FOOTNOTES

FOOTNOTES[1]That scholarly old writer, Ashmole, well says: “What some light braines may esteem as foolish toyes, deeper judgments can and will value as sound and serious matter.” Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum, 1652.[2]Ecclesiasticus, xxxix, 1.[3]Natural History, xxi.[4]Introduction to a Scientific System of Mythology, p. 197. London, 1844.[5]A Dictionary of Terms in Art. London, 1854.[6]Ibid.Article, “Attribute.”[7]History of the Egyptian Religion, p. 219. London, 1882.[8]Royal Masonic Cyclopædia. London, 1877.[9]The Greek form of the name is Asclepios or Asklepios, Ἀσκληπιὸς. The Latin form being the one in general use, I will adhere to it in this essay.[10]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. iii, p. 23.[11]Iliad, xi.[12]Ch. xxxviii, v. 3.[13]Cicero would appear to have duly prized the physician. I recall a passage of his to the effect that in no way can man approach so near to the gods as by conferring health on his fellows.[14]Natural History, xxix, 7.[15]Ibid., xxix, 8.[16]Natural History, xxix, 8.[17]Ibid.[18]De Medicinâ.[19]Natural History, xxix, 1.[20]Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.[21]Metamorphosis, xv. Translation by Mr. Welsted.[22]Although there is little evidence to show that serpent-worship was indigenous in Rome, Fergusson holds that “such an embassy being sent on the occasion in question indicates a degree of faith on the part of the people which could only have arisen from previous familiarity.” Tree and Serpent Worship, p. 19.[23]The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. ii.[24]Livy, x, 47.[25]Ibid., xxix, 11.[26]In his Life of Publicola, Plutarch gives an interesting account of its origin. The sacrifice of corn and trees on a field belonging to the Tarquins, in the Campus Martius, had much to do with it. These being cast into the river, found lodgment at shallows where the island is, which favored alluvial accumulations. See also Livy, ii, 5.[27]It is stated by Sir George Head that it is twelve hundred feet in length and four hundred in breadth. Rome—A Tour of Many Days, vol. iii, p. 106. London, 1849.[28]A hospital established by Gregory XIII in 1581 and several residences are also on the island.[29]God of fields and shepherds. The Temple of Æsculapius was the most ancient, having been dedicatedA.U.C.462.[30]Pilgrimage of the Tiber, p. 63. London, 1875. Tiberius ascended the throne,A.D.14. Plutarch, writing half a century later, says of the island: “It is now sacred to religious uses.” Life of Publicola. He states that several temples and porticoes had been built on it, but makes no reference to a prison.[31]Natural History, xxix, 8.[32]Ibid.[33]The Very Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Donovan states, in his learned work, that “the temple (of Æsculapius) being recorded by the Regionaries must have existed in the fifth century.” Rome, Ancient and Modern, and its Environs, vol. iv, p. 431. Rome, 1842.[34]Zoological Mythology, or Legends of Animals, vol. i, p. 416. London and New York, 1872.[35]It appears that the serpent has still devotees in Italy. It is said that what is called a snake festival is held once a year in a little mountain-church near Naples. Those attending carry snakes around their necks, arms, or waists. The purpose of the festival is to preserve the participants from poison and sudden death, and to bring them good fortune.[36]The port of Epidaurus not being within several miles of the grove of Æsculapius, it is very improbable that a serpent found its own way from the latter to the Roman ship.[37]Lives of Illustrious Men.[38]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 213. London, 1794.[39]Natural History, xxix, 23.[40]As by Aristophanes in Plutus. In Liddell & Scott’s Lexicon Πἁρώας is defined to be “a reddish-brown snake sacred to Æsculapius.”[41]Thierleben. Grosse Auflage. Dritte Abtheilung. Erster Band. Seite 348. Leipzig, 1878.[42]General Zoology, part ii, p. 452. London, 1802.