О естественных способностях · Греческий текст и английский перевод А. Дж. Брока — 1916

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