Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1872-10-17
Medicinal Systems-MethOds Of Cure.
THE sUpERsTITloUs ERA.

lHb SS hhAs
From the earliest records of his.
tory until the sixth century before
Christ, medicine was in very much
the condition that it is now among
the least civilized tribes o! American
Indians. The sick were objects ol
commiseratlon or execration as the
superstitlous medicine men" and
credulous people considered their
maladies 10 be from providential in
flictions or diabolical obscessions.-
During this long period very little
was known of anatomy beyond the
relative situations of the principal
viscera; physiology was not studied
and the most chlmerical opinions
were entertained concerning the
functions of digestion, circulation
respiration and secretion. These
circumstances afforded the ambi
tious and mercenary an almost un
limited opportunity to impose on the
moro simple minded, of which they
were never slow TO avail themselves
MEDICINE IN ANCIENT EGYPT.
Although the Egyptians first cult
vated medicine as an art, almost
nothing i. known in relation to their
special modes of healing diseases un
til tho reign of King Psammetchus
about Gil b. C. Peculiar medical
powers were attributed to Isis and
other deit,es; and all diseases were
supposed to be caused by her anger
In the temples OF Isis medicinal
drugs were burned on the altars, at:
ter which the sick slept in them in
order to receive, during sleep, 8
revelation from the oracle as to the
means Tor recovering health.
Orus, Theatll and Taaut. were
revered for their supposed knowl
edge of diseases and remedies. The
latter taught the Egyptians writing
aud when kind OF rude paper wa;
invented, the teachings OF Taan'
were collected in . book which, ac
cordiug to Diodorus, contained the
rules OF medical practice to which al
physicians were compelled to adhere
on pain OF death. Other names
revered by the Egyptians as invent
ors of medical appliances are, APIS
Esmun, and Scraps. But while these
persons were worshipcd as teachers
of medicine, the priests were the
practitioners; and as all diseases
were imputed to tho wrath OF the Of
tended deities, the poor patients
could not be cured until the anger Of
the gods was appeased. Hence med
iatnrs were deemed necessary to per.
form the required rites, and implore
the desired pardon. Thus the heal
ing art became an absurd worship OF
and sacrifice to imaginary divlnities
The priests c:ncealed the medicine,
they employed in allegorical OF
mythical language, and remedies
were regarded as secrets which the
rabble was not allowed to penetrate
the knowledge beng communicat-
ell to their favorites by the gods.
That medical authors wrote vol
uminonsly in ancient as we'll as in
modern times, IS evident from the
fact that Taart (the Hermes Iris
megistus of the Greeks is the re
puted author of no less than forty
two books, Of which six were devot
ed to medical subjects. In his "Hls
tory of Medicine Dunglison says:
"The six books of Hermes devoted
to medicine were studied by the
Phastophorl or image-bearers, as in
terior order of the priesthood OF
whom the practice Of common med
icinc devolvcd. The higher branch
es, which required more magical for
mula, as we'll as a greater knowledge
Of the virtues Of drugs, were reserv
cd for the superior priests. These
latter, the wise mon aud magicians O
whom Moses speaks, boastcd Of the
powers of producing multitude o.
supernatural effects and OF possessing
IN themselves alone all eruiitlon.-
At the time of Heliodorus, who
lived about 167 years before the
Christian era, there existed clothed
in q symbolical language, several
works on natural history, in which
the plants and animals were desig
mated by mystical appellations. Thu,
the ivy was called the plant Of Osiris
the vernain, the tears OF Isis; sps
cies OF lily, deaths bood; variety o
the artemisia, the heart Of Bubastis
the saffron, the blood Of Hercules
the squill, the eye Of Typhon, etc
The more modern fanatics. and chief
ly tho alchemists, eagerly laid hold
OF these symbelical names, in order
to attract more consideration among
the ignorant"
MEDICINE IN ANCIENT GREECE.
Ancient Greece has canonized the
names Of Orphens, Musaus, Mclam
pas, Bncis, Apollo, Diana, Ilithia
Chiron and Achilles, as eminent il
the healing art. But, whether the,
wera real persons or my.hologica
beings, we have no means OF know
ing; nor is it certain whether Kscu
lapius, the god Of medicine. and said
20 be one of Chiron's pupils, was q
real or. fictitious parsonage. This
traditions concerning his birth art
more amusing than instructive, aud
are hardly worth the paper thai
would be wasted in repeating them
All the ancient writer's on the sub