HEIDEL. — IL-p! <f>vcrews. 1 2.3 



the character of justice one may perhaps gain some advantage from 

 contemplating it as writ large in the history and constitution of the 

 state and noting how it originated. 168 There were others who pre- 

 ferred to reverse the procedure, hoping to throw light on general nature 

 by studying the nature of man. Of these we have an example in Hip- 

 pocrates, Ilept apxo-Lr)? IrjTpiKrjs. " Certain physicians and philosophers," 

 he says, 169 "assert that one cannot know the science of medicine 

 without knowing what man is, how he originally came into existence, 

 and of what substances he was compounded in the beginning ; and this 

 he who would properly treat men must be thoroughly cognizant of. 

 Now the contention of these men really looks to philosophy, as do 

 Empedocles and others who have written Ilepi </>v'o-ews. As for me, I 

 consider that what a philosopher or physician has said or written Ilept 

 tpvcreux; has less relevancy to medicine than to painting ; and I am of 

 opinion that, so far as concerns knowledge Ilept <pvo-ews, one can know 

 nothing definite about it except from medicine ; but this may be thor- 

 oughly learned when men go about it rightly. Hitherto, it seems to 

 me, we are far from it : far, that is to say, from having a scientific 

 knowledge of what man is (that is to say, what his constitution is), 

 and to what causes he owes his origin and the rest, in any exact sense. 

 Now so much at least it is indispensable that the physician should 

 know Ilept cfrvcreux; and should greatly concern himself to know, if he is 

 to do any part of his duty ; to wit, what a man is (i. e. what his con- 

 stitution is) relative to meat and drink, and what he is relative to the 

 rest of his mode of life, and what results follow for the individual from 

 particular things, and all this not merely in general terms, as e. g., 

 ' cheese is unwholesome food, for it distresses one who eats plentifully 

 of it ' ; but what particular distress it causes, and for what reason, and 

 to what ingredient of the man's constitution it is unsuitable." The 



168 Cp. also the myth in Plato's Protagoras, 320 C foil., where the virtues are 

 illustrated by the story of their origin. An interesting contrast is presented by 

 Aristotle, De Gencr. Animal. 778* 16 foil., where he discusses the cases in which 

 biological phenomena are to be interpreted teleologically or physically ; yeve<ns is for 

 the sake of ovaia, and ovaia is the cause of yeveais. The ancient physiologers thought 

 otherwise ; hence they recognized only material and efficient causes, not even discrim- 

 inating between them. He states his own view thus : ou Slo. to yLyueaOcu 'iKavrov 



TTOLOV Tl, dia TOVTO TTOIOV TL €(TTLV, OCTO. TeTO.y/J.4l>a KO.I WpUJfxtvO. 'ipya T7)j 0l'«T€WJ £(TTIV, 



d\Xa fiaWov did. to elvai Toiadl yiyverai Toiadra. The opposite argument is presented 

 in Plato, Euihyphro, 10 A foil. The latter clearly represents the common logical 

 procedure, based upon the common usage of the Greeks as established in the pre- 

 Socratic period, though, strictly speaking, the former conforms perfectly to the teleo- 

 logical logic of the Socratics. This is another illustration of the inner contradiction 

 of the Aristotelian logic. 



169 C. 20 (1, p. 24 Kiihlewein). 



