomena chreian || 134
hyperepêdêse teleôs ho Erasistratos kai kataphronein
prosepoiêsato têlikoutôn andrôn ho mêde tôn tychontôn
kataphronôn all' aei philotimôs antilegôn tais
êlithiôtatais doxais. hô kai dêlon, hôs ouden echôn out'
anteipein tois presbyterois hyper hôn apephênanto peri
splênos energeias te kai chreias out' autos exeuriskôn
ti kainon eis to mêden holôs eipein aphiketo. all'
hêmeis ge prôton men ek tôn aitiôn, hois hapanta
dioikeitai ta kata tas physeis, tou thermou legô kai
psychrou kai xêrou kai hygrou, deuteron d' ex autôn tôn
enargôs phainomenôn kata to sôma psychron kai xêron
einai tina chrênai chymon apedeixamen. hexês d', hoti
kai melancholikos houtos hyparchei kai to kathairon
auton splanchnon ho splên estin, dia bracheôn hôs eni
malista tôn tois palaiois apodedeigmenôn anamnêsantes
epi to leipon eti tois parousi logois aphixometha.
Ti d' an eiê leipon allo g' ê exêgêsasthai saphôs, hoion
ti boulontai te || kai apodeiknyousi peri tên tôn chymôn 135
genesin hoi palaioi symbainein. enargesteron d' an
gnôstheiê dia paradeigmatos. oinon dê moi noei gleukinon
ou pro pollou tôn staphylôn ektethlimmenon zeonta te kai
alloioumenon hypo tês en autô thermasias; epeita kata
tên autou metabolên dyo gennômena perittômata to men
kouphoteron te kai aerôdesteron, to de baryteron te kai
geôdesteron, hôn to men anthos, oimai, to de tryga
kalousi. toutôn tô men heterô tên xanthên cholên, tô d'
heterô tên melainan eikazôn ouk an hamartois, ou tên
autên echontôn idean tôn chymôn toutôn en tô kata physin
dioikeisthai to zôon, hoian kai para physin echontos
epiphainontai pollakis. hê men gar xanthê lekithôdês
gignetai; kai gar onomazousin houtôs autên, hoti tais
tôn ôôn lekithois homoioutai kata te chroan kai pachos.
hê d' au melaina kakoêthestera men poly kai hautê tês
kata physin; onoma d' ouden idion keitai tô toioutô
chymô, plên ei pou tines ê xystikon ê oxôdê keklêkasin
auton, hoti kai drimys homoiôs oxei gignetai kai || xyei 136
ge to sôma tou zôou kai tên gên, ei kat' autês
ekchytheiê, kai tina meta pompholygôn hoion zymôsin te
kai zesin ergazetai, sêpedonos epiktêtou proselthousês
ekeinô tô kata physin echonti chymô tô melani. kai moi
dokousin hoi pleistoi tôn palaiôn iatrôn auto men to
kata physin echon tou toioutou chymou kai diachôroun
katô kai pollakis epipolazon anô melana kalein chymon,
ou melainan cholên, to d' ek synkauseôs tinos kai
sêpedonos eis tên oxeian methistamenon poiotêta melainan
onomazein cholên. alla peri men tôn onomatôn ou chrê
diapheresthai, to d' alêthes hôd' echon eidenai.
Kata tên tou haimatos genesin hoson an hikanôs pachy kai
geôdes ek tês tôn sitiôn physeôs empheromenon tê trophê
mê dexêtai kalôs tên ek tês emphytou thermasias
alloiôsin, ho splên eis heauton helkei touto. to d'
optêthen, hôs an tis eipoi, kai synkauthen tês trophês,
eiê d' an touto to thermotaton en autê kai glykytaton,
hoion to te meli kai hê pimelê, xanthê genomenon cholê
dia tôn cholêdochôn onomazomenôn angeiôn ekkathairetai.
|| lepton d' esti touto kai hygron kai rhyton ouch 137
hôsper hotan optêthen eschatôs xanthon kai pyrôdes kai
pachy genêtai tais tôn ôôn homoion lekithois. touto men
gar êdê para physin; thateron de to proteron eirêmenon
kata physin estin; hôsper ge kai tou melanos chymou to
men mêpô tên hoion zesin te kai zymôsin tês gês
ergazomenon kata physin esti, to d' eis toiautên
methistamenon idean te kai dynamin êdê para physin, hôs
an tên ek tês synkauseôs tou para physin thermou
proseilêphos drimytêta kai hoion tephra tis êdê gegonos.
hôde pôs kai hê kekaumenê tryx tês akaustou diênenke.
thermon gar ti chrêma hautê g' hikanôs estin, hôste
kaiein te kai têkein kai diaphtheirein tên sarka. tê d'
hetera tê mêpô kekaumenê tous iatrous estin heurein
chrômenous eis hosaper kai tê gê tê kaloumenê keramitidi
kai tois allois, hosa xêrainein th' hama kai psychein
pephyken.
Eis tên tês houtô synkautheisês melainês cholês idean
kai hê lekithôdês ekeinê methistatai pollakis, hotan kai
autê poth' hoion optêtheisa tychê pyrôdei thermasia. ta
d' alla || tôn cholôn eidê sympanta ta men ek tês tôn 138
eirêmenôn kraseôs gignetai, ta d' hoion hodoi tines eisi
tês toutôn geneseôs te kai eis allêla metabolês.
diapherousi de tô tas men akratous einai kai monas, ta
d' hoion orrhois tisin exygrasmenas. all' hoi men orrhoi
tôn chymôn hapantes perittômata kai katharon autôn einai
deitai tou zôou to sôma. tôn d' eirêmenôn chymôn esti
tis chreia tê physei kai tou pacheos kai tou leptou kai
kathairetai pros te tou splênos kai tês epi tô hêpati
kysteôs to haima kai apotithetai tosouton te kai
toiouton hekaterou meros, hoson kai hoion, eiper eis
holon ênechthê tou zôou to sôma, blabên an tin'
eirgasato. to gar hikanôs pachy kai geôdes kai teleôs
diapepheugos tên en tô hêpati metabolên ho splên eis
heauton helkei; to d' allo to metriôs pachy syn tô
kateirgasthai pantê pheretai. deitai gar en pollois tou
zôou moriois pachytêtos tinos to haima kathaper oimai
kai tôn || empheromenôn inôn. kai eirêtai men kai 139
Platôni peri tês chreias autôn, eirêsetai de kai hêmin
en ekeinois tois grammasin, en hois an tas chreias tôn
moriôn dierchômetha; deitai d' ouch hêkista kai tou
xanthou chymou tou mêpô pyrôdous eschatôs gegenêmenou to
haima kai tis autô kai hê para toude chreia, di' ekeinôn
eirêsetai.
Phlegmatos d' ouden epoiêsen hê physis organon
kathartikon, hoti psychron kai hygron esti kai hoion
hêmipeptos tis trophê. deitai toinyn ou kenousthai to
toiouton all' en tô sômati menon alloiousthai. to d' ex
enkephalou katarrheon perittôma tacha men an oude
phlegma tis orthôs alla blennan te kai koryzan, hôsper
oun kai onomazetai, kaloiê. ei de mê, all' hoti ge tês
toutou kenôseôs orthôs hê physis prounoêsato, kai tout'
en tois peri chreias moriôn eirêsetai. kai gar oun kai
to kata te tên gastera kai ta entera synistamenon
phlegma hopôs an ekkenôthê kai auto tachista te kai
kallista, to pareskeuasmenon tê physei mêchanêma di'
ekeinôn eirêsetai kai auto tôn hypomnê||matôn. hoson oun 140
empheretai tais phlepsi phlegma chrêsimon hyparchon tois
zôois, oudemias deitai kenôseôs. prosechein de chrê
kantautha ton noun kai gignôskein, hôsper tôn cholôn
hekateras to men ti chrêsimon esti kai kata physin tois
zôois, to d' achrêston te kai para physin, houtô kai tou
phlegmatos, hoson men an ê glyky, chrêston einai touto
tô zôô kai kata physin, hoson d' oxy kai halmyron
egeneto, to men oxy teleôs êpeptêsthai, to d' halmyron
diasesêphthai. teleian d' apepsian phlegmatos akouein
chrê tên tês deuteras pepseôs dêlonoti tês en phlepsin;
ou gar dê tês ge prôtês tês kata tên koilian; ê oud' an
egegenêto tên archên chymos, ei kai tautên diepepheugei.
Taut' arkein moi dokei peri geneseôs te kai diaphthoras
chymôn hypomnêmat' einai tôn Hippokratei te kai Platôni
kai Aristotelei kai Praxagora kai Dioklei kai pollois
allois tôn palaiôn eirêmenôn; ou gar edikaiôsa panta
metapherein eis tonde ton logon ta teleôs ekeinois
gegrammena. tosouton de monon hyper hekastou eipon,
hoson exormêsei te tous || entynchanontas, ei mê 141
pantapasin eien skaioi, tois tôn palaiôn homilêsai
grammasi kai tên eis to rhaon autois syneinai boêtheian
parexei. gegraptai de pou kai di' heterou logou peri tôn
kata Praxagoran ton Nikarchou chymôn. ei gar kai hoti
malista deka poiei chôris tou haimatos, hendekatos gar
an eiê chymos auto to haima, tês Hippokratous ouk
apochôrei didaskalias. all' eis eidê tina kai diaphoras
temnei tous hyp' ekeinou prôtou pantôn hama tais
oikeiais apodeixesin eirêmenous chymous.
Epainein men oun chrê tous t' exêgêsamenous ta kalôs
eirêmena kai tous ei ti paraleleiptai prostithentas; ou
gar hoion te ton auton arxasthai te kai teleiôsai;
memphesthai de tous houtôs atalaipôrous, hôs mêden
hypomenein mathein tôn orthôs eirêmenôn, kai tous eis
tosouton philotimous, hôst' epithymia neôterôn dogmatôn
aei panourgein ti kai sophizesthai, ta men hekontas
paralipontas, hôsper Erasistratos epi tôn chymôn
epoiêse, ta de pa||nourgôs antilegontas, hôsper autos 142
th' houtos kai alloi polloi tôn neôterôn.
All' houtos men ho logos entauthoi teleutatô, to d'
hypoloipon hapan en tô tritô prosthêsô.
[167] _cf._ p. 89.
[168] This term is nowadays limited to the drawing
action of a blister, _cf._ p. 223.
[169] The radicles of the hepatic ducts in the liver
were supposed to be the active agents in extracting bile
from the blood. _cf._ pp. 145-149.
[170] _Anadosis_; _cf._ p. 13, note 5 (26).
[171] The term [Greek: koilia] is used both specifically
for the stomach proper and also (as probably here) in a
somewhat wider sense for the stomach _region_, including
the adjacent part of the small intestine; this was the
part of the alimentary canal from which nutriment was
believed to be absorbed by the mesenteric veins; _cf._
p. 309, note 2 (382).
[172] _cf._ p. 100, note 2 (152); p. 167, note 2 (234).
[173] A characteristic "lesion" in Erasistratus's
pathology.
[174] A certain subordinate place allowed to the horror
vacui.
[175] _i.e._ the parts to which the veins convey blood
after it leaves the liver--second stage of _anadosis_;
_cf._ p. 91, note 2 (138); p. 13, note 5 (26).
[176] What we now call the pulmonary artery. Galen
believed that the right ventricle existed for the
purpose of sending nutrient blood to the lungs.
[177] Lit. owing to the ongrowth (_epiphysis_) of
membranes; he means the tricuspid valve; _cf._ p. 314,
note 2 (387); p. 321, note 4 (398).
[178] Horror vacui.
[179] But Erasistratus had never upheld this in the case
of urinary secretion, _cf._ p. 99.
[180] This was the characteristically "anatomical"
explanation of bile-secretion made by Erasistratus.
_cf._ p. 170, note 2 (241). Why, then, says Galen, does not
urine, rather than bile, enter the bile-ducts?
[181] Urine, or, more exactly, blood-serum.
[182] Or ducts, canals, conduits, _i.e._ _morphological_
factors.
[183] Or artistic skill, "artistry." _cf._ Book I.,
chap. xii.
[184] "Only"; _cf._ Introd., p. xxviii.
[185] Note how Galen, although he has not yet clearly
differentiated physiological from physical processes
(both are "natural") yet separates them definitely from
the psychical. _cf._ p. 2, footnote (5). A _psychical_
function or activity is, in Latin, _actio animalis_
(from _anima_ = _psyche_).
[186] The stage of organogenesis or _diaplasis_; cf. p.
25, note 4 (49).
[187] The spermatozoon now becomes an "organism" proper.
[188] Galen attributed to the sperma or semen what we
should to the fertilized ovum: to him the maternal
contribution is purely passive--mere food for the sperm.
The epoch-making Ovum Theory was not developed till the
seventeenth century. _cf._ p. 19, note 3 (34).
[189] _i.e._ we should be talking psychology, not
biology; _cf._ stomach, p. 307, note 3 (380).
[190] Attraction now described not merely as
_qualitative_ but also as _quantitative_. _cf._ p. 85,
note 3 (130).
[191] He still tends either to biologize physics, or to
physicize biology--whichever way we prefer to look at
it. _cf._ Book I., chap. xiv.
[192] Aristotelian and Stoic duality of an active and a
passive principle.
[193] Note that early embryonic development is described
as a process of _nutrition_. _cf._ p. 130, note 2 (188).
[194] On the _alterative_ and _shaping_ faculties _cf._
p. 18, note 1 (32).
[195] pp. 27-29.
[196] _cf._ Introduction, p. xxvi.
[197] _cf._ p. 15.
[198] For definitions of _alteration_ and _mingling_
(_crasis_, "temperament") _cf._ Book I., chaps. ii. and
iii.
[199] _i.e._ are associated with oxidation? _cf._ p. 41,
note 3 (70).
[200] "Useless" organs; _cf._ p. 56, note 2 (91). For fallacy
of Erasistratus's view on the spleen _v._ p. 205.
[201] The Stoics.
[202] The Peripatetics (Aristotelians).
[203] Aristotle regarded the _qualitative_ differences
apprehended by our senses (the cold, the warm, the
moist, and the dry) as fundamental, while the Stoics
held the four corporeal elements (earth, air, fire, and
water) to be still more fundamental. _cf._ p. 8, note 3
(17).
[204] Lit. bile-receiving (choledochous).
[205] _Jecoris portae_, the transverse fissure, by which
the portal vein enters the liver.
[206] Lit. "anastomosing."
[207] More literally, "synapse."
[208] The portal vein.
[209] The hepatic vein or veins.
[210] The portal vein.
[211] _cf._ p. 120, note 1 (174).
[212] _cf._ p. 272, note 1 (350).
[213] _i.e._ one might assume an _attraction_.
[214] _i.e._ visible to the mind's eye as distinguished
from the bodily eye. _cf._ p. 21, note 4 (39).
_Theoreton_ without qualification means merely
_visible_, not _theoretic_. _cf._ p. 205, note 1 (282).
[215] According to the Pneumatist school, certain of
whose ideas were accepted by Erasistratus, the air,
breath, pneuma, or spirit was brought by inspiration
into the left side of the heart, where it was converted
into natural, vital, and psychic pneuma; the latter then
went to the brain, whence it was distributed through the
nervous system; practically this teaching involved the
idea of a _psyche_, or conscious vital principle.
"Psychic pneuma" is in Latin _spiritus animalis_
(_anima_ = _psyche_); _cf._ p. 126, note 4 (185).
Introduction, p. xxxiv.
[216] Observe that Erasistratus's "simple nerve" may be
almost looked on as an anticipation of the _cell_. The
question Galen now asks is whether this vessel is a
"unit mass of living matter," or merely an agglomeration
of _atoms_ subject to mechanical law. _cf._ Galen's
"fibres," p. 329.
[217] _cf._ Book I., chap. xii.
[218] _i.e._ in biology we must begin with living
substance--with something which is specifically
alive--here with the "unit mass of living matter." _cf._
p. 73, note 3 (119).
[219] "Ad elementa quae nec coalescere possunt nec in
partes dividi" (Linacre). On the two contrasted schools
_cf._ p. 45.
[220] _cf._ _loc. cit._
[221] "_Auxetic._" _cf._ p. 26, note 1 (50).
[222] "At corporum quae nec una committi nec dividi
possunt nullum in se formatricem, auctricem, nutricem,
aut in summa artificem facultatem habet; quippe quod
impatibile esse immutibileque praesumitur" (Linacre).
[223] Book I., chaps. v.-xi.
[224] _cf._ p. 153.
[225] On account of his idea of a simple tissue not
susceptible of further analysis.
[226] Or "cell"; _cf._ p. 153, note 2 (216).
[227] The _horror vacui_.
[228] _Prosthesis_ of nutriment; _cf._ p. 39, note 6
(67).
[229] _Anadosis_, "absorption"; _cf._ p. 13, note 5
(26).
[230] Lit. _diadosis_.
[231] _i.e._ let him explain the _diadosis_.
[232] "Spiritus animalis"; _cf._ p. 152, note 1 (215).
The nutriment was for the _walls_ of the vessels, not
for their cavities. _cf._ p. 319, note 3 (394).
[233] Specific attraction; _cf._ Book I., chap. xiv.
[234] _cf._ p. 100, note 2 (152).
[235] In Book II., chap. i.
[236] Prevention better than cure.
[237] _e.g._ Anaxagoras; _cf._ p. 7, note 5 (14); p. 20,
note 3 (38).
[238] Lit. _haematosis_.
[239] _cf._ p. 174, note 4 (250).
[240] Erasistratus held the spleen to be useless, _cf._
p. 143.
[241] Induration: Gk. _skirros_, Lat. _scirrhus_. The
condition is now commonly known by Laënnec's term
_cirrhosis_, from Gk. _kirros_, meaning yellow or tawny.
Here again we have an example of Erasistratus's bias
towards anatomical or structural rather than functional
explanations of disease, _cf._ p. 124, note 1 (180).
[242] On the risks which were supposed to attend the
checking of habitual bleeding from piles _cf._ Celsus
(_De Re Med._ VI. xviii. 9), "Atque in quibusdam parum
tuto supprimitur, qui sanguinis profluvio imbecilliores
non fiunt; habent enim purgationem hanc, non morbum."
(_i.e._ the habit was to be looked on as a periodical
cleansing, not as a disease.)
[243] Lit. _catharsis_.
[244] Apparently some form of anaemia.
[245] Philistion of Locri, a contemporary of Plato, was
one of the chief representatives of the Sicilian school
of medicine. For Diocles and Praxagoras see p. 51, note
1 (83).
[246] _cf._ Book I., chap. iii.
[247] Gk. _pepsis_; otherwise rendered _coction_.
[248] _cf._ p. 13, note 5 (26).
[249] _e.g._ Asclepiades.
[250] Lit. _chylosis_; _cf._ p. 238, note 2 (312).
[251] That is to say, the haematopoietic function
deserves consideration as much as the digestive
processes which precede it.
[252] _i.e._ Erasistratus could obviously say nothing
about any of the humours or their origins, since he had
not postulated the four qualities (particularly the
Warm--that is, innate heat).
[253] _i.e._ bile.
[254] _i.e._ deprived of its bile.
[255] Here it is rather the living organism we consider
than the particular food that is put into it.
[256] Supreme importance of the "soil." _cf._
Introduction, pp. xii. and xxxi.
[257] Aristotle, _Hist. Animal._, iii. xix.; Plato,
_Timaeus_, 80 E.
[258] Philotimus succeeded Diocles and Praxagoras, who
were successive leaders of the Hippocratic school. _cf._
p. 51, note 1 (83).
[259] Lit. _phenomena_.
[260] _i.e._ living organisms; _cf._ p. 47, note 1 (75).
[261] Erasistratus rejected the idea of innate heat; he
held that the heat of the body was introduced from
outside.
[262] As a _bubo_ is a swelling in the groin, we must
suppose that the wound referred to would be in the leg
or lower abdomen.
[263] _i.e._ fever as a _cause_ of disease.
[264] As we should say, "circulatory" changes.
[265] This is the "vital spirit" or pneuma which,
according to Erasistratus and the Pneumatist school, was
elaborated in the left ventricle, and thereafter carried
by the arteries all over the body, there to subserve
circulatory processes. It has some analogy with oxygen,
but this is also the case with the "_natural_ spirit" or
pneuma, whose seat was the liver and which was
distributed by the _veins_ through the body; it presided
over the more _vegetative_ processes. _cf._ p. 152, note
1 (215); Introduction, p. xxxiv.
[266] Even leaving the pneuma out of account, Galen
claims that he can still prove his thesis.
[267] In other words: if _dyscrasia_ is a first
principle in _pathology_, then _eucrasia_ must be a
first principle in _physiology_.
[268] The above is a good instance of Galen's "logical"
method as applied to medical questions; an appeal to
those who are capable of following "logical sequence."
_cf._ p. 209, note 1 (288).
[269] The aim of dietetics always being the production
of moderate heat--_i.e._ blood.
[270] Note contrasted methods of Rationalists and
Empiricists.
[271] Lit. _anaesthesia_. Linacre renders it
_indocilitas_.
[272] p. 15.
[273] _Iatros_: lit. "healer."
[274] Lit. "physicist" or "physiologist," the student of
the _physis_. _cf._ p. 70, note 2 (114).
[275] That is, a _blending_ of the four principles in
their natural proportion; Lat. _temperies_.
Dyscrasia = _intemperies_, "distemper."
[276] This is the orthodox Hippocratic treatment, that
of _opposites by opposites_. Contrast the _homoeopathic_
principle which is the basis of our modern methods of
_immunisation_ (_similia similibus curentur_,
Hahnemann).
[277] Lit. _aseptic_.
[278] Prodicus of Ceos, a Sophist, contemporary of
Socrates.
[279] Plato, _Timaeus_, 83-86, _passim_.
[280] _cf._ the term _blennorrhoea_, which is still
used.
[281] _cf._ the Scotch term "colded" for "affected with
a cold"; Germ. _erkältet_.
[282] The word _theôria_ used here is not the same as
our _theory_. It is rather a "contemplation," the
process by which a theory is arrived at. _cf._ p. 226,
note 2 (305).
[283] Erasistratus on the uselessness of the spleen.
_cf._ p. 143.
[284] The Empirical school, _cf._ p. 193.
[285] Enlargement and suppuration (?) of spleen
associated with toxaemia or "cacochymy."
[286] Lit. "melancholic."
[287] _i.e._ the combination of sensible qualities which
we call black bile. _cf._ p. 8, note 3 (17).
[288] Thus Galen has demonstrated the functions of the
spleen both deductively and inductively. For another
example of the combined method _cf._ Book III., chaps,
i. and ii.; _cf._ also Introd. p. xxxii.
[289] _i.e._ its innate heat.
[290] Lit. _lecithoid_.
[291] Note that there can be "normal" black bile.
[292] The term _food_ here means the food as introduced
into the stomach; the term _nutriment_ (_trophé_) means
the same food in the digested condition, as it is
conveyed to the tissues. _cf._ pp. 41-43. Note idea of
imperfectly oxidized material being absorbed by the
spleen. _cf._ p. 214, note 1 (295).
[293] Lit. _choledochous_, bile-receiving.
[294] Thus _over-roasting_--shall we say excessive
_oxidation_?--produces the abnormal forms of both black
and yellow bile.
[295] _cf._ p. 277, note 2 (353).
[296] _Timaeus_, 82 C-D.
[297] _cf._ p. 90, note 1 (137). The term "catarrh"
refers to this "running down," which was supposed to
take place through the pores of the cribriform plate of
the ethmoid into the nose.
[298] Now lost.
BOOK III
I
It has been made clear in the preceding discussion that nutrition
occurs by an _alteration_ or _assimilation_ of that which nourishes to
that which receives nourishment,[299] and that there exists in every
part of the animal a faculty which in view of its activity we call, in
general terms, _alterative_, or, more specifically, _assimilative_ and
_nutritive_. It was also shown that a sufficient supply of the matter
which the part being nourished makes into nutriment for itself is
ensured by virtue of another faculty which naturally attracts its
_proper juice_ [humour] that that juice is proper to each part which
is adapted for assimilation, and that the faculty which attracts the
juice is called, by reason of its activity, _attractive_ or
_epispastic_.[300] It has also been shown that assimilation is
preceded by _adhesion_, and this, again, by _presentation_,[301] the
latter stage being, as one might say, the end or goal of the activity
corresponding to the attractive faculty. For the actual bringing up of
nutriment from the veins into each of the parts takes place through
the activation of the attractive faculty,[302] whilst to have been
finally brought up and presented to the part is the actual end for
which we desired such an activity; it is attracted in order that it
may be presented. After this, considerable time is needed for the
nutrition of the animal; whilst a thing may be even rapidly attracted,
on the other hand to become adherent, altered, and entirely
assimilated to the part which is being nourished and to become a part
of it, cannot take place suddenly, but requires a considerable amount
of time. But if the nutritive juice, so presented, does not remain in
the part, but withdraws to another one, and keeps flowing away, and
constantly changing and shifting its position, neither adhesion nor
complete assimilation will take place in any of them. Here too, then,
the [animal's] nature has need of some other faculty for ensuring a
prolonged stay of the presented juice at the part, and this not a
faculty which comes in from somewhere outside but one which is
resident in the part which is to be nourished. This faculty, again, in
view of its activity our predecessors were obliged to call
_retentive_.
