Which one covers the various areas of medical practice more
thoroughly?
Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome_nodrm
Natural History 29.
1; tr.
Jones.
]
? ? ? 94
A Medical Miracle Man Who Declined to Give an Encore Performance
bestowed on them by states. [Tr. A. M. Harmon. Lucian. (1-2; 23. ) Volume V. LCL, 1936. Page numbers: 477, 479, 511, 513. ]
AFTERMATH
The son concludes his case by stating that there is no cure on the horizon for his stepmother, not even if "she takes medicine a thousand times," and that therefore, it is imprudent to embark upon a course of treatment. He also pledges that if his father should have a relapse, that he (the son) would once again attempt to effect a cure, despite the one, and possibly two, disownments inflicted upon him by his father. Further, he reminds his father that it was through shouting, arguments, anger, and hatred that his first bout of insanity was trig- gered, and by continuing to display those maladaptive character traits, he might well bring on a second one.
Lucian does not reveal whether the disownment action was upheld by the court.
ASK YOURSELF
1. Do you think the disowned son was right to refuse treatment to his stepmother, or should he have at least tried to administer a remedy, in the hope that it might work?
2. If you were sitting on the jury in this case, would you have supported or denied the
father's case for disownment? Why?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Inthemodernworld,itmightbeconsideredinappropriateorevenuneth- ical for a physician to deliver health care services to an immediate family
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? DIVINE HEALING FOR A BATTLE WOUND
The connection between the gods and the art of medicine is illustrated by the two physicians who accompanied the Greek forces during the Trojan War: Machaon and Podalirius, both sons of Asclepius, god of medicine. In Book 4 of the Iliad, the Greek warrior-king Menelaus has been shot by an arrow and is bleeding profusely; Machaon is hurriedly summoned:
And gaining the place where red-haired Menelaus nursed his wound and a growing ring of warlords pressed around him, striding into their midst
the godsent healer reached the captain's side
and quickly drew the shaft from his buckled belt -
he pulled it clear, the sharp barbs broke back.
He loosed the glittering belt and slipped it off
and the loin-piece and the plated guard below it,
gear the bronzesmiths made. When he saw the wound
where the tearing arrow hit, he sucked out the blood
and deftly applied the healing salves that Chiron,
friend of Asclepius, gave his father long ago. [Homer. Iliad 4; tr. Fagles. ]
? ? 95
Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
96
member. This does not appear to have been the case in the ancient world.
Why not, do you suppose?
e Weknowverylittleaboutwhatmighthaveconstitutedmedicalmalpractice
in the ancient world, but there seems to have been a tradition to hold physi- cians blameless in the event that their treatments failed. The disowned son apparently hints at that idea when he proclaims that the practice of medi- cine "should not be subject to enslavement by the law, or to voting and judicial punishment [i. e. , no medical malpractice lawsuits should be allowed! ], or to fear a father's threats and a layman's wrath. " In the same sec- tion, the son argues that the medical profession should be "unrestricted . . . for those who practice it. " Research ancient Greek law and judicial pro- cedure, to see if you can find any examples of the prosecution of physicians for real or perceived incompetence.
Further Information
Baldwin, Barry. Studies in Lucian. Toronto, 1973.
Branham, Bracht. Unruly Eloquence: Lucian and the Comedy of Traditions. Cambridge, MA,
1989.
Jones, Christopher P. Culture and Society in Lucian. Cambridge, MA, 1986.
Website
Bibliography to Lucian: A Select and Evolving Guide. http://classics. uc. edu/~johnson/ Lucian/bibliography. htm
Bibliography for Document
Bury. R. G. (tr. ). Plato. Laws. Volume II. [LCL. ] London and Cambridge, 1926.
Fagles, Robert (tr. ). Homer: The Iliad. New York, 1990.
Harmon, A. M. (tr. ). Lucian. Volume V. [LCL. ] Cambridge and London, 1936.
Jones, W. H. S. (tr. ). Pliny: Natural History. Volume VIII. [LCL. ] London and Cambridge,
1963.
20. HOW TO OBTAIN GOOD HEALTH, AND KEEP IT
INTRODUCTION
Aulus Cornelius Celsus (first century CE) wrote an encyclopedic work covering agriculture, medicine, military matters, oratory, and philosophy. But only the portion on medicine (De Medicina) survives intact. The treatise was so highly regarded that it earned its author such laudatory epithets as the "Roman Hippocrates" and the "Cicero of Physicians. "
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. The document is excerpted from portions of Book 1 of De Medicina; the material presented is introductory. In later chapters, the author covers more detailed and specific topics concerning the practice of medicine, including an overview of the major organs of the body and remedies for ailments that afflict them; a description of various kinds of drugs and antidotes; treatments for wounds and injuries; surgical procedures; and a general description of fractures and dislocations.
2. The Roman essayist Quintilian reveals that Celsus did not confine his writings to medicine, but also wrote treatises on agriculture and military matters. Quintilian considers Celsus to have been a reliable authority on all topics on which he wrote.
Document: Good Health . . . and How
to Maintain It
A man in health, who is both vigorous and his own master, should be under no obligatory rules, and have no need, either for a medical attendant, or for a [masseuse] and anointer. His kind of life should afford him variety; he should now be in the country, now in town, and more often about the farm. He should sail, hunt, rest sometimes, but more often take exercise. For while inaction weakens the body, work strengthens it. The former brings on premature old age, the latter prolongs youth.
