Chapter 29

[263]De Placit. Hippocrat. et Platon.[264]De Acut., i., 7; de Chron., i., 13.[265]See Galen, de Facult. Natural., i.; de Diff. Febr., ii.; de Usu Pulsuum, i.; and Alexander Trallian, i.[266]In Epidem. Comm., iii., 29, etc.[267]See the remarks on this passage in the next section.[268]De Cosmopœa.[269]Opera, tom. v., p. 594; ed. Basil.[270]Καλὸν καὶ αγαθὸν. See the Annotations on Mitchell’s Aristophanes as to the import of this expression. I quote from memory.[271]I quote here from memory, not having leisure to search the passages in Galen’s works where this saying occurs. It is a maxim, however, which he frequently repeats.[272]One word (ἰχθύη) which occurs in this work is in the Glossaries of Galen and Erotian. This is likely to be an interpolation.[273]Tuscul. Disputat., v., 35.[274]In vita Platonis.[275]I have always looked upon the “Epistolæ Græcanicæ” as being a species of literary composition allied to theDeclamationesof the Romans, that is to say, that they were mere exercises in composition. On the latter, see Quintilian, Instit. Orator., iv., 2. We possess a volume of these Declamations under the name of Quintilian, but they are not generally admitted to be genuine. They are exercises on themes prescribed in the schools of rhetoric. The subjects were sometimes historical events, connected with the lives of distinguished personages. The poet Juvenal alludes to Declamations in several places, as in Satir. i., 16; x., 167; vi., 169; vii., 161. The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter opens with a powerful invective against the declaimers of the day, whom the author holds to have been the corrupters of all true eloquence.[276]Scaliger, Menage, Gruner, and Littré, although they regard the Epistles as spurious, admit that they are “very ancient.”[277]See Diog. Lært. ix. Ælian. Var. Hist. iv., 20.[278]Chemical Essays, vol. iv., Essay 7.[279]Ocellus Lucanus, On the Universe.[280]Αόγοι γὰρ ἀσώματοι τυγχάνουσι τούτων.[281]Ocellus Lucanus, On the Universe.[282]Ibid.[283]Timæus Locrus, On the Soul of the Universe.[284]Diogenes Laertius, Life of Pythagoras. That Monad and Duad, in the symbolical language of Pythagoras, signified Mind and Matter, is positively stated by Philo Judæus. Ἑπόμενος δ' ἀκολουθίᾳ ύσεως κἀκεῖνο λέξω ὅτι μουὰς εἴκων αἰτίου πρώτου, δυὰς δε παθητῆς καὶ διαιρετῆς ὕλης.—De Specialibus Legibus. It may be proper to mention here that it is not true, as has been often stated in modern works, that Pythagoras himself taught the same system of the world as Copernicus; the first person who did so was Philolaus the Pythagorean philosopher. See Diogenes Laertius.[285]Jamblichus, Life of Pythagoras, § 27. I have adopted the emendation of the text proposed by Obrechtus.[286]Ovid’s Metamorph., translated by Dryden, BookXV.[287]Plato, in his Timæus.[288]Ἐκμαγεῖον. Harris, in his Philosophical Arrangements, translates this word by “impression”; but it does not, strictly speaking, signify impression, but the substance which receives the impression. Wax, for example, is not the impression of the seal, but the substance which receives the impression. Matter, in like manner, is not the impression of forms, but the substance which receives the impression.[289]Plato, in his Timæus.[290]Ibid. These opinions regarding the elements and the first matter are expressed with much precision and clearness; but, in other parts of his Timæus, it must be admitted that he betrays some confusion of ideas on this subject, as is remarked by his illustrious pupil Aristotle (De Ortu et Interitu, ii., 1). A translation of part of Plato’s Timæus regarding the elements, may be seen in the Somnium Scipionis of Macrobius, lib. i.[291]Apuleius the Platonic Philosopher, On Natural Philosophy.[292]Idem, On the Universe.[293]Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods, ii., 33.[294]Plotinus, Ennead ii., 4.[295]Plotinus, Ennead ii., 6.[296]Proclus, Inst. Theol., 72.[297]Plutarch, On the Opinions of the Philosophers.[298]Galen, On the Elements, etc., ii.[299]Galen, Commentary on the Nature of Man.[300]Idem, On the Elements, etc.[301]Philo, on the Creation of the World.[302]On the Indestructibility of the Universe.[303]On the Creation.[304]On a Contemplative Life.[305]Haly Abbas, Theor., i., 5.[306]Auscult. Natur., i., near the end.[307]Categor.[308]On Birth and Death, ii., 1.[309]Auscult. Phys., iv.[310]Simplicius, Comment. in Auscult. Nat., iv.[311]Ammonius, Comment. in Porphyr. Introd.[312]Ibid.[313]Theophrastus, On Fire.[314]Ibid.[315]Cicero, Quæd. Acad., i., 6.[316]Cicero, Quæd. Acad., i., 7.[317]Diogenes Laertius, in the Life of Zeno the Stoic. The reader must take care not to confound him with Zeno the Eclectic.[318]Seneca, Ep. 65.[319]Seneca, Nat. Quæst., ii., 15.[320]Seneca, Nat. Quæst., iii., 10.[321]Lactantius, Div. Inst., iii., 3.[322]See under ἀρχαι.[323]Plutarch, Concerning the Opinions of the Philosophers.[324]Simplicius, Comm. in Aristot. Auscult. Nat., p. 7; ed. Ald.[325]Marcus Antoninus, iv., 46.[326]Ibid.[327]Ibid.[328]Manilius, Astron., iii., 53:—“Principium rerum et custos natures latentûmCum tantas strueret moles per inania mundi:*****Aëraque et terras flammamque undamque natantemMutua in alternum præbere alimenta juberet.”[329]Lucretius, Of the Nature of Things, Book i., translated by Creech.[330]Cicero, Acad. Quæst., i., 2; Galen, de Elementis.[331]Diogenes Laertius, Life of Democritus.[332]Ἡ ὔλη ἄποιος. Galen, de Element. ex Hippocrat.[333]The eternity of matter is a doctrine which was maintained by all the ancient philosophers and by several of the Christian fathers of the church, but is generally rejected by our modern divines as being, in their opinion, contradictory to Revelation. But were it really so, it would hardly have found an advocate in the learned and pious author of “Paradise Lost.” That such was truly his opinion can now admit of no doubt, from what he states on the subject in his treatise on Christianity, published some years ago by the present Archbishop of Canterbury; and the same might have been inferred from more than one passage in his great poem. The Jewish philosopher, Philo, seems to admit the eternity of matter, although he denies the eternity of the world. (On the Creation.)[334]“There are varieties,” says Strabo, “of the watery element; for this kind is saltish, and that sweet, and fit for drink; and others again poisonous, salutary, deadly, cold, and hot.”—Geograph., xvii., 1. See also Aristot., Meteorol.[335]Aristotle inquires whether the atmosphere be a single substance or many, and if many, of how many it consists. (Meteorol., i., 3.) I may be allowed to remark in this place, that Galen’s ideas regarding respiration are wonderfully accurate, and not very different from those now entertained by the profession. Thus he compares the process of respiration to combustion, and says it produces the same change upon atmospheric air. He further agrees with modern physiologists in considering it as the vital operation by which the innate (or animal) heat is preserved. (De Respiratione.) Compare this treatise with Baron Cuvier’s admirable section on Respiration and observe on how many points these two great physiologists agree. (Leçons d’Anatom. Compar., 26.)