First draft. This English translation was generated by
Claude Sonnet 4.6, critiqued by Claude Haiku 4.5, and adjudicated/corrected
once by Claude Sonnet 4.6. It is published for reading and review, not as a
final scholarly edition. Hippocratic medical recipes and treatments are
historical text, not medical advice.
ON DIAITA. BOOK ONE.
1. If it had seemed to me that any of those who previously wrote concerning human diaita — the diaita that conduces to health — had written correctly, understanding everything throughout, as far as it is possible for human understanding to encompass, it would have been sufficient for me, since others had labored at the task, to recognize what was rightly set out and to make use of it, insofar as each part seemed useful. But as things stand, many have already written, yet no one has yet understood correctly in what manner they were required to write; some hit upon one thing, some upon another, but the whole — no one yet. Now, none of them deserves blame if they were unable to discover it, but rather all deserve praise for having attempted to seek it. I have not prepared myself to refute what has been said incorrectly, but I have set my mind to agree with what has been rightly understood; for as many things as have been rightly said by predecessors, it is not possible for me to write them correctly by writing them otherwise; but as many things as they have said incorrectly — if I were to refute these, showing that they are not so, I should accomplish nothing; whereas by setting out in what way each thing seems to me to be correct, I shall make clear what I intend. And I set down this preliminary statement because many people, whenever they have heard a predecessor expound on some topic, do not accept the one who speaks on these matters afterward, not recognizing that it belongs to the same understanding to recognize what has been rightly said and to discover what has not yet been said. I, then, as I have said, will agree with what has been rightly said; I will show what sort of things those are that have not been rightly understood; and as many things as none of my predecessors even attempted to make clear, these too I will show for what they are. I hold that one who is going to write correctly about human diaita must first know and discern the whole nature of a human being: know from what constituents it has been composed from the beginning, and discern by which parts it is dominated; for if one does not know the original composition, one will be unable to know the effects produced by those constituents; and if one does not know what is dominant in the body, one will not be competent to bring to the human being what is beneficial.
2. These things, then, the writer must know; and after these, the capacity that each and every food and drink we live on has — both that according to nature and that due to necessity and human craft. For one must understand how to reduce the capacity of things that are naturally strong, and how to add strength to the weak ones through craft, whenever the right moment for each presents itself. But even for one who knows the things stated, the care of the human being is not yet sufficient, because a person cannot be healthy by eating unless he also labors. For food and labors have capacities that are opposite to each other, yet they work together toward health; for labors are by nature such as to consume what is present, and foods and drinks to replenish what has been emptied. And one must, it seems, discern the capacity of the labors — both those that occur according to nature and those that occur by force — and which of them dispose the flesh toward increase and which toward diminution; and not only these things, but also the proportionings of the labors relative to the quantity of foods, and to the nature of the person, and to the ages of bodies, and to the seasons of the year, and to the changes of the winds (pneumata), and to the positions of the places in which they live, and to the constitution of the year. One must know the risings and settings of stars, so as to know how to guard against the changes and excesses of foods and drinks and winds (pneumata) and of the whole order of the world, from which diseases grow in human beings. But even for one who has discerned all these things, the discovery is not yet sufficient; for if it were discoverable on this basis — a measure of food and a proportionate count of labors suited to each individual nature, having no excess either toward the more or toward the less — then health would have been found for human beings with precision. As things stand, all the foregoing has been discovered for what it is, but this last thing is impossible to discover. For if one were present and could observe a person undressing and exercising in the gymnasia, one could keep him healthy, reducing some things and adding others; but for one who is not present, it is impossible to prescribe food and labors with precision — though as much as it is possible to discover, I have already stated. But indeed, if even a very small imbalance arises between the two sides, in the course of much time the body is necessarily dominated by the excess and comes to disease. So then, for others, inquiry has been attempted only up to this point — and not even these things have been stated; but I have discovered these things, and further, before the person falls sick from the excess, on whichever side it may occur, a foreknowledge. For diseases do not come upon human beings all at once, but gathering little by little they display themselves suddenly. Before, then, the healthy element in the person is dominated by the diseased, the things they undergo have been discovered by me, and how one must restore these things to health. When this is added to what has been written, the undertaking of the designs is brought to completion. Now all living creatures, including the human being, are composed of two things, differing in capacity but working together in function — I mean fire and water.
3. These two together are sufficient for all other things and for one another, but each separately is sufficient neither for itself nor for anything else. The capacity each has is of this kind: fire can move all things through all time, and water can nourish all things through all time; and each in turn dominates and is dominated, to the greatest and the least degree possible. Neither can prevail entirely, for this reason: fire, advancing to the furthest limit of water, finds its nourishment failing and so turns back toward where it is going to be fed; water, advancing to the furthest limit of fire, finds its motion failing and so comes to a standstill at that point, and when it has stopped it is no longer self-sufficient, but is already consumed as nourishment by the fire that falls upon it. For these reasons neither can prevail entirely; and if ever either were to be dominated first, nothing of what now exists would be as it now is; but being as they are, the same things will always exist, and neither, nor both together, will ever fail. Fire and water, then, as I have said, are sufficient for all things through all time, both to the greatest and to the least, alike. To each of these the following are joined: to fire, the hot and the dry; to water, the cold and the moist; and each draws from the other — fire draws moisture from water, for there is moisture in fire; water draws the dry from fire, for there is dryness in water.
4. Things being so, they give off from each other many and all-varied forms, both of seeds and of living creatures, like to none another either in appearance or in capacity; for since they never stand still in the same state but are always changing this way and that, the things given off from them are also necessarily unlike. Now nothing of all existing things perishes, nor does anything come to be that was not also there before; but by mixing together and being separated they are altered. It is the convention among human beings to call what grows from Hades into the light 'coming to be', and what diminishes from the light into Hades 'perishing'; for they trust their eyes more than their understanding, though their eyes are not even adequate to judge about the things seen. I set out these matters by understanding. For those things too are alive and these things too; and neither, if it is alive, can it die except along with all things — for where shall it die? — nor can what is not come to be — for from where shall it be? Rather, all things increase and diminish toward the greatest and the least of what is possible. Whatever I say in terms of 'coming to be' or 'perishing', I do so for the sake of ordinary people; what I mean is mixing together and being separated. Here is how it stands: to come to be and to perish is the same thing; to mix together and to be separated is the same thing; to increase and to diminish is the same thing; to come to be and to mix together is the same thing; to perish, to diminish, to be separated is the same thing; each in relation to all and all in relation to each is the same thing, and no one of all things is the same — for convention is contrary to nature in these matters. And all things, divine and human, move upward and downward, exchanging.
5. Day and night, toward the greatest and the least; as also with the moon, the greatest and the least — an advance of fire and water; the sun toward the longest and the shortest — all the same and not the same. Light to Zeus, darkness to Hades; light to Hades, darkness to Zeus — these things move back and forth, crossing over: those things hither and these things thither, traversing every hour, every region, those things doing the work of these, and these the work of those. And the things they do they do not know, yet the things they do not do they think they know; and the things they see they do not recognize, and yet all things come to pass for them through divine necessity, both what they wish and what they do not wish. And as those things come hither and these thither, mixing with one another, each fulfills its allotted portion, both the greater and the lesser. And destruction for all things comes from one another — for the greater from the lesser and for the lesser from the greater; the greater grows from the lesser and the lesser from the greater. All other things, and the psyche of a human being, and the body — of such a kind as the psyche — are set in order.
6. Parts of parts, wholes of wholes, enter into a human being, carrying a blending (synkrēsis) of fire and water, some to receive and some to give; and those that receive make more, those that give make less. People sawing wood — one pulls, one pushes, doing this same thing, and by making less they make more. The same holds for the nature of human beings: one part pushes, another pulls; one gives, another receives; and to one it gives, from another it takes; and to one it gives so much the more, from another it takes so much the less. Each part keeps its own region; those moving toward the lesser are separated out into the lesser region; those moving toward the greater, by mixing together, pass over into the greater order; the alien things that do not match the character are pushed out of foreign territory. Each psyche, having greater and lesser portions, moves about among its own parts, requiring neither addition nor removal of parts, but requiring space according to the increase and diminution of what is present; each accomplishes in whatever region it enters, and receives what falls upon it. For what does not match the character cannot remain in incompatible regions; it wanders without understanding; but coming together with one another it recognizes toward what it is settling; for what is compatible settles with what is compatible, and what is incompatible makes war and fights and separates from each other. For this reason the psyche of a human being grows within a human being, and in nothing else; and the same holds for the other large animals; and whatever happens otherwise is separated out from others by force. Concerning the other animals I will leave aside; concerning the human being I will make things clear.
7. A psyche enters into a human being: having a blending (synkrēsis) of fire and water, a portion of the body of a human being; these — both female and male, many and of all kinds — are nourished, and are nourished and grow by the diaita surrounding the person; and it is necessary that all the entering parts be present; for whichever part were not present, that portion from the beginning could not grow either with much nourishment coming or with little, for it has nothing to grow into; but having everything, each grows in its own region, as nourishment comes from dry water and moist fire, some pressing inward and some pressing outward. Just as carpenters sawing wood — one pulls, one pushes — doing the same thing: yet the one pressing down pulls the one above, for it would not otherwise allow going downward; but if they force it, they will miss the whole thing. Such is the nourishment of a human being: one part pulls, another pushes; what is pressed inward creeps outward; but if forced at the wrong moment, it will miscarry entirely. For as long as each part holds the same arrangement — until the nourishment can no longer be received, nor has sufficient space for the fullest possible growth — then it shifts into the greater space, female and male alike, driven by force and necessity; and whatever first fills up its allotted portion, these are separated out first, and at the same time mixed together; for each is separated first and at the same time mixed together; and having changed region and attained a right harmony having three concords — passing through all of them altogether — it lives and grows by the same means as before; but if it does not attain the harmony, and the low tones do not become concordant with the high, whether the first concord, or the second is generated, or the through-all, if one is missing the whole tension is pointless — for it could not sing along — but it shifts from the greater to the lesser before its allotted time; because they do not know what they are doing.
9. Why males and females each come to be, I will make clear as the account proceeds. Whichever of the two happens to come and happens to attain the harmony — being moist, it is moved by fire; and being moved it is kindled and draws nourishment to itself from the food and the pneuma entering the woman, at first equally in all directions as long as it is still loose; but by the motion and the fire it dries out and solidifies; and as it solidifies it condenses around the outside; and the fire enclosed within can no longer draw sufficient nourishment, nor does the pneuma push outward because of the density of what surrounds it; so it consumes the moisture within that is available. The solid elements by nature in the consolidated and dry mass are not consumed by the fire for nourishment; but they become dominant and consolidate as the moisture fails — these are called bones and sinews (neura). And the fire, by the movement of the mixed moisture, sets the body in order according to nature by the following necessity: through the solid and dry parts it cannot make lasting passages, because it has no nourishment there; but through the moist and soft parts it can, for these are its nourishment; and there is also dryness present in these that is not consumed by the fire; and these consolidate together with one another. The fire most deeply enclosed is also the most abundant, and it made the largest passage through — for the moisture was most abundant there — which is called the belly (koilia); and it broke out from there, since it had no nourishment outside, and made passages for pneuma and a drawing in and sending out of nourishment; and that which was enclosed into another body made three circuits — those regions in which the moisture of fire was greatest — which are called the hollow vessels (veins); and into the middle of these the remaining water, gathering together, is solidified — which is called flesh (sarx). In a word, the fire ordered everything in the body fittingly by its own means, in imitation of the whole — small in relation to great and great in relation to small: it assigned the largest belly as a storehouse of dry and moist things, giving to all and receiving from all, with the capacity of the sea — a nourisher of creatures nurtured within it and a destroyer of those incompatible; and around this a collection of cold and moist water; a passage for cold and warm pneuma; an imitation of the earth, altering everything that falls into it.
10. And consuming and growing, it produced a dispersal of thin water and airy fire, invisible and visible, a separation from the consolidated mass, in which all things traveling are brought each to the visible in their allotted portion. And in this it made three circuits of fire, reaching toward one another both inward and outward: some toward the hollow parts of the moist things — with the capacity of the moon; some toward the outer revolution, toward the surrounding firmament — with the capacity of the stars; and some, the middle ones, reaching both inward and outward. The hottest and most powerful fire, which dominates all things — governing all things according to nature, imperceptible both to sight and to touch — in this: psyche, mind (nous), understanding (phronēsis), growth, motion, diminution, change, sleep, waking; this governs all things through all time, these things here and those things there, never resting. Human beings do not know how to examine the unseen from the seen; for using crafts that are alike in kind to human nature, they do not recognize it — for the mind of the gods taught them to imitate the gods' own things, knowing what they do, yet not knowing what they imitate.
11. For all things are alike, being unlike; and all things are compatible, being different; speaking, not speaking; having understanding, without understanding; the manner of each is contrary, yet in agreement. For convention and nature — by which we accomplish everything — do not agree, though they agree; for human beings themselves laid down convention for themselves without knowing the things about which they laid it down; but the gods ordered the nature of all things. What human beings have laid down, then, never stands the same way, neither rightly nor not rightly; but as many things as the gods have laid down always stand rightly; and the right and the not-right differ by this much. I will make clear the manifest crafts of human beings that are alike to the experiences of human beings, both manifest and hidden.