It is well also at times to go to the bath, at times to make use of cold waters; to undergo sometimes [anointing], sometimes to neglect that same; to avoid no
? ? ? ? ? 97
Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
kind of food in common use; to attend at times a ban- quet, at times to hold aloof; to eat more than sufficient at one time, at another no more; to take food twice rather than once a day, and always as much as one wants, provided one digests it. But while exercise and food of this sort are necessaries, those of the athletes are redundant. For in the one class [i. e. , the exercise regimen] any break in the routine of exercise, owing to necessities of civil life, affects the body injuriously, and in the other [i. e. , the dietary regimen], bodies thus fed up in their fashion age very quickly and become infirm. . .
On waking, one should lie still for a while, then, except in winter time, bathe the face freely with cold water. When the days are long, the siesta should be taken before the midday meal, when short, after it. In winter, it is best to rest in bed the whole night long; if there must be study by lamplight, it should not be immediately after taking food, but after digestion. He who has been engaged in the day, whether in domestic or on public affairs, ought to keep some portion of the day for the care of the body. The primary care in this respect is exercise, which should always precede the taking of food. The exercise should be ampler in the case of one who has labored less and digested well. It should be lighter in the case of one who is fatigued and has digested less well.
Useful exercises are: reading aloud, drill [a` la sol- diers], handball, running, walking, but this is not by any means most useful on the level, since walking up and down hill varies the movement of the body, unless indeed the body is thoroughly weak. But it is better to walk in the open air than under cover; better, when the head allows of it, in the sun than in the shade; better under the shade of a wall or of trees than under a roof; better a straight than a winding walk. But the exercise ought to come to an end with sweating, or at any rate [tiredness], which should be well this side of fatigue . . . But in these matters, as before, the example of athletes should not be followed, with their fixed rules and immoderate labor. [Tr. W. G. Spencer. Celsus: De Medicina. (1. 2. 1,4-7. ) Volume I. LCL, 1935. Page numbers: 43, 47, 49. ]
AFTERMATH
Topics covered in the remainder of Book 1 include advice on the kinds and amounts of food that ought to be consumed; how to deal with the various changes in life, such as occupation, place of residence, and the aging process; how to gain or lose
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? handball: Various kinds of throwing, catching, and bouncing ball games were popular with the Romans, perhaps none more so than trigon, apparently similar to three-sided catch, in which the players threw the ball to one another. Points could be earned or lost with catches or drops, respectively.
lamplight: Pliny the Younger informs us that his famous uncle, the natu- ral scientist--and prolific author-- Pliny the Elder, often worked at night, by lamplight, not with any view toward getting a head start on the next day's agenda, but simply to gain time for additional research. Sometimes, he would arise at mid- night, or one or two o'clock in the morning, to study and write.
[masseuse] and anointer: The Latin term iatralipta ("masseuse/anointer") covers both procedures. In one of his subsequent chapters, Celsus details the role of massage in medical care, noting that it should be used when- ever a weak body needs toning, or one that is too hard requires soften- ing, or when a thin or sickly body needs nourishment.
redundant: In a famous passage from his now-fragmentary play Autolycus, Euripides lambasts overfed athletes: "Although there are myriads of evils throughout Greece, there is nothing worse than the race of athletes. First of all, they neither learn how to live a good life, nor could they possibly do so. For how could a man who is a slave to his jaw and obedient to his belly acquire wealth to surpass than of his father? " [tr. Robinson]
? ? ? ? ? 98
weight; purging and vomiting; lifestyle choices that should be made depending on age and time of year; instructions for people who are susceptible to various and specific kinds of ail- ments (such as headaches, stomach pains, muscular aches and pains); and how to remain healthy during epidemics.
W. G. Spencer, the translator of the document, proclaims that Celsus's work has been highly regarded by scholars and historians of all subsequent time periods, and that Celsus richly deserves to be favorably compared with Cicero.
ASK YOURSELF
1. What parts of Celsus's "prescriptions" for good health sound contemporary? Does he articulate any advice that seems injurious or outdated?
2. What do you think of Euripides's harsh assessment of overfed athletes? Can you think of any modern examples of the kind of athletes described by Euripides?
3. Why do you suppose Celsus recommends reading aloud as a "useful exercise"?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Would it be possible to draw a parallel between the dietary excesses of ancient athletes (i. e. , the sort of excesses about which both Celsus and Euripides complain) and the stories of steroid abuse by modern athletes? In other words, could the food overindulgences of ancient athletes have long-term consequences similar to those suffered by modern steroid users? (Euripides goes on to say that "in their prime, [the athletes] make a brilliant spectacle as they go about and are the pride of the state; but when bitter old age comes upon them, they are gone like coarse cloaks which have lost their nap. ")
e DelvefurtherintothewritingsofHippocratesandCelsus,(mostlikely)the two most notable Greek and Roman physicians, respectively. Which of the two authors seems more authoritative?
Which one covers the various areas of medical practice more thoroughly?
Further Information
Garrison, Fielding. An Introduction to the History of Medicine. Philadelphia, 1929. Langslow, D. R. Medical Latin in the Roman Empire. Oxford, 2000. Scarborough, John. Roman Medicine. Ithaca, NY, 1969.
