TACITUS, P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Annals and The Histories

TACITUS
The Annals and The Histories

by P. Cornelius Tacitus

QUOTES FOR DISCUSSION

From the biographical note:

I have reserved as an employment for my old age, should my life be long enough, a subject a once more fruitful and less anxious in the reign of the Divine Nerva and the empire of Trajan, enjoying the rare happiness of times, when we may think what we please and express what we think.

… the truthfulness of history was impaired in many ways, as first, through men’s ignorance of public affairs, which were not wholly strange to them, then through their passion for flattery, or, on the other hand, their hatred of their masters.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 1, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 189

Never surely did more terrible calamities of the Roman People, or evidence more conclusive prove that the Gods take no thought for our happiness, but only for our punishment.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 3, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 190

for Otho’s had been a neglected boyhood and a riotous youth, and he had made himself agreeable to Nero by emulating his profligacy.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 13, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 192

As it is, I, who have been called to the throne by the unanimous consent of gods and men, am moved by your splendid endowments and by my own patriotism to offer to you, a man of peace, that power for which our ancestors fought, and which I myself obtained by war.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 15, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 193

… you have only borne adversity; prosperity tried the heart with keener temptation; for hardships my be endured, whereas we are spoiled by success.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 15, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 193

The most practical and the shortest method of distinguishing between good and bad measures, is to think what you yourself would or would not like under another emperor. It is not here, as it is among nations despotically ruled, that there is a distinct governing family, while all the rest are slaves. You have to reign over men who cannot bear either absolute slavery or absolute freedom.”

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 16, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 193

This is a class of men, whom the powerful cannot trust, and who deceive the aspiring, a class which will always be proscribed in this country, and yet always retained. Man of these men were attached to the secret councils of Poppaea and were the vilest tools in the employ of the imperial household.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 22, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 195

Appalled by the enormity and suddenness of the crime, or perhaps fearing that the troops were very extensively corrupted and that it would be destruction to oppose them, he made many suspect him of complicity.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 28, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 196

The lawless spirit will pass into the provinces, and though we shall suffer from the treason, you will suffer from the wards that will follow.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 30, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 197

Crimes gain by hasty action, better counsels by delay.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 32, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 198

…belief in hatred is but too ready.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 34, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 198

No one knew anything, yet all were confident in assertion, till at length Galba in the dearth of all true intelligence, and overborne by the universal delusion, assumed his cuirass, and as, from any age and bodily weakness, he could not stand up against the crowd that was still rushing in, he was elevated on a chair.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 35, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 198

Comrades, I cannot say in what character I have presented myself to you; I refuse to call myself a subject, now that you have named me Prince, or Prince while another reigns. Your title also will be equally uncertain, so long as it shall be a question, whether it is the Emperor of the Roman people, or a public enemy, whom you have in your camp. Mark you, how in one breath they cry for my punishment and for your execution. So evident it is, that we can neither perish, nor be saved, except together.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 37, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 198

There is no room for delay in a business which can only be approved when it is done.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 38, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 199

No tribune or centurion encouraged them, every man acted on his own impulse and guidance, and the vilest found their chief incitement in the dejection of the good.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 38, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 199

His last words have been variously reported according as men hated or admired him. Some have said that he asked in a tone of entreaty what wrong he had done, and begged a few days for the payment of the donative. The more general account is, that he voluntarily offered his neck to the murderers, and bade them haste and strike, if it seemed to be for the good of the Commonwealth.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 41, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 200

A demand was theren made, that the fees for furlough usually paid to the centurions should be abolished.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 46, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 201

Thus was the end of Servius Galba…. His character was of an average kind, rather free from vices, than distinguished by virtue.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 49, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 202

That two men, who for shamelessness, indolence, and profligacy, were the most worthless of mortal, had been selected , it would seem, by some fatality to ruin the Empire, became the open complaint ,not only of the Senate and the Knights, who had some stake and interest in the country, but even of the common people. It was no longer to the late horrors of a dreadful peace, but to the recollections of the civil wars, that men recurred, speaking of how the capital had been taken by Roman armies, how Italy had been wasted and the provinces spoiled, of Pharsalia, Philippi, Perusia, and Mutian, and all the familiar names of great public disasters.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 50, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 202

In most cases he did but court popularity, in some he exercises a sound discretion, making a salutary change from the meanness and rapacity which Fonteius Caprito had show in bestowing and withdrawing promotion.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 52, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 203

Besides this, men themselves eager for power were ready to represent his very vices as virtues.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 52, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 203