12. Divination is of this kind: to know the hidden from the manifest, and the manifest from the hidden, and what is to come from what exists, and the living from those who have died, and to understand the incomprehensible — the one who knows always rightly, the one who does not know one way at one time, another way at another. These things imitate human nature and life: a man, having come together with a woman, made a child — to know from the manifest what is hidden, that it will be so. The understanding of the human being — itself hidden yet knowing what is manifest — passes from child to man, knowing from what is present what is to come; not what is not, from death, but something living knowing from what has died what is alive. The belly is without understanding; yet through it we understand that it is thirsty or hungry. These are the experiences of the craft of divination and of human nature — for those who know, always rightly; for those who do not know, always one way at one time, another way at another. Iron instruments: by craft they melt the iron all around, compelling the fire with pneuma, removing the existing nourishment, and having made it porous, they strike and drive it together; and by the nourishment of other water it becomes strong.
13. A human being undergoes these same things at the hands of the trainer (paidotribēs): its available nourishment is removed by fire, compelled by pneuma; becoming porous it is struck, rubbed, cleansed; and by the introduction of waters from elsewhere it becomes strong. And the fullers accomplish the same thing: they kick, beat, pull, and by mistreating the cloth they make it stronger; by shearing what is excessive and interweaving, they make it finer. A human being undergoes these same things.
15. Cobblers divide wholes into parts and make parts into wholes; and by cutting and piercing they make what is unsound sound. And a human being undergoes the same thing: from wholes, parts are divided, and from parts set together, wholes come to be; and by being pierced and cut by physicians in what is unsound they are made healthy; and this too belongs to the physician's craft — to remove what is painful, and by taking away what causes suffering to bring about health. Nature by herself knows how to do these things: when sitting one has pain in rising; when moving one has pain in resting; and nature has other such things of the physician's craft. Carpenters sawing — one pushes, one pulls — each doing the same thing from each side; when drilling, one pulls, one pushes; the one pressing, what is above goes upward, what is below goes below; by making less they make more, and by making more they make less, and they imitate the nature of a human being.
16. Pneuma — one part draws, another pushes, doing the same thing from each side; of foods, some are pressed downward, some creep upward. From one psyche being divided, more and fewer, greater and lesser. Builders work out of different materials what is useful, moistening the dry things and drying the moist, dividing the wholes and joining the divided; if they were not in this condition, they could not hold as they ought.
17. They imitate human diaita — moistening the dry, drying the moist, dividing the wholes, joining the divided; all these different things are useful to nature. For a musical instrument, first a substrate must be present in which harmony can make clear what it wishes; the arrangements from the same notes are not the same, from high and from low — alike in name but not alike in sound; the most different things are most useful together, and the least different things are least useful together; and if someone makes everything alike, there is no delight; the most changes and most varied are what delight most.
18. Cooks prepare dishes for human beings, combining things different and compatible, of all sorts, from the same things not the same — food and drink for human beings; if one makes everything alike there is no delight; nor if one were to arrange everything in the same manner would it be correct. The beats in music are struck some high, some low. The tongue imitates music by discerning the sweet and the sharp in what falls upon it, and what is discordant and concordant; it strikes the tones upward and downward, and neither what is above correctly struck below is right, nor what is below struck above; but when the tongue is well tuned, delight comes from the concordance, and when it is out of tune, pain. Fleece-dressers stretch, rub, comb, wash — these are the care of children.
19
Braidmakers, leading strands round in a circle, weave them together, ending where they began: this is the circuit (periodos) in the body — wherever it starts, it ends there. Gold-workers work the metal: they hammer it, wash it, melt it in a gentle fire; with a fierce fire it does not hold together. When they have worked it through, they use it for everything. A person pounds grain, washes it, grinds it, uses it after heating; with a fierce fire in the body it does not hold together, but with a gentle one it does.
21
Sculptors make a likeness of the body, but not the psyche (living principle); and they do not make it having intelligence — working from water and earth, drying what is wet and wetting what is dry, they take away from what is in excess and add to what is lacking, building up from the smallest toward the greatest. A person undergoes the same: he grows from the smallest to the greatest, taking away from what is in excess, adding to what is lacking, wetting what is dry and drying what is wet. Potters spin the wheel, and it advances neither backward nor forward, yet is an imitator of the revolution of the whole in both directions at once; and on the same wheel as it revolves they produce all manner of things — no one thing like another — from the same materials with the same tools.
22
Human beings undergo the same as the other living creatures: all work within the same revolution, producing nothing alike from the same materials with the same instruments, making dry things from wet and wet things from dry. Writing (grammatikē) is like this: a composition of shapes, signs of the human voice, having the power to call to memory what has passed and to show forth what must be done; knowledge through seven shapes — all this a human being accomplishes, both one who knows letters and one who does not.
23
Human perception too works through seven shapes: hearing for sounds, sight for visible things, the nose for smell, the tongue for pleasure and displeasure, the mouth for speech, the body for touch of hot or cold, the passages of pneuma (breath / moving air) inward and outward; through these, knowledge comes to human beings. Athletic contest and the training of boys (paidotribikē) is like this: they teach how to break the rule according to rule, to act unjustly justly, to deceive, to steal, to grab, to use force — both the finest and the most shameful things; the one who does not do these things is judged bad, the one who does them good. This is a display of the folly of the many: they watch these things and declare one man out of all good, the rest bad. Many wonder; few understand.
24
When people come to the market-place they accomplish the same things: they deceive in selling and in buying; the one who has deceived most is admired. Drinking and raving, they accomplish the same things. They run, wrestle, fight, steal, deceive; one is singled out from all. Players and deceivers — speaking to those who know, they say one thing and think another; the same persons exit and enter yet are not the same; for one person to say one thing and to do another, and for the same person not to be the same person, and sometimes to have one view, sometimes another. Thus all the arts share in human nature. And the psyche of a human being, as I have also said before, holding a blending (syngkresis) of fire and water — parts of the human being — enters into every living creature that breathes, and indeed into every human being, both younger and older.
25
It does not grow similarly in all, but in the bodies of the young, since the revolution is swift and the body is capable of growth, it is kindled and thinned and spent upon the growth of the body; in the bodies of the older, since the movement is slow and the body is by now cold, it is spent upon the diminishment of the person. Those bodies that are at their peak and in the child-bearing ages of life are able to nourish and increase; powerful people can do this — whoever is able to nourish the greatest number of people, that person is strong; when those nourished by him fall away, that person becomes weaker. The same holds for each of the bodies, most especially: those that can nourish the most psychai are stronger; when these depart, they are weaker. Whatever enters another body does not grow; but whatever enters the woman grows, if it meets with what is fitting.
26
All the limbs are differentiated and grow at the same time: none comes before or after another; those greater by nature appear before the lesser ones, not because they arise first. Nor are all ordered in equal time, but some more quickly, some more slowly, as each happens to encounter fire and nourishment. Some, then, have all parts manifest within forty days, others within two months, others within three, others within four months. Likewise they become capable of birth: some more quickly, becoming complete at seven months, others more slowly, completely at nine months; they are brought to light bearing the blending (syngkresis) that they will retain throughout life. Males and females would come about in this way, as far as is possible: females grow more toward water, from cold, wet, and soft foods and drinks and pursuits; males more toward fire, from dry and warm foods and the rest of their diaita (regimen / ordering of life), plainly.
27
If one wishes to beget a female, one must employ the diaita tending toward water; if a male, one must conduct oneself according to the practice tending toward fire — and not only the man must accomplish this, but also the woman. For it is not only what separates from the man that is capable of growth; what comes from the woman also plays a role, for this reason: each part alone does not have sufficient movement relative to the quantity of fluid, so as to consume what flows in and to make it cohere, on account of the weakness of the fire. But whenever both fall together in the same place, fire encounters fire and water likewise. If the fire moves around in a dry place, it masters the water that has fallen in with it, and from this the fire grows, so that it is not extinguished by the oncoming surge, but rather receives what comes in and consolidates it with what is already there. If however it falls into moisture, it is extinguished at once from the start by the oncoming surge and dissolves into a lesser arrangement. On a single day of each month it is able to consolidate and master what comes in — and this if the matter happens to have fallen together from both parties in the right place. Both female and male are able to consolidate toward each other, because in both, both are nourished; and because the psyche is the same in all ensouled beings, while the body differs in each.
28
The psyche, then, is always similar, in the larger and in the smaller; for it does not undergo alteration either through nature or through necessity. The body, however, is never the same for anyone, either by nature or under necessity, for one part is separated into everything and the other mingles with everything. If, then, what is separated from both should prove to be male in body, growth proceeds according to what is already there, and these become men bright in psyche and strong in body — unless harmed by the diaita that follows. But if what is separated from the man is male and what is from the woman female, and the male prevails, the weaker psyche joins to the stronger one, for it has nothing in its surroundings toward which it can depart in a more congenial direction; for the lesser receives the greater and the greater receives the lesser; together they master what is already there. The male body grows, the female diminishes and is distinguished into another portion. These men are less bright than the former, yet because the male from the man has prevailed, they become manly (andreios) and rightly bear that name. If female is separated from the woman and male from the man, and the male prevails, growth proceeds in the same way as before; the female portion diminishes; and these become androgynous (androgynes) and are rightly so called. These, then, are the three kinds of origin for men, varying in the degree of being such-and-such on account of the blending (syngkresis) of the water of the parts, and nourishments and upbringings and habits. I shall show as the account proceeds regarding these matters as well. The female comes about in the same way: if female is separated from both, they become most feminine and most naturally gifted; if female from the woman and male from the man, and the female prevails, growth proceeds the same way, and these are bolder than the former, yet they too are well-ordered; if female from the man and male from the woman, and the female prevails, growth proceeds the same way, and they become more daring than the former and are called manly (andreias).
29
If anyone should disbelieve that psyche mingles with psyche, let him observe coals — placing burned coals against unburned ones, strong ones against weak ones, giving them nourishment: they will all present the same appearance to the body and one will not be distinguishable from another, but whatever kind of body they are kindled in, the whole will be of that kind. But when they have consumed the nourishment that was there, they are separated into the invisible. The same thing happens to the human psyche. The account will make clear in what follows regarding the genesis of twins.
30
The nature of the woman is for the most part responsible for the womb: if both wombs are naturally alike at the mouth, and open alike, and are dried out from the purging, they are capable of nourishing, if what comes from the man is received, so as to split off immediately; for it is necessary in that case that it scatter upon both wombs alike. If, then, seed is separated in large quantity and strong from both, it can grow in both spaces; for it masters the nourishment as it comes in. If something occurs otherwise, twins do not arise. Whenever male seed is separated from both, by necessity males are generated in both; whenever female from both, females arise; whenever one is female and the other male, whichever prevails in each, that kind grows. Twins are alike to each other for this reason: first, the spaces in which they grow are equal; next, they were separated at the same time; next, they grow on the same nourishments; and they are brought to light as viable together. Successive children (epigona) come about in this way: whenever the wombs are warm and dry by nature, and the woman is of such a constitution, and dry and warm seed falls in, no moisture arises any longer in the wombs that could master the seed as it enters; for this reason it consolidates from the beginning and lives, but cannot continue, and additionally destroys what was already there, because the same things are not advantageous to both.
32
The finest water and the most porous fire, taking on a blending (syngkresis) in the human body, produce the most healthy condition for these reasons: in the greatest changes of the seasons throughout the year, neither reaches its extreme — neither water to its densest in the onsets of water, nor fire in the onsets of fire, nor in the transitions of ages, nor in the diaita of food and drink. For both are capable of receiving the greatest genesis and satiation. The softest and most porous bronze receives the greatest blending (krēsis) and becomes finest; and the finest water and the most porous fire taking on a blending likewise. Those, then, who have this nature remain in good health up to forty years, and some even to the very end of old age; and those of them who are seized by any illness past forty years do not readily die. Those bodies, on the other hand, that take on a blending of the most intense fire and the densest water become strong and robust in body, but require much guarding; for they undergo great changes in both directions: in the onsets of water they fall into illness, and likewise in the onsets of fire. It is advantageous for such a person to employ their diaita in opposition to the seasons of the year — when an onset of water comes, to use what tends toward fire; when an onset of fire occurs, to use what tends toward water — shifting gradually along with the season. When the thickest water and the thinnest fire are blended together in the body, such things result from which one should recognize a cold and wet nature: these bodies are more prone to illness in winter than in summer, and more in spring than in autumn. Among the ages of life, those of such a constitution are healthiest as children, second as young men, and most prone to illness as the very old and those nearest to it; these natures age quickly. It is advantageous for such persons to follow a diaita of things that warm and dry in both exercise and food; and to carry out exercises more toward the outside of the body than the inside. If one acquires a blending in the body of the wettest fire and the densest water, these are the signs by which to recognize a wet and warm nature: such persons fall ill most in spring, least in autumn, because in spring there is an excess of moisture, in autumn a fitting measure of dryness; among the ages of life, the youngest are most prone to illness; these bodies grow quickly, and such persons become prone to flux. It is advantageous to follow a diaita of things that dry and cool, in food, drink, and exercise; and for these persons it is most advantageous to carry out exercises toward the inside of the body. If one acquires a blending in the body of the most intense fire and the finest water, the nature is dry and warm; illness for such comes in the onsets of fire, health in the onsets of water; they are most prone to illness at the ages that are at their peak for good bodily condition, and healthiest in the older ages and those nearest to both extremes. Diaita-modes that cool and moisten, and exercises that produce the most cooling with the least heating and melting away — such natures become long-lived and age well. If one acquires a blending of the most porous fire and the driest water, such a nature is dry and cold; prone to illness in autumn, healthy in spring and the nearest seasons likewise; the ages up to forty years are prone to illness; children are healthiest and those adjacent to each extreme.
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Diaita-modes that are warm and moisten; and exercises introduced from a small amount, warming gradually, not drawing much away from what is already there. Concerning the recognition of nature, one must thus recognize the constitution from the beginning. The ages stand in the following relation to one another: a child is blended (kekrētai) of wet and warm, because it is constituted from these and grew in these; those nearest to birth are most wet and most warm, and grow most, and those next likewise.