Thus our argument has clearly shown[303] the necessity for the genesis
of such a faculty, and whoever has an appreciation of logical sequence
must be firmly persuaded from what we have said that, if it be laid
down and proved by previous demonstration that Nature is artistic and
solicitous for the animal's welfare, it necessarily follows that she
must also possess a faculty of this kind.
BOOK III
G
I
Hoti men oun hê threpsis alloioumenou te kai 143
homoioumenou gignetai tou trephontos tô trephomenô kai
hôs en hekastô tôn tou zôou moriôn esti tis dynamis, hên
apo tês energeias alloiôtikên men kata genos,
homoiôtikên de kai threptikên kat' eidos onomazomen, en
tô prosthen dedêlôtai logô. tên d' euporian tês hylês,
hên trophên heautô poieitai to trephomenon, ex heteras
tinos echein edeiknyto dynameôs epispasthai pephykuias
ton oikeion chymon, einai d' oikeion hekastô tôn moriôn
chymon, hos an || epitêdeios eis tên exomoiôsin ê, kai 144
tên helkousan auton dynamin apo tês energeias helktikên
te tina kai epispastikên onomazesthai. dedeiktai de kai,
hôs pro men tês homoiôseôs hê prosphysis estin, ekeinês
d' emprosthen hê prosthesis gignetai, telos, hôs an
eipoi tis, ousa tês kata tên epispastikên dynamin
energeias. auto men gar to paragesthai tên trophên ek
tôn phlebôn eis hekaston tôn moriôn tês helktikês
energousês gignetai dynameôs, to d' êdê parêchthai te
kai prostithesthai tô moriô to telos estin auto, di' ho
kai tês toiautês energeias edeêthêmen; hina gar
prostethê, dia touth' helketai. chronou d' enteuthen êdê
pleionos eis tên threpsin tou zôou dei; helchthênai men
gar kai dia tacheôn ti dynatai, prosphynai de kai
alloiôthênai kai teleôs homoiôthênai tô trephomenô kai
meros autou genesthai parachrêma men ouch hoion te,
chronô d' an pleioni symbainoi kalôs. all' ei mê menoi
kata to meros ho prostetheis houtos chymos, eis heteron
de ti methistaito kai pararrheoi dia pantos ameibôn te
kai hypallattôn ta chôria, kat' ouden autôn || oute 145
prosphysis out' exomoiôsis estai. dei de kantautha tinos
tê physei dynameôs heteras eis polychronion monên tou
prostethentos tô moriô chymou kai tautês ouk exôthen
pothen epirrheousês all' en autô tô threpsomenô
katôkismenês, hên apo tês energeias palin hoi pro hêmôn
ênankasthêsan onomasai kathektikên.
Ho men dê logos êdê saphôs enedeixato tên anankên tês
geneseôs tês toiautês dynameôs kai hostis akolouthias
synesin echei, pepeistai bebaiôs ex hôn eipomen, hôs
hypokeimenou te kai proapodedeigmenou tou technikên
einai tên physin kai tou zôou kêdemonikên anankaion
hyparchein autê kai tên toiautên dynamin.
II
Since, however, it is not our habit to employ this kind of
demonstration[304] alone, but to add thereto cogent and compelling
proofs drawn from obvious facts, we will also proceed to the latter
kind in the present instance: we will demonstrate that in certain
parts of the body _the retentive faculty_ is so obvious that its
operation can be actually recognised by the _senses_, whilst in other
parts it is less obvious to the senses, but is capable even here of
being detected by the _argument_.[305]
Let us begin our exposition, then, by first dealing systematically for
a while with certain definite parts of the body, in reference to which
we may accurately test and enquire what sort of thing the retentive
faculty is.
Now, could one begin the enquiry in any better way than with the
largest and hollowest organs? Personally I do not think one could. It
is to be expected that in these, owing to their size, the activities
will show quite clearly, whereas with respect to the small organs,
even if they possess a strong faculty of this kind, its activation
will not at once be recognisable to sense.
Now those parts of the animal which are especially hollow and large
are the stomach and the organ which is called the womb or uterus.[306]
What prevents us, then, from taking up these first and considering
their activities, conducting the enquiry on our own persons in
regard to those activities which are obvious without dissection, and,
in the case of those which are more obscure, dissecting animals which
are near to man;[307] not that even animals unlike him will not show,
in a general way, the faculty in question, but because in this manner
we may find out at once what is common to all and what is peculiar to
ourselves, and so may become more resourceful in the diagnosis and
treatment of disease.
Now it is impossible to speak of both organs at once, so we shall deal
with each in turn, beginning with the one which is capable of
demonstrating the retentive faculty most plainly. For the stomach
retains the food until it has quite digested it, and the uterus
retains the embryo until it brings it to completion, but the time
taken for the completion of the embryo is many times more than that
for the digestion of food.
II
All' hêmeis ou toutô monô tô genei tês apodeixeôs
eithismenoi chrêsthai, prostithentes d' autô kai tas ek
tôn enargôs phainomenôn anankazousas te kai biazomenas
pisteis epi tas toiautas kai nyn aphixometha kai
deixomen epi men tinôn moriôn tou sômatos houtôs enargê
tên kathektikên dynamin, hôs autais tais aisthêsesi || 146
diagignôskesthai tên energeian autês, epi de tinôn
hêtton men enargôs tais aisthêsesi, logô de kantautha
phôrathênai dynamenên.
Arxômeth' oun tês didaskalias ap' autou tou teôs prôton
methodô tini procheirisasthai mori' atta tou sômatos,
eph' hôn akribôs esti basanisai te kai zêtêsai tên
kathektikên dynamin hopoia pot' estin.
Ar' oun ameinon an tis heterôthen ê apo tôn megistôn te
kai koilotatôn organôn hyparxaito tês zêtêseôs? emoi men
oun ouk an dokei beltion. enargeis goun eikos epi toutôn
phanênai tas energeias dia to megethos; hôs ta ge smikra
tach' an, ei kai sphodran echei tên toiautên dynamin,
all' ouk aisthêsei g' hetoimên diagignôskesthai tên
energeian autês.
All' estin en tois malista koilotata kai megista tôn tou
zôou moriôn hê te gastêr kai <hai> mêtrai te kai hysterai
kaloumenai. ti oun kôlyei tauta prôta procheirisamenous
episkepsasthai tas energeias autôn, hosai men kai pro
tês anatomês dêlai, tên exetasin eph' hêmôn autôn
poioumenous, hosai d' amydroterai, ta paraplêsia
diairountas anthrôpô zôa, || ouch hôs ouk an hikanôs to 147
ge katholou peri tês zêtoumenês dynameôs kai tôn
anomoiôn endeixomenôn, all' hôs hin' hama tô koinô kai
to idion eph' hêmôn autôn egnôkotes eis te tas
diagnôseis tôn nosêmatôn kai tas iaseis euporôteroi
gignômetha.
Peri men oun amphoterôn tôn organôn hama legein
adynaton, en merei d' hyper hekaterou poiêsometha ton
logon apo tou saphesteron endeixasthai dynamenou tên
kathektikên dynamin arxamenoi. katechei men gar kai hê
gastêr ta sitia, mechri per an ekpepsê, katechousi de
kai hai mêtrai to embryon, est' an teleiôsôsin; alla
pollaplasios estin ho tês tôn embryôn teleiôseôs chronos
tês tôn sitiôn pepseôs.
III
We may expect, then, to detect the retentive faculty in the uterus
more clearly in proportion to the longer duration of its activity as
compared with that of the stomach. For, as we know, it takes nine
months in most women for the foetus to attain maturity in the womb,
this organ having its neck quite closed, and entirely surrounding the
embryo together with the _chorion_. Further, it is the utility of the
function which determines the closure of the os and the stay of the
foetus in the uterus. For it is not casually nor without reason that
Nature has made the uterus capable of contracting upon, and of
retaining the embryo, but in order that the latter may arrive at a
proper size. When, therefore, the object for which the uterus brought
its retentive faculty into play has been fulfilled, it then stops this
faculty and brings it back to a state of rest, and employs instead of
it another faculty hitherto quiescent--the _propulsive_ faculty. In
this case again the quiescent and active states are both determined by
utility; when this calls, there is activity; when it does not, there
is rest.
Here, then, once more, we must observe well the Art [artistic
tendency] of Nature--how she has not merely placed in each organ the
capabilities of useful activities, but has also fore-ordained the
times both of rest and movement. For when everything connected with
the pregnancy proceeds properly, the _eliminative_ faculty remains
quiescent as though it did not exist, but if anything goes wrong in
connection either with the chorion or any of the other membranes or
with the foetus itself, and its completion is entirely despaired of,
then the uterus no longer awaits the nine-months period, but the
retentive faculty forthwith ceases and allows the heretofore
inoperative faculty to come into action. Now it is that something is
done--in fact, useful work effected--by the _eliminative or propulsive
faculty_ (for so it, too, has been called, receiving, like the rest,
its names from the corresponding activities).
Further, our theory can, I think, demonstrate both together; for
seeing that they succeed each other, and that the one keeps giving
place to the other according as utility demands, it seems not
unreasonable to accept a common demonstration also for both. Thus it
is the work of the retentive faculty to make the uterus contract upon
the foetus at every point, so that, naturally enough, when the
midwives palpate it, the os is found to be closed, whilst the pregnant
women themselves, during the first days--and particularly on that on
which conception takes place--experience a sensation as if the uterus
were moving and contracting upon itself. Now, if both of these things
occur--if the os closes apart from inflammation or any other disease,
and if this is accompanied by a feeling of movement in the
uterus--then the women believe that they have received the semen which
comes from the male, and that they are retaining it.
Now we are not inventing this for ourselves: one may say the statement
is based on prolonged experience of those who occupy themselves with
such matters. Thus Herophilus[308] does not hesitate to state in his
writings that up to the time of labour the os uteri will not admit so
much as the tip of a probe, that it no longer opens to the slightest
degree if pregnancy has begun--that, in fact, it dilates more widely
at the times of the menstrual flow. With him are in agreement all the
others who have applied themselves to this subject; and particularly
Hippocrates, who was the first of all physicians and philosophers to
declare that the os uteri closes during pregnancy and inflammation,
albeit in pregnancy it does not depart from its own nature, whilst in
inflammation it becomes hard.
In the case of the opposite (the eliminative) faculty, the os opens,
whilst the whole fundus approaches as near as possible to the os,
expelling the embryo as it does so; and along with the fundus the
contiguous parts--which form as it were a girdle round the whole
organ--co-operate in the work; they squeeze upon the embryo and propel
it bodily outwards. And, in many women who exercise such a faculty
immoderately, violent pains cause forcible prolapse of the whole womb;
here almost the same thing happens as frequently occurs in
wrestling-bouts and struggles, when in our eagerness to overturn and
throw others we are ourselves upset along with them; for similarly
when the uterus is forcing the embryo forward it sometimes becomes
entirely prolapsed, and particularly when the ligaments connecting it
with the spine happen to be naturally lax.[309]
A wonderful device of Nature's also is this--that, when the foetus is
alive, the os uteri is closed with perfect accuracy, but if it dies,
the os at once opens up to the extent which is necessary for the
foetus to make its exit. The midwife, however, does not make the
parturient woman get up at once and sit down on the [obstetric] chair,
but she begins by palpating the os as it gradually dilates, and the
first thing she says is that it has dilated "enough to admit the
little finger," then that "it is bigger now," and as we make enquiries
from time to time, she answers that the size of the dilatation is
increasing. And when it is sufficient to allow of the transit of the
foetus,[310] she then makes the patient get up from her bed and sit on
the chair, and bids her make every effort to expel the child. Now,
this additional work which the patient does of herself is no longer
the work of the uterus but of the epigastric muscles, which also help
us in defaecation and micturition.
III
Eikos oun kai tên dynamin enargesteron en tais mêtrais
phôrasein hêmas tên kathektikên, hosô kai
polychroniôteran tês gastros tên energeian kektêtai.
mêsi gar ennea pou tais pleistais tôn gynaikôn en autais
teleioutai ta kyêmata, memykuiais men hapanti tô
aucheni, periechousais de pantachothen auta syn tô
choriô. || kai peras ge tês tou stomatos myseôs kai tês 148
tou kyoumenou kata tas mêtras monês hê chreia tês
energeias estin; ou gar hôs etychen oud' alogôs hikanas
peristellesthai kai katechein to embryon hê physis
apeirgasato tas hysteras, all' hin' eis to prepon
aphikêtai megethos to kyoumenon. hotan oun, hou charin
enêrgoun tê kathektikê dynamei, sympeplêrômenon ê,
tautên men anepausan te kai eis êremian epanêgagon, ant'
autês d' hetera chrôntai tê teôs hêsychazousê, tê
proôstikê. ên d' ara kai tês ekeinês hêsychias horos hê
chreia kai tês g' energeias hôsautôs hê chreia; kalousês
men gar autês energei, mê kalousês d' hêsychazei.
Kai chrê palin kantautha katamathein tês physeôs tên
technên, hôs ou monon energeiôn chrêsimôn dynameis
enethêken hekastô tôn organôn, alla kai tou tôn
hêsychiôn te kai kinêseôn kairou prounoêsato. kalôs men
gar hapantôn gignomenôn tôn kata tên kyêsin hê
apokritikê dynamis hêsychazei teleôs hôsper ouk ousa,
kakopragias de tinos genomenês ê peri to chorion ê peri
tina tôn allôn || hymenôn ê peri to kyoumenon auto kai 149
tês teleiôseôs autou pantapasin apognôstheisês ouket'
anamenousi ton enneamênon hai mêtrai chronon, all' hê
men kathektikê dynamis autika dê pepautai kai parachôrei
kineisthai tê proteron argousê, prattei d' êdê ti kai
pragmateuetai chrêston hê apokritikê te kai proôstikê;
kai gar oun kai tautên houtôs ekalesan apo tôn energeiôn
autê ta onomata themenoi kathaper kai tais allais.
Kai pôs ho logos eoiken hyper amphoterôn apodeixein
hama; kai gar toi kai diadechomenas autas allêlas kai
parachôrousan aei tên heteran tê loipê, kathoti an hê
chreia keleuê, kai tên didaskalian koinên ouk apeikos
esti dechesthai. tês men oun kathektikês dynameôs ergon
peristeilai tas mêtras tô kyoumenô pantachothen, hôst'
eulogôs haptomenais men tais maieutriais to stoma
memykos autôn phainetai, tais kyousais d' autais kata
tas prôtas hêmeras kai malista kat' autên ekeinên, en
hêper an hê tês gonês syllêpsis genêtai, kinoumenôn te
kai syntrechousôn eis heautas tôn hysterôn aisthê||sis 150
gignetai kai ên amphô tauta symbê, mysai men to stoma
chôris phlegmonês ê tinos allou pathêmatos, aisthêsin de
tês kata tas mêtras kinêseôs akolouthêsai, pros hautas
êdê to sperma to para tandros eilêphenai te kai
katechein hai gynaikes nomizousi.
Tauta d' ouch hêmeis nyn anaplattomen hêmin autois, all'
ek makras peiras dokimasthenta pasi gegraptai schedon ti
tois peri toutôn pragmateusamenois. Hêrophilos men ge
kai hôs oude pyrêna mêlês an dechoito tôn mêtrôn to
stoma, prin apokyein tên gynaika, kai hôs oude
toulachiston eti diestêken, ên hyparxêtai kyein, kai hôs
epi pleon anastomountai kata tas tôn epimêniôn phoras,
ouk ôknêse graphein; synomologousi d' autô kai hoi alloi
pantes hoi peri toutôn pragmateusamenoi kai prôtos g'
hapantôn iatrôn te kai philosophôn Hippokratês
apephênato myein to stoma tôn hysterôn en te tais
kyêsesi kai tais phlegmonais, all' en men tais kyêsesin
ouk existamenon tês physeôs, en de tais phlegmonais
sklêron gignomenon.
Epi de ge tês enantias tês ekkritikês anoignytai men to
stoma, proerchetai d' ho pythmên || hapas hoson hoion t' 151
engytatô tou stomatos apôthoumenos exô to embryon, hama
d' autô kai ta synechê merê ta hoion pleura tou pantos
organou synepilambanomena tou ergou thlibei te kai
proôthei pan exô to embryon. kai pollais tôn gynaikôn
ôdines biaioi tas mêtras holas ekpesein ênankasan
ametrôs chrêsamenais tê toiautê dynamei, paraplêsiou
tinos gignomenou tô pollakis en palais tisi kai
philoneikiais symbainonti, hotan anatrepsai te kai
katabalein heterous speudontes autoi synkatapesômen.
houtô gar kai hai mêtrai to embryon ôthousai synexepeson
eniote kai malisth', hotan hoi pros tên rhachin autôn
syndesmoi chalaroi physei tynchanôsin ontes.
Esti de kai touto thaumaston ti tês physeôs sophisma, to
zôntos men tou kyêmatos akribôs pany memykenai to stoma
tôn mêtrôn, apothanontos de parachrêma dianoigesthai
tosouton, hoson eis tên exodon autou diapherei. kai
mentoi kai hai maiai tas tiktousas ouk euthys anistasin
oud' epi ton diphron kathizousin, all' haptontai
proteron anoigomenou tou stomatos || kata brachy kai 152
prôton men, hôste ton mikron daktylon kathienai,
diestêkenai phasin, epeit' êdê kai meizon kai kata
brachy dê pynthanomenois hêmin apokrinontai to megethos
tês diastaseôs epauxanomenon. hotan d' hikanon ê pros
tên tou kyoumenou diodon, anistasin autas kai kathizousi
kai prothymeisthai keleuousin apôsasthai to paidion.
esti d' êdê touto to ergon, ho par' heautôn hai kyousai
prostitheasin, ouketi tôn hysterôn, alla tôn kat'
epigastrion myôn, hoi pros tên apopatêsin te kai tên
ourêsin hêmin synergousin.
IV
Thus the two faculties are clearly to be seen in the case of the
uterus; in the case of the _stomach_ they appear as follows:--Firstly
in the condition of _gurgling_, which physicians are persuaded, and
with reason, to be a symptom of weakness of the stomach; for sometimes
when the very smallest quantity of food has been ingested this does
not occur, owing to the fact that the stomach is contracting
accurately upon the food and constricting it at every point; sometimes
when the stomach is full the gurglings yet make themselves heard as
though it were empty. For if it be in a natural condition, employing
its contractile faculty in the ordinary way, then, even if its
contents be very small, it grasps the whole of them and does not leave
any empty space. When it is weak, however, being unable to lay hold of
its contents accurately, it produces a certain amount of vacant space,
and allows the liquid contents to flow about in different directions
in accordance with its changes of shape, and so to produce gurglings.
Thus those who are troubled with this symptom expect, with good
reason, that they will also be unable to digest adequately; proper
digestion cannot take place in a weak stomach. In such people also,
the mass of food may be plainly seen to remain an abnormally long time
in the stomach, as would be natural if their digestion were slow.
Indeed, the chief way in which these people will surprise one is in
the length of time that not food alone but even fluids will remain in
their stomachs. Now, the actual cause of this is not, as one would
imagine, that the lower outlet of the stomach,[311] being fairly
narrow, will allow nothing to pass before being reduced to a fine
state of division. There are a great many people who frequently
swallow large quantities of big fruit-stones; one person, who was
holding a gold ring in his mouth, inadvertently swallowed it; another
swallowed a coin, and various people have swallowed various hard and
indigestible objects; yet all these people easily passed by the bowel
what they had swallowed, without there being any subsequent symptoms.
Now surely if narrowness of the gastric outlet were the cause of
untriturated food remaining for an abnormally long time, none of these
articles I have mentioned would ever have escaped. Furthermore, the
fact that it is liquids which remain longest in these people's
stomachs is sufficient to put the idea of narrowness of the outlet out
of court. For, supposing a rapid descent were dependent upon
emulsification,[312] then soups, milk, and barley-emulsion[313] would
at once pass along in every case. But as a matter of fact this is not
so. For in people who are extremely asthenic it is just these fluids
which remain undigested, which accumulate and produce gurglings, and
which oppress and overload the stomach, whereas in strong persons not
merely do none of these things happen, but even a large quantity of
bread or meat passes rapidly down.
And it is not only because the stomach is distended and loaded and
because the fluid runs from one part of it to another accompanied by
gurglings--it is not only for these reasons that one would judge that
there was an unduly long continuance of the food in it, in those
people who are so disposed, but also from the _vomiting_. Thus, there
are some who vomit up every particle of what they have eaten, not
after three or four hours, but actually in the middle of the night, a
lengthy period having elapsed since their meal.
Suppose you fill any animal whatsoever with liquid food--an experiment
I have often carried out in pigs, to whom I give a sort of mess of
wheaten flour and water, thereafter cutting them open after three or
four hours; if you will do this yourself, you will find the food still
in the stomach. For it is not _chylification_[314] which determines
the length of its stay here--since this can also be effected outside
the stomach; the determining factor is _digestion_[315] which is a
different thing from chylification, as are blood-production and
nutrition. For, just as it has been shown[316] that these two
processes depend upon a _change of qualities_, similarly also the
digestion of food in the stomach involves a transmutation of it into
the quality proper to that which is receiving nourishment.[317] Then,
when it is completely digested, the lower outlet opens and the food is
quickly ejected through it, even if there should be amongst it
abundance of stones, bones, grape-pips, or other things which cannot
be reduced to chyle. And you may observe this yourself in an animal,
if you will try to hit upon the time at which the descent of food from
the stomach takes place. But even if you should fail to discover the
time, and nothing was yet passing down, and the food was still
undergoing digestion in the stomach, still even then you would find
dissection not without its uses. You will observe, as we have just
said, that the pylorus is accurately closed, and that the whole
stomach is in a state of contraction upon the food very much as the
womb contacts upon the foetus. For it is never possible to find a
vacant space in the uterus, the stomach, or in either of the two
bladders--that is, either in that called bile-receiving[318] or in the
other; whether their contents be abundant or scanty, their cavities
are seen to be replete and full, owing to the fact that their coats
contract constantly upon the contents--so long, at least, as the
animal is in a natural condition.
Now Erasistratus for some reason declares that it is the
contractions[319] of the stomach which are the cause of
everything--that is to say, of the softening of the food,[320] the
removal of waste matter, and the absorption of the food when chylified
[emulsified].
Now I have personally, on countless occasions, divided the peritoneum
of a still living animal and have always found all _the intestines_
contracting peristaltically[321] upon their contents. The condition of
_the stomach_, however, is found less simple; as regards the
substances freshly swallowed, it had grasped these accurately both
above and below, in fact at every point, and was as devoid of movement
as though it had grown round and become united with the food.[322] At
the same time I found the pylorus persistently closed and accurately
shut, like the os uteri on the foetus.
In the cases, however, where digestion had been completed the pylorus
had opened, and the stomach was undergoing peristaltic movements,
similar to those of the intestines.
IV
Houtô men epi tôn mêtrôn enargôs hai dyo phainontai
dynameis, epi de tês gastros hôde. prôton men tois
klydôsin, hoi dê kai pepisteuntai tois iatrois arrhôstou
koilias einai symptômata kai kata logon pepisteuntai;
eniote men gar elachista prosenênegmenôn ou gignontai
peristellomenês akribôs autois tês gastros kai
sphingousês pantachothen, eniote de mestê men hê gastêr
estin, hoi kly||dônes d' hôs epi kenês exakouontai. kata 153
physin men gar echousa kai chrômenê kalôs tê
peristaltikê dynamei, kan oligon ê to periechomenon,
hapan auto perilambanousa chôran oudemian apoleipei
kenên, arrhôstousa de, kathoti an adynatêsê perilabein
akribôs, entauth' eurychôrian tin' ergazomenê synchôrei
tois periechomenois hygrois kata tas tôn schêmatôn
metallagas allot' allachose metarrheousi klydônas
apotelein.
Eulogôs oun, hoti mêde pepsousin hikanôs, hoi en tôde tô
symptômati genomenoi prosdokôsin; ou gar endechetai
pepsai kalôs arrhôston gastera. tois toioutois de kai
mechri pleionos en autê phainetai paramenon to baros,
hôs an kai bradyteron pettousi. kai mên thaumaseien an
tis ep' autôn toutôn malista to polychronion tês en tê
gastri diatribês ou tôn sitiôn monon alla kai tou
pomatos; ou gar, hoper an oiêtheiê tis, hôs to tês
gastros stoma to katô stenon hikanôs hyparchon ouden
pariêsi prin akribôs leiôthênai, tout' aition ontôs
esti. polla goun pollakis opôrôn osta megista
katapinousi || pampolloi kai tis daktylion chrysoun en 154
tô stomati phylattôn akôn katepie kai allos tis nomisma
kai allos allo ti sklêron kai dyskatergaston, all' homôs
hapantes houtoi rhadiôs apepatêsan, ha katepion, oudenos
autois akolouthêsantos symptômatos. ei de g' hê stenotês
tou porou tês gastros aitia tou menein epi pleon ên tois
atriptois sitiois, ouden an toutôn pote diechôrêsen.
alla kai to ta pomat' autois en tê gastri paramenein epi
pleiston hikanon apagein tên hyponoian tou porou tês
stenotêtos; holôs gar, eiper ên en tô kechylôsthai to
thatton hypienai, ta te rhophêmat' an houtô kai to gala
kai ho tês ptisanês chylos autika diexêei pasin. all'
ouch hôd' echei; tois men gar asthenesin epi pleiston
emplei tauta kai klydônas ergazetai paramenonta kai
thlibei kai barynei tên gastera, tois d' ischyrois ou
monon toutôn ouden symbainei, alla kai poly plêthos
artôn kai kreôn hypochôrei tacheôs.