Their envoys who had assumed a studied appearance of misery and distress, passed through the headquarters and the men’s tens, and complaining, now of their own wrongs, now of the rewards bestowed on the neighbouring states, and when they found the soldiers’ ears open to their words, of the perils and insults to which the army itself was exposed, inflamed the passion of the troops. The legions were on the verge of mutiny, when Hordeonius Flaccus ordered the envoys to depart, and to make their departure more secret, directed them to leave the camp by night. Hence arose a frightful rumour, many asserting that the envoys had been killed, and that, unless the soldiers provided for their own safety, the next thing would be that those who had complained of their present conditions, would be slaughtered under cover of night when the rest of the army would know nothing of their fate. The legions then bound themselves by a secret agreement. Into this auxiliary troops were admitted. At first objects of suspicion from the idea that their infantry and cavalry were being concentrated in preparation of an attack on the legions these troops soon became especially zealous in the scheme. The bad find it easier to agree for purposes of war than to live in harmony during peace.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 54, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 204

… the rest preserved an absolute silence, everyone waiting for some bold demonstration from his neighbor, in obedience to that innate tendency to men, which makes them quick to follow where they are slow to lead.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 55, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 204

After this no one retained any sense of duty, any recollection of his late allegiance, but as usually happens in mutinies, the side of the majority became the side of all.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 56, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 204

Meanwhile frequent letters, disfigured by unmanly flatteries were addressed by Otho to Vitellius, with offers of wealth and favour and any retreat he might select for a life of prodigal indulgence. Vitellius made similar overtures. Their tone was at first pacific; and both exhibited a foolish and undignified hypocrisy. Then they seemed to quarrel, charging each other with debaucheries and the grossest crimes, and both spoke truth.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 74, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 209

I am not come that I may move your hearts to love me, or that I may rouse your courage; love and courage you have in superfluous abundance. I am come to pray you to put some restraint on your valour, some check on your affection for me. The origin of the late tumult is to be traced not to rapacity or disaffection, feelings which have driven many armies into civil strife, much less to any shrinking from , or fear of danger. It was your excessive affection for me that roused you to act with more zeal than discretion. For even honorable motives of action, unless directed by judgment are followed by disastrous results. We are now starting for a campaign. Does the nature of things, does the rapid flight of opportunities, admit of all intelligence being publicly announced , of every plan begin discussed in the presence of all? It is as needful that the soldiers should be ignorant of some things as that they should know others. The general’s authority, the stern laws of discipline, require that in many matters even the centurions and tribunes shall only receive orders. If, whenever orders are given, individuals may ask questions, obedience ceases, and all command is at an end.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 83, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 211

Commerades, it is by obeying, not by questioning the orders of the commanders, that military power is kept together. And that army is the most courageous in the moment of peril, which is the most orderly before the peril comes. Keep you your arms and your courage, leave it to me to plan, and to guide your valour.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 84, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 212

A few ere in the fault, two will be punished. Let all the rest blot out the remembrance of that night of infamy. Never let any army hear those cries against the Senate. To clamour for the destruction of what is the head of the Empire, and contains all that is distinguished in the provinces, good God! It is a think which not even those Germans, whom Vetellius at this very moment is rousing against us, would dare to do. Shall any sons of Italy, the true youth of Rome, cry out for the massacre of an order, by whose splendid distinctions we throw into the shade the mean and obscure faction of Vitellius? Vitellius is the master of a few tribes, and has some semblance of an army. We have the Senate. The country is with us; with them the country’s enemies.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 84, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 212

Hence, everything was rife with suspicion, and even the privacy of the family was hardly exempt from fear. It was however in public that most alarm was felt; with every piece of intelligence that rumour brought, men changed their looks and spirits, anxious not to appear discouraged by unfavourable omens, or too little delighted by success.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 1, ch 85, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 212

The conquerors and the conquered, it was said, never unite with a genuine good faith. It matters not whether fortune make Ortho or Vitellius to be the victor. Even great generals grow insolent in prosperity; these men are quarrelsome, indolent, and profligate, and their own faults will make war fatal to the one, and success to the other.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2, ch 7, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 216

About this time Achaia and Asia Minor were terrified by a false report that Nero was at hand. Various rumours were current about his death; and so there were many who pretended and believed that he was still alive. The adventures and enterprises of the other pretenders I shall relate in the regular course of my work.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2, ch 8, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 216

The horror of these acts was aggravated by a noble display of fortitude in a Ligurian woman; she had concealed her son, and when the soldiers, who believed that some money had been hidden with him, questioned her with torture as to where she was hiding him, she pointed to her bosom and replied, “It is here that he is concealed.”; nor could any subsequent threats or even death itself make her falter in this courageous and noble answer.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2, ch 13, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 217

Whatever the cause of the accident, it was thought of but little moment as long as more terrible disasters were apprehended; but as soon as they again felt secure, they lamented it as though they could not have endured a heavier calamity.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2, ch 21, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 220