Website
Celsus on Medicine. http://penelope. uchicago. edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Celsus/ Introduction*. html
Bibliography for Document
Robinson, Rachel Sargent. Sources for the History of Greek Athletics. Ann Arbor, MI, 1927. Spencer, W. G. (tr. ). Celsus: De Medicina. Volume I. [LCL. ] London and Cambridge, 1935.
How to Obtain Good Health, and Keep It
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21. HOW THE MIND CAN HEAL THE BODY
INTRODUCTION
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (a. k. a. Seneca the Younger, to distinguish him from his father, Seneca the Elder) flourished in the first century CE. He produced a wide variety of literary works, including philosophical treatises, moral essays, letters (all addressed to his friend Lucilius), and plays. He was also one of the wealthiest men of his time; his net worth was estimated at 300,000,000 sesterces.
Seneca undertook the potentially dangerous task of serving as a tutor for the crazed emperor Nero. As Nero's madness grew steadily worse, Seneca found himself increasingly unable to restrain him, and so he resigned his position and withdrew from Nero's court. Unfortunately, he was later implicated in a plot to assassinate Nero (in 65 CE) and forced to commit suicide.
The document is excerpted from one of his 124 letters to Lucilius. The letters detail Seneca's views on a massive range of topics, such as using time wisely; the advantages of mental training over physical; retirement; festivals; wisdom; scientific discovery; drunken- ness; the simple life; and many more.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. The ancient Romans (and the ancient Greeks) strongly believed in the mind-body connection, and that one could not enjoy health in one realm without health also in the other. Seneca's letter reflects those beliefs.
2. The Romans recognized walking as a particularly healthful exercise. The Younger Pliny wrote a very interesting account [3. 1] of a friend of his, one Vestricius Spurinna, a vigorous septuagenarian and a devotee of walking. "This is the rule strictly observed by Spurinna [writes Pliny]: . . . every morning . . . [he] calls for his shoes and takes a three-mile walk to exercise mind and body. " [The mind-body con- nection again! After a brief rest, he takes a seven-mile ride in a carriage, and then embarks upon a second walk, this time for one mile. And later in the day:] "When summoned to his bath in mid-afternoon in winter, and an hour earlier in summer, he first removes his clothes and takes a walk in the sunshine if there is no wind, and then throws a ball briskly for some time, this being another form of exercise whereby he keeps old age at bay . . . The result is that Spurinna has passed
? ? ? ? 101
Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
his seventy-seventh year, but his sight and hearing are unimpaired, and he is physi- cally agile and energetic; old age has brought him nothing but wisdom. " [Pliny the Younger. Letters 3. 1; tr. Radice. ] In other letters, Seneca expresses skepticism about strenuous exercises, such as weightlifting, running, or jumping. However, he seems to think that walking is an ideal form of physical activity.
Document: The Mind-Body Connection
[Epistle 78]
That you are frequently troubled by the snuffling of catarrh and by short attacks of fever which follow after long and chronic catarrhal seizures, I am sorry to hear, particularly because I have experienced this sort of illness myself, and scorned it in its early stages. For when I was still young, I could put up with hardships and show a bold front to illness. But I finally succumbed, and arrived at such a state
that I could do nothing but snuffle, reduced as I was to the extremity of thinness . . .
Now I shall tell you what consoled me during those days, stating at the outset that these very aids to my peace of mind were as efficacious as medicine. Honorable consolation results in a cure, and whatever has uplifted the soul helps the body also. My studies were my salvation. I place it to the credit of philosophy that I recovered, and regained my strength. I owe my life to philosophy, and that is the least of my obligations! My friends, too, helped me greatly toward good health; I used to be comforted by their cheering words, by the hours they spent at my bedside, and by their conversa- tion. Nothing, my excellent Lucilius, refreshes and aids a sick man so much as the affection of his friends . . .
These, then, are the remedies to which you should have recourse. The physician will prescribe [how much your should walk and how much you should exercise]; he will warn you not to become addicted to idleness, as is the tendency of the inactive; he will order you to read in a louder voice and to exercise your lungs, the passages and cavity of which are affected; or to sail and shake up your bowels by a little mild motion. He will recommend proper food, and the suitable time for aid- ing your strength with wine, or refraining from it in order to keep your cough from being irritated and hacking . . .
This, too, will help [to overcome illness and pain]-- to turn the mind aside to thoughts of other things, and thus depart from pain. Call to mind what honorable or brave deeds you have done; consider the good side of your own life. Run over in your memory those things
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? catarrh: destillatio in Latin, a word meaning congestion.
illness: Interestingly, the Latin word translated as "illness," valetudo (which is the word used here by Seneca), was neutral; it could mean either good or bad health.
physician: Our English word "doctor" comes directly from Latin, but the Latin word doctor does not refer to a medical practitioner. Rather, it is closely related to the verb docere, to teach. Hence, a Roman doctor was a teacher, or an instructor. The Latin word for physician was medicus (which is the term Seneca uses in his letter).
thinness: According to the historian Dio Cassius, the emperor Cali- gula (reigned 37-41 CE) envied Seneca's oratorical skills and con- sidered having him executed. But the emperor's advisors talked him out of it, arguing that Seneca's fragile health would do him in soon enough.
you: A reference to the author's friend Lucilius.
