The Complete Works of Galen, Vol. 12

GALEN ON THE MIXTURES AND POWERS OF SIMPLE MEDICINES

Chartier Edition, Vol. 13, [181.]

Basel Edition, Vol. 2, (86.)

...they will slander and tear apart even the things we have written correctly with their insults. I know that those of a sounder mind will listen to these warnings. If they have any care for the study at hand, they will read the entire work from the beginning. However, those who approach this subject out of idle curiosity rather than a desire to learn will despise our warnings. It is perhaps not surprising that people are found who do not respect the secrecy of mystery religions and read books of sacred mysteries despite being uninitiated. But the authors of those books did not write for the profane. Similarly, by Hercules, I do not write for those who are not trained in the basic principles of medicine.

In this book and the one that follows, the primary powers of the remaining plants will be explained. I will maintain the same educational order used previously, following the alphabetical order of the letters with which their names begin. In the preceding book, we progressed as far as the letter I original: "ι" or "jota". In this book, we will begin with the letter K original: "κ" (Kappa).

I must first remind the reader that we will relate every plant back to the principles demonstrated earlier. The differences in how specific medicines act arise from whether each one is hot, cold, moist, or dry, or whether it consists of fine or thick particles ...?