He was a man naturally tardy in action, and one who preferred a cautious and scientific plan of operations to any success which was the result of accident. He ordered the trenches to be filed up, the plain to be cleared, and the line to be extended, holding that it would be time enough to begin his victory when he had provide against being vanquished. This delay gave the Vitellianists time to retreat into some vineyards, which ere obstructed by the interlacing layers of the vines, and close to which was a small wood. From this place they again ventured to emerge, slaughtering the foremost of the Praetorian cavalry. King Epiphanes was wounded, while he was zealously cheering on the troops for Otho.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2, ch 25, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 221

He forbade the centurions to visit the sentinels, and discontinued the trumpet calls by which the troops are summoned to their usual military duties. Thereupon all stood paralyzed, and gazed at each other in amazement, panic-stricken by the very fact that there was no one to direct them. By their silence, by their submission, finally by their tears and entreaties, they craved forgiveness. But when Valens, thus unexpectedly preserved, came forward in sad plight, shedding tears, they were moved to joy, to pity, even to affection. Their revulsion t or delight was just that of a mob, always extreme in either emotion. They greeted him with praises and congratulations, and surrounding him with the eagles and standards, carried him to the tribunal. With a politic prudence he refrained from demanding capital punishment in any case; yet, fearing that he might lay himself more open to suspicion by concealment of his feelings, he censured a few persons, well aware that in civil wards the solider have more license than the generals.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2, ch 29, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 222

… as is usual in civil wars, there were many deserters, and the spies, while busy in inquiring into the plans of the enemy, failed to conceal their own.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2, ch 34, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 223

… they wished also to keep their own soldiers from passing their unoccupied time in idleness.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2, ch 34, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 224

That old passion for power which has been ever innate in man increased and broke out as the Empire grew in greatness.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2, ch 38, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 224

Otho himself was opposed to all thoughts of war. He said, “ hold that to expose such a spirit, such a courage as yours, to any further risk is to put too high a value on my life. The more hope you hold out to me, should I choose to live, the more glorious will be my death…. I need neither revenge nor consolation. Others may have held the throne for a longer time, but no one can have left it with such fortitude. … Let this thought go with me, that you were willing to die for me. But live, and let us no longer delay, lest I interfere with your safety, you with my firmness. To say too much about one’s end is a mark of cowardice.”

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2, ch 47, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 227

The natives of these parts relate that on the day when the battle was being fought at Bedriacum, a bird of unfamiliar appearance settled in a much frequented grove near Regium Lepidum, and was not frightened or driven away by the concourse of people, or by the multitude of birds that flocked round it, until Otho killed himself; then it vanished. When they came to compute the time it was found that the commencement and the end of this strange occurrence tallied with the last scenes of Otho’s life.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2, ch 50, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 228

Not forty days had passed since the battle, and there lay mangled corpses, severed limbs, the putrefying forms of men and horses; the soil was saturated with gore, and what with leveled trees and crops, the horrible was the desolation. Not less revolting was that portion of the road which people of Cremona had strewed with laurel leaves and roses, and to which they had raised altars, and sacrificed victims as if to greet some barbarous despot, festivities in which they delighted for the moment, but which were afterwards to work their ruin.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2, ch 70, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 233

The common soldiers also turned aside from the line of march with joyful shouts and recognized the various scenes of conflict, and gazed with wonder on the piles of weapons and the heaps of slain. Some indeed there were whom all this moved to thoughts of the mutability of fortune, to pity, and to tears. Vitellius did not turn away his eyes, did not shudder to behold the unburied corpses of so many thousands of his countrymen; nay in his exultation, in his ignorance of the doom which was so close upon himself, he actually instituted a religious ceremony in honour of the tutelary gods of the place.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2, ch 70, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 233

It would almost pass belief, were I to tell to what a degree the insolence and sloth of Vitellius grew upon him when messengers from Syria and Judea brought the news that the provinces of the East had sworn allegiance to him.

P. Cornelius Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2, ch 73, Great Books Volume 15, pg. 233

VOCABULARY – Tacitus – The Histories
Great Books Volume 15

Avarice, pg. 199

Immoderate desire for wealth; cupidity. [ from Latin avāritia ]

Cuirass, pg. 198

A piece of armor for protecting the breast and back. The breastplate alone. A defense or protection

Donative, pg. 200

a special gift or donation, 15th century

enervated, pg 213

adynamic, asthenic, debilitated weakened or exhausted physically, mentally, or morally

feint, pg 224

maneuvers designed to distract or mislead , making the enemy less likely to attack, (a French term that entered English from the discipline of fencing)

Obloquy, pg 209

Abusively detractive language or utterance; calumny. censure: statements that severely criticize or defame somebody, widespread condemnation; disgrace or infamy resulting from this; public accusation; defamation.

