The Complete Works of Galen, Vol. 13

GALEN ON THE COMPOSITION OF MEDICINES

Edition of Chartier XIII. [525.]

Edition of Basel II. (255. 256.)

...and other such ingredients. Between the midpoint and each of the two extremes, many medicines exist. Some are further from the middle, while others are closer. I will define these in the following sections. I praise those authors who provide specific distinctions. However, I do not accept those who simply record recipes without detail.

Between these two groups are those who provide incomplete distinctions. An example is found in the works of those who have written that a medicine is an "arteriac" a remedy for the windpipe and respiratory passages for a "lost voice." Others describe a remedy as an "arteriac" for those who speak "hoarsely."

A "lost voice" original Greek: "apokekommenas phonas"; Latin: "interceptam vocem" refers to the inability to speak. This condition follows several causes. It can result from long-lasting drainage catarrh from the head. It can also occur in those with internal abscesses empyema and those suffering from wasting diseases consumption or tuberculosis. It also affects those who have damaged their voice by loud and frequent shouting, especially if the injury was not properly treated or if the underlying condition is still developing.

Similarly, a voice becomes hoarse original Greek: "branchodes"; Latin: "rauca" for these same reasons. It also occurs from breathing in cold air. Therefore, the underlying state for both a lost voice and hoarseness is of the same type. These ailments differ from one another only in their severity. The condition becomes more intense and harder to resolve when the vocal organs are soaked with excessive moisture...