[336]Timæus.[337]De Igne.[338]De Partibus Animalium, ii., 2. His great commentator, Averrhoes the Arabian, states this distinction very correctly. See Cantic. Avicennæ, tr. v.[339]Lucan’s Pharsalia, i., 157, 606.[340]De Carnibus. (See the preceding section.) In like manner Phornutus says, “our souls are fire.” (De Nature Deorum, ap. Gale’s Opuscula Mythologica, p. 142.) Such is also said to have been the doctrine of Hippocrates and Democritus. See Macrobius (Somnium Scipionis, i., 14); and Nemesius (de Nat. Hominis). In the Hippocratic treatise De Septimadibus, which M. Littré has discovered in Latin, the essence of the soul is held to be heat. (Ed. Littré, i., p. 391.)[341]De Partibus Animalium, ii., 7.[342]De Anima, ii., 4.[343]Ὄτι πᾶν ἐκ πάντος γινέσθαι πέφυκε.—Aristot. de Ortu et Interitu. et Auscultationes Naturales, i.[344]See Simon’s Chemistry, vol. i., p. 118, and the authorities there referred to.[345]Baron Cuvier says: “En un mot, toutes les fonctions animales paroissent en reduire à des transformations de fluides; et c’est dans la manière dont ces transformations s’opérent, que gît le véritable secret de cette admirable économie.”—Leçons d’Anatom. Comp. lib. i.[346]It will be readily understood that allusion is here made to the diseases ossification and osteosarcoma.[347]The same application of this myth is made by Eustatheus, the commentator on Homer (ad Odyss., iv., 417), and by Heraclides Ponticus (Gale’s Opuscula Mytholog., p. 490). The words of Heraclides are very striking: “That hence it was with good reason that the formless matter was called Proteus; and that Providence which modified each being with its peculiar form and character was called Eidothia.”[348]De Sapient. Vet., cap. xiii.[349]Op. cit., iv.[350]These opinions of Newton bear a strong resemblance to those of Strabo, as expressed in the following passage: “Since all things are in motion and undergoing great changes, it is to be supposed that neither does the earth always remain the same, so as neither to be augmented nor diminished; nor yet water; nor that either always possesses the same seat, for that a change of one thing into another seems very much according to nature. For that much earth is converted into water, and much water into earth.”—Geograph., xvii., 1.[351]See p. 120, Ray Society’s edition.[352]See Simon’s Chemistry, vol. i., p. 5; Sydenham Society’s edition. The etymology of the termproteinis there given from πρωτέυω,I am first; but it may more properly be derived from Proteus, to which, as we have mentioned above, the first matter was likened.[353]Lucretius, de R. N., i., 48.[354]I have always looked upon the story of the Sirens as being one of the most beautiful fictions in the Homeric poems. By the two Sirens I cannot but think that the poet meant to represent Philosophy and Melody, these being, as it were, the handmaids of Poetry. They assail the virtue of Ulysses with no vulgar temptations, by assuring him that they were well acquainted with all the martial exploits in which he had been engaged, and that he would leave them “much delighted, and with an increase of knowledge.”Ἀλλ’ ὄγε τερψάμενος νεἰται καὶ πλέιονα ἐιδώς.Odyss, xii., 188.[355]Diogenes Laertius, in fact, states that Xenophanes, the founder of the school, held the doctrine of the four elements. On the Eleatic philosophy, see further, Aristotle (de Xenophane; and Metaphys., i., 5); and, of the modern authorities Ritter (History of Ancient Philosophy, vol. i.,) and Grote (Hist. of Greece, tom. iv., p. 518, etc.) Whether or not these modern authors, however, have rightly apprehended the doctrine of Xenophanes and Anaximander with regard to the elements, may, I think, be justly doubted. Dr. Thirlwall gives a very judicious exposition of the ethical opinions of the Eleatic philosophers, but does not touch on their physical. (Hist. of Greece, § 12.)[356]M. Littré is inclined to give the Pythagorean philosopher, Alcmæon, the credit of priority in broaching the philosophical theory which runs through this treatise. His only authority, however, on this point is Plutarch (De Placit. Philos., v., 30); whereas Galen, as he admits, says expressly that Hippocrates himself is the author of this theory. Now, I must say that, of the two, Galen appears to me to be the better authority, being profoundly skilled both in medical and philosophical literature. But further, neither Diogenes Laertius in his life, nor any other writer who has noticed Alcmæon, says anything of his having promulgated the theory of the Crasis.[357]Tom. i., p. 567.[358]See Note, p. 191.[359]The invention of bread must have been very ancient, as is obvious from the circumstance of its being referred to a mythological name, that is to say, DemeterorCeres. The ancients would appear to have paid great attention to the manufacture of bread. See Athenæus Deipnos, iii., 26; andPaulus Ægineta, B. I., 78, Syd. Soc. edition.[360]The maza was a sort of puddingorcake made from barley-meal mixed up with water, oil, milk, oxymel, hydromel, or the like. It also was a very ancient invention, for it is mentioned in one of the works of Hesiod, which is universally allowed to be genuine, I mean the Opera et Dies, 1., 588.[361]We have stated in our brief sketch of the Life of Hippocrates, that he studied the application of gymnastics to medicine under the great master of the art, Herodicus. He was a native of Selymbra in Thrace, and is generally represented as the father of medicinal gymnastics; but, as we have mentioned above, this statement must be received with considerable allowance, since there is every reason to believe that the Asclepiadæ applied exercises to the cure of diseases.[362]He means both the pilot and physician.[363]Καθαρὸς ἄρτος ἢ συγκομιστός. There has been some difference of opinion regarding these two kinds of bread; but it appears to me probable that the former was made of flour from which the bran had been entirely excluded, and the other from flour containing the whole of the bran. Later authorities called the onesiligo, and the otherautopyrus. SeePaulus Ægineta, Vol. I., p. 121.[364]He alludes here to the secretions and humors in the body. See the Commentary of Heurnius.[365]See Littré, h. 1.[366]Meaning probably the diaphragm, with its membranes. See the Commentary of Heurnius, p. 92.[367]Meaning the mammæ, according to Heurnius.[368]Such as the spleen and lungs.[369]Although I shall touch cursorily on this subject in my annotations, I cannot deny myself the pleasure of setting down here the following passage from the treatise of Longinus “On the Sublime.” It is to be borne in mind that it was written by a noble-minded Greek, who lived at the court of an Oriental despot, and must have been a daily observer of the effects which he so feelingly depicts. Who does not lament to think of a generous mind placed under circumstances where cowardice is honored and courage debased? And what more melancholy picture of human misery can be imagined than that which is here exhibited of the bodily and mental powers in a state of arrested development from the effects of confinement?