ON AIRS, WATERS, AND
PLACES
by Hippocrates
Translated by Francis
Adams
ON AIRS WATERS AND PLACES
WHOEVER wishes to investigate medicine properly,
should proceed
thus:
in the first place to consider the seasons of the year, and what
effects
each of them produces for they are not at all alike, but
differ
much from themselves in regard to their changes. Then the
winds,
the hot and the cold, especially such as are common to all
countries,
and then such as are peculiar to each locality. We must
also
consider the qualities of the waters, for as they differ from one
another
in taste and weight, so also do they differ much in their
qualities.
In the same manner, when one comes into a city to which
he
is a stranger, he ought to consider its situation, how it lies as
to
the winds and the rising of the sun; for its influence is not the
same
whether it lies to the north or the south, to the rising or to
the
setting sun. These things one ought to consider most
attentively,
and concerning the waters which the inhabitants use,
whether
they be marshy and soft, or hard, and running from elevated
and
rocky situations, and then if saltish and unfit for cooking; and
the
ground, whether it be naked and deficient in water, or wooded
and
well watered, and whether it lies in a hollow, confined situation,
or
is elevated and cold; and the mode in which the inhabitants live,
and
what are their pursuits, whether they are fond of drinking and
eating
to excess, and given to indolence, or are fond of exercise
and
labor, and not given to excess in eating and drinking.
2. From these things he must proceed to investigate
everything else.
For
if one knows all these things well, or at least the greater part
of
them, he cannot miss knowing, when he comes into a strange city,
either
the diseases peculiar to the place, or the particular nature of
common
diseases, so that he will not be in doubt as to the treatment
of
the diseases, or commit mistakes, as is likely to be the case
provided
one had not previously considered these matters. And in
particular,
as the season and the year advances, he can tell what
epidemic
diseases will attack the city, either in summer or in winter,
and
what each individual will be in danger of experiencing from the
change
of regimen. For knowing the changes of the seasons, the risings
and
settings of the stars, how each of them takes place, he will be
able
to know beforehand what sort of a year is going to ensue.
Having
made these investigations, and knowing beforehand the
seasons,
such a one must be acquainted with each particular, and
must
succeed in the preservation of health, and be by no means
unsuccessful
in the practice of his art. And if it shall be thought
that
these things belong rather to meteorology, it will be admitted,
on
second thoughts, that astronomy contributes not a little, but a
very
great deal, indeed, to medicine. For with the seasons the
digestive
organs of men undergo a change.
3. But how of the aforementioned things should
be investigated and
explained,
I will now declare in a clear manner. A city that is
exposed
to hot winds (these are between the wintry rising, and the
wintry
setting of the sun), and to which these are peculiar, but which
is
sheltered from the north winds; in such a city the waters will be
plenteous
and saltish, and as they run from an elevated source, they
are
necessarily hot in summer, and cold in winter; the heads of the
inhabitants
are of a humid and pituitous constitution, and their
bellies
subject to frequent disorders, owing to the phlegm running
down
from the head; the forms of their bodies, for the most part,
are
rather flabby; they do not eat nor drink much; drinking wine in
particular,
and more especially if carried to intoxication, is
oppressive
to them; and the following diseases are peculiar to the
district:
in the first place, the women are sickly and subject to
excessive
menstruation; then many are unfruitful from disease, and not
from
nature, and they have frequent miscarriages; infants are
subject
to attacks of convulsions and asthma, which they consider to
be
connected with infancy, and hold to be a sacred disease (epilepsy).
The
men are subject to attacks of dysentery, diarrhea, hepialus,
chronic
fevers in winter, of epinyctis, frequently, and of hemorrhoids
about
the anus. Pleurisies, peripneumonies, ardent fevers, and
whatever
diseases are reckoned acute, do not often occur, for such
diseases
are not apt to prevail where the bowels are loose.
Ophthalmies
occur of a humid character, but not of a serious nature,
and
of short duration, unless they attack epidemically from the change
of
the seasons. And when they pass their fiftieth year, defluxions
supervening
from the brain, render them paralytic when exposed
suddently
to strokes of the sun, or to cold. These diseases are
endemic
to them, and, moreover, if any epidemic disease connected with
the
change of the seasons, prevail, they are also liable to it.
4. But the following is the condition of cities
which have the
opposite
exposure, namely, to cold winds, between the summer
settings
and the summer risings of the sun, and to which these winds
are
peculiar, and which are sheltered from the south and the hot
breezes.
In the first place the waters are, for the most part, hard
cold.
The men must necessarily be well braced and slender, and they
must
have the discharges downwards of the alimentary canal hard, and
of
difficult evacuation, while those upwards are more fluid, and
rather
bilious than pituitous. Their heads are sound and hard, and
they
are liable to burstings (of vessels?) for the most part. The
diseases
which prevail epidemically with them, are pleurisies, and
those
which are called acute diseases. This must be the case when
the
bowels are bound; and from any causes, many become affected with
suppurations
in the lungs, the cause of which is the tension of the
body,
and hardness of the bowels; for their dryness and the coldness
of
the water dispose them to ruptures (of vessels?). Such
constitutions
must be given to excess of eating, but not of
drinking;
for it is not possible to be gourmands and drunkards at
the
same time. Ophthalmies, too, at length supervene; these being of a
hard
and violent nature, and soon ending in rupture of the eyes;
persons
under thirty years of age are liable to severe bleedings at
the
nose in summer; attacks of epilepsy are rare but severe. Such
people
are likely to be rather long-lived; their ulcers are not
attended
with serious discharges, nor of a malignant character; in
disposition
they are rather ferocious than gentle. The diseases I have
mentioned
are peculiar to the men, and besides they are liable to
any
common complaint which may be prevailing from the changes of the
seasons.