Ou monon d' ek tou peritetasthai tên gastera kai
barynesthai || kai metarrhein allot' eis alla merê meta 155
klydônos to paramenein epi pleon en autê pantôs tois
houtôs echousi tekmêrait' an tis alla kak tôn emetôn;
enioi gar ou meta treis hôras ê tettaras alla nyktôn êdê
mesôn pampollou metaxy chronou dielthontos epi tais
prosphorais anêmesan akribôs hapanta ta edêdesmena.
Kai men dê kai zôon hotioun emplêsas hygras trophês,
hôsper hêmeis pollakis epi syôn epeirathêmen ex aleurôn
meth' hydatos hoion kykeôna tina dontes autois, epeita
meta treis pou kai tettaras hôras anatemontes, ei houtô
kai sy praxeias, heurêseis eti kata tên gastera ta
edêdesmena; peras gar autois esti tês entautha monês
ouch hê chylôsis, hên kai ektos eti ontôn mêchanêsasthai
dynaton estin, all' hê pepsis, heteron ti tês chylôseôs
ousa, kathaper haimatôsis te kai threpsis. hôs gar
kakeina dedeiktai poiotêtôn metabolê gignomena, ton
auton tropon kai hê en tê gastri pepsis tôn sitiôn eis
tên oikeian esti tô trephomenô poiotêta || metabolê kai 156
hotan ge pephthê teleôs, anoignytai men tênikauta to
katô stoma, diekpiptei d' autou ta sitia rhadiôs, ei kai
plêthos ti meth' heautôn echonta tychoi lithôn ê ostôn ê
gigartôn ê tinos allou chylôthênai mê dynamenou. kai soi
tout' enestin epi zôou theasasthai stochasamenô ton
kairon tês katô diexodou. kai men ge kai ei sphaleiês
pote tou kairou kai mêden mêpô katô parerchoito
pettomenôn eti kata tên gastera tôn sitiôn, oud' houtôs
akarpos hê anatomê soi genêsetai; theasê gar ep' autôn,
hoper oligô prosthen elegomen, akribôs men memykota ton
pylôron, hapasan de tên gastera periestalmenên tois
sitiois tropon homoiotaton, hoionper kai hai mêtrai tois
kyoumenois. ou gar estin oudepote kenên heurein chôran
oute kata tas hysteras oute kata tên koilian oute kata
tas kysteis amphoteras oute kata tên cholêdochon
onomazomenên oute tên heteran; all' eit' oligon eiê to
periechomenon en autais eite poly, mestai kai plêreis
autôn hai koiliai phainontai peristellomenôn aei tôn
chitônôn tois periechomenois, hotan ge kata physin echê
to zôon. || 157
Erasistratos d' ouk oid' hopôs tên peristolên tês
gastros hapantôn aitian apophainei kai tês leiôseôs tôn
sitiôn kai tês tôn perittômatôn hypochôrêseôs kai tês
tôn kechylômenôn anadoseôs.
Egô men gar myriakis epi zôntos eti tou zôou dielôn to
peritonaion heuron aei ta men entera panta
peristellomena tois enyparchousi, tên koilian d' ouch
haplôs, all' epi men tais edôdais anôthen te kai
katôthen auta kai pantachothen akribôs perieilêphuian
akinêton, hôs dokein hênôsthai kai peripephykenai tois
sitiois; en de toutô kai ton pylôron heuriskon aei
memykota kai kekleismenon akribôs hôsper to tôn hysterôn
stoma tais enkymosin.
Epi mentoi tais pepsesi sympeplêrômenais aneôkto men ho
pylôros, hê gastêr de peristaltikôs ekineito paraplêsiôs
tois enterois.
V
Thus all these facts agree that the stomach, uterus, and bladders
possess certain inborn faculties which are retentive of their own
proper qualities and eliminative of those that are foreign. For it has
been already shown[323] that the bladder by the liver draws bile into
itself, while it is also quite obvious that it eliminates this daily
into the stomach. Now, of course, if the eliminative were to succeed
the attractive faculty and there were not a _retentive_ faculty
between the two, there would be found, on every occasion that animals
were dissected, an equal quantity of bile in the gall-bladder. This
however, we do not find. For the bladder is sometimes observed to be
very full, sometimes quite empty, while at other times you find in it
various intermediate degrees of fulness, just as is the case with the
other bladder--that which receives the urine; for even without
resorting to anatomy we may observe that the urinary bladder continues
to collect urine up to the time that it becomes uncomfortable through
the increasing quantity of urine or the irritation caused by its
acidity--the presumption thus being that here, too, there is a
retentive faculty.
Similarly, too, the stomach, when, as often happens, it is irritated
by acidity, gets rid of the food, although still undigested, earlier
than proper; or again, when oppressed by the quantity of its contents,
or disordered from the co-existence of both conditions, it is seized
with _diarrhoea_. _Vomiting_ also is an affection of the upper [part
of the] stomach analogous to diarrhoea, and it occurs when the stomach
is overloaded or is unable to stand the quality of the food or surplus
substances which it contains. Thus, when such a condition develops in
the lower parts of the stomach, while the parts about the inlet are
normal, it ends in diarrhoea, whereas if this condition is in the
upper stomach, the lower parts being normal, it ends in vomiting.
V
Hapant' oun allêlois homologei tauta kai tê gastri kai
tais hysterais kai tais kystesin einai tinas emphytous
dynameis kathektikas men tôn oikeiôn poiotêtôn, || 158
apokritikas de tôn allotriôn. hoti men gar helkei tên
cholên eis heautên hê epi tô hêpati kystis, emprosthen
dedeiktai, hoti de kai apokrinei kath' hekastên hêmeran
eis tên gastera, kai tout' enargôs phainetai. kai mên ei
diedecheto tên helktikên dynamin hê ekkritikê kai mê
mesê tis amphoin ên hê kathektikê, dia pantos echrên
anatemnomenôn tôn zôôn ison plêthos cholês heuriskesthai
kata tên kystin; ou mên heurisketai ge. pote men gar
plêrestatê, pote de kenotatê, pote de tas en tô metaxy
diaphoras echousa theôreitai, kathaper kai hê hetera
kystis hê to ouron hypodechomenê. tautês men ge kai pro
tês anatomês aisthanometha, prin aniathênai tô plêthei
baryntheisan ê tê drimytêti dêchtheisan, athroizousês
eti to ouron, hôs ousês tinos kantautha dynameôs
kathektikês.
Houtô de kai hê gastêr hypo drimytêtos pollakis
dêchtheisa prôiaiteron tou deontos apepton eti tên
trophên apotribetai. authis d' an pote tô plêthei
baryntheisa ê kai kat' amphô synelthonta kakôs
diatetheisa diarrhoiais healô. kai men ge kai hoi
emetoi, tô plêthei baryntheisês || autês ê tên poiotêta 159
tôn en autê sitiôn te kai perittômatôn mê pherousês,
analogon ti tais diarrhoiais pathêma tês anô gastros
estin. hotan men gar en tois katô meresin autês hê
toiautê genêtai diathesis, errhômenôn tôn kata ton
stomachon, eis diarrhoias eteleutêsen, hotan d' en tois
kata to stoma, tôn allôn eurôstountôn, eis emetous.
VI
This may often be clearly observed in those who are disinclined for
food; when obliged to eat, they have not the strength to swallow, and,
even if they force themselves to do so, they cannot retain the food,
but at once vomit it up. And those especially who have a dislike to
some particular kind of food, sometimes take it under compulsion, and
then promptly bring it up; or, if they force themselves to keep it
down, they are nauseated and feel their stomach turned up, and
endeavouring to relieve itself of its discomfort.
Thus, as was said at the beginning, all the observed facts testify
that there must exist in almost all parts of the animal a certain
inclination towards, or, so to speak; an appetite for their own
special quality, and an aversion to, or, as it were, a hatred[324] of
the foreign quality. And it is natural that when they feel an
inclination they should attract, and that when they feel aversion they
should expel.
From these facts, then, again, both the attractive and the propulsive
faculties have been demonstrated to exist in everything.[325]
But if there be an inclination or attraction, there will also be some
benefit derived; for no existing thing attracts anything else for the
mere sake of attracting, but in order to benefit by what is acquired
by the attraction. And of course it cannot benefit by it if it cannot
retain it. Herein, then, again, the retentive faculty is shown to have
its necessary origin: for the stomach obviously inclines towards its
own proper qualities and turns away from those that are foreign to
it.[326]
But if it aims at and attracts its food and benefits by it while
retaining and contracting upon it, we may also expect that there will
be some _termination_ to the benefit received, and that thereafter
will come the time for the exercise of the eliminative faculty.
VI
Enesti de kai touto pollakis enargôs idein epi tôn
apositôn; anankazomenoi gar esthiein oute katapinein
eusthenousin out', ei kai biasainto, katechousin, all'
euthys anemousi. kai hoi allôs de tôn edesmatôn pros
hotioun dyscherainontes biasthentes eniote prosarasthai
tacheôs exemousin, ê ei kataschoien biasamenoi,
nautiôdeis t' eisi kai tês gastros hyptias aisthanontai
kai speudousês apothesthai to lypoun.
Houtôs ex hapantôn tôn phainomenôn, hoper ex archês
errhethê, martyreitai to dein hyparchein tois tou zôou
moriois schedon hapasin ephesin men tina kai hoion
orexin tês oikeias poiotêtos, apostrophên de tina || kai 160
hoion misos ti tês allotrias, all' ephiemena men helkein
eulogon, apostrephomena d' ekkrinein.
Kak toutôn palin hê th' helktikê dynamis apodeiknytai
kath' hapan hyparchousa kai hê proôstikê.
All' eiper ephesis te tis esti kai helxis, eiê an tis
kai apolausis; ouden gar tôn ontôn helkei ti di' auto to
helkein, all' hin' apolausê tou dia tês holkês
euporêthentos. kai mên apolauein ou dynatai mê
kataschon. kan toutô palin hê kathektikê dynamis
apodeiknytai tên genesin anankaian echousa; saphôs gar
ephietai men tôn oikeiôn poiotêtôn hê gastêr,
apostrephetai de tas allotrias.
All' eiper ephietai te kai helkei kai apolauei
katechousa kai peristellomenê, eiê an ti kai peras autê
tês apolauseôs kapi tôd' ho kairos êdê tês ekkritikês
dynameôs energousês.
VII
But if the stomach both retains and benefits by its food, then it
employs it for the end for which it [the stomach] naturally exists.
And it exists to partake of that which is of a quality befitting and
proper to it. Thus it attracts all the most useful parts of the food
in a vaporous[327] and finely divided condition, storing this up in
its own coats, and applying[328] it to them. And when it is
sufficiently full it puts away from it, as one might something
troublesome, the rest of the food, this having itself meanwhile
obtained some profit from its association with the stomach. For it is
impossible for two bodies which are adapted for acting and being acted
upon to come together without either both acting or being acted upon,
or else one acting and the other being acted upon. For if their forces
are equal they will act and be acted upon equally, and if the one be
much superior in strength, it will exert its activity upon its passive
neighbour; thus, while producing a great and appreciable effect, it
will itself be acted upon either little or not at all. But it is
herein also that the main difference lies between nourishing food and
a deleterious drug; the latter masters the forces of the body, whereas
the former is mastered by them.[329]
There cannot, then, be food which is suited for the animal which is
not also correspondingly subdued by the qualities existing in the
animal. And to be subdued means to undergo _alteration_.[330] Now,
some parts are stronger in power and others weaker; therefore, while
all will subdue the nutriment which is proper to the animal, they will
not all do so equally. Thus the stomach will subdue and alter its
food, but not to the same extent as will the liver, veins, arteries,
and heart.
We must therefore observe to what extent it does alter it. The
alteration is more than that which occurs in the mouth, but less than
that in the liver and veins. For the latter alteration changes the
nutriment into the _substance_ of blood, whereas that in the mouth
obviously changes it into a new _form_, but certainly does not
completely transmute it. This you may discover in the food which is
left in the intervals between the teeth, and which remains there all
night; the bread is not exactly bread, nor the meat, for they
have a smell similar to that of the animal's mouth, and have been
disintegrated and dissolved, and have had the qualities of the
animal's flesh impressed upon them. And you may observe the extent of
the alteration which occurs to food in the mouth if you will chew some
corn and then apply it to an unripe [undigested] boil: you will see it
rapidly transmuting--in fact entirely digesting--the boil, though it
cannot do anything of the kind if you mix it with water. And do not
let this surprise you; this phlegm [saliva] in the mouth is also a
cure for _lichens_[331]; it even rapidly destroys scorpions; while, as
regards the animals which emit venom, some it kills at once, and
others after an interval; to all of them in any case it does great
damage. Now, the masticated food is all, firstly, soaked in and mixed
up with this phlegm; and secondly, it is brought into contact with the
actual skin of the mouth; thus it undergoes more change than the food
which is wedged into the vacant spaces between the teeth.
But just as masticated food is more altered than the latter kind, so
is food which has been swallowed more altered than that which has been
merely masticated. Indeed, there is no comparison between these two
processes; we have only to consider what the stomach contains--phlegm,
bile, pneuma, [innate] heat,[332] and, indeed the whole substance of
the stomach. And if one considers along with this the adjacent
viscera, like a lot of burning hearths around a great cauldron--to the
right the liver, to the left the spleen, the heart above, and along
with it the diaphragm (suspended and in a state of constant movement),
and the omentum sheltering them all--you may believe what an
extraordinary alteration it is which occurs in the food taken into the
stomach.
How could it easily become blood if it were not previously prepared by
means of a change of this kind? It has already been shown[333] that
nothing is altered all at once from one quality to its opposite. How
then could bread, beef, beans, or any other food turn into blood if
they had not previously undergone some other alteration? And how could
the faeces be generated right away in the small intestine?[334] For
what is there in this organ more potent in producing alteration than
the factors in the stomach? Is it the number of the coats, or the way
it is surrounded by neighbouring viscera, or the time that the food
remains in it, or some kind of innate heat which it contains? Most
assuredly the intestines have the advantage of the stomach in none of
these respects. For what possible reason, then, will objectors have it
that bread may often remain a whole night in the stomach and still
preserve its original qualities, whereas when once it is projected
into the intestines, it straightway becomes ordure? For, if such a
long period of time is incapable of altering it, neither will the
short period be sufficient, or, if the latter is enough, surely the
longer time will be much more so! Well, then, can it be that, while
the nutriment does undergo an alteration in the stomach, this is a
different kind of alteration and one which is not dependent on the
nature of the organ which alters it? Or if it be an alteration of this
latter kind, yet one perhaps which is not proper to the body of the
animal? This is still more impossible. Digestion was shown to be
nothing else than an alteration to the quality proper to that which is
receiving nourishment.[335] Since, then, this is what digestion means
and since the nutriment has been shown to take on in the stomach a
quality appropriate to the animal which is about to be nourished by
it, it has been demonstrated adequately that nutriment does undergo
digestion in the stomach.
And Asclepiades is absurd when he states that the quality of the
digested food never shows itself either in eructations or in the
vomited matter, or on dissection.[336] For of course the mere fact
that the food smells of the body shows that it has undergone gastric
digestion. But this man is so foolish that, when he hears the Ancients
saying that the food is converted in the stomach into something
"good," he thinks it proper to look out not for what is good in its
possible effects, but for what is _good to the taste_: this is like
saying that apples (for so one has to argue with him) become more
apple-like [in flavour] in the stomach, or honey more honey-like!
Erasistratus, however, is still more foolish and absurd, either
through not perceiving in what sense the Ancients said that digestion
is similar to the process of _boiling_, or because he purposely
confused himself with sophistries. It is, he says, inconceivable that
digestion, involving as it does such trifling warmth, should be
related to the boiling process. This is as if we were to suppose that
it was necessary to put the fires of Etna under the stomach before it
could manage to alter the food; or else that, while it was capable of
altering the food, it did not do this by virtue of its innate heat,
which of course was moist, so that the word _boil_ was used instead of
_bake_.
What he ought to have done, if it was facts that he wished to dispute
about, was to have tried to show, first and foremost, that the food is
not transmuted or altered in quality by the stomach at all, and
secondly, if he could not be confident of this, he ought to have tried
to show that this alteration was not of any advantage to the
animal.[337] If, again, he were unable even to make this
misrepresentation, he ought to have attempted to confute the postulate
concerning _the active principles_--to show, in fact, that the
functions taking place in the various parts do not depend on the way
in which the Warm, Cold, Dry, and Moist are mixed, but on some other
factor. And if he had not the audacity to misrepresent facts even so
far as this, still he should have tried at least to show that the Warm
is not the most active of all the principles which play a part in
things governed by Nature. But if he was unable to demonstrate this
any more than any of the previous propositions, then he ought not to
have made himself ridiculous by quarrelling uselessly with a mere
name--as though Aristotle had not clearly stated in the fourth book of
his "Meteorology," as well as in many other passages, in what way
digestion can be said to be allied to boiling, and also that the
latter expression is not used in its primitive or strict sense.
But, as has been frequently said already,[338] the one starting-point
of all this is a thoroughgoing enquiry into the question of the Warm,
Cold, Dry and Moist; this Aristotle carried out in the second of his
books "On Genesis and Destruction," where he shows that all the
transmutations and alterations throughout the body take place as a
result of these principles. Erasistratus, however, advanced nothing
against these or anything else that has been said above, but occupied
himself merely with the word "boiling."
VII
All' ei kai katechei kai apolauei, katachrêtai pros ho
pephyke. pephyke de tou prosêkontos heautê || kata 161
poiotêta kai oikeiou metalambanein; hôsth' helkei tôn
sitiôn hoson chrêstotaton atmôdôs te kai kata brachy kai
touto tois heautês chitôsin enapotithetai te kai
prostithêsin. hotan d' hikanôs emplêsthê, kathaper
achthos ti tên loipên apotithetai trophên eschêkuian ti
chrêston êdê kai autên ek tês pros tên gastera
koinônias; oude gar endechetai dyo sômata dran kai
paschein epitêdeia synelthonta mê ouk êtoi paschein th'
hama kai dran ê thateron men dran, thateron de paschein.
ean men gar isazê tais dynamesin, ex isou drasei te kai
peisetai, an d' hyperechê poly kai kratê thateron,
energêsei peri to paschon; hôste drasei mega men ti kai
aisthêton, auto d' êtoi smikron ti kai ouk aisthêton ê
pantapasin ouden peisetai. all' en toutô dê kai malista
diênenke pharmakou dêlêtêriou trophê; to men gar kratei
tês en tô sômati dynameôs, hê de krateitai.
Oukoun endechetai trophên men einai ti tô zôô
prosêkousan, ou mên kai krateisthai g' homoiôs pros tôn
|| en tô zôô poiotêtôn; to krateisthai d' ên 162
alloiousthai. all' epei ta men ischyrotera tais
dynamesin esti moria, ta d' asthenestera, kratêsei men
panta tês oikeias tô zôô trophês, ouch homoiôs de panta;
kratêsei d' ara kai hê gastêr kai alloiôsei men tên
trophên, ou mên homoiôs hêpati kai phlepsi kai artêriais
kai kardia.
Poson oun estin, ho alloioi, kai dê theasômetha; pleon
men ê kata to stoma, meion d' ê kata to hêpar te kai tas
phlebas. hautê men gar hê alloiôsis eis haimatos ousian
agei tên trophên, hê d' en tô stomati methistêsi men
autên enargôs eis heteron eidos, ou mên eis telos ge
metakosmei. mathois d' an epi tôn enkataleiphthentôn
tais diastasesi tôn odontôn sitiôn kai katameinantôn di'
holês nyktos; oute gar artos akribôs ho artos oute kreas
esti to kreas, all' ozei men toiouton, hoionper kai tou
zôou to stoma, dialelytai de kai diatetêke kai tas en tô
zôô tês sarkos apomemaktai poiotêtas. enesti de soi
theasasthai to megethos tês en tô stomati || tôn sitiôn 163
alloiôseôs, ei pyrous masêsamenos epitheiês apeptois
dothiêsin; opsei gar autous tachista metaballontas te
kai sympettontas, ouden toiouton, hotan hydati
phyrathôsin, ergasasthai dynamenous. kai mê thaumasês;
to gar toi phlegma touti to kata to stoma kai leichênôn
estin akos kai skorpious anairei parachrêma kai polla
tôn iobolôn thêriôn ta men eutheôs apokteinei, ta d' es
hysteron; hapanta goun blaptei megalôs. alla ta
memasêmena sitia prôton men toutô tô phlegmati bebrektai
te kai pephyratai, deuteron de kai tô chrôti tou
stomatos hapanta peplêsiaken, hôste pleiona metabolên
eilêphe tôn en tais kenais chôrais tôn odontôn
esphênômenôn.
All' hoson ta memasêmena toutôn epi pleon êlloiôtai,
tosouton ekeinôn ta katapothenta. mê gar oude parablêton
ê to tês hyperbolês, ei to kata tên koilian ennoêsaimen
phlegma kai cholên kai pneuma kai thermasian kai holên
tên ousian tês gastros. ei de kai synepinoêsais autê ta
parakeimena || splanchna kathaper tini lebêti megalô 164
pyros hestias pollas, ek dexiôn men to hêpar, ex
aristerôn de ton splêna, tên kardian d' ek tôn anô, syn
autê de kai tas phrenas aiôroumenas te kai dia pantos
kinoumenas, eph' hapasi de toutois skepon to epiploon,
exaision tina peisthêsê tên alloiôsin gignesthai tôn eis
tên gastera katapothentôn sitiôn.
Pôs d' an êdynato rhadiôs haimatousthai mê
proparaskeuasthenta tê toiautê metabolê? dedeiktai gar
oun kai prosthen, hôs ouden eis tên enantian athroôs
methistatai poiotêta. pôs oun ho artos haima gignetai,
pôs de to teutlon ê ho kyamos ê ti tôn allôn, ei mê
proteron tin' heteran alloiôsin edexato? pôs d' hê
kopros en tois leptois enterois athroôs gennêthêsetai?
ti gar en toutois sphodroteron eis alloiôsin esti tôn
kata tên gastera? potera tôn chitônôn to plêthos ê tôn
geitniôntôn splanchnôn hê perithesis ê tês monês ho
chronos ê symphytos tis en tois organois thermasia? kai
mên kat' ouden toutôn pleonektei ta entera tês gastros.
ti pot' oun en men tê gastri nyktos || holês pollakis 165
meinanta ton arton eti phylattesthai boulontai tas
archaias diasôzonta poiotêtas, epeidan d' hapax empesê
tois enterois, euthys gignesthai kopron? ei men gar ho
tosoutos chronos adynatos alloioun, oud' ho brachys
hikanos; ei d' houtos autarkês, pôs ou poly mallon ho
makros? ar' oun alloioutai men hê trophê kata tên
koilian, allên de tin' alloiôsin kai ouch hoian ek tês
physeôs ischei tou metaballontos organou? ê tautên men,
ou mên tên g' oikeian tô tou zôou sômati? makrô tout'
adynatôteron esti. kai mên ouk allo g' ên hê pepsis ê
alloiôsis eis tên oikeian tou trephomenou poiotêta.
eiper oun hê pepsis tout' esti kai hê trophê kata tên
gastera dedeiktai dechomenê poiotêta tô mellonti pros
autês threpsesthai zôô prosêkousan, hikanôs apodedeiktai
to pettesthai kata tên gastera tên trophên.
Kai geloios men Asklêpiadês out' en tais erygais legôn
emphainesthai pote tên poiotêta tôn pephthentôn sitiôn
out' en tois emetois out' en tais ana||tomais; auto gar 166
dê to tou sômatos exozein auta tês koilias esti to
pepephthai. ho d' houtôs estin euêthês, hôst', epeidê
tôn palaiôn akouei legontôn epi to chrêston en tê gastri
metaballein ta sitia, dokimazei zêtein ou to kata
dynamin alla to kata geusin chrêston, hôsper ê tou mêlou
mêlôdesterou--chrê gar houtôs autô
dialegesthai--gignomenou kata tên koilian ê tou melitos
melitôdesterou.
Poly d' euêthesteros esti kai geloioteros ho
Erasistratos ê mê noôn, hopôs eirêtai pros tôn palaiôn
hê pepsis hepsêsei paraplêsios hyparchein, ê hekôn
sophizomenos heauton. hepsêsei men oun, phêsin, houtôs
elaphran echousan thermasian ouk eikos einai paraplêsian
tên pepsin, hôsper ê tên Aitnên deon hypotheinai tê
gastri ê allôs autês alloiôsai ta sitia mê dynamenês ê
dynamenês men alloioun, ou kata tên emphyton de
thermasian, hygran ousan dêlonoti kai dia touth' hepsein
ouk optan eirêmenên.
