Herophilus and Erasistratus : a bibliographical demonstration in the Library of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, 16th March, 1893 / by James Finlayson.

Date:
1893
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Herophilus and Erasistratus : a bibliographical demonstration in the Library of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, 16th March, 1893 / by James Finlayson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    sister's son; but this is not confirmed by any other writer, and, indeed, there is a clear statement by others that he was the son of Cretoxena and Cleombi^otus.* Three special teachers are named for him. First, Chrysippus of Cnidus.f Cnidus was a rival school to that of Cos, and we* can understand that the rivalry of these schools may have affected the relationships of Erasistratus and Herophilus, as the latter was a disciple of Praxagoras of Cos, and this may also account for the antagonism of their respective followers. As Hippocrates belonged to a rival school, Erasistratus no doubt felt himself freer to differ from the Hippocratic teaching than many others. The second teacher named is Metrodorus, :|: who was the third husband of Pythias, the daughter of Aristotle; in this way the name of Erasistratus is brought into relationship with that of Aristotle. The third is Theophrastus, § who is referred to as a possible or probable teacher of Erasistratus. There can be little doubt that Erasistratus, as well as Herophilus, flourished in Alexandria in the time of Ptolemy Soter; but the following story of the cure of Antiochus, when in love with Stratonice, seems to fix some date prior to 280 B.C. (when Seleucus died) as a time in his life when he had already become famous as a physician. * Siiidas, Lexicon, edition by Beruhardy, Halls, 1852 (under his name) : Erasistratus, lulietes ex luliade Cei insulae urbe assertus igitur ut Ceus, filius Cretoxenae, Medii medici sororis et Cleombroti. t Diogenes Laertius : De vitis dogmatis et apothegmatis clarorum philosophorum libri decern. Huebarer's edition, Lipsiae, 1828, vol. ii, p. 222 ; Chrysippus : Fuit autem et alius Chrysippus Cnidius niedicus, a quo Erasistratus testatur multa didicisse. I Sextus Erapiricus, Opera, edition by Fabricius, Lipsiae, 1841: Adversus Grammaticos, Lib. I, cap. xii, p. 258 : Pythias autem, tilia Aristotelis, nupsit tribus viris . . . tertio autem Metrodoro medico Chrysippi Cnidii discipulo, praeceptori Erasistrati. j5 Diogenes Laertius, op. cit., vol. i, ]). 35.3. Theophrastus : Sunt qui dicant Erasistratum medicum hujus fuisse auditorem et veri simile est. See also Theophrasti JSresii, Graece et Latine, Opera Omnia, edition by Heinsius, Lugd. Bat. 1613, where this life is prefixed.