Book 2
12
ξυνὸς μὲν ἁπάντων τῶν ἄρθρων πόνος ἡ ἀρθρῖτις· ἀλλὰ ποδῶν μὲν ποδάγρην καλέομεν, ἰσχιάδα δὲ ἰσχίων, χειράγρην δὲ χειρῶν· ἤν γε μὲν σχέδιος ᾖ ἐπί τινι τῶν προσκαίρων αἰτίων ὁ πόνος, ἢ κρύβδην δὲ μελετήσῃ πολλὸν χρόνον ἡ νοῦσος, εὖτε ἐπὶ προφάσι σμικρῇ ὁ πόνος καὶ ἡ νοῦσος ἐξήφθη·I have ventured to read ἢ instead of ἢν, on my own authority; and have substituted τινι in place of τι, on the authority of Ermerins; but have rejected his alteration of μὴν into μὴ, which I think spoils the passage; and have preferred μὲν, which has the authority of the Vatican MS. ἔστι δὲ ἁπάντων ξυλλήβδην τῶν νεύρων ἡ πάθη, ἢν αὐξηθὲν τὸ κακὸν ἅπασι ἐπιφοιτῇ· ἀρχὴ δὲ νεῦρα τὰ δεσμὰ τῶν ἄρθρων, καὶ ὁκόσα ἐξ ὀστέων πέφυκεκαὶ ἐν ὀστέοισι ἐμφύνει. θώϋμα δὲ τουτέων μέγα. οὐ πονέει μὲν γὰρ θρὶξ, Θρὶξ here is used in an unusual sense. The literal translation of the expression would be, They are not pained a hair, or a hair’s-breadth, i.e. in the slightest degree. Ermerins refers to Theocritus, Idyll. xiv. 9, for an example of this usage. See further Liddel and Scott’s Lexicon, under the word. This usage of it appears very forced in the present instance, and I suspect the reading to be corrupt. οὐδʼ ἂν τέμνῃ τις ἢ θλίβῃ· ἢν δὲ ἐξ ἑωυτέων πονῇ, οὐδὲ ἕτερον ἀλγέει τοῦδε δυνατώτερον, οὐ σιδηρὰ σφίγγοντα, οὐ δεσμὰ, οὐ τιτρῶσκον ξίφος, οὐ καῖον πῦρ. καὶ γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα ἐπαναιροῦνται ὡς μεζόνων πόνων ἄκεα· καὶ ἢν τάμῃ τις αὐτὰ πονεῦντα, ἀμαυροῦται ὁ τῆς τομῆς πόνος σμικρὸς ὑπὸ τοῦ μέζονος· ἢν δὲ ὅδε κρατέῃ, ἡδονὴ σφέας λάζυται ἐπιλήθουσα τῶν πάρος· πάσχουσι δὲ τοῦτο ὀδόντες καὶ ὀστέα.
