318Actuarius, Method. med. bk. I. ch. 22., Et in seminis quidem profluvio, neque coles intenditur, neque aeger eadem qua sanus afficitur voluptate, sed perinde ac si superfluum quiddam excerneretur, sensu privatur. Quod si morbus moram traxerit, necesse est ut aeger in colliquationem collabatur ac pereat; quod pinguior humoris portio eiiciatur ac vitalis spiritus non parum una effluat. (Moreover in this excessive flux of semen, neither is the member erected, nor does the patient experience the same pleasure as he does in health, but exactly as though something superfluous were being eliminated, he is robbed of sensation. But if the malady runs a more protracted course, the sufferer cannot but fall into collapse and succumb, inasmuch as the richer portion of the humour is ejaculated, and the vital spirit must escape along with it). As early asHippocrates, De morbis bk. II., edit. Kühn Vol. II. p. we read: ἡ νωτιὰς φθίσις ἀπὸ τοῦ μυελοῦ γίνεται· λαμβάνει δὲ μάλιστα νεογάμους καὶ φιλολάγνους ... καὶ ἐπὴν οὐρέῃ ἢ ἀποπατέῃ, προέρχεταί οἱ θορὸς πουλὺς καὶ ὑγρὸς, καὶ γενεὴ οὐκ ἐγγίνεται, καὶ ὀνειρώσσει, κἂν συγκοιμηθῇ γυναικί, κἂν μή. (Spinal consumption arises from the marrow; and it attacks particularly newly married men and lascivious subjects.... And every time the patient makes water or evacuates, semen flows from him copious and wet, and he does not succeed in generating, and has nocturnal pollutions, whether he sleep with a woman or no). Ought this not to be referred to gonorrhœa?319Aretaeus, p. 424. loco citato; also De curat. morb. chron. bk. II. ch. 5., καὶ τοῦ ἀτερπέος τοῦ πάθεος εἵνεκεν καὶ τοῦ κατὰ σύντηξιν κινδυνώδεος καὶ τῆς ἐς διάδεξιν γένος χρείης λύειν χρὴ μὴ βραδέως τὴν γονόῤῥοιαν πάντων κακῶν οὖσαν αἰτίην· (Equally on account of the disagreeable nature of the malady as on account of the risk oftabesor wasting and for the sake of the needful maintenance of posterity, gonorrhœa should be rapidly cured, being the cause of very many evils). Truly if not another passage remained to us from the Ancient writers besides these two of Aretaeus’, they alone would suffice to convince us of the existence in his time of virulent gonorrhœa brought on by sexual intercourse; and it is quite inconceivable howSimon, Versuch einer krit. Gesch. (Essay towards a Critical History), Bk. I. p. 24., can say: “Thus for instanceallthe symptoms, which Aretaeus mentions in his Chapter on Gonorrhœa, speak fortrue seminal flux!”320Theodorus Priscianus, bk. II. logic, ch. 11., Satyriasis, gonorrhœa vel priapismus, quibus similis est sub immoderata patratione molestia, his accidentibus disterminantur. Gonorrhœa sine veretri extensione vel usus venerii desiderio, spermatis affluentissima sub effusione corpora debilitat et per chronica tempora producitur. (Satyriasis, gonorrhœa or priapism, maladies involving similar inconvenience as in immoderate copulation, are distinguished by the following particularities. Gonorrhœa without erection of the member or desire for the enjoyment of love, debilitates the body by a most copious discharge of semen, and is protracted over chronic periods of time).321Julius Firmicus Maternus, Astronomica bk. III. chs. 7 and 8., In loco octavo ♀ ab horoscopo constituto ... si ☿ cum ea fuerit vel cum ☿ Venerem in hoc loco positam, malevola stella respexerit, vel per quadratum vel diametrum, vel si cum ipsis, in hoc loco fuerit inventa, omne eius qui natus fuerit patrimonium dissipatur vel qualicunque proscriptione nudatur,mors vero illi per gonorrheam, id estdefluxionem seminis, aut contractionem vel spasmum aut apoplexin fertur. (In the eighth place determined by the horoscope stands ♀ Venus.... If ☿ (Mercury) be in conjunction with it, or if Venus standing in this place with ☿ (Mercury) be faced by an evil star, whether by quadrate or diameter, or if such star is found in conjunction with them in this place, all the patrimony of him who has been born under this conjunction is wasted, or is lost utterly by some proscription or another, andhis death is brought about by gonorrhœa, that is to say a flux of the semen, or cramp or spasm or apoplexy.)322Caelius Aurelianus, Morb. Chron. bk. V. ch. 7., Item antecedens causa supradictae passionis, quamseminisappellamuslapsum, fuisse probatur, a qua discernitur, si quidem illa passio etiam per diem vigilantibus aegris fluere facit semen, nulla phantasia in usum venereum provocante. (Such is proved to have been another antecedent cause of the above named malady, which we calldischarge of semen; but a distinct cause has to be assigned, if it so be that the malady in question makes the semen flow even by day and when the patients are awake, and though no dream provokes to the exercise of love).Philagriusappears to have made this distinction quite correctly, when as quoted byAëtius(Tetrab. III. serm. 3. ch. 34.), De seminis in somno profluvio, Philagrii (On the discharge of semen in sleep, according to Philagrius), he says: Semen in somnis profundere dicuntur quicumque dum dormiunt,naturae genitale semenemittunt, quod ipsum eis ut plurimum ob vitiati humoris materiam, aut materiae multitudinem aut ob partium seminalium robur contingit. Iam vero quidam et ob animi moestitiam aut inediam, per somnos praeter consuetudinem semen excreverunt, atque id materiae acrimonia irritati, non ob partium seminalium robur, pertulerunt etc. (They are said to discharge semen in sleep, whoever during slumber, ejaculatethe genital seed of nature, because they possess it in the greatest degree of abundance either on account of the constituting material of the semen being vitiated or on account of the copiousness of this material, or else on account of the vigour of the seminal organs. But there are also many cases where men have emitted semen in sleep contrary to their wont in consequence of sadness of spirits or fasting, having done so because irritated by the acridness of the material, and not through any vigour of the seminal organs, etc.). The only pity is that Aëtius has not preserved for us his (Philagrius’) opinion as to gonorrhœa, and has not shown clearly exactly what belongs to Philagrius in the Chapter; for a great deal, as indeed is stated, is from Galen and referred by the compiler to gonorrhœa. Philagrius in fact only lived in the latter half of the Fourth Century,—A.D. 364 according to Sprengel, 300 according to Lessing.323Actuarius, Meth. med. bk. IV. ch. 8., Convenit ad haec reliqua victus ratio, quae ad siccitatem declinet, sed non sit calidior, verum frigida. Insuper nutriendus aeger est, viresque modice reficiendae; namque ob continuam excretionem languet corpus et imbecillum est. Quies apta est, et balnea quae humectent tamen alioqui non sunt idonea. Animalia agrestia, quae refrigerantibus exsiccantibusque condiantur, sunt accommodata et vinum pauculum tenueque. (Consistent with this are the remaining rules of diet. This should incline towards dryness, but must not be at all hot, but cold. Further the sufferer must be adequately nourished, and his strength fairly well kept up; for owing to the constant ejaculation of semen the body grows languid and weak. Rest is desirable, and baths, in other circumstances used for moistening the body, are not here advisable. Game, seasoned with cooling and desiccating condiments, is appropriate, and a little thin wine.)324Celsus, bk. IV. ch. 21. In hoc affectu salutares sunt vehementes frictiones, perfusiones natationesque quam frigidissimae. (In this complaint violent frictions are advantageous, also aspersions and plunge baths as cold as they can be borne).325Galen, De sanitate tuenda bk. VI. ch. 14. (VI. p. 444.),—The best illustration in reference to the statements made in this connection byAëtius(Tetrab. III. serm. 3. ch. 33.), which indeed is superscribed as Galen’s and draws most of its material from him and from Aretaeus, showing however in many ways that it was based on personal observation or that the author had before him some better and older authority. Unfortunately the passage, previously glanced at, was subsequently mislaid by us, and so we are able merely to give it in a Footnote, with the request that the reader will complete from it what is said in the text. Profluvium igitur seminis, vasorum seminariorum affectio est, non pudendi,quae dolorem quidem non ita valde inferre solet, molestiam autem non vulgarem etpollutionem exhibet ob assiduum et invitis contingentem seminis fluxum. Oboritur autem aliquando etiam ex seminariorum vasorum fluxione,quandoque etiam satyriasi praecedente profluvium seminis succedit. Contingit autem affectio maxime pubertatem transgressos citra decimum quartum annum, imo aliis etiam aetatibus. Est autem semen quod profluit, aquosum, tenue, citra appetentiam coeundi et ut plurimum quidem citra sensum, quandoque vero cum voluptate quadam promanans. Corrumpitur affectis sensim universum corpus ac gracilescit, praesertim circa lumbos. Consequitur et debilitas multa, non ob multitudinem seminis profluentis sed ob locorum proprietatem.Non solum autem viris sed et mulierculis hoc accidit, et in feminis sane aegre tollitur.Ceterum cura communis est cum ea quae in omni fluxione adhibetur.Primum igitur in quiete et pauco cibo ac aquae potu affectos asservare oportet; deinde etiam lumbos et pubem contegere lanis vino et rosaceo aut oenanthino aut melino madefactis. Neque vero ineptae sunt spongiae posca imputae. Sequentibus vero diebus cataplasmatis ex palmis, malis, acacia hypocisthide, oenanthe, rhoe rubro et similibus. Insessibus item adstringentibus utendum est, ex lentisci, rubi, myrti et similium in vino austero sive mero sive diluto decocto. Cibis autem utendum qui aegre corrumpantur et difficulter permutantur et resiccandi vim habent. Dandum etiam cum potu et cibis, viticis accannabissemen praesertim tostum. Rutae item semen ac folia, lactucae semen et cauliculi ac nymphaeae radix. In potu vero quotidie pro communi aqua,aqua in qua ferrum saepe extinctum estpraebeatur. Quidam vero corticem radicis halicacabi ex aqua eis bibendum praebuerunt, neque ineptum fuerit huius aliquando periculum facere.Antidotusetiamhaec magnae celebritatistum ad hoc modo semen profudentes, tum ad assidua in omnis profluvia commode exhibetur. Seminis salicis ʒvjj calaminthae ʒvj seminis viticis albae ʒv rutae ʒjv seminis cicutae ʒjj cum aqua in pastillos digerito et ex eis ad Ponticae nucis magnitudinem cum poscae cyathis tribus praebeto.Omnem vero acrium rerum esum et multi vini potumet olerum exhibitionemvitare oportet, diaetam vero universam resiccatoriam et adstringentem constituere. Post prima autem mox tempora ad unctiones et exercitatricem diaetam transeundum, per quam totum corpus et praesertim affecta, ad sanitatem perducantur, et plurima quidem tempora circa unctiones immorandum, paucies vero lavandum, si aut lassitudini aut cruditati mederi velimus. Bonum fuerit etiam,si nihil prohibuerit, ad frigidae lavationemdefugere, quae omnem morbum ex fluxione obortum depellere consuevit, maxime si medicamentaria qualitate aqua praedita sit, velut sunt in Albulis aquae, quae etiam in potu acceptae eis summe prosunt. Sunt autem sapore subsalso et tactu lactei teporis. Convenit item per intervalla quaedam illitionibus et epithematis et malagmatis uti, quae rubefacere et emollire possint, atque ea quae in profundo haerent ad superficiem transferre.Decubitusporrofrequenter in latus fiat, calaminthae foliis et rutae et viticis substratis. Epithema autem in eis usu venit hocce. Capillum Veneris multum contundito et terito cum aceto aut apii succo aut seridis aut psyllii eoque cochlearum carnes coctas excipito et simul in linteolum infarta coxendicibus imponito. Utendum vero et praescripto ad priapismum cerato et iis quae paulo mox ad seminis in somno profluvia dicentur.Omnem autem de rebus venereis cogitationem excludere oportet.(Thus we see excessive discharge of semen is an effection of the seminal vessels, not of the member.This complaint does not indeed as a rule cause any very great pain, but it does occasion no ordinary degree of inconvenienceand defilement in consequence of the constant involuntary discharge of semen. However sometimes it may arise from a flux in the seminal vessels, andoccasionally on an antecedent attack of satyriasis profuse discharge of semen supervenes. The malady particularly attacks those who have passed the period of puberty but are under fourteen, but other ages are also liable. And the semen that is discharged is watery, thin, the discharge being unaccompanied with any desire for coition, and indeed as a rule without any feeling whatever, though at times taking place with a certain voluptuous sensation. The whole body of those attacked suffers and becomes wasted, especially in the lumbar region. There follows great weakness, not so much owing to the amount of the semen discharged as to the nature of the parts affected.Again, this disease is not peculiar to men, but assails young women as well, and in the case of females is eliminated with very great difficulty.However the treatment is the same as that applied in all fluxes. First of all therefore patients must observe rest and a scanty diet both in food and drinking water; then the loins and pubis should be covered with cloths moistened with wine, androsaceumand oenanthinum and melinum (oil of roses, of young vine buds, of melilot). Sponges soaked in posca (acid drink of vinegar and water) are also appropriate. Then on the succeeding days cataplasms of palms, apples, acacia, hypocisthis (parasitic plant growing on the cisthus), wild vine, red wild-poppy, and the like. Embrocations moreover should be employed of an astringent character, consisting of a decoction of the mastic, bramble, myrtle and the like, in hard wine, whether unmixed or diluted. Diet should embrace such foods as resist corruption and deterioration, and possess a desiccative quality. Along with the food and drink should be administered the juice of the agnus castus and ofhemp, especially after boiling. Also the juice and leaves of rue, the juice of lettuce and colewort and the root of nymphaea (water-lily). As to drink for daily use, instead of ordinary water, water should be given in whichiron has been repeatedly tempered. Some practitioners indeed have administered the bark of the root of the bladder-wort in water