? ? ? 102
which you have particularly admired. Then think of all the brave men who have conquered pain: of him who continued to read his book as he allowed the cutting out of varicose veins; of him who did not cease to smile, though that very smile so enraged his torturers that they tried upon him every instru- ment of cruelty. You may tell me now of whatever you like: of colds, hard coughing spells that bring up parts of our entrails, fever that parches our very vitals, thirst, limbs so twisted that the joints protrude in different directions; yet worse than these are [various instruments of torture, which Seneca graphi- cally describes] . . . Nevertheless there have been men who have not uttered a moan amid these tortures . . . Can you not bring yourself, after an example like this, to make a mock at pain? [Tr. Richard M. Gummere. Seneca: Ad Lucilium Epistulae Morales. (78). Volume II. LCL, 1920. Page numbers: 181, 183, 185, 193. ]
AFTERMATH
It might be argued that with Seneca's forced suicide, the final restraint on Nero's extravagant behavior snapped. Undoubtedly, the emperor's reign of terror accelerated once Seneca was out of the picture. In an ironic postscript to Seneca's death, his wife, Pompeia Paulina, who had vowed to die with him and had begun the process by opening her veins, was restored to life, by Nero's orders, when her wounds were bandaged by his attendants. Apparently, Nero suspected that public opinion would be badly enough inflamed against him as a result of Seneca's suicide, and that the ill-will created by that act would only become worse if it appeared that Paulina were also a victim of his madness.
ASK YOURSELF
1. Imagine that you were the recipient of this letter. What would your reactions be? Do you agree with Seneca that a study of philosophy could aid in the recovery from physical illness? And what about his claim that "nothing . . . refreshes and aids a sick man [or woman! ] so much as the affection of his friends. " Does that sound plausible?
2. What do you think about Seneca's description of the kinds of healthy lifestyle choices that a Roman physician might prescribe: walking; reading in a loud voice; taking a ride in a sailing ship, to "shake up the bowels"; and proper food and drink?
How the Mind Can Heal the Body
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? WHO WAS LUCILIUS?
Most of what we know about Lucilius comes from Seneca's letters to him. He was born in south central Italy, possibly in Naples or Pompeii. During his lifetime, he held a number of important government positions (including a governorship, possibly of Sicily). His interests included geography and philosophy, as well as writing; he is thought to be the author of a poem entitled "Aetna," about volcanic activity at the site of the famous Sicilian mountain. It is not known how, where, or when he and Seneca met, although Seneca's 124 letters to him are all believed to have been written between 63 and 65 CE.
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Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
? ? ? ? ANIMALS AS MEDICAL INSTRUCTORS?
The Roman natural scientist Pliny the Elder relates some amazing stories about animals making use of cures and treatments that could be applied to humans. The hippopotamus, for example: "The hippopotamus stands out as an actual master in one department of medicine. For when its unceasing voracity has caused it to overeat itself, it comes ashore to reconnoiter places where rushes have been recently cut, and where it sees an extremely sharp stalk, it squeezes its body down on to it and makes a wound in a certain vein in its leg, and by thus letting blood unburdens its body, which would otherwise be liable to disease, and plasters up the wound again with mud. " [Pliny the Elder. Natural History 8. 96; tr. Rackham. ] Pliny goes on to note that many other creatures, such as ibises, deer, lizards, swallows, tortoises, weasels, storks, goats, snakes, elephants, bears, ravens, and many others have all developed remedies for the various injuries and ailments that befall them.
? ? ? TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Seneca certainly had access to the halls of power in ancient Rome, consid- ering that he knew personally at least two Roman emperors (Caligula and Nero). But even though Seneca was a cultured and thoughtful man, and not likely to overthrow an emperor or even embarrass one, it seems as if his relationship with both Caligula and Nero was uneven at best. Research these relationships, and see if you can discover why the two emperors (apparently) felt so threatened by Seneca that both of them wanted him out of the way--and in Nero's case, that is precisely what transpired.
e Checkthefollowingwebsiteinthe"FurtherInformation"section:http:// www. egs. edu/library/lucius-annaeus-seneca/biography. There, you will find this sentence: "Seneca considered himself to be a Stoic, although his personal life seems to contradict the noble attitude of his texts. " Research Stoicism, and read a few more of Seneca's letters. Do you think that the Internet state- ment is accurate? Based on what you know of Stoicism, are there any state- ments in the document that would reflect--or contradict--a Stoic point of view?
e As a follow-up to the previous question, read some--or all--of Marcus Aurelius's short book Meditations. Marcus Aurelius was a noted Roman emperor (reigned 161-180 CE) and a Stoic philosopher, and his book is considered a good example of Stoic principles and ideas. Do you find any sentiments expressed in Meditations that are comparable to Seneca's state- ments in the document?
e Harsh judgments: Many modern commentators take Seneca to task for what they see as a disconnect between his high-minded Stoicism and his behavior in the real world. Lillian Feder's assessment is typical: "Readers of Seneca's philosophy have been troubled by the disparity between the high ethical standards set forth in his philosophical writings and the many compromises of his life. " Do you think that Seneca's views on health, ill- ness, and tolerance for pain, as described in the document, reveal a dispar- ity between what he preached and what he practiced?