Ἥμισυ γάρ τ' ἀρετῆς (κατὰ τὸν Ὅμηρον) ἀποαίνυται δύλιον ἦμαρ· ὥσπερ οὖν (εἴγε γησὶ, τοῦτο πιστόν ἐστι) ἀκούω τὰ γλωττόκομα, ἐν οἱς οἱ Πυγμαῖοι καλούμενοι νάνοι τρέφονται, οὐ μόνον κωγύει τῶν εγκεκλεισμένων τὰς αὐξήσεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ συνάγει διὰ τὸν περικείμενον τοῖς σώμασι δεσμόν· οὒ τως ἅπασαν δουλείαν, καὶ ἦ δικαιοτάτη, ψυχῆς γλωττόκομον, καὶ κοιόν δή τις ἀποφήναιτο δεσωπτήριον.—§ 39.[370]M. Littré thus states the four principal points to which Hippocrates here directs attention:“1st. Il cherche quelle est, sur le maintein de la santé et la production des maladies, l’influence de l’exposition des villes par rapport au soleil et aux vents.“2d. Il examine quelles sont les propriétés des eaux, bonnes ou mauvaises.“3d. Il s’efforce de signaler les maladies qui prédominent suivant les saisons, et suivant les alternatives que chacune d’elles épreuve.“4th. Enfin, il compare l’Europe et l’Asie, et it rattache les différences physiques et morales qui en séparent les habitants, aux différences du sol et du climat.”He goes on, however, to state, that these four questions, although neatly put, are merely sketched, and half insinuates that it is a defect in the work, that it merely contains our author’s assertions, without the corresponding proofs. In a modern work, he remarks, the mode of procedure would be different; for it would be expected that the general truths should be supported by detailed and prolonged statistics on particular facts. It is to be borne in mind, however, that the work of Hippocrates was probably meant merely as a text-book, on which were grounded his public prelections, wherein would, no doubt, be given all the necessary proofs and illustrations. In this respect, it resembles the esoteric works of Aristotle, of which the author of them said that when they were published the contents of them, in one sense, were not communicated to the public, as they would be unintelligible without the illustrations by which they were accompanied when delivered in his school. In conclusion, I would beg leave to remark that, if the work of Hippocrates, in its present form, appear defective when compared with what a modern work on the same subject would be expected to be, it has also peculiar traits which would hardly be matched in a modern composition. In a modern work we might have a greater abundance of particular facts, and a more copious detail of individual observations, but would there be such an exuberance of general truths, of grand results, and of original reflections?[371]The classical reader is referred to Theophrastus’ treatise De Signis Aquarum et Ventorum, for much interesting information on this subject.—See also Galen, Op. tom. v., p. 346, 347, ed. Basil.[372]I. 105.[373]It appears to me, however, that the meaning of Longinus in this place is rather overstrained.[374]Coster, Défense des (Œvres de Voiture, etc., p. 194.[375]Réponse à l’Apologie de Voiture, par Coster, p. 54.[376]Memoria Scythica, in Comm. Petropol. p. 377–78.[377]P. vi., p. 35.[378]Notæ in Longinum.[379]Comment, in vetus Monument, p. 415.[380]Nosol. Meth. p. 365.[381]De maribus inter Scythas morbo effeminatis, etc., p. 28.[382]Hipp. de Aere, etc., t. ii., p. 326.[383]Morb. Târd. iv., 9.[384]Hist. of Greece, pluries.[385]The part in parenthesis is rather obscure. In the old French translation it is rendered thus: “Elles sont très différentes entre elles par leur nature, et il arrive d’ailleurs une infinité de changemens qui sont tous divers.” On these changes, see Aphor. iii., 2–15.[386]I have translated this passage agreeably to the reading suggested by Coray, that is to say, ὀυκ ἐδωδὸς, which appears to be a great improvement, although it is not adopted by Littré. Without the negation (ὀυκ) the contrast between the first and the last clause of the sentence is entirely lost. It will be remarked that I have translated ἀριστητάι, eating to excess. The ἄριστον, or dinner, was a meal which persons of regular habits seldom partook of, and hence Suetonius mentions it as an instance of Domitian’s gormandising propensities, that he was in the habit of taking dinner.—See Vita Domitiani; alsoPaulus Ægineta, B. I., 109.[387]It will be remarked that our author uses meteorology and astronomy almost as synonymous terms. In his time meteorology was looked upon by practical men as a visionary subject of investigation, which had a tendency to make those who engaged in it atheists, and the enemies of Socrates took advantage of the prejudices then prevailing against it to represent him as a meteorologist. See Aristophanes (Nub. 225.) Aristophanes, who would appear to have been always too ready to pander to the popular prejudices of the day, also represents the physicians as being “meteorological impostors,”—μετεωροφένακας. (Ibid. 330.) The enlightened mind of Aristotle, however, regarded meteorology in a very different light, and accordingly he wrote a work on the subject replete with all the astronomical and geological knowledge of his time. In it he professes to treat of the heavenly bodies and atmospherical phenomena, including winds, earthquakes and the like; also of minerals, fossils, etc. See the introduction to hisMeteorologica.[388]Upon reference to the editions of Coray, Clifton, and Littré, it will be seen that the text here is in a doubtful state. I shall not weary the reader by stating my reasons for adhering to the meaning which I have adopted.[389]In place of the common reading, παιδίον, Coray adopts θεῖον which certainly, at first sight, appears to be an improvement. But I admit, with Littré, that the authority of Galen (tom. v., p. 447, ed. Basil), is quite decisive in favour of παιδίον. It is also to be taken into account in this place that the author of the treatise on Dentition brings prominently into view the connection between infancy and convulsions, which adds probability to the supposition that in those days convulsions may have been called “the disease of infancy.”[390]The Hepialus is a species of intermittent fever, very common in warm climates. It would appear to be a variety of the quotidian. SeePaulus Ægineta, Vol. I., 252, Syd. Soc. edition.[391]Frequent mention of this disease of the skin occurs in the works of the ancient writers on medicine. SeePaulus Ægineta, Vol. II., 40. We have there stated that it would appear to have been some species of Eczema, with which we are now unacquainted. Coray has a very lengthy note on it, but arrives at no satisfactory conclusions on the subject. He brings into review three cutaneous diseases, namely, thebouton d’Alep.. (described, Mémoir. de la Société Royale de Médic., année 1777, 1778, t. i., p. 313;) thepelagre, (described, Toaldo, Essai Méteorolog., pp. 19, 20; Comment. de Rebus in Scient. Nat. et Médec. Gestis., tom. xxxi., p. 553; and Journ. de Médec. tom. lxxx., p. 272;) and thelepre des Asturiesormal de la rosa, (described by Thieri, Journ. de Médec., tom. ii., p. 337.)