Parsimonious, pg 202

Unusual or excessive frugality; extreme economy or stinginess. Adoption of the simplest assumption in the formulation of a theory or in. Excessively sparing or frugal.

Profligacy, pg 209

the trait of spending extravagantly, very vicious course of life. somebody wasteful: an extremely extravagant or wasteful person. somebody with low morals: somebody with extremely low moral standards

Rapacity, pg 203

Taking by force; plundering. Greedy; ravenous. Grasping: greedy and grasping, especially for money, and sometimes willing to use unscrupulous means

Rife, pg 212

In widespread existence, practice, or use; increasingly prevalent. Abundant or numerous. found widely or frequently full of something undesirable, or experiencing a widespread and very frequent occurrence of something, especially something undesirable

HIPPOCRATES

HIPPOCRATES, Hippocratic Writings

Hippocratic Oath

I swear by Apollo, the healer, Asclepius, Hygieia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and my judgment, the following Oath and agreement:

To consider dear to me, as my parents, him who taught me this art; to live in common with him and, if necessary, to share my goods with him; To look upon his children as my own brothers, to teach them this art.

I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.

I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan; and similarly I will not give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion.

But I will preserve the purity of my life and my arts.

I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners, specialists in this art.

In every house where I come I will enter only for the good of my patients, keeping myself far from all intentional ill-doing and all seduction and especially from the pleasures of love with women or with men, be they free or slaves.

All that may come to my knowledge in the exercise of my profession or in daily commerce with men, which ought not to be spread abroad, I will keep secret and will never reveal.

If I keep this oath faithfully, may I enjoy my life and practice my art, respected by all men and in all times; but if I swerve from it or violate it, may the reverse be my lot.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: The Oath, Great Books Volume 10, pg. xiii

HEALTHY DIET

I hold that the diet and food which people in health now use would not have been discovered, provided it had suited with man to eat and drink in like manner as the ox, the horse, and all other animals, except man, do of the productions of the earth, such as fruits, weeds, and grass; for from such things these animals grow, live free of disease, and require no other kind of food. And, at first, I am of opinion that man used the same sort of food, and that the present articles of diet had been discovered and invented only after a long lapse of time, for when they suffered much and severely from this strong and brutish diet, swallowing things which were raw, unmixed, and possessing great strength, they became exposed to strong pains and diseases and to early deaths. It is likely indeed, that from habit they would suffer less from these things then than we would now, but still they would suffer severely even then; and it is likely that the greater number, and those who had weaker constitutions, would all perish; whereas the stronger would hold out for a longer time, as even nowadays some, in consequence of using strong articles of food, get off with little trouble, but others with much pain and suffering. From this necessity it appears to me that they would search out the food befitting their nature, and thus discover that which we now use;: and that from wheat, by macerating it, stripping it of its hull, grinding it all down, sitting, toasting, and baking it, they formed bread; and from barley they formed cake (maza), performing many operations in regard to it; they boiled, they roasted, they mixed, they diluted those things which are strong and of intense qualities which weaker things, fashioning them to the nature and powers of man, and considering that the stronger things Nature would not be able to manage if administered, and that from such tings pains, diseases, and death would arise, but such as Nature could manage; that from them food, growth, and health, would arise. To such a discovery and investigation what more suitable name could one give than that of Medicine? Since it was discovered for the health of man, for his nourishment and safety, as a substitute for that kind of diet by which pains, diseases, and deaths were occasioned.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #3, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 1

SOUP VS SOLIDS

…soups do not agree with certain persons in their diseases, but on the contrary, when administered both the fevers and the pains are exacerbated and it becomes obvious that what was given has proved food and increase to the disease, but a wasting and weakness to the body. But whatever person so affected partook of solid food, or cake, or bread, even in small quantity, would be ten times more decidedly injured than those who had taken soups, for no other reason than from the strength of the food in reference to the affection; and to whomsoever it is proper to take soups and not eat solid food, such a one will be much more injured if he eat much than if he eat little, but even little food will be injurious to him. But all the causes of the sufferance refer themselves to this rule, that the strongest things most especially and decidedly hurt man, whether in health or in disease.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #6, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 2

ONE OR TWO MEALS DAILY

For to some, with whom it agrees to take only one meal in the day, and they have arranged it so accordingly; whilst others, for the same reason, also take dinner, and this they do because they find it good for them, and not like those person who, for pleasure or from any casual circumstance, adopt the one or the other custom; and to the bulk of mankind it is of little consequence which of these rules they observe, that is to say, whether they make it a practice to take one or two meals. But there are certain persons who cannot readily change their diet with impunity; and if they take any alteration in it for one day, or even for a part of a day, are greatly injured thereby. Such persons, provided they take dinner when it is not their wont, immediately become heavy and inactive, both in body and in mind, and are weighed down with yawning, slumbering and thirst; and if they take supper in addition, they are seized with flatulence, tormina, and diarrhea, and to many this has between the commencement of a serious disease, when they have merely taken twice in a day the same food which they have been in the custom of taking once.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #10, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 3

