DiotimosReading Desk

Causes and explanation

Bodily disorder

ex corporis causa sive iniquitate

The phrase means from a bodily cause or disorder, with iniquitas literally suggesting an unequal or adverse condition.

From the book

Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II

Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Orientation

At a Glance

  • The wordThe phrase means from a bodily cause or disorder, with iniquitas literally suggesting an unequal or adverse condition.
  • In this workCaelius Aurelianus uses this phrase to characterize the source of the mental derangement which his medical account will address.
  • In this editionSive can introduce an alternative or restatement; the short excerpt does not resolve whether “cause” and “disorder” name two different classes.
  • A place to readAttributes the medically discussed derangement to a bodily cause or disorder.

Meaning

The phrase means from a bodily cause or disorder, with iniquitas literally suggesting an unequal or adverse condition. The edition renders it “disorder.” It does not specify a quantitative imbalance or name the particular bodily components affected.

Use in the book

Caelius Aurelianus uses this phrase to characterize the source of the mental derangement which his medical account will address. The contrast is with a condition arising from purgation of soul. A causal bodily account is therefore explicit, but its mechanism is not.

It may be tempting to fill the gap using Theophrastus's much fuller discussion of blood-mixtures and cognitive differences. That comparison is possible as a historical question, yet the A98 sentence never mentions blood, four roots, temperature, or proportions. Those details should not be presented as Caelius's explanation. Equally, “disorder” should not be translated into a modern neurochemical imbalance. The narrow evidence is a reported distinction based on the source of the condition, preserved by a medical writer who selects the bodily-caused kind as his subject.

Places to read

  1. A 98 (testimony)Caelius Aurelianus, On Chronic Diseases. Attributes the medically discussed derangement to a bodily cause or disorder.
  2. A 86 §§ 10–11 (testimony)Theophrastus, On the Senses 11. Offers a distinct earlier account of cognitive differences through bodily blending, useful only for cautious comparison.

Translation in this edition

Sive can introduce an alternative or restatement; the short excerpt does not resolve whether “cause” and “disorder” name two different classes. The English should not construct a more elaborate taxonomy than the Latin provides.