Athenaeus of Attalia's Advice on Old Age

In this fragment, Athenaeus give his reflections on the kind of person we should strive to be in old age if we want to remain healthy. Works on "dietetics" (Περὶ ὑγιεινῆς διαίτης) or lifestyle were common in the ancient world; but, Athenaeus pushes the field quite far into all areas of human life. Here, he speaks to the physical, psychological, and social aspects of old-age and he advocates for changes in lifestyle that will best preserve the health of both mind and body. In this respect, his advice sounds remarkably modern.

Athenaeus of Attalia On Healthy Regimen in Old Age

"Old age requires a more exact regimen and additional aids. For the psychic and physical capacities [ψυχικαί τε καὶ φυσικαὶ δυνάμεις] which hold us together and preserve us lose their strength, their functions are brought to an end, and the body wrinkles and becomes malnourished, loose and dry. Whenever, therefore, the capacity which keeps the body straight, which offers resistance against the things that cause us injury from outside , and which fights against certain spermatic principles and natural necessities [κατά τινας σπερματικοὺς λόγους καὶ φυσικὰς ἀνάγκας], should give way under foot [i.e., decline], the body is easily affected and easily injured, requiring [only] a small cause and chance influence for harm.

"At the start, then, from an early age, one should also take precautions for the time of old age. For as those who wear out their cloak in the summer spend the winter in tatters, so those who, in their youth, neglect their bodily strength suffer the clothes of old age with great difficulty. And at this age especially, one should strive after gentleness and magnanimity, since such a person is not burdensome to everyone, but is longed for by all and cared for with goodwill and sympathy. Endeavour to have people living with you who are pleasing and not irksome, with whom it is the sweetest custom to engage in desirable conversation. And spend time in delightful places, and, in general, always live in good cheer. But, if this is not possible, for the most part, [give yourself time] to be at leisure. And be engaged in the care of oneself rather than [caring] for others, so that, of the urgent symptoms in each season that have to do with the care of the body, none should be deemed worthy of postponing. For, as having grown weary in the course of time, old age requires more rest.

"Best is the old age of those who carry-on in culture and rational studies, because of their diligence and the self-control of this way of life, because of the tranquility of their soul, and because they are always at leisure and find relief in their own works and the works of their predecessors. For what better companion might a man of reason discover for himself, or with what might he occupy himself that is even more pleasant, if he has given up the study of such great people? How great is the joy and how much the elation a soul receives, inquiring together with the predecessors of philosophy and medicine, and with the other champions of universal learning, and frequently trying one’s hand in [these inquiries] alongside them?"

τοῖς δὲ παρακμάζουσιν ἁρμόζει δίαιτα ὑφειμένη καὶ ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος, τά τε γυμνάσια, ὁποῖά ποτε ἂν ᾖ, κατὰ λόγον ἀεὶ τούτων ὑφαιρετέον, τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτῶν μειουμένης. καὶ τὰς τροφὰς ἐκ προσαγωγῆς συσταλτέον, τῆς ἕξεως αὐτῶν ἀρχὴν ψύξεως λαμβανούσης. τὸ δὲ γῆρας ἀκριβεστέρας μὲν διαίτης, περισσοτέρας δ’ ἐπικουρίας δεόμενον τυγχάνει· αἱ γὰρ συνέχουσαι καὶ διασῴζουσαι ἡμᾶς ψυχικαί τε καὶ φυσικαὶ δυνάμεις μαραίνονται, καὶ τὰ τούτων ἔργα καταλύονται, καὶ τὸ σῶμα ῥακοῦται καὶ ἄτροφον καὶ χαῦνον καὶ ξηρὸν γίνεται. ὅταν οὖν ἡ μὲν διευθύνουσα τὸ σῶμα δύναμις καὶ τοῖς ἔξωθεν λυμαινομένοις ἡμῖν ἀντερείδουσα καὶ μαχομένη κατά τινας σπερματικοὺς λόγους καὶ φυσικὰς ἀνάγκας ὑπὸ πόδας χωρῇ, τὸ δὲ σῶμα εὐπαθὲς ὑπάρχον καὶ εὐαδίκητον, μικρᾶς αἰτίας χρεία καὶ ῥοπῆς τῆς τυχούσης πρὸς βλάβην.