But the women, in the first place, are of a hard
constitution,
from the waters being hard, indigestible, and cold;
and
their menstrual discharges are not regular, but in small quantity,
and
painful. Then they have difficult parturition, but are not very
subject
to abortions. And when they do bring forth children, they
are
unable to nurse them; for the hardness and indigestable nature
of
the water puts away their milk. Phthisis frequently supervenes
after
childbirth, for the efforts of it frequently bring on ruptures
and
strains. Children while still little are subject to dropsies in
the
testicle, which disappear as they grow older; in such a town
they
are late in attaining manhood. It is, as I have now stated,
with
regard to hot and cold winds and cities thus exposed.
5. Cities that are exposed to winds between
the summer and the
winter
risings of the sun, and those the opposite to them, have the
following
characters:- Those which lie to the rising of the sun are
all
likely to be more healthy than such as are turned to the North, or
those
exposed to the hot winds, even if there should not be a
furlong
between them. In the first place, both the heat and cold are
more
moderate. Then such waters as flow to the rising sun, must
necessarily
be clear, fragrant, soft, and delightful to drink, in such
a
city. For the sun in rising and shining upon them purifies them,
by
dispelling the vapors which generally prevail in the morning. The
persons
of the inhabitants are, for the most part, well colored and
blooming,
unless some disease counteract. The inhabitants have clear
voices,
and in temper and intellect are superior to those which are
exposed
to the north, and all the productions of the country in like
manner
are better. A city so situated resembles the spring as to
moderation
between heat and cold, and the diseases are few in
number,
and of a feeble kind, and bear a resemblance to the diseases
which
prevail in regions exposed to hot winds. The women there are
very
prolific, and have easy deliveries. Thus it is with regard to
them.
6. But such cities as lie to the west, and
which are sheltered
from
winds blowing from the east, and which the hot winds and the cold
winds
of the north scarcely touch, must necessarily be in a very
unhealthy
situation: in the first place the waters are not clear,
the
cause of which is, because the mist prevails commonly in the
morning,
and it is mixed up with the water and destroys its clearness,
for
the sun does not shine upon the water until he be considerably
raised
above the horizon. And in summer, cold breezes from the east
blow
and dews fall; and in the latter part of the day the setting
sun
particularly scorches the inhabitants, and therefore they are pale
and
enfeebled, and are partly subject to all the aforesaid diseases,
but
no one is peculiar to them. Their voices are rough and hoarse
owing
to the state of the air, which in such a situation is
generally
impure and unwholesome, for they have not the northern winds
to
purify it; and these winds they have are of a very humid character,
such
being the nature of the evening breezes. Such a situation of a
city
bears a great resemblance to autumn as regards the changes of the
day,
inasmuch as the difference between morning and evening is
great.
So it is with regard to the winds that are conducive to health,
or
the contrary.
7. And I wish to give an account of the other
kinds of waters,
namely,
of such as are wholesome and such as are unwholesome, and what
bad
and what good effects may be derived from water; for water
contributes
much towards health. Such waters then as are marshy,
stagnant,
and belong to lakes, are necessarily hot in summer, thick,
and
have a strong smell, since they have no current; but being
constantly
supplied by rain-water, and the sun heating them, they
necessarily
want their proper color, are unwholesome and form bile; in
winter,
they become congealed, cold, and muddy with the snow and
ice,
so that they are most apt to engender phlegm, and bring on
hoarseness;
those who drink them have large and obstructed spleens,
their
bellies are hard, emaciated, and hot; and their shoulders,
collar-bones,
and faces are emaciated; for their flesh is melted
down
and taken up by the spleen, and hence they are slender; such
persons
then are voracious and thirsty; their bellies are very dry
both
above and below, so that they require the strongest medicines.
This
disease is habitual to them both in summer and in winter, and
in
addition they are very subject to dropsies of a most fatal
character;
and in summer dysenteries, diarrheas, and protracted
quartan
fevers frequently seize them, and these diseases when
prolonged
dispose such constitutions to dropsies, and thus prove
fatal.
These are the diseases which attack them in summer; but in
winter
younger persons are liable to pneumonia, and maniacal
affections;
and older persons to ardent fevers, from hardness of the
belly.
Women are subject to oedema and leucophlegmasiae; when pregnant
they
have difficult deliveries; their infants are large and swelled,
and
then during nursing they become wasted and sickly, and the lochial
discharge
after parturition does not proceed properly with the
women.
The children are particularly subject to hernia, and adults
to
varices and ulcers on their legs, so that persons with such
constitutions
cannot be long-lived, but before the usual period they
fall
into a state of premature old age. And further, the women
appear
to be with child, and when the time of parturition arrives, the
fulness
of the belly disappears, and this happens from dropsy of the
uterus.
