On Airs, Waters, and Places

 Creation and Context   What's the Book About?   Translation   Insights into Race and Identity   Impact and Reception 

“I think that the figures of Europeans differ more than those of Asiatics: and they differ very much from one another as to stature in the same city…and the same may be said of their dispositions, for the wild, the unsociable, and the passionate occur in such a constitution; for frequent excitement of the mind induces wildness, and extinguishes sociableness and midness of disposition, and therefore I think the inhabitants of Europe more courageous than those of Asia; for a climate which is always the same induces indolence, but a changeable climate, laborious exertions of both body and mind; and from rest and indolence cowardice is engendered, and from laborious exertions and pains, courage. On this account the inhabitants of Europe are more warlike than the Asiatics, and also owing to their institutions, because they are not governed by kings like the latter, for where men are governed by kinds there they must be very cowardly, as I have stated before; for their souls are enslaved…Such is the general character of Europe and Asia.”

On Airs, Waters, and Places is part of the Hippocratic Corpus. As historian  Laurence Totelin  points out, the Corpus is a collection of around 60 medical texts that are believed to be written by Hippocrates, but their authenticity is unverified and has been historically debated. The Greek physician Hippocrates (460 - 375 BCE) lived during the Classical Period and is widely recognized as “the father of medicine”. His Corpus continues to influence the field of medicine today.

On Airs, Waters, and Places is framed as “ a prognostic guide for a physician who came to a new locality ” and explains how environmental factors such as a region’s climate and topology influence the physiology and health of different native peoples. Despite its brevity, this guide is highly specific. 

For most of the book, the author elaborates upon physical characteristics of people from different regions based on, as the title suggests, seasons, “winds, the hot and the cold,” and “the qualities of the waters,” as well as the rising and setting of the sun. In terms of effects, he considers ability to reproduce, physical appearance, strength, disease susceptibility, and even temperament. 

In the latter sections, he talks specifically about differences between the Europeans and “the Asiatic race.” In this section, he considers the influence of political dynamics as well.

Wyman and Sons, 1881. This is a multilingual translation including Latin (Van der Linden, “but it is really that of Janus Cornarius”), French (Littre), and English (Dr. Adams). The Dr. Adams being referred to here is Dr. Francis Adams of Banchory(1796-1861), a Scottish doctor who is credited with translating many previously  untranslated medical texts  of the Greeks, Romans, and Arabians to English,  notably those of  Paulus Aegineta, Hippocrates, and Aretaeus. Strength: The different translations can be compared side-by-side if the reader is familiar with multiple languages in order to gain an understanding from the perspective of different languages. Weakness: This is quite an old translation; perhaps a newer transition could reveal clearer parallels with present-day understandings and language surrounding race.

Hippocrates’ central idea is that environmental factors influence physiological characteristics and psychological characteristics, which in turn shapes the cultures of different groups. This is an idea that holds weight in the present day as well. He makes a concession for the influence of the political environment too. He does talk on explicitly racial lines when discussing the difference between Europeans and Asians. The main parallel between Hippocrates’ arguments and modern racial ideology is the establishment of generalizations when it comes to shared traits in certain groups of people. Hippocrates’ classifications extend beyond physical characteristics and disease susceptibility to also include mental disposition and other non-physical traits. Although his geographical divisions don’t translate exactly into racial lines, there are some overlaps in the style of thinking. He puts groups into fairly distinct and absolute boxes and does not account for other social factors that could shape individuals in ways that are not governed by group trends. In many ways, Hippocrates’ ideology was the precursor to the concept of environmental determinism, and arguably even  biorace. 

 Disease and Environment: The Beginnings of Public Health 

“In the book Airs, Waters, and Places, thought to have been written by Greek physician Hippocrates in the 5th or 4th century BCE, the first systematic attempt was made to set forth a causal relationship between human diseases and the environment. Until the new sciences of bacteriology and immunology emerged well into the 19th century, this book provided a theoretical basis for the comprehension of endemic disease (that persisting in a particular locality) and epidemic disease (that affecting a number of people within a relatively short period).” 

 Environmental Determinism 

“The idea that climate could affect the way human beings grow and adapt to their environment has a long and controversial history in the fields of philosophy and medicine. Beginning with Hippocrates, many scientists believed that climate was responsible for racial difference, though specific theories about how climate affected difference were often complicated or even contradictory. Going beyond physical characteristics such as skin color or hair type, the climate theory of racial difference also asserted that emotions, attitudes, and intellectual capacities were informed by environmental factors.” 

 Spectre of Racism in Health and Healthcare 

“That some races are superior to others, a tenet of racism, was widely believed, especially in the 19th century, but is clear in Hippocratic writings. In the 19th century, differences between races were usually assumed to be biological, were interpreted to show the superiority of white races, and were used to justify policies that subordinated “coloured” groups. These policies included slavery, social inequality, eugenics, immigration control, and the unequal practice of medicine.”

“Such as inhabit a country which is mountainous, rugged, elevated, and well-watered, and where the changes of the seasons are very great, are likely to have great variety of shapes among them, and to be naturally of an enterprising and warlike disposition; and such persons are apt to have no little of the savage and ferocious in their nature…but such as dwell in places which are low-lying, abounding in meadows, and ill ventilated, and who have a larger proportion of hot than of cold winds, and who make use of warm waters—these are not likely to be of large stature nor well-proportioned, but are of a broad make, fleshy, and have black hair; and they are rather of a dark than of a light complexion, and are less likely to be phlegmatic than bilious; courage and laborious enterprise are not naturally in them, but may be engendered in them by means of their institutions.”