ἄνωθεν μὲν οὖν ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης ἡλικίας καὶ προνοητέον τοῦ γήρως χρόνῳ· ὡς γὰρ οἱ τὴν χλαῖναν ἐν τῷ θέρει κατατρίψαντες ἐν τῷ τρίβωνι τὸν χειμῶνα διάγουσιν, οὕτως οἱ ἐν τῇ νεότητι τὴν ῥώμην καταλύσαντες τὸν τοῦ γήρως χιτῶνα σφόδρα δυσκόλως φέρουσιν. ζηλωτέον δ’ ἐν τῇδε τῇ ἡλικίᾳ μάλιστα πραότητι καὶ μεγαλοψυχίᾳ· ὁ γὰρ τοιοῦτος ἀβαρὴς καὶ ποθεινὸς παρὰ πᾶσι καὶ ἐπιμελείας τυγχάνων μετ’ εὐνοίας τινὸς καὶ συμπαθείας. σπουδάζειν δὲ καὶ τοὺς συζῶντας ἔχειν εὐαρεστουμένους καὶ μὴ ὀχληρούς, μεθ’ ὧν ὡς ἥδιστα εἰώθει καὶ ὁμιλιῶν ἐνάρχεσθαι ποθεινῶν καὶ ἐν τόποις ἐπιτερπεστέροις διατρίβειν καὶ καθόλου ζῆν μετ’ εὐθυμίας τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον· εἰ δὲ μή γε, τὸν πλεῖστον ἑαυτὸν σχολάζειν καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ μᾶλλον ἢ πρὸς τὴν ἑτέρων ἀσχολεῖσθαι θεραπείαν, ἵνα μηδὲν ὑπερθέσεως ἠξιῶται τῶν καθ’ ἕκαστον καιρὸν κατεπειγόντων πρὸς τὴν τοῦ σώματος ἐπιμέλειαν· τὸ γὰρ γῆρας ὥσπερ κεκοπιακὸς ἐν τῷ προεληλυθότι χρόνῳ ἀναπαύσεως δεῖται περισσοτέρας.

ἄριστον δὲ γῆρας τῶν ἐν παιδείᾳ καὶ μαθήσει λογικῇ διαφερόντων, διά τε τὴν προσοχὴν καὶ τὴν νῆψιν τῆς διαίτης καὶ διὰ τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς εὐστάθειαν καὶ διὰ τὸ σχολάζειν ἀεὶ καὶ προσαναπαύεσθαι τοῖς τε ἑαυτῶν καὶ τοῖς τῶν προγενεστέρων πόνοις· τίνα γὰρ εὕροι νοῦν ἔχων ἀνὴρ συνομιλητὴν ἑαυτοῦ βελτίονα, ἢ τίσιν ἂν ἥδιστα συνδιατρίβοι παρεὶς τὰς τοιαύτας καὶ τηλικούτων ἀνδρῶν πραγματείας; πηλίκον δὲ χάρμα καὶ πόσον ἔπαρμα ψυχὴ λαμβάνει, συζητοῦσα τοῖς προγενεστέροις τῶν φιλοσόφων τε καὶ ἰατρῶν καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς προϊσταμένοις τῶν ἐγκυκλίων μαθημάτων καὶ παρεγχειροῦσα τούτοις πολλάκις;

Athenaeus of Attalia, ap. Oribasius, libri incerti 39 (CMG VI 2,2 140,9-141,9 Raeder)

Habituation and the health of mind and body

Athenaeus of Attalia was one of the first doctors we know to work out a unified medical theory that covered both mental and physical health and habits. Before Athenaeus it was more often the business of philosophers to talk about good and bad mental habits, and of doctors to talk about physical habits like eating and exercise. Athenaeus, however, consciously brings philosophy and medicine together into one discipline, speaking interchangeably about habits of either mind or body. He calls the effects of these behaviours, "habituation", and our habituation in turn determines what things are good for us and what things are bad.

Athenaeus thinks of habituation as a kind of "state" or "innate disposition", but he also calls it (perhaps following Aristotle) "second nature", probably to emphasize that its effects on both body and mind can be quite permanent. There's a long tradition in Greco-Roman thought that treats art as something subordinate to nature; however, physicians (and farmers) were well aware that art can get the upper hand. Here, Athenaeus explains how. His thoughts were preserved by Oribasius.

"From the works of Athenaeus. On Habituation.

"Habituation is a state of the soul or body established over time with respect to benefit or harm when we are healthy or sick. For habit over time establishes something through itself in the soul and in the body, and this sometimes makes something beneficial, sometimes [something] harmful. Not only is it strong in times of health, but it often extends even into times of illness. And a habit that lasts for a long time is like an acquired nature. For this reason, if any self-mover undergoes a change [?], it is dangerous and introduces disease. Of these [changes], changes of place make a big difference: for change from healthy [places] to more diseased ones produces a greater and more serious alteration, while the [change] from diseased [places] to healthy ones [produces] a smaller [alteration] in both magnitude and duration. Indeed, every change, especially a sudden one, and most especially one which is not customary and unusual, alters bodies for the worse for the reason we gave. Habituation is so powerful that those who have been seized by it cannot exist separately [from it], being held in its bonds. An athlete, for example, has difficulty recovering: if he wishes to return to his original way of life by suddenly abolishing his acquired disposition, just like a second nature, then he will quickly be destroyed, because a way of life continued for a long time is (so to speak) a powerful form of being accustomed. Thus, a sudden departure from habit makes a great difference. For this reason it drives out of their proper place of rest those who do not abolish the earlier habituation gradually and by means of another, different habituation."