Such waters then I reckon bad for every purpose. The next to
them
in badness are those which have their fountains in rocks, so that
they
must necessarily be hard, or come from a soil which produces
thermal
waters, such as those having iron, copper, silver, gold,
sulphur,
alum, bitumen, or nitre (soda) in them; for all these are
formed
by the force of heat. Good waters cannot proceed from such a
soil,
but those that are hard and of a heating nature, difficult to
pass
by urine, and of difficult evacuation by the bowels. The best are
those
which flow from elevated grounds, and hills of earth; these
are
sweet, clear, and can bear a little wine; they are hot in summer
and
cold in winter, for such necessarily must be the waters from
deep
wells. But those are most to be commended which run to the rising
of
the sun, and especially to the summer sun; for such are necessarily
more
clear, fragrant, and light. But all such as are salty, crude, and
harsh,
are not good for drink. But there are certain constitutions and
diseases
with which such waters agree when drunk, as I will explain
presently.
Their characters are as follows: the best are such as
have
their fountains to the east; the next, those between the summer
risings
and settings of the sun, and especially those to the
risings;
and third, those between the summer and winter settings;
but
the worst are those to the south, and the parts between the winter
rising
and setting, and those to the south are very bad, but those
to
the north are better. They are to be used as follows: whoever is in
good
health and strength need not mind, but may always drink
whatever
is at hand. But whoever wishes to drink the most suitable for
any
disease, may accomplish his purpose by attending to the
following
directions: To persons whose bellies are hard and easily
burnt
up, the sweetest, the lightest, and the most limpid waters
will
be proper; but those persons whose bellies are soft, loose, and
pituitous,
should choose the hardest, those kinds that are most crude,
and
the saltiest, for thus will they be most readily dried up; for
such
waters as are adapted for boiling, and are of a very solvent
nature,
naturally loosen readily and melt down the bowels; but such as
are
intractable, hard, and by no means proper for boiling, these
rather
bind and dry up the bowels. People have deceived themselves
with
regard to salt waters, from inexperience, for they think these
waters
purgative, whereas they are the very reverse; for such waters
are
crude, and ill adapted for boiling, so that the belly is more
likely
to be bound up than loosened by them. And thus it is with
regard
to the waters of springs.
8. I will now tell how it is with respect to
rain-water, and water
from
snow. Rain waters, then, are the lightest, the sweetest, the
thinnest,
and the clearest; for originally the sun raises and attracts
the
thinnest and lightest part of the water, as is obvious from the
nature
of salts; for the saltish part is left behind owing to its
thickness
and weight, and forms salts; but the sun attracts the
thinnest
part, owing to its lightness, and he abstracts this not
only
from the lakes, but also from the sea, and from all things
which
contain humidity, and there is humidity in everything; and
from
man himself the sun draws off the thinnest and lightest part of
the
juices. As a strong proof of this, when a man walks in the sun, or
sits
down having a garment on, whatever parts of the body the sun
shines
upon do not sweat, for the sun carries off whatever sweat makes
its
appearance; but those parts which are covered by the garment, or
anything
else, sweat, for the particles of sweat are drawn and
forced
out by the sun, and are preserved by the cover so as not to
be
dissipated by the sun; but when the person comes into the shade the
whole
body equally perspires, because the sun no longer shines upon
it.
Wherefore, of all kinds of water, these spoil the soonest; and
rain
water has a bad spot smell, because its particles are collected
and
mixed together from most objects, so as to spoil the soonest.
And
in addition to this, when attracted and raised up, being carried
about
and mixed with the air, whatever part of it is turbid and
darkish
is separated and removed from the other, and becomes cloud and
mist,
but the most attenuated and lightest part is left, and becomes
sweet,
being heated and concocted by the sun, for all other things
when
concocted become sweet. While dissipated then and not in a
state
of consistence it is carried aloft. But when collected and
condensed
by contrary winds, it falls down wherever it happens to be
most
condensed. For this is likely to happen when the clouds being
carried
along and moving with a wind which does not allow them to
rest,
suddenly encounters another wind and other clouds from the
opposite
direction: there it is first condensed, and what is behind is
carried
up to the spot, and thus it thickens, blackens, and is
conglomerated,
and by its weight it falls down and becomes rain. Such,
to
all appearance, are the best of waters, but they require to be
boiled
and strained; for otherwise they have a bad smell, and occasion
hoarseness
and thickness of the voice to those who drink them. Those
from
snow and ice are all bad, for when once congealed, they never
again
recover their former nature; for whatever is clear, light, and
sweet
in them, is separated and disappears; but the most turbid and
weightiest
part is left behind. You may ascertain this in the
following
manner: If in winter you will pour water by measure into a
vessel
and expose it to the open air until it is all frozen, and
then
on the following day bring it into a warm situation where the ice
will
thaw, if you will measure the water again when dissolved you will
find
it much less in quantity. This is a proof that the lightest and
thinnest
part is dissipated and dried up by the congelation, and not
the
heaviest and thickest, for that is impossible: wherefore I hold
that
waters from snow and ice, and those allied to them, are the worst
of
any for all purposes whatever. Such are the characters of
rain-water,
and those from ice and snow.
9. Men become affected with the stone, and
are seized with
diseases
of the kidneys, strangury, sciatica, and become ruptured,
when
they drink all sorts of waters, and those from great rivers
into
which other rivulets run, or from a lake into which many
streams
of all sorts flow, and such as are brought from a considerable
distance.
For it is impossible that such waters can resemble one
another,
but one kind is sweet, another saltish and aluminous, and
some
flow from thermal springs; and these being all mixed up
together
disagree, and the strongest part always prevails; but the
same
kind is not always the strongest, but sometimes one and sometimes
another,
according to the winds, for the north wind imparts strength
to
this water, and the south to that, and so also with regard to the
others.
