a history of science-1-第31节

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bscess　of　long　standing。　This　so　pleased　the　monarch　that　he　offered　him　as　a　reward　anything　he　might　desire；　except　his　liberty。　But　the　costly　gifts　of　Darius　did　not　satisfy　him　so　long　as　he　remained　a　slave；　and　determined　to　secure　his　freedom　at　any　cost；　he　volunteered　to　lead　some　Persian　spies　into　his　native　country；　promising　to　use　his　influence　in　converting　some　of　the　leading　men　of　his　nation　to　the　Persian　cause。　Laden　with　the　wealth　that　had　been　heaped　upon　him　by　Darius；　he　set　forth　upon　his　mission；　but　upon　reaching　his　native　city　of　Croton　he　threw　off　his　mask；　renounced　his　Persian　mission；　and　became　once　more　a　free　Greek。　While　the　story　of　Democedes　throws　little　light　upon　the　medical　practices　of　the　time；　it　shows　that　paid　city　medical　officers　existed　in　Greece　as　early　as　the　fifth　and　sixth　centuries　B。C。　Even　then　there　were　different　〃schools〃　of　medicine；　whose　disciples　disagreed　radically　in　their　methods　of　treating　diseases；　and　there　were　also　specialists　in　certain　diseases；　quacks；　and　charlatans。　Some　physicians　depended　entirely　upon　external　lotions　for　healing　all　disorders；　others　were　〃hydrotherapeutists〃　or　〃bath…　physicians〃；　while　there　were　a　host　of　physicians　who　administered　a　great　variety　of　herbs　and　drugs。　There　were　also　magicians　who　pretended　to　heal　by　sorcery；　and　great　numbers　of　bone…setters；　oculists；　and　dentists。　Many　of　the　wealthy　physicians　had　hospitals；　or　clinics；　where　patients　were　operated　upon　and　treated。　They　were　not　hospitals　in　our　modern　understanding　of　the　term；　but　were　more　like　dispensaries；　where　patients　were　treated　temporarily；　but　were　not　allowed　to　remain　for　any　length　of　time。　Certain　communities　established　and　supported　these　dispensaries　for　the　care　of　the　poor。　But　anything　approaching　a　rational　system　of　medicine　was　not　established；　until　Hippocrates　of　Cos；　the　〃father　of　medicine；〃　came　upon　the　scene。　In　an　age　that　produced　Phidias；　Lysias；　Herodotus；　Sophocles；　and　Pericles；　it　seems　but　natural　that　the　medical　art　should　find　an　exponent　who　would　rise　above　superstitious　dogmas　and　lay　the　foundation　for　a　medical　science。　His　rejection　of　the　supernatural　alone　stamps　the　greatness　of　his　genius。　But；　besides　this；　he　introduced　more　detailed　observation　of　diseases；　and　demonstrated　the　importance　that　attaches　to　prognosis。　Hippocrates　was　born　at　Cos；　about　460　B。C。；　but　spent　most　of　his　life　at　Larissa；　in　Thessaly。　He　was　educated　as　a　physician　by　his　father；　and　travelled　extensively　as　an　itinerant　practitioner　for　several　years。　His　travels　in　different　climates　and　among　many　different　people　undoubtedly　tended　to　sharpen　his　keen　sense　of　observation。　He　was　a　practical　physician　as　well　as　a　theorist；　and；　withal；　a　clear　and　concise　writer。　〃Life　is　short；〃　he　says；　〃opportunity　fleeting；　judgment　difficult；　treatment　easy；　but　treatment　after　thought　is　proper　and　profitable。〃　His　knowledge　of　anatomy　was　necessarily　very　imperfect；　and　was　gained　largely　from　his　predecessors；　to　whom　he　gave　full　credit。　Dissections　of　the　human　body　were　forbidden　him；　and　he　was　obliged　to　confine　his　experimental　researches　to　operations　on　the　lower　animals。　His　knowledge　of　the　structure　and　arrangement　of　the　bones；　however；　was　fairly　accurate；　but　the　anatomy　of　the　softer　tissues；　as　he　conceived　it；　was　a　queer　jumbling　together　of　blood…vessels；　muscles；　and　tendons。　He　does　refer　to　〃nerves；〃　to　be　sure；　but　apparently　the　structures　referred　to　are　the　tendons　and　ligaments；　rather　than　the　nerves　themselves。　He　was　better　acquainted　with　the　principal　organs　in　the　cavities　of　the　body；　and　knew；　for　example；　that　the　heart　is　divided　into　four　cavities；　two　of　which　he　supposed　to　contain　blood；　and　the　other　two　air。　His　most　revolutionary　step　was　his　divorcing　of　the　supernatural　from　the　natural；　and　establishing　the　fact　that　disease　is　due　to　natural　causes　and　should　be　treated　accordingly。　The　effect　of　such　an　attitude　can　hardly　be　over…estimated。　The　establishment　of　such　a　theory　was　naturally　followed　by　a　close　observation　as　to　the　course　of　diseases　and　the　effects　of　treatment。　To　facilitate　this；　he　introduced　the　custom　of　writing　down　his　observations　as　he　made　themthe　〃clinical　history〃　of　the　case。　Such　clinical　records　are　in　use　all　over　the　world　to…day；　and　their　importance　is　so　obvious　that　it　is　almost　incomprehensible　that　they　should　have　fallen　into　disuse　shortly　after　the　time　of　Hippocrates；　and　not　brought　into　general　use　again　until　almost　two　thousand　years　later。　