Ἐκ τῶν Ἀθηναίου. Περὶ συνηθείας.[1]

Συνήθειά ἐστιν ἕξις ψυχῆς ἢ σώματος ἐν χρόνῳ κατεσκευασμένη πρὸς ὠφέλειάν τε καὶ βλάβην ὑγιαινόντων τε καὶ νοσούντων· τὸ γὰρ ἔθος ἐν χρόνῳ κατασκευάζει τι δι’ ἑαυτοῦ περὶ τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ σῶμα, καὶ τοῦτό ποτε μὲν ἐπ’ ὠφέλειαν[2] ποιεῖ τινα, ποτὲ δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ βλάβην. καὶ οὐ μόνον ἐφ’ ὑγιαινόντων ἰσχύει, διατείνει δὲ πολλάκις καὶ πρὸς τοὺς νοσοῦντας. τὸ δὲ πολυχρόνιον ἔθος οἷον φύσις ἐστὶν ἐπίκτητος· διὸ πᾶν τὸ κινοῦν ἑαυτὸ μεταβάλλει, ἐπισφαλὲς καὶ προσαγωγὸν εἰς νόσον. τούτων δὲ διαφέρουσιν αἱ μεταβολαὶ τῶν τόπων· ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ ὑγιεινῶν εἰς νοσερώτερα μεταβολὴ μείζονα ποιεῖ τὴν ἀλλοίωσιν καὶ χαλεπωτέραν, ἡ δ’ ἐκ νοσερῶν εἰς ὑγιεινὰ ἐλάσσονα καὶ τῷ μεγέθει καὶ τῷ χρόνῳ. πᾶσα μέντοι μεταβολή, καὶ μάλιστα αἰφνίδιος, καὶ ὡς ἔνι μάλιστα ἀσυνήθης καὶ ξένη, ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον μετακινεῖ τὰ σώματα δι’ ἣν ἀπεδώκαμεν αἰτίαν. οὕτως δ’ ἰσχυρὸν ἡ συνήθεια, ὥστε τοὺς ληφθέντας ὑπ’ αὐτῆς μηδὲ χωρισθῆναι δύνασθαι δεσμῷ κατεχομένους· δυσανάληπτος γὰρ ἀθλητής, εἰ θέλει πρὸς τὸν πρῶτον ἐπανελθεῖν βίον αἰφνιδίως τὴν ἐπίκτητον διάθεσιν ὥσπερ δευτέραν τινὰ φύσιν καταλύων, συντόμως ἀναλυθήσεται· οἷον γὰρ τρόπος ὁ πολυχρόνιος ἐθισμὸς ἰσχυρός. οὕτως ὁ αἰφνίδιος ἐξεθισμὸς μεγάλας ἔχει τὰς διαφοράς· διόπερ ἐξίστησι τῆς ἰδίας καταπαύσεως τοὺς μὴ ἐκ προσαγωγῆς καὶ δι’ ἑτέρας πάλιν συνηθείας τὴν προτέραν καταλύοντας συνήθειαν.

Athenaeus ap. Oribasius, libri incerti 17 (CMG VI 2,2 106,8-29 Raeder)

[1] cf. Sextus Empiricus, PH 1.146.3-4: ἔθος δὲ ἢ συνήθεια (οὐ διαφέρει γάρ) πολλῶν ἀνθρώπων κοινὴ πράγματός τινος παραδοχή. Sextus treats "habituation" and "habit" as synonyms, whereas Athenaeus considers habituation to be the result of habits over a long period of time.

[2] Must be ἐπ ὠφελειᾳ / ἐπὶ βλάβῃ

Strabo and Galen on the Dead Sea

Strabo on the Dead Sea

"[42] Lake Sirbonis* is very large. Some have said it is 1000 stadia in circumference. It extends along the sea-coast, having a length a little bit more than 200 stadia. It is deep, and has extremely heavy water, so that one doesn't need to swim [to stay afloat]—rather, when someone wades into it, even just up to the waist, he is immediately buoyed up. [The lake] is full of asphalt. At random times, it rises up with bubbles like boiling water from the middle of its depths. The surface [of the lake] bulges and has the appearance of a ridge. A great amount of soot is also carried up [with the asphalt], which is smoky but invisible to the eye. Copper, silver, and anything shiny--even gold--is tarnished by it. From the tarnishing of their utensils, the inhabitants know that the asphalt is beginning to rise up, and they prepare for collecting it by making rafts of reeds. Asphalt is lumps of earth which are liquefied by heat, blown upwards [to the surface] and dispersed, then changed again into a hard mass by cold water (such as the water in this lake), so that it needs to be cut and chopped. It then floats on the surface because of the nature of the water, in which, as we said, one does not need to swim [to stay afloat], nor does anyone who wades into it sink, but is buoyed up to the surface. Those who sail out to the asphalt on rafts cut up and carry back as much as each of them is able [to carry].