as a beverage for such patients, and it will not be inappropriate to make trial of this on occasion. Anotherantidote of great renownis exhibited with advantage both for sufferers from this discharge of semen, as well as for constant fluxes of all kinds. Take of juice of the sallow Ʒvjj, of calamint Ʒvj, of juice of the white agnus castus Ʒv, of rue Ʒjv, of juice of hemlock Ʒjj; compound with water into small cakes or lozenges, and administer one of these of the size of a hazel-nut along with three cups of posca (vinegar and water).But the patient must avoid all eating of acrid things and the drinking of much wineand the use of vegetables; the diet must be generally of a desiccative and astringent type. Moreover presently after the earlier stages embrocations and an active mode of life should be adopted, whereby the whole body and particularly the parts affected are brought into a healthy state; the embrocations should be persevered in for long periods of time, but washing on the other hand sparingly employed, if we wish to remedy the lassitude and acrid habit of body. It will be of advantage moreover,if there is nothing to prevent, to have recourse to cold bathing, which has the property of expelling all diseases arising from flux, more especially if the water is endowed with a healing quality, such as the waters of Albulae, which also are of the greatest use in these cases when taken as a drink. They are of a slightly salt taste, and of a milky warmth to the touch. Further, it is suitable to employ at intervals lotions and poultices and plasters, such as will redden and soften the skin, and bring to the surface those matters that lie latent underneath. Again,rest should frequently be taken lying on the side, the leaves of calamint and rue and agnus castus being spread as a couch. A poultice employed in these cases is as follows. Pound a quantity of Venus-hair and rub it up with vinegar or parsley juice or that of endive or fleabane, add to it the cooked meat of snails, pack all together in a linen cloth and lay upon the hips. Also the wax plaster prescribed for priapism should be employed, and the remedies to be mentioned presently for discharges of semen during sleep. Lastlyall thinking about love ought to be avoided.)326SimilarlyAretaeus, Morb. chron. therap. bk. II. ch. 5., says: εἰ δὲ καὶ σώφρων ἔοι ἐπὶ τοῖσι ἀφροδισίοισι καὶ λούοιτο ψυχρῷ, ἐλπὶς ὡς ὤκιστα ἀνδρωθῆναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, (And if he indulge with moderation in love and bathe in cold water, there is good hope that the man will rapidly recover manly vigour). This need surprise us the less, if we remember that the notion of a superfluitas seminis (superfluity of seed),—this was why Diogenes practised onanism,Galen, Vol. VIII. p. 419.,—was all the time in the background, and gonorrhœa according to Caelius Aurelianus and other authorities actually arose from too great self-continence. Si igitur Venerem exercere consueverit et crebriore uti concubitu, nunc autem continentius et purius innocentiusque degat, sine dubio a copia id sustinet cum partes illam ferre nequeunt. (If therefore a man is in the habit of practising love and indulging in fairly frequent cohabitation, well and good; but if on the contrary he live a too continent, pure and innocent life, without a doubt he endures this evil from the over-copiousness (of semen), as the parts cannot tolerate it.) This idea owed its origin partly to the confusion of gonorrhoea with nocturnal pollutions,—a confusion found even in the passage from Galen quoted a little above, and in especial was revived in the XVth. and XVIth. Centuries under the auspices of the monks and nuns. It at the same time gave occasion to the practice of resorting to copulation with a maiden as a cure for gonorrhœa. At any rate it was an opinion already found in Hippocrates, that copulation was a desiccative measure which in diseases arising from the phlegmatic humour (Hippocrates, Epidem. bk. VI. Vol. III. p. 609.,Galen, XVII. A. p. 284.) is of advantage to hot and moist constitutions (Galen, Vol. VI. p. 402.)327Galen, De sympt. caus. bk. III. ch. 11. (VII. p. 265.), ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ μοχθηρὰ διὰ τῶν ὑστερῶν ῥεύματα, καλεῖται δὲτὸ σύμπτωμαῥοῦς γυναικεῖος, ἐκκαθαιρομένου κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ μόριον ἅπαντος τοῦ σώματος γίγνεται. (Besides there are the troublesome fluxes by way of the womb; and thesymptomof these is known as “female discharge”, and takes place as the whole body purges itself by this part).Nonnus, ch. 204.Paulus Aegineta, bk. II. ch. 63.Rufusof Ephesus, bk. I ch. 44.328Aretaeus, De sign, chron. morb. bk. IV. ch. 11., ἄλλος ῥόος λευκὸς ἡ ἐπιμήνιος κάθαρσις λευκὴ δριμεῖα καὶ ὀδαξώδης ἐς ἡδονήν. ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖσι καὶ ὑγροῦ λευκοῦ, πάχεος, γονοειδέος πρόκλησις· τόδε τὸ εἶδοςγονόρῤῥοιαν γυναικείαν ἐλέξαμεν· ἔστι δὲ τῆς ὑστέρης φύξις, οὕνεκεν ἀκρατὴς τῶν ὑγρῶν γίγνεται· ἀτὰρ καὶ τὸ αἷμα ἐς χροιὴν λευκὴν ἀμείβει. (Another white discharge is the menstrual purging, white, acrid, and provoking a pleasurable itching. But in addition to these forms there is also a calling out of a moist, white, thick, semen-like discharge; and this species we have named “female gonorrhœa”; and it is an escape from the womb, because this cannot retain the moist humours. Further, it actually changes the blood to a white colour.) Perhaps too whatGalen, De semine bk. II. ch. 1. (IV. p. 599.), says is pertinent in this connection: ταῖς δ’ ἄλλαις ἔλαττόν τε καὶ ὑγρὸν ἐκπίπτον φαίνεται πολλάκις ἔσωθεν ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ὑστερῶν, ἵναπερ οὐρεῖ. (but in other women there appears to be a smaller and moist discharge very often, inside, coming from the womb itself, in micturition). AgainTheod. Priscianus, bk. III. 10., says: Aliquando etiam spermatis spontanei et importuni fluxu feminae fatigantur, quod Graeci gonorrhœam appellant. (Sometimes too women are troubled with a discharge of involuntarily and unexpectedly emitted semen, a complaint the Greeks call gonorrhœa.) Comp. the passage quoted above from Aëtius.329Celsus, De re medica bk. VI. ch. 18., Solet etiam interdum adnervosulcus descendere; profluitque pituita multa sanies tenuis malique odoris, non coacta at aquae similis, in qua caro recens lota est; doloresque is locus et punctiones habet. Id genus quamvis inter purulenta est, tamen lenibus medicamentis curandum est.... Praecipueque id ulcus multa calida aqua fovendum est, velandumque neque frigori committendum. (Moreover the ulcer is wont sometimes to descend to thecords; and then there is discharged a quantity of phlegm, a thinsaniesof an ill odour, not congealed but like water in which a piece of fresh meat has been washed; and the place experiences pain and a pricking sensation. This sort, though it comes under the head of purulent complaints, should nevertheless be treated with mild drugs.... And above all this form of ulcer should be fomented with copious warm water, and should be covered and not exposed to cold). From the last sentence it may be concluded that it is not the acute form of blennorrhœa of the urethra that is in question here (bk. IV), but the chronic. The wordsad nervos(to the cords) have given occasion to some very extraordinary explanations.Simon, Krit. Gesch. Vol. I p. 23., considers it would be most natural to refer this to the inside of the member, to the urethra in fact, though as a matter of fact gonorrhœa of the glans penis might just as likely be intended in the passage. But in the latter case the interpretation is absolutely impossible, as the glans penis is never callednervus. The corpora cavernosa it is true are described in several places byGalen, e.g. De loc. aff. bk. VI. ch. 6., as “a pipe-like cord, for the body is cord-like in form, the whole being hollow like a pipe”, but he adds χωρὶς τῆς καλουμένης βαλάνου (always excepting the glans penis, as it is called), and indeed thatnervusgenerally signifies the penis is evident at once from Horace, Epod. XII. 19.; even the pluralnervosis found inPetronius, Sat. 129., 134.,—so the Greeks similarly use νεῦρον (nerve, cord) for the penis, sometimes with the addition σπερματικὸν (spermatic, seminal), as Eustathius points out,—Comm. on the Iliad, X. 1390. However Celsus had no idea of this in his mind; everything shows that with him thead nervospoints to nothing but thevasa deferentiaor spermatic cords, as he distinctly declares himself in bk. VII. ch. 18: Dependent vero (testiculi) ab inguinibus persingulos nervos, quos κρεμαστῆρας Graeci nominant. (But the testicles hang from the groin by separate cords, which the Greeks call κρεμαστῆρες,—suspenders). SimilarlyColumella, De re rustic. bk. VI. ch. 26., Testium nervos, quos Graeci κρεμαστῆρας ab eo appellant, quod ex illis genitales partes dependent. (The cords of the testicles, which the Greeks name κρεμαστῆρες,—suspenders, because the genital parts hang by them); againPollux, Onomast. bk. II. Ch. 4., κρεμαστῆρας δὲ λέγονται τὰ νεῦρα, τοῦς διδύμους ἀνέχει. (κρεμαστῆρες,—suspenders, is the name of the cords; and they support the testicles). The possibility of the suppuration extending to the seed reservoir and the spermatic cords is proved by the case lately observed and made known byRicord.330Actuarius, Method. med. bk. IV. ch. 8., Caeterum non est ignorandum, nonnunquam in interna penis parte exiguum tuberculum oboriri, quod dum disrumpitur, sanguinem aut exiguum puris effundit; quare quidam arbitrantur ex profundo ea prodire, citraque rationem metuere coeperunt. Verum res ex penis dolore deprehenditur. Venae autem sectione sola, victuque frigidiusculo aegrum a molestia vindicavimus.Quod si vitium moram traxerit et vulnus(ἕλκος?)altius pervenerit, enemata morsus expertia, qualibus in lippitudine utimur, infundimus. Balneo ac omni mordenti evidenterque calefaciente tum cibo tum potione abstinemus, ita namque promptius aeger valetudinem recipit. (However it must not be forgotten that sometimes a small tubercle is established in the internal part of the penis, which on bursting discharges blood and a small quantity of pus; for which reason some suppose these symptoms to proceed from a deep-seated evil, and have been unreasonably alarmed. But the truth may be gathered from the pain in the penis. However by the mere opening of a vein and a cooling diet we have saved a patient from all inconvenience. On the other hand if the mischief has followed a protracted course and the sore (ἕλκος?,—ulcer) has penetrated farther in, we introduce clysters free from biting acridity, such as we make use of for blear-eyed patients. We forbid the bath, and everything acrid and manifestly heating whether in food or drink, for in this way the sufferer recovers his health more rapidly).331Paulus Aegineta, bk. III. ch. 59., εἰ δὲ κατὰ τὸν καυλὸν ἔνδον τῆς τοῦ αἰδοίου τρήσεως ἀφανὲς ἕλκος γένηται, γινώσκεται ἐκ τοῦ πύον ἢ αἷμα κενοῦσθαι χωρὶς οὐρησέως. Θεραπεύεται δὲ πρῶτον μὲν ὑδαρεῖ μελικράτῳκλυζόμενον, ἔπειτα δὲ γάλακτι, κἄπειτα μίξαντες τῷ γάλακτι τὸ τοῦ ἀστήρος κολλύριον, ἢ τὸν λευκὸν τροχίσκον, ἢ τὸν διὰ λωταριῶν ἐν μολυβδαίνῃ θυίᾳ παραπέμπειν, ἥγουν καὶπτερὸνβάψαντες διαχρίειν, εἶταλεπτὸν στρεπτὸνχρίσαντες ἐνθῆναι· κάλλιστον δὲ ἐστί καὶ τὸ λαμβάνων κηκίδος καὶ πομφόλυγος, ἀμύλου τε καὶ ἀλόης ἶσα, λειωθέντα ῥοδίνῳ καὶ χυλῷ ἀρνογλώσσου. (But if in the canal within the perforation of the member an invisible ulcer arise, it is recognized from the fact of matter or blood being discharged without micturition. And it is treated first by beingrinsedwith a weak honey-mixture, and then with milk and afterwards by mixing with the milk the salve of theaster atticus, or the white lozenge, or a preparation of lotus pounded in a leaden mortar;a feathershould be dipped in this and it should be rubbed on, or elsea piece of thin material made into a twistshould be smeared with it and the drug introduced by this means; but the best of all is by taking equal parts of gall-apple, flowers of zinc, starch-flour and aloes smeared with rose-sap and plantain-sap).332Caelius Aurelianus, Morb. chron. bk. II. ch. 8., In iis enim qui ulcus habuerint, cum mictum fecerint, sanguis fluet attestante mordicatione et dolore et aliquando egestione corpusculorum, quae ἐφελκύδας Graeci vocaverunt. (In patients who have got an ulcer, whenever they make water, blood will flow and the fact be attested by accompanying biting sensation and pain and sometimes by the ejection of small particles which the Greeks have named ἐφελκύδες).333Galen, De loc. affect. bk. I. ch. 5., εἰ γοῦν ὑμενώδους χιτῶνος ἐκκριθείη μόριον, ὅτι μὲν ἕλκωσίς ἐστὶ που, δηλώσει.... εἰ δ’ οὐρηθείη τῆς οὐρήθρας αὐτῆς. (If for example a small portion of the membranous coat be shed, this will show there is ulceration somewhere.... And if in micturition particles of the urethra itself be passed). Comp. Paulus Aegineta, loco citato.334Galen, De symptom. caus. bk. III. ch. 8., ἴσχονται μὲν γὰρ ἢ ἀδυνατούσης ἐκκρίνειν τῆς κύστεως, ἢ στεγνωθέντος αὐτῆς, τοῦ στομάχου· ταυτὶ μὲν οὖν ἄμφω τὰ νοσήματα τῆς κύστεως ἓν κοινὸν ἔχει σύμπτωμα, τὴν ἰσχουρίαν·—αἱ μὲν οὖνστεγνώσειςτοῦ στομάχου δι᾽ ἔμφραξίν τε καὶμύσινἀποτελοῦνται· καὶ γίνεται ἡ μὲνἔμφραξιςὑπὸ θρόμβου τε καὶ πύου παχέος καὶ λίθου καὶ πώρου καὶ διὰβλάστημάτι κατ’αὐτὸν ἐπιτραφὲν τὸν πόρον ὁποῖα κἀν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν ἐκτὸς ὁρᾶται γινόμενα κατά τε τὰ ὦτα καὶ ῥῖναςαἰδοῖάτε καὶ ἕδραν· ἡ δὲμύσιςἤτοι δι’ὄγκον ἐπὶ φλεγμοναῖς ἀποτελεῖται καὶσκίῤῥοιςκαὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις οἰδήμασιν, ὅσα τε τὸν τράχηλον ἐξαίροντα τῆς κύστεως εἰς τὸν ἐντὸς πόρον ἀποχεῖ τὸν ὄγκον. (For they suffer either because the bladder is unable to secrete or because its orifice is stopped; but both these complaints of the bladder have one symptom in common, viz. retention of urine.... Now thestoppagesof the orifice are produced byblockingor byclosing up; and stoppages are caused by a clot or dense matter or a calculus or chalkstone or some growth that has formed in the actual passage, as is also observed to occur in other, external, organs, the ears, the nostrils, genitals, or fundament; but closure is due either to a tumour following on phlegmonous affections or by indurations or other swellings which dilate the neck of the bladder and discharge the tumour into the internal passage). Comp.Caelius Aurelianusbk. V. ch. 4.335Galen, De loc. affect. bk. I. ch. 1. (VIII. p. 12.), οὕτω δὲ εἰ καὶ σάρκα τινὰ δι᾽ ἕλκωσιν ἐπιτραφεῖσαν ἡγούμεθα τὸν τράχηλον τῆς κύστεως ἐμφράττειν, ἔκ τε τῶν προηγησαμένων τοῦ ἕλκους σημείων ἔκ τε τοῦ κενωθῆναι τὸ οὖρον ἐπὶ τῷκαθετηρισυλλογιούμεθα· καί ποτε καὶ γενόμενον οἶδα τοιοῦτόν τι πάθημα· διαβαλλομένου γοῦν τοῦ καθετῆρος, ἤλγησεν κατ’ἐκεῖνο τοῦ πόρου τὸ μέρος, ἔνθα καὶ πρότερον ἐτεκμηράμεθα τὴν ἕλκωσιν εἶναι·θλασθείσης δὲ τῆς σαρκὸς ὑπὸ τοῦ καθετῆρος, ἠκολούθησε μὲν μετὰ τὴν τῶν οὔρων ἔκκρισιν αἵματός τέ τι καὶ θρύμματα τῆς σαρκός· ... τὸ δ’εἴτε πάθος εἶναι λεκτέον τοῦ πόρου τὸ γεγονός, εἶτε αἴτιον ἰσχουρίας ἐν τῷ πόρῳ περιέχεσθαι, τῶν ἀχρήστων εἰς τὴν τέχνην ἐστίν. (Accordingly if we suspect some accretion of tissue, the result of ulceration, to be blocking the neck of the bladder, our diagnosis will depend both on the foregoing signs of the existence of an ulcer and also on the fact of the urine being voided on the introduction of acatheter. Sometimes moreover I have noted the following case to occur; on turning the catheter about pain was experienced at the part of the canal where we had previously conjectured the ulceration to be situated, and the tissue being broken down by the catheter, there followed after the evacuation of the urine some blood and particles of tissue.... Whether in this case we ought to describe the mischief as something affecting the urethral canal, or say that the cause is something lying in the same canal, is scientifically unimportant). For the catheter must always have the shape of the passage leading to the bladder (Method. med. bk. IV. ch. 7. X. p. 301.); accordingly it must be bent into the shape of the letter “S” (Introduct. ch. 19. Vol. XIV. p. 788). The inventor of it was Erasistratus (ibid. p. 751.). The employment of the catheter is well described byPaulus Aeginetabk. VI. ch. 59., who adds that different catheters must be used according to age and sex.336Oribasius, Bk. L. ch. 8. (Mai’s Classicor. auctor. e Vatican. codd. edit.