[263]De Placit. Hippocrat. et Platon.

[264]De Acut., i., 7; de Chron., i., 13.

[265]See Galen, de Facult. Natural., i.; de Diff. Febr., ii.; de Usu Pulsuum, i.; and Alexander Trallian, i.

[266]In Epidem. Comm., iii., 29, etc.

[267]See the remarks on this passage in the next section.

[268]De Cosmopœa.

[269]Opera, tom. v., p. 594; ed. Basil.

[270]Καλὸν καὶ αγαθὸν. See the Annotations on Mitchell’s Aristophanes as to the import of this expression. I quote from memory.

[271]I quote here from memory, not having leisure to search the passages in Galen’s works where this saying occurs. It is a maxim, however, which he frequently repeats.

[272]One word (ἰχθύη) which occurs in this work is in the Glossaries of Galen and Erotian. This is likely to be an interpolation.

[273]Tuscul. Disputat., v., 35.

[274]In vita Platonis.

[275]I have always looked upon the “Epistolæ Græcanicæ” as being a species of literary composition allied to theDeclamationesof the Romans, that is to say, that they were mere exercises in composition. On the latter, see Quintilian, Instit. Orator., iv., 2. We possess a volume of these Declamations under the name of Quintilian, but they are not generally admitted to be genuine. They are exercises on themes prescribed in the schools of rhetoric. The subjects were sometimes historical events, connected with the lives of distinguished personages. The poet Juvenal alludes to Declamations in several places, as in Satir. i., 16; x., 167; vi., 169; vii., 161. The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter opens with a powerful invective against the declaimers of the day, whom the author holds to have been the corrupters of all true eloquence.

[276]Scaliger, Menage, Gruner, and Littré, although they regard the Epistles as spurious, admit that they are “very ancient.”

[277]See Diog. Lært. ix. Ælian. Var. Hist. iv., 20.