"[43] That’s what actually happens. Posidonius, however, says the locals, who are sorcerers, pretend to harden the asphalt with incantations, urine and other foul-smelling liquids, which they pour over and then squeeze out of it; next, they cut it up. Perhaps, however, there is in fact some such property in urine, since chrysocolla is formed in the bladders of those with kidney stones and from children’s urine. It’s reasonable that this affection occurs in the middle of the lake, because the source of fire is in the middle, as is the majority of the asphalt. The rising up is random because the movement of fire, as with the other pneumata, has no obvious order. Such things also [happen] in Apollonia in Epirus.

"[44] They offer many other proofs that the country is fiery. For instance, they point out that some ragged rocks around Masada have been scorched; that there are caves everywhere; that the soil is ashy; that drops of pitch fall from the cliffs and that rivers boil with a far-reaching stench; and that there are scattered dwellings in ruins. Thus, we believe the rumours spread by the local inhabitants, that there were once thirteen cities situated here, one of which was the metropolis, Sodom: an area around [Sodom] of about 60 stadia was saved; but, earthquakes and eruptions of fire and hot water filled with asphalt and sulphur caused the lake to burst its banks and the rocks to be seized by fire; and of the cities, some were swallowed by the earthquake, others were abandoned by those who were able to flee. Eratosthenes, however, claims the opposite—that the country was a lake, but most of it was uncovered by a flood, as in Thessaly."

*From Falconer's notes: "Strabo here commits the singular error of confounding the Lake Asphaltites, or the Dead Sea, with the Lake Sirbonis. Letronne attempts to explain the origin of the error. According to Josephus, the Peræa, or that part of Judæa which is on the eastern side of the Jordan, between the lake of Tiberias and the Dead Sea, contained a district (the exact position of which is not well known, but which, according to Josephus, could not be far from the Lake Asphaltites) called Silbonitis. The resemblance of this name to Sirbonis probably misled our author."

Ἡ δὲ Σιρβωνὶς λίμνη πολλὴ μέν ἐστι· καὶ γὰρ χιλίων σταδίων εἰρήκασί τινες τὸν κύκλον· τῇ μέντοι παραλίᾳ παρεκτέταται μικρῷ τι πλέον τῶν διακοσίων σταδίων μῆκος ἐπιλαμβάνουσα, ἀγχιβαθής, βαρύτατον ἔχουσα ὕδωρ, ὥστε μὴ δεῖν κολύμβου, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἐμβάντα καὶ μέχρι ὀμφαλοῦ εὐθὺς ἐξαίρεσθαι· μεστὴ δ' ἐστὶν ἀσφάλτου· αὕτη δὲ ἀναφυσᾶται κατὰ καιροὺς ἀτάκτους ἐκ μέσου τοῦ βάθους μετὰ πομφολύγων ὡς ἂν ζέοντος ὕδατος· κυρτουμένη δ' ἡ ἐπιφάνεια λόφου φαντασίαν παρέχει· συναναφέρεται δὲ καὶ ἄσβολος πολλή, καπνώδης μὲν πρὸς δὲ τὴν ὄψιν ἄδηλος, ὑφ' ἧς κατιοῦται καὶ χαλκὸς καὶ ἄργυρος καὶ πᾶν τὸ στιλπνὸν μέχρι καὶ χρυσοῦ· ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ κατιοῦσθαι τὰ σκεύη γνωρίζουσιν οἱ περιοικοῦντες ἀρχομένην τὴν ἀναβολὴν τοῦ ἀσφάλτου, καὶ παρασκευάζονται πρὸς τὴν μεταλλείαν αὐτοῦ, ποιησάμενοι σχεδίας καλαμίνας. ἔστι δ' ἡ ἄσφαλτος γῆς βῶλος, ὑγραινομένη μὲν ὑπὸ θερμοῦ καὶ ἀναφυσωμένη καὶ διαχεομένη, πάλιν δὲ μεταβάλλουσα εἰς πάγον ἰσχυρὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ ψυχροῦ ὕδατος, οἷόν ἐστι τὸ τῆς λίμνης ὕδωρ, ὥστε τομῆς καὶ κοπῆς δεῖσθαι· εἶτ' ἐπιπολάζουσα διὰ τὴν φύσιν τοῦ ὕδατος, καθ' ἣν ἔφαμεν μηδὲ κολύμβου δεῖσθαι, μηδὲ βαπτίζεσθαι τὸν ἐμβάντα ἀλλ' ἐξαίρεσθαι· προσπλεύσαντες δὲ ταῖς σχεδίαις κόπτουσι καὶ φέρονται τῆς ἀσφάλτου ὅσον ἕκαστος δύναται.