[43]Coronella venustrissima.[44]Animal Kingdom, vol. ix, p. 263.[45]Reptiles and Birds, p. 92. New York, 1870.[46]The Medical and Surgical Reporter for January 5th and 12th, 1884.[47]Travels in the Morea, vol. ii. London, 1830.[48]Mr. Thos. W. Ludlow, of Yonkers, N. Y., has two interesting letters on the subject in the New York Nation, September 28, 1882, and February 15, 1883. No comprehensive account has as yet appeared in either the English, French, or German language. An interesting article on “Æsculapia as Revealed by Inscriptions,” by Prof. A. C. Merriam, in Gaillard’s Medical Journal for May, 1885, partly meets the want.[49]Geography, viii. Translation in Bohn’s Library.[50]Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography.[51]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 212.[52]Στὸ Ἱερὸν, sacred place.[53]Mr. Ludlow says, in one of his letters, and also informs me privately, that Mr. Kavvadias has found the theatre to be without the peribolus of the Sacred Grove. Following Pausanias, Mr. Leake states it to be within the enclosure.[54]There is reason to hope that Mr. Kavvadias will make valuable discoveries in excavating its ruins.[55]Anything about a physician which might be the means of conveying disease from one to another is seriously objectionable. Woolen material is not the proper thing in the outside clothing, and one attending cases of contagious diseases should not wear gloves, unless he is wont to wash his hands well after each visit.[56]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 213.[57]Travels in Morea, vol. ii, p. 428. The Æsculapian priest is not represented as an honest personage in the “Plutus” of Aristophanes. He stealthily gathers the cakes from the altars and “consecrates these into a sack.”[58]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 27.[59]Seenotein succeeding chapter.[60]Professor A. C. Merriam, in Gaillard’s Medical Journal, May, 1885.[61]Professor Merriam’s article; also L’Asclépieion d’Athenès, by Paul Girard, Paris, 1882. An interesting little book, in which much may be learned about asclepia and the asclepiades. The Athenian asclepion was quite famous, and existed until beyond the fifth century.[62]Natural History, xxii, 2.[63]In reference to the asclepia or asclepions, as he calls them, Draper says: “An edict of Constantine suppressed those establishments.” And again: “The asclepion of Cnidus continued until the time of Constantine, when it was destroyed along with many other pagan establishments.” History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, pp. 386 and 397. Revised edition. New York, 1876.[64]Asclepion is from Asclepios, the Greek form of the name of the god of medicine. In Greek it is ἀσκληπιεῖον, meaning Temple of Asclepios. Æsculapium is of similar meaning.[65]Vitruvius, who flourished in the first century before our era, expresses the opinion that “natural consistency” suggests the selection of situations affording the advantages of “salubrious air and water” for “temples erected to Æsculapius, to the goddess of health, and such other divinities as possess the power of curing diseases.” It materially helped the divinities. See second edition of his work on Architecture, p. 11, by Joseph Swift. London, 1860.[66]Encyclopædia Britannica, ninth edition.[67]See William Adams’ edition of the Genuine Works of Hippocrates. Two volumes. London, 1849.[68]Hygeia and Panacea, both daughters of Æsculapius.[69]Treatment.[70]Op. cit., p. 777.[71]In Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible.[72]Most of the votive inscriptions which have been discovered by Mr. Kavvadias at the Epidaurian Asclepion do not fortify this opinion, but they do not serve to disprove it, because others of a different character may be found. Moreover, the practice there may have been less scientific than at Cnidus, Cos, and elsewhere. However, the inscriptions brought to light by Mr. Kavvadias are, generally speaking, poor enough. One runs thus: “Cures of Apollo and Æsculapius. Concerning Kleo, who wasenceintefor five years. This woman, after beingenceintefor five years, came as a suppliant to the god, and lay down to sleep in the sacred chamber. As soon as she had gone forth from it and from the sanctuary, she gave birth to a male child. When the baby was born, he washed himself in the fountain and set to creeping around his mother.”