[278]Chemical Essays, vol. iv., Essay 7.

[279]Ocellus Lucanus, On the Universe.

[280]Αόγοι γὰρ ἀσώματοι τυγχάνουσι τούτων.

[281]Ocellus Lucanus, On the Universe.

[282]Ibid.

[283]Timæus Locrus, On the Soul of the Universe.

[284]Diogenes Laertius, Life of Pythagoras. That Monad and Duad, in the symbolical language of Pythagoras, signified Mind and Matter, is positively stated by Philo Judæus. Ἑπόμενος δ' ἀκολουθίᾳ ύσεως κἀκεῖνο λέξω ὅτι μουὰς εἴκων αἰτίου πρώτου, δυὰς δε παθητῆς καὶ διαιρετῆς ὕλης.—De Specialibus Legibus. It may be proper to mention here that it is not true, as has been often stated in modern works, that Pythagoras himself taught the same system of the world as Copernicus; the first person who did so was Philolaus the Pythagorean philosopher. See Diogenes Laertius.

[285]Jamblichus, Life of Pythagoras, § 27. I have adopted the emendation of the text proposed by Obrechtus.

[286]Ovid’s Metamorph., translated by Dryden, BookXV.

[287]Plato, in his Timæus.

[288]Ἐκμαγεῖον. Harris, in his Philosophical Arrangements, translates this word by “impression”; but it does not, strictly speaking, signify impression, but the substance which receives the impression. Wax, for example, is not the impression of the seal, but the substance which receives the impression. Matter, in like manner, is not the impression of forms, but the substance which receives the impression.

[289]Plato, in his Timæus.

[290]Ibid. These opinions regarding the elements and the first matter are expressed with much precision and clearness; but, in other parts of his Timæus, it must be admitted that he betrays some confusion of ideas on this subject, as is remarked by his illustrious pupil Aristotle (De Ortu et Interitu, ii., 1). A translation of part of Plato’s Timæus regarding the elements, may be seen in the Somnium Scipionis of Macrobius, lib. i.

[291]Apuleius the Platonic Philosopher, On Natural Philosophy.

[292]Idem, On the Universe.

[293]Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods, ii., 33.

[294]Plotinus, Ennead ii., 4.

[295]Plotinus, Ennead ii., 6.

[296]Proclus, Inst. Theol., 72.

[297]Plutarch, On the Opinions of the Philosophers.

[298]Galen, On the Elements, etc., ii.

[299]Galen, Commentary on the Nature of Man.

[300]Idem, On the Elements, etc.

[301]Philo, on the Creation of the World.

[302]On the Indestructibility of the Universe.

[303]On the Creation.

[304]On a Contemplative Life.

[305]Haly Abbas, Theor., i., 5.

[306]Auscult. Natur., i., near the end.

[307]Categor.

[308]On Birth and Death, ii., 1.

[309]Auscult. Phys., iv.

[310]Simplicius, Comment. in Auscult. Nat., iv.

[311]Ammonius, Comment. in Porphyr. Introd.

[312]Ibid.

[313]Theophrastus, On Fire.

[314]Ibid.

[315]Cicero, Quæd. Acad., i., 6.

[316]Cicero, Quæd. Acad., i., 7.

[317]Diogenes Laertius, in the Life of Zeno the Stoic. The reader must take care not to confound him with Zeno the Eclectic.

[318]Seneca, Ep. 65.

[319]Seneca, Nat. Quæst., ii., 15.

[320]Seneca, Nat. Quæst., iii., 10.

[321]Lactantius, Div. Inst., iii., 3.

[322]See under ἀρχαι.

[323]Plutarch, Concerning the Opinions of the Philosophers.

[324]Simplicius, Comm. in Aristot. Auscult. Nat., p. 7; ed. Ald.

[325]Marcus Antoninus, iv., 46.

[326]Ibid.

[327]Ibid.

[328]Manilius, Astron., iii., 53:—“Principium rerum et custos natures latentûmCum tantas strueret moles per inania mundi:*****Aëraque et terras flammamque undamque natantemMutua in alternum præbere alimenta juberet.”

[328]Manilius, Astron., iii., 53:—

“Principium rerum et custos natures latentûmCum tantas strueret moles per inania mundi:*****Aëraque et terras flammamque undamque natantemMutua in alternum præbere alimenta juberet.”

“Principium rerum et custos natures latentûmCum tantas strueret moles per inania mundi:

“Principium rerum et custos natures latentûm

Cum tantas strueret moles per inania mundi:

*****

Aëraque et terras flammamque undamque natantemMutua in alternum præbere alimenta juberet.”

Aëraque et terras flammamque undamque natantem

Mutua in alternum præbere alimenta juberet.”

[329]Lucretius, Of the Nature of Things, Book i., translated by Creech.

[330]Cicero, Acad. Quæst., i., 2; Galen, de Elementis.

[331]Diogenes Laertius, Life of Democritus.

[332]Ἡ ὔλη ἄποιος. Galen, de Element. ex Hippocrat.

[333]The eternity of matter is a doctrine which was maintained by all the ancient philosophers and by several of the Christian fathers of the church, but is generally rejected by our modern divines as being, in their opinion, contradictory to Revelation. But were it really so, it would hardly have found an advocate in the learned and pious author of “Paradise Lost.” That such was truly his opinion can now admit of no doubt, from what he states on the subject in his treatise on Christianity, published some years ago by the present Archbishop of Canterbury; and the same might have been inferred from more than one passage in his great poem. The Jewish philosopher, Philo, seems to admit the eternity of matter, although he denies the eternity of the world. (On the Creation.)

[334]“There are varieties,” says Strabo, “of the watery element; for this kind is saltish, and that sweet, and fit for drink; and others again poisonous, salutary, deadly, cold, and hot.”—Geograph., xvii., 1. See also Aristot., Meteorol.