Τὸ μὲν οὖν συμβαῖνον τοιοῦτον· γόητας δὲ ὄντας σκήπτεσθαί φησιν ἐπῳδὰς ὁ Ποσειδώνιος τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ οὖρα καὶ ἄλλα δυσώδη ὑγρά, ἃ περικαταχέαντας καὶ ἐκπιάσαντας πήττειν τὴν ἄσφαλτον, εἶτα τέμνειν· εἰ μή τίς ἐστιν ἐπιτηδειότης τῶν οὔρων τοιαύτη, καθάπερ καὶ ἐν ταῖς κύστεσι τῶν λιθιώντων, καὶ ἐκ τῶν παιδικῶν οὔρων ἡ χρυσόκολλα συνίσταται· ἐν μέσῃ δὲ τῇ λίμνῃ τὸ πάθος συμβαίνειν εὔλογον, ὅτι καὶ ἡ πηγὴ τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ τῆς ἀσφάλτου κατὰ μέσον ἐστὶ καὶ τὸ πλῆθος· ἄτακτος δὲ ἡ ἀναφύσησις, ὅτι καὶ ἡ τοῦ πυρὸς κίνησις οὐκ ἔχει τάξιν ἡμῖν φανεράν, ὥσπερ καὶ ἄλλων πνευμάτων πολλῶν. τοιαῦτα δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐν Ἀπολλωνίᾳ τῇ Ἠπειρώτιδι.

Τοῦ δ' ἔμπυρον τὴν χώραν εἶναι καὶ ἄλλα τεκμήρια φέρουσι πολλά· καὶ γὰρ πέτρας τινὰς ἐπικεκαυμένας δεικνύουσι τραχείας περὶ Μοασάδα καὶ σήραγγας πολλαχοῦ καὶ γῆν τεφρώδη, σταγόνας τε πίττης ἐκ λισσάδων λειβομένας καὶ δυσώδεις πόρρωθεν ποταμοὺς ζέοντας, κατοικίας τε ἀνατετραμμένας σποράδην· ὥστε πιστεύειν τοῖς θρυλουμένοις ὑπὸ τῶν ἐγχωρίων, ὡς ἄρα ᾠκοῦντό ποτε τρισκαίδεκα πόλεις ἐνταῦθα, ὧν τῆς μητροπόλεως Σοδόμων σώζοιτο κύκλος ἑξήκοντά που σταδίων· ὑπὸ δὲ σεισμῶν καὶ ἀναφυσημάτων πυρὸς καὶ θερμῶν ὑδάτων ἀσφαλτωδῶν τε καὶ θειωδῶν ἡ λίμνη προπέσοι καὶ [αἱ] πέτραι πυρίληπτοι γένοιντο, αἵ τε πόλεις αἳ μὲν καταποθεῖεν, ἃς δ' ἐκλίποιεν οἱ δυνάμενοι φυγεῖν. Ἐρατοσθένης δέ φησι τἀναντία, λιμναζούσης τῆς χώρας ἐκρήγμασιν ἀνακαλυφθῆναι τὴν πλείστην, καθάπερ τὴν Θετταλίαν.

Strabo, Geography 16.2.42-4

Galen on the Dead Sea

"[When you taste] the water of the lake in Syrian Palestine—which some call the Dead Sea, others the Asphalt Lake—it is possible to taste not only saltiness, but even bitterness."

τὸ δὲ τῆς ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ Συρίᾳ λίμνης ὕδωρ, ἣν ὀνομάζουσιν οἱ μὲν θάλασσαν νεκρὰν, οἱ δὲ λίμνην ἀσφαλτῖτιν, ἔστι μὲν καὶ γευομένοις οὐχ ἁλυκὸν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πικρόν.