There must be deposits of mud and sand in the vessels from
such
waters, and the aforesaid diseases must be engendered by them
when
drunk, but why not to all I will now explain. When the bowels are
loose
and in a healthy state, and when the bladder is not hot, nor the
neck
of the bladder very contracted, all such persons pass water
freely,
and no concretion forms in the bladder; but those in whom
the
belly is hot, the bladder must be in the same condition; and
when
preternaturally heated, its neck becomes inflamed; and when these
things
happen, the bladder does not expel the urine, but raises its
heat
excessively. And the thinnest part of it is secreted, and the
purest
part is passed off in the form of urine, but the thickest and
most
turbid part is condensed and concreted, at first in small
quantity,
but afterwards in greater; for being rolled about in the
urine,
whatever is of a thick consistence it assimilates to itself,
and
thus it increases and becomes indurated. And when such persons
make
water, the stone forced down by the urine falls into the neck
of
the bladder and stops the urine, and occasions intense pain; so
that
calculous children rub their privy parts and tear at them, as
supposing
that the obstruction to the urine is situated there. As a
proof
that it is as I say, persons affected with calculus have very
limpid
urine, because the thickest and foulest part remains and is
concreted.
Thus it generally is in cases of calculus. It forms also in
children
from milk, when it is not wholesome, but very hot and
bilious,
for it heats the bowels and bladder, so that the urine
being
also heated undergoes the same change. And I hold that it is
better
to give children only the most diluted wine, for such will
least
burn up and dry the veins. Calculi do not form so readily in
women,
for in them the urethra is short and wide, so that in them
the
urine is easily expelled; neither do they rub the pudendum with
their
hands, nor handle the passage like males; for the urethra in
women
opens direct into the pudendum, which is not the case with
men,
neither in them is the urethra so wide, and they drink more
than
children do. Thus, or nearly so, is it with regard to them.
10. And respecting the seasons, one may judge
whether the year
will
prove sickly or healthy from the following observations:- If
the
appearances connected with the rising and setting stars be as they
should
be; if there be rains in autumn; if the winter be mild, neither
very
tepid nor unseasonably cold, and if in spring the rains be
seasonable,
and so also in summer, the year is likely to prove
healthy.
But if the winter be dry and northerly, and the spring
showery
and southerly, the summer will necessarily be of a febrile
character,
and give rise to ophthalmies and dysenteries. For when
suffocating
heat sets in all of a sudden, while the earth is moistened
by
the vernal showers, and by the south wind, the heat is
necessarily
doubled from the earth, which is thus soaked by rain and
heated
by a burning sun, while, at the same time, men's bellies are
not
in an orderly state, nor the brain properly dried; for it is
impossible,
after such a spring, but that the body and its flesh
must
be loaded with humors, so that very acute fevers will attack all,
but
especially those of a phlegmatic constitution. Dysenteries are
also
likely to occur to women and those of a very humid temperament.
And
if at the rising of the Dogstar rain and wintery storms supervene,
and
if the etesian winds blow, there is reason to hope that these
diseases
will cease, and that the autumn will be healthy; but if
not,
it is likely to be a fatal season to children and women, but
least
of all to old men; and that convalescents will pass into
quartans,
and from quartans into dropsies; but if the winter be
southerly,
showery and mild, but the spring northerly, dry, and of a
wintry
character, in the first place women who happen to be with
child,
and whose accouchement should take place in spring, are apt
to
miscarry; and such as bring forth, have feeble and sickly children,
so
that they either die presently or are tender, feeble, and sickly,
if
they live. Such is the case with the women. The others are
subject
to dysenteries and dry ophthalmies, and some have catarrhs
beginning
in the head and descending to the lungs. Men of a phlegmatic
temperament
are likely to have dysenteries; and women, also, from
the
humidity of their nature, the phlegm descending downwards from the
brain;
those who are bilious, too, have dry ophthalmies from the
heat
and dryness of their flesh; the aged, too, have catarrhs from
their
flabbiness and melting of the veins, so that some of them die
suddenly
and some become paralytic on the right side or the left.
For
when, the winter being southerly and the body hot, the blood and
veins
are not properly constringed; a spring that is northerly, dry,
and
cold, having come on, the brain when it should have been
expanded
and purged, by the coryza and hoarseness is then
constringed
and contracted, so that the summer and the heat
occurring
suddenly, and a change supervening, these diseases fall out.
And
such cities as lie well to the sun and winds, and use good waters,
feel
these changes less, but such as use marshy and pooly waters,
and
lie well both as regards the winds and the sun, these all feel
it
more. And if the summer be dry, those diseases soon cease, but if
rainy,
they are protracted; and there is danger of any sore that there
is
becoming phagedenic from any cause; and lienteries and dropsies
supervene
at the conclusion of diseases; for the bowels are not
readily
dried up. And if the summer be rainy and southerly, and next
the
autumn, the winter must, of necessity, be sickly, and ardent
fevers
are likely to attack those that are phlegmatic, and more
elderly
than forty years, and pleurisies and peripneumonies those that
are
bilious. But if the summer is parched and northerly, but the
autumn
rainy and southerly, headache and sphacelus of the brain are
likely
to occur; and in addition hoarseness, coryza, coughs, and in
some
cases, consumption. But if the season is northerly and without
water,
there being no rain, neither after the Dogstar nor Arcturus;
this
state agrees best with those who are naturally phlegmatic, with
those
who are of a humid temperament, and with women; but it is most
inimical
to the bilious; for they become much parched up, and
ophthalmies
of a dry nature supervene, fevers both acute and
chronic,
and in some cases melancholy; for the most humid and watery
part
of the bile being consumed, the thickest and most acrid portion
is
left, and of the blood likewise, when these diseases came upon
them.
