288 Late antiquity
some drugs work ‘in virtue of their whole essence’ ( ’ # %
(), others in virtue of one, or several particular qualities (warm,
cold, dry or wet); and some drugs admit of both possibilities depend-
ing on the circumstances;^33
the effect of a drug depends on the way of consumption: it makes all
the difference whether a substance (for example, mustard) is brought
onto the skin or taken in via the mouth;^34
a very fundamental distinction is whether a particular power such as
hotness is present in the foodstuff ‘primarily and by itself ’ ()
’7!) or ‘accidentally’ (1 < <#!): thus water is by
itself cold (i.e. cooling), but it may be accidentally warm (i.e. warm-
ing), because it has acquired its warmth (#vs.-
).^35
Further distinctions mentioned are:
whether a certain substance acts as a foodstuff (which just preserves
the state of the body), or as a drug (which changes the state of the
body in a beneficial way), or a poison (which harms the state of the
body);^36
the distinction between the power a substance has ‘in itself ’ versus the
power ‘it is said to have in relation to something’ (3 ^
),
and, within that latter category, the distinction between the power it
has ‘with regard to us’, namely humans (3 8 +), versus the power
it has when brought into contact with other organic or inorganic
substances or entities, such as fire;^37
bodily state (
) and time (!), that is, whether the state of the
body is simple or complex, and whether the drug works immediately
or after an elapse of some time;^38
(^33) De temper. 3. 1 (p. 91. 6 ff. Helmreich, 1. 654 K.); cf.De simpl. med. fac. 1. 3 ( 11. 385 K.). On this notion
see Harig ( 1974 ) 108 ff., who refers toDe simpl. med. fac. 5. 1 ( 11. 705 K.); 4. 9 ( 11. 650 K.); 5. 17 ( 11. 760
K.); 5. 18 ( 11. 761 – 4 K.).
(^34) De temper. 3. 3 (p. 95. 26 ff. Helmreich, 1. 661 ff. K.).
(^35) De temper. 3. 3 (p. 98. 17 ff. Helmreich, 1. 666 K.); 3. 4 (p. 102. 15 – 16 Helmreich, 1. 672 K.); cf.De comp.
med. per gen. 1. 6 ( 13. 401 K.);De simpl. med. fac. 1. 2 ( 11. 382 K.); 1. 31 ( 11. 435 K.); 3. 4 ( 11. 545 K.).
(^36) De temper. 3. 1 (p. 91. 15 Helmreich, 1. 655 K.); 3. 2 (p. 91. 19 Helmreich, 1. 655 K.); 3. 4 (p. 100. 22 – 4
Helmreich, 1. 670 K.); cf.De alim. facult. 1. 1. 24 – 29 (CMGv4, 2 ,pp. 209. 16 – 211. 3 Helmreich,
6. 467 – 70 K.);De simpl. med. fac. 1. 1 ( 11. 380 K.); 1. 3 ( 11. 385 K.); 3. 3 ( 11. 545 K.); 5. 1 ( 11. 705 K.). On this
distinction, and on the physiological factors determining whether a substance acts as a foodstuff, or
a drug, or a poison, see Harig ( 1974 ) 87 – 95.
(^37) De temper. 3. 5 (p. 109. 14 ff. Helmreich, 1. 684 K.); cf.De simpl. med. fac. 1. 2 ( 11. 382 K.). On this
distinction see Harig ( 1974 ), p. 84 nn. 26 – 7 , who refers toDe simpl. med. fac. 1. 40 ( 11. 455 f. K.); 2. 3
( 11. 467 K.); 2. 20 ( 11. 518 K.); 3. 6 ( 11. 552 K.); 3. 9 ( 11. 557 K.).
(^38) De temper. 3. 5 (p. 111. 24 ff. Helmreich, 1. 688 K.).