—Classical Authors edited from the Vatican MSS.), Vol. IV. p. 187.337The word ἰποτήριον is also found written ἰπωτήριον inGalen, De comp. medic. sec. gen. bk. IV. ch. 7. (XIII. p. 725.), who gives it as a φάρμακον (remedy) invented by Heraclides of Tarentum, but which is not described in detail. The word is missing in our Lexicons, though Castellus gives it.338Galen, In Hippocrat. de diaet. in acut. (XV. p. 759.), γίνεται δ’ἔντασις ὄρχεως ἐνίοτε μὲν ὑπὸ τῆς καθ’ ἑαυτὸν φλεγμονῆς, ἐνιοτε δὲ ὑπό τινος τῶν ἄνω φλεγμαινόντων ἑλκομένου. (Now tension of the testicles occurs sometimes owing to inflammation in the testicles itself, at other times owing to one of more inward parts that are inflamed becoming ulcerated).339Paulus Aegineta, Bk. III. ch. 54.340Galen, De prognost. ex puls. bk. IV. ch. 10. (IX. p. 416.). Synops. de puls. ch. 31. (ibid. p. 540).341Celsus, Bk. VII. 18. VI. 18.342Hippocrates, de Nat. Homin. edit. Kühn. Vol. I. p. 364.Galen, Vol. XV. p. 131.343Galen, Vol. XI. p. 877., XII. p. 50.344Aretaeus, De sign. chronic. bk. II. ch. 8., θώυμα δὲ τουτέων μέζων, εἰς ὄρχιας καὶ κρεμαστῆρας ἀδόκητον ἄλγος ἐπιφοιτῇ· πολλοὺς τῶν ἰητρῶν ἥδε ἡ ξυμπαθείη λήθει· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐξέταμόν κοτε τοὺς κρεμαστῆρας, ὡς ἰδίην ἔχοντας αἰτίην· (And there is another thing more surprising than this, when the pain suddenly shifts to the testicles and spermatic cords. Now this sympathy between the different organs escapes many physicians; and sometimes they actually cut out the spermatic cords as if these contained the special cause of the suffering). In the edition due to Kühn’s industry the word κρεμαστῆρες is translated bymusculos cremasteres dictos(the muscles called cremasteres). The expression is also found in the “De sign. acut.” II. 6., andPetitin his Commentary on the first named passage declares in all seriousness that the sympathy was sufficiently well known to anatomists, arising from the connection of the cremasteres muscles with the peritonaeum and its processes, which statement appears to rest on the datum ofGalen, De usu partium bk. XIV. ch. 11. (IV. p. 193.) and De semine bk. II. ch. 5. (IV. p. 635.), where the cremasteres certainly are called μυώδη σώματα (muscular bodies) and compared with the round ligaments of the womb. StillGalensays distinctly in the latter passage that they contained arteries, veins and the spermatic ducts, in the Isagoge ch. 11. (XIV. p. 719.) ὃς (γόνος) φέρεται ἐπ’αὐτοὺς διὰ τῶν κρεμαστήρων (it,—the seed,—is conveyed to them through the cremasteres). On the other hand in the “De musc. sect.” Vol. XVIII. B. p. 997., the musculi cremasteres properly so called are clearly described, and the statement added: Τὸ δὲ ἔργον αὐτῶν ἀνατείνειν τὸν ὄρχιν· ὅθεν ἔνιοι κρεμαστῆρας αὐτοὺς ὀνομάζουσι (but their duty is to hold up the testicles, for which reason some name them the cremasteres,—suspenders). Neither Blancard-Kühn nor yet Kraus’s Lexicon give under the word “Cremaster” any meaning but that of the muscles; the same is true of Schneider. Comp.Paulus Aeginetabk. VI. ch. 61., where the spermatic cords are also called παραστάται (supporters), as also by Galen, Defin. med. XIX. p. 362. and De semine bk. I. Vol. IV. p. 565., where they are spoken of as κιρσοειδῆς παραστάται (varicose parastatae). A denomination Herophilus first made use of (Galen IV. p. 582.) and which according toAthenaeusDeipnos. bk. IX. p. 396. was likewise given to the testicles.345Hippocrates, Epidem. bk. V., edit. Kühn Vol. III. p. 548. Besides Hippocrates mentions almost exclusively the sympathetic swellings of the testicles that occur in cases of interruptions of the respiration, particularly in coughs. Sextus Placitus Papyriensis likewise, ch. 92. 4., ch. 101. 2., speaks of prurigo veretri (itching of the privates).346Galen, De semine ch. 15. (IV. p. 564).347Galen, De medic. sec. loc. bk. IX. ch. 8. (XIII. p. 317.).Paulus Aeginetabk. III. ch. 54. Both authors also make mention in this connection ofsarcosis testium(swelling of the flesh of the testicles).Rambach, Thesaurus Eroticus, a work which now for the first time is within our reach to consult, quotes underovapro coleis (ova,—eggs, put for testicles):Vel tantus ad ora veniretAut aliis causis ita computresceret ovum,Ne fieri posset quin crudelis medicinaOva recidisset, medici reprobabilis usus.(In fact such foulness appeared, or from other causes the testicle was so rotten, that nought could be done but for cruel surgery to cut out the testicles,—the horrid habit of doctors), and assigns to it the nameOvidius Pseud.Is this perhaps a specimen of those old lines properly to be ascribed to some mediaeval monk?348Galen, Method. med. bk. V. ch. 4. (X. p. 325.), καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο ἐπ’ αἰδοίων καὶ ἕδρας εἰς τὴν τοιαύτην ἀνάγκην ἀφικνούμεθα πολλάκις, ὅτι ῥᾳδίως σήπεται τὰ μόρια διά τε τὴν σύμφυτον ὑγρότητα καὶ ὅτι περιττωμάτων εἰσὶν ὀχετοί. (And in this respect with regard to the privates and fundament we constantly come back to the same conditions of causation, viz. that these parts are readily affected by putrefaction, as well owing to their natural moistness as because they are channels for excretions). Commentar. in Hippocrat. De humor. (XVI. p. 414.), ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ φύσις τῶν τόπων οὐ μικρὸν πρὸς τὸ δέχεσθαι σηπεδόνας ποιεῖ· καὶ γὰρ τὸ στόμα καὶ τὰ αἰδοῖα πολλὴν ὑγρότητα τῇ φύσει κέκτηται· καὶ προσέτι τοὺς ἀδένας ἔχουσιν ἐγγὺς, ἄπερ πάντα τὰ περιττὰ εἰσδέχεσθαι πεφύκασιν. (Moreover the nature of the localities has no small influence on their liability to putrefactive changes. For the mouth and the private parts possess much moisture of their very nature; and besides this they have the glands close by, all which circumstances tend naturally to make them the receptacles of excessive moisture). De usu partium bk. XI. ch. 14. (III. p. 910.), ἤδε δὲ καὶ περὶ τὴν τῶν αἰδοίων φύσιν αἱ τρίχες ἅμα μὲν ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἐγένοντο, θερμὰ γὰρ καὶ ὑγρὰ τὰ χωρία. (Now this quality and the fact of the privates being naturally surrounded with hair would seem to be necessary consequences, because the localities are hot and damp).—Cassius, Problem. 2., Cur supremae corporis sedes ad nomas sunt opportunae, similiter et concavae? An quia noma putrefactio est quaedam et sensus interitus atque extinctio. Supremae autem partes ob alimenti penuriam calore facile destituuntur, ita ut hac de causa census ablationem incurrant. Concavae vero ob humidae in ipsis materiae affluentem copiam, cuius occasione putredine corripiunter. (Why are the extreme parts of the body liable to nomae (eating ulcers), and likewise the concave parts? It is because anomais a form of putrefaction and a perishing and extinction of sensation? Now the extreme parts owing to the scantiness of the nourishment they get are easily robbed of heat, so that for this reason they incur loss of sensation. On the other hand the concave parts owing to the excess of moist matter that collects in them, which is the occasion of their being attacked by putrefaction). Comp. what was said above under the head of “Climate”.349Hippocrates, Aphorism. Vol. III. p. 724.Galen, Vol. XVI. p. 27.350Galen, Comment in Hippocrat. De humor. Vol. XVI. p. 414.
318Actuarius, Method. med. bk. I. ch. 22., Et in seminis quidem profluvio, neque coles intenditur, neque aeger eadem qua sanus afficitur voluptate, sed perinde ac si superfluum quiddam excerneretur, sensu privatur. Quod si morbus moram traxerit, necesse est ut aeger in colliquationem collabatur ac pereat; quod pinguior humoris portio eiiciatur ac vitalis spiritus non parum una effluat. (Moreover in this excessive flux of semen, neither is the member erected, nor does the patient experience the same pleasure as he does in health, but exactly as though something superfluous were being eliminated, he is robbed of sensation. But if the malady runs a more protracted course, the sufferer cannot but fall into collapse and succumb, inasmuch as the richer portion of the humour is ejaculated, and the vital spirit must escape along with it). As early asHippocrates, De morbis bk. II., edit. Kühn Vol. II. p. we read: ἡ νωτιὰς φθίσις ἀπὸ τοῦ μυελοῦ γίνεται· λαμβάνει δὲ μάλιστα νεογάμους καὶ φιλολάγνους ... καὶ ἐπὴν οὐρέῃ ἢ ἀποπατέῃ, προέρχεταί οἱ θορὸς πουλὺς καὶ ὑγρὸς, καὶ γενεὴ οὐκ ἐγγίνεται, καὶ ὀνειρώσσει, κἂν συγκοιμηθῇ γυναικί, κἂν μή. (Spinal consumption arises from the marrow; and it attacks particularly newly married men and lascivious subjects.... And every time the patient makes water or evacuates, semen flows from him copious and wet, and he does not succeed in generating, and has nocturnal pollutions, whether he sleep with a woman or no). Ought this not to be referred to gonorrhœa?
318Actuarius, Method. med. bk. I. ch. 22., Et in seminis quidem profluvio, neque coles intenditur, neque aeger eadem qua sanus afficitur voluptate, sed perinde ac si superfluum quiddam excerneretur, sensu privatur. Quod si morbus moram traxerit, necesse est ut aeger in colliquationem collabatur ac pereat; quod pinguior humoris portio eiiciatur ac vitalis spiritus non parum una effluat. (Moreover in this excessive flux of semen, neither is the member erected, nor does the patient experience the same pleasure as he does in health, but exactly as though something superfluous were being eliminated, he is robbed of sensation. But if the malady runs a more protracted course, the sufferer cannot but fall into collapse and succumb, inasmuch as the richer portion of the humour is ejaculated, and the vital spirit must escape along with it). As early asHippocrates, De morbis bk. II., edit. Kühn Vol. II. p. we read: ἡ νωτιὰς φθίσις ἀπὸ τοῦ μυελοῦ γίνεται· λαμβάνει δὲ μάλιστα νεογάμους καὶ φιλολάγνους ... καὶ ἐπὴν οὐρέῃ ἢ ἀποπατέῃ, προέρχεταί οἱ θορὸς πουλὺς καὶ ὑγρὸς, καὶ γενεὴ οὐκ ἐγγίνεται, καὶ ὀνειρώσσει, κἂν συγκοιμηθῇ γυναικί, κἂν μή. (Spinal consumption arises from the marrow; and it attacks particularly newly married men and lascivious subjects.... And every time the patient makes water or evacuates, semen flows from him copious and wet, and he does not succeed in generating, and has nocturnal pollutions, whether he sleep with a woman or no). Ought this not to be referred to gonorrhœa?
319Aretaeus, p. 424. loco citato; also De curat. morb. chron. bk. II. ch. 5., καὶ τοῦ ἀτερπέος τοῦ πάθεος εἵνεκεν καὶ τοῦ κατὰ σύντηξιν κινδυνώδεος καὶ τῆς ἐς διάδεξιν γένος χρείης λύειν χρὴ μὴ βραδέως τὴν γονόῤῥοιαν πάντων κακῶν οὖσαν αἰτίην· (Equally on account of the disagreeable nature of the malady as on account of the risk oftabesor wasting and for the sake of the needful maintenance of posterity, gonorrhœa should be rapidly cured, being the cause of very many evils). Truly if not another passage remained to us from the Ancient writers besides these two of Aretaeus’, they alone would suffice to convince us of the existence in his time of virulent gonorrhœa brought on by sexual intercourse; and it is quite inconceivable howSimon, Versuch einer krit. Gesch. (Essay towards a Critical History), Bk. I. p. 24., can say: “Thus for instanceallthe symptoms, which Aretaeus mentions in his Chapter on Gonorrhœa, speak fortrue seminal flux!”
319Aretaeus, p. 424. loco citato; also De curat. morb. chron. bk. II. ch. 5., καὶ τοῦ ἀτερπέος τοῦ πάθεος εἵνεκεν καὶ τοῦ κατὰ σύντηξιν κινδυνώδεος καὶ τῆς ἐς διάδεξιν γένος χρείης λύειν χρὴ μὴ βραδέως τὴν γονόῤῥοιαν πάντων κακῶν οὖσαν αἰτίην· (Equally on account of the disagreeable nature of the malady as on account of the risk oftabesor wasting and for the sake of the needful maintenance of posterity, gonorrhœa should be rapidly cured, being the cause of very many evils). Truly if not another passage remained to us from the Ancient writers besides these two of Aretaeus’, they alone would suffice to convince us of the existence in his time of virulent gonorrhœa brought on by sexual intercourse; and it is quite inconceivable howSimon, Versuch einer krit. Gesch. (Essay towards a Critical History), Bk. I. p. 24., can say: “Thus for instanceallthe symptoms, which Aretaeus mentions in his Chapter on Gonorrhœa, speak fortrue seminal flux!”
