John of Damascus, What is man

Quid est homo

A letter of the most blessed and most philosophical lord John the Presbyter of Damascus, sent to a certain person. What is man? 95.244 Man is a rational, mortal animal, receptive of intellect and knowledge; and he is composed of four elements, that is, of blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. And blood is in the heart, and in the heart is the spirit; yellow bile is in the liver and in the stomach; black bile is in the spleen and in the loins; phlegm is in the brain and in its cavity. And those who happen to be of pure blood are always rejoicing and playing and laughing, and they are florid and have a good complexion; those who happen to be from yellow bile are quick and daring, irascible and bitter and of a different complexion; those who happen to be from black bile are lazy and fainthearted, sickly and sluggish and cowardly; those who happen to be from phlegm are sorrowful, and indeed also cold, forgetful and oblivious, sleeping much, and of a pale complexion. And in childhood, blood abounds until the age of fourteen years; in youth, yellow bile abounds until the age of twenty-eight; in maturity, black bile abounds until the age of forty-two; and in old men, phlegm abounds until the age of eighty. And children are hot and moist from blood; youths are hot and dry from yellow bile; the mature in age are cold and dry from black bile; and old men are cold and moist from phlegm. The temple of the head, therefore, is the ruler of the body; and insofar as the brain might be well-ordered and healthy, all the members of the body are also at peace; power and intelligence are sent up from the liver to the brain, and the soul itself is there, and the depth of thoughts. The head has five sutures; there is also a single-sutured head, and this is always healthy. The brain has three membranes; the first, the under-girding; the second, the palisade-like; the third, ....-like. And there are three parts of the brain; the first, cerebellum-like; the second, the thitos; and the third, intellectual. It is a hot substance. The brain differs from the marrow in being both untroubled and bloodless, while the marrow is foul and full of blood. The body of man is composed of four elements, since it has in itself blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. And each of these creates its own place: blood in the right part above the liver; yellow bile in the left part above the spleen; black bile in the loins above the kidneys; and phlegm in the chest above the 95.245 spirit. And blood is hot and moist and sweet; yellow bile is hot....