[335]Aristotle inquires whether the atmosphere be a single substance or many, and if many, of how many it consists. (Meteorol., i., 3.) I may be allowed to remark in this place, that Galen’s ideas regarding respiration are wonderfully accurate, and not very different from those now entertained by the profession. Thus he compares the process of respiration to combustion, and says it produces the same change upon atmospheric air. He further agrees with modern physiologists in considering it as the vital operation by which the innate (or animal) heat is preserved. (De Respiratione.) Compare this treatise with Baron Cuvier’s admirable section on Respiration and observe on how many points these two great physiologists agree. (Leçons d’Anatom. Compar., 26.)

[336]Timæus.

[337]De Igne.

[338]De Partibus Animalium, ii., 2. His great commentator, Averrhoes the Arabian, states this distinction very correctly. See Cantic. Avicennæ, tr. v.

[339]Lucan’s Pharsalia, i., 157, 606.

[340]De Carnibus. (See the preceding section.) In like manner Phornutus says, “our souls are fire.” (De Nature Deorum, ap. Gale’s Opuscula Mythologica, p. 142.) Such is also said to have been the doctrine of Hippocrates and Democritus. See Macrobius (Somnium Scipionis, i., 14); and Nemesius (de Nat. Hominis). In the Hippocratic treatise De Septimadibus, which M. Littré has discovered in Latin, the essence of the soul is held to be heat. (Ed. Littré, i., p. 391.)

[341]De Partibus Animalium, ii., 7.

[342]De Anima, ii., 4.

[343]Ὄτι πᾶν ἐκ πάντος γινέσθαι πέφυκε.—Aristot. de Ortu et Interitu. et Auscultationes Naturales, i.

[344]See Simon’s Chemistry, vol. i., p. 118, and the authorities there referred to.

[345]Baron Cuvier says: “En un mot, toutes les fonctions animales paroissent en reduire à des transformations de fluides; et c’est dans la manière dont ces transformations s’opérent, que gît le véritable secret de cette admirable économie.”—Leçons d’Anatom. Comp. lib. i.

[346]It will be readily understood that allusion is here made to the diseases ossification and osteosarcoma.

[347]The same application of this myth is made by Eustatheus, the commentator on Homer (ad Odyss., iv., 417), and by Heraclides Ponticus (Gale’s Opuscula Mytholog., p. 490). The words of Heraclides are very striking: “That hence it was with good reason that the formless matter was called Proteus; and that Providence which modified each being with its peculiar form and character was called Eidothia.”

[348]De Sapient. Vet., cap. xiii.

[349]Op. cit., iv.

[350]These opinions of Newton bear a strong resemblance to those of Strabo, as expressed in the following passage: “Since all things are in motion and undergoing great changes, it is to be supposed that neither does the earth always remain the same, so as neither to be augmented nor diminished; nor yet water; nor that either always possesses the same seat, for that a change of one thing into another seems very much according to nature. For that much earth is converted into water, and much water into earth.”—Geograph., xvii., 1.

[351]See p. 120, Ray Society’s edition.

[352]See Simon’s Chemistry, vol. i., p. 5; Sydenham Society’s edition. The etymology of the termproteinis there given from πρωτέυω,I am first; but it may more properly be derived from Proteus, to which, as we have mentioned above, the first matter was likened.

[353]Lucretius, de R. N., i., 48.

[354]I have always looked upon the story of the Sirens as being one of the most beautiful fictions in the Homeric poems. By the two Sirens I cannot but think that the poet meant to represent Philosophy and Melody, these being, as it were, the handmaids of Poetry. They assail the virtue of Ulysses with no vulgar temptations, by assuring him that they were well acquainted with all the martial exploits in which he had been engaged, and that he would leave them “much delighted, and with an increase of knowledge.”Ἀλλ’ ὄγε τερψάμενος νεἰται καὶ πλέιονα ἐιδώς.Odyss, xii., 188.

Ἀλλ’ ὄγε τερψάμενος νεἰται καὶ πλέιονα ἐιδώς.Odyss, xii., 188.

Ἀλλ’ ὄγε τερψάμενος νεἰται καὶ πλέιονα ἐιδώς.

Odyss, xii., 188.

[355]Diogenes Laertius, in fact, states that Xenophanes, the founder of the school, held the doctrine of the four elements. On the Eleatic philosophy, see further, Aristotle (de Xenophane; and Metaphys., i., 5); and, of the modern authorities Ritter (History of Ancient Philosophy, vol. i.,) and Grote (Hist. of Greece, tom. iv., p. 518, etc.) Whether or not these modern authors, however, have rightly apprehended the doctrine of Xenophanes and Anaximander with regard to the elements, may, I think, be justly doubted. Dr. Thirlwall gives a very judicious exposition of the ethical opinions of the Eleatic philosophers, but does not touch on their physical. (Hist. of Greece, § 12.)

[356]M. Littré is inclined to give the Pythagorean philosopher, Alcmæon, the credit of priority in broaching the philosophical theory which runs through this treatise. His only authority, however, on this point is Plutarch (De Placit. Philos., v., 30); whereas Galen, as he admits, says expressly that Hippocrates himself is the author of this theory. Now, I must say that, of the two, Galen appears to me to be the better authority, being profoundly skilled both in medical and philosophical literature. But further, neither Diogenes Laertius in his life, nor any other writer who has noticed Alcmæon, says anything of his having promulgated the theory of the Crasis.

[357]Tom. i., p. 567.

[358]See Note, p. 191.