WEAKNESS FROM NOT EATING

…if one who has been accustomed to dine, and this rule agrees with him, should not dine at the accustomed hour, he will straightway feel great loss of strength, trembling, and want of spirits, the eyes of such a person will become more pallid, his urine thick and hot, his mouth bitter; his bowels will seem, as it were, to hang loose; he will suffer from vertigo, lowness of spirit, and inactivity – such are the effects; and if he should attempt to take at supper the same food which he was wont to partake of at dinner; if will appear insipid, and he will not be able to take it off; and these things passing downwards with torminia and rumblings, burn up his bowels; he isomnolency or troubled and disturbed dreams; and to many of them these symptoms are the commencement of some disease.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #10, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 4

ONE MEAL PER DAY

To him, then, who was accustomed to take only one meal in the day, they happened because he did not wait the proper time, until his bowels had completely derived benefit from and had digested the articles taken at the preceding meal, and until his belly had become soft and go into a state of rest, but he gave it a new supply while in a state of heat and fermentation, for such bellies digest much more slowly, and require more rest and ease.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #11, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 4

WEAKER CONSTITUTIONS

Wherefore I say, that such constitution as suffer quickly and strongly from errors in diet, are weaker than others that do not; and that a weak person is in a state very nearly approaching to one in disease; but a person in disease is the weaker, and it is therefore more likely that he should suffer if he encounters anything that is unseasonable.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #12, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 4

CONTRARIES

For if hot, or cold, or moist, or dry, be that which proves injurious to man, and if the person who would treat him properly much apply cold to the hot, hot to the cold, moist to the dry, and dry to the moist… … if it is one of the which is inuring the patient, it is to be removed by its contrary.
Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #13, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 4

UNPROCESSED WHEAT

– let me be presented with a man, not indeed one of a strong constitution, but one of the weaker, let him eat wheat, such as it is supplied from the thrashing floor, raw and unprepared, with raw meat, and let him drink water. But using such a diet I know that he will suffer much and severely, for he will experience pains, his body will become weak and his bowels deranged and he will not subsist long.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #13, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 4

CHANGE THE DIET

… But the surest and most obvious remedy is to change the diet which the person used, and instead of wheat to give bread, and instead of raw flesh, boiled and to drink wine in addition to these; for by making these changes it is impossible but that he must get better, unless completely disorganized by time and diet.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #13, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 4

BREAD OR WHEAT

And this I know, moreover, that to the human body it makes a great difference whether the bread be fine or coarse; of wheat with or without the hull, whether mixed with much or little water, strongly wrought or scarcely at all, baked or raw – and a multitude of similar differences;
Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #14, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 5

IMPORTANCE OF DIET

… Whoever pays no attention to these things, or, paying attention, does not comprehend them, how can he understand the diseases which befall a man? For by every one of these things, a man is affected and changed this way or that, and whole of his life is subjected to them, whether in health, convalescence, or disease. Nothing else , then, can be more important or more necessary t to know than these things.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #14, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 5

SALT, SWEET, ACID, SOUR, INSIPID

For there is in man the bitter and the salt, the sweet and the acid, the sour and the insipid, and a multitude of other things having all sort so powers both as regards quantity and strength. These, when all mixed and mingled up with one another, are not apparent, neither do they hurt a man; but when any of them is separate, and stands by itself, then it becomes a perceptible, and hurt a man.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #14, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 5

CONFECTIONARIES FOR LUXURY

But all those things which a man eats and drinks are devoid of any such intense and well-marked quality, such as bread, cake, and many other things of a similar nature which man is accustomed to use for food, with the exception of condiments and confectionaries, which are made to gratify the palate and for luxury.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #14, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 5

ACLIMATE

And these things operate thus both upon men in health and in disease. For example, if a person in health wishes to cool his body during winter, and bathes either in cold water or in any other way, the more he does this, unless his body be fairly congealed, when he resumes his clothes and come into a place of shelter, his body becomes more heated than before. And thus too, if a person wish to be warmed thoroughly either by means of a hot bath or strong fire, and straightway having the same clothing on, takes up his abode again in the place he was in when he became congealed, he will appear much colder, and more disposed to chills than before.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #16, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 6

DO NOTHING TO COOL OFF

And if a person fan himself on account of a suffocating heat, and having procured refrigeration for himself in this manner, cease doing so, the heat and suffocation will be ten times greater in his case than in that of a person who does nothing of the kind.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #16, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 6

CHEESE

And it is not enough to know simply that cheese is a bad article of food, as disagreeing with whoever eats of it to satiety, but what sort of disturbances it creates…