? 104
Further Information
Share, Don, ed. Seneca in English. New York, 1998.
Strem, George G.
? ? ? 94
A Medical Miracle Man Who Declined to Give an Encore Performance
bestowed on them by states. [Tr. A. M. Harmon. Lucian. (1-2; 23. ) Volume V. LCL, 1936. Page numbers: 477, 479, 511, 513. ]
AFTERMATH
The son concludes his case by stating that there is no cure on the horizon for his stepmother, not even if "she takes medicine a thousand times," and that therefore, it is imprudent to embark upon a course of treatment. He also pledges that if his father should have a relapse, that he (the son) would once again attempt to effect a cure, despite the one, and possibly two, disownments inflicted upon him by his father. Further, he reminds his father that it was through shouting, arguments, anger, and hatred that his first bout of insanity was trig- gered, and by continuing to display those maladaptive character traits, he might well bring on a second one.
Lucian does not reveal whether the disownment action was upheld by the court.
ASK YOURSELF
1. Do you think the disowned son was right to refuse treatment to his stepmother, or should he have at least tried to administer a remedy, in the hope that it might work?
2. If you were sitting on the jury in this case, would you have supported or denied the
father's case for disownment? Why?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Inthemodernworld,itmightbeconsideredinappropriateorevenuneth- ical for a physician to deliver health care services to an immediate family
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? DIVINE HEALING FOR A BATTLE WOUND
The connection between the gods and the art of medicine is illustrated by the two physicians who accompanied the Greek forces during the Trojan War: Machaon and Podalirius, both sons of Asclepius, god of medicine. In Book 4 of the Iliad, the Greek warrior-king Menelaus has been shot by an arrow and is bleeding profusely; Machaon is hurriedly summoned:
And gaining the place where red-haired Menelaus nursed his wound and a growing ring of warlords pressed around him, striding into their midst
the godsent healer reached the captain's side
and quickly drew the shaft from his buckled belt -
he pulled it clear, the sharp barbs broke back.
He loosed the glittering belt and slipped it off
and the loin-piece and the plated guard below it,
gear the bronzesmiths made. When he saw the wound
where the tearing arrow hit, he sucked out the blood
and deftly applied the healing salves that Chiron,
friend of Asclepius, gave his father long ago. [Homer. Iliad 4; tr. Fagles. ]
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Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
96
member. This does not appear to have been the case in the ancient world.
Why not, do you suppose?
e Weknowverylittleaboutwhatmighthaveconstitutedmedicalmalpractice
in the ancient world, but there seems to have been a tradition to hold physi- cians blameless in the event that their treatments failed. The disowned son apparently hints at that idea when he proclaims that the practice of medi- cine "should not be subject to enslavement by the law, or to voting and judicial punishment [i. e. , no medical malpractice lawsuits should be allowed! ], or to fear a father's threats and a layman's wrath. " In the same sec- tion, the son argues that the medical profession should be "unrestricted . . . for those who practice it. " Research ancient Greek law and judicial pro- cedure, to see if you can find any examples of the prosecution of physicians for real or perceived incompetence.
Further Information
Baldwin, Barry. Studies in Lucian. Toronto, 1973.
Branham, Bracht. Unruly Eloquence: Lucian and the Comedy of Traditions. Cambridge, MA,
1989.
Jones, Christopher P. Culture and Society in Lucian. Cambridge, MA, 1986.
Website
Bibliography to Lucian: A Select and Evolving Guide. http://classics. uc. edu/~johnson/ Lucian/bibliography. htm
Bibliography for Document
Bury. R. G. (tr. ). Plato. Laws. Volume II. [LCL. ] London and Cambridge, 1926.
Fagles, Robert (tr. ). Homer: The Iliad. New York, 1990.
Harmon, A. M. (tr. ). Lucian. Volume V. [LCL. ] Cambridge and London, 1936.
Jones, W. H. S. (tr. ). Pliny: Natural History. Volume VIII. [LCL. ] London and Cambridge,
1963.
20. HOW TO OBTAIN GOOD HEALTH, AND KEEP IT
INTRODUCTION
Aulus Cornelius Celsus (first century CE) wrote an encyclopedic work covering agriculture, medicine, military matters, oratory, and philosophy. But only the portion on medicine (De Medicina) survives intact. The treatise was so highly regarded that it earned its author such laudatory epithets as the "Roman Hippocrates" and the "Cicero of Physicians. "
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. The document is excerpted from portions of Book 1 of De Medicina; the material presented is introductory. In later chapters, the author covers more detailed and specific topics concerning the practice of medicine, including an overview of the major organs of the body and remedies for ailments that afflict them; a description of various kinds of drugs and antidotes; treatments for wounds and injuries; surgical procedures; and a general description of fractures and dislocations.
2. The Roman essayist Quintilian reveals that Celsus did not confine his writings to medicine, but also wrote treatises on agriculture and military matters. Quintilian considers Celsus to have been a reliable authority on all topics on which he wrote.
Document: Good Health . . . and How
to Maintain It
A man in health, who is both vigorous and his own master, should be under no obligatory rules, and have no need, either for a medical attendant, or for a [masseuse] and anointer. His kind of life should afford him variety; he should now be in the country, now in town, and more often about the farm. He should sail, hunt, rest sometimes, but more often take exercise. For while inaction weakens the body, work strengthens it. The former brings on premature old age, the latter prolongs youth.