Echrên d' auton, eiper peri pragmatôn antilegein
ebouleto, peirathênai deixai malista men kai || prôton, 167
hôs oude metaballei tên archên oud' alloioutai kata
poiotêta pros tês gastros ta sitia, deuteron d', eiper
mê hoios t' ên touto pistôsasthai, to tên alloiôsin
autôn achrêston einai tô zôô; ei de mêde tout' eiche
diaballein, exelenxai tên peri tas drastikas archas
hypolêpsin kai deixai tas energeias en tois moriois ou
dia tên ek thermou kai psychrou kai xêrou kai hygrou
poian krasin hyparchein alla di' allo ti; ei de mêde
tout' etolma diaballein, all' hoti ge mê to thermon
estin en tois hypo physeôs dioikoumenois to tôn allôn
drastikôtaton. ê ei mête touto mête tôn allôn ti tôn
emprosthen eichen apodeiknynai, mê lêrein onomati
prospalaionta matên, hôsper ou saphôs Aristotelous en t'
allois pollois kan tô tetartô tôn meteôrologikôn hopôs
hê pepsis hepsêsei paraplêsios einai legetai, kai hoti
mê prôtôs mêde kyriôs onomazontôn, eirêkotos.
All', hôs êdê lelektai pollakis, archê toutôn hapantôn
esti mia to peri thermou kai psychrou kai xêrou kai
hygrou diaskepsasthai, kathaper Aristotelês epoiêsen en
tô deuterô peri geneseôs kai phthoras, apo||deixas 168
hapasas tas kata ta sômata metabolas kai alloiôseis hypo
toutôn gignesthai. all' Erasistratos oute toutois out'
allô tini tôn proeirêmenôn anteipôn epi tounoma monon
etrapeto tês hepsêseôs.
VIII
Thus, as regards _digestion_, even though he neglected everything
else, he did at least attempt to prove his point--namely, that
digestion in animals differs from boiling carried on outside; in
regard to the question of _deglutition_, however, he did not go even
so far as this. What are his words?
"The stomach does not appear to exercise any traction."[339]
Now the fact is that the stomach possesses two coats, which certainly
exist for some purpose; they extend as far as the mouth, the internal
one remaining throughout similar to what it is in the stomach, and the
other one tending to become of a more fleshy nature in the gullet. Now
simple observation will testify that these coats have their fibres
inserted in contrary directions.[340] And, although Erasistratus did
not attempt to say for what reason they are like this, I am going to
do so.
The inner coat has its fibres straight, since it exists for the
purpose of traction. The outer coat has its fibres transverse, for the
purpose of peristalsis.[341] In fact, the movements of each of the
_mobile_ organs of the body depend on the setting of the fibres. Now
please test this assertion first in the muscles themselves; in these
the fibres are most distinct, and their movements visible owing to
their vigour. And after the muscles, pass to the _physical_
organs,[342] and you will see that they all move in correspondence
with their fibres. This is why the fibres throughout the intestines
are circular in both coats--they only contract peristaltically, they
do not exercise traction. The stomach, again, has some of its fibres
longitudinal for the purpose of traction and the others transverse for
the purpose of peristalsis.[342] For just as the movements in the
muscles[343] take place when each of the fibres becomes tightened and
drawn towards its origin, such also is what happens in the stomach;
when the transverse fibres tighten, the breadth of the cavity
contained by them becomes less; and when the longitudinal fibres
contract and draw in upon themselves, the length must necessarily be
curtailed. This curtailment of length, indeed, is well seen in the act
of swallowing: the larynx is seen to rise upwards to exactly the same
degree that the gullet is drawn downwards; while, after the process of
swallowing has been completed and the gullet is released from tension,
the larynx can be clearly seen to sink down again. This is because the
inner coat of the stomach, which has the longitudinal fibres and which
also lines the gullet and the mouth, extends to the interior of the
larynx, and it is thus impossible for it to be drawn down by the
stomach without the larynx being involved in the traction.
Further, it will be found acknowledged in Erasistratus's own writings
that the circular fibres (by which the stomach as well as other parts
performs its contractions) do not curtail its length, but contract and
lessen its breadth. For he says that the stomach contracts
peristaltically round the food during the whole period of digestion.
But if it contracts, without in any way being diminished in length,
this is because downward traction of the gullet is not a property of
the movement of circular peristalsis. For what alone happens, as
Erasistratus himself said, is that when the upper parts contract the
lower ones dilate.[344] And everyone knows that this can be plainly
seen happening even in a dead man, if water be poured down his throat;
this symptom[345] results from the passage of matter through a narrow
channel; it would be extraordinary it the channel did not dilate when
a mass was passing through it.[346] Obviously then the dilatation of
the lower parts along with the contraction of the upper is common both
to dead bodies, when anything whatsoever is passing through them, and
to living ones, whether they contract peristaltically round their
contents or attract them.[347]
Curtailment of length, on the other hand, is peculiar to organs which
possess longitudinal fibres for the purpose of attraction. But the
gullet was shown to be pulled down; for otherwise it would not have
drawn upon the larynx. It is therefore clear that the stomach attracts
food by the gullet.
Further, in _vomiting_, the mere passive conveyance of rejected matter
up to the mouth will certainly itself suffice to keep open those parts
of the oesophagus which are distended by the returned food; as it
occupies each part in front [above], it first dilates this, and of
course leaves the part behind [below] contracted. Thus, in this
respect at least, the condition of the gullet is precisely similar to
what it is in the act of swallowing.[348] But there being no
_traction_, the whole length remains equal in such cases.
And for this reason it is easier to swallow than to vomit, for
deglutition results from _both_ coats of the stomach being brought
into action, the inner one exerting a pull and the outer one helping
by peristalsis and propulsion, whereas emesis occurs from the outer
coat alone functioning, without there being any kind of pull towards
the mouth. For, although the swallowing of food is ordinarily preceded
by a feeling of desire on the part of the stomach, there is in the
case of vomiting no corresponding desire from the mouth-parts for the
experience; the two are opposite dispositions of the stomach itself;
it yearns after and tends towards what is advantageous and proper to
it, it loathes and rids itself of what is foreign. Thus the actual
process of swallowing occurs very quickly in those who have a good
appetite for such foods as are proper to the stomach; this organ
obviously draws them in and down before they are masticated; whereas
in the case of those who are forced to take a medicinal draught or who
take food as medicine, the swallowing of these articles is
accomplished with distress and difficulty.
From what has been said, then, it is clear that the inner coat of the
stomach (that containing longitudinal fibres) exists for the purpose
of exerting a pull from mouth to stomach, and that it is only in
deglutition that it is active, whereas the external coat, which
contains transverse fibres, has been so constituted in order that it
may contract upon its contents and propel them forward; this coat
furthermore, functions in vomiting no less than in swallowing. The
truth of my statement is also borne out by what happens in the case of
the _channae_ and _synodonts_[349]; the stomachs of these animals are
sometimes found in their mouths, as also Aristotle writes in his
_History of Animals_; he also adds the cause of this: he says that it
is owing to their voracity.
The facts are as follows. In all animals, when the appetite is very
intense, the stomach rises up, so that some people who have a clear
perception of this condition say that their stomach "creeps out" of
them; in others, who are still masticating their food and have not yet
worked it up properly in the mouth, the stomach obviously snatches
away the food from them against their will. In those animals,
therefore, which are naturally voracious, in whom the mouth cavity is
of generous proportions, and the stomach situated close to it (as in
the case of the synodont and channa), it is in no way surprising that,
when they are sufficiently hungry and are pursuing one of the smaller
animals, and are just on the point of catching it, the stomach should,
under the impulse of desire, spring into the mouth. And this cannot
possibly take place in any other way than by the stomach drawing the
food to itself by means of the gullet, as though by a hand. In fact,
just as we ourselves, in our eagerness to grasp more quickly something
lying before us, sometimes stretch out our whole bodies along with our
hands, so also the stomach stretches itself forward along with the
gullet, which is, as it were, its hand. And thus, in these animals in
whom those three factors co-exist--an excessive propensity for food, a
small gullet, and ample mouth proportions--in these, any slight
tendency to movement forwards brings the whole stomach into the mouth.
Now the constitution of the organs might itself suffice to give a
naturalist an indication of their functions. For Nature would never
have purposelessly constructed the oesophagus of two coats with
contrary dispositions; they must also have each been meant to have a
different action. The Erasistratean school, however, are capable of
anything rather than of recognizing the effects of Nature. Come,
therefore, let us demonstrate to them by animal dissection as well
that each of the two coats does exercise the activity which I have
stated. Take an animal, then; lay bare the structures surrounding the
gullet, without severing any of the nerves,[350] arteries, or veins
which are there situated; next divide with vertical incisions, from
the lower jaw to the thorax, the outer coat of the oesophagus (that
containing transverse fibres); then give the animal food and you will
see that it still swallows although the peristaltic function has been
abolished. If, again, in another animal, you cut through both
coats[351] with transverse incisions, you will observe that this
animal also swallows although the inner coat is no longer functioning.
From this it is clear that the animal can also swallow by either of
the two coats, although not so well as by both. For the following
also, in addition to other points, may be distinctly observed in the
dissection which I have described--that during deglutition the gullet
becomes slightly filled with air which is swallowed along with the
food, and that, when the outer coat is contracting, this air is easily
forced with the food into the stomach, but that, when there only
exists an inner coat, the air impedes the conveyance of food, by
distending this coat and hindering its action.
But Erasistratus said nothing about this, nor did he point out that
the oblique situation of the gullet clearly confutes the teaching of
those who hold that it is simply by virtue of the impulse from above
that food which is swallowed reaches the stomach. The only correct
thing he said was that many of the long-necked animals bend down to
swallow. Hence, clearly, the observed fact does not show how we
swallow but how we do not swallow. For from this observation it is
clear that swallowing is not due merely to the impulse from above; it
is yet, however, not clear whether it results from the food being
attracted by the stomach, or conducted by the gullet. For our part,
however, having enumerated all the different considerations--those
based on the constitution of the organs, as well as those based on the
other symptoms which, as just mentioned, occur both before and after
the gullet has been exposed--we have thus sufficiently proved that the
inner coat exists for the purpose of attraction and the outer for the
purpose of propulsion.
Now the original task we set before ourselves was to demonstrate that
the _retentive_ faculty exists in every one of the organs, just as in
the previous book we proved the existence of the _attractive_, and,
over and above this, the _alterative_ faculty. Thus, in the natural
course of our argument, we have demonstrated these four faculties
existing in the stomach--the attractive faculty in connection with
swallowing, the retentive with digestion, the expulsive with vomiting
and with the descent of digested food into the small intestine--and
digestion itself we have shown to be a process of _alteration_.
VIII
Epi men oun tês pepseôs, ei kai talla panta parelipe, to
goun hoti diapherei tês ektos hepsêseôs hê en tois zôois
pepsis, epeirathê deiknynai, peri de tês kataposeôs oud'
achri tosoutou. ti gar phêsin?
"Holkê men oun tês koilias oudemia phainetai einai."
Kai mên dyo chitônas hê gastêr echei pantôs heneka tou
gegonotas kai diêkousin houtoi mechri tou stomatos, ho
men endon, hoios esti kata tên gastera, toioutos
diamenôn, ho d' heteros epi to sarkôdesteron en tô
stomachô trepomenos. hoti men oun enantias allêlais tas
epibolas tôn inôn echousin hoi chitônes houtoi, to
phainomenon auto martyrei. tinos d' heneka toioutoi
gegonasin, Erasistratos men oud' epecheirêsen eipein,
hêmeis d' eroumen.
Ho men endon eutheias echei tas inas, holkês gar heneka
ge||gonen; ho d' exôthen enkarsias hyper tou kata kyklon 169
peristellesthai; hekastô gar tôn kinoumenôn organôn en
tois sômasi kata tas tôn inôn theseis hai kinêseis
eisin. ep' autôn de prôton tôn myôn, ei boulei,
basanison ton logon, eph' hôn kai hai ines enargestatai
kai hai kinêseis autôn horôntai dia sphodrotêta. meta de
tous mys epi ta physika tôn organôn ithi kai pant' opsei
kata tas inas kinoumena kai dia touth' hekastô men tôn
enterôn strongylai kath' hekateron tôn chitônôn hai ines
eisi; peristellontai gar monon, helkousi d' ouden. hê
gastêr de tôn inôn tas men eutheias echei charin holkês,
tas d' enkarsias heneka peristolês; hôsper gar en tois
mysin hekastês tôn inôn teinomenês te kai pros tên
archên helkomenês hai kinêseis gignontai, kata ton auton
logon kan tê gastri; tôn men oun enkarsiôn inôn
teinomenôn elatton anankê gignesthai to euros tês
periechomenês hyp' autôn koilotêtos, tôn d' eutheiôn
helkomenôn te kai eis heautas synagomenôn ouk endechetai
mê ou synaireisthai to mêkos. alla mên || enargôs ge 170
phainetai katapinontôn synairoumenon kai tosouton ho
larynx anatrechôn, hoson ho stomachos kataspatai, kai
hotan ge symplêrôtheisês tês en tô katapinein energeias
aphethê tês taseôs ho stomachos, enargôs palin phainetai
katapheromenos ho larynx; ho gar endon chitôn tês
gastros ho tas eutheias inas echôn ho kai ton stomachon
hypaleiphôn kai to stoma tois entos meresin epekteinetai
tou laryngos, hôst' ouk endechetai kataspômenon auton
hypo tês koilias mê ou synepispasthai kai ton larynga.
Hoti d' hai periphereis ines, hais peristelletai ta t'
alla moria kai hê gastêr, ou synairousi to mêkos, alla
systellousi kai stenousi tên eurytêta, kai par' autou
labein estin homologoumenon Erasistratou;
peristellesthai gar phêsi tois sitiois tên gastera kata
ton tês pepseôs hapanta chronon. all' ei peristelletai
men, ouden de tou mêkous aphaireitai tês koilias, ouk
esti tês peristaltikês kinêseôs idion to kataspan katô
ton stomachon. hoper gar autos ho Erasistratos eipe,
touto monon auto symbêsetai to tôn anô systel||lomenôn 171
diastellesthai ta katô. touto d' hoti, kan eis nekrou
ton stomachon hydatos encheês, phainetai gignomenon,
oudeis agnoei. tais gar tôn hylôn dia stenou sômatos
hodoiporiais akolouthon esti to symptôma; thaumaston
gar, ei dierchomenou tinos auton onkou mê diastalêsetai.
oukoun to men tôn anô systellomenôn diastellesthai ta
katô koinon esti kai tois nekrois sômasi, di' hôn
hopôsoun ti diexerchetai, kai tois zôsin, eite
peristelloito tois dierchomenois eith' helkoito.
To de tês tou mêkous synaireseôs idion tôn tas eutheias
inas echontôn organôn, hin' epispasôntai ti. alla mên
edeichthê kataspômenos ho stomachos, ou gar an heilke
ton larynga; dêlon oun, hôs hê gastêr helkei ta sitia
dia tou stomachou.
Kai hê kata ton emeton de tôn emoumenôn achri tou
stomatos phora pantôs men pou kai autê ta men hypo tôn
anapheromenôn diateinomena merê tou stomachou diestôta
kektêtai, tôn prosô d' ho ti an hekastot' epilambanêtai,
tout' archomenon diastelletai, to d' || opisthen 172
kataleipei dêlonoti systellomenon, hôsth' homoian einai
pantê tên diathesin tou stomachou kata ge touto tê tôn
katapinontôn; alla tês holkês mê parousês to mêkos holon
ison en tois toioutois symptômasi diaphylattetai.
Dia touto de kai katapinein rhaon estin ê emein, hoti
katapinetai men amphoin tês gastros tôn chitônôn
energountôn, tou men entos helkontos, tou d' ektos
peristellomenou te kai synepôthountos, emeitai de
thaterou monou tou exôthen energountos, oudenos
helkontos eis to stoma. ou gar dê hôsper hê tês gastros
orexis proêgeito tou katapinein ta sitia, ton auton
tropon kan tois emetois epithymei ti tôn kata to stoma
moriôn tou gignomenou pathêmatos, all' amphô tês gastros
autês eisin enantiai diatheseis, oregomenês men kai
prosiemenês ta chrêsima te kai oikeia, dyscherainousês
de kai apotribomenês ta allotria. dio kai to katapinein
auto tois men hikanôs oregomenois tôn oikeiôn edesmatôn
tê gastri tachista gignetai, saphôs helkousês auta kai
kataspôsês prin ê masêthênai, tois d' êtoi pharmakon ti
kat' anan||kên pinousin ê sition en chôra pharmakou 173
prospheromenois aniara kai mogis hê kataposis autôn
epiteleitai.
Dêlos oun estin ek tôn eirêmenôn ho men endon chitôn tês
gastros ho tas eutheias echôn inas tês ek tou stomatos
eis autên holkês heneka gegonôs kai dia tout' en tais
kataposesi monais energôn, ho d' exôthen ho tas
enkarsias echôn heneka men tou peristellesthai tois
enyparchousi kai proôthein auta toioutos apotelestheis,
energôn d' ouden hêtton en tois emetois ê tais
kataposesin. enargestata de martyrei tô legomenô kai to
kata tas channas te kai tous synodontas gignomenon;
heurisketai gar eniote toutôn hê gastêr en tô stomati
kathaper kai ho Aristotelês en tais peri zôôn egrapsen
historiais kai prostithêsi ge tên aitian hypo laimargias
autois touto symbainein phaskôn.
Echei gar hôde; kata tas sphodroteras orexeis anô
prostrechei pasi tois zôois hê gastêr, hôste tines tou
pathous aisthêsin enargê schontes exerpein hautois phasi
tên koilian, eniôn de masômenôn eti kai mêpô || kalôs en 174
tô stomati ta sitia katergasamenôn exarpazei phanerôs
akontôn. eph' hôn oun zôôn physei laimargôn hyparchontôn
hê t' eurychôria tou stomatos esti dapsilês hê te tês
gastros thesis engys, hôs epi synodontos te kai channês,
ouden thaumaston, hotan hikanôs peinasanta diôkê ti tôn
mikroterôn zôôn, eit' êdê plêsion ê tou syllabein,
anatrechein epeigousês tês epithymias eis to stoma tên
gastera. genesthai d' allôs amêchanon touto mê ouch
hôsper dia cheiros tou stomachou tês gastros epispômenês
eis heautên ta sitia. kathaper gar kai hêmeis hypo
prothymias eniote tê cheiri synepekteinomen holous hêmas
autous heneka tou thatton epidraxasthai tou prokeimenou
sômatos, houtô kai hê gastêr hoion cheiri tô stomachô
synepekteinetai. kai dia tout' eph' hôn zôôn hama ta
tria tauti synepesen, ephesis te sphodra tês trophês ho
te stomachos mikros hê t' eurychôria tou stomatos
dapsilês, epi toutôn oligê rhopê tês epektaseôs eis to
stoma tên koilian holên anapherei.
Êrkei men oun isôs andri physikô par' autês monês tês
kataskeuês tôn orga||nôn tên endeixin tês energeias 175
lambanein. ou gar dê matên g' an hê physis ek dyoin
chitônôn enantiôs allêlois echontôn apeirgasato ton
oisophagon, ei mê kai diaphorôs hekateros autôn energein
emellen. all' epei panta mallon ê ta tês physeôs erga
diagignôskein hoi peri ton Erasistraton eisin hikanoi,
phere kak tês tôn zôôn anatomês epideixômen autois, hôs
hekateros tôn chitônôn energei tên eirêmenên energeian.
ei dê ti labôn zôon, eita gymnôsas autou ta perikeimena
tô stomachô sômata chôris tou diatemein tina tôn neurôn
ê tôn artêriôn ê tôn phlebôn tôn autothi tetagmenôn
ethelois apo tês genyos heôs tou thôrakos eutheiais
tomais dielein ton exô chitôna ton tas enkarsias inas
echonta kapeita tô zôô trophên prosenenkois, opsei
katapinon auto kaitoi tês peristaltikês energeias
apolôluias. ei d' au palin eph' heterou zôou diatemois
amphoterous tous chitônas tomais enkarsiais, theasê kai
touto katapinon ouket' energountos tou entos. hô dêlon,
hoti kai dia thaterou men autôn katapinein hoion t'
estin, || alla cheiron ê di' amphoterôn. pros gar au 176
tois allois kai tout' esti theasasthai saphôs epi tês
eirêmenês anatomês, hôs en tô katapinein hypopimplatai
pneumatos ho stomachos tou synkatapinomenou tois
sitiois, ho peristellomenou men tou exôthen chitônos
ôtheitai rhadiôs eis tên gastera syn tois edesmasi,
monou de tou endon hyparchontos empodôn histatai tê
phora tôn sitiôn diateinon t' auton kai tên energeian
empodizon.
All' oute toutôn ouden Erasistratos eipen outh' hôs hê
skolia thesis tou stomachou diaballei saphôs to dogma
tôn nomizontôn hypo tês anôthen bolês monês podêgoumena
mechri tês gastros ienai ta katapinomena. monon d' hoti
polla tôn makrotrachêlôn zôôn epikekyphota katapinei,
kalôs eipen. hô dêlon, hoti to phainomenon ou to pôs
katapinomen apodeiknysin, alla to pôs ou katapinomen;
hoti gar mê dia monês tês anôthen bolês, ek toutou
dêlon; ou mên eith' helkousês tês koilias eite
paragontos auta tou stomachou, dêlon êdê pô. all' hêmeis
ge || pantas tous logismous eipontes tous t' ek tês 177
kataskeuês tôn organôn hormômenous kai tous apo tôn
allôn symptômatôn tôn te pro tou gymnôthênai ton
stomachon kai gymnôthentos, hôs oligô prosthen elegomen,
hikanôs enedeixametha tou men helkein heneka ton entos
chitôna, tou d' apôthein ton ektos gegonenai.
Prouthemetha men oun apodeixai tên kathektikên dynamin
en hekastô tôn organôn ousan, hôsper en tô prosthen logô
tên helktikên te kai proseti tên alloiôtikên. hypo de
tês akolouthias tou logou tas tettaras apedeixamen
hyparchousas tê gastri, tên helktikên men en tô
katapinein, tên kathektikên d' en tô pettein, tên
apôstikên d' en tois emetois kai tais tôn pepemmenôn
sitiôn eis to lepton enteron hypochôrêsesin, autên de
tên pepsin alloiôsin hyparchein.
IX
Concerning the spleen, also, we shall therefore have no further
doubts[352] as to whether it attracts what is proper to it, rejects
what is foreign, and has a natural power of altering and retaining all
that it attracts; nor shall we be in any doubt as to the liver, veins,
arteries, heart, or any other organ. For these four faculties have
been shown to be necessary for every part which is to be nourished;
this is why we have called these faculties the _handmaids of
nutrition_. For just as human faeces are most pleasing to dogs, so the
residual matters from the liver are, some of them, proper to the
spleen,[353] others to the gall-bladder, and others to the kidneys.
IX
Oukoun et' aporêsomen oude peri tou splênos, ei helkei
men to oikeion, apokrinei de to allotrion, alloioun de
kai katechein, hoson an epispasêtai, pephyken, oude peri
hêpatos ê phlebos ê artêrias ê kardias ê tôn || allôn 178
tinos; anankaiai gar edeichthêsan hai tettares hautai
dynameis hapanti moriô tô mellonti threpsesthai kai dia
tout' autas hypêretidas einai threpseôs ephamen; hôs gar
to tôn anthrôpôn apopatêma tois kysin hêdiston, houtô
kai ta tou hêpatos perittômata to men tô splêni, to de
tê cholêdochô kystei, to de tois nephrois oikeion.
X
I should not have cared to say anything further as to the origin of
these [surplus substances] after Hippocrates, Plato, Aristotle,
Diocles, Praxagoras, and Philotimus, nor indeed should I even have
said anything about the _faculties_, if any of our predecessors had
worked out this subject thoroughly.
While, however, the statements which the Ancients made on these points
were correct, they yet omitted to defend their arguments with logical
proofs; of course they never suspected that there could be sophists so
shameless as to try to contradict obvious facts. More recent
physicians, again, have been partly conquered by the sophistries of
these fellows and have given credence to them; whilst others who
attempted to argue with them appear to me to lack to a great extent
the power of the Ancients. For this reason I have attempted to put
together my arguments in the way in which it seems to me the Ancients,
had any of them been still alive, would have done, in opposition to
those who would overturn the finest doctrines of our art.
I am not, however, unaware that I shall achieve either nothing at all
or else very little. For I find that a great many things which have
been conclusively demonstrated by the Ancients are unintelligible to
the bulk of the Moderns owing to their ignorance--nay, that, by reason
of their laziness, they will not even make an attempt to comprehend
them; and even if any of them have understood them, they have not
given them impartial examination.
The fact is that he whose purpose is to know anything better than the
multitude do must far surpass all others both as regards his nature
and his early training. And when he reaches early adolescence he must
become possessed with an ardent love for truth, like one inspired;
neither day nor night may he cease to urge and strain himself in order
to learn thoroughly all that has been said by the most illustrious of
the Ancients. And when he has learnt this, then for a prolonged period
he must test and prove it, observing what part of it is in agreement,
and what in disagreement with obvious fact; thus he will choose this
and turn away from that. To such an one my hope has been that my
treatise would prove of the very greatest assistance.... Still, such
people may be expected to be quite few in number, while, as for the
others, this book will be as superfluous to them as a tale told to an
ass.