—See Ἐφημερὶς Ἀρχαιολογική, No. 4, 1883.[73]Genuine Works of Hippocrates (Adams), p. 229.[74]“The Father of Medicine” was, of course, one of the asclepiades. He was born, it is believed, in the year 460B.C., and lived to be very old. His genealogy is preserved in his works. As given in Adams’ edition, he is of the fifteenth generation, in a direct line, from Æsculapius. He was of the Podalirius branch. In this connection I may remark that, if Hippocrates took the oath of the asclepiades, he must have given it a decidedly liberal interpretation, for it looks as if he divulged to the whole world all the mysteries of the healing art of great consequence then known.[75]It is improbable that Hippocrates was but a fair example of the asclepiades of his day. He has said himself: “Physicians are many in title, but very few in reality.” (The Law.)[76]On the Sacred Disease.[77]Ibid.[78]On Fractures.[79]Iatrum.[80]On Fractures.[81]On Articulations.[82]On Regimen in Acute Diseases.[83]On Ancient Medicine.[84]On Regimen in Acute Diseases.[85]In the fifth centuryB.C.[86]The Law.[87]It is a beautiful Biblical passage (date about 400B.C.) which reads “The sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings.” Malachi, iv, 2.[88]See Chaldean Magic, p. 180. François Lenormant. London, 1877.[89]Iliad, i.[90]Chryseïs.[91]Agamemnon.[92]Op. cit., i.[93]Iliad, xvi.[94]It was doubtless from the idea of deliverance from suffering that the term Pæon was applied to Thanatos, or Death, as was sometimes done.[95]Æsculapius.[96]Παιών or Παιήων, savior, healer, or physician.[97]Odyssey, iv.[98]Æneid, vii.[99]Metamorphosis, i.[100]Ἰητήρ ἀμύμων.[101]Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.[102]The stadium equals 600 feet; 625 Roman or 606¾ English feet make a stadium.[103]Cicero informs us that there were three distinguished physicians of the name. “The first Æsculapius,” says he, “the god of Arcadia, who passes for the inventor of the probe and the manner of binding up wounds, is the son of Apollo. The second, who was slain by a thunderbolt and interred at Cynosura (in Arcadia), is a brother to the second Mercury. The third, who found out the use of purgatives and the art of drawing teeth, is the son of Arsippus and Arsinoë. His tomb may be seen in Arcadia and the grove that is consecrated to him, pretty near the river Lusius.” On the Nature of the Gods, iii.[104]The Mythology and Fables of the Ancients Explained from History, vol. iii, p. 160. London, 1740. Translated from the French. The account of Æsculapius given is one of the best I have met with.[105]Iliad, iv, lines 193-4.Vide supra.[106]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 212.[107]Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.[108]Walden, p. 85.[109]The Greek for raven or crow is κορώνη.[110]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 211.[111]Ibid.[112]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 211.[113]Geography, xiv.[114]According to Homer, it was at Tricca and round about that his two sons bore sway. Iliad, ii.[115]Diana.[116]Pythian Ode, iii.[117]As Grimm remarks, children brought into the world, like Macduff, by abdominal section, usually become heroes. Teutonic Mythology (translation), p. 383.[118]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 210.[119]Because of this occurrence it is said that the name of the Mount was changed from Myrtium to Titthium, from Τιτθη, a nurse.