But　scarcely　less　important　than　his　recognition　of　disease　as　a　natural　phenomenon　was　the　importance　he　attributed　to　prognosis。　Prognosis；　in　the　sense　of　prophecy；　was　common　before　the　time　of　Hippocrates。　But　prognosis；　as　he　practised　it　and　as　we　understand　it　to…day；　is　prophecy　based　on　careful　observation　of　the　course　of　diseasessomething　more　than　superstitious　conjecture。　Although　Hippocratic　medicine　rested　on　the　belief　in　natural　causes；　nevertheless；　dogma　and　theory　held　an　important　place。　The　humoral　theory　of　disease　was　an　all…important　one；　and　so　fully　was　this　theory　accepted　that　it　influenced　the　science　of　medicine　all　through　succeeding　centuries。　According　to　this　celebrated　theory　there　are　four　humors　in　the　body　blood；　phlegm；　yellow　bile；　and　black　bile。　When　these　humors　are　mixed　in　exact　proportions　they　constitute　health；　but　any　deviations　from　these　proportions　produce　disease。　In　treating　diseases　the　aim　of　the　physician　was　to　discover　which　of　these　humors　were　out　of　proportion　and　to　restore　them　to　their　natural　equilibrium。　It　was　in　the　methods　employed　in　this　restitution；　rather　than　a　disagreement　about　the　humors　themselves；　that　resulted　in　the　various　〃schools〃　of　medicine。　In　many　ways　the　surgery　of　Hippocrates　showed　a　better　understanding　of　the　structure　of　the　organs　than　of　their　functions。　Some　of　the　surgical　procedures　as　described　by　him　are　followed；　with　slight　modifications；　to…day。　Many　of　his　methods　were　entirely　lost　sight　of　until　modern　times；　and　one；　the　treatment　of　dislocation　of　the　outer　end　of　the　collar…bone；　was　not　revived　until　some　time　in　the　eighteenth　century。　Hippocrates；　it　seems；　like　modern　physicians；　sometimes　suffered　from　the　ingratitude　of　his　patients。　〃The　physician　visits　a　patient　suffering　from　fever　or　a　wound；　and　prescribes　for　him；〃　he　says；　〃on　the　next　day；　if　the　patient　feels　worse　the　blame　is　laid　upon　the　physician；　if；　on　the　other　hand；　he　feels　better；　nature　is　extolled；　and　the　physician　reaps　no　praise。〃　The　essence　of　this　has　been　repeated　in　rhyme　and　prose　by　writers　in　every　age　and　country；　but　the　〃father　of　medicine〃　cautions　physicians　against　allowing　it　to　influence　their　attitude　towards　their　profession。

VIII。　POST…SOCRATIC　SCIENCE　AT　ATHENSPLATO；　ARISTOTLE；　AND　THEOPHRASTUS　Doubtless　it　has　been　noticed　that　our　earlier　scientists　were　as　far　removed　as　possible　from　the　limitations　of　specialism。　In　point　of　fact；　in　this　early　day；　knowledge　had　not　been　classified　as　it　came　to　be　later　on。　The　philosopher　was；　as　his　name　implied；　a　lover　of　knowledge；　and　he　did　not　find　it　beyond　the　reach　of　his　capacity　to　apply　himself　to　all　departments　of　the　field　of　human　investigation。　It　is　nothing　strange　to　discover　that　Anaximander　and　the　Pythagoreans　and　Anaxagoras　have　propounded　theories　regarding　the　structure　of　the　cosmos；　the　origin　and　development　of　animals　and　man；　and　the　nature　of　matter　itself。　Nowadays；　so　enormously　involved　has　become　the　mass　of　mere　facts　regarding　each　of　these　departments　of　knowledge　that　no　one　man　has　the　temerity　to　attempt　to　master　them　all。　But　it　was　different　in　those　days　of　beginnings。　Then　the　methods　of　observation　were　still　crude；　and　it　was　quite　the　custom　for　a　thinker　of　forceful　personality　to　find　an　eager　following　among　disciples　who　never　thought　of　putting　his　theories　to　the　test　of　experiment。　The　great　lesson　that　true　science　in　the　last　resort　depends　upon　observation　and　measurement；　upon　compass　and　balance；　had　not　yet　been　learned；　though　here　and　there　a　thinker　like　Anaxagoras　had　gained　an　inkling　of　it。　For　the　moment；　indeed；　there　in　Attica；　which　was　now；　thanks　to　that　outburst　of　Periclean　culture；　the　centre　of　the　world's　civilization；　the　trend　of　thought　was　to　take　quite　another　direction。　The　very　year　which　saw　the　birth　of　Democritus　at　Abdera；　and　of　Hippocrates；　marked　also　the　birth；　at　Athens；　of　another　remarkable　man；　whose　influence　it　would　scarcely　be　possible　to　over…estimate。　This　man　was　Socrates。　The　main　facts　of　his　history　are　familiar　to　every　one。　It　will　be　recalled　that　Socrates　spent　his　entire　life　in　Athens；　mingling　everywhere　with　the　populace；　haranguing；　so　the　tradition　goes；　every　one　who　would　listen；　inculcating　moral　lessons；　and　finally　incurring　the　disapprobation　of　at　least　a　voting　majority　of　his　fellow…citizens。　He　gathered　about　him　a　company　of　remarkable　men　with　Plato　at　their　head；　but　this　could　not　save　him　from　the　disapprobation　of　the　multitudes；　at　whose　hands　he　suffered　death；　legally　administered　after　a　public　trial。　The　fac