X
Kai legein eti peri tês toutôn geneseôs ouk an etheloimi
meth' Hippokratên kai Platôna kai Aristotelên kai
Dioklea kai Praxagoran kai Philotimon; oude gar oude
peri tôn dynameôn eipon an, ei tis tôn emprosthen
akribôs exeirgasato ton hyper autôn logon.
Epei d' hoi men palaioi kalôs hyper autôn apophênamenoi
parelipon agônisasthai tô logô, mêd' hyponoêsantes
esesthai tinas eis tosouton anaischyntous sophistas, hôs
antilegein epicheirêsai tois enargesin, hoi neôteroi de
to men ti nikêthentes hypo tôn sophismatôn epeisthêsan
autois, to de ti kai antilegein epicheirêsantes apodein
moi poly tês tôn palaiôn edoxan dynameôs, || dia touth', 179
hôs an ekeinôn autôn, eiper et' ên tis, agônisasthai moi
dokei pros tous anatrepontas tês technês ta kallista,
kai autos houtôs epeirathên syntheinai tous logous.
Hoti d' ê ouden ê pantapasin anysô ti smikron, ouk
agnoô; pampolla gar heuriskô teleôs men apodedeigmena
tois palaiois, oute de syneta tois pollois tôn nyn di'
amathian all' oud' epicheiroumena gignôskesthai dia
rhathymian, out', ei kai gnôstheiê tini, dikaiôs
exetazomena.
Chrê gar ton mellonta gnôsesthai ti tôn pollôn ameinon
euthys men kai tê physei kai tê prôtê didaskalia poly
tôn allôn dienenkein; epeidan de genêtai meirakion,
alêtheias tina schein erôtikên manian, hôsper
enthousiônta kai mêth' hêmeras mête nyktos dialeipein
speudonta te kai syntetamenon ekmathein, hosa tois
endoxotatois eirêtai tôn palaiôn; epeidan d' ekmathê,
krinein auta kai basanizein chronô pampollô kai skopein,
posa men homologei tois enargôs phainomenois, posa de
diapheretai, || kai houtô ta men haireisthai, ta d' 180
apostrephesthai. tô men dê toioutô pany sphodra
chrêsimous êlpika tous hêmeterous esesthai logous; eien
d' an oligoi pantapasin houtoi; tois d' allois houtô
genêsetai to gramma peritton, hôs ei kai mython onô tis
legoi.
XI
For the sake, then, of those who are aiming at truth, we must complete
this treatise by adding what is still wanting in it. Now, in people
who are very hungry, the stomach obviously attracts or draws down the
food before it has been thoroughly softened in the mouth, whilst in
those who have no appetite or who are being forced to eat, the stomach
is displeased and rejects the food.[354] And in a similar way each of
the other organs possesses both faculties--that of attracting what is
proper to it, and that of rejecting what is foreign. Thus, even if
there be any organ which consists of only one coat (such as the two
bladders,[355] the uterus, and the veins), it yet possesses both kinds
of fibres, the longitudinal and the transverse.
But further, there are fibres of a third kind--the _oblique_--which
are much fewer in number than the two kinds already spoken of. In the
organs consisting of two coats this kind of fibre is found in the one
coat only, mixed with the longitudinal fibres; but in the organs
composed of one coat it is found along with the other two kinds. Now,
these are of the greatest help to the action of the faculty which we
have named _retentive_. For during this period the part needs to be
tightly contracted and stretched over its contents at every point--the
stomach during the whole period of digestion,[356] and the uterus
during that of gestation.
Thus too, the coat of a vein, being single, consists of various kinds
of fibres; whilst the outer coat of an artery consists of circular
fibres, and its inner coat mostly of longitudinal fibres, but with a
few oblique ones also amongst them. Veins thus resemble the uterus or
the bladder as regards the arrangement of their fibres, even though
they are deficient in thickness; similarly arteries resemble the
stomach. Alone of all organs the intestines consist of two coats of
which both have their fibres transverse.[357] Now the proof that it
was _for the best_ that all the organs should be naturally such as
they are (that, for instance, the intestines should be composed of two
coats) belongs to the subject of the _use of parts_[358]; thus we must
not now desire to hear about matters of this kind nor why the
anatomists are at variance regarding the number of coats in each
organ. For these questions have been sufficiently discussed in the
treatise "On Disagreement in Anatomy." And the problem as to why each
organ has such and such a character will be discussed in the treatise
"On the Use of Parts."
XI
Symperanteon oun hêmin ton logon heneka tôn tês
alêtheias ephiemenôn hosa leipei kat' auton eti
prostheisin. hôs gar hê gastêr helkei men enargôs kai
kataspa ta sitia tois sphodra peinôdesi, prin akribôs en
tô stomati leiôthênai, dyscherainei de kai apôtheitai
tois apositois te kai pros anankên esthiousin, houtô kai
tôn allôn organôn hekaston amphoteras echei tas
dynameis, tên te tôn oikeiôn helktikên kai tên tôn
allotriôn apokritikên. kai dia touto, kan ex henos ê
chitônos organon ti synestôs, hôsper kai hai kysteis
amphoterai kai hai mêtrai kai hai phlebes, amphotera tôn
inôn echei ta genê, tôn eutheiôn te kai tôn enkarsiôn.
Kai men ge kai triton ti || genos inôn esti <tôn> loxôn, 181
elatton poly tô plêthei tôn proeirêmenôn dyo genôn.
heurisketai d' en men tois ek dyoin chitônôn
synestêkosin organois en thaterô monô tais eutheiais
isin anamemigmenon, en de tois ex henos hama tois allois
dyo genesi. synepilambanousi d' hautai megiston tê tês
kathektikês onomastheisês dynameôs energeia; deitai gar
en toutô tô chronô pantachothen esphinchthai kai
peritetasthai tois enyparchousi to morion, hê men gastêr
en tô tês pepseôs, hai mêtrai d' en tô tês kyêseôs
chronô panti.
Taut' ara kai ho tês phlebos chitôn heis ôn ek polyeidôn
inôn egeneto kai tôn tês artêrias ho men exôthen ek tôn
strongylôn, ho d' esôthen ek men tôn eutheiôn pleistôn,
oligôn de tinôn syn autais kai tôn loxôn, hôste tas men
phlebas tais mêtrais kai tais kystesin eoikenai kata ge
tên tôn inôn synthesin, ei kai tô pachei leipontai, tas
d' artêrias tê gastri. mona de pantôn organôn ek dyoin
th' hama kai amphoterôn enkarsias echontôn tas inas
egeneto ta entera. to d' hoti beltion ên || tôn t' allôn 182
hekastô toioutô tên physin hyparchein, hoionper kai nyn
esti, tois t' enterois ek dyoin homoiôn chitônôn
synkeisthai, tês peri chreias moriôn pragmateias estin.
oukoun nyn chrê pothein akouein peri tôn toioutôn,
hôsper oude dia ti peri tou plêthous tôn chitônôn
hekastou tôn organôn diapephônêtai tois anatomikois
andrasin. hyper men gar toutôn autarkôs en tois peri tês
anatomikês diaphônias eirêtai; peri de tou dioti
toiouton hekaston egeneto tôn organôn, en tois peri
chreias moriôn eirêsetai.
XII
It is not, however, our business to discuss either of these questions
here, but to consider duly the _natural faculties_, which, to the
number of four, exist in each organ. Returning then, to this point,
let us recall what has already been said, and set a crown to the whole
subject by adding what is still wanting. For when every part of the
animal has been shewn to draw into itself the juice which is proper to
it (this being practically _the first of the natural faculties_), the
next point to realise is that the part does not get rid either of this
attracted nutriment as a whole, or even of any superfluous portion of
it, until either the organ itself, or the major part of its contents
also have their condition reversed. Thus, when the stomach is
sufficiently filled with the food and has absorbed and stored away the
most useful part of it in its own coats, it then rejects the rest like
an alien burden. The same happens to the bladders, when the matter
attracted into them begins to give trouble either because it distends
them through its quantity or irritates them by its quality.
And this also happens in the case of the uterus; for it is either
because it can no longer bear to be stretched that it strives to
relieve itself of its annoyance, or else because it is irritated by
the quality of the fluids poured out into it. Now both of these
conditions sometimes occur with actual violence, and then
_miscarriage_ takes place. But for the most part they happen in a
normal way, this being then called not miscarriage but _delivery_ or
_parturition_. Now abortifacient drugs or certain other conditions
which destroy the embryo or rupture certain of its membranes are
followed by abortion, and similarly also when the uterus is in pain
from being in a bad state of tension; and, as has been well said by
Hippocrates, excessive movement on the part of the embryo itself
brings on labour. Now _pain_ is common to all these conditions, and of
this there are three possible causes--either excessive bulk, or
weight, or irritation; bulk when the uterus can no longer support the
stretching, weight when the contents surpass its strength, and
irritation when the fluids which had previously been pent up in the
membranes, flow out, on the rapture of these, into the uterus itself,
or else when the whole foetus perishes, putrefies, and is resolved
into pernicious ichors, and so irritates and bites the coat of the
uterus.
In all organs, then, both their natural effects and their disorders
and maladies plainly take place on analogous lines,[359] some so
clearly and manifestly as to need no demonstration, and others less
plainly, although not entirely unrecognizable to those who are willing
to pay attention.
Thus, to take the case of the stomach: the irritation is evident here
because this organ possesses most sensibility, and among its other
affections those producing nausea and the so-called heartburn clearly
demonstrate the eliminative faculty which expels foreign matter. So
also in the case of the uterus and the urinary bladder; this latter
also may be plainly observed to receive and accumulate fluid until it
is so stretched by the amount of this as to be incapable of enduring
the pain; or it may be the quality of the urine which irritates it;
for every superfluous substance which lingers in the body must
obviously putrefy, some in a shorter, and some in a longer time, and
thus it becomes pungent, acrid, and burdensome to the organ which
contains it. This does not apply, however, in the case of the bladder
alongside the liver, whence it is clear that it possesses fewer nerves
than do the other organs. Here too, however, at least the
physiologist[360] must discover an analogy. For since it was shown
that the gall-bladder attracts its own special juice, so as to be
often found full, and that it discharges it soon after, this desire to
discharge must be either due to the fact that it is burdened by the
quantity or that the bile has changed in quality to pungent and acrid.
For while food does not change its original quality so fast that it is
already ordure as soon as it falls into the small intestine, on the
other hand the bile even more readily than the urine becomes altered
in quality as soon as ever it leaves the veins, and rapidly undergoes
change and putrefaction. Now, if there be clear evidence in relation
to the uterus, stomach, and intestines, as well as to the urinary
bladder, that there is either some distention, irritation, or burden
inciting each of these organs to elimination, there is no difficulty
in imagining this in the case of the gall-bladder also, as well as in
the other organs,--to which obviously the arteries and veins also
belong.
XII
Nyni d' oudeteron toutôn prokeitai legein, alla tas
physikas dynameis monas apodeiknyein en hekastô tôn
organôn tettaras hyparchousas. epi tout' oun palin
epanelthontes anamnêsômen te tôn emprosthen eirêmenôn
epithômen te kephalên êdê tô logô panti to leipon eti
prosthentes. epeidê gar hekaston tôn en tô zôô moriôn
helkein eis heauto ton oikeion chymon apodedeiktai kai
prôtê schedon hautê tôn physikôn esti dynameôn, ephexês
|| ekeinô gnôsteon, hôs ou proteron apotribetai tên 183
helchtheisan <trophên> êtoi sympasan ê kai ti perittôma autês,
prin an eis enantian metapesê diathesin ê auto to
organon ê kai tôn periechomenôn en autô ta pleista. hê
men oun gastêr, epeidan men hikanôs emplêsthê tôn sitiôn
kai to chrêstotaton autôn eis tous heautês chitônas
enapothêtai bdallousa, tênikaut' êdê to loipon
apotribetai kathaper achthos allotrion; hai kysteis d',
epeidan hekaston tôn helchthentôn ê tô plêthei diateinon
ê tê poiotêti daknon aniaron genêtai.
Tô d' autô tropô kai hai mêtrai; êtoi gar, epeidan
mêketi pherôsi diateinomenai, to lypoun apothesthai
speudousin ê tê poiotêti daknomenai tôn ekchythentôn eis
autas hygrôn. hekateron de tôn eirêmenôn gignetai men
kai biaiôs estin hote kai amblôskousi tênikauta,
gignetai d' hôs ta polla kai prosêkontôs, hoper ouk
amblôskein all' apokyïskein te kai tiktein onomazetai.
tois men oun amblôthridiois pharmakois ê tisin allois
pathêmasi diaphthei||rousi to embryon ê tinas tôn 184
hymenôn autou rhêgnyousin hai amblôseis hepontai, houtô
de kapeidan aniathôsi poth' hai mêtrai kakôs echousai tê
diatasei, tais de tôn embryôn autôn kinêsesi tais
sphodrotatais hoi tokoi, kathaper kai touth' Hippokratei
kalôs eirêtai. koinon d' hapasôn tôn diatheseôn hê ania
kai tautês aition tritton ê onkos perittos ê ti baros ê
dêxis; onkos men, epeidan mêketi pherôsi diateinomenai,
baros d', epeidan hyper tên rhômên autôn ê to
periechomenon, dêxis d', epeidan êtoi ta proteron en
tois hymesin hygra stegomena rhagentôn autôn eis autas
ekchythê tas mêtras ê kai sympan apophtharen to kyêma
sêpomenon te kai dialyomenon eis mochthêrous ichôras
houtôs erethizê te kai daknê ton chitôna tôn hysterôn.
Analogon oun en hapasi tois organois hekasta tôn t'
ergôn autôn tôn physikôn kai mentoi tôn pathêmatôn te
kai nosêmatôn phainetai gignomena, ta men enargôs kai
saphôs houtôs, hôs apodeixeôs deisthai mêden, ta d'
hêtton men enargôs, ou mên agnôsta ge pantapasi tois || 185
ethelousi prosechein ton noun.
Epi men oun tês gastros hai te dêxeis enargeis, dioti
pleistês aisthêseôs metechei, ta t' alla pathêmata ta te
nautian empoiounta kai hoi kaloumenoi kardiôgmoi saphôs
endeiknyntai tên apokritikên te kai apôstikên tôn
allotriôn dynamin, houtô de kapi tôn hysterôn te kai tês
kysteôs tês to ouron hypodechomenês; enargôs gar oun kai
hautê phainetai mechri tosoutou to hygron hypodechomenê
te kai athroizousa, achris an êtoi pros tou plêthous
autou diateinomenê mêketi pherê tên anian ê pros tês
poiotêtos daknomenê; chronizon gar hekaston tôn
perittômatôn en tô sômati sêpetai dêlonoti, to men
elattoni, to de pleioni chronô, kai houtô daknôdes te
kai drimy kai aniaron tois periechousi gignetai. ou mên
epi ge tês epi tô hêpati kysteôs homoiôs echei; hô
dêlon, hoti neurôn hêkista metechei. chrê de kantautha
ton ge physikon andra to analogon exeuriskein. ei gar
helkein te ton oikeion apedeichthê chymon, hôs
phainesthai pollakis mestên, apokri||nein te ton auton 186
touton ouk eis makran, anankaion estin autên ê dia to
plêthos barynomenên ê tês poiotêtos metaballousês epi to
daknôdes te kai drimy tês apokriseôs ephiesthai. ou gar
dê ta men sitia tên archaian hypallattei poiotêta
tacheôs houtôs, hôst', epeidan empesê tois leptois
enterois, euthys einai kopron, hê cholê d' ou poly
mallon ê to ouron, epeidan hapax ekpesê tôn phlebôn,
exallattei tên poiotêta, tachista metaballonta kai
sêpomena. kai mên eiper epi te tôn kata tas hysteras kai
tên koilian kai ta entera kai proseti tên to ouron
hypodechomenên kystin enargôs phainetai diatasis tis ê
dêxis ê achthos epegeiron hekaston tôn organôn eis
apokrisin, ouden chalepon kapi tês cholêdochou kysteôs
tauto tout' ennoein epi te tôn allôn hapantôn organôn,
ex hôn dêlonoti kai hai artêriai kai hai phlebes eisin.
XIII
Nor is there any further difficulty in ascertaining that it is through
the same channel that both attraction and discharge take place at
different times. For obviously the inlet to the stomach does not
merely conduct food and drink into this organ, but in the condition of
nausea it performs the opposite service. Further, the neck of the
bladder which is beside the liver, albeit single, both fills and
empties the bladder. Similarly the canal of the uterus affords an
entrance to the semen and an exit to the foetus.
But in this latter case, again, whilst the eliminative faculty is
evident, the attractive faculty is not so obvious to most people. It
is, however, the cervix which Hippocrates blames for inertia of the
uterus when he says:--"Its orifice has no power of attracting
semen."[361]
Erasistratus, however, and Asclepiades reached such heights of wisdom
that they deprived not merely the stomach and the womb of this faculty
but also the bladder by the liver, and the kidneys as well. I have,
however, pointed out in the first book that it is impossible to assign
any other cause for the secretion of urine or bile.[362]
Now, when we find that the uterus, the stomach and the bladder by the
liver carry out attraction and expulsion through one and the same
duct, we need no longer feel surprised that Nature should also
frequently discharge waste-substances into the stomach through the
veins. Still less need we be astonished if a certain amount of the
food should, during long fasts, be drawn back from the liver into the
stomach through the same veins[363] by which it was yielded up to the
liver during absorption of nutriment.[364] To disbelieve such things
would of course be like refusing to believe that purgative drugs draw
their appropriate humours from all over the body by the same stomata
through which absorption previously takes place, and to look for
separate stomata for absorption and purgation respectively. As a
matter of fact one and the same stoma subserves two distinct
faculties, and these exercise their pull at different times in
opposite directions--first it subserves the pull of the liver and,
during catharsis, that of the drug. What is there surprising, then, in
the fact that the veins situated between the liver and the region of
the stomach[365] fulfil a double service or purpose? Thus, when there
is abundance of nutriment contained in the food-canal, it is carried
up to the liver by the veins mentioned; and when the canal is empty
and in need of nutriment, this is again attracted from the liver by
the same veins.
For everything appears to attract from and to go shares with
everything else, and, as the most divine Hippocrates has said, there
would seem to be a consensus in the movements of fluids and
vapours.[366] Thus the stronger draws and the weaker is evacuated.
Now, one part is weaker or stronger than another either absolutely, by
nature, and in all cases, or else it becomes so in such and such a
particular instance. Thus, by nature and in all men alike, the heart
is stronger than the liver at attracting what is serviceable to it and
rejecting what is not so; similarly the liver is stronger than the
intestines and stomach, and the arteries than the veins. In each of us
personally, however, the liver has stronger drawing power at one time,
and the stomach at another. For when there is much nutriment contained
in the alimentary canal and the appetite and craving of the liver is
violent, then the viscus[367] exerts far the strongest traction.
Again, when the liver is full and distended and the stomach empty and
in need, then the force of the traction shifts to the latter.
Suppose we had some food in our hands and were snatching it from one
another; if we were equally in want, the stronger would be likely to
prevail, but if he had satisfied his appetite, and was holding what
was over carelessly, or was anxious to share it with somebody, and if
the weaker was excessively desirous of it, there would be nothing to
prevent the latter from getting it all. In a similar manner the
stomach easily attracts nutriment from the liver when it [the stomach]
has a sufficiently strong craving for it, and the appetite of the
viscus is satisfied. And sometimes the surplusage of nutriment in the
liver is a reason why the animal is not hungry; for when the stomach
has better and more available food it requires nothing from extraneous
sources, but if ever it is in need and is at a loss how to supply the
need, it becomes filled with waste-matters; these are certain biliary,
phlegmatic [mucous] and serous fluids, and are the only substances
that the liver yields in response to the traction of the stomach, on
the occasions when the latter too is in want of nutriment.
Now, just as the parts draw food from each other, so also they
sometimes deposit their excess substances in each other, and just as
the stronger prevailed when the two were exercising traction, so it is
also when they are depositing; this is the cause of the so-called
fluxions,[368] for every part has a definite inborn tension, by virtue
of which it expels its superfluities, and, therefore, when one of
these parts,--owing, of course, to some special condition--becomes
weaker, there will necessarily be a confluence into it of the
superfluities from all the other parts. The strongest part deposits
its surplus matter in all the parts near it; these again in other
parts which are weaker; these next into yet others; and this goes on
for a long time, until the superfluity, being driven from one part
into another, comes to rest in one of the weakest of all; it cannot
flow from this into another part, because none of the stronger ones
will receive it, while the affected part is unable to drive it away.
When, however, we come to deal again with the origin and cure of
disease, it will be possible to find there also abundant proofs of all
that we have correctly indicated in this book. For the present,
however, let us resume again the task that lay before us, _i.e._ to
show that there is nothing surprising in nutriment coming from the
liver to the intestines and stomach by way of the very veins through
which it had previously been yielded up from these organs into the
liver. And in many people who have suddenly and completely given up
active exercise, or who have had a limb cut off, there occurs at
certain periods an evacuation of blood by way of the intestines--as
Hippocrates has also pointed out somewhere. This causes no further
trouble but sharply purges the whole body and evacuates the plethoras;
the passage of the superfluities is effected, of course, through the
same veins by which absorption took place.
Frequently also in disease Nature purges the animal through these same
veins--although in this case the discharge is not sanguineous, but
corresponds to the humour which is at fault. Thus in _cholera_ the
entire body is evacuated by way of the veins leading to the intestines
and stomach.
To imagine that matter of different kinds is carried in one direction
only would characterise a man who was entirely ignorant of all the
natural faculties, and particularly of the eliminative faculty, which
is the opposite of the attractive. For opposite movements of matter,
active and passive, must necessarily follow opposite faculties; that
is to say, every part, after it has attracted its special nutrient
juice and has retained and taken the benefit of it hastens to get rid
of all the surplusage as quickly and effectively as possible, and this
it does in accordance with the mechanical tendency of this surplus
matter.[369]
Hence the stomach clears away by vomiting those superfluities which
come to the surface of its contents,[370] whilst the sediment it
clears away by diarrhoea. And when the animal becomes sick, this means
that the stomach is striving to be evacuated by vomiting. And the
expulsive faculty has in it so violent and forcible an element that in
cases of _ileus_ [volvulus], when the lower exit is completely closed,
vomiting of faeces occurs; yet such surplus matter could not be
emitted from the mouth without having first traversed the whole of the
small intestine, the jejunum, the pylorus, the stomach, and the
oesophagus. What is there to wonder at, then, if something should also
be transferred from the extreme skin-surface and so reach the
intestines and stomach? This also was pointed out to us by
Hippocrates, who maintained that not merely pneuma or excess-matter,
but actual nutriment is brought down from the outer surface to the
original place from which it was taken up. For the slightest
mechanical movements[371] determine this expulsive faculty, which
apparently acts through the transverse fibres, and which is very
rapidly transmitted from the source of motion to the opposite
extremities. It is, therefore, neither unlikely nor impossible that,
when the part adjoining the skin becomes suddenly oppressed by an
unwonted cold, it should at once be weakened and should find that the
liquid previously deposited beside it without discomfort had now
become more of a burden than a source of nutrition, and should
therefore strive to put it away. Finally, seeing that the passage
outwards was shut off by the condensation [of tissue], it would turn
to the remaining exit and would thus forcibly expel all the
waste-matter at once into the adjacent part; this would do the same to
the part following it; and the process would not cease until the
transference finally terminated at the inner ends of the veins.[372]
Now, movements like these come to an end fairly soon, but those
resulting from internal irritants (_e.g._, in the administration of
purgative drugs or in cholera) become much stronger and more lasting;
they persist as long as the condition of things[373] about the mouths
of the veins continues, that is, so long as these continue to attract
what is adjacent. For this condition[374] causes evacuation of the
contiguous part, and that again of the part next to it, and this never
stops until the extreme surface is reached; thus, as each part keeps
passing on matter to its neighbour, the original affection[375] very
quickly arrives at the extreme termination. Now this is also the case
in _ileus_; the inflamed intestine is unable to support either the
weight or the acridity of the waste substances and so does its best to
excrete them, in fact to drive them as far away as possible. And,
being prevented from effecting an expulsion downwards when the
severest part of the inflammation is there, it expels the matter into
the adjoining part of the intestines situated above. Thus the tendency
of the eliminative faculty is step by step upwards, until the
superfluities reach the mouth.