[120]Heroes were often indebted to dogs for kind offices. The Hindu Saramâ is the bitch which aids such when lost in the forests, grottoes, or darkness. See De Gubernatis’ Zoological Mythology, p. 98. Grimm even says: “A widely-prevalent mark of the hero-race is their being suckled by beasts or fed by birds.” Teutonic Mythology, p. 390.[121]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 210.[122]Ibid.[123]Pythian Ode, iii.[124]Leech was formerly a common name for the physician; such was the meaning of the Anglo-Saxonlæceand the Gothicleikeis.[125]History of Greece, vol. i, p. 179.[126]Lenormant says that the Oriental Gandarvas, or celestial horses, which represented the rays of the sun, gave the name and the first idea of the Grecian Centaurs. Ancient History of the East, vol. ii, p. 13. Mr. Sayce holds that “Hea-bani, the confidant and adviser of Gisdhubar, is the Kentaur Kheiron.” The Ancient Empires of the East, p. 156. New York, 1884.[127]Iliad, xi.[128]Pythian Ode, vi.[129]This may have been a fraxinus, or true ash,—a famous tree in mythical history. The mountain-ash, or rowan-tree (Pyrus aucuparia), however, has been believed from time immemorial to possess great magical powers. It averted fascination, evil spirits, and diseases. Faith in it is still wide-spread. See Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and Folk-lore, by Walter K. Kelly, p. 158et seq.London, 1863.[130]Iliad, xix.[131]Ibid., xi.[132]Nemean Ode, iii.[133]It is worthy of remark that, while the form of Chiron, or Cheiron, serves as a pharmacist’s symbol, he has, probably, bequeathed his name to the healer of wounds and the like,—the surgeon. The word surgeon is from the Latin,chirurgus, or, rather, the French,chirurgien. Chirurgeon has some standing as an English word. The Latin,chirurgus, is usually said to have come from the Greek, χειρουργικος, a word compounded of χειρ, the hand, and ἐργος, worker, meaning one who works with the hand. It seems likely, however, that the name of the Centaur, χειρων, suggested the application of the word to the surgeon.[134]Diodorus, iv; Pindar’s Pythian Ode, iii.[135]Apollodorus, ii.[136]Hyginus. Poet. Ast., ii.[137]Natural History, xxix.[138]Æneid, vii.[139]Pythian Ode, iii.[140]Natural History, xxix.[141]Republic, b. iii.[142]Ibid.[143]This policy is inculcated in the “Institutes of Menu.” The incurable Hindu is directed to proceed toward the invincible northeast, living on air and water. Exposure in battle is also advised.[144]Herodicus introduced the new practice. He was a sickly trainer, and did what he could to keep well; “and so,” says Plato, “dying hard by the help of science, he struggled on to old age.” Republic, b. iii.[145]Pythian Ode, iii.[146]History of Greece, vol. i, p. 159.[147]Pindar and various tragedians.[148]Republic.[149]Says Ahura-Mazda: “The man who has a wife is far above him who begets no son; he who keeps a house is far above him who has none; he who has children is far above the childless man.” Zend Avesta.[150]Iliad, ii.[151]Hand-Book of Ancient Art and its Remains, p. 12.[152]Strabo, xii, 5.[153]A toga of limited dimensions.[154]Ancient Art and its Remains, p. 131.[155]Cyprus. London, 1877.[156]Handy-book of the British Museum, 1870.[157]βακτηρίον. A bacterion is now a disease-germ. A marked instance of how the sense of words may become changed.[158]Of course, it is possible enough that Æsculapius carried a staff at times. The Greeks, however, were not so much given to the practice as some other peoples, as the Egyptians (see Rawlinson’s Egypt and Babylon, p. 240. New York, 1885), or the Babylonians, of whom Herodotus (i, 195) says that “every one carries a walking-stick carved at the top into the form of an apple, a rose, a lily, an eagle, or something similar.”[159]Ὀμφαλός means navel. Umbilicus was derived from it. The Jews regarded Jerusalem as the navel of the earth (see Ezekiel, v, 5), and also every other people has flattered itself as having it within its possessions. (See chap. iv of Rev. Dr. William F. Warren’s Paradise Found. Sixth edition. Boston, 1885.)[160]Strabo, ix, 3.[161]Republic, iv.

