Sometimes ignored or disparaged by classical scholars, the physician Galen (129–ca. 216) was one of the great prose writers of antiquity, and millions of his words have survived to the present day. He can be learned, pedantic, witty, and downright funny. In his writings he brings the ancient world to life in a way that few other ancient authors do. If you want to learn the story of the man who allegedly died of distress from the shame of having farted in the presence of other people, then you can read about it in Galen’s Commentary on Hippocrates’ Epidemics (Hipp.Epid. 6.8.23 = CMG Suppl.Or. V.3.3 p. 1397.11–12).
Galen seems to have practised what he preached when it comes to living healthily. In Hygiene, he says that he took up a disciplined healthy lifestyle from the age of twenty-eight and enjoyed good health from that time onwards, aside from occasional ephemeral fevers caused by fatigue from overwork (San.Tu. 5.1 = 6.308–309 K). He also tells us what he did. He ate only one full meal a day, in the evening, and took pains to care for his body every day (San.Tu. 6.7 = 6.412 K). He was still wrestling in his thirties, since he tells us that he dislocated his shoulder while wrestling at the palaestra at the age of thirty-five (Hipp.Art. 61 = 18/1.401 K). This information is perhaps all the more interesting since, according to Galen, some of those in his day who wrote about or gave advice about health were getting sick because of overwork and intemperance (San.Tu. 5.1 = 6.307 K); some doctors also led unhealthy lifestyles, eating excessively and getting drunk in the evenings (MM 1.9 = 10.76 K).
The book under review is a collection of select passages from Galen’s writings, with new translations. The format is bilingual, with the ancient Greek text on the left side of the page and an English translation on the right side of the page.
The book begins with an introduction about Galen’s life and work and about some of the difficulties posed by the study of ancient medicine. The rest is divided into five chapters. The chapters are thematic: 1. “The Mind-Body Connection,” 2. “Exercising the Body,” 3. “Individual Physiologies,” 4. “Nourishing the Body,” 5. “Definitions of Health and Disease.” Each chapter has its own thematic introduction. The selected passages are also all preceded by brief contextual introductions.
The book is aimed at a general audience. Van Schaik is of the belief that Galen still has things to say that may be useful for modern people who are thinking about how to be healthy, but that some of the things he has to say have obviously been superseded. The passages have therefore been chosen to demonstrate various aspects of Galen’s thought that might or might not be recommended by modern physicians. Van Schaik is naturally tongue-in-cheek throughout, and makes some amusing comments that are informed by her own expertise as a practising radiologist. The ‘theory of humours’—one of the fundaments of ancient medicine—receives inevitable criticism; ideas about daily exercise and moderation in eating, drinking, and other aspects of lifestyle, are shown to be still relevant.
The translations compare favourably with other modern translations of the selected passages, and I could only find a few places where it might be worth reconsidering something for a future printing. On pp. 30–31 “restricted lifestyle” or “disciplined lifestyle” would be better translations of κεκολασμένῃ τῇ διαίτῃ than “chastened lifestyle.” On p. 103 the translation of τῶν αὐχένων ἐκκρεμάμενοι should probably be “when grabbing onto the necks” rather than “when hanging from their necks,” if, as some scholars believe, the exercise in question is the one elsewhere called τραχηλισμός, a move which involved the grabbing of the neck area (see Stephanus, ThGL VII, 2372 for this explanation of Galen’s words here): Van Schaik’s note on this (endnote 26, on p. 198) states that “it is difficult to know what exercise Galen is discussing here” but does not refer to the views of scholars on this point. M. Poliakoff, Studies in the Terminology of the Greek Combat Sports (1982) p. 164, similarly offers “hang on others’ necks” as a translation of Galen’s words but does not discuss what this actually means.
Galen had many interesting things to say about how to be healthy, and obviously the book under review could not cover all of them. For example, Galen held the view that our personal circumstances affect our ability to live healthily, such as whether we are poor or rich, free or enslaved, busy or leisured, ambitious or lazy, and so on (San.Tu. 2.1 = 6.82–83 K). He also had a lot to say about how he implemented his ideas about how to be healthy when dealing with his own patients. There are certain passages in which Galen describes how he made his overweight patients slimmer by getting them to do a lot of fast running and by putting them on a thinning diet (San.Tu. 6.8 = 6.418–419 K; MM 14.15 = 10.995 K). He mentions the story of Premigenes of Mytilene, the philosopher, who got sick because, being a total workaholic, he spent all his time inside writing—what he needed, says Galen, was sun, exercise, and a bath (San.Tu. 5.11 = 6.367 K). I think it could have been interesting for readers if Van Schaik had included more examples of Galen’s clinical anecdotes and fewer of his theoretical discussions. She mentions the famous passage where Galen describes the physiological effects of lovesickness in one of his patients, a married woman who was secretly in love with a dancer called Pylades, and it would have been good to contrast this with another passage where Galen offers specific advice for how people can overcome lovesickness (Hipp.Epid. 6.8.25 = CMG Suppl.Or. V.3.3 pp. 1419.9–1421.11).
This book is an enjoyable introduction to some of Galen’s ideas about health. Generally speaking, Van Schaik’s translations flow well. It is always a pleasure to read what ancient authors have to say in their own words, and let’s hope Van Schaik continues to bring ancient writings about health to a more general audience. Readers new to Galen should get a lot out of this book, as should those looking for fresh translations of some well-known passages. If readers want to delve deeper and look at a different type of collection of excerpts from Galen’s works, then it is worth consulting P. Moraux’s Galien de Pergame. Souvenirs d’un médecin (1985). Moraux’s book brings together those passages in Galen’s writings where he makes autobiographical statements about himself and his personal experiences.