Medicine and philosophy - Classical Homeopathy Online

The Methodism of Caelius Aurelianus 313of cases these are visible causes) without in any way restricting the relevanceof these causal accounts. 59 He sometimes refers to hidden, or unknown,causes; 60 and in some cases we see him actually allowing that the cause of adisease is relevant to its treatment and including this cause in the definitionof the disease, because it constitutes one of the relevant differentiae for thetreatment.Some clear illustrations of these attitudes are provided by the followingpassages:(17) antecedentes causae, quibus haec sufficitur passio [sc. synanche], aliquae suntoccultae, aliquae manifestae atque ceteris quoque communes passionibus, maximetamen conabiles atque laboriosi uomitus, plus etiam, si post cibum iam corruptum,item uinolentia uel niuis potatio aut exclamatio uehemens atque eodemmodo perseuerans, quam Graeci monotonon uocant, item catarrhus et acriores cibipraeter consuetudinem accepti, item feruentia atque ignita medicamina pota uelpurgatio per helleborum prouocata, quibusdam etiam feminis menstrualis retentiopurgationis. afficiuntur autem hac passione magis uiri quam mulieres, quorum plusaetatis mediae et iuuenes quam pueri atque senes . . . nos uero iuxta Sorani sententiamsynanchen dicimus difficultatem transuorandi atque praefocationem acutamob uehementiam tumoris faucium siue in locis, quibus nutrimenta transuora[ui]mus.(Acut. 3.1.4–6)As for the preceding causes through which this disease [sc. synanche] is broughtabout, some are invisible, others are manifest and identical to those of other diseases,in particular difficult and laboured vomiting, especially if this is done after theconsumption of food that has gone off, drunkenness, the drinking of snow, ecstaticshouting which persists at the same tone, which the Greeks call monotonos, catarrh,acrid foods which one is not accustomed to, burning and fiery medicinal drinksor a purge provoked by hellebore, and with some women also the retention ofthe monthly discharge. This disease occurs more with men than women, andof these, with those who have reached middle age, and with young men ratherthan children and elderly people [ . . . ] We however, in accordance with Soranus’statement, say that synanche is a difficulty in swallowing and an acute chokingcaused by severe swelling of the throat or in the places in which we swallownourishment. 6159 E.g. Acut. 3.6.62: ‘But the antecedent causes of the affections mentioned above are the following: ablow on the larger sinews, which the Greeks call tenontes, or lying upon them for a long time in thesame position with something hard underneath’ (sed antecedentes causae supradictarum passionumsunt hae: percussus maiorum neruorum, quos tenontas appellant, uel supra ipsos iacendi iugis positioduris incumbens suppositis). Cf. Soranus, Gyn. 4.35 and the very interesting chapters 4.1–6 whereSoranus reports Demetrius of Apamea’s account of the causes of difficult labour, which he seems toendorse.60 Examples follow below. For an example in Soranus see Gyn. 4.36 (paralysis of the uterus due to ‘anunknown cause’).61 This final sentence also indicates that the cause is relevant to the definition of the disease; on this seebelow.