FOOTNOTES

[1]That scholarly old writer, Ashmole, well says: “What some light braines may esteem as foolish toyes, deeper judgments can and will value as sound and serious matter.” Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum, 1652.

[2]Ecclesiasticus, xxxix, 1.

[3]Natural History, xxi.

[4]Introduction to a Scientific System of Mythology, p. 197. London, 1844.

[5]A Dictionary of Terms in Art. London, 1854.

[6]Ibid.Article, “Attribute.”

[7]History of the Egyptian Religion, p. 219. London, 1882.

[8]Royal Masonic Cyclopædia. London, 1877.

[9]The Greek form of the name is Asclepios or Asklepios, Ἀσκληπιὸς. The Latin form being the one in general use, I will adhere to it in this essay.

[10]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. iii, p. 23.

[11]Iliad, xi.

[12]Ch. xxxviii, v. 3.

[13]Cicero would appear to have duly prized the physician. I recall a passage of his to the effect that in no way can man approach so near to the gods as by conferring health on his fellows.

[14]Natural History, xxix, 7.

[15]Ibid., xxix, 8.

[16]Natural History, xxix, 8.

[17]Ibid.

[18]De Medicinâ.

[19]Natural History, xxix, 1.

[20]Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

[21]Metamorphosis, xv. Translation by Mr. Welsted.

[22]Although there is little evidence to show that serpent-worship was indigenous in Rome, Fergusson holds that “such an embassy being sent on the occasion in question indicates a degree of faith on the part of the people which could only have arisen from previous familiarity.” Tree and Serpent Worship, p. 19.

[23]The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. ii.

[24]Livy, x, 47.

[25]Ibid., xxix, 11.

[26]In his Life of Publicola, Plutarch gives an interesting account of its origin. The sacrifice of corn and trees on a field belonging to the Tarquins, in the Campus Martius, had much to do with it. These being cast into the river, found lodgment at shallows where the island is, which favored alluvial accumulations. See also Livy, ii, 5.

[27]It is stated by Sir George Head that it is twelve hundred feet in length and four hundred in breadth. Rome—A Tour of Many Days, vol. iii, p. 106. London, 1849.

[28]A hospital established by Gregory XIII in 1581 and several residences are also on the island.

[29]God of fields and shepherds. The Temple of Æsculapius was the most ancient, having been dedicatedA.U.C.462.

[30]Pilgrimage of the Tiber, p. 63. London, 1875. Tiberius ascended the throne,A.D.14. Plutarch, writing half a century later, says of the island: “It is now sacred to religious uses.” Life of Publicola. He states that several temples and porticoes had been built on it, but makes no reference to a prison.

[31]Natural History, xxix, 8.

[32]Ibid.

[33]The Very Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Donovan states, in his learned work, that “the temple (of Æsculapius) being recorded by the Regionaries must have existed in the fifth century.” Rome, Ancient and Modern, and its Environs, vol. iv, p. 431. Rome, 1842.

[34]Zoological Mythology, or Legends of Animals, vol. i, p. 416. London and New York, 1872.

[35]It appears that the serpent has still devotees in Italy. It is said that what is called a snake festival is held once a year in a little mountain-church near Naples. Those attending carry snakes around their necks, arms, or waists. The purpose of the festival is to preserve the participants from poison and sudden death, and to bring them good fortune.

[36]The port of Epidaurus not being within several miles of the grove of Æsculapius, it is very improbable that a serpent found its own way from the latter to the Roman ship.

[37]Lives of Illustrious Men.

[38]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 213. London, 1794.

[39]Natural History, xxix, 23.

[40]As by Aristophanes in Plutus. In Liddell & Scott’s Lexicon Πἁρώας is defined to be “a reddish-brown snake sacred to Æsculapius.”

[41]Thierleben. Grosse Auflage. Dritte Abtheilung. Erster Band. Seite 348. Leipzig, 1878.

[42]General Zoology, part ii, p. 452. London, 1802.

[43]Coronella venustrissima.

[44]Animal Kingdom, vol. ix, p. 263.

[45]Reptiles and Birds, p. 92. New York, 1870.