Galen, On Simple Drugs 4.20, 11.690K

"If you thoroughly heat something salty, you will have something bitter. Thus, the water of the Asphalt Lake becomes bitter, since it is surrounded by a place that is hollow and hot [i.e., a valley] and is roasted by the sun. For this reason, too, it is more bitter in the summer than the winter. And when you draw some water from it, if you were to put it in a hollow vessel in sunny place, like we also did during the summer time, it is immediately obvious to you that it becomes much more bitter than it [was]. All these things are sufficient evidence for what was said a little earlier about the generation of the bitter. But I have not yet said everything about why my discussion has turned to the Asphalt Lake. For it is clear that there isn’t any animal or plant that grows in that water; but also, while both of the rivers which empty into it have many large fish, especially the one near Jericho which they call Jordan, not one of the fish goes beyond the mouths of the rivers. And if anyone who caught them were to throw them into the lake, he would see they quickly die. Thus, the strictly bitter is hostile to all plants and animals, and it is arid and dry and its nature is like thick smoke produced during roasting. In fact, the water from that lake is not strictly bitter, since the salts are not the same, but they call them Sodomite [salts] after the hills called Sodom which surround the lake; and many of the inhabitants use them for just as many things as we use other kinds of salt. Not only is their capacity to dry greater than the other salts, but also [their capacity] to attenuate, for which reason they violently heat [things] more thoroughly than the other salts. For all the other salts also have a kind of faint astringency, through which they firm up and compress preserved meats, most especially when [the salts] are granules and hard to break."

ὅ τι γὰρ ἂν ἁλυκὸν ἐπὶ πλέον ἐκθερμήνῃς, ἔσται σοι πικρόν. οὕτω γοῦν καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ τῆς ἀσφαλτίτιδος λίμνης ὕδωρ ἐν κοίλῳ καὶ θερμῷ χωρίῳ περιεχόμενον ἐξοπτώμενόν θ' ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου γίγνεται πικρόν. διὰ τοῦτό γέ τοι καὶ τοῦ θέρους μᾶλλον ἢ χειμῶνός ἐστι πικρόν. καὶ εἰ ἀρυοάμενος αὐτοῦ τι καταθείης ἐν ἀγγείῳ κοίλῳ καὶ προσηλίῳ χωρίῳ, καθάπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐποιήσαμεν ὥρᾳ θέρους, αὐτίκα μάλα πικρότερον αὐτοῦ φαίνεταί σοι γεγονός. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἅπαντα τοῖς ὀλίγον ἔμπροσθεν ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ πικροῦ γενέσεως εἰρημένοις ἱκανῶς μαρτυρεῖ. οὗ δ' ἕνεκεν ὁ λόγος ἐπὶ τὴν ἀσφαλτῖτιν ἐξετράπετο λίμνην, οὔπω μοι πᾶν λέλεκται. φαίνεται γὰρ ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ ὕδατι μήτε ζῶον ἐγγιγνόμενόν τι μήτε φυτὸν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν εἰς αὐτὴν ἐμβαλόντων ποταμῶν ἀμφοτέρων, μεγίστους καὶ πλείστους ἐχόντων ἰχθύας, καὶ μάλιστα τοῦ πλησίον Ἰεριχοῦντος, ὃν Ἰορδάνην ὀνομάζουσιν, οὐδ' εἷς τῶν ἰχθύων ὑπερβαίνει τὰ στόματα τῶν ποταμῶν. κἂν εἰ συλλαβὼν δέ τις αὐτοὺς ἐμβάλοι τῇ λίμνῃ, διαφθειρομένους ὄψεται ταχέως· οὕτως τ' ἀκριβῶς πικρὸν ἅπασίν ἐστι καὶ ζώοις καὶ φυτοῖς πολέμιον, αὐχμῶδές τε καὶ ξηρὸν καὶ τὴν φύσιν οἷόν περ αἴθαλος ὑπὸ τῆς κατοπτήσεως γεγενημένον. καίτοι γε οὐδὲ τὸ τῆς λίμνης ἐκείνης ὕδωρ ἀκριβῶς ἐστι πικρὸν, ὅτι μηδ' οἱ ἅλες αὐτοὶ, προσαγορεύουσι δ' αὐτοὺς Σοδομηνοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν περιεχόντων τὴν λίμνην ὀρῶν ἃ καλεῖται Σόδομα, καὶ χρῶνται πολλοὶ τῶν περιοίκων εἰς ὅσα περ ἡμεῖς τοῖς ἄλλοις ἁλσί. δύναμις δ' αὐτῶν οὐ ξηραντικὴ μόνον ἐπὶ μᾶλλόν ἐστι τῶν ἄλλων ἁλῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ λεπτυντικὴ, διότι μᾶλλον τῶν ἄλλων ἐξώπτηνται. πᾶσι μὲν γὰρ τοῖς ἁλσὶν ὑπάρχει τι καὶ στυπτικὸν ἀμυδρὸν, ᾧ δὴ καὶ σφίγγουσι καὶ πιλοῦσι τὰ ταριχευόμενα τῶν κρεῶν καὶ μάλισθ' ὅταν ὦσι χόνδροι τε καὶ δύσθραυστοι.