Now this will be also spoken of at greater length in my treatise on
disease. For the present, however, I think I have shewn clearly that
there is a universal conveyance or transference from one thing into
another, and that, as Hippocrates used to say, there exists in
everything a consensus in the movement of air and fluids. And I do not
think that anyone, however slow his intellect, will now be at a loss
to understand any of these points,--how, for instance, the stomach or
intestines get nourished, or in what manner anything makes its way
inwards from the outer surface of the body. Seeing that all parts have
the faculty of attracting what is suitable or well-disposed and of
eliminating what is troublesome or irritating, it is not surprising
that opposite movements should occur in them consecutively--as may be
clearly seen in the case of the heart, in the various arteries, in the
thorax, and lungs. In all these[376] the active movements of the
organs and therewith the passive movements of [their contained]
matters may be seen taking place almost every second in opposite
directions. Now, you are not astonished when the trachea-artery[377]
alternately draws air into the lungs and gives it out, and when the
nostrils and the whole mouth act similarly; nor do you think it
strange or paradoxical that the air is dismissed through the very
channel by which it was admitted just before. Do you, then, feel a
difficulty in the case of the veins which pass down from the liver
into the stomach and intestines, and do you think it strange that
nutriment should at once be yielded up to the liver and drawn back
from it into the stomach by the same veins? You must define what you
mean by this expression "at once." If you mean "at the same time" this
is not what we ourselves say; for just as we take in a breath at one
moment and give it out again at another, so at one time the liver
draws nutriment from the stomach, and at another the stomach from the
liver. But if your expression "at once" means that in one and the same
animal a single organ subserves the transport of matter in opposite
directions, and if it is this which disturbs you, consider inspiration
and expiration. For of course these also take place through the same
organs, albeit they differ in their manner of movement, and in the way
in which the matter is conveyed through them.
Now the lungs, the thorax, the arteries rough and smooth, the heart,
the mouth, and the nostrils reverse their movements at very short
intervals and change the direction of the matters they contain. On the
other hand, the veins which pass down from the liver to the intestines
and stomach reverse the direction of their movements not at such short
intervals, but sometimes once in many days.
The whole matter, in fact, is as follows:--Each of the organs draws
into itself the nutriment alongside it, and devours all the useful
fluid in it, until it is thoroughly satisfied; this nutriment, as I
have already shown, it stores up in itself, afterwards making it
adhere and then assimilating it--that is, it becomes nourished by it.
For it has been demonstrated with sufficient clearness already[378]
that there is something which necessarily precedes actual nutrition,
namely _adhesion_, and that before this again comes _presentation_.
Thus as in the case of the _animals_ themselves the end of eating is
that the stomach should be filled, similarly in the case of each of
the _parts_, the end of presentation is the filling of this part with
its appropriate liquid. Since, therefore, every part has, like the
stomach, a _craving_[379] to be nourished, it too envelops its
nutriment and clasps it all round as the stomach does. And this
[action of the stomach], as has been already said, is necessarily
followed by the digestion of the food, although it is not to make it
suitable for the other parts that the stomach contracts upon it; if it
did so, it would no longer be a physiological organ,[380] but an
animal possessing reason and intelligence, with the power of choosing
the better [of two alternatives].
But while the stomach contracts for the reason that the whole body
possesses a power of attracting and of utilising appropriate
qualities, as has already been explained, it also happens that, in
this process, the food undergoes alteration; further, when filled and
saturated with the fluid pabulum from the food, it thereafter looks on
the food as a burden; thus it at once gets rid of the excess--that is
to say, drives it downwards--itself turning to another task, namely
that of causing adhesion. And during this time, while the nutriment is
passing along the whole length of the _intestine_, it is caught up by
the vessels which pass into the intestine; as we shall shortly
demonstrate,[381] most of it is seized by the veins, but a little also
by the arteries; at this stage also it becomes _presented_ to the
coats of the intestines.
Now imagine the whole economy of nutrition divided into three periods.
Suppose that in the first period the nutriment remains in the stomach
and is digested and presented to the stomach until satiety is reached,
also that some of it is taken up from the stomach to the liver.[382]
During the second period it passes along the intestines and becomes
presented both to them and to the liver--again until the stage of
satiety--while a small part of it is carried all over the body.[382]
During this period, also imagine that what was presented to the
stomach in the first period becomes now adherent to it.
During the third period the stomach has reached the stage of receiving
nourishment; it now entirely assimilates everything that had become
adherent to it: at the same time in the intestines and liver there
takes place adhesion of what had been before presented, while
dispersal [anadosis] is taking place to all parts of the body,[383] as
also presentation. Now, if the animal takes food immediately after
these [three stages] then, during the time that the stomach is again
digesting and getting the benefit of this by presenting all the useful
part of it to its own coats, the intestines will be engaged in final
assimilation of the juices which have adhered to them, and so also
will the liver: while in the various parts of the body there will be
taking place adhesion of the portions of nutriment presented. And if
the stomach is forced to remain without food during this time, it will
draw its nutriment from the veins in the mesentery and liver; for it
will not do so from the actual body of the liver (by _body of the
liver_ I mean first and foremost its flesh proper, and after this all
the vessels contained in it), for it is irrational to suppose that one
part would draw away from another part the juice already contained in
it, especially when adhesion and final assimilation of that juice were
already taking place; the juice, however, that is in the cavity of the
veins will be abstracted by the part which is stronger and more in
need.
It is in this way, therefore, that the stomach, when it is in need of
nourishment and the animal has nothing to eat, seizes it from the
veins in the liver. Also in the case of the spleen we have shown in a
former passage[384] how it draws all material from the liver that
tends to be thick, and by working it up converts it into more useful
matter. There is nothing surprising, therefore, if, in the present
instance also, some of this should be drawn from the spleen into such
organs as communicate with it by veins, _e.g._ the omentum, mesentery,
small intestine, colon, and the stomach itself. Nor is it surprising
that the spleen should disgorge its surplus matters into the stomach
at one time, while at another time it should draw some of its
appropriate nutriment from the stomach.
For, as has already been said, speaking generally, everything has the
power at different times of attracting from and of adding to
everything else. What happens is just as if you might imagine a number
of animals helping themselves at will to a plentiful common stock of
food; some will naturally be eating when others have stopped, some
will be on the point of stopping when others are beginning, some
eating together, and others in succession. Yes, by Zeus! and one will
often be plundering another, if he be in need while the other has an
abundant supply ready to hand. Thus it is in no way surprising that
matter should make its way back from the outer surface of the body to
the interior, or should be carried from the liver and spleen into the
stomach by the same vessels by which it was carried in the reverse
direction.
In the case of the arteries[385] this is clear enough, as also in the
case of heart, thorax, and lungs; for, since all of these dilate and
contract alternately, it must needs be that matter is subsequently
discharged back into the parts from which it was previously drawn. Now
Nature foresaw this necessity,[386] and provided the cardiac openings
of the vessels with membranous attachments,[387] to prevent their
contents from being carried backwards. How and in what manner this
takes place will be stated in my work "On the Use of Parts," where
among other things I show that it is impossible for the openings of
the vessels to be closed so accurately that nothing at all can run
back. Thus it is inevitable that the reflux into the _venous
artery_[388] (as will also be made clear in the work mentioned) should
be much greater than through the other openings. But what it is
important for our present purpose to recognise is that every thing
possessing a large and appreciable cavity must, when it dilates,
abstract matter from all its neighbours, and, when it contracts, must
squeeze matter back into them. This should all be clear from what has
already been said in this treatise and from what Erasistratus and I
myself have demonstrated elsewhere respecting the tendency of a vacuum
to become refilled.[389]
XIII
Ou mên oude to dia tou autou porou tên th' holkên
gignesthai kai tên apokrisin en diapherousi || chronois 187
ouden eti chalepon exeurein, ei ge kai tês gastros ho
stomachos ou monon edesmata kai pomata paragôn eis
autên, alla kan tais nautiais tên enantian hypêresian
hypêretôn enargôs phainetai, kai tês epi tô hêpati
kysteôs ho auchên heis ôn hama men plêroi di' hautou tên
kystin, hama d' ekkenoi, kai tôn mêtrôn ho stomachos
hôsautôs hodos estin eisô men tou spermatos, exô de tou
kyêmatos.
Alla kantautha palin hê men ekkritikê dynamis enargês,
ou mên homoiôs g' autê saphês tois pollois hê helktikê;
all' Hippokratês men arrhôstou mêtras aitiômenos auchena
phêsi; "Ou gar dynatai auteês ho stomachos eirysai tên
gonên."
Erasistratos de kai Asklêpiadês eis tosouton hêkousi
sophias, hôst' ou monon tên koilian kai tas mêtras
aposterousi tês toiautês dynameôs alla kai tên epi tô
hêpati kystin hama tois nephrois. kaitoi g' hoti mêd'
eipein dynaton heteron aition ê ourôn ê cholês
diakriseôs, en tô prôtô dedeiktai logô.
Kai mêtran oun kai gastera kai tên epi tô hêpati kystin
di' henos kai tautou sto||machou tên th' holkên kai tên 188
apokrisin heuriskontes poioumenas mêketi thaumazômen, ei
kai dia tôn phlebôn hê physis ekkrinei pollakis eis tên
gastera perittômata. toutou d' eti mallon ou chrê
thaumazein, ei, di' hôn eis hêpar anedothê phlebôn ek
gastros, authis eis autên ex hêpatos en tais makroterais
asitiais helkesthai tis dynatai trophê. to gar tois
toioutois apistein homoion esti dêpou tô mêketi
pisteuein mêd' hoti ta kathaironta pharmaka dia tôn
autôn stomatôn ex holou tou sômatos eis tên gastera tous
oikeious epispatai chymous, di' hôn emprosthen hê
anadosis egeneto, all' hetera men zêtein anadoseôs,
hetera de katharseôs stomata. kai mên eiper hen kai
tauto stoma dittais hypêretei dynamesin, en diaphorois
chronois eis tanantia tên holkên poioumenais, emprosthen
men tê kata to hêpar, en de tô tês katharseôs kairô tê
tou pharmakou, ti thaumaston esti dittên hypêresian te
kai chreian einai tais phlepsi tais en tô mesô
tetagmenais hêpatos te kai tôn kata tên koilian, hôsth',
hopote men en toutois aphthonos eiê periechomenê trophê,
dia tôn eirêmenôn eis || hêpar anapheresthai phlebôn, 189
hopote d' eiê kena kai deomena trephesthai, dia tôn
autôn authis ex hêpatos helkesthai?
Pan gar ek pantos helkein phainetai kai panti
metadidonai kai mia tis einai syrrhoia kai sympnoia
pantôn, kathaper kai touth' ho theiotatos Hippokratês
eipen. helkei men oun to ischyroteron, ekkenoutai de to
asthenesteron.
Ischyroteron de kai asthenesteron heteron heterou morion
ê haplôs kai physei kai koinê pasin estin ê idiôs tôde
tini gignetai. physei men kai koinê pasin anthrôpois th'
hama kai zôois hê men kardia tou hêpatos, to d' hêpar
tôn enterôn te kai tês gastros, hai d' artêriai tôn
phlebôn helkysai te to chrêsimon heautais apokrinai te
to mê toiouton ischyroterai. kath' hekaston d' hêmôn
idiôs en men tôde tô kairô to hêpar ischyroteron
helkein, hê gastêr d' en tôde. pollês men gar en tê
koilia periechomenês trophês kai sphodrôs oregomenou te
kai chrêzontos tou hêpatos, pantôs ischyroteron helkei
to splanchnon; empalin de tou men hêpatos empeplêsmenou
te kai dia||tetamenou, tês gastros d' oregomenês kai 190
kenês hyparchousês hê tês holkês ischys eis ekeinên
methistatai.
Hôs gar, ei kan tais chersi tina sitia katechontes
allêlôn harpazoimen, ei men homoiôs eiêmen deomenoi,
perigignesthai ton ischyroteron eikos, ei d' houtos men
empeplêsmenos eiê kai dia tout' amelôs katechôn ta
peritta ê kai tini metadounai pothôn, ho d'
asthenesteros oregoito deinôs, ouden an eiê kôlyma tou
mê panta labein auton, houtô kai hê gastêr ek tou
hêpatos epispatai rhadiôs, hotan autê men hikanôs
oregêtai trophês, empeplêsmenon d' ê to splanchnon. kai
tou ge mê peinên eniote to zôon hê periousia tês en
hêpati trophês aitia; kreittona gar echousa kai
hetoimoteran hê gastêr trophên ouden deitai tês exôthen;
ei de ge pote deoito men, aporoiê de, plêroutai
perittômatôn. ichôres de tines eisi tauta cholôdeis te
kai phlegmatôdeis kai orrhôdeis, hous monous helkousê
methiêsin autê to hêpar, hotan pote kai autê deêtai
trophês.
Hôsper oun ex allêlôn helkei ta moria || trophên, houtô 191
kai apotithetai pot' eis allêla to peritton kai hôsper
helkontôn epleonektei to ischyroteron, houtô kai
apotithemenôn kai tôn ge kaloumenôn rheumatôn hêde hê
prophasis. hekaston gar tôn moriôn echei tina tonon
symphyton, hô diôtheitai to peritton. hotan oun hen ex
autôn arrhôstoteron genêtai kata dê tina diathesin, ex
hapantôn eis ekeino syrrhein anankê ta perittômata. to
men gar ischyrotaton enapotithetai tois plêsion hapasin,
ekeinôn d' au palin hekaston eis heter' atta tôn
asthenesterôn, eit' authis ekeinôn hekaston eis alla kai
tout' epi pleiston gignetai, mechri per an ex hapantôn
elaunomenon to perittôma kath' hen ti meinê tôn
asthenestatôn; enteuthen gar ouket' eis allo dynatai
metarrhein, hôs an mête dechomenou tinos auto tôn
ischyroterôn mêt' apôsasthai dynamenou tou peponthotos.
Alla peri men tôn pathôn tês geneseôs kai tês iaseôs
authis hêmôn epideiknyntôn hikana kax ekeinôn estai
labein martyria tôn en tôde tô logô panti || dedeigmenôn 192
orthôs. ho d' en tô paronti deixai proukeito, palin
analabômen, hôs ouden thaumaston ex hêpatos hêkein tina
trophên enterois te kai gastri dia tôn autôn phlebôn,
di' hôn emprosthen ex ekeinôn eis hêpar anedidoto. kai
pollois athroôs te kai teleôs apostasin ischyrôn
gymnasiôn ê ti kôlon apokopeisin haimatos dia tôn
enterôn gignetai kenôsis ek tinôn periodôn, hôs pou kai
Hippokratês elegen, ouden men allo lypousa, kathairousa
d' oxeôs to pan sôma kai tas plêsmonas ekkenousa, dia
tôn autôn dêpou phlebôn tês phoras tôn perittôn
epiteloumenês, di' hôn emprosthen hê anadosis egigneto.
Pollakis d' en nosois hê physis dia men tôn autôn dêpou
phlebôn to pan ekkathairei zôon, ou mên haimatôdês g' hê
kenôsis autois, alla kata ton lypounta gignetai chymon.
houtô de kan tais cholerais ekkenoutai to pan sôma dia
tôn eis entera te kai gastera kathêkousôn phlebôn.
To d' oiesthai mian einai tais hylais phoran teleôs
agnoountos esti tas physikas || dynameis tas t' allas 193
kai tên ekkritikên enantian ousan tê helktiktê; tais gar
enantiais dynamesin enantias kinêseis te kai phoras tôn
hylôn anankaion akolouthein. hekaston gar tôn moriôn,
hotan helkysê ton oikeion chymon, epeita kataschê kai
apolausê, to peritton hapan apothesthai speudei, kathoti
malista dynatai tachista th' hama kai kallista, kata tên
tou perittou rhopên.
Hothen hê gastêr ta men epipolazonta tôn perittômatôn
emetois ekkathairei, ta d' hyphistamena diarrhoiais. kai
to ge nautiôdes gignesthai to zôon tout' estin hormêsai
tên gastera kenôthênai di' emetou. houtô de dê ti biaion
kai sphodron hê ekkritikê dynamis echei, hôst' en tois
eileois, hotan apokleisthê teleôs hê katô diexodos,
emeitai kopros. kaitoi prin dielthein to te lepton
enteron hapan kai tên nêstin kai ton pylôron kai tên
gastera kai ton oisophagon ouch hoion te dia tou
stomatos ekpesein oudeni toioutô perittômati. ti dê
thaumaston, ei kak tês eschatês epiphaneias tês kata to
derma mechri tôn enterôn te kai tês gastros aphiknoito
ti || metalambanomenon, hôs kai touth' Hippokratês hêmas 194
edidaxen, ou pneuma monon ê perittôma phaskôn alla kai
tên trophên autên ek tês eschatês epiphaneias authis epi
tên archên, hothen anênechthê, katapheresthai.
elachistai gar rhopai kinêseôn tên ekkritikên tautên
oiakizousi dynamin, hôs an dia tôn enkarsiôn men inôn
gignomenên, ôkytata de diadidomenên apo tês kinêsasês
archês epi ta katantikry perata. oukoun apeikos oud'
adynaton aêthei pote psyxei to pros tô dermati morion
exaiphnês pilêthen hama men arrhôstoteron auto
genomenon, hama d' hoion achthos ti mallon ê paraskeuên
threpseôs echon tên emprosthen alypôs autô paresparmenên
hygrotêta kai dia tout' apôtheisthai speudon, hama de
tês exô phoras apokekleismenês tê pyknôsei, pros tên
loipên epistraphênai kai houtô biasamenon eis to
parakeimenon autô morion athroôs apôsasthai to peritton,
ekeino d' au palin eis to met' auto, || kai touto mê 195
pausasthai gignomenon, achris an hê metalêpsis epi ta
entos perata tôn phlebôn teleutêsê.
Hai men dê toiautai kinêseis thatton apopauontai, hai d'
apo tôn endothen dierethizontôn, hôs en te tois
kathairousi pharmakois kai tais cholerais ischyroterai
te poly kai monimôterai gignontai kai diamenousin, est'
an kai hê peri tois stomasi tôn angeiôn diathesis, hê to
plêsion helkousa, paramenê. hautê men gar to syneches
ekkenoi morion, ekeino d' au to met' auto kai tout' ou
pauetai mechri tês eschatês epiphaneias, hôste
diadidontôn tôn ephexês aei moriôn heterôn heterois to
prôton pathos ôkytata diikneisthai mechri tôn eschatôn.
houtôs oun echei kapi tôn eileôn. auto men gar to
phlegmainon enteron oute tou barous oute tês drimytêtos
anechetai tôn perittômatôn kai dia tout' ekkrinein auta
speudei kai apôtheisthai porrhôtatô. kôlyomenon de katô
poieisthai tên diôsin, hotan entauthoi pote to
sphodrotaton ê tês phlegmonês, eis ta plêsiazonta tôn
hyperkeimenôn enterôn apôtheitai. kai houtôs êdê kata || 196
to syneches tên rhopên tês ekkritikês dynameôs anô
poiêsamenês achri tou stomatos epanerchetai ta
perittômata.
Tauta men oun dê kan tois tôn nosêmatôn logismois epi
pleon eirêsetai. to d' ek pantos eis pan pheresthai ti
kai metalambanesthai kai mian hapantôn einai sympnoian
te kai syrrhoian, hôs Hippokratês elegen, êdê moi dokô
dedeichthai saphôs kai mêket' an tina, mêd' ei bradys
autô nous eneiê, peri tôn toioutôn aporêsai mêdenos,
hoion hopôs hê gastêr ê ta entera trephetai kai tina
tropon ek tês eschatês epiphaneias eisô ti diikneitai.
pantôn gar tôn moriôn helkein men to prosêkon te kai
philion, apokrinein de to barynon ê daknon echontôn
dynamin ouden thaumaston enantias synechôs gignesthai
kinêseis en autois, hôsper epi te tês kardias horatai
saphôs kai tôn artêriôn hapasôn kai tou thôrakos kai tou
pneumonos. epi men ge toutôn hapantôn monon ou kath'
hekastên kairou rhopên tas enantias kinêseis th' hama
tôn organôn kai phoras tôn hylôn || enargôs estin idein 197
gignomenas. eit' epi men tês tracheias artêrias ouk
aporeis enallax pote men eisô paragousês eis ton
pneumona to pneuma, pote d' exô, kai tôn kata tas rhinas
porôn kai holou tou stomatos hôsautôs oud' einai soi
dokei thaumaston oude paradoxon, ei, di' hou mikrô
prosthen eisô parekomizeto to pneuma, dia toutou nyn
ekpempetai, peri de tôn ex hêpatos eis entera te kai
gastera kathêkousôn phlebôn aporeis kai soi thaumaston
einai phainetai, dia tôn autôn anadidosthai th' hama tên
trophên eis hêpar helkesthai t' ex ekeinou palin eis
gastera? diorisai dê to hama touto poterôs legeis. ei
men gar kata ton auton chronon, oud' hêmeis touto ge
phamen. hôsper gar eispneomen en heterô chronô kai
authis palin en heterô antekpneomen, houtô kai trophên
en heterô men chronô to hêpar ek tês gastros, en heterô
d' hê gastêr ek tou hêpatos epispatai. ei d' hoti kath'
hen kai tauto zôon hen organon enantiais phorais hylôn
hypêretei, touto soi bouletai dêloun to hama kai touto
se tarattei, tên t' || eispnoên ide kai tên ekpnoên. 198
pantôs pou kai hautai dia men tôn autôn organôn
gignontai, tropô de kinêseôs te kai phoras tôn hylôn
diapherousin.
Ho pneumôn men oun kai ho thôrax kai artêriai hai
tracheiai kai hai leiai kai kardia kai stoma kai rhines
en elachistais chronou rhopais eis enantias kinêseis
auta te metaballei kai tas hylas methistêsin. hai d' ex
hêpatos eis entera kai gastera kathêkousai phlebes ouk
en houtô brachesi chronou moriois all' en pollais
hêmerais hapax eniote tên enantian kinountai kinêsin.
Echei gar hôde to sympan. hekaston tôn organôn eis
heauto tên plêsiazousan epispatai trophên ekboskomenon
autês hapasan tên chrêstên notida, mechris an hikanôs
koresthê, kai tautên, hôs kai prosthen edeiknymen,
enapotithetai heautô kai meta tauta prosphyei te kai
homoioi, toutesti trephetai. diôristai gar hikanôs
emprosthen heteron ti tês threpseôs ex anankês autês
proêgoumenon hê prosphysis hyparchein, ekeinês d' eti
proteron hê prosthesis. hôsper oun || tois zôois autois 199
horos esti tês edôdês to plêrôsai tên gastera, kata ton
auton tropon hekastô tôn moriôn horos esti tês
prostheseôs hê plêrôsis tês oikeias hygrotêtos. epei
toinyn hapan morion tê gastri homoiôs oregetai
trephesthai, kai periptyssetai tê trophê kai houtô
sphingei pantachothen autên hôs hê gastêr. hepetai d' ex
anankês toutô, kathaper kai prosthen errhethê, to
pettesthai tois sitiois, tês gastros ou dia touto
peristellomenês autois, hin' epitêdeia tois allois
ergasêtai moriois; houtô gar an ouketi physikon organon
alla zôon ti gignoito logismon te kai noun echon, hôs
haireisthai to beltion.
All' hautê men peristelletai tô to pan sôma dynamin
helktikên tina kai apolaustikên kektêsthai tôn oikeiôn
poiotêtôn, hôs emprosthen edeiknyto; symbainei d' en
toutô tois sitiois alloiousthai. kai mentoi kai
plêrôtheisa tês ex autôn hygrotêtos kai korestheisa
baros hêgeitai to loipon auta. to peritton oun euthys
apotribetai te kai ôthei katô pros || heteron ergon autê 200
trepomenê, tên prosphysin. en de toutô tô chronô
dierchomenê to enteron hapan hê trophê dia tôn eis auto
kathêkontôn angeiôn anarpazetai, pleistê men eis tas
phlebas, oligê de tis eis tas artêrias, hôs mikron
hysteron apodeixomen. en toutô d' au tô chronô kai tois
tôn enterôn chitôsi prostithetai.
Kai moi temôn êdê tô logismô tên tês trophês oikonomian
hapasan eis treis moiras chronôn, en men tê prôtê noei
menousan th' hama kata tên koilian autên kai pettomenên
kai prostithemenên eis koron tê gastri kai ti kai tô
hêpati par' autês anapheromenon.
En de tê deutera, dierchomenên ta t' entera kai
prostithemenên eis koron autois te toutois kai tô hêpati
kai ti brachy meros autês pantê tou sômatos pheromenon;
en de dê toutô tô kairô to prostethen en tô prôtô chronô
prosphyesthai noei tê gastri.
Kata de tên tritên moiran tou chronou trephesthai men
êdê tên koilian homoiôsasan heautê teleôs ta prosphynta,
prosphysin de tois enterois kai tô hêpati gignesthai tôn
prostethentôn, ana||dosin de pantê tou sômatos kai 201
prosthesin. ei men oun epi toutois eutheôs to zôon
lambanoi trophên, en hô palin hê gastêr chronô pettei te
tautên kai apolauei prostitheisa pan ex autês to
chrêston tois heautês chitôsi, ta men entera teleôs
homoiôsei ton prosphynta chymon, hôsautôs de kai to
hêpar. en holô de tô sômati prosphysis tôn prostethentôn
tês trophês estai moriôn. ei d' asitos anankazoito
menein hê gastêr en toutô tô chronô, para tôn en
mesenteriô te kai hêpati phlebôn helxei tên trophên; ou
gar ex autou ge tou sômatos tou hêpatos. legô de sôma
tou hêpatos autên te tên idian autou sarka prôtên kai
malista, meta de tênde kai tôn angeiôn hekaston tôn kat'
auto. ton men gar en hekastô tôn moriôn êdê
periechomenon chymon ouket' eulogon antispan heterô
moriô kai malisth' hotan êdê prosphysis ê exomoiôsis
autou gignêtai. ton d' en tais eurychôriais tôn phlebôn
to mallon ischyon th' hama kai deomenon antispa morion.