[46]The Medical and Surgical Reporter for January 5th and 12th, 1884.

[47]Travels in the Morea, vol. ii. London, 1830.

[48]Mr. Thos. W. Ludlow, of Yonkers, N. Y., has two interesting letters on the subject in the New York Nation, September 28, 1882, and February 15, 1883. No comprehensive account has as yet appeared in either the English, French, or German language. An interesting article on “Æsculapia as Revealed by Inscriptions,” by Prof. A. C. Merriam, in Gaillard’s Medical Journal for May, 1885, partly meets the want.

[49]Geography, viii. Translation in Bohn’s Library.

[50]Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography.

[51]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 212.

[52]Στὸ Ἱερὸν, sacred place.

[53]Mr. Ludlow says, in one of his letters, and also informs me privately, that Mr. Kavvadias has found the theatre to be without the peribolus of the Sacred Grove. Following Pausanias, Mr. Leake states it to be within the enclosure.

[54]There is reason to hope that Mr. Kavvadias will make valuable discoveries in excavating its ruins.

[55]Anything about a physician which might be the means of conveying disease from one to another is seriously objectionable. Woolen material is not the proper thing in the outside clothing, and one attending cases of contagious diseases should not wear gloves, unless he is wont to wash his hands well after each visit.

[56]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 213.

[57]Travels in Morea, vol. ii, p. 428. The Æsculapian priest is not represented as an honest personage in the “Plutus” of Aristophanes. He stealthily gathers the cakes from the altars and “consecrates these into a sack.”

[58]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 27.

[59]Seenotein succeeding chapter.

[60]Professor A. C. Merriam, in Gaillard’s Medical Journal, May, 1885.

[61]Professor Merriam’s article; also L’Asclépieion d’Athenès, by Paul Girard, Paris, 1882. An interesting little book, in which much may be learned about asclepia and the asclepiades. The Athenian asclepion was quite famous, and existed until beyond the fifth century.

[62]Natural History, xxii, 2.

[63]In reference to the asclepia or asclepions, as he calls them, Draper says: “An edict of Constantine suppressed those establishments.” And again: “The asclepion of Cnidus continued until the time of Constantine, when it was destroyed along with many other pagan establishments.” History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, pp. 386 and 397. Revised edition. New York, 1876.

[64]Asclepion is from Asclepios, the Greek form of the name of the god of medicine. In Greek it is ἀσκληπιεῖον, meaning Temple of Asclepios. Æsculapium is of similar meaning.

[65]Vitruvius, who flourished in the first century before our era, expresses the opinion that “natural consistency” suggests the selection of situations affording the advantages of “salubrious air and water” for “temples erected to Æsculapius, to the goddess of health, and such other divinities as possess the power of curing diseases.” It materially helped the divinities. See second edition of his work on Architecture, p. 11, by Joseph Swift. London, 1860.

[66]Encyclopædia Britannica, ninth edition.

[67]See William Adams’ edition of the Genuine Works of Hippocrates. Two volumes. London, 1849.

[68]Hygeia and Panacea, both daughters of Æsculapius.

[69]Treatment.

[70]Op. cit., p. 777.

[71]In Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible.

[72]Most of the votive inscriptions which have been discovered by Mr. Kavvadias at the Epidaurian Asclepion do not fortify this opinion, but they do not serve to disprove it, because others of a different character may be found. Moreover, the practice there may have been less scientific than at Cnidus, Cos, and elsewhere. However, the inscriptions brought to light by Mr. Kavvadias are, generally speaking, poor enough. One runs thus: “Cures of Apollo and Æsculapius. Concerning Kleo, who wasenceintefor five years. This woman, after beingenceintefor five years, came as a suppliant to the god, and lay down to sleep in the sacred chamber. As soon as she had gone forth from it and from the sanctuary, she gave birth to a male child. When the baby was born, he washed himself in the fountain and set to creeping around his mother.”—See Ἐφημερὶς Ἀρχαιολογική, No. 4, 1883.

