Galen’s rule at work: the mandrake fruit, graded cold and dry by degree. Tacuinum Sanitatis, northern Italy, c. 1390 (Austrian National Library) · public domain
18-19
On Mixtures 18-19 · Named for what prevails18-19Named for what prevails
So where does a body’s name come from?
· · ·
ὡσαύτως1
hōsaútōs
Likewise
δ’2
d’
—
οὐδὲ3
oudè
none
is
ἐσχάτως4
eschátōs
utterlyin the extreme
ψυχρὸν5
psychròn
cold
ἢ6
ḕ
or
ξηρὸν7
xēròn
dry
. ἀλλ’8
all’
Ratherbut
τὰς9
tàs
the
προσηγορίας10
prosēgorías
namesappellations
γίγνεσθαι11
gígnesthai
cometo arise
ἀπὸ12
apò
from
τοῦ13
toû
the
quality
πλεονεκτοῦντος14
pleonektoûntos
that prevailshaving more
ἐν15
en
in
τῇ16
têi
the
κράσει17
krásei
mixture
, Likewise none is utterly cold or dry. Rather the names come from the quality that prevails in the mixture,
Likewise none is utterly cold or dry. Rather the names come from the quality that prevails in the mixture,
Interpretation
Likewise none is utterly cold or dry. Rather, the names come from whichever quality prevails in the mixture,
The key verb is pleonekteō, "to have more than one’s share, to get the upper hand." In ordinary Greek it describes a greedy man or a stronger army. Galen uses it for a quality that outweighs its opposite inside a body. A body’s name, hot or cold, wet or dry, comes from the winner.
20-2.3
On Mixtures 20-2.3 · The use of the names20-2.3The use of the names
The rule, spelled out for all four, and the chapter ends.
· · ·
we call a thing wet in which the share of wetness is larger, and dry in which dryness is larger. So too we call a thing hot in which the hot prevails over the cold, and cold in which the cold prevails over the hot. This, then, is the use of the names.