It is well also at times to go to the bath, at times to make use of cold waters; to undergo sometimes [anointing], sometimes to neglect that same; to avoid no
? ? ? ? ? 97
Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
kind of food in common use; to attend at times a ban- quet, at times to hold aloof; to eat more than sufficient at one time, at another no more; to take food twice rather than once a day, and always as much as one wants, provided one digests it. But while exercise and food of this sort are necessaries, those of the athletes are redundant. For in the one class [i. e. , the exercise regimen] any break in the routine of exercise, owing to necessities of civil life, affects the body injuriously, and in the other [i. e. , the dietary regimen], bodies thus fed up in their fashion age very quickly and become infirm. . .
On waking, one should lie still for a while, then, except in winter time, bathe the face freely with cold water. When the days are long, the siesta should be taken before the midday meal, when short, after it. In winter, it is best to rest in bed the whole night long; if there must be study by lamplight, it should not be immediately after taking food, but after digestion. He who has been engaged in the day, whether in domestic or on public affairs, ought to keep some portion of the day for the care of the body. The primary care in this respect is exercise, which should always precede the taking of food. The exercise should be ampler in the case of one who has labored less and digested well. It should be lighter in the case of one who is fatigued and has digested less well.
Useful exercises are: reading aloud, drill [a` la sol- diers], handball, running, walking, but this is not by any means most useful on the level, since walking up and down hill varies the movement of the body, unless indeed the body is thoroughly weak. But it is better to walk in the open air than under cover; better, when the head allows of it, in the sun than in the shade; better under the shade of a wall or of trees than under a roof; better a straight than a winding walk. But the exercise ought to come to an end with sweating, or at any rate [tiredness], which should be well this side of fatigue . . . But in these matters, as before, the example of athletes should not be followed, with their fixed rules and immoderate labor. [Tr. W. G. Spencer. Celsus: De Medicina. (1. 2. 1,4-7. ) Volume I. LCL, 1935. Page numbers: 43, 47, 49. ]
AFTERMATH
Topics covered in the remainder of Book 1 include advice on the kinds and amounts of food that ought to be consumed; how to deal with the various changes in life, such as occupation, place of residence, and the aging process; how to gain or lose
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? handball: Various kinds of throwing, catching, and bouncing ball games were popular with the Romans, perhaps none more so than trigon, apparently similar to three-sided catch, in which the players threw the ball to one another. Points could be earned or lost with catches or drops, respectively.
lamplight: Pliny the Younger informs us that his famous uncle, the natu- ral scientist--and prolific author-- Pliny the Elder, often worked at night, by lamplight, not with any view toward getting a head start on the next day's agenda, but simply to gain time for additional research. Sometimes, he would arise at mid- night, or one or two o'clock in the morning, to study and write.
[masseuse] and anointer: The Latin term iatralipta ("masseuse/anointer") covers both procedures. In one of his subsequent chapters, Celsus details the role of massage in medical care, noting that it should be used when- ever a weak body needs toning, or one that is too hard requires soften- ing, or when a thin or sickly body needs nourishment.
redundant: In a famous passage from his now-fragmentary play Autolycus, Euripides lambasts overfed athletes: "Although there are myriads of evils throughout Greece, there is nothing worse than the race of athletes. First of all, they neither learn how to live a good life, nor could they possibly do so. For how could a man who is a slave to his jaw and obedient to his belly acquire wealth to surpass than of his father? " [tr. Robinson]
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weight; purging and vomiting; lifestyle choices that should be made depending on age and time of year; instructions for people who are susceptible to various and specific kinds of ail- ments (such as headaches, stomach pains, muscular aches and pains); and how to remain healthy during epidemics.
W. G. Spencer, the translator of the document, proclaims that Celsus's work has been highly regarded by scholars and historians of all subsequent time periods, and that Celsus richly deserves to be favorably compared with Cicero.
ASK YOURSELF
1. What parts of Celsus's "prescriptions" for good health sound contemporary? Does he articulate any advice that seems injurious or outdated?
2. What do you think of Euripides's harsh assessment of overfed athletes? Can you think of any modern examples of the kind of athletes described by Euripides?
3. Why do you suppose Celsus recommends reading aloud as a "useful exercise"?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Would it be possible to draw a parallel between the dietary excesses of ancient athletes (i. e. , the sort of excesses about which both Celsus and Euripides complain) and the stories of steroid abuse by modern athletes? In other words, could the food overindulgences of ancient athletes have long-term consequences similar to those suffered by modern steroid users? (Euripides goes on to say that "in their prime, [the athletes] make a brilliant spectacle as they go about and are the pride of the state; but when bitter old age comes upon them, they are gone like coarse cloaks which have lost their nap. ")
e DelvefurtherintothewritingsofHippocratesandCelsus,(mostlikely)the two most notable Greek and Roman physicians, respectively. Which of the two authors seems more authoritative?
Which one covers the various areas of medical practice more thoroughly?
Further Information
Garrison, Fielding. An Introduction to the History of Medicine. Philadelphia, 1929. Langslow, D. R. Medical Latin in the Roman Empire. Oxford, 2000. Scarborough, John. Roman Medicine. Ithaca, NY, 1969.
