The Complete Works of Claudius Galen, Vol. 17 Pt. 1

...and is strongest, as two humors The four humors—blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile—were thought to be the physical basis of health. have been parched during the summer: blood and yellow bile, which is also called pale bile original: "ὠχρᾶς," referring to a lighter or more sallow shade of bile.. Thus, for the rest, diseases also arise in proportion to each season, sharing a similarity with the nature of whatever humor is in excess.

If the humors were produced simply because of the names of the seasons, it would never happen that they would deviate from their balanced state and produce other humors. However, each season increases the aforementioned humors according to the logic of its own temperament original: "εὐκρασίας," a state of balanced qualities like heat and moisture., not merely because of its name. When the temperament of the air surrounding us changes, the humors must necessarily change as well, just as Hippocrates himself said in the Aphorisms: When heat and cold occur on the same day during the seasons, one should expect autumnal diseases.

Just as diseases were formed according to the logic of their own natures when the seasons maintained their proper temperament, so if the seasons change in an unnatural way, diseases will develop that imitate that environmental condition original: "καταστάσεως," referring to the specific "constitution" or atmospheric state of a given period.. Why then, in every...

...two humors, blood and yellow bile, which is also called pale bile. Thus, finally, diseases also arise according to the ratio of each season, which share a similarity with the nature of the overflowing humor. If the said humors were produced through the names of the said seasons, it would certainly never happen that they, sometimes degenerating from their own temperament, would produce others.

Because each season increases the aforementioned humors according to the logic of its own temperament, and not on account of its name, when the temperament of the air surrounding us is changed, it is necessary that the humors are also changed, just as he himself declared in the Aphorisms: When heat and cold occur on the same day through the seasons of the year, autumnal diseases are to be expected. Just as diseases were created according to the logic of their own natures while the individual seasons preserved their proper temperature, so if they are changed contrary to nature, diseases will occur in imitation of that environmental condition. Why then in every...