But all these are beneficial to the phlegmatic, for they are
thereby
dried up, and reach winter not oppressed with humors, but with
them
dried up.
11. Whoever studies and observes these things
may be able to foresee
most
of the effects which will result from the changes of the seasons;
and
one ought to be particularly guarded during the greatest changes
of
the seasons, and neither willingly give medicines, nor apply the
cautery
to the belly, nor make incisions there until ten or more
days
be past. Now, the greatest and most dangerous are the two
solstices,
and especially the summer, and also the two equinoxes,
but
especially the autumnal. One ought also to be guarded about the
rising
of the stars, especially of the Dogstar, then of Arcturus,
and
then the setting of the Pleiades; for diseases are especially
apt
to prove critical in those days, and some prove fatal, some pass
off,
and all others change to another form and another constitution.
So
it is with regard to them.
12. I wish to show, respecting Asia and Europe,
how, in all
respects,
they differ from one another, and concerning the figure of
the
inhabitants, for they are different, and do not at all resemble
one
another. To treat of all would be a long story, but I will tell
you
how I think it is with regard to the greatest and most marked
differences.
I say, then, that Asia differs very much from Europe as
to
the nature of all things, both With regard to the productions of
the
earth and the inhabitants, for everything is produced much more
beautiful
and large in Asia; the country is milder, and the
dispositions
of the inhabitants also are more gentle and affectionate.
The
cause of this is the temperature of the seasons, because it lies
in
the middle of the risings of the sun towards the east, and
removed
from the cold (and heat), for nothing tends to growth and
mildness
so much as when the climate has no predominant quality, but a
general
equality of temperature prevails. It is not everywhere the
same
with regard to Asia, but such parts of the country as lie
intermediate
between the heat and the cold, are the best supplied with
fruits
and trees, and have the most genial climate, and enjoy the
purest
waters, both celestial and terrestrial. For neither are they
much
burnt up by the heat, nor dried up by the drought and want of
rain,
nor do they suffer from the cold; since they are well watered
from
abundant showers and snow, and the fruits of the season, as might
be
supposed, grow in abundance, both such as are raised from seed that
has
been sown, and such plants as the earth produces of its own
accord,
the fruits of which the inhabitants make use of, training them
from
their wild state and transplanting them to a suitable soil; the
cattle
also which are reared there are vigorous, particularly
prolific,
and bring up young of the fairest description; the
inhabitants
too, are well fed, most beautiful in shape, of large
stature,
and differ little from one another either as to figure or
size;
and the country itself, both as regards its constitution and
mildness
of the seasons, may be said to bear a close resemblance to
the
spring. Manly courage, endurance of suffering, laborious
enterprise,
and high spirit, could not be produced in such a state
of
things either among the native inhabitants or those of a
different
country, for there pleasure necessarily reigns. For this
reason,
also, the forms of wild beasts there are much varied. Thus
it
is, as I think, with the Egyptians and Libyans.
13. But concerning those on the right hand
of the summer risings
of
the sun as far as the Palus Maeotis (for this is the boundary of
Europe
and Asia), it is with them as follows: the inhabitants there
differ
far more from one another than those I have treated of above,
owing
to the differences of the seasons and the nature of the soil.
But
with regard to the country itself, matters are the same there as
among
all other men; for where the seasons undergo the greatest and
most
rapid changes, there the country is the wildest and most unequal;
and
you will find the greatest variety of mountains, forests,
plains,
and meadows; but where the seasons do not change much there
the
country is the most even; and, if one will consider it, so is it
also
with regard to the inhabitants; for the nature of some is like to
a
country covered with trees and well watered; of some, to a thin soil
deficient
in water; of others, to fenny and marshy places; and of some
again,
to a plain of bare and parched land. For the seasons which
modify
their natural frame of body are varied, and the greater the
varieties
of them the greater also will be the differences of their
shapes.
14. I will pass over the smaller differences
among the nations,
but
will now treat of such as are great either from nature, or custom;
and,
first, concerning the Macrocephali. There is no other race of men
which
have heads in the least resembling theirs. At first, usage was
the
principal cause of the length of their head, but now nature
cooperates
with usage. They think those the most noble who have the
longest
heads. It is thus with regard to the usage: immediately
after
the child is born, and while its head is still tender, they
fashion
it with their hands, and constrain it to assume a lengthened
shape
by applying bandages and other suitable contrivances whereby the
spherical
form of the head is destroyed, and it is made to increase in
length.
Thus, at first, usage operated, so that this constitution
was
the result of force: but, in the course of time, it was formed
naturally;
so that usage had nothing to do with it; for the semen
comes
from all parts of the body, sound from the sound parts, and
unhealthy
from the unhealthy parts. If, then, children with bald heads
are
born to parents with bald heads; and children with blue eves to
parents
who have blue eyes; and if the children of parents having
distorted
eyes squint also for the most part; and if the same may be
said
of other forms of the body, what is to prevent it from
happening
that a child with a long head should be produced by a parent
having
a long head? But now these things do not happen as they did
formerly,
for the custom no longer prevails owing to their intercourse
with
other men. Thus it appears to me to be with regard to them.
