Book 2
11
γίγνεται ἕλκεα καὶ ἐν ὑστέρῃ, τὰ μὲν πλατέα, κνησμώδεα, ἅπερ ἅλια, ὅκως ἀναδορή τις ἐπιπολῆς, πῦον παχὺ, ἄνοσμον, ὀλίγον. εὐήθεα τάδε τὰ ἕλκεα· ἄλλα τουτέων βαθύτερα καὶ κακίονα, οἷς πόνοι σμικροὶ, πῦον ὀλίγῳ πλεῖον, μᾶλλον κάκοδμα, ἀλλʼ ἔμπης εὐήθεα καὶ τάδε. ἢν δὲ ἐπὶ μᾶλλον βαθέα γίγνηται, καὶ τὰ χείλεα τῶν ἕλκεων ἀπηνέα ἢ τρηχέα, ἰχώρ τις κακώδης, καὶ πόνος τῶν πρόσθεν μέζων, ἀνεσθίει δὲ τὴν ὑστέρην τὸ ἕλκος· ἐξήκει δέ κοτε καὶ ἀπολυθέντι σαρκίον· μὴ εἰς ὠτειλὴν ἰὸν μήκιστον κτάνει τόδε, ἢ χρόνιον γίγνεται κάρτα.Ermerins suppresses this clause. I have merely ventured to add ἢ before χρόνιον, and altered the punctuation. τόδε καὶ φαγέδαινα κικλήσκεται. ὀλέθρια δὲ τὰ ἕλκεα, ἢν πρὸς τοῖσι ἄλγος ὀξύνῃ, καὶ ἡ ἄνθρωπος ἀπορῇ. σηπεδὼν δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἕλκεος Ῥέει οὔτε αὐτέῃσι φορητὴ, ἀγριαίνει ψαύσεσί τε καὶ φαρμάκοισι , καὶ χαλεπαίνει πως καὶ ἰητρίῃ· φλέβες δὲ ἐν ὑστέρῃ ἐς ὄγκον αἴρονται ξὺν περιτάσεσι τῶν πέλας· ἔστι δὲ πεπνυμένοισι οὐκ ἄσημον τῇ ἁφῇ.Ermerins, contrary to all authority, reads πεπνευμένῃσι, on the ground that, in ancient times, midwives alone were entrusted with the treatment of diseases of the female genital organs. This, however, was evidently not the case, as must be obvious to any one who has carefully read the Hippocratic treatise on this subject, and the other works contained in the Gynoecia. οὐ γὰρ ἄλλως δῆλον· πῦρ δὲ καὶ ἄση τοῦ παντὸς καὶ σκληρίη ξύνεστιν, ᾗπερ τοῖσι θηριώδεσι, θανατώδεα ὄντα ἕλκεα,This clause, which had puzzled all the former editors, is expunged from the text altogether by Ermerins. ἀτὰρ καὶ ἐπίκλησιν ἴσχει καρκίνων. ἄλλος καρκίνος· ἕλκος μὲν οὐδαμῆ, ὄγκος δὲ σκληρὸς, ἀτέραμνος· ξυντιταίνει δὲ τὴν ὑστέρην ὅλην, ἀτὰρ καὶ ἄλγεα κατὰ τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα ἐφέλκει· ταῦτα δὲ ἄμφω τὰ καρκινώ δεα καὶ χρόνια καὶ ὀλέθρια· πολλὸν δὲ τὸ ἕλκος τοῦ ἀνελκώτου κάκιον καὶ ὀσμῇ, καὶ πόνοισι, καὶ ζωῇ, καὶ θανάτῳ.