Galen, On Simple Drugs 4.20 , 11.693-4 K

More from Michael of Ephesus on dreams

Michael is again talking about his dreams.  Here, he comments on a passage from On prophesying by dreams. Aristotle says in this passage that dreams are more vivid when they involve things we are anxious or thinking about. Michael disagrees--dreams about our anxieties (or even our recent conscious thoughts) are not the only ones that can be extremely vivid. We can have dreams about things that are not on our minds, as well, that feel just as bright and real. As an example, he mentions a dream he had about a colleague who died when he was young, and whom he (curiously) distinguishes from his current, more famous, colleague and collaborator on ‘the discourses’. The names of both have been lost to time.

"And in fact [we have vivid dreams] even if something else should appear to us, [something] which we are not [currently] thinking about. Like the time I saw my colleague in a dream—not my famous [colleague], who is alive and working with me on the discourses (τοὺς λόγους), but another one who, because of the quick approach of death, wrote down only a few works in philosophy—anyway, I saw the one who died long ago in a dream; he was discussing things with me which I had not thought about during that whole month, or even the month before, [but which I] had thought about a lot in earlier times. For both my questions to him and his answers to me were about the soul."

καὶ γὰρ κἂν ἄλλο τι ἡμῖν φαίνηται, οὗπερ οὐ φροντίζομεν· ὥσπερ ἐμοὶ ἰδόντι τὸν ἐμὸν ἑταῖρον, οὐχὶ τὸν κλεινόν μοι τουτονί, ὅστις ἔτι μοι ζῶν συμπονεῖ περὶ τοὺς λόγους, ἀλλ' ἄλλον ὀλίγους ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ πόνους καταβεβληκότα διὰ τὴν τοῦ θανάτου σύντομον προσέλευσιν, ἐγὼ γοῦν ἐκεῖνον πάλαι θανόντα εἶδον καθ' ὕπνον διαλεγόμενόν μοι, περὶ ὧν ἐγὼ κατ' ἐκεῖνον ὅλον τὸν μῆνα καὶ ἔτι τὸν πρὸ ἐκείνου οὐκ ἐφρόντισα, πρότερον πολλὰ φροντίσας· ἦσαν γὰρ περὶ ψυχῆς αἱ ἐμαί τε πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἐρωτήσεις κἀκείνου πρός με αἱ ἀποκρίσεις.

Michael of Ephesus, In parva naturalia commentaria, CAG 22.1, 85,3-11 Wendland

Athenaeus of Attalia on meats by season

I once read somewhere that there are antecedents to Aristotle's system of animal classification in Greek classifications of kinds of foods. And it isn't hard to find references in the Historia Animalium to kinds of animals that are edible, kinds which are more or less nutritious, and the times of year when they are particularly good to eat. For example, HA v. 30 notes male cicadas are better to eat before mating, while female cicadas are better to eat after mating. And HA viii. 13 notes that fish that live close to the shore are more nutritious than those that live in the deep sea. I find it difficult to understand how these categories would have been useful for the biologist; and Aristotle himself doesn't mention them much at all when he gets into the causal treatises on animals.

But even if Aristotle is not ultimately interested in them, it is possible the culinary categories in the Historia Animalum are coming from Aristotle's sources. And in Greek medicine we find such categories playing an important role in works on nutrition. In these contexts, they help to answer a fundamental question: what foods are healthy, when are the healthiest, and how can I know?

Today, it seems we tend to associate the "when" question with fruits and vegetables. But, animals, too, are seasonal foods. There's even a Huffington Post article on this from a few years ago. Animals are better or worse for eating at different times, just like apples and cucumbers. And even though food production does not rely as much on natural cycles as it did, there are still traces of this knowledge in foods we associate with seasonal holidays: e.g., goose at Christmas, or lamb at Pesach or Easter.

Here is an example of a medical text concerning seasonal meats. It is from Oribasius' Medical Collections, but it seems to come originally from Athenaeus of Attalia, which would put it sometime around the end of the first century BCE and the beginning of the first century CE.

"Pigs <after> spring-time are very bad until the setting of the Pleiades in autumn, but from then until spring are excellent. Goats are very bad throughout the winter, but during the spring they start to get better until the setting of Arcturus. And sheep, these are worst throughout the winter, but after the [spring] equinox fatten-up until the summer solstice; cattle, on the other hand, [fatten-up] when the grass goes to seed, while the spring is ending, and all summer long. Of birds, some are excellent throughout the winter, namely whichever appear during the winter: the blackbird, thrush and ringdove. Throughout the autumn, francolins, also blackcaps, fig-pecker and greenfinch, and quails are then fattest. Chickens throughout the winter are not in quite their best shape, especially at the time of the south winds. The turtle dove is best at autumn."

