Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-13
THE SoAPLESS AGE.
Health Without Sanitation or Ra-
tional Medicine.

From the New York Medical Journal.
Apparently very little was done in the
way of municipal sanitation, except that
some cities were we'll supplied with
water. Soap was unknown to the class
ical age both in Greece and Rome Pliny
mentions a compound which he calls sapo
made by the Gauls and Germans and
the ingredients that entered into it. He
also informs US that it was more used by
the men among the latter than by the
women. 1t appears, however to have
been pomade for the hair rather than
SOAP Whether tina term Is Celtic or
Teutonic we do not positively know. prob
ably the latter. That the word was later
borrowed by the Greeks from the Romans
appears certain from the name sapon
still in common use among them. The
name eventually was adopted by most of
the people Of Europe, the Turks calling
this article SO much in demand in our day
sabun and the Firms saippio In its stead
the ancient Greeks used flesh scrapers.
These were so highly esteemed that they
were sometimes made of gold and given
as prizes In athletic contests. Herein we
see how mems ideas of the fitness Of
things change with the people and the
age. Nowadays one would hardly COM
mend himself to a friend or an acquaint.
ance by the gift of cake of soap or q
comb
This can. however. not be said of
Athens. The mortality does not seem to
have been much greater than it is in our
own day. Five hundred years B. c. the
average human life was reckoned at
about thirty-three years. We are often
astonished at the enormous population as
signed to some countries. There were
few large cities in the modern sense of
the term; as the houses were seldom
more than two stories In height the pop
ulation cannot have been very dense. In
Athens the reputable women seldom went
out of doors; the men spent most OF their
time in the open air. What effect occa-
sional overcrowding produced may be seen
from the description of the terrible plague
in Athens near the end Of the fifth Gen.
tury B. c., as given by Thucydides, when
the surrounding population was driven
into the capital by the exigencies OF war.
Az the countries Of which we know most
were grouped around the Mediterranean
sea, where the climate Is mild. outdoor
life occasioned no discomfort. to say moth
ing of habit. In some parts OF Italy
whole families still live In caves. In
Spanish cities the tourist who is out late
at nights Is surprised to find the streets
Uttered with persons lying asleep; to the
natives It is the most natural thing In the
world. The population of China Is evil
dence that filth is not Incompatible win
an exceptionally large number or innani
tants to the square mile. notw1tnstandlng
the prevalence Oh lHtdIltSiuC.
ers who have made the. most careful study
of the economic condition Of France have
reached the conclusion that the popula ton
of the country at the close OF the middle
howaver fearfully cut down by the hun
dred years war and the plague. Yet
Turing ali this period there was no ra-
tionai practice Of medicine Until quite
recently most Of the villages OF coh..
Musician. Such is still the case In many
parts of the world that are reckoned
civilized -..
while nobody doubts that medical pfac-
tice f,Ils an important want In modern
civ;,,zation. there is no question that 1t
is largely due to civilization that the
want exists.