Source edition
Hippocrates. Oeuvres complètes d'Hippocrate, Vol. 6. Littré, Émile, editor. Paris: Baillière, 1849
Source data
A Digital Corpus for Graeco-Arabic Studies · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This medical treatise investigates the physical constitution of the human body and the mechanisms governing health and disease. The author begins by criticizing contemporary philosophers and physicians who attempt to explain human nature through a single element or bodily fluid, arguing instead that humans are composed of multiple elements. Consequently, the work presents the "four humors" theory, asserting that the human body consists of blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile, with their balance defining health and their disharmony causing illness. The discussion then extends to how these humors fluctuate with the changing seasons, the diagnosis of epidemic versus individual diseases based on air and diet, and the anatomical structure of blood vessels for bloodletting. Finally, the work examines specific etiologies through the observation of urine and the classification of fevers. It concludes by establishing a coherent and rational medical framework that links human health to the natural environment.