Website
Celsus on Medicine. http://penelope. uchicago. edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Celsus/ Introduction*. html
Bibliography for Document
Robinson, Rachel Sargent. Sources for the History of Greek Athletics. Ann Arbor, MI, 1927. Spencer, W. G. (tr. ). Celsus: De Medicina. Volume I. [LCL. ] London and Cambridge, 1935.
How to Obtain Good Health, and Keep It
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21. HOW THE MIND CAN HEAL THE BODY
INTRODUCTION
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (a. k. a. Seneca the Younger, to distinguish him from his father, Seneca the Elder) flourished in the first century CE. He produced a wide variety of literary works, including philosophical treatises, moral essays, letters (all addressed to his friend Lucilius), and plays. He was also one of the wealthiest men of his time; his net worth was estimated at 300,000,000 sesterces.
Seneca undertook the potentially dangerous task of serving as a tutor for the crazed emperor Nero. As Nero's madness grew steadily worse, Seneca found himself increasingly unable to restrain him, and so he resigned his position and withdrew from Nero's court. Unfortunately, he was later implicated in a plot to assassinate Nero (in 65 CE) and forced to commit suicide.
The document is excerpted from one of his 124 letters to Lucilius. The letters detail Seneca's views on a massive range of topics, such as using time wisely; the advantages of mental training over physical; retirement; festivals; wisdom; scientific discovery; drunken- ness; the simple life; and many more.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. The ancient Romans (and the ancient Greeks) strongly believed in the mind-body connection, and that one could not enjoy health in one realm without health also in the other. Seneca's letter reflects those beliefs.
2. The Romans recognized walking as a particularly healthful exercise. The Younger Pliny wrote a very interesting account [3. 1] of a friend of his, one Vestricius Spurinna, a vigorous septuagenarian and a devotee of walking. "This is the rule strictly observed by Spurinna [writes Pliny]: . . . every morning . . . [he] calls for his shoes and takes a three-mile walk to exercise mind and body. " [The mind-body con- nection again! After a brief rest, he takes a seven-mile ride in a carriage, and then embarks upon a second walk, this time for one mile. And later in the day:] "When summoned to his bath in mid-afternoon in winter, and an hour earlier in summer, he first removes his clothes and takes a walk in the sunshine if there is no wind, and then throws a ball briskly for some time, this being another form of exercise whereby he keeps old age at bay . . . The result is that Spurinna has passed
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Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
his seventy-seventh year, but his sight and hearing are unimpaired, and he is physi- cally agile and energetic; old age has brought him nothing but wisdom. " [Pliny the Younger. Letters 3. 1; tr. Radice. ] In other letters, Seneca expresses skepticism about strenuous exercises, such as weightlifting, running, or jumping. However, he seems to think that walking is an ideal form of physical activity.
Document: The Mind-Body Connection
[Epistle 78]
That you are frequently troubled by the snuffling of catarrh and by short attacks of fever which follow after long and chronic catarrhal seizures, I am sorry to hear, particularly because I have experienced this sort of illness myself, and scorned it in its early stages. For when I was still young, I could put up with hardships and show a bold front to illness. But I finally succumbed, and arrived at such a state
that I could do nothing but snuffle, reduced as I was to the extremity of thinness . . .
Now I shall tell you what consoled me during those days, stating at the outset that these very aids to my peace of mind were as efficacious as medicine. Honorable consolation results in a cure, and whatever has uplifted the soul helps the body also. My studies were my salvation. I place it to the credit of philosophy that I recovered, and regained my strength. I owe my life to philosophy, and that is the least of my obligations! My friends, too, helped me greatly toward good health; I used to be comforted by their cheering words, by the hours they spent at my bedside, and by their conversa- tion. Nothing, my excellent Lucilius, refreshes and aids a sick man so much as the affection of his friends . . .
These, then, are the remedies to which you should have recourse. The physician will prescribe [how much your should walk and how much you should exercise]; he will warn you not to become addicted to idleness, as is the tendency of the inactive; he will order you to read in a louder voice and to exercise your lungs, the passages and cavity of which are affected; or to sail and shake up your bowels by a little mild motion. He will recommend proper food, and the suitable time for aid- ing your strength with wine, or refraining from it in order to keep your cough from being irritated and hacking . . .
This, too, will help [to overcome illness and pain]-- to turn the mind aside to thoughts of other things, and thus depart from pain. Call to mind what honorable or brave deeds you have done; consider the good side of your own life. Run over in your memory those things
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? catarrh: destillatio in Latin, a word meaning congestion.
illness: Interestingly, the Latin word translated as "illness," valetudo (which is the word used here by Seneca), was neutral; it could mean either good or bad health.
physician: Our English word "doctor" comes directly from Latin, but the Latin word doctor does not refer to a medical practitioner. Rather, it is closely related to the verb docere, to teach. Hence, a Roman doctor was a teacher, or an instructor. The Latin word for physician was medicus (which is the term Seneca uses in his letter).
thinness: According to the historian Dio Cassius, the emperor Cali- gula (reigned 37-41 CE) envied Seneca's oratorical skills and con- sidered having him executed. But the emperor's advisors talked him out of it, arguing that Seneca's fragile health would do him in soon enough.
you: A reference to the author's friend Lucilius.