33
A young man is warm, because the advance of fire prevails over water; dry, because the moisture from childhood has already been consumed — partly in the growth of the body, partly in the movement of fire, partly under labors. A man at full stature, when the body has come to a stop, is dry and cold, because the advance of warmth no longer prevails but has halted, and with the body at rest from growing it has cooled; from the younger age the dryness remains; from the coming age and the advance of water, not yet having moisture, he is accordingly dominated by dry things. Old men are cold and wet, because fire recedes and water advances; the dry departs and the wet settles in. Among all, males are warmer and drier, females wetter and colder, for this reason: that from the beginning each came to be in such conditions and is increased by such; and when born, males employ more laborious diaita-modes, so as to be heated and dried out, while females employ wetter and more idle diaita-modes, and carry out a purging of the warmth from the body each month.
35
Concerning the intelligence (phronēsis) of the psyche and what is called its folly (aphrosynē), the matter stands thus: the wettest fire and the driest water taking on a blend (krēsis) in the body produce the most intelligent constitution, because the fire has from the water its moisture, and the water from the fire its dryness; each in this way is most self-sufficient. The fire does not long wander in want of nourishment, nor does the water become sluggish for long from need of movement; each in itself and blended together with each other is thus most self-sufficient. For whatever needs least of what is near it, that thing attends most to what is at hand — fire that moves least except under compulsion, and water that is most still except under violence. The psyche blended from these is most intelligent and most capable of memory. If by some inducement either of these were increased or diminished, it would become most foolish, because in their present state they are most self-sufficient. If one acquires a blending of the purest fire and water, but the fire falls somewhat short of the water, such persons are also intelligent, but less so than the former, because fire, mastered by water and making a slower movement, strikes the perceptions more sluggishly; yet such psychai are reasonably steadfast toward whatever they attend to; and if they were to follow a correct diaita, they would become more intelligent and sharper than their nature. It is advantageous for such persons to use the diaita-modes tending toward fire more, and not to have repletion of either food or drink. They should use swift running, so that the body is emptied of its moisture and the moisture settles faster; wrestling and rubbing and exercises of that kind are not advantageous, so that the passages, becoming more hollow, are not filled with repletion, for the movement of the psyche is necessarily weighed down by such things. It is advantageous to use walks both after dinner and in the early morning and after running: after dinner, so that the psyche receives drier nourishment from what comes in; in the early morning, so that the passages are emptied of moisture and the channels of the psyche are not obstructed; after exercises, so that what has been separated off in running is not left behind in the body, nor mixed with the psyche, nor blocks the passages, nor disturbs the nourishment. It is also advantageous to use emetics, so that the body is purged if the exercises accomplish less than they should; one should build back up after the emetics, adding to the food gradually over at least four days. It is more advantageous to anoint than to bathe; to engage in sexual activity more in the onsets of water, less in the onsets of fire. If the fire in someone acquires a power still more deficient than the water, such a person must necessarily be slower, and those of this kind are called dull-witted (ēlithioi); for since the circuit (periodos) is slow, the perceptions strike only a little at a time, and though they are sharp, they mingle only briefly on account of the slowness of the circuit. The perceptions of the psyche that come through sight and hearing are sharp; those that come through touch are slower and more susceptible. Of these latter things such persons are no less perceptive — cold and warm and such things; but what must be perceived through sight or hearing, things they did not know before, they are unable to perceive; for if the psyche is not shaken by fire that has fallen upon it, it would not perceive what kind of thing it is. Such psychai do not undergo this owing to their density; but if they were to follow a correct diaita, these too would improve.
35 (50) [110]
The same diaita (regimen / ordering of life) benefits such a person as the previous one, but he should use foods that are drier and in lesser quantity, and exercises more numerous and more vigorous. It also benefits him to use vapor-baths, and to use emetics after the vapor-baths, and to advance from the emetics over a longer period of time than the previous case; and by doing these things he would be healthier and more clear-minded. But if fire were to be overpowered to a still greater degree by the water that is present, people call such persons by now either "without understanding" or "thunderstruck." The madness of such types tends toward the slower; they weep when nothing is paining or striking them, they fear things that are not fearful, they grieve over things that are not fitting, and truly they perceive nothing as a clear-minded person should. It therefore benefits these people to use vapor-baths, and to be purged with hellebore after the vapor-baths, and to follow the diaita I described before. Such a person needs slenderness and dryness of the lung. But if the water were to have lesser capacity, while fire has a pure blending, in healthy bodies such a psyche (life-breath / living principle) is clear-minded, swiftly perceiving what presents itself, and not often changing its mind. Such, then, is the nature of a good psyche; it would become better if the person follows a correct diaita, and worse if he does not. It benefits such a person to follow the diaita that tends more toward water, guarding against excess in foods and drinks and exercises, and using curved runs and double runs and wrestling and the other exercises, making no excess of anything. For if the body is in a healthy state and is not thrown into disorder by something else, the blending of the psyche remains clear-minded. But if the power of water should be overpowered to a greater degree by fire, the psyche is necessarily sharper by that amount by which it moves more quickly, and it strikes against sensations more swiftly, but it is less stable than the former types, because the things that arrive are judged and it rushes on to more things by reason of its quickness. It benefits such a person to live by a diaita tending more toward water than the previous one; and to use barley-cake rather than bread, and fish rather than meats; and the drink more diluted with water; and to make use of sexual intercourse less; and of exercises, those most according to nature and in greatest number; and to use those done by force as well, but fewer of them; and emetics after periods of surfeit, so that the body is emptied but heated as little as possible. It also benefits such people to keep away from excess flesh for the sake of being clear-minded; for toward a fine condition of flesh there must necessarily come an inflammation of the blood; and when such a psyche undergoes this, it falls into madness, since water has been overcome and fire drawn in. It also benefits such people to carry out their affairs rather when they have eaten than when they are without food; for the psyche is more settled when mixed with suitable nourishment than when it is deficient in nourishment. But if the water should be overpowered yet more by fire, such a psyche is excessively sharp, and these people must necessarily have waking dreams; people call them "sub-mad"; for such a state is nearest to madness — they go mad from a slight and adverse inflammation, and during intoxication, and during fine conditions of the flesh, and from eating meat. But such a person must abstain from all these things and from all other excess, and from exercises done by force; he should live on unworked barley-cake and on boiled vegetables except those that are purgative, and small fish in brine, and it is best to drink water if he is able; if not, the nearest thing to that — from a soft, white wine; and to take many early-morning walks, and after the evening meal only enough to rise from the table, so that the food is not dried out by the after-dinner walks, while the body is emptied by the early-morning one. He should be rinsed all around with lukewarm water rather than anointed with oil. It also benefits such a person to take short, not lengthy, daytime sleeps in summer, so that the body is not dried out by the season. In spring it is appropriate to purge with hellebore after first applying vapor-baths, then to advance quietly toward the diaita, and this person too should not carry out his affairs without food. From this attentiveness such a psyche would be most clear-minded.
36 [15]
Concerning, then, the clear-minded and the unclear-minded psyche, this blending is the cause, as is written; and it can become both better and worse out of the diaita. By running, when fire prevails, it is possibly to add to the water; and when water prevails in the blending, to increase the fire; and from these measures psyches become more clear-minded or more unclear-minded. But the blending is not the cause of the following kinds: for example, quick-tempered, easy-going, cunning, straightforward, ill-disposed, well-disposed — for all such traits, the nature of the passages through which the psyche travels is the cause; for according to what kinds of vessels it withdraws, and what kinds of things it encounters, and with what kinds of things it mingles, such are their ways of thinking. For this reason it is possible to change such traits by means of diaita; for it is not possible to remodel a hidden nature. Likewise also, whatever the voice may be like, the passages of the pneuma (breath / moving air) are responsible; for according to what kinds of things the air moves through and what kinds of things it encounters, such the voice must necessarily be. And these things can be made worse or better, since it is possible to make the passages for the pneuma smoother or rougher; but that — the nature itself — it is impossible to alter by diaita. PERI DIAITES.
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BOOK TWO. One must discern thus the position and nature of each region. To speak generally, the situation is this: the region lying toward the south is warmer and drier than that lying toward the north, because it is nearer to the sun. In these regions both the peoples of men and the things growing from the earth must necessarily be drier and warmer and stronger than in the opposite regions — for example, the Libyan people compared with the Pontic and those nearest to each. Now these regions in themselves are as follows: the high, parched places lying toward the south are drier than the plains lying similarly, because they have less moisture; for the former afford no standing place for rainwater, while the latter do. The marshy and boggy places moisten and warm: they warm because they are hollow and enclosed and not well ventilated; they moisten because what grows from the earth there is moister, the things on which men feed, and the pneuma that we breathe in is denser on account of the water standing still. The hollow places that have no water dry and warm: they warm because they are hollow and enclosed; they dry on account of the dryness of what is fed on there, and because the pneuma that we breathe in, being dry, draws the moisture out of bodies to nourish itself, having nothing moister to encounter for its nourishment. Where mountains adjoin the regions toward the south, in those places the south winds blow in parched and unhealthy. Where mountains lie to the north, in those places the north winds throw things into disorder and produce diseases. Where hollow ground lies toward the north adjoining the towns, or an island lies opposite from the sea, that region is warm and unhealthy in relation to the summer winds, because neither does the north wind blowing through it supply clean incoming pneuma, nor is it cooled down by the summer winds. Of islands, those near the mainland are more harsh in winter, while those in the open sea are milder in winter, because snows and frosts on the mainland have a standing place and send cold winds to the nearby islands, while the open sea has no standing in winter. Concerning winds — what nature and what power each has — one must discern as follows.
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All winds have a nature to moisten and cool both the bodies of living creatures and the things growing from the earth, for the following reasons: all these winds must necessarily blow from snow and ice and hard frosts and rivers and lakes and earth that has been moistened and cooled. The stronger winds come from greater and stronger sources, the weaker from smaller and weaker ones; for just as in living creatures there is pneuma, so too in all other things, in some less, in some according to their magnitude. So all winds have a nature to cool and to moisten. But by reason of the position of regions and places through which the winds arrive at each land, they differ from one another — colder, warmer, moister, drier, more disease-producing, more health-giving. The cause of each must be known as follows: the north wind blows cold and moist because it sets out from such regions, and travels through such places as the sun does not creep over, nor drying the air drinks up the moisture — so it arrives over the inhabited world retaining its own power, wherever it is not destroyed by the position of the land; and it is coldest for those living nearest to it, least cold for those farthest away. The south wind blows from regions similar in nature to those of the north; for blowing from the southern pole, setting out from much snow and ice and hard frosts, it must blow for those living near it there as the north wind blows for us. But it no longer arrives the same over every land; for blowing through the paths of the sun and toward the south, its moisture is drunk up by the sun; as it is dried it becomes rare; therefore it must arrive here warm and dry. In the nearest regions it must necessarily produce such a power — warm and dry — and it does this in Libya: for it parches what grows there, and dries up men without their noticing; for having no moisture to draw from sea or river, it drinks the moisture from living creatures and from plants. But when it has crossed the open sea — being warm and rare — it fills the land with much wetness as it falls upon it; and the south wind must be warm and moist wherever the positions of the regions are not the cause of something otherwise. In the same way the powers of the other winds also stand. In each land the winds stand as follows: the winds that fall into the lands from the sea, or from snow or frosts or lakes or rivers, all moisten and cool both plants and animals, and provide health to bodies insofar as they do not exceed in coldness; and even these cause harm, because they bring about great changes of hot and cold in bodies — this is what those suffer who live in marshy, warm places near powerful rivers. The other winds, as many as blow from the sources already stated, are beneficial, providing air that is clean and pure and giving moisture to the warmth of the psyche. Those winds that travel by land must necessarily be drier, being dried by the sun and by the earth; and having no nourishment from which to draw, the winds, drawing the moisture from living things, harm both plants and all animals.
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And those that come over the mountains and fall upon the cities not only dry things but also throw into disorder the pneuma that we breathe and the bodies of men, so as to produce diseases. The nature and power of each must thus be known. How one must prepare against each of them I will make clear as the account proceeds. The power of each food and drink — both the power according to nature and that arising from art — must be known as follows.
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All those who have attempted to speak universally about the power of sweet things, or fatty things, or salty things, or any other such things, do not know rightly; for neither sweet things have the same power among themselves, nor fatty things, nor any of the others of that kind; for many sweet things cause passing of the bowels, and check it, and dry, and moisten. And the same is true of all the others: some things astringent also pass by stool and by urine, while others do neither. Likewise also with warming things and all the others: each has a different power from the rest. Now it is not possible to make clear what all things are; but what power each has individually I will teach. Barley by nature is cold and moist, and yet it dries; and it has something purgative from the juice of the chaff. Evidence: if you wish to boil barley unpeeled, the juice purges strongly; if peeled, it cools more and checks the bowels; but when it is roasted, the moist and purgative part is destroyed by fire, and the cold and dry is left behind.