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #20, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 7

CHEESE NOT ALL BAD

For cheese (since we used it as an example) does not prove equally injurious to all men for there are some who can take it to satiety without being hurt by it in the least, but on the contrary, it is wonderful what strength it imparts to those it agrees with; but there are some who do not bear it well;…

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Ancient Medicine, #20, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 7

WATER QUALITY

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.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #1, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 9

STRANGER TO CITY

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.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #1, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 9

GOOD AND BAD WATER

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.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #7, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 11

BAD LAKE WATER

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…

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #7, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 11

MOUNTAIN WATER IS THE BEST

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 the deep wells.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #7, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 11

SALT WATER

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,

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #7, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 12

RAIN WATER

Rain waters, then, are the lightest, the sweetest, the thinnest, and the clearest;…

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #8, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 12

HUMIDITY

… and there is humidity in everything; and from man himself the sun draws off the thinnest and lightest part of the juices.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #8, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 12

CLOUDS

… rain water has a bad 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 become s cloud and mist, but the most attenuated and lightest part is left and becomes sweet, being heated and concocted by the sun.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #8, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 12

BOILED WATER

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.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #8, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 12

DON'T DRINK SNOW OR ICE WATER

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.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #8, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 12

YEAR PREDICTIONS ACCORDING TO WEATHER

And respecting the seasons, one may judge whether the year will prove sickly or healthy from the following observations: if the appearance 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, ad so also in summer, the year is likely to prove healthy.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #10, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 13

DASTARDLY

And you will find the Asiatics differing from one another, for some are better and others are more dastardly; …

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #16, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 16

BLEEDING OUT DISEASE

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.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #22, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 17

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; …

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On Airs, Waters, and Places, #24, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 18

For it is impossible to make all the sick well; this indeed, would have been better than to be able to foretell what is going to happen; but since men die, some even before calling the physician, from the violence of the disease, and some die immediately after calling him, , having lived, perhaps, only one day or a little longer, and before the physician could bring his art to counteract the disease, it therefore become necessary to know the nature of such affections, …

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: The Book of Prognostics, #1, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 19

Thus a man will be the more esteemed to be a good physician, for he will be the better able to treat those aright who can be saved, for having long anticipated everything; and by seeing and announcing beforehand those who will live and those who will die, he will thus escape censure.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: The Book of Prognostics, #1, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 19

It is well when the patient is found by his physician reclining upon either his right or his left side…

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: The Book of Prognostics, #3, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 20

But to lie upon one’s back, with the hands, neck and the legs extended, is far less favorable…

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: The Book of Prognostics, #3, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 20

To grind one’s teeth in fevers, when such has not been the custom of the patient from childhood, indicates madness and death, both which dangers are to be announced beforehand as likely to happen; …

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: The Book of Prognostics, #3, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 20

Free respiration is to be looked upon as contributing much to the safety of the patient in all acute disease, such as fevers, and those complains which come to a crises in forty days.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: The Book of Prognostics, #5, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 20

Those sweats are the best in all acute diseases which occur on the critical days, and completely carry off the fever. Those are favorable, which taking place over the whole body, show that the man is bearing the disease better. The worst are cold sweats, confined to the head, face and neck;

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: The Book of Prognostics, #6, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 20

…for if their pupils be in rapid motion, such persons may be expected to go mad.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: The Book of Prognostics, #7, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 20

It is a bad symptom when the head, hands and feet are cold, while the belly and sides are hot; but it is a very good symptom when the whole body is equally hot.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: The Book of Prognostics, #9, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 21

… the patient should wake during the day and sleep during the night. If this rule be anywise altered it is so far worse; but there will be little harm proved the sleep in the morning for the third part of the day; such sleep as takes place after this time is more unfavorable; but the worst of all is to get no sleep either night or day; for it follows from this symptom that the insomnolency is connected with sorry and pains, or that he is about to become delirious.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: The Book of Prognostics, #10, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 21

… about the autumn equinox, and under the Pleiades, the rains were abundant, constant, and soft, with southerly winds; the winter southerly, the northerly winds faint, droughts; on the whole the winter having the character of spring.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: Of the Epidemics, Book 1, Section 1, First Constitution,  #1, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 44

… from the preceding opposite and northerly state, the ardent fevers occurred in a few instances, and these very mild, being rarely attended with hemorrhage, and never proving fatal.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: Of the Epidemics, Book 1, Section 1, First Constitution,  #1, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 44

Early in the beginning of the spring and through the summer, and towards winter, many of those who had been long gradually declining, took to bed with symptoms of phthisis; in many cases formerly of doubtful character the disease then became confirmed; in these the constitution inclined to the phthisical. Many, and, in fact, the most of them died; and of those confined to bed, I do not know of a single individual survived for any considerable time; they died more suddenly than is common in such cases.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: Of the Epidemics, Book 1, Section 1, First Constitution,  #2, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 44

