An historical sketch of medicine and surgery, from their origin to the present time, and of the principal authors, discoveries, improvements, imperfections and errors / by W. Black, M.D.

  • William Black
Date:
1782
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An historical sketch of medicine and surgery, from their origin to the present time, and of the principal authors, discoveries, improvements, imperfections and errors / by W. Black, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by University of Bristol Library. The original may be consulted at University of Bristol Library.

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    \ t 63 ] various exerdfes and baths, in the cure of feveral difeafes, and like all the Methodics to a multi- tude of external Applications, Fomentations, Undions, Fridions, Cataplafms, and to the Die- tetic regimen. Aret^us is clafTed as one of the Pneumatic or Spiritual fed, who eftabliflied a fifth element; but which in fad feems only to have meant the air we breathe in refpiration. His fyftem and ideas of the proximate caufes of difeafes roll upon the fenfible qualities of the four ancient elements, Boerhaave efteemed Aretaeus equal to Hippocrates, and adds, “ Hujus autem viri audoritatem Hip- “ pocrati equalem habemus, in hoc etiam emicuit “ fupra Hippocratem quod ad fuas Clafies et ca- “ pita fparfa Hippocratis redigerit,’* Haller con- fiders him as greatly fuperior to Hippocrates; but obferves, that he had the advantage to live long after the Father of Medicine, and to profit by his difcoveries. The commmendation of two fuch excellent critics renders any farther encomium on this refpedable Ancient fuperfluous. Authors are at a lofs to fix the precife time when Aretaeus wrote, whether fhortly before or after Galen. About the commencement of the Chriftian era, during the reigns of Auguftus and Tiberius, Celfus lived at Rome. Difputcs not yet adjufied have arifen, whether he followed Medicine as a profeflion, or only attended to it as an entertain- ing objed of Science. His fyftem of Medicine and Surgery, it is agreed, rivals the firft in anti- quity.