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For cases requiring cooling and drying, barley-flour will accomplish it when used in the following way as barley-cake of all kinds, which has this sort of power. Coarsely-milled flour has less nourishment but passes the bowels more; finely-sifted flour is more nourishing but passes less. A barley-cake that has been steeped beforehand, sprinkled with water, not worked, is light, and both passes the bowels and cools; it cools because it has been made moist with cold water; it passes because it is quickly concocted (pepsis; concoction); and it is light because much of the nourishment is expelled outward together with the pneuma. For the passages being too narrow for the nourishment do not admit more as it comes on; and that which is thinned with the pneuma is expelled outward, while what remains there produces wind; and some is belched upward, and some passes downward; so much of the nourishment is breathed away from the body. But if you wish to give the barley-cake immediately after kneading, such a one is drying; for the barley-flour being dry and having become thoroughly soaked with water in this way, when it falls into the belly draws the warm moisture out of it; for it is the nature of the warm to draw the cold, and the cold to draw the warm; and as the moisture from the belly is used up, it must necessarily be dried, while the water that entered together with the cake, as it is drawn in, makes it cold. Whatever cases require drying or cooling — whether a flux of the bowels or some other fever — such a barley-cake will accomplish it. The dry worked cake does not dry in the same way because it is strongly compacted, but it gives the most nourishment to the body, because — melting quietly (ἡσυχῇ) — the passages receive the nourishment at leisure; it passes the bowels slowly and produces no wind and is not belched. The pre-steeped worked cake nourishes less, but passes the bowels and produces more wind. Kukeon (a stirred drink) made with barley-flour alone on water cools and nourishes; on wine it warms and nourishes and checks; on honey it warms less and nourishes, but passes more, unless the honey is undiluted; if undiluted, it does not pass but checks; on milk, all are nourishing, except that sheep's milk checks, goat's milk passes more, cow's milk passes less, and mare's and ass's milk pass more.
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Wheat is stronger than barley and more nourishing, but both it and its juice pass the bowels less. Bread: the coarsely-milled dries and passes; the fine-sifted nourishes more and passes less. Among breads themselves, the leavened is light and passes; it is light because the moisture — which is the nourishment — is consumed beforehand by the sourness of the leaven; it passes because it is quickly concocted. The unleavened passes less but nourishes more. Bread kneaded with the juice is lighter, nourishes adequately, and passes; it nourishes because it is fine-sifted; it is light because it has been kneaded with the lightest thing and leavened and baked by it; it passes because it has been mixed with the sweet and bowel-passing quality of the wheat. Of breads themselves, the largest are most nourishing because the fire burns off the moisture from them least; and oven-baked breads are more nourishing than those baked on coals or on a spit, because they are burned by fire less. Clibanus-baked and embers-baked are driest: the latter through the ash, the former through the earthenware pot drinking up the moisture. Fine-wheat breads are strongest of all these, and even more so those made from groats, and very nourishing, but they do not pass the bowels in the same way. Fine-milled flour drunk in water cools, as does washed starch-wash over fire. Bran-juice boiled is light and passes the bowels. Flour boiled in milk passes more than in water, on account of the whey, and especially in those prone to looseness of the bowels. Whatever things made of flour are boiled or baked with honey and oil, all are burning and belch-producing; belch-producing because while nourishing they are not laxative; burning because being fatty and sweet and not compatible with one another, requiring different degrees of boiling, they are in the same thing. Fine-wheat flour and groats boiled are strong and nourishing but do not pass the bowels. Spelt and emmer are lighter than wheat, and what is made from them is similar to what is made from wheat, and they pass the bowels more.
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Oats moisten and cool when eaten and when made into a gruel. Fresh barley-flour and wheat-flour are drier than old, because they are nearer to the fire and to the work; but as they age, the warmth breathes out and the cold comes in.
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Breads hot dry; cold, less so; day-old, somewhat less still, and they provide a certain leanness. Beans: somewhat nourishing, checking, and wind-producing; wind-producing because the passages do not receive the nourishment arriving in a body; checking because they have little sediment in the nourishment.
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Pissos-beans produce less wind but pass more. Ochros-beans and long-beans are more laxative than these, less wind-producing, and nourishing. White chickpeas pass by stool and urine and nourish; the fleshy part nourishes, the sweet passes by urine, the salty passes by stool. Millet-groats and bran: dry and checking; strong for those who labor, along with figs. Millet itself boiled is nourishing but does not pass the bowels. Lentils: burning and disturbing, and they neither pass nor check. Bitter-vetch: checking and strong; it thickens and fills and gives good color to a person. Flax-seed: nourishing and checking; it has also something cooling. Clary seed accomplishes much the same as flax. Lupins are by nature strong and warm, but through preparation they are lighter and more cooling, and they pass the bowels. Hedge-mustard moistens and passes. Cucumber-seed passes by urine more than by stool. Sesame unwashed passes the bowels, and fills and thickens; it passes because of the outer chaff; it fills and thickens because of the flesh; washed, it passes the bowels less, but thickens and fills more, and it parches and burns because of its fat and richness. Safflower passes the bowels. Poppy is checking, especially black poppy, but also white poppy; it is nourishing and strong. Of all these things the chymoi (bodily fluids / juices) pass the bowels more than the flesh; one must therefore take care in preparation — for as many things as you wish to dry, remove the chymoi and use the flesh; for as many as you wish to make pass the bowels, use more of the chymos and less of the flesh, and more juicy flesh. Concerning the animals that are eaten, it must be known as follows.
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Beef is strong and checking and hard to concoct (pepsis) in the belly, because this animal has thick and abundant blood; and the meats are heavy for the body, and so are the flesh itself and the blood and the milk. Those animals whose milk is thin and whose blood is similar have similar flesh as well. Goat-meat is lighter than beef and passes more. Pork gives the body more strength than these and passes well, because the pig has thin veins with little blood but much flesh. Lamb is lighter than mutton, and kid lighter than goat, because they have less blood and are moister. For animals that are dry and strong by nature, when they are still tender they pass the bowels; when grown, not so much — and so too calf-meat compared with beef. Suckling pig is heavier than full-grown pork; for the animal being well-fleshed by nature and poorly blooded has an excess of moisture as long as it is young; when the passages do not receive the nourishment arriving, what stays behind warms and disturbs the belly. Ass-meat passes the bowels, and foal-meat even more, and horse-meat is lighter. Dog-meat warms and dries and gives strength, but does not pass the bowels; puppy-meat moistens and passes the bowels, and passes by urine more. Wild boar dries and gives strength and passes the bowels. Deer-meat dries and passes less by stool but more by urine. Hare: dry and checking, but provides some urine flow. Fox-meat is moister and passes by urine; and land-hedgehog promotes urine and moistens. Concerning birds, it stands as follows: nearly all birds are drier than four-footed animals; for those that have no bladder neither urinate nor salivate — they are altogether dry; for through the warmth of the belly the moisture is consumed from the body into nourishment for the warmth, so that they neither urinate nor salivate; and what has not such moistures in it must necessarily be dry. The driest flesh appears to be that of the wood-pigeon, second that of the dove, third that of the partridge and the cock and the turtledove; the moistest is that of the goose.
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All seed-eating birds are drier than the others. Duck and all others that have their diaita in marshes or in waters are all moist. Among fish, the driest are these: scorpionfish, dragonfish, gurnard, cuckoo-fish, grey-fish, perch, thrissa. The rock-fish are almost all light — for instance, wrasse, rockfish, elephitis, goby. Fish of this latter sort and those mentioned before are lighter than the wandering fish; for, remaining still, these have flesh that is loose and light.
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Wandering fish and wave-beaten fish, both worn down by their labor, have flesh that is denser and deeper. Torpedo-rays, skates, plaice, and the like are lighter. Such fish as find their nourishment in muddy and watery places — mullet, grey mullet, eels, and such — are heavier, because they draw their nourishment from water and mud and the things that grow in these; and from these sources also the pneuma entering the person does harm and weighs him down. River fish and lake fish are still heavier than these. Octopuses, cuttlefish, and the like are neither light, as they seem, nor loosening to the bowels, and they dull the eyes; yet their juices do loosen the bowels. As for shellfish — such as pinna-mussels, purple-snails, limpets, whelks, oysters — the flesh itself is drying, but their juices are loosening. Mussels, scallops, and tellins loosen more than these; sea-anemones most of all. Cartilaginous fish moisten and loosen. Sea-urchin eggs and the fluid of the spiny lobster loosen the bowels, as do sea-bears and crabs — river crabs more, but sea crabs as well — and they promote urination. Salted fish dry and thin the body; the fatty ones loosen the bowels fairly well. The driest of salted fish are the sea fish, second the river fish, moistest the lake fish; and among the sea fish themselves, those called perch are the driest when salted. Among domesticated animals, those that range in woodland and field are drier than those kept indoors, because through their labor they are dried out — both by the sun and by the cold — and they make use of drier pneuma.
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Wild animals are drier than tame ones; raw-flesh eaters and those that feed in the forest and those that eat little are drier than those that eat much; those that feed on green shoots are drier than those that feed on grass; those that eat fruit are drier than those that do not; those that drink little are drier than those that drink much; those with much blood are drier than those bloodless or with little blood; those in their prime are drier than those very old or very young; males are drier than females; the entire are drier than the castrated; the dark-skinned are drier than the light; the shaggy are drier than the smooth. The opposites are moister. Among the parts of the animals themselves, the strongest flesh is that which labors most and is most blooded and that on which the animal lies; the lightest of the flesh-parts is that which labors least and is least blooded, and that in the shade, and what is innermost in the animal. Among the bloodless parts, brain and marrow are the strongest; the lightest are heads, muscles, scallops, and feet. In fish, the upper parts are driest, the belly-parts lightest, and the heads are moister on account of their fat and brain. Birds' eggs have something strong and nourishing and flatulent about them: strong, because they are the origin of the animal; nourishing, because this is the milk for the chick; flatulent, because from a small mass they spread out into much.
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Cheese is strong, heat-producing, nourishing, and binding. Strong, because it is closest to the origin; nourishing, because it is what remains of the fleshy part of milk; heat-producing, because it is fatty; binding, because it is set together with fig-juice and rennet. Water is cold and moist. Wine is warm and dry; it also has something purifying from its substance.
52 [25]
Among wines, dark and harsh ones are drier, and neither loosen the bowels nor promote urination nor promote spitting; they dry by their heat, consuming the moisture from the body. Soft dark wines are moister and cause wind and loosen the bowels more. Sweet dark wines are moister and weaker, cause wind, and produce moisture. White harsh wines warm but do not dry; they promote urination more than they loosen the bowels. New wines loosen the bowels more than old ones, because they are closer to the must and more nourishing; and among wines of the same age, those with aroma loosen more than those without, because they are more fully ripened; and thick wines more than thin ones. Thin wines promote urination more. White thin sweet wines promote urination more than they loosen the bowels; they cool and thin and moisten the body, and make the blood weak, augmenting what is opposed to the blood in the body. Must causes wind, disturbs, and moves the bowels; it causes wind because it heats; it moves the bowels out from the body because it purges; it disturbs by boiling in the belly and loosening. Acid wines cool, thin, and moisten — they cool and thin by drawing off the moisture from the body, and moisten by the water that enters with the wine. Vinegar is cooling, because in dissolving the moisture in the body it consumes it; it binds more than it loosens, because it is not nourishing and is sharp. Boiled-down wine warms, moistens, and moves the bowels: it warms because it is wine-like; it moistens because it is nourishing; it moves the bowels because it is sweet and has been additionally boiled. Wine-lees from the pressed grape moisten, move the bowels, and cause wind, because the must does the same. Honey is warm and dry when unmixed; but mixed with water it moistens and loosens the bowels for those of bilious constitution, and binds for those of phlegmatic constitution.
53
Sweet wine loosens the bowels more for those of phlegmatic constitution. Concerning vegetables, this is how it stands.
54 [45]
Garlic is warm and loosens the bowels and promotes urination; it is good for the body but harmful for the eyes, for by producing much purging of the body it dulls the sight; it loosens the bowels and promotes urination on account of its purging property; boiled it is weaker than raw; and it produces flatulence through the blocking of the pneuma. Onion is good for the sight but bad for the body, because it is warm and burning and does not loosen the bowels; for it gives no nourishment nor benefit to the body, but warming, it dries through its juice. Leek warms less, but promotes urination and loosens the bowels; it has something purifying; it moistens and stops acid regurgitation; it is good to eat it last among other foods. Radish moistens by dissolving the phlegm with its sharpness; the leaves do so less, except against those suffering in the joints; the root is troublesome, floating on top and hard to digest (dyspeptos). Cress is warm and dissolves the flesh; it stops white phlegm, so as to produce strangury. Mustard is warm and loosening to the bowels, yet it makes urination difficult; and rocket also accomplishes similar things. Coriander is warm and binding, and stops acid regurgitation; eaten last among foods it also induces sleep. Lettuce is cooler before it has its juice; it produces a certain weakness in the body. Dill is warm and binding, and stops sneezing when smelled. Celery promotes urination more than it loosens the bowels, and its roots loosen the bowels more than the plant itself. Basil is dry, warm, and binding. Rue promotes urination more than it loosens the bowels; it has something astringent, and it benefits against harmful drugs when drunk beforehand. Asparagus is dry and binding. Sage is dry and binding. Nightshade cools and prevents nocturnal emissions. Fresh purslane cools; preserved, it warms. Nettle purges. Calamint warms and purges. Mint warms, promotes urination, and stops vomiting; and if someone eats it often it dissolves the seed so that it flows, and it prevents erection, and makes the body weak. Sorrel, warming, loosens the bowels. Orach is moist, but does not loosen the bowels. Blite is not warming, but loosening. Cabbage warms, loosens the bowels, and moves bilious matter. Of beet, the juice loosens the bowels while the vegetable when eaten binds; the roots of beets are more loosening. Gourd cools, moistens, and loosens the bowels, but does not promote urination. Turnip is heat-producing; it moistens and disturbs the body, but does not loosen the bowels, and makes urination difficult. Pennyroyal warms and loosens. Oregano warms and moves bilious matter. Savory accomplishes similar things to oregano. Thyme is warm, loosens the bowels and promotes urination, and moves phlegmatic matter. Hyssop warms and moves phlegmatic matter. Among wild vegetables, those that are warming and fragrant in the mouth warm and promote urination more than they loosen the bowels; those that have a moist, cold, dull nature or heavy odors pass downward more than they promote urination; those that are astringent or harsh are binding; those that are sharp and fragrant promote urination; those that are sharp and dry in the mouth all dry; those that are sour are cooling. The juices that promote urination are: samphire, celery, soakings of garlic, cytisus, fennel, leek, maidenhair, nightshade; cooling: hart's-tongue, mint, seseli, endive, hedge-parsley, St. John's-wort, nettles; loosening and purging: chick-peas, lentil, barley, beet, cabbage, mercury-herb, elder, safflower. All these pass downward more than they promote urination.