Houtôs oun kai hê gastêr en || hô chronô deitai men autê 202
trophês, esthiei d' oudepô to zôon, en toutô tôn kata to
hêpar exarpazei phlebôn. epei de kai ton splêna dia tôn
emprosthen edeiknymen hoson en hêpati pachyteron
helkonta katergazesthai te kai metaballein epi to
chrêstoteron, ouden oud' entautha thaumaston helkesthai
ti kak tou splênos eis hekaston tôn koinônountôn autô
kata tas phlebas organôn, hoion eis epiploon kai
mesenterion kai lepton enteron kai kôlon kai autên tên
gastera; kata de ton auton tropon exereugesthai men eis
tên gastera to perittôma kath' heteron chronon, auton d'
authis ek tês gastros helkein ti tês oikeias trophês en
heterô kairô.
Katholou d' eipein, ho kai prosthen êdê lelektai, pan ek
pantos helkein te kai pempein enchôrei kata diapherontas
chronous, homoiotatou gignomenou tou symbainontos, hôs
ei kai zôa noêsais polla trophên aphthonon en koinô
katakeimenên, eis hoson bouletai, prospheromena. kath'
hon gar êdê pepautai chronon hetera, kata touton eikos
esthiein hetera, kai mellein ge ta men || pauesthai, ta 203
d' archesthai, kai tina men synesthionta, ta d' ana
meros esthionta kai nai ma Dia ge to heteron harpazein
thaterou pollakis, ei to men heteron epideoito, tô d'
aphthonôs parakeoito. kai houtôs ouden thaumaston out'
ek tês eschatês epiphaneias eisô ti palin hypostrephein
oute dia tôn autôn angeiôn ex hêpatos te kai splênos eis
koilian anenechthênai ti, di' hôn ek tautês eis ekeina
proteron anênechthê.
Kata men gar tas artêrias hikanôs enarges to toiouton,
hôsper kai kata tên kardian te kai ton thôraka kai ton
pneumona. toutôn gar hapantôn diastellomenôn te kai
systellomenôn enallax anankaion, ex hôn heilkysthê ti
proteron, eis tauth' hysteron ekpempesthai. kai tautên
ara tên anankên hê physis progignôskousa tois en tê
kardia stomasi tôn angeiôn hymenas epephyse kôlysontas
eis toupisô pheresthai tas hylas. all' hopôs men touto
gignetai kai kath' hontina tropon, en tois peri chreias
moriôn eirêsetai deiknyntôn hêmôn ta t' alla kai hôs
adynaton houtôs akribôs kleiesthai ta stomata tôn
angeiôn, hôs || mêden palindromein. eis men gar tên 204
artêrian tên phlebôdê, kai gar kai tout' en ekeinois
deichthêsetai, poly pleon ê dia tôn allôn stomatôn eis
toupisô palin anankaion epanerchesthai. to d' eis ta
paronta chrêsimon, hôs ouk endechetai ti tôn aisthêtên
kai megalên echontôn eurytêta mê ouk êtoi diastellomenon
helkein ex hapantôn tôn plêsion ê ekthlibein authis eis
tauta systellomenon ek te tôn êdê proeirêmenôn en tôde
tô logô saphes an eiê kax hôn Erasistratos te kai hêmeis
heterôthi peri tês pros to kenoumenon akolouthias
edeixamen.
XIV
And further, it has been shown in other treatises that all the
arteries possess a power which derives from the heart, and by virtue
of which they dilate and contract.
Put together, therefore, the two facts--that the arteries have this
motion, and that everything, when it dilates, draws neighbouring
matter into itself--and you will find nothing strange in the fact that
those arteries which reach the skin draw in the outer air when they
dilate, while those which anastomose at any point with the veins
attract the thinnest and most vaporous part of the blood which these
contain, and as for those arteries which are near the heart, it is on
the heart itself that they exert their traction. For, by virtue of the
tendency by which a vacuum becomes refilled, the lightest and thinnest
part obeys the tendency before that which is heavier and thicker. Now
the lightest and thinnest of anything in the body is firstly pneuma,
secondly vapour, and in the third place that part of the blood which
has been accurately elaborated and refined.
These, then, are what the arteries draw into themselves on every side;
those arteries which reach the skin draw in the outer air[390] (this
being near them and one of the lightest of things); as to the other
arteries, those which pass up from the heart into the neck, and that
which lies along the spine, as also such arteries as are near
these--draw mostly from the heart itself; and those which are further
from the heart and skin necessarily draw the lightest part of the
blood out of the veins. So also the traction exercised by the diastole
of the arteries which go to the stomach and intestines takes place at
the expense of the heart itself and the numerous veins in its
neighbourhood; for these arteries cannot get anything worth speaking
of from the thick heavy nutriment contained in the intestines and
stomach,[391] since they first become filled with lighter elements.
For if you let down a tube into a vessel full of water and sand, and
suck the air out of the tube with your mouth, the sand cannot come up
to you before the water, for in accordance with the principle of the
refilling of a vacuum the lighter matter is always the first to
succeed to the evacuation.
XIV
Alla mên kai hôs en hekastê tôn artêriôn esti tis
dynamis ek tês kardias epirrheousa, kath' hên
diastellontai te kai systellontai, dedeiktai di'
heterôn.
Eiper oun syntheiês amphô to te tautên einai tên kinêsin
autais to te pan to diastellomenon helkein ek tôn
plêsion eis heauto, thaumaston ouden soi phaneitai tas
artêrias, hosai men eis to derma perainousin autôn,
epispasthai ton exôthen aera diastellomenas, hosai de
kata ti pros tas || phlebas anestomôntai, to leptotaton 205
en autais kai atmôdestaton epispasthai tou haimatos,
hosai d' engys tês kardias eisin, ex autês ekeinês
poieisthai tên holkên. en gar tê pros to kenoumenon
akolouthia to kouphotaton te kai leptotaton hepetai
prôton tou baryterou te kai pachyterou; kouphotaton d'
esti kai leptotaton hapantôn tôn kata to sôma prôton men
to pneuma, deuteron d' ho atmos, epi toutô de triton,
hoson an akribôs ê kateirgasmenon te kai leleptysmenon
haima.
Taut' oun eis heautas helkousin hai artêriai
pantachothen, hai men eis to derma kathêkousai ton
exôthen aera; plêsion te gar autais houtos esti kai
kouphotatos en tois malista; tôn d' allôn hê men epi ton
trachêlon ek tês kardias aniousa kai hê kata rhachin,
êdê de kai hosai toutôn engys ex autês malista tês
kardias; hosai de kai tês kardias porrhôterô kai tou
dermatos, helkein tautais anankaion ek tôn phlebôn to
kouphotaton tou haimatos; hôste kai tôn eis tên gastera
te kai ta entera kathêkousôn artêriôn tên holkên en tô
diastellesthai gignesthai para te tês || kardias autês 206
kai tôn parakeimenôn autê phlebôn pampollôn ousôn. ou
gar dê ek ge tôn enterôn kai tês koilias trophên houtô
pacheian te kai bareian en heautois echontôn dynantai ti
metalambanein, ho ti kai axion logou, phthanousai
plêrousthai tois kouphoterois. oude gar ei katheis
auliskon eis angeion hydatos te kai psammou plêres
epispasaio tô stomati ton ek tou auliskou aera, dynait'
an akolouthêsai soi pro tou hydatos hê psammos; aei gar
en tê pros to kenoumenon akolouthia to kouphoteron
hepetai proteron.
XV
It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that only a very little
[nutrient matter] such, namely, as has been accurately
elaborated--gets from the stomach into the arteries, since these first
become filled with lighter matter. We must understand that _there are
two kinds of attraction_, that by which a vacuum becomes refilled and
that caused by appropriateness of quality;[392] air is drawn into
bellows in one way, and iron by the lodestone in another. And we must
also understand that the traction which results from evacuation acts
primarily on what is light, whilst that from appropriateness of
quality acts frequently, it may be, on what is heavier (if this should
be naturally more nearly related[393]). Therefore, in the case of the
heart and the arteries, it is in so far as they are hollow organs,
capable of diastole, that they always attract the lighter matter
first, while, in so far as they require nourishment, it is actually
into their _coats_ (which are the real _bodies_ of these organs) that
the appropriate matter is drawn.[394] Of the blood, then, which is
taken into their cavities when they dilate, that part which is most
proper to them and most able to afford nourishment is attracted by
their actual coats.
Now, apart from what has been said,[395] the following is sufficient
proof that something is taken over from the veins into the arteries.
If you will kill an animal by cutting through a number of its large
arteries, you will find the veins becoming empty along with the
arteries: now, this could never occur if there were not anastomoses
between them. Similarly, also, in the heart itself, the thinnest
portion of the blood is drawn from the right ventricle into the left,
owing to there being perforations in the septum between them: these
can be seen for a great part [of their length]; they are like a kind
of fossae [pits] with wide mouths, and they get constantly narrower;
it is not possible, however, actually to observe their extreme
terminations, owing both to the smallness of these and to the fact
that when the animal is dead all the parts are chilled and
shrunken.[396] Here, too, however, our argument,[397] starting from
the principle that nothing is done by Nature in vain, discovers these
anastomoses between the ventricles of the heart; for it could not be
at random and by chance that there occurred fossae ending thus in
narrow terminations.
And secondly [the presence of these anastomoses has been assumed] from
the fact that, of the two orifices in the right ventricle, the one
conducting blood in and the other out, the former[398] is much the
larger. For, the fact that the insertion of the vena cava into the
heart[399] is larger than the vein which is inserted into the
lungs[400] suggests that not all the blood which the vena cava gives
to the heart is driven away again from the heart to the lungs. Nor can
it be said that any of the blood is expended in the nourishment of the
actual body of the heart, since there is another vein[401] which
breaks up in it and which does not take its origin nor get its share
of blood from the heart itself. And even if a certain amount is so
expended, still the vein leading to the lungs is not to such a slight
extent smaller than that inserted into the heart as to make it likely
that the blood is used as nutriment for the heart: the disparity is
much too great for such an explanation. It is, therefore, clear that
something _is_ taken over into the left ventricle.[402]
Moreover, of the two vessels connected with it, that which brings
pneuma into it from the lungs[403] is much smaller than the great
outgrowing artery[404] from which the arteries all over the body
originate; this would suggest that it not merely gets pneuma from the
lungs, but that it also gets blood from the right ventricle through
the anastomoses mentioned.
Now it belongs to the treatise "On the Use of Parts" to show that it
was best that some parts of the body should be nourished by pure,
thin, and vaporous blood, and others by thick, turbid blood, and that
in this matter also Nature has overlooked nothing. Thus it is not
desirable that these matters should be further discussed. Having
mentioned, however, that there are two kinds of attraction, certain
bodies exerting attraction along wide channels during diastole (by
virtue of the principle by which a vacuum becomes refilled) and others
exerting it by virtue of their appropriateness of quality, we must
next remark that the former bodies can attract even from a distance,
while the latter can only do so from among things which are quite
close to them; the very longest tube let down into water can easily
draw up the liquid into the mouth, but if you withdraw iron to a
distance from the lodestone or corn from the jar (an instance of this
kind has in fact been already given[405]) no further attraction can
take place.
This you can observe most clearly in connection with _garden
conduits_. For a certain amount of moisture is distributed from these
into every part lying close at hand but it cannot reach those lying
further off: therefore one has to arrange the flow of water into all
parts of the garden by cutting a number of small channels leading from
the large one. The intervening spaces between these small channels are
made of such a size as will, presumably, best allow them [the spaces]
to satisfy their needs by drawing from the liquid which flows to them
from every side. So also is it in the bodies of animals. Numerous
conduits distributed through the various limbs bring them pure blood,
much like the garden water-supply, and, further, the intervals between
these conduits have been wonderfully arranged by Nature from the
outset so that the intervening parts should be plentifully provided
for when absorbing blood, and that they should never be deluged by a
quantity of superfluous fluid running in at unsuitable times.
For the way in which they obtain nourishment is somewhat as follows.
In the body[406] which is continuous throughout, such as Erasistratus
supposes his _simple vessel_ to be, it is the superficial parts which
are the first to make use of the nutriment with which they are brought
into contact; then the parts coming next draw their share from these
by virtue of their contiguity; and again others from these; and this
does not stop until the quality of the nutrient substance has been
distributed among all parts of the corpuscle in question. And for such
parts as need the humour which is destined to nourish them to be
altered still further, Nature has provided a kind of storehouse,
either in the form of a central cavity or else as separate
caverns,[407] or something analogous to caverns. Thus the flesh of the
viscera and of the muscles is nourished from the blood directly, this
having undergone merely a slight alteration; the bones, however, in
order to be nourished, require very great change, and what blood is to
flesh marrow is to bone; in the case of the small bones, which do not
possess central cavities, this marrow is distributed in their caverns,
whereas in the larger bones which do contain central cavities the
marrow is all concentrated in these.
For, as was pointed out in the first book,[408] things having a
similar substance can easily change into one another, whereas it is
impossible for those which are very different to be assimilated to one
another without intermediate stages. Such a one in respect to
cartilage is the myxoid substance which surrounds it, and in respect
to ligaments, membranes, and nerves the viscous liquid dispersed
inside them; for each of these consists of numerous fibres, which are
homogeneous[409]--in fact, actual _sensible elements_; and in the
intervals between these fibres is dispersed the humour most suited for
nutrition; this they have drawn from the blood in the veins, choosing
the most appropriate possible, and now they are assimilating it step
by step and changing it into their own substance.
All these considerations, then, agree with one another, and bear
sufficient witness to the truth of what has been already demonstrated;
there is thus no need to prolong the discussion further. For, from
what has been said, anyone can readily discover in what way all the
particular [vital activities] come about. For instance, we could in
this way ascertain why it is that in the case of many people who are
partaking freely of wine, the fluid which they have drunk is rapidly
absorbed[410] through the body and almost the whole of it is passed by
the kidneys within a very short time. For here, too, the rapidity with
which the fluid is absorbed depends on appropriateness of quality, on
the thinness of the fluid, on the width of the vessels and their
mouths, and on the efficiency of the attractive faculty. The parts
situated near the alimentary canal, by virtue of their appropriateness
of quality, draw in the imbibed food for their own purposes, then the
parts next to them in their turn snatch it away, then those next again
take it from these, until it reaches the vena cava, whence finally the
kidneys attract that part of it which is proper to them. Thus it is in
no way surprising that wine is taken up more rapidly than water, owing
to its appropriateness of quality, and, further, that the white clear
kind of wine is absorbed more rapidly owing to its thinness, while
black turbid wine, is checked on the way and retarded because of its
thickness.
These facts, also, will afford abundant proof of what has already been
said about the arteries; everywhere, in fact, such blood as is both
specifically appropriate and at the same time thin in consistency
answers more readily to their traction than does blood which is not
so; this is why the arteries which, in their diastole, absorb vapour,
pneuma, and thin blood attract either none at all or very little of
the juices contained in the stomach and intestines.
XV
Oukoun chrê thaumazein, ei pantelôs oligon ek tês
koilias, hoson an akribôs ê kateirgasmenon, eis tas
artêrias paragignetai phthanousas plêrousthai tôn
kouphoterôn, all' ekeino gignôskein, hôs dy' eston
holkês eidê, to men tê pros to kenoumenon akolouthia, to
d' oikeiotêti poiotêtos gignomenon; heterôs men gar eis
tas physas ho aêr, heterôs d' ho sidêros hypo tês
hêrakleias epispatai lithou; kai hôs hê men pros to
kenoumenon akolouthia || to kouphoteron helkei proteron, 207
hê de kata tên tês poiotêtos oikeiotêta pollakis, ei
houtôs etyche, to baryteron, an tê physei syngenesteron
hyparchê. kai toinyn kai tais artêriais te kai tê
kardia, hôs men koilois te kai diastellesthai dynamenois
organois, aei to kouphoteron akolouthei proteron, hôs de
trephesthai deomenois, eis autous tous chitônas, hoi dê
ta sômata tôn organôn eisin, helketai to oikeion. hoson
an oun eis tên koilotêta diastellomenôn autôn haimatos
metalêphthê, toutou to oikeiotaton te kai malista
trephein dynamenon hoi chitônes autoi tôn angeiôn
epispôntai.
Tou d' ek tôn phlebôn eis tas artêrias metalambanesthai
ti pros tois eirêmenois hikanon kai touto ge tekmêrion.
ei pollas kai megalas artêrias diatemôn apokteinai to
zôon boulêtheiês, heurêseis autou tas phlebas homoiôs
tais artêrias ekkenoumenas, ouk an toutou pote genomenou
chôris tôn pros allêlas autais anastomôseôn. hôsautôs de
kai kat' autên tên kardian ek tês dexias koilias eis tên
aristeran helketai to lepto||taton echontos tina trêmata 208
tou mesou diaphragmatos autôn, ha mechri men pleistou
dynaton estin idein, hoion bothynous tinas ex euryterou
stomatos aei kai mallon eis stenoteron proïontas. ou mên
auta ge ta eschata perata dynaton eti theasasthai dia te
smikrotêta kai hoti tethneôtos êdê tou zôou katepsyktai
te kai pepyknôtai panta. all' ho logos kantautha prôton
men ek tou mêden hypo tês physeôs gignesthai matên
hormômenos exeuriskei tas anastomôseis tautas tôn
koiliôn tês kardias; ou gar dê eikê ge kai hôs etychen
hoi es stenon houtô teleutôntes egenonto bothynoi.
Deuteron de kak tou dyoin ontoin stomatoin en tê dexia
tês kardias koilia tou men eisagontos to haima, tou d'
exagontos poly meizon einai to eisagon. hôs gar ou
pantos tou haimatos, hoson hê koilê phleps didôsi tê
kardia, palin ex ekeinês ekpempomenou tô pneumoni,
meizôn estin hê apo tês koilês eis autên emphysis tês
emphyomenês eis ton pneumona phlebos. oude || gar tout' 209
estin eipein, hôs edapanêthê ti tou haimatos eis tên
autou tou sômatos tês kardias threpsin. hetera gar esti
phleps hê eis ekeino kataschizomenê mête tên genesin ek
tês kardias autês mête tên tou haimatos echousa
metalêpsin. ei de kai dapanatai ti, all' ou tosouton ge
meiôn estin hê eis ton pneumona phleps agousa tês eis
tên kardian emphyomenês, hoson eikos eis tên trophên
anêlôsthai tês kardias, alla pleon pollô. dêlon oun, hôs
eis tên aristeran ti metalambanetai koilian.
Kai gar oun kai tôn kat' ekeinên angeiôn dyoin ontôn
elatton esti pollô to ek tou pneumonos eis autên eisagon
to pneuma tês ekphyomenês artêrias tês megalês, aph' hês
hai kata to sôma sympasai pephykasin, hôs an mê monon ek
tou pneumonos pneuma metalambanousês autês, alla kak tês
dexias koilias haima dia tôn eirêmenôn anastomôseôn.
Hoti d' ameinon ên tois tou sômatos moriois tois men
hypo katharou kai leptou kai atmôdous haimatos
trephesthai, tois d' hypo pacheos kai tholerou kai hôs
oud' entautha ti pareôratai tê physei, tês || peri 210
chreias moriôn pragmateias estin, hôst' ou chrê nyn
hyper toutôn eti legein, all' hypomnêsantas, hôs dyo
eston holkês eidê, tôn men eureiais hodois en tô
diastellesthai tê pros to kenoumenon akolouthia tên
helxin poioumenôn, tôn d' oikeiotêti poiotêtos, ephexês
legein, hôs ta men protera kai porrhôthen helkein ti
dynatai, ta de deutera ek tôn engytatô monôn. auliskon
men gar hoti mêkiston eis hydôr enesti kathenta rhadiôs
anaspan eis to stoma di' autou to hygron; ou mên ei g'
epi pleon apagagois tês hêrakleias lithou ton sidêron ê
tous pyrous tou keramiou--kai gar kai toiouton ti
prosthen elegeto paradeigma--dynait' an eti genesthai
tis holkê.
Saphestata d' an auto mathois epi tôn en tois kêpois
ochetôn; ek toutôn gar eis men ta parakeimena kai
plêsion hapanta diadidotai tis ikmas, eis de ta
porrhôterô proselthein ouketi dynatai, kai dia tout'
anankazontai pollois ochetois mikrois apo tou megalou
tetmêmenois eis hekaston meros tou kêpou tên epirrhysin
tou hydatos epitechnasthai; kai têlikauta ge ta || 211
metaxy diastêmata toutôn tôn mikrôn ochetôn poiousin,
hêlika malista nomizousin arkein eis to hikanôs
apolauein helkonta tês hekaterôthen autois epirrheousês
hygrotêtos. houtôs oun echei kan tois tôn zôôn sômasin.
ochetoi polloi kata panta ta melê diesparmenoi
paragousin autois haima kathaper en kêpois hydreian
tina. kai toutôn tôn ochetôn ta metaxy diastêmata
thaumastôs hypo tês physeôs euthys ex archês diatetaktai
pros to mêt' endeôs chorêgeisthai tois metaxy moriois
helkousin eis heauta to haima mête kataklyzesthai pot'
auta plêthei perittês hygrotêtos akairôs epirrheousês.
Ho gar dê tropos tês threpseôs autôn toiosde tis esti.
tou synechous heautô sômatos, hoionper to haploun
angeion Erasistratos hypotithetai, ta men epipolês merê
prôta tês homilousês apolauei trophês; ek de toutôn au
metalambanei kata to syneches helkonta ta toutôn hexês,
eit' ex ekeinôn authis hetera kai tout' ou pauetai
gignomenon, achris an eis hapant' autou diadothê ta
moria tês trephousês ousias hê poiotês. hosa de tôn
moriôn epi pleon || alloioumenou deitai tou mellontos 212
auta threpsein chymou, toutois hôsper ti tamieion hê
physis pareskeuasen êtoi koilias ê sêrangas ê ti tais
sêranxin analogon. hai men gar sarkes hai te tôn
splanchnôn hapantôn hai te tôn myôn ex haimatos autou
trephontai bracheian alloiôsin dexamenou. ta d' osta
pampollês en tô metaxy deitai tês metabolês, hina
traphê, kai estin hoionper to haima tais sarxi, toioutos
ho myelos tois ostois en men tois mikrois te kai
akoiliois kata tas sêrangas autôn diesparmenos, en de
tois meizosi te kai koilias echousin en ekeinais
êthroismenos.
Hôs gar kai dia tou prôtou grammatos edeiknyto, tois men
homoian echousi tên ousian eis allêla metaballein
enchôrei, tois de pampoly diestôsin amêchanon allêlois
homoiôthênai chôris tôn en mesô metabolôn. toiouton ti
kai tois chondrois esti to perikechymenon myxôdes kai
tois syndesmois kai tois hymesi kai tois neurois to
paresparmenon en autois hygron glischron; hekaston gar
|| toutôn ex inôn synkeitai pollôn, haiper homoiomereis 213
t' eisi kai ontôs aisthêta stoicheia. kata de tas metaxy
chôras autôn ho oikeiotatos eis threpsin parespartai
chymos, hon heilkysan men ek tôn phlebôn tou haimatos,
hoson hoion t' ên eklexamenai ton epitêdeiotaton,
exomoiousi de kata brachy kai metaballousin eis tên
heautôn ousian.
Hapant' oun tauta kai allêlois homologei kai tois
emprosthen apodedeigmenois hikanôs martyrei kai ou chrê
mêkynein eti ton logon; ek gar tôn eirêmenôn enestin
hekastô ta kata meros hapanta kath' hontina gignetai
tropon exeuriskein hetoimôs, hôsper kai dia ti pollois
kôthônizomenois pampoly tachista men anadidotai to
pothen, oureitai d' oligou dein hapan entos ou pollou
chronou. kai gar kantautha tê te tês poiotêtos
oikeiotêti kai tê tês hygrotêtos leptotêti kai tê tôn
angeiôn te kai tôn kat' auta stomatôn eurytêti kai tê
tês helktikês dynameôs eurôstia to tachos synteleitai
tês anadoseôs, tôn men plêsion tês koilias tetagmenôn
moriôn oikeiotêti poiotêtos || heautôn heneka helkontôn 214
to poma, tôn d' hexês toutois exarpazontôn kai autôn eis
heauta kapeita tôn ephexês palin ek toutôn
metalambanontôn, achris an eis tên koilên aphikêtai
phleba, tounteuthen d' êdê tôn nephrôn to oikeion
epispômenôn. hôst' ouden thaumaston oinon men hydatos
analambanesthai thatton oikeiotêti poiotêtos, auton de
ton oinon ton men leukon kai katharon hetoimôs
anadidosthai dia leptotêta, ton d' au melana kai
tholeron ischesthai te kata tên hodon kai bradynein hypo
pachous.