Σύες μὲν <μετὰ > τὴν ἐαρινὴν ὥραν εἰσὶ κάκιστοι μέχρι Πλειάδος δύσεως φθινοπωρινῆς, τὸ δ’ ἐντεῦθεν μέχρι ἦρος κάλλιστοι. αἶγες δὲ τὸν μὲν χειμῶνα κάκισται, τοῦ δ’ ἦρος ἄρχονται κρείσσους γίνεσθαι μέχρι Ἀρκτούρου δύσεως. πρόβατα δὲ καὶ ταῦτα τὸν μὲν χειμῶνα κάκιστα, μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἰσημερίαν πιαίνεται μέχρι τροπῶν θερινῶν· αἱ δὲ βόες, ὅταν ἡ πόα ἐκκαρπῇ ἦρός τε παυομένου καὶ τῷ θέρει παντί. τῶν δ’ ὀρνίθων οἱ μὲν κατὰ χειμῶνα κάλλιστα ἔχουσιν, ὅσοι γε ἐπιφαίνονται χειμῶνος, ὁ κόσσυφός τε καὶ ἡ κίχλα καὶ φάσσα· οἱ δ’ ἀτταγῆνες κατὰ τὸ φθινόπωρον καὶ μελαγκόρυφοι συκαλίς τε καὶ χλωρὶς καὶ ὄρτυγες τηνικαῦτα πιότατοι. ἀλεκτορίδες τὸν μὲν χειμῶνα οὐ πάνυ εὐσωματοῦσι καὶ μάλιστα ἐν νοτίοις· ἡ δὲ τρυγὼν ἐν φθινοπώρῳ καλλίστη. τῶν δ’ ἰχθύων οἱ μὲν ἐν τῇ κυήσει κάλλιστοι, κάρις, κάραβος καὶ τὰ μαλάκια, τευθίς, σηπία, τὰ δ’ ὅταν ἄρχηται ἐπωάζεσθαι, ὥσπερ οἱ κέφαλοι, ὑπερπλησθέντες δ’ οὗτοι τῶν κυημάτων λεπτοὶ καὶ ἄτροφοι καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον τεκόντες. ὁ δὲ θύννος πιότατος μετ’ Ἀρκτοῦρον, θέρους δὲ χείρων.

Oribasius, Collectiones Medicae I 3, CMG VI 1,1 8,27-9,7 Raeder

A Neoplatonist’s Hymn

“I once heard someone singing

Two souls were passing on, and one said to the other, where must we go?* 

Some time later, I heard another person singing the tune and the rhythm to which Two souls were passing on was sung, but the words and the meaning were not the ones from before. Instead they were

The First Reason leads me and again downward brings me.**

Like I said, both this song and the earlier song were sung to the same rhythm. When [my soul] had been moved here and there by [this] rhythm, I remembered the place I had first heard it, then [I remembered] the man who sang it, and then the [lyrics] ‘Two souls were passing on’ and the rest. There are, then, certain traces in the soul which follow one another by necessity, in which it is impossible that [the memories] that come next will not follow once [the soul] is set in motion.”

πάλιν ἤκουσά του ᾄδοντος “δύο ψυχαὶ ἐξήρχοντο, καὶ μία πρὸς ἄλλην ἔλεγε, ποῖ πορευτέον”.* μετὰ δέ τινας χρόνους ἤκουσα ἄλλου ᾄδοντος τὸ μὲν μέλος καὶ τὸν ῥυθμὸν ἐκεῖνον, καθ' ὃν ᾔδετο τὸ “δύο ψυχαὶ ἐξήρχοντο”, ἡ δὲ λέξις καὶ ἡ ἔννοια οὐκ ἐκείνη, ἀλλ' ἦν ὅτι “ὁ νοῦς ὁ πρῶτος ἄγει με καὶ πάλιν κάτω φέρει”. ᾔδετο οὖν, ὥσπερ εἶπον, τῷ αὐτῷ ῥυθμῷ καὶ ταῦτα καὶ ἐκεῖνα· ἀφ' οὗ ῥυθμοῦ πρῶτον ἀνεμνήσθην κινηθεὶς ὧδε κἀκεῖσε τὸν τόπον, ἐν ᾧ ἤκουσα τοῦ ῥυθμοῦ, εἶτα τὸν ᾄδοντα ἄνθρωπον, καὶ τότε τὸ “δύο ψυχαὶ ἐξήρχοντο” καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. εἰσὶ μὲν οὖν τύποι τινὲς ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἀκολουθοῦντες ἀλλήλοις, ἐν οἷς ἀδύνατόν ἐστι τούτου κινηθέντος μὴ ἕπεσθαι καὶ τὸν ἑξῆς.

Michael of Ephesus, In parva naturalia commentaria, CAG 22.1, 24,23-25,3 Wendland

*This song does not come up with a TLG search, except for the paraphrase in “Themistius” (Sophonias?), in Parva Naturalia, CAG 5.6 8,25.

**I haven’t found this song in a TLG search either, except for the “Themistius” paraphrase: in PN CAG 5.6 8,27-8.