55 [25]
Concerning orchard fruits, this is how it stands. Those bearing inward fruit are more loosening; and green ones more than dried. Their properties will be stated. Mulberries warm, moisten, and loosen the bowels. Ripe pears warm, moisten, and loosen the bowels; hard ones are binding. Wild pears ripe in winter loosen the bowels and purge the belly; unripe ones are binding. Sweet apples are hard to digest; sour and ripe ones less so. Quinces are astringent and do not loosen the bowels; the juices of apples stop vomiting and promote urination; and their scents also stop vomiting; wild apples are binding, but when eaten boiled they are more loosening; and against orthopnea both their juices and the apples themselves when drunk are beneficial. Service-berries, medlars, cornelian cherries, and whatever other such orchard fruits are binding and astringent. The juice of sweet pomegranate loosens the bowels and has something heat-producing; wine-like pomegranates are flatulent; the sour ones are more cooling; and the seeds of all are binding. Raw cucumbers are cold and hard to digest; the ripe ones promote urination and loosen the bowels, but are flatulent. Grapes are warm, moist, and loosening, especially white ones; sweet ones warm strongly, because they already have much of the warm in them; unripe ones warm less, and when drunk they purge; raisins are heat-producing but loosen the bowels. Fresh fig moistens, loosens the bowels, and warms: it moistens because it is full of juice; it warms through its sweet juice; and it loosens the bowels. The first figs of the season are worst, because they are most juice-laden; the last are best. Dried figs are heat-producing and loosening. Almonds are heat-producing and nourishing: heat-producing because of their fattiness, nourishing because of their fleshy substance. Round nuts are similar; ripe flat ones are nourishing and when cleaned loosen the bowels and produce flatulence; their husks are binding. Ilex-acorns, acorns, and beech-nuts are binding raw and roasted; boiled, less so. The fatty parts of meats are heat-producing and loosening.
56 [45]
Meat pickled in wine dries and nourishes — dries on account of the wine, nourishes on account of the flesh. Meat pickled in vinegar warms less on account of the vinegar, but nourishes sufficiently. Meat pickled in salt is less nourishing, being deprived of its moisture by the salt, but slims, dries, and loosens the bowels considerably. The properties of each thing should be added and subtracted as follows, knowing that all animals and plants are constituted from fire and water, are increased by these, and are resolved back into them. From strong foods, reduce the property by boiling repeatedly and cooling; from moist foods, remove the moisture by roasting and grilling; from dry foods, by soaking and steeping; from salty foods, by soaking and boiling; from bitter and sharp foods, by blending with sweet things; from astringent foods, with fatty things. And concerning all other things, one must judge from what has been said. Things that when roasted or grilled are more binding than when raw — this is because their moisture, juice, and fat have been removed by the fire; so when they fall into the belly, they draw the moisture from the belly, closing the vessel-mouths upon themselves thereby, drying and warming, and thus they stop the passages of the moisture. Things from waterless, dry, and parching places are all drier, warmer, and provide more strength to the body, because they are heavier and denser in an equal volume — and thus more nutritive — than those from moist, irrigated, and cold places; those latter are moister, lighter, and colder. Therefore one must know not only the property of the grain, drink, and animals themselves, but also from what country they come. When one wishes to bring a stronger nourishment to the body from the same foods, one must use both grain and drink and animals from waterless places; when one wishes lighter and moister nourishment, one must use those from irrigated places. Sweet, sharp, salty, bitter, harsh, and fleshy things naturally warm, both those that are dry and those that are moist. Those that have in themselves a greater part of the dry dry and warm; those that have a greater part of the moist, all of them, while warming, moisten and loosen the bowels more than the dry ones; for giving more nourishment to the body, they produce a drawing back into the belly, and by moistening they loosen. But those foods or drinks that, while thoroughly warming, dry — without producing spitting, urination, or loose stools — dry the body for this reason: the body, being warmed, is emptied of moisture — partly by the foods themselves, partly it is consumed into nourishment by the warmth of the psyche, and partly it is pushed outward through the skin as it is warmed and made fine. Sweet, rich, and fatty things fill, because from a small bulk they are very fluid; when warmed and spread out they fill the warmth in the body and make it calm. Sour, sharp, harsh, astringent, compressed, and dry things do not fill, because they have opened and thoroughly cleansed the mouths of the vessels; and drying some, biting others, and astringeing others, they have caused the moisture in the flesh to shiver and contract into a smaller bulk; and much emptiness arose in the body. So when you wish to fill from little or to empty from more, make use of such things.
56 (50) [55]
All fresh things provide more strength than others for this reason: they are closer to what is living. Stale and decayed things loosen the bowels more than fresh, because they are closer to putrefaction. Things insufficiently cooked cause gripes and belching, because what must be worked through by fire, the belly — being weaker than what enters it — has to accomplish. Dishes prepared in sauces are heat-producing and moist, because the fatty, fiery, and hot ingredients with properties unlike each other to one another settle in the same place. Those preserved in brine or vinegar are better and not heat-producing. Concerning baths, this is how it stands. Fresh water moistens and cools, for it gives moisture to the body; salt bathing warms and dries, for, being warm by nature, it draws the moisture from the body.
57 [10]
Hot baths on an empty stomach slim and cool; for they carry the moisture from the body by heat; and as the flesh is emptied of its moisture, the body cools. After eating, they warm and moisten, by spreading out the moisture already present in the body into a greater bulk. Cold baths are the opposite: to a body that is empty they give something warm, being cold; after eating, being dry, they take away moisture from the moist body, and fill it with the existing dryness. Abstaining from bathing dries as the moisture is consumed; and so likewise does abstaining from anointing. Fat warms, moistens, and softens.
58 [5]
Sun and fire dry for this reason: being warm and dry, they draw the moisture from the body. Shade and moderate cold moisten, for they give more than they take. All perspiration, as it departs, dries and slims, as moisture leaves the body. Sexual intercourse slims, moistens, and warms: it warms through the exertion and the discharge of moisture; it slims through the emptying; it moistens through what remains in the body of the liquefaction caused by the exertion. Vomiting slims through the emptying of nourishment; it does not, however, dry — unless someone tends himself rightly on the day following — but it rather moistens through the filling and through the liquefaction of the flesh caused by the exertion. But if someone allows what has been liquefied to be consumed on the following day into nourishment by the warmth, and advances his diaita gently, vomiting dries.
59 [5]
Vomiting relieves a bound belly, and stops one that is passing too much at the wrong time — the first by moistening it, the second by drying it. When one wishes to stop it, one should eat and vomit as quickly as possible, before the food has been thoroughly moistened and drawn downward, and one should use rather astringent and harsh foods. When one wishes to loosen the belly, it is advantageous to linger as long as possible over the food, and to use sharp, salty, fatty, and sweet foods and drinks. Sleep on an empty stomach slims and cools — unless it is prolonged — by emptying the existing moisture; if more prolonged, by warming through it liquefies the flesh, dissolves the body, and makes it weak. After eating, sleep, by warming, moistens, spreading the nourishment through the body. Sleep after early-morning walks dries most.
60 [20]
Wakefulness during eating does harm, not allowing the food to be dissolved; for those without food it produces some thinning, but harms less. Idleness moistens and makes the body weak; for the psyche, being still, does not consume the moisture from the body; but exertion dries and makes the body strong. Eating one meal a day slims, dries, and binds the belly, because by the warmth of the psyche the moisture from the belly and the flesh is consumed; breakfast does the opposite of the single meal. Water as a drink, whether warm or cold, slims. Exceeding cold — whether as pneuma, food, or drink — congeals the moisture in the body and causes the cavities to contract by freezing and cooling; for it overpowers the moisture of the psyche. And again, excess of heat also congeals, to such a degree that there is no capacity to spread and flow. All those things that, by warming the body without giving nourishment, empty the flesh of moisture without producing excess, all deliver cooling to the person; for as the existing moisture is emptied out, it is filled with incoming pneuma and cools. I will now set out what power the forms of exertion have.
61 [10]
Some are according to nature, some are by force. Those according to nature are: exertion of sight, of hearing, of voice, and of anxious thought. The power of the exertion of sight is this: the psyche, attending to what is seen, is moved and warmed; being warmed it dries, as the moisture is emptied out. Through hearing, when sound falls in, the psyche is shaken and labors; laboring it is warmed and dries. Whatever a person thinks on with care, the psyche is moved by these things and warmed and dried, and, consuming the moisture, labors, empties the flesh, and thins the person. The exertions of the voice — such as speaking, reading aloud, or singing — all these move the psyche; being moved, it dries and warms, and consumes the moisture in the body. Walks are according to nature — these most of all among the rest — yet they have something forceful about them.
62 [5]
The power of each of these is as follows. The walk after the evening meal dries the belly and the body, and does not allow the stomach to become fat, for this reason: when the person is in motion, both the body and the foodstuffs are warmed; the flesh therefore draws the moisture, and does not allow it to collect around the belly; so the body is filled out while the belly is thinned. It dries for this reason: when the body is in motion and being warmed, the finest part of the nourishment is consumed — some of it by the innate heat, some is separated out with the pneuma to the outside, and some is passed out through urine; what remains in the body from the foodstuffs is the driest part, so that the belly is dried out and the flesh as well. The morning walks also thin the body, and make the region of the head light and clear and keen of hearing, and they loosen the belly. They thin, because when the body is set in motion it is warmed, and the moisture is made finer and is purified — some by the pneuma, some is blown from the nose and cleared from the throat, and some is consumed by the heat of the psyche. They loosen the belly because, the belly being warm, when the cold pneuma falls in from above, the heat retreats before the cold. They make the region of the head light for this reason: when the belly is emptied, being warm it draws to itself the moisture from the rest of the body and from the head; and as the head is emptied, the sight and hearing are cleared; and people become clear-eyed. The walks after gymnastic exercises make the bodies clean and thin them, not allowing the liquefaction of the flesh brought on by the exertion to collect, but purging it away. Of the runs, the long and winding ones, introduced gradually, warming the flesh, have the power to cook it through and to spread it out, and they concoct the power of the foodstuffs within the flesh; they make bodies slower and heavier than sprinting runs; they are also more beneficial to those who eat much, and in winter rather than in summer.
63 [15]
The runs done in a cloak have the same power, but they heat more thoroughly and make the bodies more moist, though paler in color, because the pure pneuma striking upon them does not purge them, but one trains in the same pneuma. These runs are therefore beneficial to those who are dry and those who are fleshy and wish to reduce their flesh, and to older men on account of the body's cooling. The double-course runs and the open-air horse-exercises spread the flesh out less but thin it more, because the exertions being in the outer parts of the body draw the moisture from the flesh and thin and dry the body. The sprinting runs spread the flesh out least, but thin and contract the flesh and the belly most, because using the sharpest pneuma they draw the moisture to themselves most quickly. The shaking exercises, if done for those who are dry and suddenly, are harmful; for they produce spasms, for this reason: with the body thoroughly warmed, they thin the skin strongly, but compact the flesh less than sprinting runs, and they empty the flesh of moisture.
64 [5]
The lifting and hoisting movements warm the flesh least, but they stimulate the body and the psyche and empty the pneuma. Wrestling and rubbing-down place the exertion more on the outer parts of the body, but they warm the flesh and consolidate it and cause it to grow, for this reason: the solid parts by nature, when rubbed, are compacted; and the hollow parts — as many as are vessels — grow, for the flesh, being warmed and dried, draws nourishment to itself through the vessels, and then grows. Rolling in the dust accomplishes much the same as wrestling but dries more on account of the dust, and builds flesh less. Exercising with the tips of the hands thins the body and draws the flesh upward; and punching the heavy bag and shadow-boxing accomplish much the same. Retention of pneuma can force open the passages, thin the skin, and drive the moisture out of the skin. Exercising in dust and exercising in oil differ in this: dust is cold, oil is warm. In winter oil is more growth-promoting, because the cold prevents it being carried off from the body; but in summer oil produces an excess of heat and melts the flesh, when the body is heated both by the season and by the oil and by the exertion.
65 [5]
Dust in summer is more growth-promoting, for by cooling the body it does not allow it to become heated to excess; in winter it is chilling and productive of cold. To linger in the dust after exertions in summer — for a short time it benefits by cooling, but for a long time it over-dries and renders bodies hard and wooden. Rubbing with oil and water softens and does not allow the body to become overly heated. Concerning the fatigue that arises in bodies, it stands thus: untrained people grow fatigued from every exertion, for no part of the body has been worked toward any exertion; trained bodies grow fatigued from unaccustomed exertions; and some bodies grow fatigued even from their habitual exercises, when they have used excess.