320Theodorus Priscianus, bk. II. logic, ch. 11., Satyriasis, gonorrhœa vel priapismus, quibus similis est sub immoderata patratione molestia, his accidentibus disterminantur. Gonorrhœa sine veretri extensione vel usus venerii desiderio, spermatis affluentissima sub effusione corpora debilitat et per chronica tempora producitur. (Satyriasis, gonorrhœa or priapism, maladies involving similar inconvenience as in immoderate copulation, are distinguished by the following particularities. Gonorrhœa without erection of the member or desire for the enjoyment of love, debilitates the body by a most copious discharge of semen, and is protracted over chronic periods of time).
320Theodorus Priscianus, bk. II. logic, ch. 11., Satyriasis, gonorrhœa vel priapismus, quibus similis est sub immoderata patratione molestia, his accidentibus disterminantur. Gonorrhœa sine veretri extensione vel usus venerii desiderio, spermatis affluentissima sub effusione corpora debilitat et per chronica tempora producitur. (Satyriasis, gonorrhœa or priapism, maladies involving similar inconvenience as in immoderate copulation, are distinguished by the following particularities. Gonorrhœa without erection of the member or desire for the enjoyment of love, debilitates the body by a most copious discharge of semen, and is protracted over chronic periods of time).
321Julius Firmicus Maternus, Astronomica bk. III. chs. 7 and 8., In loco octavo ♀ ab horoscopo constituto ... si ☿ cum ea fuerit vel cum ☿ Venerem in hoc loco positam, malevola stella respexerit, vel per quadratum vel diametrum, vel si cum ipsis, in hoc loco fuerit inventa, omne eius qui natus fuerit patrimonium dissipatur vel qualicunque proscriptione nudatur,mors vero illi per gonorrheam, id estdefluxionem seminis, aut contractionem vel spasmum aut apoplexin fertur. (In the eighth place determined by the horoscope stands ♀ Venus.... If ☿ (Mercury) be in conjunction with it, or if Venus standing in this place with ☿ (Mercury) be faced by an evil star, whether by quadrate or diameter, or if such star is found in conjunction with them in this place, all the patrimony of him who has been born under this conjunction is wasted, or is lost utterly by some proscription or another, andhis death is brought about by gonorrhœa, that is to say a flux of the semen, or cramp or spasm or apoplexy.)
321Julius Firmicus Maternus, Astronomica bk. III. chs. 7 and 8., In loco octavo ♀ ab horoscopo constituto ... si ☿ cum ea fuerit vel cum ☿ Venerem in hoc loco positam, malevola stella respexerit, vel per quadratum vel diametrum, vel si cum ipsis, in hoc loco fuerit inventa, omne eius qui natus fuerit patrimonium dissipatur vel qualicunque proscriptione nudatur,mors vero illi per gonorrheam, id estdefluxionem seminis, aut contractionem vel spasmum aut apoplexin fertur. (In the eighth place determined by the horoscope stands ♀ Venus.... If ☿ (Mercury) be in conjunction with it, or if Venus standing in this place with ☿ (Mercury) be faced by an evil star, whether by quadrate or diameter, or if such star is found in conjunction with them in this place, all the patrimony of him who has been born under this conjunction is wasted, or is lost utterly by some proscription or another, andhis death is brought about by gonorrhœa, that is to say a flux of the semen, or cramp or spasm or apoplexy.)
322Caelius Aurelianus, Morb. Chron. bk. V. ch. 7., Item antecedens causa supradictae passionis, quamseminisappellamuslapsum, fuisse probatur, a qua discernitur, si quidem illa passio etiam per diem vigilantibus aegris fluere facit semen, nulla phantasia in usum venereum provocante. (Such is proved to have been another antecedent cause of the above named malady, which we calldischarge of semen; but a distinct cause has to be assigned, if it so be that the malady in question makes the semen flow even by day and when the patients are awake, and though no dream provokes to the exercise of love).Philagriusappears to have made this distinction quite correctly, when as quoted byAëtius(Tetrab. III. serm. 3. ch. 34.), De seminis in somno profluvio, Philagrii (On the discharge of semen in sleep, according to Philagrius), he says: Semen in somnis profundere dicuntur quicumque dum dormiunt,naturae genitale semenemittunt, quod ipsum eis ut plurimum ob vitiati humoris materiam, aut materiae multitudinem aut ob partium seminalium robur contingit. Iam vero quidam et ob animi moestitiam aut inediam, per somnos praeter consuetudinem semen excreverunt, atque id materiae acrimonia irritati, non ob partium seminalium robur, pertulerunt etc. (They are said to discharge semen in sleep, whoever during slumber, ejaculatethe genital seed of nature, because they possess it in the greatest degree of abundance either on account of the constituting material of the semen being vitiated or on account of the copiousness of this material, or else on account of the vigour of the seminal organs. But there are also many cases where men have emitted semen in sleep contrary to their wont in consequence of sadness of spirits or fasting, having done so because irritated by the acridness of the material, and not through any vigour of the seminal organs, etc.). The only pity is that Aëtius has not preserved for us his (Philagrius’) opinion as to gonorrhœa, and has not shown clearly exactly what belongs to Philagrius in the Chapter; for a great deal, as indeed is stated, is from Galen and referred by the compiler to gonorrhœa. Philagrius in fact only lived in the latter half of the Fourth Century,—A.D. 364 according to Sprengel, 300 according to Lessing.
322Caelius Aurelianus, Morb. Chron. bk. V. ch. 7., Item antecedens causa supradictae passionis, quamseminisappellamuslapsum, fuisse probatur, a qua discernitur, si quidem illa passio etiam per diem vigilantibus aegris fluere facit semen, nulla phantasia in usum venereum provocante. (Such is proved to have been another antecedent cause of the above named malady, which we calldischarge of semen; but a distinct cause has to be assigned, if it so be that the malady in question makes the semen flow even by day and when the patients are awake, and though no dream provokes to the exercise of love).Philagriusappears to have made this distinction quite correctly, when as quoted byAëtius(Tetrab. III. serm. 3. ch. 34.), De seminis in somno profluvio, Philagrii (On the discharge of semen in sleep, according to Philagrius), he says: Semen in somnis profundere dicuntur quicumque dum dormiunt,naturae genitale semenemittunt, quod ipsum eis ut plurimum ob vitiati humoris materiam, aut materiae multitudinem aut ob partium seminalium robur contingit. Iam vero quidam et ob animi moestitiam aut inediam, per somnos praeter consuetudinem semen excreverunt, atque id materiae acrimonia irritati, non ob partium seminalium robur, pertulerunt etc. (They are said to discharge semen in sleep, whoever during slumber, ejaculatethe genital seed of nature, because they possess it in the greatest degree of abundance either on account of the constituting material of the semen being vitiated or on account of the copiousness of this material, or else on account of the vigour of the seminal organs. But there are also many cases where men have emitted semen in sleep contrary to their wont in consequence of sadness of spirits or fasting, having done so because irritated by the acridness of the material, and not through any vigour of the seminal organs, etc.). The only pity is that Aëtius has not preserved for us his (Philagrius’) opinion as to gonorrhœa, and has not shown clearly exactly what belongs to Philagrius in the Chapter; for a great deal, as indeed is stated, is from Galen and referred by the compiler to gonorrhœa. Philagrius in fact only lived in the latter half of the Fourth Century,—A.D. 364 according to Sprengel, 300 according to Lessing.
323Actuarius, Meth. med. bk. IV. ch. 8., Convenit ad haec reliqua victus ratio, quae ad siccitatem declinet, sed non sit calidior, verum frigida. Insuper nutriendus aeger est, viresque modice reficiendae; namque ob continuam excretionem languet corpus et imbecillum est. Quies apta est, et balnea quae humectent tamen alioqui non sunt idonea. Animalia agrestia, quae refrigerantibus exsiccantibusque condiantur, sunt accommodata et vinum pauculum tenueque. (Consistent with this are the remaining rules of diet. This should incline towards dryness, but must not be at all hot, but cold. Further the sufferer must be adequately nourished, and his strength fairly well kept up; for owing to the constant ejaculation of semen the body grows languid and weak. Rest is desirable, and baths, in other circumstances used for moistening the body, are not here advisable. Game, seasoned with cooling and desiccating condiments, is appropriate, and a little thin wine.)
323Actuarius, Meth. med. bk. IV. ch. 8., Convenit ad haec reliqua victus ratio, quae ad siccitatem declinet, sed non sit calidior, verum frigida. Insuper nutriendus aeger est, viresque modice reficiendae; namque ob continuam excretionem languet corpus et imbecillum est. Quies apta est, et balnea quae humectent tamen alioqui non sunt idonea. Animalia agrestia, quae refrigerantibus exsiccantibusque condiantur, sunt accommodata et vinum pauculum tenueque. (Consistent with this are the remaining rules of diet. This should incline towards dryness, but must not be at all hot, but cold. Further the sufferer must be adequately nourished, and his strength fairly well kept up; for owing to the constant ejaculation of semen the body grows languid and weak. Rest is desirable, and baths, in other circumstances used for moistening the body, are not here advisable. Game, seasoned with cooling and desiccating condiments, is appropriate, and a little thin wine.)
324Celsus, bk. IV. ch. 21. In hoc affectu salutares sunt vehementes frictiones, perfusiones natationesque quam frigidissimae. (In this complaint violent frictions are advantageous, also aspersions and plunge baths as cold as they can be borne).
324Celsus, bk. IV. ch. 21. In hoc affectu salutares sunt vehementes frictiones, perfusiones natationesque quam frigidissimae. (In this complaint violent frictions are advantageous, also aspersions and plunge baths as cold as they can be borne).
325Galen, De sanitate tuenda bk. VI. ch. 14. (VI. p. 444.),—The best illustration in reference to the statements made in this connection byAëtius(Tetrab. III. serm. 3. ch. 33.), which indeed is superscribed as Galen’s and draws most of its material from him and from Aretaeus, showing however in many ways that it was based on personal observation or that the author had before him some better and older authority. Unfortunately the passage, previously glanced at, was subsequently mislaid by us, and so we are able merely to give it in a Footnote, with the request that the reader will complete from it what is said in the text. Profluvium igitur seminis, vasorum seminariorum affectio est, non pudendi,quae dolorem quidem non ita valde inferre solet, molestiam autem non vulgarem etpollutionem exhibet ob assiduum et invitis contingentem seminis fluxum. Oboritur autem aliquando etiam ex seminariorum vasorum fluxione,quandoque etiam satyriasi praecedente profluvium seminis succedit. Contingit autem affectio maxime pubertatem transgressos citra decimum quartum annum, imo aliis etiam aetatibus. Est autem semen quod profluit, aquosum, tenue, citra appetentiam coeundi et ut plurimum quidem citra sensum, quandoque vero cum voluptate quadam promanans. Corrumpitur affectis sensim universum corpus ac gracilescit, praesertim circa lumbos. Consequitur et debilitas multa, non ob multitudinem seminis profluentis sed ob locorum proprietatem.Non solum autem viris sed et mulierculis hoc accidit, et in feminis sane aegre tollitur.Ceterum cura communis est cum ea quae in omni fluxione adhibetur.Primum igitur in quiete et pauco cibo ac aquae potu affectos asservare oportet; deinde etiam lumbos et pubem contegere lanis vino et rosaceo aut oenanthino aut melino madefactis. Neque vero ineptae sunt spongiae posca imputae. Sequentibus vero diebus cataplasmatis ex palmis, malis, acacia hypocisthide, oenanthe, rhoe rubro et similibus. Insessibus item adstringentibus utendum est, ex lentisci, rubi, myrti et similium in vino austero sive mero sive diluto decocto. Cibis autem utendum qui aegre corrumpantur et difficulter permutantur et resiccandi vim habent. Dandum etiam cum potu et cibis, viticis accannabissemen praesertim tostum. Rutae item semen ac folia, lactucae semen et cauliculi ac nymphaeae radix. In potu vero quotidie pro communi aqua,aqua in qua ferrum saepe extinctum estpraebeatur. Quidam vero corticem radicis halicacabi ex aqua eis bibendum praebuerunt, neque ineptum fuerit huius aliquando periculum facere.Antidotusetiamhaec magnae celebritatistum ad hoc modo semen profudentes, tum ad assidua in omnis profluvia commode exhibetur. Seminis salicis ʒvjj calaminthae ʒvj seminis viticis albae ʒv rutae ʒjv seminis cicutae ʒjj cum aqua in pastillos digerito et ex eis ad Ponticae nucis magnitudinem cum poscae cyathis tribus praebeto.Omnem vero acrium rerum esum et multi vini potumet olerum exhibitionemvitare oportet, diaetam vero universam resiccatoriam et adstringentem constituere. Post prima autem mox tempora ad unctiones et exercitatricem diaetam transeundum, per quam totum corpus et praesertim affecta, ad sanitatem perducantur, et plurima quidem tempora circa unctiones immorandum, paucies vero lavandum, si aut lassitudini aut cruditati mederi velimus. Bonum fuerit etiam,si nihil prohibuerit, ad frigidae lavationemdefugere, quae omnem morbum ex fluxione obortum depellere consuevit, maxime si medicamentaria qualitate aqua praedita sit, velut sunt in Albulis aquae, quae etiam in potu acceptae eis summe prosunt. Sunt autem sapore subsalso et tactu lactei teporis. Convenit item per intervalla quaedam illitionibus et epithematis et malagmatis uti, quae rubefacere et emollire possint, atque ea quae in profundo haerent ad superficiem transferre.Decubitusporrofrequenter in latus fiat, calaminthae foliis et rutae et viticis substratis. Epithema autem in eis usu venit hocce. Capillum Veneris multum contundito et terito cum aceto aut apii succo aut seridis aut psyllii eoque cochlearum carnes coctas excipito et simul in linteolum infarta coxendicibus imponito. Utendum vero et praescripto ad priapismum cerato et iis quae paulo mox ad seminis in somno profluvia dicentur.Omnem autem de rebus venereis cogitationem excludere oportet.(Thus we see excessive discharge of semen is an effection of the seminal vessels, not of the member.This complaint does not indeed as a rule cause any very great pain, but it does occasion no ordinary degree of inconvenienceand defilement in consequence of the constant involuntary discharge of semen. However sometimes it may arise from a flux in the seminal vessels, andoccasionally on an antecedent attack of satyriasis profuse discharge of semen supervenes. The malady particularly attacks those who have passed the period of puberty but are under fourteen, but other ages are also liable. And the semen that is discharged is watery, thin, the discharge being unaccompanied with any desire for coition, and indeed as a rule without any feeling whatever, though at times taking place with a certain voluptuous sensation. The whole body of those attacked suffers and becomes wasted, especially in the lumbar region. There follows great weakness, not so much owing to the amount of the semen discharged as to the nature of the parts affected.Again, this disease is not peculiar to men, but assails young women as well, and in the case of females is eliminated with very great difficulty.However the treatment is the same as that applied in all fluxes. First of all therefore patients must observe rest and a scanty diet both in food and drinking water; then the loins and pubis should be covered with cloths moistened with wine, androsaceumand oenanthinum and melinum (oil of roses, of young vine buds, of melilot). Sponges soaked in posca (acid drink of vinegar and water) are also appropriate. Then on the succeeding days cataplasms of palms, apples, acacia, hypocisthis (parasitic plant growing on the cisthus), wild vine, red wild-poppy, and the like. Embrocations moreover should be employed of an astringent character, consisting of a decoction of the mastic, bramble, myrtle and the like, in hard wine, whether unmixed or diluted. Diet should embrace such foods as resist corruption and deterioration, and possess a desiccative quality. Along with the food and drink should be administered the juice of the agnus castus and ofhemp, especially after boiling. Also the juice and leaves of rue, the juice of lettuce and colewort and the root of nymphaea (water-lily). As to drink for daily use, instead of ordinary water, water should be given in whichiron has been repeatedly tempered. Some practitioners indeed have administered the bark of the root of the bladder-wort in water as a beverage for such patients, and it will not be inappropriate to make trial of this on occasion. Anotherantidote of great renownis exhibited with advantage both for sufferers from this discharge of semen, as well as for constant fluxes of all kinds. Take of juice of the sallow Ʒvjj, of calamint Ʒvj, of juice of the white agnus castus Ʒv, of rue Ʒjv, of juice of hemlock Ʒjj; compound with water into small cakes or lozenges, and administer one of these of the size of a hazel-nut along with three cups of posca (vinegar and water).But the patient must avoid all eating of acrid things and the drinking of much wineand the use of vegetables; the diet must be generally of a desiccative and astringent type. Moreover presently after the earlier stages embrocations and an active mode of life should be adopted, whereby the whole body and particularly the parts affected are brought into a healthy state; the embrocations should be persevered in for long periods of time, but washing on the other hand sparingly employed, if we wish to remedy the lassitude and acrid habit of body. It will be of advantage moreover,if there is nothing to prevent, to have recourse to cold bathing, which has the property of expelling all diseases arising from flux, more especially if the water is endowed with a healing quality, such as the waters of Albulae, which also are of the greatest use in these cases when taken as a drink. They are of a slightly salt taste, and of a milky warmth to the touch. Further, it is suitable to employ at intervals lotions and poultices and plasters, such as will redden and soften the skin, and bring to the surface those matters that lie latent underneath. Again,rest should frequently be taken lying on the side, the leaves of calamint and rue and agnus castus being spread as a couch. A poultice employed in these cases is as follows. Pound a quantity of Venus-hair and rub it up with vinegar or parsley juice or that of endive or fleabane, add to it the cooked meat of snails, pack all together in a linen cloth and lay upon the hips. Also the wax plaster prescribed for priapism should be employed, and the remedies to be mentioned presently for discharges of semen during sleep. Lastlyall thinking about love ought to be avoided.)