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which you have particularly admired. Then think of all the brave men who have conquered pain: of him who continued to read his book as he allowed the cutting out of varicose veins; of him who did not cease to smile, though that very smile so enraged his torturers that they tried upon him every instru- ment of cruelty. You may tell me now of whatever you like: of colds, hard coughing spells that bring up parts of our entrails, fever that parches our very vitals, thirst, limbs so twisted that the joints protrude in different directions; yet worse than these are [various instruments of torture, which Seneca graphi- cally describes] . . . Nevertheless there have been men who have not uttered a moan amid these tortures . . . Can you not bring yourself, after an example like this, to make a mock at pain? [Tr. Richard M. Gummere. Seneca: Ad Lucilium Epistulae Morales. (78). Volume II. LCL, 1920. Page numbers: 181, 183, 185, 193. ]
AFTERMATH
It might be argued that with Seneca's forced suicide, the final restraint on Nero's extravagant behavior snapped. Undoubtedly, the emperor's reign of terror accelerated once Seneca was out of the picture. In an ironic postscript to Seneca's death, his wife, Pompeia Paulina, who had vowed to die with him and had begun the process by opening her veins, was restored to life, by Nero's orders, when her wounds were bandaged by his attendants. Apparently, Nero suspected that public opinion would be badly enough inflamed against him as a result of Seneca's suicide, and that the ill-will created by that act would only become worse if it appeared that Paulina were also a victim of his madness.
ASK YOURSELF
1. Imagine that you were the recipient of this letter. What would your reactions be? Do you agree with Seneca that a study of philosophy could aid in the recovery from physical illness? And what about his claim that "nothing . . . refreshes and aids a sick man [or woman! ] so much as the affection of his friends. " Does that sound plausible?
2. What do you think about Seneca's description of the kinds of healthy lifestyle choices that a Roman physician might prescribe: walking; reading in a loud voice; taking a ride in a sailing ship, to "shake up the bowels"; and proper food and drink?
How the Mind Can Heal the Body
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? WHO WAS LUCILIUS?
Most of what we know about Lucilius comes from Seneca's letters to him. He was born in south central Italy, possibly in Naples or Pompeii. During his lifetime, he held a number of important government positions (including a governorship, possibly of Sicily). His interests included geography and philosophy, as well as writing; he is thought to be the author of a poem entitled "Aetna," about volcanic activity at the site of the famous Sicilian mountain. It is not known how, where, or when he and Seneca met, although Seneca's 124 letters to him are all believed to have been written between 63 and 65 CE.
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Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
? ? ? ? ANIMALS AS MEDICAL INSTRUCTORS?
The Roman natural scientist Pliny the Elder relates some amazing stories about animals making use of cures and treatments that could be applied to humans. The hippopotamus, for example: "The hippopotamus stands out as an actual master in one department of medicine. For when its unceasing voracity has caused it to overeat itself, it comes ashore to reconnoiter places where rushes have been recently cut, and where it sees an extremely sharp stalk, it squeezes its body down on to it and makes a wound in a certain vein in its leg, and by thus letting blood unburdens its body, which would otherwise be liable to disease, and plasters up the wound again with mud. " [Pliny the Elder. Natural History 8. 96; tr. Rackham. ] Pliny goes on to note that many other creatures, such as ibises, deer, lizards, swallows, tortoises, weasels, storks, goats, snakes, elephants, bears, ravens, and many others have all developed remedies for the various injuries and ailments that befall them.
? ? ? TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Seneca certainly had access to the halls of power in ancient Rome, consid- ering that he knew personally at least two Roman emperors (Caligula and Nero). But even though Seneca was a cultured and thoughtful man, and not likely to overthrow an emperor or even embarrass one, it seems as if his relationship with both Caligula and Nero was uneven at best. Research these relationships, and see if you can discover why the two emperors (apparently) felt so threatened by Seneca that both of them wanted him out of the way--and in Nero's case, that is precisely what transpired.
e Checkthefollowingwebsiteinthe"FurtherInformation"section:http:// www. egs. edu/library/lucius-annaeus-seneca/biography. There, you will find this sentence: "Seneca considered himself to be a Stoic, although his personal life seems to contradict the noble attitude of his texts. " Research Stoicism, and read a few more of Seneca's letters. Do you think that the Internet state- ment is accurate? Based on what you know of Stoicism, are there any state- ments in the document that would reflect--or contradict--a Stoic point of view?
e As a follow-up to the previous question, read some--or all--of Marcus Aurelius's short book Meditations. Marcus Aurelius was a noted Roman emperor (reigned 161-180 CE) and a Stoic philosopher, and his book is considered a good example of Stoic principles and ideas. Do you find any sentiments expressed in Meditations that are comparable to Seneca's state- ments in the document?
e Harsh judgments: Many modern commentators take Seneca to task for what they see as a disconnect between his high-minded Stoicism and his behavior in the real world. Lillian Feder's assessment is typical: "Readers of Seneca's philosophy have been troubled by the disparity between the high ethical standards set forth in his philosophical writings and the many compromises of his life. " Do you think that Seneca's views on health, ill- ness, and tolerance for pain, as described in the document, reveal a dispar- ity between what he preached and what he practiced?
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Further Information
Share, Don, ed. Seneca in English. New York, 1998.
Strem, George G.
