Medicine and philosophy - Classical Homeopathy Online

Aristotle on melancholy 153It is not certain, but neither is it impossible, that the bile ‘that is situatedin the other parts of the body’ [sc.]) is black bile, as P. Louis suggests. 52 In any case this passage confirmsthe characterisation of black bile as a residue in Somn. vig. 457 a 31. Thischaracterisation returns several times in Aristotle’s writings on biology:Part. an. 649 a 26 (just bile), Hist. an. 511 b 10 (which mentions both blackbile and yellow bile, together with phlegm (phlegma) and faeces (kopros);on phlegm as a perittōma cf. Part. an. 653 a 2, Gen. an. 725 a 15–16, Pr.878 b 16 and Somn. vig. 458 a 3). The chapter in Parts of Animals clearlystates that the residues are themselves without purpose, but that naturesometimes uses them for a good purpose. 53 This statement is complementedby Gen. an. 724 a 4ff., where Aristotle calls phlegm an example of thoseresidues which can be of benefit to the body when combined with othersubstances, as opposed to the worthless residues that can even harm physicalhealth.This characterisation of yellow and black bile and phlegm 54 as perittōmataplays a pivotal part in the question whether Aristotle adopted the Hippocratictheory of the four humours. 55 It is clear that Aristotle knew bothblack and yellow bile, 56 as well as blood and phlegm. However, there is noindication that these fluids in any combination form a kind of humoralsystem similar to the theory of the four humours in On the Nature of Man;the only place where three are mentioned together (viz. yellow bile, blackbile and phlegm) is in the above quoted Hist. an. 511 b 10, where they arelisted as residues, together with faeces. This itself shows that it is unlikelythat Aristotle assigned them a role as important bodily fluids on which humanhealth depends. In addition, it should be pointed out that the notionof perittōma does not appear in the Hippocratic Corpus and was probablynot introduced into Greek medicine until the second half of the fourthcentury bce (perhaps by Aristotle himself, or by one of his students), after52 Louis (1956) 189 n. 5.53 On this remark and the use of the word , see Preus (1975) 227–33.54 Bonitz’s claim (1870; 586 b 17) that Aristotle considered blood as a perittōma as well is not confirmedby the two passages he cites (Part. an. 650 b 5; Gen. an. 738 a 8) and seems rather unlikely in viewof the statements made in the chapter (Part. an. 2.3) that discusses the blood (650 a 34: ‘It is evidentthat blood is the ultimate nourishment for animals that have blood’; b 2: ‘blood is present in bloodedanimals for the purpose of nutrition’; b 12: ‘blood is present for the purpose of nutrition and thenutriment of the parts’).55 See Schöner (1964) 67. Cf.n.10 above.56 With regard to yellow bile, see Part. an. 649 b 34, De an. 425 b 1 and Metaph. 1044 a 19. Aristotleuses the Hippocratic typology phlegmatōdēs – cholōdēs once, though not in a biological context (andin a passage of dubious authenticity: Metaph. 981 a 12). This typology occasionally occurs in theProblemata (860 a 27; 860 b 15; cf.862 a 28).