[73]Genuine Works of Hippocrates (Adams), p. 229.

[74]“The Father of Medicine” was, of course, one of the asclepiades. He was born, it is believed, in the year 460B.C., and lived to be very old. His genealogy is preserved in his works. As given in Adams’ edition, he is of the fifteenth generation, in a direct line, from Æsculapius. He was of the Podalirius branch. In this connection I may remark that, if Hippocrates took the oath of the asclepiades, he must have given it a decidedly liberal interpretation, for it looks as if he divulged to the whole world all the mysteries of the healing art of great consequence then known.

[75]It is improbable that Hippocrates was but a fair example of the asclepiades of his day. He has said himself: “Physicians are many in title, but very few in reality.” (The Law.)

[76]On the Sacred Disease.

[77]Ibid.

[78]On Fractures.

[79]Iatrum.

[80]On Fractures.

[81]On Articulations.

[82]On Regimen in Acute Diseases.

[83]On Ancient Medicine.

[84]On Regimen in Acute Diseases.

[85]In the fifth centuryB.C.

[86]The Law.

[87]It is a beautiful Biblical passage (date about 400B.C.) which reads “The sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings.” Malachi, iv, 2.

[88]See Chaldean Magic, p. 180. François Lenormant. London, 1877.

[89]Iliad, i.

[90]Chryseïs.

[91]Agamemnon.

[92]Op. cit., i.

[93]Iliad, xvi.

[94]It was doubtless from the idea of deliverance from suffering that the term Pæon was applied to Thanatos, or Death, as was sometimes done.

[95]Æsculapius.

[96]Παιών or Παιήων, savior, healer, or physician.

[97]Odyssey, iv.

[98]Æneid, vii.

[99]Metamorphosis, i.

[100]Ἰητήρ ἀμύμων.

[101]Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

[102]The stadium equals 600 feet; 625 Roman or 606¾ English feet make a stadium.

[103]Cicero informs us that there were three distinguished physicians of the name. “The first Æsculapius,” says he, “the god of Arcadia, who passes for the inventor of the probe and the manner of binding up wounds, is the son of Apollo. The second, who was slain by a thunderbolt and interred at Cynosura (in Arcadia), is a brother to the second Mercury. The third, who found out the use of purgatives and the art of drawing teeth, is the son of Arsippus and Arsinoë. His tomb may be seen in Arcadia and the grove that is consecrated to him, pretty near the river Lusius.” On the Nature of the Gods, iii.

[104]The Mythology and Fables of the Ancients Explained from History, vol. iii, p. 160. London, 1740. Translated from the French. The account of Æsculapius given is one of the best I have met with.

[105]Iliad, iv, lines 193-4.Vide supra.

[106]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 212.

[107]Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

[108]Walden, p. 85.

[109]The Greek for raven or crow is κορώνη.

[110]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 211.

[111]Ibid.

[112]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 211.

[113]Geography, xiv.

[114]According to Homer, it was at Tricca and round about that his two sons bore sway. Iliad, ii.

[115]Diana.

[116]Pythian Ode, iii.

[117]As Grimm remarks, children brought into the world, like Macduff, by abdominal section, usually become heroes. Teutonic Mythology (translation), p. 383.

[118]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 210.

[119]Because of this occurrence it is said that the name of the Mount was changed from Myrtium to Titthium, from Τιτθη, a nurse.

[120]Heroes were often indebted to dogs for kind offices. The Hindu Saramâ is the bitch which aids such when lost in the forests, grottoes, or darkness. See De Gubernatis’ Zoological Mythology, p. 98. Grimm even says: “A widely-prevalent mark of the hero-race is their being suckled by beasts or fed by birds.” Teutonic Mythology, p. 390.

[121]Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 210.

[122]Ibid.

[123]Pythian Ode, iii.