325Galen, De sanitate tuenda bk. VI. ch. 14. (VI. p. 444.),—The best illustration in reference to the statements made in this connection byAëtius(Tetrab. III. serm. 3. ch. 33.), which indeed is superscribed as Galen’s and draws most of its material from him and from Aretaeus, showing however in many ways that it was based on personal observation or that the author had before him some better and older authority. Unfortunately the passage, previously glanced at, was subsequently mislaid by us, and so we are able merely to give it in a Footnote, with the request that the reader will complete from it what is said in the text. Profluvium igitur seminis, vasorum seminariorum affectio est, non pudendi,quae dolorem quidem non ita valde inferre solet, molestiam autem non vulgarem etpollutionem exhibet ob assiduum et invitis contingentem seminis fluxum. Oboritur autem aliquando etiam ex seminariorum vasorum fluxione,quandoque etiam satyriasi praecedente profluvium seminis succedit. Contingit autem affectio maxime pubertatem transgressos citra decimum quartum annum, imo aliis etiam aetatibus. Est autem semen quod profluit, aquosum, tenue, citra appetentiam coeundi et ut plurimum quidem citra sensum, quandoque vero cum voluptate quadam promanans. Corrumpitur affectis sensim universum corpus ac gracilescit, praesertim circa lumbos. Consequitur et debilitas multa, non ob multitudinem seminis profluentis sed ob locorum proprietatem.Non solum autem viris sed et mulierculis hoc accidit, et in feminis sane aegre tollitur.Ceterum cura communis est cum ea quae in omni fluxione adhibetur.Primum igitur in quiete et pauco cibo ac aquae potu affectos asservare oportet; deinde etiam lumbos et pubem contegere lanis vino et rosaceo aut oenanthino aut melino madefactis. Neque vero ineptae sunt spongiae posca imputae. Sequentibus vero diebus cataplasmatis ex palmis, malis, acacia hypocisthide, oenanthe, rhoe rubro et similibus. Insessibus item adstringentibus utendum est, ex lentisci, rubi, myrti et similium in vino austero sive mero sive diluto decocto. Cibis autem utendum qui aegre corrumpantur et difficulter permutantur et resiccandi vim habent. Dandum etiam cum potu et cibis, viticis accannabissemen praesertim tostum. Rutae item semen ac folia, lactucae semen et cauliculi ac nymphaeae radix. In potu vero quotidie pro communi aqua,aqua in qua ferrum saepe extinctum estpraebeatur. Quidam vero corticem radicis halicacabi ex aqua eis bibendum praebuerunt, neque ineptum fuerit huius aliquando periculum facere.Antidotusetiamhaec magnae celebritatistum ad hoc modo semen profudentes, tum ad assidua in omnis profluvia commode exhibetur. Seminis salicis ʒvjj calaminthae ʒvj seminis viticis albae ʒv rutae ʒjv seminis cicutae ʒjj cum aqua in pastillos digerito et ex eis ad Ponticae nucis magnitudinem cum poscae cyathis tribus praebeto.Omnem vero acrium rerum esum et multi vini potumet olerum exhibitionemvitare oportet, diaetam vero universam resiccatoriam et adstringentem constituere. Post prima autem mox tempora ad unctiones et exercitatricem diaetam transeundum, per quam totum corpus et praesertim affecta, ad sanitatem perducantur, et plurima quidem tempora circa unctiones immorandum, paucies vero lavandum, si aut lassitudini aut cruditati mederi velimus. Bonum fuerit etiam,si nihil prohibuerit, ad frigidae lavationemdefugere, quae omnem morbum ex fluxione obortum depellere consuevit, maxime si medicamentaria qualitate aqua praedita sit, velut sunt in Albulis aquae, quae etiam in potu acceptae eis summe prosunt. Sunt autem sapore subsalso et tactu lactei teporis. Convenit item per intervalla quaedam illitionibus et epithematis et malagmatis uti, quae rubefacere et emollire possint, atque ea quae in profundo haerent ad superficiem transferre.Decubitusporrofrequenter in latus fiat, calaminthae foliis et rutae et viticis substratis. Epithema autem in eis usu venit hocce. Capillum Veneris multum contundito et terito cum aceto aut apii succo aut seridis aut psyllii eoque cochlearum carnes coctas excipito et simul in linteolum infarta coxendicibus imponito. Utendum vero et praescripto ad priapismum cerato et iis quae paulo mox ad seminis in somno profluvia dicentur.Omnem autem de rebus venereis cogitationem excludere oportet.(Thus we see excessive discharge of semen is an effection of the seminal vessels, not of the member.This complaint does not indeed as a rule cause any very great pain, but it does occasion no ordinary degree of inconvenienceand defilement in consequence of the constant involuntary discharge of semen. However sometimes it may arise from a flux in the seminal vessels, andoccasionally on an antecedent attack of satyriasis profuse discharge of semen supervenes. The malady particularly attacks those who have passed the period of puberty but are under fourteen, but other ages are also liable. And the semen that is discharged is watery, thin, the discharge being unaccompanied with any desire for coition, and indeed as a rule without any feeling whatever, though at times taking place with a certain voluptuous sensation. The whole body of those attacked suffers and becomes wasted, especially in the lumbar region. There follows great weakness, not so much owing to the amount of the semen discharged as to the nature of the parts affected.Again, this disease is not peculiar to men, but assails young women as well, and in the case of females is eliminated with very great difficulty.However the treatment is the same as that applied in all fluxes. First of all therefore patients must observe rest and a scanty diet both in food and drinking water; then the loins and pubis should be covered with cloths moistened with wine, androsaceumand oenanthinum and melinum (oil of roses, of young vine buds, of melilot). Sponges soaked in posca (acid drink of vinegar and water) are also appropriate. Then on the succeeding days cataplasms of palms, apples, acacia, hypocisthis (parasitic plant growing on the cisthus), wild vine, red wild-poppy, and the like. Embrocations moreover should be employed of an astringent character, consisting of a decoction of the mastic, bramble, myrtle and the like, in hard wine, whether unmixed or diluted. Diet should embrace such foods as resist corruption and deterioration, and possess a desiccative quality. Along with the food and drink should be administered the juice of the agnus castus and ofhemp, especially after boiling. Also the juice and leaves of rue, the juice of lettuce and colewort and the root of nymphaea (water-lily). As to drink for daily use, instead of ordinary water, water should be given in whichiron has been repeatedly tempered. Some practitioners indeed have administered the bark of the root of the bladder-wort in water as a beverage for such patients, and it will not be inappropriate to make trial of this on occasion. Anotherantidote of great renownis exhibited with advantage both for sufferers from this discharge of semen, as well as for constant fluxes of all kinds. Take of juice of the sallow Ʒvjj, of calamint Ʒvj, of juice of the white agnus castus Ʒv, of rue Ʒjv, of juice of hemlock Ʒjj; compound with water into small cakes or lozenges, and administer one of these of the size of a hazel-nut along with three cups of posca (vinegar and water).But the patient must avoid all eating of acrid things and the drinking of much wineand the use of vegetables; the diet must be generally of a desiccative and astringent type. Moreover presently after the earlier stages embrocations and an active mode of life should be adopted, whereby the whole body and particularly the parts affected are brought into a healthy state; the embrocations should be persevered in for long periods of time, but washing on the other hand sparingly employed, if we wish to remedy the lassitude and acrid habit of body. It will be of advantage moreover,if there is nothing to prevent, to have recourse to cold bathing, which has the property of expelling all diseases arising from flux, more especially if the water is endowed with a healing quality, such as the waters of Albulae, which also are of the greatest use in these cases when taken as a drink. They are of a slightly salt taste, and of a milky warmth to the touch. Further, it is suitable to employ at intervals lotions and poultices and plasters, such as will redden and soften the skin, and bring to the surface those matters that lie latent underneath. Again,rest should frequently be taken lying on the side, the leaves of calamint and rue and agnus castus being spread as a couch. A poultice employed in these cases is as follows. Pound a quantity of Venus-hair and rub it up with vinegar or parsley juice or that of endive or fleabane, add to it the cooked meat of snails, pack all together in a linen cloth and lay upon the hips. Also the wax plaster prescribed for priapism should be employed, and the remedies to be mentioned presently for discharges of semen during sleep. Lastlyall thinking about love ought to be avoided.)
326SimilarlyAretaeus, Morb. chron. therap. bk. II. ch. 5., says: εἰ δὲ καὶ σώφρων ἔοι ἐπὶ τοῖσι ἀφροδισίοισι καὶ λούοιτο ψυχρῷ, ἐλπὶς ὡς ὤκιστα ἀνδρωθῆναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, (And if he indulge with moderation in love and bathe in cold water, there is good hope that the man will rapidly recover manly vigour). This need surprise us the less, if we remember that the notion of a superfluitas seminis (superfluity of seed),—this was why Diogenes practised onanism,Galen, Vol. VIII. p. 419.,—was all the time in the background, and gonorrhœa according to Caelius Aurelianus and other authorities actually arose from too great self-continence. Si igitur Venerem exercere consueverit et crebriore uti concubitu, nunc autem continentius et purius innocentiusque degat, sine dubio a copia id sustinet cum partes illam ferre nequeunt. (If therefore a man is in the habit of practising love and indulging in fairly frequent cohabitation, well and good; but if on the contrary he live a too continent, pure and innocent life, without a doubt he endures this evil from the over-copiousness (of semen), as the parts cannot tolerate it.) This idea owed its origin partly to the confusion of gonorrhoea with nocturnal pollutions,—a confusion found even in the passage from Galen quoted a little above, and in especial was revived in the XVth. and XVIth. Centuries under the auspices of the monks and nuns. It at the same time gave occasion to the practice of resorting to copulation with a maiden as a cure for gonorrhœa. At any rate it was an opinion already found in Hippocrates, that copulation was a desiccative measure which in diseases arising from the phlegmatic humour (Hippocrates, Epidem. bk. VI. Vol. III. p. 609.,Galen, XVII. A. p. 284.) is of advantage to hot and moist constitutions (Galen, Vol. VI. p. 402.)
326SimilarlyAretaeus, Morb. chron. therap. bk. II. ch. 5., says: εἰ δὲ καὶ σώφρων ἔοι ἐπὶ τοῖσι ἀφροδισίοισι καὶ λούοιτο ψυχρῷ, ἐλπὶς ὡς ὤκιστα ἀνδρωθῆναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, (And if he indulge with moderation in love and bathe in cold water, there is good hope that the man will rapidly recover manly vigour). This need surprise us the less, if we remember that the notion of a superfluitas seminis (superfluity of seed),—this was why Diogenes practised onanism,Galen, Vol. VIII. p. 419.,—was all the time in the background, and gonorrhœa according to Caelius Aurelianus and other authorities actually arose from too great self-continence. Si igitur Venerem exercere consueverit et crebriore uti concubitu, nunc autem continentius et purius innocentiusque degat, sine dubio a copia id sustinet cum partes illam ferre nequeunt. (If therefore a man is in the habit of practising love and indulging in fairly frequent cohabitation, well and good; but if on the contrary he live a too continent, pure and innocent life, without a doubt he endures this evil from the over-copiousness (of semen), as the parts cannot tolerate it.) This idea owed its origin partly to the confusion of gonorrhoea with nocturnal pollutions,—a confusion found even in the passage from Galen quoted a little above, and in especial was revived in the XVth. and XVIth. Centuries under the auspices of the monks and nuns. It at the same time gave occasion to the practice of resorting to copulation with a maiden as a cure for gonorrhœa. At any rate it was an opinion already found in Hippocrates, that copulation was a desiccative measure which in diseases arising from the phlegmatic humour (Hippocrates, Epidem. bk. VI. Vol. III. p. 609.,Galen, XVII. A. p. 284.) is of advantage to hot and moist constitutions (Galen, Vol. VI. p. 402.)
327Galen, De sympt. caus. bk. III. ch. 11. (VII. p. 265.), ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ μοχθηρὰ διὰ τῶν ὑστερῶν ῥεύματα, καλεῖται δὲτὸ σύμπτωμαῥοῦς γυναικεῖος, ἐκκαθαιρομένου κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ μόριον ἅπαντος τοῦ σώματος γίγνεται. (Besides there are the troublesome fluxes by way of the womb; and thesymptomof these is known as “female discharge”, and takes place as the whole body purges itself by this part).Nonnus, ch. 204.Paulus Aegineta, bk. II. ch. 63.Rufusof Ephesus, bk. I ch. 44.