66 [45]
The forms of fatigue are such as these; their power stands as follows. Untrained people, having moist flesh, whenever they exert themselves, with the body being warmed, discharge much melted matter. Whatever sweats out or is purged away with the pneuma causes no further trouble beyond that from the body's unusual emptying; but whatever of the melted matter remains produces trouble not only from the body's unusual emptying but also in what receives the moisture; for it is not akin to the body, but hostile to it. It does not collect similarly in lean parts of the body, but in the fleshy parts, so as to cause pain in these until it exits. Having no circulation, while at rest it heats itself and whatever comes near it; if, then, the separated matter becomes abundant, it has overpowered even the healthy part, so that the whole body is heated together, and it has produced a strong fever. For with the blood heated and drawn in, it made the circulation of things within the body swift, and the rest of the body is purged by the pneuma, and what had collected is thinned by the heat and driven jointly out of the flesh to the skin — which is called hot sweat. When this is separated off, the blood returns to its natural constitution, the fever abates, and the fatigue ceases, chiefly by the third day. One must treat such fatigue thus: by dissolving what has collected with steam-baths and warm baths, and with unhurried walks so that purging occurs, and by sparse eating and thinning measures to consolidate the evacuation of flesh, and by being rubbed gently with oil for a long time, so that they are not heated violently; and it is beneficial to be anointed with sudorific and softening ointments, and to rest on soft bedding. In those who are trained, fatigue from unaccustomed exertions arises for this reason: whatever part of the body has not been worked, the flesh in that region must be moist in relation to the place it is not accustomed to exercise, just as with untrained people in relation to each separate part; so the flesh must liquefy and be separated off and collect just as in the former case. It is beneficial to treat this as follows: to employ the habitual exercises, so that what has collected is thinned by heating and purged away, and the rest of the body is not made moist nor left without exercise. Warm baths are also beneficial here, and rubbing likewise as in the former case. There is no need for steam-baths; for the exertions are sufficient, by heating, to thin and purge away what has collected. Fatigue from habitual exercises arises in this manner: from moderate exertion fatigue does not arise; but whenever the exertion exceeds the right measure, it has over-dried the flesh; and the flesh, emptied of moisture, grows hot and aches and shivers and settles into a more prolonged fever, unless someone treats it correctly. One must first have the person bathe in a bath that is not too great in quantity nor too hot, then give him soft wine to drink coming out of the bath, and let him dine on as many and as varied foodstuffs as possible, using diluted drink but much soft wine; then remain at table for a longer time until the vessels, filled, are raised up; then let him vomit, and after rising sleep a little on soft bedding; then advance gently toward the habitual food and habitual exertions over six days, and within these days restore him to the accustomed measure of food and drink.
66 (50) [65]
The treatment has the following power: it is able to re-moisten the body that has been dried to excess, without excess. Now if it were possible, knowing the precise degree of exertional excess, to remedy it by calibrated food intake, that would be well; but as it stands, one thing is impossible and the other easy. For when the body is dried out and varied foodstuffs fall in, each part of the body draws to itself from each foodstuff what is beneficial to it; and when it has been filled and moistened, the belly having been emptied by the vomiting, it releases the excess again; and the belly, being empty, draws back against it. The excess moisture is thus discharged by the flesh, but the proportionate amount it does not release, unless by force of exertions, or drugs, or some other counter-drawing. By using the gradual approach you will restore the body to its former diaita gently.
ON DIET.
67 (t1) [5]
THE THIRD BOOK. Concerning the diaita of human beings, as I have also said before, it is not possible to write with precision so as to achieve proportion between the quantity of food and the measure of exertions; for many things prevent this. First, human constitutions differ — for even dry constitutions differ among themselves and in relation to others more or less dry, and moist ones similarly, and all the rest; then ages do not require the same things; further, the positions of regions, the changes in pneumata, the shifts in seasons, and the states of the year; and the great difference in the foodstuffs themselves — for wheat differs from wheat, wine from wine, and all the other things on which we live differ from one another and prevent it being possible to write with precision. But I have discovered the diagnoses of what prevails in the body — whether the exertions prevail over the foodstuffs, or the foodstuffs over the exertions, and how each is to be remedied, and to forestall health so that diseases do not approach, unless one errs greatly and often; those cases require drugs already, and there are some things that cannot be healed even by drugs. So far as it is possible to discover, I have discovered the nearest approximation to the standard, but the precise standard belongs to no one. First, then, I shall set out for the many people what would be most beneficial for those who use whatever food and drink they chance upon, and necessary exertions, and journeys undertaken by necessity, and maritime labors engaged in for the livelihood they bring, being warmed beyond what is beneficial, being cooled beyond what is helpful, and following an otherwise unsettled diaita.
68 [45]
For these people it is beneficial to order their diaita from available means as follows. They divide the year into four parts, which most people recognize most: winter, spring, summer, autumn; and winter from the setting of the Pleiades until the spring equinox, spring from the equinox until the rising of the Pleiades, summer from the Pleiades until the rising of Arcturus, autumn from Arcturus until the setting of the Pleiades. In winter it is beneficial, in opposition to the season — which is cold and compact — to employ the diaita in the following manner as a counter-measure. First, one should pass the time eating one main meal, unless one has a very dry belly; if otherwise, take a small midday meal; one should use regimens that are dry, austere, warming, concentrated, and undiluted; eat grain-foods more, and use roasted relishes rather than boiled; and dark, more undiluted, and lesser drinks; vegetables as little as possible, except those that are warming and dry; and broths and gruels as little as possible; but many exertions of every kind — the winding runs introduced gradually, and wrestling with oil, long sessions, pressing gradually from lighter loads; brisk walks after gymnastics, slow ones after the evening meal in a warm place, and many morning walks beginning from a little, pressing toward the vigorous, and stopping gradually; and sleeping on a hard bed, and night-walking and night-running are beneficial; for all these things thin and warm; and more anointing. Whenever one wishes to bathe: if one has exerted in the wrestling-ground, bathe in cold water; if one has used some other exertion, warm is more beneficial. Sexual activity should be used more in this season, and by older men more than by younger. Emetics should also be used — the more moist types three times in the month, the drier types twice — after varied foods; and after the emetics advance gently toward the accustomed food over three days, and use lighter and fewer exertions during that time. After beef, pork, or any other food that exceeds satiety, vomit; and it is beneficial to vomit after satiety from cheese-rich, sweet, and fatty unaccustomed foods; and it is better to vomit after drunkenness, after change of foods, and after change of region. Expose yourself to cold boldly, except after food and gymnastics — but during the morning walks when the body begins to be warmed, and during the runs and at other times, guarding against excess; for it is not good for the body not to have its winter in the season — just as trees that have not had their winter in the season can neither bear fruit nor be strong themselves. Use also the many exertions in every form this season; for they have no excess, provided fatigue does not arise — this is the sign I teach the lay people. Why this is so I will explain: with the season being cold and compact, living creatures are affected similarly; so the bodies must be warmed slowly by exertion, and only a small part of the existing moisture is separated off; and then, of the time apportioned for exertion, a small portion; for rest, a large one — the day being short, the night long. For these reasons the time and the exertion have no excess.
68 (50) [95]
In this season, then, one must live thus from the setting of the Pleiades to the solstice, forty-four days; about the solstice be on guard as much as possible, and from the solstice use the same diaita for an equal number of days again. After these things the season already calls for the west wind to blow, and the season is milder; one should follow the diaita along with the season for fifteen days. Then comes the rising of Arcturus, and it is already the season for the swallow to appear; and the following period is already more varied until the equinox, thirty-two days. One should follow the season with the regimens, varying them with milder and lighter elements — in foods, drinks, and exertions — advancing gently toward spring. When the equinox comes, the days are already milder and longer, the nights shorter, and the coming season is warm and dry, while the present is nourishing and well-blended. One must therefore — as trees in this season prepare themselves, without understanding, by means of growth and shade, for the benefit of summer — so too must the human being; since the human has understanding, the increase of flesh must be prepared in a healthy way. One should then, so as not to change the diaita suddenly, divide the time into six parts of eight days each. In the first portion one should subtract from the exertions and use the rest more gently; use foods that are softer and cleaner, drinks that are more diluted and lighter-colored; use wrestling with oil in the sun; at each subsequent period change each element of the regimen by a little; subtract from the walks — more of those after the evening meal, fewer of the morning ones; substitute barley-cake for bread, add boiled vegetables, make boiled and roasted relishes equal, use baths, take a small midday meal, and use less sexual activity; with emetics, do them first from two sessions, then at longer intervals, so as to settle the body into well-fleshed form with clean flesh, maintaining a gentle diaita during this time until the rising of the Pleiades. At this point it is summer, and the diaita must already be arranged accordingly. One should therefore, when the Pleiades rise, use foods that are softer, cleaner, and fewer; then barley-cake more than bread — and that kneaded beforehand and less worked — drinks that are soft, light, diluted; a small midday meal; short sleeps after the midday meal; satiety from foods as little as possible, and use sufficient drink with the food; drink as little as possible during the day, unless the body experiences some necessary dryness; use boiled vegetables, except those that are burning and dry; also use raw vegetables, except those that are warming and dry; use emetics only if some surfeit arises; sexual activity as little as possible; bathe in lukewarm baths. The season of ripe fruit is stronger than human nature; it is therefore better to abstain from ripe fruits; but if one uses them, doing so with the meals would be the least harmful course.
68 (100) [5]
For exertions, one should train with sprinting runs and short double-course runs, not for a long time, and with walks in the shade, and wrestling in dust, so as to be heated as little as possible; for rolling is better than sprinting runs, since these dry the body by emptying it of moisture. After the evening meal, do not walk except enough to rise from the table; in the morning, use the walks; guard against the sun and the chills of early morning and evening, such as rivers, lakes, and snow breathe out. To this diaita one should adhere until the solstice, so that during this time one will remove everything dry, hot, dark, and undiluted, and bread — except a little for pleasure's sake. In the following period one will live on things soft, moist, cooling, light-colored, and clean, until the rising of Arcturus and the equinox, ninety-three days. From the equinox one should order the diaita as follows, advancing toward winter in autumn, guarding against the shifts between cold and warmth by means of thick clothing; during this time, having warmed up beforehand in a cloak, use rubbing and wrestling with oil, advancing gently; take walks in a warm place; use warm bathing; remove daytime sleep; use foods that are warmer, less moist, and clean; drinks that are darker, soft, and not diluted; fewer dry vegetables; and advance the whole diaita by removing summer elements and adopting winter ones — not to the extreme — so as to bring it as close as possible to the winter diaita in forty-eight days from the equinox, until the setting of the Pleiades. These things I advise for the many people who are of necessity compelled to pass their lives at random and for whom it is not possible, setting other things aside, to attend to their own health. For those to whom this is prepared and resolved — that there is no benefit from either wealth or anything else without health — for these I have worked out a diaita brought as close as possible to the truest of what is achievable.
69 [5]
This I will make clear as the account proceeds. But this discovery is fine for me who found it, and beneficial for those who learn it; none of those before has ever even attempted to understand it, which I judge to be of great value alongside all other things. It consists of foreknowledge before illness, and the diagnoses of what the bodies have undergone — whether the food prevails over the exertions, or the exertions over the food, or whether they are in due measure with respect to each other. From the prevailing of either one, diseases arise; from their equality with each other, health is present. I will go through these cases and show what appears in people who seem to be healthy, eat with pleasure, are able to exert themselves, and are of sufficient bodily frame and good color — beginning with the first case. The nostrils become blocked without evident cause after the evening meal and sleep; they seem full but nothing is blown out; but whenever they begin to walk in the morning and to exercise, they then blow the nose and spit; as time goes on they also have heavy eyelids, and a kind of itching seizes the forehead; they eat less readily and can drink less; pallor comes over them; and either catarrhs set in motion or shivering fevers — wherever the engorgement happens to move when it is stirred.
70 [5]
Whatever he happened to do at that moment, he blames as the cause, when it is not the cause; for in him the food was overmastering the exertions, and the surfeit, accumulating little by little, brought him to illness. But one must not let things go this far; rather, when one recognizes the first of the signs, one should know that the food is overmastering the exertions through gradual accumulation, which is where the surfeit lies. For mucus and saliva are the discriminating sign of surfeit: when the body is at rest, they block the passages of the pneuma when the surfeit is great within; but when the body is warmed by exertion, the surfeit is resolved, being thinned out. Such a person must be treated thoroughly as follows: after working through the customary exercises without fatigue, and after bathing in warm water, feed him all manner of foods and make him vomit; after the vomiting, rinse the mouth and throat with dry wine, so that the mouths of the blood-vessels may be drawn together and nothing further drawn down, of the sort that follows vomiting; then, rising up, let him walk a little in a warm place. On the following day let him use the same walks, but exercises that are less and lighter than before; let him go without the midday meal if it is summer; if it is not summer, let him eat a little; and let him remove half of what he is accustomed to eat at dinner. On the third day let him restore all his customary exertions and walks, and let him increase his food gradually, so that by the fifth day from the vomiting he may recover his customary food intake. If from this he is sufficiently well, let the remaining treatment be with less food and more exertions. But if the signs of surfeit have not settled, after leaving off two days from when he recovered his food, let him vomit again and increase again in the same way; and if not, a third time also, until he is freed from the surfeit. There are some people who, when their exertions are overmastered by food, suffer the following: as the surfeit begins, long and pleasant sleep comes upon them, and they sleep a part of the day as well; and this sleep arises because the flesh has become moist, and the blood spreads out, and the pneuma, spreading abroad, grows calm.
71 [5]
But when the body can no longer receive the surfeit, it already sends forth a secretion inward under the force of the circuit, and this, working against the nourishment from the food, disturbs the psyche. Sleep is no longer pleasant at this time; rather the person is necessarily troubled, and seems to be fighting; for what the body is experiencing, such things does the psyche see, sight being concealed. When a person has come to this point, he is already close to falling ill; what illness will come is unclear, for whatever secretion arrives and whatever it overpowers, that is what he has fallen sick with. But one who is of sound mind must not let things go, but when he recognizes the first of the signs, take hold of treatment; and this person must be treated just as the one before, but he requires more time and starvation. There are also signs of surfeit of this kind: some have pain in the whole body, others in some part of the body, whatever it may be; and the pain is of the kind that resembles weariness. Thinking then that they are suffering from weariness, they are treated with rest and surfeit, until they arrive at fever; and even this they do not yet recognize, but having used baths and food they bring the illness to περιπλευμονίη (lung-inflammation), and come to the utmost danger.
