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84
ANCIENT TIMES.
not added to by them and the practice of the art remained
in the same hands as before. To be sure the inspection of
entrails, which the Haruspices undertook might have been
able to'serve for imparting information of an anatomical
nature, but these priests lacked the necessary training and
in their investigations they kept in view not scientific aims
but mystical religious exercises which predisposed them to
find peculiarities even where none existed. Notwithstanding
this, the numerous expressions in anatomical
terminology* which are borrowed from the Latin tongue
point to the fact that the Romans knew and were able to
distinguish from one another the most important organs of
the body. But only very loose relations existed between
anatomy and the practice of the healing art.
The Roman father of a family as he appears before us in M. |
PORCIUS CATO, had his book of recipes which he consulted |
in cases of sickness affecting his family, slaves, or domestic
animals.f In ' this, besides many superstitious magical j
formula, all manner of expedients were detailed for use
against internal affections and the treatment was sketched
which was to be employed in injuries, fractures, dislocations,
wounds, abscesses, fistulae, nasal polypi and many
other complaints. Great importance was ascribed to
dietetics, and certain domestic remedies, such as colewort,
stood in high esteem.% Even wine was frequently used
for these purposes and CATO "whose virtue" as HORACE
writes "often grew warmer under the influence of good'
wine,"§ recommended it as an addition to various remedies^
The patriarchal custom of the father of the family being
also the family doctor, naturally disappeared with the
development of the healing art and formed certainly an
exception even in CATO'S time.
* RENE BRIAU : "Introduction de la medecine dans leLatium et a Rome" in
the RfSvue archSol., Paris, 1885, Ser. iii, T. 6, p. 197.—Jos. HYRTL: Onomato-
logia anatomica, Wien 1880.
t 1'LINIUS: Hist. nat. xxix, c. 8.—PLUTARCH : Cato major, c. 23.
X PLINIUS: Hist. nat. xx, C. 33.
§ Od. iii, 21, Ad amphoram. ^m