15. As to the inhabitants of Phasis, their
country is fenny, warm,
humid,
and wooded; copious and severe rains occur there at all
seasons;
and the life of the inhabitants is spent among the fens;
for
their dwellings are constructed of wood and reeds, and are erected
amidst
the waters; they seldom practice walking either to the city
or
the market, but sail about, up and down, in canoes constructed
out
of single trees, for there are many canals there. They drink the
hot
and stagnant waters, both when rendered putrid by the sun, and
when
swollen with rains. The Phasis itself is the most stagnant of all
rivers,
and runs the smoothest; all the fruits which spring there
are
unwholesome, feeble and imperfect growth, owing to the
redundance
of water, and on this account they do not ripen, for much
vapor
from the waters overspreads the country. For these reasons the
Phasians
have shapes different from those of all other men; for they
are
large in stature, and of a very gross habit of body, so that not a
joint
nor vein is visible; in color they are sallow, as if affected
with
jaundice. Of all men they have the roughest voices, from their
breathing
an atmosphere which is not clear, but misty and humid;
they
are naturally rather languid in supporting bodily fatigue. The
seasons
undergo but little change either as to heat or cold; their
winds
for the most part are southerly, with the exception of one
peculiar
to the country, which sometimes blows strong, is violent
and
hot, and is called by them the wind cenchron. The north wind
scarcely
reaches them, and when it does blow it is weak and gentle.
Thus
it is with regard to the different nature and shape of the
inhabitants
of Asia and Europe.
16. And with regard to the pusillanimity and
cowardice of the
inhabitants,
the principal reason the Asiatics are more unwarlike
and
of gentler disposition than the Europeans is, the nature of the
seasons,
which do not undergo any great changes either to heat or
cold,
or the like; for there is neither excitement of the
understanding
nor any strong change of the body whereby the temper
might
be ruffled and they be roused to inconsiderate emotion and
passion,
rather than living as they do always in the state. It is
changes
of all kinds which arouse understanding of mankind, and do not
allow
them to get into a torpid condition. For these reasons, it
appears
to me, the Asiatic race is feeble, and further, owing to their
laws;
for monarchy prevails in the greater part of Asia, and where men
are
not their own masters nor independent, but are the slaves of
others,
it is not a matter of consideration with them how they may
acquire
military discipline, but how they may seem not to be
warlike,
for the dangers are not equally shared, since they must serve
as
soldiers, perhaps endure fatigue, and die for their masters, far
from
their children, their wives, and other friends; and whatever
noble
and manly actions they may perform lead only to the
aggrandizement
of their masters, whilst the fruits which they reap are
dangers
and death; and, in addition to all this, the lands of such
persons
must be laid waste by the enemy and want of culture. Thus,
then,
if any one be naturally warlike and courageous, his
disposition
will be changed by the institutions. As a strong proof
of
all this, such Greeks or barbarians in Asia as are not under a
despotic
form of government, but are independent, and enjoy the fruits
of
their own labors, are of all others the most warlike; for these
encounter
dangers on their own account, bear the prizes of their own
valor,
and in like manner endure the punishment of their own
cowardice.
And you will find the Asiatics differing from one
another,
for some are better and others more dastardly; of these
differences,
as I stated before, the changes of the seasons are the
cause.
Thus it is with Asia.
17. In Europe there is a Scythian race, called
Sauromatae, which
inhabits
the confines of the Palus Maeotis, and is different from
all
other races. Their women mount on horseback, use the bow, and
throw
the javelin from their horses, and fight with their enemies as
long
as they are virgins; and they do not lay aside their virginity
until
they kill three of their enemies, nor have any connection with
men
until they perform the sacrifices according to law. Whoever
takes
to herself a husband, gives up riding on horseback unless the
necessity
of a general expedition obliges her. They have no right
breast;
for while still of a tender age their mothers heat strongly
a
copper instrument constructed for this very purpose, and apply it to
the
right breast, which is burnt up, and its development being
arrested,
all the strength and fullness are determined to the right
shoulder
and arm.
18. As the other Scythians have a peculiarity
of shape, and do not
resemble
any other, the same observation applies to the Egyptians,
only
that the latter are oppressed by heat and the former by cold.
What
is called the Scythian desert is a prairie, rich in meadows,
high-lying,
and well watered; for the rivers which carry off the water
from
the plains are large. There live those Scythians which are called
Nomades,
because they have no houses, but live in wagons. The smallest
of
these wagons have four wheels, but some have six; they are
covered
in with felt, and they are constructed in the manner of
houses,
some having but a single apartment, and some three; they are
proof
against rain, snow, and winds. The wagons are drawn by yokes
of
oxen, some of two and others of three, and all without horns, for
they
have no horns, owing to the cold. In these wagons the women live,
but
the men are carried about on horses, and the sheep, oxen, and
horses
accompany them; and they remain on any spot as long as there is
provender
for their cattle, and when that fails they migrate to some
other
place. They eat boiled meat, and drink the milk of mares, and
also
eat hippace, which is cheese prepared from the milk of the
mare.
Such is their mode of life and their customs.
19. In respect of the seasons and figure of
body, the Scythian race,
like
the Egyptian, have a uniformity of resemblance, different from
all
other nations; they are by no means prolific, and the wild
beasts
which are indigenous there are small in size and few in number,
for
the country lies under the Northern Bears, and the Rhiphaean
mountains,
whence the north wind blows; the sun comes very near to
them
only when in the summer solstice, and warms them but for a
short
period, and not strongly; and the winds blowing from the hot
regions
of the earth do not reach them, or but seldom, and with little
force;
but the winds from the north always blow, congealed, as they
are,
by the snow, ice, and much water, for these never leave the
mountains,
which are thereby rendered uninhabitable. A thick fog
covers
the plains during the day, and amidst it they live, so that
winter
may be said to be always present with them; or, if they have
summer,
it is only for a few days, and the heat is not very strong.