Most of them were affected by these diseases in the following manner: fevers accompanied with rigors, of the continual type, acute, having no complete intermission but of the form of the semi-tertians, being milder the one day, and the next having an exacerbation, and increasing in violence; constant sweats, but not diffused over the whole body; extremities very cold, and armed with difficulty; bowels disordered, with bilious, scanty, unmixed think, pungent, and frequent dejections.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: Of the Epidemics, Book 1, Section 1, First Constitution,  #2, Great Books Volume 10,  pg. 44

…early in autumn, the winter suddenly set in rains before the usual time, with much northerly and southerly winds. These things all continued so during the season of the Pleiades, and until their setting. The winter was northerly, the rains frequent, in torrents, and large with snow, but with a frequent mixture of fair weather. These things were all so, but the setting in of the cold was not much out of season.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: Of the Epidemics, Book 1, Section 2, Second Constitution, #1, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 45

People died of all these diseases, but mostly of the fevers, and notably infants just weaned, and older children, until eight or ten years of age, and those before puberty.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: Of the Epidemics, Book 1, Section 2, Second Constitution, #4, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 46

…. All symptoms were ameliorated;…

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: Of the Epidemics, Book 1, Section 3, Fourteen Cases of Disease, Case VI, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 52

A woman, who lodged on the Quay, being three months gone with child, was seized with fever, and immediately began to have pains in the loins. On the third day, pain of the head and neck, extending to the clavicle, and right hand; she immediately lost the power of speech; was paralyzed in the right had with spasms, after the manner of paraplegia was quite incoherent; passed an uncomfortable night; did not sleep; … On the fourth, recovered the use of her tongue

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: Of the Epidemics, Book 1, Section 3, Fourteen Cases of Disease, Case XIII, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 53

… after a sweat which came on, she became delirious and again immediately afterwards was collected; these symptoms were said to have been brought on by eating grapes.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: Of the Epidemics, Book 3, Section 2, Case III, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 55

In Thasus, a woman, of a melancholic turn of mind, from some accidental cause of sorrow, while still going about, became affected with loss of sleep, aversion to food, and had thirst and nausea. She lived near the Pylates, upon the Plain

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: Of the Epidemics, Book 3, Section 3, Sixteen Cases of Disease, Case XI, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 62

It is thus with regard to the disease called Sacred; it appears to me to be nowise more divine nor more sacred than other disease, but has a natural cause from which it originates like other affections. Men regard its nature and cause as divine from ignorance and wonder, because it is not at all like to other diseases. And this notion of its divinity is kept up by their inability to comprehend it, and the simplicity of the mode by which it is cured, for men are freed from it by purification and incantations. But if it is reckoned divine because it is wonderful, instead of one there are many diseases which would be sacred; for, as I will show, there are others no less wonderful and prodigious, which nobody imagines to be sacred.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On the Sacred Disease, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 154

For, if they profess to know how to bring down the moon, darken the sun, induce the storms and fine weather, and rains and droughts, and make the sea and land unproductive, and so forth, whether they arrogate this power as being derived from mysteries or any other knowledge or consideration, they appear to me to practice impiety, and either to fancy that they are no gods, or, if there are, that they have no ability to ward off any of the greater evils. How then, are they not enemies to the gods? For if a man by magical arts and sacrifices will bring down the moon and darken the sun and induce storms, or find weather, I should not believe that there was anything divine, but human, in these things, provided the power of the divine were overpowered by human knowledge and subjected to it. But perhaps it will be said these things are not so, but men being in want to the means of life, invent many and various things, and devise many contrivances for all other things, and for this disease, in every phase of the disease, assigning the cause to a god. Nor do they remember the same things once, but frequently. For, if they imitate a goat or rind their teeth, or if their right side be convulsed, they say that the mother of the gods is the cause. But if they speak in a sharper and more intense tone, they resemble this state to a horse, and say that Poseidon is the cause.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On the Sacred Disease, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 155

For they purify those laboring under this disease, with the same sorts of blood and other means that are used in the case of those who are stained with crimes, and of malefactors, or who have been enchanted by men, or who have done any wicked act; who out to do the very reverse, namely, sacrifice and pray, and bringing gifts to the temples, supplicate the gods. But now they do none of these things, but purify; and some of the purifications they conceal in the earth, and some they throw into the sea, and some they carry to the mountains where no one can touch or tread upon them. But these they out to take to the temples and present to the gods, if a god be the cause of the disease. Neither truly do I count it is polluted by god, the most impure by the most holy; for were it defiled, or did it suffer from any other thing, it would like to be purified and sanctified rather than polluted by god. For it is the divinity which purifies and sanctified the greatest of offenses and the most wicked, and which proves our protection from them. And we mark out the boundaries of the temples and the groves of the gods, so that no one may pass them unless he be pure, and when we enter them we are sprinkled with holy water, not as being polluted, but as laying aside any other pollution which we formerly had.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On the Sacred Disease, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 155