[124]Leech was formerly a common name for the physician; such was the meaning of the Anglo-Saxonlæceand the Gothicleikeis.

[125]History of Greece, vol. i, p. 179.

[126]Lenormant says that the Oriental Gandarvas, or celestial horses, which represented the rays of the sun, gave the name and the first idea of the Grecian Centaurs. Ancient History of the East, vol. ii, p. 13. Mr. Sayce holds that “Hea-bani, the confidant and adviser of Gisdhubar, is the Kentaur Kheiron.” The Ancient Empires of the East, p. 156. New York, 1884.

[127]Iliad, xi.

[128]Pythian Ode, vi.

[129]This may have been a fraxinus, or true ash,—a famous tree in mythical history. The mountain-ash, or rowan-tree (Pyrus aucuparia), however, has been believed from time immemorial to possess great magical powers. It averted fascination, evil spirits, and diseases. Faith in it is still wide-spread. See Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and Folk-lore, by Walter K. Kelly, p. 158et seq.London, 1863.

[130]Iliad, xix.

[131]Ibid., xi.

[132]Nemean Ode, iii.

[133]It is worthy of remark that, while the form of Chiron, or Cheiron, serves as a pharmacist’s symbol, he has, probably, bequeathed his name to the healer of wounds and the like,—the surgeon. The word surgeon is from the Latin,chirurgus, or, rather, the French,chirurgien. Chirurgeon has some standing as an English word. The Latin,chirurgus, is usually said to have come from the Greek, χειρουργικος, a word compounded of χειρ, the hand, and ἐργος, worker, meaning one who works with the hand. It seems likely, however, that the name of the Centaur, χειρων, suggested the application of the word to the surgeon.

[134]Diodorus, iv; Pindar’s Pythian Ode, iii.

[135]Apollodorus, ii.

[136]Hyginus. Poet. Ast., ii.

[137]Natural History, xxix.

[138]Æneid, vii.

[139]Pythian Ode, iii.

[140]Natural History, xxix.

[141]Republic, b. iii.

[142]Ibid.

[143]This policy is inculcated in the “Institutes of Menu.” The incurable Hindu is directed to proceed toward the invincible northeast, living on air and water. Exposure in battle is also advised.

[144]Herodicus introduced the new practice. He was a sickly trainer, and did what he could to keep well; “and so,” says Plato, “dying hard by the help of science, he struggled on to old age.” Republic, b. iii.

[145]Pythian Ode, iii.

[146]History of Greece, vol. i, p. 159.

[147]Pindar and various tragedians.

[148]Republic.

[149]Says Ahura-Mazda: “The man who has a wife is far above him who begets no son; he who keeps a house is far above him who has none; he who has children is far above the childless man.” Zend Avesta.

[150]Iliad, ii.

[151]Hand-Book of Ancient Art and its Remains, p. 12.

[152]Strabo, xii, 5.

[153]A toga of limited dimensions.

[154]Ancient Art and its Remains, p. 131.

[155]Cyprus. London, 1877.

[156]Handy-book of the British Museum, 1870.

[157]βακτηρίον. A bacterion is now a disease-germ. A marked instance of how the sense of words may become changed.

[158]Of course, it is possible enough that Æsculapius carried a staff at times. The Greeks, however, were not so much given to the practice as some other peoples, as the Egyptians (see Rawlinson’s Egypt and Babylon, p. 240. New York, 1885), or the Babylonians, of whom Herodotus (i, 195) says that “every one carries a walking-stick carved at the top into the form of an apple, a rose, a lily, an eagle, or something similar.”

[159]Ὀμφαλός means navel. Umbilicus was derived from it. The Jews regarded Jerusalem as the navel of the earth (see Ezekiel, v, 5), and also every other people has flattered itself as having it within its possessions. (See chap. iv of Rev. Dr. William F. Warren’s Paradise Found. Sixth edition. Boston, 1885.)

[160]Strabo, ix, 3.

[161]Republic, iv.

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