Their
plains are high-lying and naked, not crowned with mountains, but
extending
upwards under the Northern Bears. The wild beasts there
are
not large, but such as can be sheltered underground; for the
cold
of winter and the barrenness of the country prevent their growth,
and
because they have no covert nor shelter. The changes of the
seasons,
too, are not great nor violent, for, in fact, they change
gradually;
and therefore their figures resemble one another, as they
all
equally use the same food, and the same clothing summer and
winter,
respiring a humid and dense atmosphere, and drinking water
from
snow and ice; neither do they make any laborious exertions, for
neither
body nor mind is capable of enduring fatigue when the
changes
of the seasons are not great. For these reasons their shapes
are
gross and fleshy, with ill-marked joints, of a humid
temperament,
and deficient in tone: the internal cavities, and
especially
those of the intestines, are full of humors; for the
belly
cannot possibly be dry in such a country, with such a
constitution
and in such a climate; but owing to their fat, and the
absence
of hairs from their bodies, their shapes resemble one another,
the
males being all alike, and so also with the women; for the seasons
being
of a uniform temperature, no corruption or deterioration takes
place
in the concretion of the semen, unless from some violent
cause,
or from disease.
20. I Will give you a strong proof of the humidity
(laxity?) of
their
constitutions. You will find the greater part of the
Scythians,
and all the Nomades, with marks of the cautery on their
shoulders,
arms, wrists, breasts, hip-joints, and loins, and that
for
no other reason but the humidity and flabbiness of their
constitution,
for they can neither strain with their bows, nor
launch
the javelin from their shoulder owing to their humidity and
atony:
but when they are burnt, much of the humidity in their joints
is
dried up, and they become better braced, better fed, and their
joints
get into a more suitable condition. They are flabby and squat
at
first, because, as in Egypt, they are not swathed (?); and then
they
pay no attention to horsemanship, so that they may be adepts at
it;
and because of their sedentary mode of life; for the males, when
they
cannot be carried about on horseback, sit the most of their
time
in the wagon, and rarely practise walking, because of their
frequent
migrations and shiftings of situation; and as to the women,
it
is amazing how flabby and sluggish they are. The Scythian race
are
tawny from the cold, and not from the intense heat of the sun, for
the
whiteness of the skin is parched by the cold, and becomes tawny.
21. It is impossible that persons of such a
constitution could be
prolific,
for, with the man, the sexual desires are not strong,
owing
to the laxity of his constitution, the softness and coldness
of
his belly, from all which causes it is little likely that a man
should
be given to venery; and besides, from being jaded by exercise
on
horseback, the men become weak in their desires. On the part of the
men
these are the causes; but on that of the women, they are
embonpoint
and humidity; for the womb cannot take in the semen, nor is
the
menstrual discharge such as it should be, but scanty and at too
long
intervals; and the mouth of the womb is shut up by fat and does
not
admit the semen; and, moreover, they themselves are indolent and
fat,
and their bellies cold and soft. From these causes the Scythian
race
is not prolific. Their female servants furnish a strong proof
of
this; for they no sooner have connection with a man than they prove
with
child, owing to their active course of life and the slenderness
of
body.
22. And, in addition to these, there are many
eunuchs among the
Scythians,
who perform female work, and speak like women. Such persons
are
called effeminates. The inhabitants of the country attribute the
cause
of their impotence to a god, and venerate and worship such
persons,
every one dreading that the like might befall himself; but to
me
it appears that such affections are just as much divine as all
others
are, and that no one disease is either more divine or more
human
than another, but that all are alike divine, for that each has
its
own nature, and that no one arises without a natural cause. But
I
will explain how I think that the affection takes its rise. From
continued
exercise on horseback they are seized with chronic
defluxions
in their joints owing to their legs always hanging down
below
their horses; they afterwards become lame and stiff at the
hip-joint,
such of them, at least, as are severely attacked with it.
They
treat themselves in this way: when the disease is commencing,
they
open the vein behind either ear, and when the blood flows, sleep,
from
feebleness, seizes them, and afterwards they awaken, some in good
health
and others not. To me it appears that the semen is altered by
this
treatment, for there are veins behind the ears which, if cut,
induce
impotence; now, these veins would appear to me to be cut.
Such
persons afterwards, when they go in to women and cannot have
connection
with them, at first do not think much about it, but
remain
quiet; but when, after making the attempt two, three, or more
times,
they succeed no better, fancying they have committed some
offence
against the god whom they blame for the affection, they put on
female
attire, reproach themselves for effeminacy, play the part of
women,
and perform the same work as women do. This the rich among
the
Scythians endure, not the basest, but the most noble and powerful,
owing
to their riding on horseback; for the poor are less affected, as
they
do not ride on horses. And yet, if this disease had been more
divine
than the others, it ought not to have befallen the most noble
and
the richest of the Scythians alone, but all alike, or rather those
who
have little, as not being able to pay honors to the gods, if,
indeed,
they delight in being thus rewarded by men, and grant favors
in
return; for it is likely that the rich sacrifice more to the
gods,
and dedicate more votive offerings, inasmuch as they have
wealth,
and worship the gods; whereas the poor, from want, do less
in
this way, and, moreover, upbraid the gods for not giving them
wealth,
so that those who have few possessions were more likely to
bear
the punishments of these offences than the rich. But, as I
formerly
said, these affections are divine just as much as others, for
each
springs from a natural cause, and this disease arises among the
Scythians
from such a cause as I have stated. But it attacks other men
in
like manner, for whenever men ride much and very frequently on
horseback,
then many are affected with rheums in the joints, sciatica,
and
gout, and they are inept at venery. But these complaints befall
the
Scythians, and they are the most impotent of men for the aforesaid
causes,
and because they always wear breeches, and spend the most of
their
time on horseback, so as not to touch their privy parts with the
hands,
and from the cold and fatigue they forget the sexual desire,
and
do not make the attempt until after they have lost their virility.
