Book 1
9
αἰτίη μὲν οὖν τοῦ ἔργου τῶν παρισθμίων, κατάποσις ψυχρῶν, τρηχέων, θερμῶν, ὀξέων, στυφόντων· τάδε γὰρ τὰ μέρεα καὶ θώρηκι εἰς φωνὴν καὶ ἀναπνοὴν, καὶ κοιλίῃ ἐς τροφῆς διαπομπὴν, καὶ στομάχῳ ἐς κατάποσιν διακονέεται. εἰ δὲ καὶ τοῖσι ἔνδον τι συμβαίη πάθος, κοιλίῃ, καὶ στομάχῳ, καὶ θώρηκι, ἐς τὸν ἰσθμὸν καὶ τὰ παρίσθμια καὶ τὰ τῇδε χωρία τοῦ κακοῦ ἡ ἀναφορὴ καὶ ἀπερεύξιες. διὰ τόδε παιδία μάλιστα πάσχει ἄχρις ἥβης· μάλιστα γὰρ παιδία καὶ μέγα καὶ ψυχρὸν ἀναπνέει· πλεῖστον γὰρ τὸ θερμὸν ἐν τουτέοισι· ἀκρατέα δὲ καὶ ἐδωδῆς, καὶ ποικίλων ἐπιθυμία, καὶ ψυχροποσίη· καὶ βοῆσαι μέγα καὶ ἐν ὀργῇ καὶ ἐν παιδιῇ. καὶ κούρῃσι δὲ μέχρι καθάρσιος ἐπιμηνίων τάδε ξυνήθεα. χώρη δὲ τίκτει Αἴγυπτος μάλιστα, καὶ γὰρ ἐς ἀναπνοὴν ἀὴρ ξηρὴ καὶ ἡ ἐδωδὴ ποικίλη. The common reading is ἔῃ instead of ἀὴρ; ἐς instead of ἡ; and ἐδωδὴν instead of ἐδωδή. Ermerins merely changes the ἔῃ into ἥδε. I trust every candid and learned reader will admit, that I have greatly improved the meaning by the slight changes which I have ventured to make. From the translation of Crassus, it may be inferred that he had read ἀὴρ, or at least had seen the necessity of introducing it into the text: aer enim spirando siccus adducitur. I need scarcely add, that in the old Ionic, which our author affects, ἀὴρ is often put in the feminine gender. This was also the case in old Latin. See A. Gellius, xiii. 19. ῥίζαι γὰρ καὶ βοτάναι καὶ λάχανα πολλὰ καὶ σπέρματα δριμέα, καὶ ποτὸν παχὺ, ὕδωρ μὲν ὁ Νεῖλος, δριμὺ δὲ τὸ ἀπὸ τῶν κριθέων τὸ τῶν βρυτέων πόμα.Ermerins suppresses the words ἀπὸ τῶν κριθέων; but this seems an unwarrantable liberty. By a small alteration I have made, the text becomes sufficiently amended. On the ancient ζψτηι, see Appendix to the Edinburgh Greek Lexicon. τίκτει δὲ καὶ ἡ Συρίη, μάλιστα κοίλη· ὅθεν Αἰγύπτια καὶ Συριακὰ ἕλκεα τάδε κικλήσκουσι.