[359]The invention of bread must have been very ancient, as is obvious from the circumstance of its being referred to a mythological name, that is to say, DemeterorCeres. The ancients would appear to have paid great attention to the manufacture of bread. See Athenæus Deipnos, iii., 26; andPaulus Ægineta, B. I., 78, Syd. Soc. edition.

[360]The maza was a sort of puddingorcake made from barley-meal mixed up with water, oil, milk, oxymel, hydromel, or the like. It also was a very ancient invention, for it is mentioned in one of the works of Hesiod, which is universally allowed to be genuine, I mean the Opera et Dies, 1., 588.

[361]We have stated in our brief sketch of the Life of Hippocrates, that he studied the application of gymnastics to medicine under the great master of the art, Herodicus. He was a native of Selymbra in Thrace, and is generally represented as the father of medicinal gymnastics; but, as we have mentioned above, this statement must be received with considerable allowance, since there is every reason to believe that the Asclepiadæ applied exercises to the cure of diseases.

[362]He means both the pilot and physician.

[363]Καθαρὸς ἄρτος ἢ συγκομιστός. There has been some difference of opinion regarding these two kinds of bread; but it appears to me probable that the former was made of flour from which the bran had been entirely excluded, and the other from flour containing the whole of the bran. Later authorities called the onesiligo, and the otherautopyrus. SeePaulus Ægineta, Vol. I., p. 121.

[364]He alludes here to the secretions and humors in the body. See the Commentary of Heurnius.

[365]See Littré, h. 1.

[366]Meaning probably the diaphragm, with its membranes. See the Commentary of Heurnius, p. 92.

[367]Meaning the mammæ, according to Heurnius.

[368]Such as the spleen and lungs.

[369]Although I shall touch cursorily on this subject in my annotations, I cannot deny myself the pleasure of setting down here the following passage from the treatise of Longinus “On the Sublime.” It is to be borne in mind that it was written by a noble-minded Greek, who lived at the court of an Oriental despot, and must have been a daily observer of the effects which he so feelingly depicts. Who does not lament to think of a generous mind placed under circumstances where cowardice is honored and courage debased? And what more melancholy picture of human misery can be imagined than that which is here exhibited of the bodily and mental powers in a state of arrested development from the effects of confinement?Ἥμισυ γάρ τ' ἀρετῆς (κατὰ τὸν Ὅμηρον) ἀποαίνυται δύλιον ἦμαρ· ὥσπερ οὖν (εἴγε γησὶ, τοῦτο πιστόν ἐστι) ἀκούω τὰ γλωττόκομα, ἐν οἱς οἱ Πυγμαῖοι καλούμενοι νάνοι τρέφονται, οὐ μόνον κωγύει τῶν εγκεκλεισμένων τὰς αὐξήσεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ συνάγει διὰ τὸν περικείμενον τοῖς σώμασι δεσμόν· οὒ τως ἅπασαν δουλείαν, καὶ ἦ δικαιοτάτη, ψυχῆς γλωττόκομον, καὶ κοιόν δή τις ἀποφήναιτο δεσωπτήριον.—§ 39.

Ἥμισυ γάρ τ' ἀρετῆς (κατὰ τὸν Ὅμηρον) ἀποαίνυται δύλιον ἦμαρ· ὥσπερ οὖν (εἴγε γησὶ, τοῦτο πιστόν ἐστι) ἀκούω τὰ γλωττόκομα, ἐν οἱς οἱ Πυγμαῖοι καλούμενοι νάνοι τρέφονται, οὐ μόνον κωγύει τῶν εγκεκλεισμένων τὰς αὐξήσεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ συνάγει διὰ τὸν περικείμενον τοῖς σώμασι δεσμόν· οὒ τως ἅπασαν δουλείαν, καὶ ἦ δικαιοτάτη, ψυχῆς γλωττόκομον, καὶ κοιόν δή τις ἀποφήναιτο δεσωπτήριον.—§ 39.

[370]M. Littré thus states the four principal points to which Hippocrates here directs attention:“1st. Il cherche quelle est, sur le maintein de la santé et la production des maladies, l’influence de l’exposition des villes par rapport au soleil et aux vents.“2d. Il examine quelles sont les propriétés des eaux, bonnes ou mauvaises.“3d. Il s’efforce de signaler les maladies qui prédominent suivant les saisons, et suivant les alternatives que chacune d’elles épreuve.“4th. Enfin, il compare l’Europe et l’Asie, et it rattache les différences physiques et morales qui en séparent les habitants, aux différences du sol et du climat.”He goes on, however, to state, that these four questions, although neatly put, are merely sketched, and half insinuates that it is a defect in the work, that it merely contains our author’s assertions, without the corresponding proofs. In a modern work, he remarks, the mode of procedure would be different; for it would be expected that the general truths should be supported by detailed and prolonged statistics on particular facts. It is to be borne in mind, however, that the work of Hippocrates was probably meant merely as a text-book, on which were grounded his public prelections, wherein would, no doubt, be given all the necessary proofs and illustrations. In this respect, it resembles the esoteric works of Aristotle, of which the author of them said that when they were published the contents of them, in one sense, were not communicated to the public, as they would be unintelligible without the illustrations by which they were accompanied when delivered in his school. In conclusion, I would beg leave to remark that, if the work of Hippocrates, in its present form, appear defective when compared with what a modern work on the same subject would be expected to be, it has also peculiar traits which would hardly be matched in a modern composition. In a modern work we might have a greater abundance of particular facts, and a more copious detail of individual observations, but would there be such an exuberance of general truths, of grand results, and of original reflections?

[370]M. Littré thus states the four principal points to which Hippocrates here directs attention:

“1st. Il cherche quelle est, sur le maintein de la santé et la production des maladies, l’influence de l’exposition des villes par rapport au soleil et aux vents.

“2d. Il examine quelles sont les propriétés des eaux, bonnes ou mauvaises.

