ΠΕΡΙ ΑΙΤΙΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΣΗΜΕΙΩΝ ΧΡΟΝΙΩΝ ΠΑΘΩΝ, ΒΙΒΛΙΟΝ ΠΡΩΤΟΝ.

καὶ ψυχρῇ· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀρχὴ παθέων ἄλλων, ἢν ἐς ἀνήκεστον τραπῇ, μανίης, μελαγχολίης, ἐπιληψίης, προσεπιγιγνομένων ἑκάστῃ τῶν ἰδίων ξυμπτωμάτων· σκοτάματος δὲ ἡ ἰδέα, βάρος τῆς κεφαλῆς, ὀφθαλμῶν μαρμαρυγαὶ ἐπὶ πολλῷ τῷ σκοτώδεϊ· ἀγνωσίη ἑωυτέων τε καὶ τῶν πέλας· καὶ ἢν ἐπ' αὐξήσει ἡ νοῦσος γίγνηται, τά τε γυῖα λύονται, καὶ ἕρπονται χαμαί· ναυτίη καὶ ἔμετος φλέγματ ος, ἢ χολωδέων, ξανθῶν, ἢ μελάνων. εὖτε ἐπὶ μὲν ξανθῇ χολῇ, μανίαι γίγνονται· ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖσι μέλασι, μελαγχολίη · ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ φλέγματι, ἡ ἐπιληψίη. πασῶν γὰρ ἥδε νούσων τροπή.

Ermerins finds great difficulty in explaining the exact meaning of the last sentence. He does not seem to have adverted that our author had in view 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, of the seventh section of the Aphorisms of Hippocrates. See the Commentary of Galen, and the English edition, Syd. Soc. Ed. t. ii. p.773. I must say, however, that τῶνδε seems wanting in this place.

Κεφ. δ'. Περὶ Ἐπιληψίη ς.

Ποικίλον ἠδὲ ἀλλόκοτον κακὸν ἡ ἐπιληψίη, θηριῶδες μὲν ἐν παροξυσμοῖσι καὶ κάτοξυ καὶ ὀλέθριον. ἔκτεινε γάρ κοτε παροξυσμὸς εἷς· ἢν δὲ μελέτῃσι φέρῃ ὥνθρωπος, ζῇ μὲν αἴσχεα καὶ ὀνείδεα καὶ ἄλγεα φέρων, ῥΗϊδίως δὲ οὐκ ἄπεισι ἡ νοῦσος, ἀλλὰ ἐν ἡλικίῃσί τε τῇσι κρείττοσι ἐνοικέει καὶ ὥρῃ τῇ ὡραίῃ. ξυνδιαιτᾶταί τε παισὶ καὶ μειρακίοισι. ἐξηλάθη δέ κοτε ὑπ' εὐτυχίης, δι' ἄλλης ἡλικίης μέζονος, εὖτε τῷ κάλλεϊ συνέξεισι τῆς ὥρης· ἀλλὰ καὶ τότε μετεξετέρους αἰσχροὺς ἀποδείξασα, ἀπόλλυσι τοὺς παῖδας φθόνῳ τοῦ κάλλεος, ἢ χειρὸς ἀκρασίῃ, ἢ προσώπου διαστροφῇ, ἢ πηρώσι τινὸς αἰσθήσιος·

Our author here has evidently in view a passage contained in the Hippocratic treatise "On the Sacred Disease." See Syd. Soc. Ed. t. ii. p. 851. I cannot see the same objection to φθόνῳ, the common reading, as Ermerins does, who proposes to substitute φθόρῳ in place of it. The other, although metaphorical, is quite in the style of our author.

ἢν δὲ φωλεύσῃ τὸ κακὸν ἐς ῥίΖην,