72 [5]
One must take forethought before they arrive at illnesses, and be treated in this manner: above all, have the person undergo soft vapor-baths; if not that, then after bathing in much hot water and loosening the body as much as possible, having used food first the sharpest and most abundant, then the rest, let him vomit well, and rising up let him walk a little in a warm place, then sleep. In the early morning let him use many walks, building up from few, and light exercises with gradual increase just as before; this condition requires the greatest thinning (ἰσχνασίη) and walking. If, having neglected forethought, he arrives at fever, offer nothing other than water for three days; if indeed he ceases within these, well; if not, let him be treated with ptisanē (barley-water), and he will recover either on the fourth day or the seventh, if he sweats it out; it is good to use anointing-preparations that promote sweating at the critical junctures, for they force the issue. Some also suffer the following from surfeit: they have pain and heaviness in the head, and their eyelids droop after dinner, they are troubled in sleep and there seems to be heat within, and the belly is sometimes stopped up; and when they engage in sexual intercourse, they seem lighter for the moment, but afterward are heavier still. In these persons the head, drawing the surfeit to itself, stops up the belly and is itself made heavy; dangerous crises lie beneath, and wherever the surfeit breaks out, it causes destruction.
73 [5]
One must take forethought in this way: if one wishes to effect the treatment quickly, after vapor-bathing, purge with hellebore, then build up with light and gentle foods for ten days; with foods that move the bowels downward, so that the lower belly may master the head by drawing downward against it; and with slow running and sufficient early-morning walks, and wrestling with oil; take the midday meal and sleep after it, but not long; after dinner, just enough to rise up; and sometimes bathe, sometimes anoint, bathing in lukewarm water, and abstain from sex. This is the quicker treatment. If one does not wish to take a drug, after bathing copiously, vomit using sharp, moist, sweet, and salty foods; after the vomiting, just enough to rise up; in the morning build up gradually with gentle walks and the exercises described above for six days; on the seventh day, after adding to the food to produce surfeit, make a vomiting from similar foods, and build up again in the same way; use this regimen for four weeks, for the condition generally settles in that much time; then build up with both food and exertions, making vomitings at greater intervals, building up the food in a shorter period, so that the body may recover, and restore the diaita (regimen / ordering of life) to its customary state little by little. There also arises the following from surfeit: in those for whom the belly concocts the food but the flesh does not receive it, the nourishment remaining behind produces flatulence; but when they take the midday meal it settles, for the lighter is driven out by the stronger, and they seem to be freed of it; but the much greater part arrives the next day.
74 [5]
But when, increasing day by day, it becomes strong, what was already present overpowered what was newly introduced, and heated it, and disturbed the whole body, and produced diarrhetic discharge (διαῤῥοία); for that is the name given to it when the nourishment alone, having putrefied, passes below. But when, as the body grows warm, a sharp purging occurs, the intestine is scraped and ulcerated and bloody matter passes out—this is called dysenteric condition (δυσεντερίη), an illness both difficult and dangerous. One must take forethought and remove the midday meal and a third part of dinner; use more exertions—wrestling, running, and walking—both from the exercises and from early morning. When ten days have passed, restore half of the food that was removed and make a vomiting, and build up over four days; when another ten days have passed, restore the remaining food, make a vomiting, and building up toward the food you will restore him to health in that time; with the exertions, press such a person hard. There also arises the following kind of surfeit: the next day he belches the food up raw without acid-belching (ὀξυρεγμίη), and the belly passes out matter that is less than what was eaten, yet sufficiently; and no pain arises. In these persons the belly, being cold, cannot concoct the food during the night; and so when it is stirred, it belches up the food raw.
75 [20]
One must therefore prepare warmth for the belly in such a person, from diaita and from exertions. First, one must use hot leavened bread, broken into dark wine or broth of pork; fish boiled in sharp brine; use also the fleshy parts, such as fore-trotters of pork thoroughly boiled, and fat pork roasted; but not much young pig, and none of puppy or kid; vegetables: leeks and garlic both boiled and raw, boiled blite, and gourd; drinks of stronger character; long sleeps; going without the midday meal at first; sleep after exercises; bent-course running, building up from a little; gentle wrestling with oil; few baths; more anointings; very many early-morning walks; few walks after dinner; and fig with the food is good, and undiluted wine after it. By this treatment some recover sooner, others more slowly. Some others suffer the following: they are pallid in complexion, and when they have eaten, after a little while they belch up acid, and the acid creeps up into the nostrils.
76 [5]
These persons have bodies that are not clean; for under the effect of exertion the flesh is being dissolved more rapidly than what the circuit can clear away; this remaining matter opposes the nourishment, forces itself against it, and turns it sour. The nourishment is belched up, while the dissolved matter itself is pushed out under the skin, producing pallor of complexion in the person, and giving rise to dropsy-like illnesses (νούσους ὑδρωποειδέας). One must take forethought in this way: the quicker treatment is to drink hellebore and build up as I have written above; the safer one through the ordering of diaita is as follows: first, after bathing in warm water, make a vomiting; then for seven days from the vomiting build up the customary food; on the tenth day from the vomiting let him vomit again and build up in the same way; and let him do the same a third time likewise. Let him use running in short rapid circuits, vigorous shaking movements (ἀνακινήμασι), rubbing, and much time spent in the gymnasium, and rolling in dust; many walks after exercises, and also after dinner, and most of all the early-morning ones; after dusty exercise let him be anointed; when he wishes to bathe, let him bathe in warm water; let him go without the midday meal throughout this time. If within a month he settles, let the rest of the treatment be with what is suitable; if something remains, let him continue the treatment. There are some who have acid-belching (ὀξυρεγμίαι) the following day: in these, the secretion from the surfeit occurs during the night; and so when the body is roused from sleep, using more rapid pneuma, it forces out along with the pneuma something warm and sharp, and from this illnesses arise, unless one uses forethought.
77 [5]
It is beneficial for these persons also to undertake the same treatment as the one before; but they must use more exertions. Some also suffer the following: in those with dense-fleshed bodies, when the food is thoroughly heated and diffused from the first sleep—while the flesh is being warmed both by the food and by sleep—there arises a large secretion from the flesh, which has become moist; then the flesh, being dense, does not receive the nourishment, and the secretion from the flesh, opposing the nourishment and forcing its way out, chokes the person and heats him, until he vomits; afterward he has become lighter; no pain is apparent in the body; but pallor is present; and as time goes on, pains and illnesses arise.
78 [5]
Similar things are suffered by those who, being unexercised, have suddenly undertaken exertion and produced a violent and great dissolution (σύντηξις) of the flesh. One must treat such persons as follows: remove a third part of the food; use sharp, dry, astringent, fragrant, and diuretic foods; running mostly in bent courses, dressed; naked in double-course races and spinning circuits; rubbing and a little wrestling; arm-extension exercises (ἀκροχειρισμοί)—arm-extensions and bag-punching are more beneficial; many walks after exercises and the early-morning ones and after dinner; vocal exertion (πόνος φωνῆς) is especially suitable, for by emptying the moisture it loosens the flesh; going without the midday meal is beneficial. Use these for ten days; then restore half the food that was removed for six days and make a vomiting; after the vomiting build up the food for four days; when ten days have passed from the vomiting, recover all the food that was removed; keep to exertions and walks, and he will be healthy. Such a constitution requires more exertion than food. Another kind of surfeit: some suffer the following—the food passes through them moist and unconcocted, as in smooth-gut passage (λειεντερίη), and causes no pain; this happens most to bellies that are moist and cold—because of the coldness it does not concoct together, because of the moistness it passes through; and so the body is worn down by not receiving proper nourishment, and the bellies are corrupted, and they fall into illnesses.
79 [5]
One must take forethought. It is beneficial for such a person to remove a third part of the food; let the food be unleavened whole-grain loaves, baked in a clibanus or buried in hot ash, dipped warm in dry wine; and the back and tail portions of fish, but leave the heads and belly-portions as being more moist; eat the boiled ones in brine, the roasted ones in vinegar; also meat salted and pickled in brine and vinegar; dog-meat roasted; wood-pigeon and the rest of such birds, roasted and boiled; as few vegetables as possible; dark wine of stronger character, dry; many walks after dinner and the early-morning ones, and after the walk go to sleep; bent-course running building up; much rubbing; and short wrestling both with oil and in dust, so that as the flesh is thoroughly warmed it may be dried out and the moisture drawn up from the belly; anointing is more beneficial than bathing; let him go without the midday meal. When seven days have passed, let him restore half the food that was removed and make a vomiting; and let him build up the food for four days; on the next seventh day let him recover all the food and after making a vomiting build up again in the same way. Some others have the following: the evacuated matter passes through unconcocted (ἄσηπτον), and the body is worn down by getting no benefit from the food; over time they fall into illnesses. In these persons the bellies are cold and dry: whenever they use neither appropriate food nor exercises, they suffer these things.
80 [5]
It is beneficial for such a person to use clean oven-baked bread, and fish boiled in sauces, and pork boiled, and fore-trotters thoroughly boiled, and fat meat roasted; and of sharp and salty things those that moisten; and brine-pickled things; dark, soft wines; and to have their fill of grapes and figs with the food; one must also take a small midday meal; use more exercises—bent-course running building up, finishing with spinning runs, and after the running wrestling with oil; not many walks after exercises; after dinner just enough to rise up; in early morning use more walks; bathe in warm water; use anointings; allow more sleep and lie on a soft bed; sexual intercourse is also called for; remove a quarter part of the food over ten days and build up again toward the food. There are some in whom the evacuated matter passes moist and putrefied while they are otherwise healthy and exercising, causing no pain; some are cut off from what is appropriate; as time goes on, the belly draws the flesh to it by its heat, and causes pain, and they are cut off from food, and the belly becomes ulcerated, and it becomes already difficult to stop it.
81 [5]
One must take forethought beforehand, recognizing that the belly is warm and moist beyond what is fitting, and that an excess of harmful exertions has occurred. So one must cool and dry by means of diaita: first remove half the exercises and a third part of the food; use pre-soaked kneaded barley cake, and the driest fish boiled, neither fatty nor salty; use also roasted fish; bird meats—wood-pigeon boiled, dove boiled, partridge and hens roasted without seasoning; hare boiled in water, and all wild meats; vegetables that are cooling, such as beets thoroughly boiled with vinegar; dark, dry wine; exercises of rapid spinning runs, but not much rubbing—a little only—and no wrestling; arm-extensions, arm-swinging (χειρονομίη), bag-punching, and rolling in dust are suitable, but not in great amount; use walks after exercise sufficient to the exertion, and after dinner in great number relative to the food, and in early morning in proportion to the habit; bathe in lukewarm water and keep still. Having followed this diaita for ten days, let him restore half the food and a third part of the exertions; and let him make a vomiting from dry and astringent things and not linger over the food, but vomit as quickly as possible; after the vomiting let him for four days build up the food, dividing up drink and exertion proportionally; when the ten days have passed, let him restore the remaining food and the drinkable wine, though with the exertions still somewhat deficient; and having made a vomiting let him build up as written; eating only once a day (μονοσιτέειν) is beneficial throughout this time, until the condition settles. Some others have the stool dry and scorched, and the mouth dry; as time goes on it also becomes bitter, and the belly and the urine are stopped; for when the intestine lacks moisture, it swells around the stool and blocks the passages, causes pain, heat seizes them, and whatever they drink or eat they vomit; in the end they vomit also feces; such a person cannot survive when he has come to this.
82 [5]
One must take forethought beforehand, recognizing that the person is in the grip of warm dryness. He must therefore order his diaita with pre-soaked moistened barley cake, and bread of wheat with the bran-juice leavened, and use vegetables except the sharp and dry ones—and boiled ones; the lightest fish, boiled; the head-portions of fish and of crayfish; mussels and sea-urchins and crabs; the juices of shellfish and the shellfish themselves, of the moistest kind; as for meats, fore-trotters of pork, the front ones, boiled; and kid, lamb, and puppy boiled; river and lake fish boiled; soft, well-watered wine; not many or swift exertions, but all of them quiet; use walks in early morning in proportion to the habit, and after exercise proportionate to the exertion; do not walk after dinner; use baths and soft bedding and midday meals; and a short sleep after the midday meal; use moistening autumn fruits with the food; green chickpeas, and dried ones soaked in water; let him also from the start remove half of his previous exertions; and make a vomiting from sweet, fatty, salty, and plentiful foods, lingering as long as possible over the food before vomiting; then build up the food over three days, and let him not go without the midday meal; when ten days have passed, build up toward more exertions; and if there is surfeit from food or dysfunction of the belly, let him vomit; if not, let him be treated this way for the remaining time. The following also arises: shivers arise from the early-morning walks, and the head is made heavy in proportion to how much the walks exceed the right measure; for the body and head, being emptied of moisture, shiver and grow heavy; and as time goes on one arrives at a shivering fever.
83 [5]
One must not let things go to that point, but be treated beforehand as follows: as soon as some of the signs appear, after anointing and rubbing a little, take the midday meal larger than usual, and drink sufficient soft wine, then use sleep adequately after the midday meal; in the evening, after light exercises and a warm bath, take dinner as usual; do not walk after dinner, but spend time at rest; on the following day let him remove a third part of all exercises and walks, use food as he was accustomed, bathe in lukewarm water and be anointed with oil in the water, pass the time in soft sleep, and over five days build up the exertions gradually. There are some who shiver from exercises—from the time they undress until they finish the contest; and when they cool down, they shiver again; shuddering grips the body; they are drowsy, and when they awake they yawn frequently; after sleep their eyelids are heavy; as time goes on, mild fevers come upon them, and they become confused.