Thus
it is with the race of the Scythians.
23. The other races in Europe differ from one
another, both as to
stature
and shape, owing to the changes of the seasons, which are very
great
and frequent, and because the heat is strong, the winters
severe,
and there are frequent rains, and again protracted droughts,
and
winds, from which many and diversified changes are induced.
These
changes are likely to have an effect upon generation in the
coagulation
of the semen, as this process cannot be the same in summer
as
in winter, nor in rainy as in dry weather; wherefore, I think, that
the
figures of Europeans differ more than those of Asiatics; and
they
differ very much from one another as to stature in the same city;
for
vitiations of the semen occur in its coagulation more frequently
during
frequent changes of the seasons, than where they are alike
and
equable. And the same may be said of their dispositions, for the
wild,
and unsociable, and the passionate occur in such a constitution;
for
frequent excitement of the mind induces wildness, and extinguishes
sociableness
and mildness of disposition, and therefore I think the
inhabitants
of Europe more courageous than those of Asia; for a
climate
which is always the same induces indolence, but a changeable
climate,
laborious exertions both of body and mind; and from rest
and
indolence cowardice is engendered, and from laborious exertions
and
pains, courage. On this account the inhabitants of Europe are than
the
Asiatics, and also owing to their institutions, because they are
not
governed by kings like the latter, for where men are governed by
kings
there they must be very cowardly, as I have stated before; for
their
souls are enslaved, and they will not willingly, or readily
undergo
dangers in order to promote the power of another; but those
that
are free undertake dangers on their own account, and not for
the
sake of others; they court hazard and go out to meet it, for
they
themselves bear off the rewards of victory, and thus their
institutions
contribute not a little to their courage.
Such is the general character of Europe and
Asia.
24. And there are in Europe other tribes, differing
from one another
in
stature, shape, and courage: the differences are those I formerly
mentioned,
and will now explain more clearly. Such as inhabit a
country
which is mountainous, rugged, elevated, and well watered,
and
where the changes of the seasons are very great, are likely to
have
great variety of shapes among them, and to be naturally of an
enterprising
and warlike disposition; and such persons are apt to have
no
little of the savage and ferocious in their nature; but such as
dwell
in places which are low-lying, abounding in meadows and ill
ventilated,
and who have a larger proportion of hot than of cold
winds,
and who make use of warm waters- these are not likely to be
of
large stature nor well proportioned, but are of a broad make,
fleshy,
and have black hair; and they are rather of a dark than of a
light
complexion, and are less likely to be phlegmatic than bilious;
courage
and laborious enterprise are not naturally in them, but may be
engendered
in them by means of their institutions. And if there be
rivers
in the country which carry off the stagnant and rain water from
it,
these may be wholesome and clear; but if there be no rivers, but
the
inhabitants drink the waters of fountains, and such as are
stagnant
and marshy, they must necessarily have prominent bellies
and
enlarged spleens. But such as inhabit a high country, and one that
is
level, windy, and well-watered, will be large of stature, and
like
to one another; but their minds will be rather unmanly and
gentle.
Those who live on thin, ill-watered, and bare soils, and not
well
attempered in the changes of the seasons, in such a country
they
are likely to be in their persons rather hard and well braced,
rather
of a blond than a dark complexion, and in disposition and
passions
haughty and self-willed. For, where the changes of the
seasons
are most frequent, and where they differ most from one
another,
there you will find their forms, dispositions, and nature the
most
varied. These are the strongest of the natural causes of
difference,
and next the country in which one lives, and the waters;
for,
in general, you will find the forms and dispositions of mankind
to
correspond with the nature of the country; for where the land is
fertile,
soft, and well-watered, and supplied with waters from very
elevated
situations, so as to be hot in summer and cold in winter, and
where
the seasons are fine, there the men are fleshy, have
ill-formed
joints, and are of a humid temperament; they are not
disposed
to endure labor, and, for the most part, are base in
spirit;
indolence and sluggishness are visible in them, and to the
arts
they are dull, and not clever nor acute. When the country is
bare,
not fenced, and rugged, blasted by the winter and scorched by
the
sun, there you may see the hardy, hardy, slender, with well-shaped
joints,
well-braced, and shaggy; sharp, industry and vigilance
accompany
such a constitution; in morals and passions they are haughty
and
opinionative, inclining rather to the fierce than to the mild; and
you
will find them acute and ingenious as regards the arts, and
excelling
in military affairs; and likewise all the other
productions
of the earth corresponding to the earth itself. Thus it is
with
regard to the most opposite natures and shapes; drawing
conclusions
from them, you may judge of the rest without any risk of
error.
-THE END-