“3d. Il s’efforce de signaler les maladies qui prédominent suivant les saisons, et suivant les alternatives que chacune d’elles épreuve.

“4th. Enfin, il compare l’Europe et l’Asie, et it rattache les différences physiques et morales qui en séparent les habitants, aux différences du sol et du climat.”

He goes on, however, to state, that these four questions, although neatly put, are merely sketched, and half insinuates that it is a defect in the work, that it merely contains our author’s assertions, without the corresponding proofs. In a modern work, he remarks, the mode of procedure would be different; for it would be expected that the general truths should be supported by detailed and prolonged statistics on particular facts. It is to be borne in mind, however, that the work of Hippocrates was probably meant merely as a text-book, on which were grounded his public prelections, wherein would, no doubt, be given all the necessary proofs and illustrations. In this respect, it resembles the esoteric works of Aristotle, of which the author of them said that when they were published the contents of them, in one sense, were not communicated to the public, as they would be unintelligible without the illustrations by which they were accompanied when delivered in his school. In conclusion, I would beg leave to remark that, if the work of Hippocrates, in its present form, appear defective when compared with what a modern work on the same subject would be expected to be, it has also peculiar traits which would hardly be matched in a modern composition. In a modern work we might have a greater abundance of particular facts, and a more copious detail of individual observations, but would there be such an exuberance of general truths, of grand results, and of original reflections?

[371]The classical reader is referred to Theophrastus’ treatise De Signis Aquarum et Ventorum, for much interesting information on this subject.—See also Galen, Op. tom. v., p. 346, 347, ed. Basil.

[372]I. 105.

[373]It appears to me, however, that the meaning of Longinus in this place is rather overstrained.

[374]Coster, Défense des (Œvres de Voiture, etc., p. 194.

[375]Réponse à l’Apologie de Voiture, par Coster, p. 54.

[376]Memoria Scythica, in Comm. Petropol. p. 377–78.

[377]P. vi., p. 35.

[378]Notæ in Longinum.

[379]Comment, in vetus Monument, p. 415.

[380]Nosol. Meth. p. 365.

[381]De maribus inter Scythas morbo effeminatis, etc., p. 28.

[382]Hipp. de Aere, etc., t. ii., p. 326.

[383]Morb. Târd. iv., 9.

[384]Hist. of Greece, pluries.

[385]The part in parenthesis is rather obscure. In the old French translation it is rendered thus: “Elles sont très différentes entre elles par leur nature, et il arrive d’ailleurs une infinité de changemens qui sont tous divers.” On these changes, see Aphor. iii., 2–15.

[386]I have translated this passage agreeably to the reading suggested by Coray, that is to say, ὀυκ ἐδωδὸς, which appears to be a great improvement, although it is not adopted by Littré. Without the negation (ὀυκ) the contrast between the first and the last clause of the sentence is entirely lost. It will be remarked that I have translated ἀριστητάι, eating to excess. The ἄριστον, or dinner, was a meal which persons of regular habits seldom partook of, and hence Suetonius mentions it as an instance of Domitian’s gormandising propensities, that he was in the habit of taking dinner.—See Vita Domitiani; alsoPaulus Ægineta, B. I., 109.

[387]It will be remarked that our author uses meteorology and astronomy almost as synonymous terms. In his time meteorology was looked upon by practical men as a visionary subject of investigation, which had a tendency to make those who engaged in it atheists, and the enemies of Socrates took advantage of the prejudices then prevailing against it to represent him as a meteorologist. See Aristophanes (Nub. 225.) Aristophanes, who would appear to have been always too ready to pander to the popular prejudices of the day, also represents the physicians as being “meteorological impostors,”—μετεωροφένακας. (Ibid. 330.) The enlightened mind of Aristotle, however, regarded meteorology in a very different light, and accordingly he wrote a work on the subject replete with all the astronomical and geological knowledge of his time. In it he professes to treat of the heavenly bodies and atmospherical phenomena, including winds, earthquakes and the like; also of minerals, fossils, etc. See the introduction to hisMeteorologica.

[388]Upon reference to the editions of Coray, Clifton, and Littré, it will be seen that the text here is in a doubtful state. I shall not weary the reader by stating my reasons for adhering to the meaning which I have adopted.

[389]In place of the common reading, παιδίον, Coray adopts θεῖον which certainly, at first sight, appears to be an improvement. But I admit, with Littré, that the authority of Galen (tom. v., p. 447, ed. Basil), is quite decisive in favour of παιδίον. It is also to be taken into account in this place that the author of the treatise on Dentition brings prominently into view the connection between infancy and convulsions, which adds probability to the supposition that in those days convulsions may have been called “the disease of infancy.”

[390]The Hepialus is a species of intermittent fever, very common in warm climates. It would appear to be a variety of the quotidian. SeePaulus Ægineta, Vol. I., 252, Syd. Soc. edition.

[391]Frequent mention of this disease of the skin occurs in the works of the ancient writers on medicine. SeePaulus Ægineta, Vol. II., 40. We have there stated that it would appear to have been some species of Eczema, with which we are now unacquainted. Coray has a very lengthy note on it, but arrives at no satisfactory conclusions on the subject. He brings into review three cutaneous diseases, namely, thebouton d’Alep.. (described, Mémoir. de la Société Royale de Médic., année 1777, 1778, t. i., p. 313;) thepelagre, (described, Toaldo, Essai Méteorolog., pp. 19, 20; Comment. de Rebus in Scient. Nat. et Médec. Gestis., tom. xxxi., p. 553; and Journ. de Médec. tom. lxxx., p. 272;) and thelepre des Asturiesormal de la rosa, (described by Thieri, Journ. de Médec., tom. ii., p. 337.)

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