84 [10]
One must guard against letting things go so far, and treat the condition beforehand in the following way. First, remove all of the exercises, or half of them. Use all foods that are more moist and more cooling, and drinks that are softer and more well-watered. When five days have passed, add back a third of the exercises that were removed; use the same foods. On another fifth day, add back half of the remaining exercises. Then again, on the fifth day after that, restore all the exercises, making them lighter and less intense, so that excess does not occur again. For in those who show these signs, the exertions outweigh the food; the two must therefore be brought into balance.
85 [5]
Some persons do not experience all of these signs, but some and not others. In all these signs, the exertions prevail over the food, and the treatment is the same. It is beneficial for these persons to take warm baths, to rest in soft bedding, to get drunk once or twice — but not to excess; to have intercourse when the urge arises; to take ease from exertions, except for walking.
CONCERNING DIAITA [THE ORDERING OF LIFE].
86 (t1) [10]
THE FOURTH BOOK, OR CONCERNING DREAMS. Whoever has rightly understood the signs that come in sleep will find that they carry great power for everything. For the psyche — while the body is awake, serving the body slavishly and being divided among many things — does not come into its own, but gives a part of itself to each faculty of the body: to hearing, to sight, to touch, to walking, to the actions of the whole body; the understanding itself does not come into its own. But when the body is at rest, the psyche, stirring and moving through the parts of the body, manages its own household and carries out all the body's functions by itself. For the sleeping body perceives nothing, but the psyche, being awake, knows; it sees what is visible, hears what is audible, walks, touches, grieves, reflects — all the body's services and those of the psyche, all of these the psyche carries out in sleep. Whoever knows how to judge these things rightly knows a great part of wisdom. As for those dreams that are divine and foretell things to come, whether good or ill, for cities or for ordinary people — not through any fault of the dreamers themselves — there are those who judge such things with precise skill. But as for those that the psyche foretells as affections of the body — excess of fullness or of emptying of the inborn things, or a change of what is unusual — these too they judge, and sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail; and they understand neither the one nor the other: neither why they happen when they succeed, nor why when they fail. They advise one to be on guard lest some harm come, but they do not teach how one should guard against it; they merely tell one to pray to the gods.
87 [5]
And to pray is fitting and altogether good; but one must also call upon the gods while contributing one's own effort. The facts concerning these matters are as follows. All those dreams that replay the daytime actions or thoughts of a person on the following night, and give them back as they occurred — as was done or planned during the day in a just affair — these are good for the person. For they signify health, because the psyche persists in the counsels of the day, not overcome by any fullness or emptying, nor by anything else coming upon it from outside.
88 [20]
But when dreams run contrary to the daytime actions and a conflict or victory arises in them concerning these actions, this signifies disturbance in the body. If the conflict is strong, the harm is strong; if slight, it is weaker. Now concerning the action itself — whether one should turn away from it or not — I make no judgment; but I advise that the person's body be treated. For when some fullness occurs, a secretion results from it, and this has disturbed the psyche. If what opposes is strong, it is beneficial to induce vomiting, to approach food lightly for five days, and to use many brisk early-morning walks, increasing them gradually, and to take moderate exercises suited to the gradual increase of food. If what opposes is weaker, leave aside vomiting, remove a third of the food, and bring it back gradually over five days; press with walking, use vocal exercises, pray to the gods, and the disturbance will settle for the person. To see the sun, moon, sky, and stars clearly and brightly, each appearing as it should, is good; it signifies health in the body from all that is established. But one must preserve this condition by means of the diaita presently in use.
89 [45]
If any of these should appear contrary, it signifies some disease in the body — stronger from the stronger signs, lighter from the weaker. The outer circuit belongs to the stars, the middle to the sun, that toward the hollow places to the moon. Whenever any of these heavenly bodies seems to be extinguished or harmed or hidden or stopped in its circuit — if one sees the harm occurring through air or cloud, the sign is weaker; if through water or hail, stronger. It signifies that a moist and phlegm-like secretion has occurred in the body and has fallen into the outer circuit. It is beneficial for such a person to use running in garments frequently, increasing gradually, so as to sweat as much as possible; to use many walks after exercise; to go without the midday meal; to remove a third of the food and bring it back gradually over five days; and if the sign seems strong, to use steam-bathing as well. For it is beneficial to perform the purification through the skin, since the harm is in the outer circuit. Foods should be dry, sharp, astringent, unmixed; and use those exercises that are most drying. If the moon suffers any of these things, it is beneficial to draw the body inward, using vomiting after sharp, salty, and soft foods. Use vocal exercises, skipping the midday meal, reducing food, and bringing it back in the same way. The reason for drawing inward is that the harm appeared toward the hollow parts of the body. If the sun suffers something of this kind, this is already stronger and more difficult to treat; one must perform the counter-attractions both ways — both inward and outward — using bending runs and wheel runs, and walks, and all other exertions; reduce and increase food in the same way; then after vomiting, bring the food back gradually over five days. If, in clear sky, the sun seems to be compressed and appears weak, overpowered by the dryness of its circuit, this signifies a danger of falling into disease. One must reduce the exertions and use a more moist and soft diaita, baths, greater ease, and much sleep, until things settle. If what opposes appears fiery and hot, it signifies a secretion of bile; if the prevailing elements are not overcome, it signifies disease; if what prevails is also made to vanish, there is danger of dying from the disease. If what is established seems to be turned to flight — and to flee swiftly, with others pursuing — there is danger of the person going mad, if not treated. For all these it is most beneficial to be purged with hellebore and then managed by diaita; or if not that, to use the diaita of water and not drink wine; or if wine, then white, thin, soft, well-watered. Avoid sharp, drying, heating, and salty things. Use the natural exercises very frequently, and running in garments very often. There should be no rubbing, no wrestling, no rolling in dust. Rest in soft beds with much sleep; take ease except for the natural exercises; walk after supper. Steam-bathing is also good; vomit after the steam-bath. Let the person not be filled for thirty days; when filled, let him vomit twice in the month after sweet, well-watered, light foods.
89 (50) [5]
Whenever any of these heavenly bodies wanders now here now there without compulsion, it signifies some disturbance of the psyche from worry. It is beneficial for such a person to take ease and to turn the psyche toward spectacles — most of all toward those that bring laughter, or if not, toward whatever will give the most pleasure when viewed — for two or three days, and the condition will settle. If not, there is danger of falling into disease. Whenever any of the stars seems to fall from its circuit: those that appear clean and bright and seem to move toward the east signify health; for what is clean within the body and is separated out from the circuit according to nature, moving from west to east, is as it should be — for all that is secreted into the belly and all that is discharged into the flesh falls away from the circuit. But whatever of these seems dark and dim and moving toward the west, or into the sea, or into the earth, or rather upward — these signify diseases: what moves upward indicates a flux of the head; what moves into the sea indicates diseases of the belly; what moves into the earth signifies especially growths that arise in the flesh. For these persons it is beneficial to remove a third of the food, then after vomiting bring it back over five days; in another five days recover all the food; then vomit again and bring back the food in the same way. Whenever something from the heavenly realm seems to settle upon you — if it is clean and moist, it signifies health, because what descended clean from the aether into the person is of that quality, and the psyche sees it as it entered. But if it is dark and not clean nor translucent, it signifies disease — not through fullness or emptying, but by introduction from outside. It is beneficial for such a person to use swift wheel runs, so that as little wasting of the body as possible occurs while, by breathing as densely as possible, the intruder is expelled. After the wheel runs, use brisk walks. Let the diaita be soft and light, brought on gradually over four days. Whenever one seems to receive something clean from a clean god, this is good for health; for it signifies that what enters the body is clean. But if one seems to see the opposite of this, it is not good; for it signifies that disease has entered the body. One must therefore treat this person as the former one. If one seems to be rained upon by soft water in fair weather, and not to be drenched violently or storm-tossed terribly, this is good; for it signifies that the pneuma has arrived from the air in due measure and cleanly. If the opposite of these: to be drenched heavily, with storm and gale, and with unclean water — this signifies disease from pneuma brought in from outside. One must manage such a person with the same diaita — for all these cases, with scanty food. Concerning the signs from the heavens, then, one must know them in this way, take forethought, order one's diaita accordingly, and pray to the gods — for the good signs to Helios, to Zeus Ouranios, to Zeus Ktesios, to Athena Ktesia, to Hermes, to Apollo; for the contrary signs, to the averters, and to Ge and the heroes, that all harsh things be averted. The following also foretell good health: to see and hear sharply from the things on earth, to travel safely and to run safely and without fear, to see the earth smooth and well-worked, and trees flourishing and full of fruit and cultivated, and rivers flowing as they should with clean water, neither more nor less than is fitting, and likewise springs and wells.
90 [45]
All these things seen in this way signify health for the person, and that the body is properly maintaining all its circuits, progressions, and secretions. If any of these is seen contrary, it signifies some harm in the body. When sight and hearing are harmed, it signifies disease of the head; one should use early-morning walks and more walks after supper, in addition to the established diaita. When the legs are harmed, one must make a counter-drawing by vomiting and use more wrestling, in addition to the established diaita. Rough earth signifies flesh that is not clean; one must work harder with more walks after exercise. Barrenness of trees indicates corruption of human seed. If the trees are shedding their leaves, harm comes from moist and cold things; if they are in full leaf but bear no fruit, from hot and dry things. In the one case one must dry and warm by means of regimen, in the other cool and moisten. Rivers not flowing as they should signify the circuit of the blood — flowing too much means excess, flowing too little means deficiency; one must increase or diminish by means of diaita. Flowing unclean, they signify disturbance; they are purified by wheel runs and walks, with dense breathing stirring them. Springs and wells signify something concerning the bladder; one must purify by means of diuretics. A disturbed sea signifies disease of the belly; one must purify by means of laxatives, light and soft. An earthquake seen, or a shaking house, signifies weakness to a healthy man, but health and a shift in the prevailing condition to a sick man. For the healthy man it is beneficial to change the diaita; let him first vomit, so as to receive food again a little at a time; for the whole body is stirred from its established state. For the sick person, it is beneficial to use the same diaita; for the body is already shifting from its present state. To see the earth flooded by water or by the sea signifies disease, from great moisture present in the body; one must use vomiting, skipping the midday meal, exertions, and dry regimen, then bring food back little by little and with small amounts. But neither does it seem good to see the earth black and scorched — there is danger of encountering a strong and mortal disease; for it signifies extreme dryness in the flesh. One must remove the exertions, and from food whatever is dry, hot, sharp, or diuretic; use the thoroughly-boiled juice of groats and all things soft, light, and small in quantity; drink more well-watered white wine; use many warm baths — but not bathe without food; rest in soft bedding; take ease; guard against cold and sun. Pray to Ge, Hermes, and the heroes. If one seems to swim in a lake, in the sea, or in rivers, this is not good; it signifies excess of moisture. It is beneficial to dry by means of diaita and to use more exertions. But for one who is feverish, it is good; for the heat is extinguished by the moist things.
91 [5]
Whatever a person sees about himself occurring in accordance with his own nature, neither greater nor less, is good for health. To see oneself dressed in white clothing and the finest footwear is good. Whatever limb appears larger or smaller than it should be is not good; one must increase or diminish it by means of diaita. Dark parts are more diseased and more dangerous; one must soften and moisten them. And new things signify change. To see the dead clean, in white garments, is good; and to receive something clean from them is good; for it signifies health of the bodies and of what enters them — for from the dead come nourishments, growths, and seeds; and that these seep cleanly into the body signifies health.
92 [5]
If on the contrary one sees them naked, or dressed in black, or unclean, or taking or carrying something from the house — this is not fitting; it signifies disease, for what enters the body is harmful. One must purify oneself with wheel runs and walks, and approach food — after vomiting — with soft and light nourishment. Whenever monstrous bodies of strange form appear in dreams and frighten a person, this signifies a surfeit and secretion of unaccustomed foods, and cholera and a dangerous disease. One must induce vomiting and approach food over five days — with foods as light as possible, not many, not sharp, not dry, not hot — and use especially the natural exertions, except walks after supper; use warm bathing and ease; guard against cold and sun.
93 [30]
If one seems in sleep to eat or drink one's accustomed foods or drinks, this signifies a deficiency of nourishment and a craving of the psyche. The strongest meats signify extreme deficiency of nourishment, the weaker meats lesser deficiency; for just as eating such food is good, so too is seeing it. Therefore it is not beneficial to cut back food; for this signifies extreme excess of nutritional deficiency. Similarly, breads made with cheese and honey and eaten in sleep signify the same thing. Drinking clean water is good; all else is harmful. Whenever a person seems to watch accustomed spectacles, it signifies a craving of the psyche. Whenever one flees in fear, it signifies a standstill of the blood from dryness; it is beneficial to cool and moisten the body. Whenever one fights, or is stabbed, or is bound by another, it signifies that a secretion contrary to the circuit has occurred in the body. It is therefore beneficial to vomit, to thin down, to walk, to use light foods, and to bring them back from the vomiting over five days. Wanderings and difficult ascents signify the same things. Crossings of rivers, armed men, enemies, and monstrous apparitions of strange form signify disease or madness. It is beneficial to use few foods, light and soft; to approach food gradually over five days using vomiting; to use many natural exertions except after supper; warm bathing and ease; guard against cold and sun. Using these measures as has been written, one will be healthy through life; and I have found a diaita as perfect as it is possible for a human being to find, with the help of the gods.