327Galen, De sympt. caus. bk. III. ch. 11. (VII. p. 265.), ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ μοχθηρὰ διὰ τῶν ὑστερῶν ῥεύματα, καλεῖται δὲτὸ σύμπτωμαῥοῦς γυναικεῖος, ἐκκαθαιρομένου κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ μόριον ἅπαντος τοῦ σώματος γίγνεται. (Besides there are the troublesome fluxes by way of the womb; and thesymptomof these is known as “female discharge”, and takes place as the whole body purges itself by this part).Nonnus, ch. 204.Paulus Aegineta, bk. II. ch. 63.Rufusof Ephesus, bk. I ch. 44.
328Aretaeus, De sign, chron. morb. bk. IV. ch. 11., ἄλλος ῥόος λευκὸς ἡ ἐπιμήνιος κάθαρσις λευκὴ δριμεῖα καὶ ὀδαξώδης ἐς ἡδονήν. ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖσι καὶ ὑγροῦ λευκοῦ, πάχεος, γονοειδέος πρόκλησις· τόδε τὸ εἶδοςγονόρῤῥοιαν γυναικείαν ἐλέξαμεν· ἔστι δὲ τῆς ὑστέρης φύξις, οὕνεκεν ἀκρατὴς τῶν ὑγρῶν γίγνεται· ἀτὰρ καὶ τὸ αἷμα ἐς χροιὴν λευκὴν ἀμείβει. (Another white discharge is the menstrual purging, white, acrid, and provoking a pleasurable itching. But in addition to these forms there is also a calling out of a moist, white, thick, semen-like discharge; and this species we have named “female gonorrhœa”; and it is an escape from the womb, because this cannot retain the moist humours. Further, it actually changes the blood to a white colour.) Perhaps too whatGalen, De semine bk. II. ch. 1. (IV. p. 599.), says is pertinent in this connection: ταῖς δ’ ἄλλαις ἔλαττόν τε καὶ ὑγρὸν ἐκπίπτον φαίνεται πολλάκις ἔσωθεν ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ὑστερῶν, ἵναπερ οὐρεῖ. (but in other women there appears to be a smaller and moist discharge very often, inside, coming from the womb itself, in micturition). AgainTheod. Priscianus, bk. III. 10., says: Aliquando etiam spermatis spontanei et importuni fluxu feminae fatigantur, quod Graeci gonorrhœam appellant. (Sometimes too women are troubled with a discharge of involuntarily and unexpectedly emitted semen, a complaint the Greeks call gonorrhœa.) Comp. the passage quoted above from Aëtius.
328Aretaeus, De sign, chron. morb. bk. IV. ch. 11., ἄλλος ῥόος λευκὸς ἡ ἐπιμήνιος κάθαρσις λευκὴ δριμεῖα καὶ ὀδαξώδης ἐς ἡδονήν. ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖσι καὶ ὑγροῦ λευκοῦ, πάχεος, γονοειδέος πρόκλησις· τόδε τὸ εἶδοςγονόρῤῥοιαν γυναικείαν ἐλέξαμεν· ἔστι δὲ τῆς ὑστέρης φύξις, οὕνεκεν ἀκρατὴς τῶν ὑγρῶν γίγνεται· ἀτὰρ καὶ τὸ αἷμα ἐς χροιὴν λευκὴν ἀμείβει. (Another white discharge is the menstrual purging, white, acrid, and provoking a pleasurable itching. But in addition to these forms there is also a calling out of a moist, white, thick, semen-like discharge; and this species we have named “female gonorrhœa”; and it is an escape from the womb, because this cannot retain the moist humours. Further, it actually changes the blood to a white colour.) Perhaps too whatGalen, De semine bk. II. ch. 1. (IV. p. 599.), says is pertinent in this connection: ταῖς δ’ ἄλλαις ἔλαττόν τε καὶ ὑγρὸν ἐκπίπτον φαίνεται πολλάκις ἔσωθεν ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ὑστερῶν, ἵναπερ οὐρεῖ. (but in other women there appears to be a smaller and moist discharge very often, inside, coming from the womb itself, in micturition). AgainTheod. Priscianus, bk. III. 10., says: Aliquando etiam spermatis spontanei et importuni fluxu feminae fatigantur, quod Graeci gonorrhœam appellant. (Sometimes too women are troubled with a discharge of involuntarily and unexpectedly emitted semen, a complaint the Greeks call gonorrhœa.) Comp. the passage quoted above from Aëtius.
329Celsus, De re medica bk. VI. ch. 18., Solet etiam interdum adnervosulcus descendere; profluitque pituita multa sanies tenuis malique odoris, non coacta at aquae similis, in qua caro recens lota est; doloresque is locus et punctiones habet. Id genus quamvis inter purulenta est, tamen lenibus medicamentis curandum est.... Praecipueque id ulcus multa calida aqua fovendum est, velandumque neque frigori committendum. (Moreover the ulcer is wont sometimes to descend to thecords; and then there is discharged a quantity of phlegm, a thinsaniesof an ill odour, not congealed but like water in which a piece of fresh meat has been washed; and the place experiences pain and a pricking sensation. This sort, though it comes under the head of purulent complaints, should nevertheless be treated with mild drugs.... And above all this form of ulcer should be fomented with copious warm water, and should be covered and not exposed to cold). From the last sentence it may be concluded that it is not the acute form of blennorrhœa of the urethra that is in question here (bk. IV), but the chronic. The wordsad nervos(to the cords) have given occasion to some very extraordinary explanations.Simon, Krit. Gesch. Vol. I p. 23., considers it would be most natural to refer this to the inside of the member, to the urethra in fact, though as a matter of fact gonorrhœa of the glans penis might just as likely be intended in the passage. But in the latter case the interpretation is absolutely impossible, as the glans penis is never callednervus. The corpora cavernosa it is true are described in several places byGalen, e.g. De loc. aff. bk. VI. ch. 6., as “a pipe-like cord, for the body is cord-like in form, the whole being hollow like a pipe”, but he adds χωρὶς τῆς καλουμένης βαλάνου (always excepting the glans penis, as it is called), and indeed thatnervusgenerally signifies the penis is evident at once from Horace, Epod. XII. 19.; even the pluralnervosis found inPetronius, Sat. 129., 134.,—so the Greeks similarly use νεῦρον (nerve, cord) for the penis, sometimes with the addition σπερματικὸν (spermatic, seminal), as Eustathius points out,—Comm. on the Iliad, X. 1390. However Celsus had no idea of this in his mind; everything shows that with him thead nervospoints to nothing but thevasa deferentiaor spermatic cords, as he distinctly declares himself in bk. VII. ch. 18: Dependent vero (testiculi) ab inguinibus persingulos nervos, quos κρεμαστῆρας Graeci nominant. (But the testicles hang from the groin by separate cords, which the Greeks call κρεμαστῆρες,—suspenders). SimilarlyColumella, De re rustic. bk. VI. ch. 26., Testium nervos, quos Graeci κρεμαστῆρας ab eo appellant, quod ex illis genitales partes dependent. (The cords of the testicles, which the Greeks name κρεμαστῆρες,—suspenders, because the genital parts hang by them); againPollux, Onomast. bk. II. Ch. 4., κρεμαστῆρας δὲ λέγονται τὰ νεῦρα, τοῦς διδύμους ἀνέχει. (κρεμαστῆρες,—suspenders, is the name of the cords; and they support the testicles). The possibility of the suppuration extending to the seed reservoir and the spermatic cords is proved by the case lately observed and made known byRicord.
329Celsus, De re medica bk. VI. ch. 18., Solet etiam interdum adnervosulcus descendere; profluitque pituita multa sanies tenuis malique odoris, non coacta at aquae similis, in qua caro recens lota est; doloresque is locus et punctiones habet. Id genus quamvis inter purulenta est, tamen lenibus medicamentis curandum est.... Praecipueque id ulcus multa calida aqua fovendum est, velandumque neque frigori committendum. (Moreover the ulcer is wont sometimes to descend to thecords; and then there is discharged a quantity of phlegm, a thinsaniesof an ill odour, not congealed but like water in which a piece of fresh meat has been washed; and the place experiences pain and a pricking sensation. This sort, though it comes under the head of purulent complaints, should nevertheless be treated with mild drugs.... And above all this form of ulcer should be fomented with copious warm water, and should be covered and not exposed to cold). From the last sentence it may be concluded that it is not the acute form of blennorrhœa of the urethra that is in question here (bk. IV), but the chronic. The wordsad nervos(to the cords) have given occasion to some very extraordinary explanations.Simon, Krit. Gesch. Vol. I p. 23., considers it would be most natural to refer this to the inside of the member, to the urethra in fact, though as a matter of fact gonorrhœa of the glans penis might just as likely be intended in the passage. But in the latter case the interpretation is absolutely impossible, as the glans penis is never callednervus. The corpora cavernosa it is true are described in several places byGalen, e.g. De loc. aff. bk. VI. ch. 6., as “a pipe-like cord, for the body is cord-like in form, the whole being hollow like a pipe”, but he adds χωρὶς τῆς καλουμένης βαλάνου (always excepting the glans penis, as it is called), and indeed thatnervusgenerally signifies the penis is evident at once from Horace, Epod. XII. 19.; even the pluralnervosis found inPetronius, Sat. 129., 134.,—so the Greeks similarly use νεῦρον (nerve, cord) for the penis, sometimes with the addition σπερματικὸν (spermatic, seminal), as Eustathius points out,—Comm. on the Iliad, X. 1390. However Celsus had no idea of this in his mind; everything shows that with him thead nervospoints to nothing but thevasa deferentiaor spermatic cords, as he distinctly declares himself in bk. VII. ch. 18: Dependent vero (testiculi) ab inguinibus persingulos nervos, quos κρεμαστῆρας Graeci nominant. (But the testicles hang from the groin by separate cords, which the Greeks call κρεμαστῆρες,—suspenders). SimilarlyColumella, De re rustic. bk. VI. ch. 26., Testium nervos, quos Graeci κρεμαστῆρας ab eo appellant, quod ex illis genitales partes dependent. (The cords of the testicles, which the Greeks name κρεμαστῆρες,—suspenders, because the genital parts hang by them); againPollux, Onomast. bk. II. Ch. 4., κρεμαστῆρας δὲ λέγονται τὰ νεῦρα, τοῦς διδύμους ἀνέχει. (κρεμαστῆρες,—suspenders, is the name of the cords; and they support the testicles). The possibility of the suppuration extending to the seed reservoir and the spermatic cords is proved by the case lately observed and made known byRicord.
330Actuarius, Method. med. bk. IV. ch. 8., Caeterum non est ignorandum, nonnunquam in interna penis parte exiguum tuberculum oboriri, quod dum disrumpitur, sanguinem aut exiguum puris effundit; quare quidam arbitrantur ex profundo ea prodire, citraque rationem metuere coeperunt. Verum res ex penis dolore deprehenditur. Venae autem sectione sola, victuque frigidiusculo aegrum a molestia vindicavimus.Quod si vitium moram traxerit et vulnus(ἕλκος?)altius pervenerit, enemata morsus expertia, qualibus in lippitudine utimur, infundimus. Balneo ac omni mordenti evidenterque calefaciente tum cibo tum potione abstinemus, ita namque promptius aeger valetudinem recipit. (However it must not be forgotten that sometimes a small tubercle is established in the internal part of the penis, which on bursting discharges blood and a small quantity of pus; for which reason some suppose these symptoms to proceed from a deep-seated evil, and have been unreasonably alarmed. But the truth may be gathered from the pain in the penis. However by the mere opening of a vein and a cooling diet we have saved a patient from all inconvenience. On the other hand if the mischief has followed a protracted course and the sore (ἕλκος?,—ulcer) has penetrated farther in, we introduce clysters free from biting acridity, such as we make use of for blear-eyed patients. We forbid the bath, and everything acrid and manifestly heating whether in food or drink, for in this way the sufferer recovers his health more rapidly).
330Actuarius, Method. med. bk. IV. ch. 8., Caeterum non est ignorandum, nonnunquam in interna penis parte exiguum tuberculum oboriri, quod dum disrumpitur, sanguinem aut exiguum puris effundit; quare quidam arbitrantur ex profundo ea prodire, citraque rationem metuere coeperunt. Verum res ex penis dolore deprehenditur. Venae autem sectione sola, victuque frigidiusculo aegrum a molestia vindicavimus.Quod si vitium moram traxerit et vulnus(ἕλκος?)altius pervenerit, enemata morsus expertia, qualibus in lippitudine utimur, infundimus. Balneo ac omni mordenti evidenterque calefaciente tum cibo tum potione abstinemus, ita namque promptius aeger valetudinem recipit. (However it must not be forgotten that sometimes a small tubercle is established in the internal part of the penis, which on bursting discharges blood and a small quantity of pus; for which reason some suppose these symptoms to proceed from a deep-seated evil, and have been unreasonably alarmed. But the truth may be gathered from the pain in the penis. However by the mere opening of a vein and a cooling diet we have saved a patient from all inconvenience. On the other hand if the mischief has followed a protracted course and the sore (ἕλκος?,—ulcer) has penetrated farther in, we introduce clysters free from biting acridity, such as we make use of for blear-eyed patients. We forbid the bath, and everything acrid and manifestly heating whether in food or drink, for in this way the sufferer recovers his health more rapidly).
331Paulus Aegineta, bk. III. ch. 59., εἰ δὲ κατὰ τὸν καυλὸν ἔνδον τῆς τοῦ αἰδοίου τρήσεως ἀφανὲς ἕλκος γένηται, γινώσκεται ἐκ τοῦ πύον ἢ αἷμα κενοῦσθαι χωρὶς οὐρησέως. Θεραπεύεται δὲ πρῶτον μὲν ὑδαρεῖ μελικράτῳκλυζόμενον, ἔπειτα δὲ γάλακτι, κἄπειτα μίξαντες τῷ γάλακτι τὸ τοῦ ἀστήρος κολλύριον, ἢ τὸν λευκὸν τροχίσκον, ἢ τὸν διὰ λωταριῶν ἐν μολυβδαίνῃ θυίᾳ παραπέμπειν, ἥγουν καὶπτερὸνβάψαντες διαχρίειν, εἶταλεπτὸν στρεπτὸνχρίσαντες ἐνθῆναι· κάλλιστον δὲ ἐστί καὶ τὸ λαμβάνων κηκίδος καὶ πομφόλυγος, ἀμύλου τε καὶ ἀλόης ἶσα, λειωθέντα ῥοδίνῳ καὶ χυλῷ ἀρνογλώσσου. (But if in the canal within the perforation of the member an invisible ulcer arise, it is recognized from the fact of matter or blood being discharged without micturition. And it is treated first by beingrinsedwith a weak honey-mixture, and then with milk and afterwards by mixing with the milk the salve of theaster atticus, or the white lozenge, or a preparation of lotus pounded in a leaden mortar;a feathershould be dipped in this and it should be rubbed on, or elsea piece of thin material made into a twistshould be smeared with it and the drug introduced by this means; but the best of all is by taking equal parts of gall-apple, flowers of zinc, starch-flour and aloes smeared with rose-sap and plantain-sap).
