Hippocrates on Ancient Medicine (Studies in Ancient Medicine)

432 Pages·2005·2.54 MB·English

by  Mark John Schiefsky

HIPPOCRATES
ON ANCIENT MEDICINE
STUDIES IN
ANCIENT MEDICINE
EDITED BY
JOHN SCARBOROUGH
PHILIP J. VAN DER EIJK
ANN HANSON
NANCY SIRAISI
VOLUME 28
HIPPOCRATES
ON ANCIENT MEDICINE
Translated with introduction and commentary
BY
MARK J. SCHIEFSKY
BRILL
LEIDEN•BOSTON
2005
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CONTENTS
Preface ................................................................ ix
Abbreviationsand Editions .......................................... xiii
Introduction........................................................... 1
1. Background...................................................... 5
1.1. τ(cid:3)(cid:4)νη and τ(cid:7)(cid:4)η .............................................. 5
1.2. τ(cid:3)(cid:4)νη and(cid:8)κρ(cid:11)(cid:12)εια.......................................... 13
1.3. Medicineandthe‘inquiryintonature’.................... 19
2.Argument........................................................ 25
2.1. Chapters1–19............................................... 25
2.2.Chapters20–24............................................. 30
2.3.Chapters9–12 .............................................. 33
3.Context.......................................................... 36
3.1. Audience.................................................... 36
3.2.Intellectualcontext......................................... 46
3.3.Theidentityofthe author’sopponents.................... 55
3.4.Date......................................................... 63
3.5.Receptionandauthorship ................................. 65
Textand Translation ................................................. 73
Commentary.......................................................... 111
Appendix1. VMandmedical Empiricism.......................... 345
Appendix2. VMandtheimprecisionofmedicine ................. 361
References............................................................. 375
General Index ........................................................ 383
Index ofGreek Words................................................ 389
Index Locorum ....................................................... 391

PREFACE
With minor exceptions, the Greek text printed here is that of Jacques
Jouanna (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1990). I have made no attempt
to produce a critical edition; the apparatus indicates only the few
places where I have thought it desirable to deviate from Jouanna’s
text, and the reader must consult his edition for a full apparatus and
account of the manuscript evidence. Here it will suffice to note that
the main authorities are M (Marcianus gr. 269, 10th century AD) and
A (Parisinus gr. 2253, 11th century AD). While older editions tended to
privilege A, careful analysis reveals that neither manuscript is consis-
tently superior; thus each must be given equal weight in deciding on
the reading in particular passages (Jouanna 1990, 85–93). The trans-
lation aims at clarity and faithfulness to the original rather than ele-
gance; in general all translations are my own unless otherwise indi-
cated. The Commentary is mainly concerned with issues of medi-
cal and scientific method; questions of textual criticism are discussed
only insofar as they bear on the interpretation of the author’s argu-
ment.ForeachchaptertheCommentarycontainsanintroductorynote
that begins with a summary of the chapter’s contents, as well as spe-
cific notes keyed to particular passages in the text by lemmas in both
Greek and English. These lemmatic comments are chiefly intended
to offer supporting evidence for the claims made in the introductory
notes; I have, however, tried to provide enough cross references so
that the reader can use them as a guide to particular passages. The
Commentary aims at completeness in the citation and presentation
of evidence, especially on questions of terminology. This is justified
by the radical claims that have sometimes been made on the basis
of the author’s use of certain terms; I hope that it will also make the
work of value to future writers of commentaries on other Hippocratic
texts. The Introduction offers an account of the argument of VM as
a whole, attempts to place the work in its intellectual context, and
addresses the general issues of its date, reception, and authorship; it
naturally draws heavily on the analyses presented in the individual
Commentary chapters. Finally, the two Appendices explore some of
x preface
theaffinitiesanddifferencesbetweenVM,PlatoandAristotle,andlater
medical thought.
The basic lines of interpretation argued for in this book were
sketched out in my 1999 Harvard dissertation, Technê and method in the
Hippocratic treatise ‘On Ancient Medicine’; nevertheless in terms of cover-
age, the amount of documentation provided, and its presentation in
commentary form, this is for all intents and purposes a new work.
In concerns and spirit it is closest to Festugière (1948), though I have
attempted to distinguish more carefully and systematically than he
sometimes does between the author’s views and those of Plato and
Aristotle.AmongmorerecentHippocraticscholarship Ihave beenpar-
ticularly inspired by the commentaries of Lonie on the treatises On
the Seed, On the Nature of the Child, and Diseases IV (1981) and Craik
on Places in Man (1998); the reader will find many references to these
works throughout. In the summer of 2000 I had the privilege of read-
ing a then forthcoming study of VM by John Cooper, which has since
appeared under the title ‘Method and science in On Ancient Medicine’
(2002). This paper has been most valuable to me in revising the disser-
tation, both by confirming my views on certain issues and prompting
me to rethink some others; I am in fundamental agreement with it on
many key points of interpretation, though of course not on all. Finally,
there is hardly a page that does not reflect the beneficial influence of
Jacques Jouanna’s edition, which has been the basis of all my work on
VM;Ihopethebookprovestobea worthy companiontoit.
There remains only the pleasant task of thanking the many individ-
uals and institutions who have assisted me during the writing of this
book; none of them, of course, can be held in any way responsible for
itsdefects.IammostgratefultoJacquesJouannaandLesBellesLettres
for granting me permission to reprint his text;this has greatly addedto
whatever value the book might otherwise have had. I thank Philip van
der Eijk and Ann Hanson for accepting the manuscript for publication
in the Studies in Ancient Medicine series, and for their extremely help-
ful and acute comments on earlier versions; Michiel Klein Swormink
of Brill Academic Publishers saw the book through production with
admirable patience and tolerance. John Murdoch and Heinrich von
Staden served as dissertation advisors and have both provided crucial
adviceandassistenceofmanykinds;Ithankthembothwarmly.Atvar-
ious times while working on this book I have enjoyed the support of
the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin; I thank
Jürgen Renn and Peter Damerow of Department I for their generosity,