Eiê d' an tauta kai tôn hyper tôn artêriôn emprosthen
eirêmenôn ou smikra martyria. pantachou gar hoson
oikeion te kai lepton haima tou mê toioutou rhaon
hepetai tois helkousin. atmon oun helkousai kai pneuma
kai lepton haima kata tas diastaseis hai artêriai tôn
kata tên koilian kai ta entera periechomenôn chymôn ê
oud' holôs ê pantapasin epispôntai brachy.
[299] "Of food to feeder," _i.e._ of the environment to
the organism. _cf._ p. 39, chap. xi.
[300] "Drawing"; _cf._ p. 116, note 2 (168).
[301] For these terms (_prosthesis_ and _prosphysis_ in
Greek) _cf._ p. 39, notes 5 (66) and 6 (67).
[302] Lit. "through the _energizing_ (or _functioning_)
of the attractive faculty"; the faculty ([Greek:
dynamis]) _in operation_ is an activity ([Greek:
energeia]). _cf._ p. 3, note 2 (6).
[303] This chapter is an excellent example of Galen's
method of reasoning _a priori_. The complementary
inductive method, however, is employed in the next
chapter. _cf._ p. 209, note 1 (288).
[304] The deductive.
[305] The _logos_ is the argument or "theory" arrived
at by the process of [Greek: logikê theôria] or
"theorizing"; _cf._ p. 151, note 3 (214); p. 205, note 1
(282).
[306] The Greek words for the uterus (_mêtrae_ and
_hysterae_) probably owe their plural form to the belief
that the organ was bicornuate in the human, as it is in
some of the lower species.
[307] Note this expression. For Galen's views on the
origin of species, _cf._ Introduction, p. xxxi.,
footnote (3).
[308] Herophilus of Chalcedon (_circa_ 300 B.C.) was,
like Erasistratus, a representative of the anatomical
school of Alexandria. His book on Midwifery was known
for centuries. _cf._ Introduction, p. xii.
[309] Relaxation of utero-sacral ligaments as an
important predisposing cause of prolapsus uteri.
[310] That is, at the end of the first stage of labour.
[311] The pylorus.
[312] "Chylosis," chylification. _cf._ p. 240, note 1
(314).
[313] Lit. barley-"chyle," _i.e._ barley-water.
[314] _i.e._ not the mere mechanical breaking down of
food, but a distinctively vital action of "alteration."
[315] _Pepsis._
[316] Book I., chaps. x., xi.
[317] _cf._ p. 222, note 1 (299).
[318] _Choledochous_.
[319] More exactly _peristolé_; _cf._ p. 97, note 1
(146).
[320] Neuburger says of Erasistratus that "dissection
had taught him to think in terms of anatomy." It was
chiefly the gross movements or structure of organs with
which he concerned himself. Where an organ had no
obvious function, he dubbed it "useless"; _e.g._ the
spleen (_cf._ p. 143).
[321] _i.e._ contracting and dilating; no longitudinal
movements involved; _cf._ p. 263, note 2 (341).
[322] _cf._ p. 282, note 1 (356).
[323] Book II., chaps. ii. and viii.
[324] Note use of psychological terms in biology. _cf._
also p. 133, note 3 (191).
[325] "In everything." _cf._ p. 66, note 3 (104).
[326] Galen confuses the nutrition of organs with that
of the ultimate living elements or cells; the stomach
does not, of course, feed itself in the way a cell does.
_cf._ Introduction, p. xxxii.
[327] _cf._ Asclepiades's theory regarding the urine, p.
51.
[328] The process of _application_ or _prosthesis_.
_cf._ p. 223, note 3 (301).
[329] Mutual influence of organism and environment.
[330] Qualitative change. _cf._ Book I., chap. ii.
[331] Apparently skin-diseases in which a superficial
crust (resembling the lichen on a tree-trunk)
forms--_e.g._ psoriasis.
[332] Note especially pneuma and innate heat, which
practically stand for oxygen and the heat generated in
oxidation. _cf._ p. 41, note 3 (70).
[333] Book I., chap. x.
[334] That is to say, faeces are obviously altered food.
This alteration cannot have taken place entirely in the
small intestine: therefore alteration of food must take
place in the stomach.
[335] _cf._ p. 39.
[336] Asclepiades held that there was no such thing as
real qualitative change; the food was merely broken up
into its constituent molecules, and absorbed unaltered.
_cf._ p. 49, note 5 (82).
[337] _i.e._ denial of forethought in the Physis.
[338] _v._ p. 9, _et passim_.
[339] _cf._ p. 97.
[340] It appears to me, from comparison between this and
other passages in Galen's writings (notably _Use of
Parts_, iv., 8), that he means by the "two coats" simply
the mucous and the muscular coats. In this case the
"straight" or "longitudinal" fibres of the inner coat
would be the _rugae_; the "circular" fibres of the inner
intestinal coat would be the _valvulae conniventes_.
[341] The term here rendered _peristalsis_ is
_peristolé_ in Greek; it is applied only to the
intermittent movements of muscles placed circularly
round a lumen or cavity, and comprehends _systolé_ or
contraction and _diastolé_ or dilatation. In its modern
significance, _peristalsis_, however, also includes the
movements of _longitudinal_ fibres. _cf._ p. 97, note 1
(146).
[342] _i.e._ those containing non-striped or
"involuntary" muscle fibres; organs governed by the
"natural" pneuma; _cf._ p. 186, note 3 (265).
[343] By this term is meant only what we should call the
"voluntary" muscles.
[344] _cf._ p. 97.
[345] For "symptom," _cf._ p. 13, and p. 12, note 3
(24). "Transitum namque materiae per angustum corpus id
accidens consequitur" (Linacre). Less a "result" or
"consequence" than an "accompaniment."
[346] _i.e._ this is a purely mechanical process.
[347] _i.e._. this phenomenon is a proof neither of
_peristolé_ nor of attraction. _cf._ p. 97, note 2
(147).
[348] Contraction and dilatation of course being
reversed.
[349] The _channa_ is a kind of sea-perch; "a species of
_Serranus_, either _S. scriba_ or _S. cabrilla_" (D'Arcy
W. Thompson). _cf._ Aristotle's _Nat. Hist._ (D'Arcy
Thompson's edition, Oxford, 1910), IV., xi., 538 A, 20.
The _synodont_ "is not to be identified with certainty,
but is supposed to be _Dentex vulgaris_," that is, an
edible Mediterranean perch. "It is not the stomach,"
adds Prof. Thompson, "but the air-bladder that gets
everted and hangs out of the mouth in fishes, especially
when they are hauled in from a considerable depth."
_cf._ _H. A._, VIII., ii., 591 B, 5.
[350] Under the term "neura," tendons were often
included as well as nerves. Similarly in modern Dutch
the word _zenuw_ ("sinew") means both a tendon and a
nerve; _zenuwachtig_ = "nervous."
[351] Rather than the alternative reading, [Greek: ton
esôthen chitôna]. Galen apparently supposes that the
outer coat will not be damaged, as the cuts will pass
_between_ its fibres. These cuts would be, presumably,
short ones, at various levels, no single one of them
involving the whole circumference of the gullet.
[352] _cf._ p. 205.
[353] Thus Galen elsewhere calls the spleen a mere
_emunctory_ ([Greek: ekmageion]) of the liver. _cf._ p.
214, note 1 (295).
[354] _cf._ p. 269.
[355] The urinary bladders of pigs (such as Galen
dissected) are thin, and appear to have only one coat.
[356] _cf._ p. 243.
[357] My suggestion is that Galen refers to (1) the
_mucous_ coat, with its _valvulae conniventes_, and (2)
the _muscular_ coat, of which the chief layer is made up
of circular fibres. _cf._ p. 262, note 1 (340).
[358] Or _utility_.
[359] Relationship between physiology and pathology
again emphasized. _cf._ p. 188, note 2 (267).
[360] Or physicist--the investigator of the Physis or
Nature. _cf._ p. 196, note 2 (274). Note here the use of
analogical reasoning. _cf._ p. 113, note 2 (166).
[361] _cf._ p. 95.
[362] I. xiii.; II. ii.
[363] Galen's idea is that if reversal of the direction
of flow can occur in the _primae viae_ (in vomiting), it
may also be expected to occur in the _secundae viae_ or
absorptive channels.
[364] For this "delivery," "up-yield," or _anadosis_,
_v._ p. 13, note 5 (26).
[365] The mesenteric veins.
[366] Linacre renders: "Una omnium confluxio ac
conspiratio"; and he adds the marginal note "Totum
corpus nostrum est conspirabile et confluxile per meatus
communes." _cf._ p. 48.
[367] The alimentary canal, as not being edible, is not
considered a _splanchnon_ or viscus.
[368] Lit. _rheums_; hence our term _rheumatism_.
[369] Here Galen apparently indicates that vital
functions are at least partly explicable in terms of
mechanical law. _cf._ Introduction, p. xxviii.
[370] _cf._ pp. 211, 247.
[371] See p. 298, note 1 (369).
[372] The ends of the veins in the alimentary canal from
which absorption or _anadosis_ had originally taken
place.
[373] _Diathesis_.
[374] _Diathesis_.
[375] _Pathos_.
[376] He means, not only under the stress of special
circumstances, but also normally.
[377] Lit. "rough artery." The air-passages as well as
the arteries proper were supposed by the Greeks to carry
air (pneuma); diastole of arteries was, like expansion
of the chest, a movement for drawing in air. _cf._ p.
317, note 1 (390).
[378] _cf._ p. 39, chap. xi.
[379] Lit. _orexis_.
[380] Lit. a "physical" organ; that is, a mere
instrument or organon of the Physis,--not one of the
Psyche or conscious personality. _cf._ semen, p. 132,
note 1 (189).
[381] _cf._ p. 317, note 2 (391); p. 319, chap. xv.
[382] Note that absorption takes place from the stomach
as well as the intestines. _cf._ p. 118, note 1 (171).
[383] That is, among the ultimate tissues or cells.
[384] Pp. 205-9.
[385] By this term, of course, the air-passages are also
meant; _cf._ p. 305.
[386] _cf._ p. 34, note 1 (57).
[387] _cf._ p. 121, note 4 (177).
[388] Pulmonary vein, or rather, left auricle. Galen
means a reflux through the mitral orifice; the left
auricle was looked on rather as the termination of the
pulmonary veins than as a part of the heart. _cf._ p.
323, note 4 (403). He speaks here of a kind of
"physiological" mitral incompetence.
[389] _Horror vacui._
[390] _cf._ p. 305, note 2 (377).
[391] _cf._ p. 308, note 1 (381).
[392] The "mechanical" principle of _horror vacui_
contrasted with the "physical" or semi-physiological
principle of specific attraction. _Appropriateness_ here
might almost be rendered _affinity_ or _kinship_. _cf_.
note 2 (393), _infra_.
[393] "Related," "akin." _cf._ p. 36, note 2 (61).
[394] The coats exercise the _vital_ traction, the
cavities the merely _mechanical_. _cf_. p. 165, note 2
(232).
[395] Chap. xiv.
[396] These fossae were probably the recesses between
the _columnae carnae_.
[397] On _logos_ _cf._ p. 226, note 2 (305).
[398] He means the tricuspid orifice. _cf._ p. 121, note
4 (177).
[399] The right auricle was looked on less as a part of
the heart than as an expansion or "insertion" of the
vena cava.
[400] This "vein" (really the pulmonary artery) was
supposed to be the channel by which the lungs received
nutriment from the right heart. _cf._ p. 121, note 3
(176).
[401] The coronary vein.
[402] Galen's conclusion, of course, is, so far,
correct, but he has substituted an imaginary direct
communication between the ventricles for the actual and
more roundabout pulmonary circulation, of whose
existence he apparently had no idea. His views were
eventually corrected by the Renascence anatomists. _cf._
Introduction, pp. xxii.-xxiii.
[403] He means the left auricle, considered as the
termination of the pulmonary "arteries"; _cf._ p. 314,
note 3 (388).
[404] The aorta, its orifice being circular, appears
bigger than the slit-like mitral orifice.
[405] p. 87.
[406] Or we may render it "corpuscle"; Galen practically
means the _cell_. _cf._ p. 153, note 2 (216).
[407] _cf._ the term "cavernous tissue."
[408] I. x.
[409] Lit. _homoeomerous_, _i.e._ "the same all
through," of similar structure throughout, the
_elements_ of living matter, _cf._ p. 20, note 3 (38),
and _cf._ also the "cell" of Erasistratus, p. 153.
[410] "Delivered," "dispersed"; _cf._ p. 13, note 5
(26).
INDEX AND GLOSSARY
(The numbers refer to the pages of the present edition;
fuller references will be found in the footnotes.)
Abortifacient drugs, 285
Abortion, 231, 285
Absorption from digestive tract (_v. Anadosis_)
Acidity of urine, 245, 287
Activity (function), 13
Adhesion (prosphysis) of nutriment to tissues, 39
Affinity, 33
Alimentary canal, 119, 309
coats of, 23, 263
Allopathic treatment, 199
Alteration (qualitative change), 7, 9, 241, 251
Anadosis (absorption from digestive tract), 63, 119
Anæmia, 173
Anasarca (dropsy), 41
Anastomoses (communications between arteries and veins), 321
Anaxagoras, "preformationist" doctrine of, 7
Ancient writers, value of, 279
Animal life, 3
Animals (_v._ also _History, Natural_)
cold-blooded, 181
long-necked, 275
Anorexia (want of appetite), 247
Aorta (main artery of body), 143, 323
Appetite, 249
Aristotle, 9, _et passim_ (_v._ also _Peripatetic School_)
Arrows, drugs for extracting heads of, 83
"Art" of Nature (_i.e._ of the living organism), 57
Arteries, structure of, 283
to-and-fro motion in, 313
attraction of air by, through skin, 317
Artery, pulmonary, 121, 323
Artificer, 133
Asclepiades, 49, _et passim_
Asepsis (absence of corruption), 201
Assimilation, 33
Asthenia (weakness), 239
Atomist School in Medicine, 45
Atrabiliary (melancholic) humour, 209
Attraction (_v._ also _Horror vacui_)
physiological, 45
magnetic, 73
Auricle, left, of heart, 315
right, of heart, 321
Authority, value of, 279
Aversion, 249
Baking, 259
Beauty, 47
Bile, yellow, 63, 123, 177, 191, 289
"vitelline," 209
black, 203 (_v._ also _Melancholic humour_)
Bile-passages, mechanical blocking of, 171
Biliousness, 193
Biology, repudiation of, by Atomist School, 45
Bladder, urinary, 51, 53, _et passim_
for bile (_v. Gall-bladder_)
Blood-production, 17, 169, 183, 191, 201
Boiling, 259
Boils, 253
Bone, structure of, 327
Bone-marrow, 327
Borborygmi (gurglings) in stomach, 237
Bread, constitution of, 11
Bubo (swollen lymphatic glands in groin), 185
Butchers (as the primitive anatomists), 51
Cadaver (corpse), experiment on, 265
Cartilage (gristle), 329
Catarrh (mucous discharge), 215
Cattle (as typifying "herd-morality"), 47
"Cell," of animal tissues, 153
nutrition of, 327
Change, qualitative (_v. Alteration_)
Channels (_v. Morphological hypothesis_)
Cheese-making, 91
Childbirth, 231, 285
Children's game, 27
Chill, 171, 203 (_v._ also _Cold_)
Cholagogues (drugs that draw off bile), 65
Cholera, 299
Chorion (membrane enclosing unborn child), 229
Chrysippus, 9
Chyle (emulsified contents of stomach), (_v. Emulsification_)
Cirrhosis (induration) of liver, 171
Coats (tunics), 23
Cold, action of, on skin, 301
Cold-in-the-head, 215 (_v._ also _Chill_)
Colon (large intestine), 313
Colour, 5
Conception, of semen, 233
Congius (measure), 111
Contractions (_v. Peristalsis_)
Cooking, 191
Corn, attractive power of, 87
Coryza (mucous discharge: now a "cold"), 215
Crisis, 75
Cyathus (measure), 65
Decay, 7
Deductive reasoning, 227
Deglutition (swallowing), 95, 261, 265, 273
Democritus, 153
Deposits (in tissues), 297
Desire (appetite), 249, 269
Destruction (act of perishing), 7
Diaphragm (midriff), 255
Diarrhoea, 247, 299
Diet, 35, 179, 255
Digestion, cause of, 243
impairment of, 185, 217, 237
Digestive tract, action on food, 251, _et seq._
structure (_v. Alimentary Canal_)
Diocles, 51
Disease, definition of, 197
Diseases, the four primary, 185
Disjunctive argument, 167
Distribution (diadosis) of nutriment to tissues, 163
Dropsy, 41, 67, 171
Drugs, 65, 285, 293 (_v._ also _Poisons_)
Dyscrasia (abnormal blending of the four qualities), 189
Dysentery, 205
Dyspepsia (_v. Indigestion_)
Education, 279
Effect (product, work done), 13
Emaciation, 161
Emanations, 77
Embryo, 229
Emesis (_v. Vomiting_)
Empiricist physicians, 69, 193
Emulsification, 239
Epicurus, 71
Epigastric muscles, 237
Epispastic (attractive), 117
Erasistratus, 95
Erasistrateans, 105
Etna, 259
Eucrasia (proper blending of the four qualities), 189
Evaporation, 51, 87, 251
Experience (_v. Empiricist physicians_)
Expulsive faculty, 231
Faculty (potentiality), 13
Fæces (ordure from bowel), 255
Fermentation, 209
Fever as a cause of indigestion, 185
Fibres, 329
of blood, 215
circular and longitudinal, 263
oblique, 281
Filtration, 91
Fish, voraciousness of, 269
Flavour, 5
Fluxions, 297
Foetus (unborn child), 233
death of, 287
Forced-feeding, 247
Forces, material, 127, 301
Function (activity), cause of, 197
Gall-bladder, 147, 245
absence of nerves in, 289
Gardens, irrigation of, 325
Genesis (development of embryo), 19
Germander (drug), 67
Gestation (carrying of embryo by mother), 229
Give-and-take between organs, 295
Gravity (explaining secretion of urine), 107
Greediness, 271
Growth, 27, 137
Gullet, 263
use of, by stomach, 271
function of its two coats, 273
Gurgling in stomach, 237
Habit of body, 69
Hæmorrhage, intestinal, 297
Hæmorrhoids (_v. Piles_)
Heartburn, 287
Heat, innate, 41, 141, 185
Hepatic veins (entering vena cava from liver), 147
Herophilus, 233
Hippocrates, 9, _et passim_
Histogenesis (tissue-production), 21
History, natural, 269
Homoeomeries (similar parts), 169
Homoeopathy, p. 199, Note 1 (276)
Honey, 179, 191
Horror vacui ("Nature's abhorrence of a vacuum"), 99, 155
Humours, the four, origin of, 167, 183, 209
Hydragogues (drugs that draw water out of the system), 65
Ileus volvulus (obstruction of bowels), 299, 303
Illusions, sensory, 7
Indigestion, 185, 217, 237
Inductive reasoning, 227
Inflammation, 89, 233
Interaction of any two bodies, 251
Intestine, small, 255
Intestines, structure of, 283
movements of, 243
Ionia, 29
Iron, 71
Irrigation of gardens and tissues, 325
Jaundice, 179, 207
Jejunum (part of small intestine), 299
Kidneys, 49, 89
Labour (_v. Childbirth_)
Larynx (voice-box), involved in swallowing, 265
Leprosy, 41
Leucippus, 153
Lichen (a skin-disease), 253
Liver, proper tissue of, 311
transverse fissure of, 147
induration of, 171
give-and-take between it and stomach, 291
Lodestone, 71
Love, 47
Lumen (internal cavity of a vessel), 119
Lycus, 109
Magnetism, 71
Marrow of bones, 327
Mastication, 253
Material forces, 127
Medicine, taking of, 269 (_v._ also _Drugs_)
Melancholic (_v. Atrabiliary_)
Membranes, foetal, 231, 285 (_v._ also _Chorion_)
Menander, 105
Menodotus, 81
Menstrual blood, 131, 171
Metabolism, diseases of, 41
Midwife, 235
Miscarriage, (_v. Abortion_)
Molecules (of Asclepiades), 63
Morphological hypothesis of bile-secretion, 125, 147
Motion, active and passive, 57
Mouth, lining of, 261
digestion in, 253
Mucus, 203, 215
Muscles, voluntary, 263
"Nature," 2;
its "Art," 57
Nature-lore (_v. Physiology_)
Nausea, 287
"Nerve," 151, 273
Nutriment, 41
Nutrition, 31, 149
Obstetric chair, 235
Obstruction of bowels, 299, 303
Oesophagus (_v. Gullet_)
Omentum (an apron-like fold of fat, overlying the intestine), 143,
255, 313
Organism, unity of, 61
Organs, nutrition of, 307
Os uteri (mouth of womb), 229
Ovum, human, 135
Oxidation, 211
Oxygen (_v. Pneuma_)
Pain, 287
Parturition, 231
Pathology, relation to Physiology, 189, 287
Peasants, 87
Perch (_v. Fish_)
Peripatetic (Aristotelian) School, 139
Peristalsis (contraction and dilatation), 97, 243, 263
Peritoneum, 53
Phidias, 129
Philistion, 173
Philotimus, 183
Phlegm, 67, 201, 215
Phlegmatic temperament, 193
"Physiology," 139
Piles, 171
Plant-life, 3
Plato, 173, 203, 215
Plethora (congestion), 119
Pneuma (as a vital principle), 153;
(as oxygen), 187
Poisons, action of, 251
Porch, the (Stoic School), 145
"Pores" (_v. Channels_)
Portal vein, 147
Potter's earth, 213
Practitioner, 197
Praxagoras, 51
Praxiteles, 129
"Preformationist" doctrine of Anaxagoras, p. 7, Note 5 (14)
Presentation (prosthesis) of nutriment to tissues, 39
Prevention and Cure, 169
Principles, the four fundamental (_v. Qualities_)
Prodicus, 201
Prolapse of uterus, 235
Propulsive faculty, 231
Prosphysis (_v. Adhesion_)
Prosthesis (_v. Presentation_)
Psyche, 3, 153
Psychology, repudiation of, by Atomist School, 45
Pulmonary artery, 121
Pylorus (outlet of stomach), 239
regurgitation through, 289
Pyrrhonists (typical sceptics), 197
Qualities, the four fundamental, 9, 183, 259
derivative, 21
Relativity, 17
Renal veins, 107
Respiration, 175, 305
Retentive faculty, 225
Rhetoric, 97
Safflower (drug), 67
Saliva, action of, 253
Scammony (drug), 67
Schools, two contrasted, in Medicine, 45
Scientist, 197
Scorpions, 253
Sculpture, 129
Sectarianism, 55
Sects, medical (_v. Schools_)
Self-control, 47
Self-education, 279
Semen, 131, 233
Sensation, 47
Septum, perforated, between ventricles of heart, 321
Serum (watery part of blood or milk), 91, 213
Shaping (development of organs), 19
Sieves, 91
Skin-diseases, 253 (_v._ also _Leprosy_ and _Lichens_)
Slaves, 103
Sociability, 47
Sophistry, 219, 279
Sophists, 7
Soul, 45
Specific selection of nutriment by tissues (_v. Attraction,
physiological_)
Spermatic ducts, 57
Spirit (_v. Pneuma_)
Spleen, function and diseases of, 205
"uselessness" of, 143
as an emunctory of the liver, 277
Statues, 129
Sting-ray (fish), bite of, 85
Stoics, 15, 145
Stomach, function of, 197, 237, 251, 255
coats of, 261
independent habits of, 271
give-and-take between it and liver, 291
Stone in bladder, 51
Strength, relative, of different organs, 293
Substance, 9
Superfluities (waste-substances), 35, 291
Swallowing (_v. Deglutition_)
Symptoms, 13
Synapse, 147
Teeth, 253
Temperament (crasis, mixture of elementary principles), 15, 139, 193
Temperance, 47
Theophrastus, 139
Thorns, drugs for extracting, 83
Tissues, development of, 21
their action in producing humours, 179, 195
Trachea (windpipe), 305
Transference (passive motion), 7
Transpiration, 153
Treatment, principles of, 199
Tricuspid orifice of heart, 321
Tubes, rigid, 119, 317, 325
Unity of organism, 61
Ureters, 23, 51
Urine, 51
"Useless" organs (Erasistratus), 143
Uterus (womb), 227
Vacuum, tendency to refill (_v. Horror vacui_)
Valves of heart, 121, 315
Vaporisation (_v. Evaporation_)
Vegetable diet, 35, 179
Vegetative life, 3
Veins, structure of, 283
"arterial" (_v. Pulmonary artery_)
coronary, 323
hepatic, 147
mesenteric, 293, 305
portal, 147
renal, 107, 143
vena cava (chief vein of body), 91
collapse of, 119
Ventricles of heart, communication between, 321
Vipers, 85
Vitalist School in Medicine, 45
Vivisection, 59, 241, 273
Voluntary motion, 3
Volvulus (intestinal obstruction), 299, 303
Vomiting, 241, 247, 267
fæcal, 299
Waste-products (_v. Superfluities_)
Whey (_v. Serum_)
Wine, 209, 329
Womb (_v. Uterus_)
Wounds, 185
Wrestling, 125
Zeno, of Citium, 9
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