The brain of man, as in all other animals, is double, and a think membrane divides it through the middle, and therefore the pain is not always in the same part of the head for sometimes it is situated on either side, and sometimes the whole is affected; and veins run towards it from all parts of the body, many of which are small, but two are thick, - the one from the liver, and the other from the spleen.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On the Sacred Disease, Great Books Volume 10,  pg. 156

And it is thus with regard to the one from the liver: a portion of it runs downward through the parts on the right side, near the kidneys and the psoas muscles, to the inner part of the thigh, and extends to the food. It is called vena cava.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On the Sacred Disease, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 156

The other runs upward by the right veins and the lungs, and divides into branches for the heart and the right arm. The remaining part of it rises upward across the clavicle to the right side of the neck, and is superficial so as to be seen; near the ear it is concealed, and there it divides; its thickest, largest, and most hollow part ends in the brain; another small vein goes to the right ear, another to the right eye, and another to the nostril. Such are the distributions of the hepatic vein. And a vein from the spleen is distributed on the left side, upward and downward, like that from the liver, but more slender and feeble.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On the Sacred Disease, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 156

For when a person draws in air by the mouth and nostrils, the breath goes first to the brain, then the greater part of it to the internal cavity, and part to the lungs, and part to the veins, and from them it is distributed to the other parts of the body along the veins; and whatever passes to the stomach cools, and does nothing more; and so also with regard to the lungs.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On the Sacred Disease, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 157

But the air which enters the veins is of use (to the body) by entering the brain and its ventricles, and thus it imparts sensibility and motion to all the members, so that when the veins are excluded from the air by the phlegm and do not receive it, the man loses his speech and intellect, and the hands become powerless, and are contracted, the blood stopping, and not being diffused, as it was wont; and they eyes are distorted owing to the veins being excluded from the air; and they palpitate; and froth from the lungs issues by the mouth.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On the Sacred Disease, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 157

But such person are habituated to the disease know beforehand when they are about to be seized and flee from men; if their own house be at hand, they run home, but if not, to a deserted place, whereas few persons are possible will see them falling, and they immediately cover themselves up. This they do from shame of the affection, and not from fear of the divinity, as many suppose. And little children at first fall down wherever they may happen to be, from inexperience. But when they have been often sized, and feel its approach beforehand, they flee to their mothers, or to any other person they are acquainted with, from terror and dread of the affection, for being still infants they do not know yet what it is to be ashamed.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On the Sacred Disease, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 158

Thus is this disease formed and prevails from those things which enter into and go out of the body, and it is not more difficult to understand or to cure than the others, neither is it more divine than other diseases.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On the Sacred Disease, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 159

Some say that we think with the heart, and that this is the part which is grieved, and experiences care. But it is not so; only it contracts like the diaphragm, and still more so for the same causes. For veins from all parts of the body run to it, and it has valves, so as to perceive if any pain or pleasurable emotion befall the man. For when grieved the body necessarily shudders, and is contracted, and from excessive joy it is affected in like manner. Wherefore the heart and the diaphragm are particularly sensitive, they have nothing to do, however, with the operations of the understanding, but of all these the brain is the cause.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On the Sacred Disease, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 160

Since, then, the brain as being the primary seat of sense and of the spirits, perceives whatever occurs in the body, if any change more powerful than usual take place in the air, owing to the seasons, the brain becomes changed by the state of the air.

Hippocrates, Hippocratic Writings: On the Sacred Disease, Great Books Volume 10, pg. 160

VOCABULARY - HIPPOCRATES,

Hippocratic Writings

Great Books Volume 10

Ameliorated, pg 52

To make or become better; improve, amend, meliorate. USAGE: Ameliorate is often wrongly used where alleviate is meant. Ameliorate should be used to mean `improve', not `make easier to bear', so one should talk about alleviating pain or hardship, not ameliorating it.

Exacerbated, pg. 2

a state of inflammation or painful reaction to allergy or cell-lining damage, an increase in the severity of a disease or its signs

Impunity, pg. 3

Exemption from punishment, penalty, loss, or harm

isomnolency , pg. 4

Not having sleepiness, the state of not feeling drowsy, not ready to fall asleep

prodigious, pg 154

very large or immense, wonderful or amazing [Latin prodigiosus marvellous]

torminia, pg. 3

found in a journal of surgical medicine that “’torminia’ aroused him.” And the British medical journal. Could find no definition