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

...a lifestyle of opposition. Therefore, Quintus is wrong in his explanation of these books and the books of the Aphorisms. In those works, Hippocrates wrote something like this:

"Regarding the seasons: if winter is dry with north winds, but spring is rainy with south winds, it is necessary for acute fevers, eye inflammations, and dysentery to occur in the summer." original Greek: "ὀφθαλμίας καὶ δυσεντερίας" (ophthalmias kai dysenterias); Latin: "lippitudines, dysenterias." These refer to severe redness or discharge of the eyes and intestinal distress.

Quintus claims that this is known by experience alone, without any reasoning regarding the cause. First, he is wrong in this because Hippocrates himself wrote about the causes of these seasonal patterns in his book On Airs, Waters, and Places. Second, Quintus skipped the most useful part of the teaching.

There are two virtues of an interpreter. The first is to preserve the meaning of the written work. The second is to teach useful things to those who will read the commentary. Quintus ruined both of these duties. He failed to connect the abundance of diseases to the state of the air that surrounds us. Hippocrates intended for these things to be linked. We cannot predict future diseases, prevent them as they form, or heal them once they have arrived unless we understand the specific condition original Greek: "διάθεσιν" (diathesin); Latin: "affectionem." This refers to the internal state or "disposition" of the body's tissues and fluids. produced within our bodies.

The reason is clear to everyone. Therefore, Quintus interprets both these books and the books of the Aphorisms poorly. In them, Hippocrates wrote in this manner:

Among the seasons of the year, if winter has been dry and northerly, but spring is rainy and southerly, it is necessary for acute fevers, eye inflammations, and dysentery to arise in the summer.

Quintus says this is known by experience alone, without a rational explanation of the cause. First, he errs in this very point. Second, he passed over the useful part of the doctrine. For these are the two duties of interpreters: one is to protect the sense of the book, and the other is to teach useful things to those who will read the commentaries on the book. Quintus weakened both tasks when he did not join the overflowing diseases with the state of the air surrounding us. Hippocrates himself wanted them to be joined. We are not able to foresee future diseases, nor stay them as they arise, nor cure them once they have arisen, unless we understand the condition in our bodies.