331Paulus Aegineta, bk. III. ch. 59., εἰ δὲ κατὰ τὸν καυλὸν ἔνδον τῆς τοῦ αἰδοίου τρήσεως ἀφανὲς ἕλκος γένηται, γινώσκεται ἐκ τοῦ πύον ἢ αἷμα κενοῦσθαι χωρὶς οὐρησέως. Θεραπεύεται δὲ πρῶτον μὲν ὑδαρεῖ μελικράτῳκλυζόμενον, ἔπειτα δὲ γάλακτι, κἄπειτα μίξαντες τῷ γάλακτι τὸ τοῦ ἀστήρος κολλύριον, ἢ τὸν λευκὸν τροχίσκον, ἢ τὸν διὰ λωταριῶν ἐν μολυβδαίνῃ θυίᾳ παραπέμπειν, ἥγουν καὶπτερὸνβάψαντες διαχρίειν, εἶταλεπτὸν στρεπτὸνχρίσαντες ἐνθῆναι· κάλλιστον δὲ ἐστί καὶ τὸ λαμβάνων κηκίδος καὶ πομφόλυγος, ἀμύλου τε καὶ ἀλόης ἶσα, λειωθέντα ῥοδίνῳ καὶ χυλῷ ἀρνογλώσσου. (But if in the canal within the perforation of the member an invisible ulcer arise, it is recognized from the fact of matter or blood being discharged without micturition. And it is treated first by beingrinsedwith a weak honey-mixture, and then with milk and afterwards by mixing with the milk the salve of theaster atticus, or the white lozenge, or a preparation of lotus pounded in a leaden mortar;a feathershould be dipped in this and it should be rubbed on, or elsea piece of thin material made into a twistshould be smeared with it and the drug introduced by this means; but the best of all is by taking equal parts of gall-apple, flowers of zinc, starch-flour and aloes smeared with rose-sap and plantain-sap).
332Caelius Aurelianus, Morb. chron. bk. II. ch. 8., In iis enim qui ulcus habuerint, cum mictum fecerint, sanguis fluet attestante mordicatione et dolore et aliquando egestione corpusculorum, quae ἐφελκύδας Graeci vocaverunt. (In patients who have got an ulcer, whenever they make water, blood will flow and the fact be attested by accompanying biting sensation and pain and sometimes by the ejection of small particles which the Greeks have named ἐφελκύδες).
332Caelius Aurelianus, Morb. chron. bk. II. ch. 8., In iis enim qui ulcus habuerint, cum mictum fecerint, sanguis fluet attestante mordicatione et dolore et aliquando egestione corpusculorum, quae ἐφελκύδας Graeci vocaverunt. (In patients who have got an ulcer, whenever they make water, blood will flow and the fact be attested by accompanying biting sensation and pain and sometimes by the ejection of small particles which the Greeks have named ἐφελκύδες).
333Galen, De loc. affect. bk. I. ch. 5., εἰ γοῦν ὑμενώδους χιτῶνος ἐκκριθείη μόριον, ὅτι μὲν ἕλκωσίς ἐστὶ που, δηλώσει.... εἰ δ’ οὐρηθείη τῆς οὐρήθρας αὐτῆς. (If for example a small portion of the membranous coat be shed, this will show there is ulceration somewhere.... And if in micturition particles of the urethra itself be passed). Comp. Paulus Aegineta, loco citato.
333Galen, De loc. affect. bk. I. ch. 5., εἰ γοῦν ὑμενώδους χιτῶνος ἐκκριθείη μόριον, ὅτι μὲν ἕλκωσίς ἐστὶ που, δηλώσει.... εἰ δ’ οὐρηθείη τῆς οὐρήθρας αὐτῆς. (If for example a small portion of the membranous coat be shed, this will show there is ulceration somewhere.... And if in micturition particles of the urethra itself be passed). Comp. Paulus Aegineta, loco citato.
334Galen, De symptom. caus. bk. III. ch. 8., ἴσχονται μὲν γὰρ ἢ ἀδυνατούσης ἐκκρίνειν τῆς κύστεως, ἢ στεγνωθέντος αὐτῆς, τοῦ στομάχου· ταυτὶ μὲν οὖν ἄμφω τὰ νοσήματα τῆς κύστεως ἓν κοινὸν ἔχει σύμπτωμα, τὴν ἰσχουρίαν·—αἱ μὲν οὖνστεγνώσειςτοῦ στομάχου δι᾽ ἔμφραξίν τε καὶμύσινἀποτελοῦνται· καὶ γίνεται ἡ μὲνἔμφραξιςὑπὸ θρόμβου τε καὶ πύου παχέος καὶ λίθου καὶ πώρου καὶ διὰβλάστημάτι κατ’αὐτὸν ἐπιτραφὲν τὸν πόρον ὁποῖα κἀν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν ἐκτὸς ὁρᾶται γινόμενα κατά τε τὰ ὦτα καὶ ῥῖναςαἰδοῖάτε καὶ ἕδραν· ἡ δὲμύσιςἤτοι δι’ὄγκον ἐπὶ φλεγμοναῖς ἀποτελεῖται καὶσκίῤῥοιςκαὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις οἰδήμασιν, ὅσα τε τὸν τράχηλον ἐξαίροντα τῆς κύστεως εἰς τὸν ἐντὸς πόρον ἀποχεῖ τὸν ὄγκον. (For they suffer either because the bladder is unable to secrete or because its orifice is stopped; but both these complaints of the bladder have one symptom in common, viz. retention of urine.... Now thestoppagesof the orifice are produced byblockingor byclosing up; and stoppages are caused by a clot or dense matter or a calculus or chalkstone or some growth that has formed in the actual passage, as is also observed to occur in other, external, organs, the ears, the nostrils, genitals, or fundament; but closure is due either to a tumour following on phlegmonous affections or by indurations or other swellings which dilate the neck of the bladder and discharge the tumour into the internal passage). Comp.Caelius Aurelianusbk. V. ch. 4.
334Galen, De symptom. caus. bk. III. ch. 8., ἴσχονται μὲν γὰρ ἢ ἀδυνατούσης ἐκκρίνειν τῆς κύστεως, ἢ στεγνωθέντος αὐτῆς, τοῦ στομάχου· ταυτὶ μὲν οὖν ἄμφω τὰ νοσήματα τῆς κύστεως ἓν κοινὸν ἔχει σύμπτωμα, τὴν ἰσχουρίαν·—αἱ μὲν οὖνστεγνώσειςτοῦ στομάχου δι᾽ ἔμφραξίν τε καὶμύσινἀποτελοῦνται· καὶ γίνεται ἡ μὲνἔμφραξιςὑπὸ θρόμβου τε καὶ πύου παχέος καὶ λίθου καὶ πώρου καὶ διὰβλάστημάτι κατ’αὐτὸν ἐπιτραφὲν τὸν πόρον ὁποῖα κἀν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν ἐκτὸς ὁρᾶται γινόμενα κατά τε τὰ ὦτα καὶ ῥῖναςαἰδοῖάτε καὶ ἕδραν· ἡ δὲμύσιςἤτοι δι’ὄγκον ἐπὶ φλεγμοναῖς ἀποτελεῖται καὶσκίῤῥοιςκαὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις οἰδήμασιν, ὅσα τε τὸν τράχηλον ἐξαίροντα τῆς κύστεως εἰς τὸν ἐντὸς πόρον ἀποχεῖ τὸν ὄγκον. (For they suffer either because the bladder is unable to secrete or because its orifice is stopped; but both these complaints of the bladder have one symptom in common, viz. retention of urine.... Now thestoppagesof the orifice are produced byblockingor byclosing up; and stoppages are caused by a clot or dense matter or a calculus or chalkstone or some growth that has formed in the actual passage, as is also observed to occur in other, external, organs, the ears, the nostrils, genitals, or fundament; but closure is due either to a tumour following on phlegmonous affections or by indurations or other swellings which dilate the neck of the bladder and discharge the tumour into the internal passage). Comp.Caelius Aurelianusbk. V. ch. 4.
335Galen, De loc. affect. bk. I. ch. 1. (VIII. p. 12.), οὕτω δὲ εἰ καὶ σάρκα τινὰ δι᾽ ἕλκωσιν ἐπιτραφεῖσαν ἡγούμεθα τὸν τράχηλον τῆς κύστεως ἐμφράττειν, ἔκ τε τῶν προηγησαμένων τοῦ ἕλκους σημείων ἔκ τε τοῦ κενωθῆναι τὸ οὖρον ἐπὶ τῷκαθετηρισυλλογιούμεθα· καί ποτε καὶ γενόμενον οἶδα τοιοῦτόν τι πάθημα· διαβαλλομένου γοῦν τοῦ καθετῆρος, ἤλγησεν κατ’ἐκεῖνο τοῦ πόρου τὸ μέρος, ἔνθα καὶ πρότερον ἐτεκμηράμεθα τὴν ἕλκωσιν εἶναι·θλασθείσης δὲ τῆς σαρκὸς ὑπὸ τοῦ καθετῆρος, ἠκολούθησε μὲν μετὰ τὴν τῶν οὔρων ἔκκρισιν αἵματός τέ τι καὶ θρύμματα τῆς σαρκός· ... τὸ δ’εἴτε πάθος εἶναι λεκτέον τοῦ πόρου τὸ γεγονός, εἶτε αἴτιον ἰσχουρίας ἐν τῷ πόρῳ περιέχεσθαι, τῶν ἀχρήστων εἰς τὴν τέχνην ἐστίν. (Accordingly if we suspect some accretion of tissue, the result of ulceration, to be blocking the neck of the bladder, our diagnosis will depend both on the foregoing signs of the existence of an ulcer and also on the fact of the urine being voided on the introduction of acatheter. Sometimes moreover I have noted the following case to occur; on turning the catheter about pain was experienced at the part of the canal where we had previously conjectured the ulceration to be situated, and the tissue being broken down by the catheter, there followed after the evacuation of the urine some blood and particles of tissue.... Whether in this case we ought to describe the mischief as something affecting the urethral canal, or say that the cause is something lying in the same canal, is scientifically unimportant). For the catheter must always have the shape of the passage leading to the bladder (Method. med. bk. IV. ch. 7. X. p. 301.); accordingly it must be bent into the shape of the letter “S” (Introduct. ch. 19. Vol. XIV. p. 788). The inventor of it was Erasistratus (ibid. p. 751.). The employment of the catheter is well described byPaulus Aeginetabk. VI. ch. 59., who adds that different catheters must be used according to age and sex.
335Galen, De loc. affect. bk. I. ch. 1. (VIII. p. 12.), οὕτω δὲ εἰ καὶ σάρκα τινὰ δι᾽ ἕλκωσιν ἐπιτραφεῖσαν ἡγούμεθα τὸν τράχηλον τῆς κύστεως ἐμφράττειν, ἔκ τε τῶν προηγησαμένων τοῦ ἕλκους σημείων ἔκ τε τοῦ κενωθῆναι τὸ οὖρον ἐπὶ τῷκαθετηρισυλλογιούμεθα· καί ποτε καὶ γενόμενον οἶδα τοιοῦτόν τι πάθημα· διαβαλλομένου γοῦν τοῦ καθετῆρος, ἤλγησεν κατ’ἐκεῖνο τοῦ πόρου τὸ μέρος, ἔνθα καὶ πρότερον ἐτεκμηράμεθα τὴν ἕλκωσιν εἶναι·θλασθείσης δὲ τῆς σαρκὸς ὑπὸ τοῦ καθετῆρος, ἠκολούθησε μὲν μετὰ τὴν τῶν οὔρων ἔκκρισιν αἵματός τέ τι καὶ θρύμματα τῆς σαρκός· ... τὸ δ’εἴτε πάθος εἶναι λεκτέον τοῦ πόρου τὸ γεγονός, εἶτε αἴτιον ἰσχουρίας ἐν τῷ πόρῳ περιέχεσθαι, τῶν ἀχρήστων εἰς τὴν τέχνην ἐστίν. (Accordingly if we suspect some accretion of tissue, the result of ulceration, to be blocking the neck of the bladder, our diagnosis will depend both on the foregoing signs of the existence of an ulcer and also on the fact of the urine being voided on the introduction of acatheter. Sometimes moreover I have noted the following case to occur; on turning the catheter about pain was experienced at the part of the canal where we had previously conjectured the ulceration to be situated, and the tissue being broken down by the catheter, there followed after the evacuation of the urine some blood and particles of tissue.... Whether in this case we ought to describe the mischief as something affecting the urethral canal, or say that the cause is something lying in the same canal, is scientifically unimportant). For the catheter must always have the shape of the passage leading to the bladder (Method. med. bk. IV. ch. 7. X. p. 301.); accordingly it must be bent into the shape of the letter “S” (Introduct. ch. 19. Vol. XIV. p. 788). The inventor of it was Erasistratus (ibid. p. 751.). The employment of the catheter is well described byPaulus Aeginetabk. VI. ch. 59., who adds that different catheters must be used according to age and sex.
336Oribasius, Bk. L. ch. 8. (Mai’s Classicor. auctor. e Vatican. codd. edit.—Classical Authors edited from the Vatican MSS.), Vol. IV. p. 187.
336Oribasius, Bk. L. ch. 8. (Mai’s Classicor. auctor. e Vatican. codd. edit.—Classical Authors edited from the Vatican MSS.), Vol. IV. p. 187.
337The word ἰποτήριον is also found written ἰπωτήριον inGalen, De comp. medic. sec. gen. bk. IV. ch. 7. (XIII. p. 725.), who gives it as a φάρμακον (remedy) invented by Heraclides of Tarentum, but which is not described in detail. The word is missing in our Lexicons, though Castellus gives it.
337The word ἰποτήριον is also found written ἰπωτήριον inGalen, De comp. medic. sec. gen. bk. IV. ch. 7. (XIII. p. 725.), who gives it as a φάρμακον (remedy) invented by Heraclides of Tarentum, but which is not described in detail. The word is missing in our Lexicons, though Castellus gives it.
338Galen, In Hippocrat. de diaet. in acut. (XV. p. 759.), γίνεται δ’ἔντασις ὄρχεως ἐνίοτε μὲν ὑπὸ τῆς καθ’ ἑαυτὸν φλεγμονῆς, ἐνιοτε δὲ ὑπό τινος τῶν ἄνω φλεγμαινόντων ἑλκομένου. (Now tension of the testicles occurs sometimes owing to inflammation in the testicles itself, at other times owing to one of more inward parts that are inflamed becoming ulcerated).
338Galen, In Hippocrat. de diaet. in acut. (XV. p. 759.), γίνεται δ’ἔντασις ὄρχεως ἐνίοτε μὲν ὑπὸ τῆς καθ’ ἑαυτὸν φλεγμονῆς, ἐνιοτε δὲ ὑπό τινος τῶν ἄνω φλεγμαινόντων ἑλκομένου. (Now tension of the testicles occurs sometimes owing to inflammation in the testicles itself, at other times owing to one of more inward parts that are inflamed becoming ulcerated).