Quid est homo

Ἐπιστολὴ τοῦ μακαριωτάτου καὶ φιλοσοφωτάτου κυρίου Ἰωάννου πρεσβυτέρου τοῦ ∆αμασκηνοῦ, πρός τινα πεμφθεῖσα. Τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος; 95.244 Ἄνθρωπός ἐστι ζῶον λογικὸν θνητὸν, νοῦ καὶ ἐπιστήμης δεκτικόν· συνίσταται δὲ ἐκ τεσσάρων στοιχείων, ἤγουν ἐξ αἵματος, φλέγματος, χολῆς ξανθῆς, καὶ χολῆς μελαίνης. Καὶ τῷ μὲν αἵματι ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ, καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τὸ πνεῦμα· ἡ δὲ χολὴ ἡ ξανθὴ, ἐν τῷ ἥπατι καὶ ἐν τῷ στομάχῳ· ἡ δὲ μελαίνη χολὴ, ἐν τῇ σπλήνῃ, καὶ ἐν τῇ ψόᾳ· τὸ δὲ φλέγμα, ἐν τῷ ἐγκεφάλῳ καὶ ἐν τῇ κοίτῃ. Καὶ ὅσοι μὲν ἐξ αἵματος καθαροῦ τυγχάνουσιν, οὗτοί εἰσι πάντοτε χαίροντες καὶ παίζοντες καὶ γελῶντες, καὶ εἰσὶν ἀνθηροὶ, καὶ καλόχρωοι· ὅσοι δὲ ἀπὸ χολῆς ξανθῆς τυγχάνουσιν, εἰσὶ γοργοὶ καὶ εὔτολμοι, ὀργίλοι καὶ πικροὶ καὶ ἀλλόχρωοι· ὅσοι δὲ ἀπὸ χολῆς μελαίνης τυγχάνουσιν, εἰσὶ ῥᾴθυμοι καὶ ὀλιγόψυχοι, φιλάσθενοι καὶ ὀκνηροὶ καὶ δειλοί· ὅσοι δὲ ἀπὸ φλέγματος τυγχάνουσιν, εἰσὶ λυπηροὶ, καὶ μὴν καὶ ψυχροὶ, ἀμνήμονες καὶ διαλελησμένοι, τὰ πολλὰ κοιμώμενοι, καὶ λευκόχρωοι. Καὶ ἐπὶ μὲν τῆς παιδικῆς ἡλικίας τὸ αἷμα πληθύνεται ἕως ἐτῶν δεκατεσσάρων· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν νεανίσκων ἡ χολὴ ἡ ξανθὴ πληθύνεται, ἕως ἐτῶν εἴκοσι ὀκτώ· ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς τελείας ἡλικίας ἡ χολὴ ἡ μελαίνη πληθύνεται, ἕως ἐτῶν τεσσαράκοντα δύο· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν γερόντων τὸ φλέγμα πληθύνεται, ἕως ἐτῶν ὀγδοήκοντα. Καὶ τὰ μὲν παιδία ἐκ τοῦ αἵματός εἰσι θερμὰ καὶ ὑγρά· οἱ δὲ νεανίσκοι ἐκ τῆς ξανθῆς χολῆς, θερμοὶ καὶ ξηροί· οἱ δὲ τέλειοι τῇ ἡλικίᾳ ἀπὸ τῆς μελαίνης χολῆς εἰσὶ ψυχροὶ καὶ ξηροί· οἱ δὲ γέροντες, ἐκ τοῦ φλέγματος εἰσὶ ψυχροὶ καὶ ὑγροί. Ὁ δὲ κρόταφος οὖν τῆς κεφαλῆς ἐστὶν ὁ ἡγεμὼν τοῦ σώματος· καὶ ὅσον ὁ ἐγκέφαλος εὐκατασταθείη καὶ ὑγιαίνοι, καὶ ὅλα τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος μετ' εἰρήνης εἰσίν· ἡ δύναμις δὲ καὶ ἡ φρόνησις ἐκ τοῦ ἥπατος ἀναπέμπεται τῷ ἐγκεφάλῳ, καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ ψυχὴ ἐκεῖ ἐστιν, καὶ ὁ βυθὸς τῶν νοημάτων. Ἔχει δὲ ἡ κεφαλὴ ῥαφὰς πέντε· ἔστι δὲ καὶ κεφαλὴ μονόῤῥαφος, καὶ ἔστιν αὐτὴ πάντοτε ὑγιής. Ὁ δὲ ἐγκέφαλος ἔχει μήνιγγας τρεῖς· ὁ μὲν πρῶτος ὑποζωματίας· ὁ δὲ δεύτερος, χαρακοειδής· ὁ δὲ τρίτος, ....τοειδής. Τοῦ δὲ ἐγκεφάλου εἰσὶ μέρη τρία· ὁ μὲν εἷς, κυρεβοειδής· ὁ δεύτερος, ὁ θίτος, καὶ ὁ τρίτος νοερός. Ἔστι δὲ οὐσία θερμώδης. ∆ιαφέρει δὲ τοῦ μυελοῦ ὁ ἐγκέφαλος καὶ ἀνελυπεὶς καὶ ἀναίματος, ὁ δὲ μυελὸς, ῥυπαρὸς καὶ αἱματώδης. Τὸ σῶμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκ τεσσάρων στοιχείων συνίσταται, ἐπειδὴ ἔχει ἐν ἑαυτῷ αἷμα, φλέγμα, χολὴν ξανθὴν, καὶ χολὴν μέλαιναν. Ἕκαστον δὲ τούτων τὸν ἴδιον τόπον δημιουργεῖ· τὸ αἷμα εἰς τὸ δεξιὸν μέρος ἐπάνω τοῦ ἥπατος· ἡ χολὴ ἡ ξανθὴ εἰς τὸ ἀριστερὸν μέρος ἐπάνω τῆς σπλήνης· ἡ δὲ χολὴ ἡ μελαίνη εἰς τὰς ψόας ἐπάνω τῶν νεφρῶν· τὸ δὲ φλέγμα εἰς τὸ στῆθος ἐπάνω τοῦ 95.245 πνεύματος. Καὶ τὸ μὲν αἷμα ἐστὶ θερμὸν καὶ ὑγρὸν καὶ γλυκύ· χολὴ ἡ ξανθὴ ἐστὶ θερμή ....