339Paulus Aegineta, Bk. III. ch. 54.
339Paulus Aegineta, Bk. III. ch. 54.
340Galen, De prognost. ex puls. bk. IV. ch. 10. (IX. p. 416.). Synops. de puls. ch. 31. (ibid. p. 540).
340Galen, De prognost. ex puls. bk. IV. ch. 10. (IX. p. 416.). Synops. de puls. ch. 31. (ibid. p. 540).
341Celsus, Bk. VII. 18. VI. 18.
341Celsus, Bk. VII. 18. VI. 18.
342Hippocrates, de Nat. Homin. edit. Kühn. Vol. I. p. 364.Galen, Vol. XV. p. 131.
342Hippocrates, de Nat. Homin. edit. Kühn. Vol. I. p. 364.Galen, Vol. XV. p. 131.
343Galen, Vol. XI. p. 877., XII. p. 50.
343Galen, Vol. XI. p. 877., XII. p. 50.
344Aretaeus, De sign. chronic. bk. II. ch. 8., θώυμα δὲ τουτέων μέζων, εἰς ὄρχιας καὶ κρεμαστῆρας ἀδόκητον ἄλγος ἐπιφοιτῇ· πολλοὺς τῶν ἰητρῶν ἥδε ἡ ξυμπαθείη λήθει· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐξέταμόν κοτε τοὺς κρεμαστῆρας, ὡς ἰδίην ἔχοντας αἰτίην· (And there is another thing more surprising than this, when the pain suddenly shifts to the testicles and spermatic cords. Now this sympathy between the different organs escapes many physicians; and sometimes they actually cut out the spermatic cords as if these contained the special cause of the suffering). In the edition due to Kühn’s industry the word κρεμαστῆρες is translated bymusculos cremasteres dictos(the muscles called cremasteres). The expression is also found in the “De sign. acut.” II. 6., andPetitin his Commentary on the first named passage declares in all seriousness that the sympathy was sufficiently well known to anatomists, arising from the connection of the cremasteres muscles with the peritonaeum and its processes, which statement appears to rest on the datum ofGalen, De usu partium bk. XIV. ch. 11. (IV. p. 193.) and De semine bk. II. ch. 5. (IV. p. 635.), where the cremasteres certainly are called μυώδη σώματα (muscular bodies) and compared with the round ligaments of the womb. StillGalensays distinctly in the latter passage that they contained arteries, veins and the spermatic ducts, in the Isagoge ch. 11. (XIV. p. 719.) ὃς (γόνος) φέρεται ἐπ’αὐτοὺς διὰ τῶν κρεμαστήρων (it,—the seed,—is conveyed to them through the cremasteres). On the other hand in the “De musc. sect.” Vol. XVIII. B. p. 997., the musculi cremasteres properly so called are clearly described, and the statement added: Τὸ δὲ ἔργον αὐτῶν ἀνατείνειν τὸν ὄρχιν· ὅθεν ἔνιοι κρεμαστῆρας αὐτοὺς ὀνομάζουσι (but their duty is to hold up the testicles, for which reason some name them the cremasteres,—suspenders). Neither Blancard-Kühn nor yet Kraus’s Lexicon give under the word “Cremaster” any meaning but that of the muscles; the same is true of Schneider. Comp.Paulus Aeginetabk. VI. ch. 61., where the spermatic cords are also called παραστάται (supporters), as also by Galen, Defin. med. XIX. p. 362. and De semine bk. I. Vol. IV. p. 565., where they are spoken of as κιρσοειδῆς παραστάται (varicose parastatae). A denomination Herophilus first made use of (Galen IV. p. 582.) and which according toAthenaeusDeipnos. bk. IX. p. 396. was likewise given to the testicles.
344Aretaeus, De sign. chronic. bk. II. ch. 8., θώυμα δὲ τουτέων μέζων, εἰς ὄρχιας καὶ κρεμαστῆρας ἀδόκητον ἄλγος ἐπιφοιτῇ· πολλοὺς τῶν ἰητρῶν ἥδε ἡ ξυμπαθείη λήθει· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐξέταμόν κοτε τοὺς κρεμαστῆρας, ὡς ἰδίην ἔχοντας αἰτίην· (And there is another thing more surprising than this, when the pain suddenly shifts to the testicles and spermatic cords. Now this sympathy between the different organs escapes many physicians; and sometimes they actually cut out the spermatic cords as if these contained the special cause of the suffering). In the edition due to Kühn’s industry the word κρεμαστῆρες is translated bymusculos cremasteres dictos(the muscles called cremasteres). The expression is also found in the “De sign. acut.” II. 6., andPetitin his Commentary on the first named passage declares in all seriousness that the sympathy was sufficiently well known to anatomists, arising from the connection of the cremasteres muscles with the peritonaeum and its processes, which statement appears to rest on the datum ofGalen, De usu partium bk. XIV. ch. 11. (IV. p. 193.) and De semine bk. II. ch. 5. (IV. p. 635.), where the cremasteres certainly are called μυώδη σώματα (muscular bodies) and compared with the round ligaments of the womb. StillGalensays distinctly in the latter passage that they contained arteries, veins and the spermatic ducts, in the Isagoge ch. 11. (XIV. p. 719.) ὃς (γόνος) φέρεται ἐπ’αὐτοὺς διὰ τῶν κρεμαστήρων (it,—the seed,—is conveyed to them through the cremasteres). On the other hand in the “De musc. sect.” Vol. XVIII. B. p. 997., the musculi cremasteres properly so called are clearly described, and the statement added: Τὸ δὲ ἔργον αὐτῶν ἀνατείνειν τὸν ὄρχιν· ὅθεν ἔνιοι κρεμαστῆρας αὐτοὺς ὀνομάζουσι (but their duty is to hold up the testicles, for which reason some name them the cremasteres,—suspenders). Neither Blancard-Kühn nor yet Kraus’s Lexicon give under the word “Cremaster” any meaning but that of the muscles; the same is true of Schneider. Comp.Paulus Aeginetabk. VI. ch. 61., where the spermatic cords are also called παραστάται (supporters), as also by Galen, Defin. med. XIX. p. 362. and De semine bk. I. Vol. IV. p. 565., where they are spoken of as κιρσοειδῆς παραστάται (varicose parastatae). A denomination Herophilus first made use of (Galen IV. p. 582.) and which according toAthenaeusDeipnos. bk. IX. p. 396. was likewise given to the testicles.
345Hippocrates, Epidem. bk. V., edit. Kühn Vol. III. p. 548. Besides Hippocrates mentions almost exclusively the sympathetic swellings of the testicles that occur in cases of interruptions of the respiration, particularly in coughs. Sextus Placitus Papyriensis likewise, ch. 92. 4., ch. 101. 2., speaks of prurigo veretri (itching of the privates).
345Hippocrates, Epidem. bk. V., edit. Kühn Vol. III. p. 548. Besides Hippocrates mentions almost exclusively the sympathetic swellings of the testicles that occur in cases of interruptions of the respiration, particularly in coughs. Sextus Placitus Papyriensis likewise, ch. 92. 4., ch. 101. 2., speaks of prurigo veretri (itching of the privates).
346Galen, De semine ch. 15. (IV. p. 564).
346Galen, De semine ch. 15. (IV. p. 564).
347Galen, De medic. sec. loc. bk. IX. ch. 8. (XIII. p. 317.).Paulus Aeginetabk. III. ch. 54. Both authors also make mention in this connection ofsarcosis testium(swelling of the flesh of the testicles).Rambach, Thesaurus Eroticus, a work which now for the first time is within our reach to consult, quotes underovapro coleis (ova,—eggs, put for testicles):Vel tantus ad ora veniretAut aliis causis ita computresceret ovum,Ne fieri posset quin crudelis medicinaOva recidisset, medici reprobabilis usus.(In fact such foulness appeared, or from other causes the testicle was so rotten, that nought could be done but for cruel surgery to cut out the testicles,—the horrid habit of doctors), and assigns to it the nameOvidius Pseud.Is this perhaps a specimen of those old lines properly to be ascribed to some mediaeval monk?
347Galen, De medic. sec. loc. bk. IX. ch. 8. (XIII. p. 317.).Paulus Aeginetabk. III. ch. 54. Both authors also make mention in this connection ofsarcosis testium(swelling of the flesh of the testicles).Rambach, Thesaurus Eroticus, a work which now for the first time is within our reach to consult, quotes underovapro coleis (ova,—eggs, put for testicles):
Vel tantus ad ora veniretAut aliis causis ita computresceret ovum,Ne fieri posset quin crudelis medicinaOva recidisset, medici reprobabilis usus.
Vel tantus ad ora veniretAut aliis causis ita computresceret ovum,Ne fieri posset quin crudelis medicinaOva recidisset, medici reprobabilis usus.
Vel tantus ad ora veniretAut aliis causis ita computresceret ovum,Ne fieri posset quin crudelis medicinaOva recidisset, medici reprobabilis usus.
Vel tantus ad ora veniret
Aut aliis causis ita computresceret ovum,
Ne fieri posset quin crudelis medicina
Ova recidisset, medici reprobabilis usus.
(In fact such foulness appeared, or from other causes the testicle was so rotten, that nought could be done but for cruel surgery to cut out the testicles,—the horrid habit of doctors), and assigns to it the nameOvidius Pseud.Is this perhaps a specimen of those old lines properly to be ascribed to some mediaeval monk?
348Galen, Method. med. bk. V. ch. 4. (X. p. 325.), καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο ἐπ’ αἰδοίων καὶ ἕδρας εἰς τὴν τοιαύτην ἀνάγκην ἀφικνούμεθα πολλάκις, ὅτι ῥᾳδίως σήπεται τὰ μόρια διά τε τὴν σύμφυτον ὑγρότητα καὶ ὅτι περιττωμάτων εἰσὶν ὀχετοί. (And in this respect with regard to the privates and fundament we constantly come back to the same conditions of causation, viz. that these parts are readily affected by putrefaction, as well owing to their natural moistness as because they are channels for excretions). Commentar. in Hippocrat. De humor. (XVI. p. 414.), ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ φύσις τῶν τόπων οὐ μικρὸν πρὸς τὸ δέχεσθαι σηπεδόνας ποιεῖ· καὶ γὰρ τὸ στόμα καὶ τὰ αἰδοῖα πολλὴν ὑγρότητα τῇ φύσει κέκτηται· καὶ προσέτι τοὺς ἀδένας ἔχουσιν ἐγγὺς, ἄπερ πάντα τὰ περιττὰ εἰσδέχεσθαι πεφύκασιν. (Moreover the nature of the localities has no small influence on their liability to putrefactive changes. For the mouth and the private parts possess much moisture of their very nature; and besides this they have the glands close by, all which circumstances tend naturally to make them the receptacles of excessive moisture). De usu partium bk. XI. ch. 14. (III. p. 910.), ἤδε δὲ καὶ περὶ τὴν τῶν αἰδοίων φύσιν αἱ τρίχες ἅμα μὲν ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἐγένοντο, θερμὰ γὰρ καὶ ὑγρὰ τὰ χωρία. (Now this quality and the fact of the privates being naturally surrounded with hair would seem to be necessary consequences, because the localities are hot and damp).—Cassius, Problem. 2., Cur supremae corporis sedes ad nomas sunt opportunae, similiter et concavae? An quia noma putrefactio est quaedam et sensus interitus atque extinctio. Supremae autem partes ob alimenti penuriam calore facile destituuntur, ita ut hac de causa census ablationem incurrant. Concavae vero ob humidae in ipsis materiae affluentem copiam, cuius occasione putredine corripiunter. (Why are the extreme parts of the body liable to nomae (eating ulcers), and likewise the concave parts? It is because anomais a form of putrefaction and a perishing and extinction of sensation? Now the extreme parts owing to the scantiness of the nourishment they get are easily robbed of heat, so that for this reason they incur loss of sensation. On the other hand the concave parts owing to the excess of moist matter that collects in them, which is the occasion of their being attacked by putrefaction). Comp. what was said above under the head of “Climate”.
348Galen, Method. med. bk. V. ch. 4. (X. p. 325.), καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο ἐπ’ αἰδοίων καὶ ἕδρας εἰς τὴν τοιαύτην ἀνάγκην ἀφικνούμεθα πολλάκις, ὅτι ῥᾳδίως σήπεται τὰ μόρια διά τε τὴν σύμφυτον ὑγρότητα καὶ ὅτι περιττωμάτων εἰσὶν ὀχετοί. (And in this respect with regard to the privates and fundament we constantly come back to the same conditions of causation, viz. that these parts are readily affected by putrefaction, as well owing to their natural moistness as because they are channels for excretions). Commentar. in Hippocrat. De humor. (XVI. p. 414.), ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ φύσις τῶν τόπων οὐ μικρὸν πρὸς τὸ δέχεσθαι σηπεδόνας ποιεῖ· καὶ γὰρ τὸ στόμα καὶ τὰ αἰδοῖα πολλὴν ὑγρότητα τῇ φύσει κέκτηται· καὶ προσέτι τοὺς ἀδένας ἔχουσιν ἐγγὺς, ἄπερ πάντα τὰ περιττὰ εἰσδέχεσθαι πεφύκασιν. (Moreover the nature of the localities has no small influence on their liability to putrefactive changes. For the mouth and the private parts possess much moisture of their very nature; and besides this they have the glands close by, all which circumstances tend naturally to make them the receptacles of excessive moisture). De usu partium bk. XI. ch. 14. (III. p. 910.), ἤδε δὲ καὶ περὶ τὴν τῶν αἰδοίων φύσιν αἱ τρίχες ἅμα μὲν ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἐγένοντο, θερμὰ γὰρ καὶ ὑγρὰ τὰ χωρία. (Now this quality and the fact of the privates being naturally surrounded with hair would seem to be necessary consequences, because the localities are hot and damp).—Cassius, Problem. 2., Cur supremae corporis sedes ad nomas sunt opportunae, similiter et concavae? An quia noma putrefactio est quaedam et sensus interitus atque extinctio. Supremae autem partes ob alimenti penuriam calore facile destituuntur, ita ut hac de causa census ablationem incurrant. Concavae vero ob humidae in ipsis materiae affluentem copiam, cuius occasione putredine corripiunter. (Why are the extreme parts of the body liable to nomae (eating ulcers), and likewise the concave parts? It is because anomais a form of putrefaction and a perishing and extinction of sensation? Now the extreme parts owing to the scantiness of the nourishment they get are easily robbed of heat, so that for this reason they incur loss of sensation. On the other hand the concave parts owing to the excess of moist matter that collects in them, which is the occasion of their being attacked by putrefaction). Comp. what was said above under the head of “Climate”.
349Hippocrates, Aphorism. Vol. III. p. 724.Galen, Vol. XVI. p. 27.
349Hippocrates, Aphorism. Vol. III. p. 724.Galen, Vol. XVI. p. 27.
350Galen, Comment in Hippocrat. De humor. Vol. XVI. p. 414.
350Galen, Comment in Hippocrat. De humor. Vol. XVI. p. 414.