the evolution of modern medicine-第22章

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ation　and　of　nothing　more　than　of　its　sciences。　The　cultivation　of　medicine　was　encouraged　by　the　Arabs　in　a　very　special　way。　　Anyone　wishing　to　follow　the　history　of　the　medical　profession　among　this　remarkable　people　will　find　it　admirably　presented　in　Lucien　Leclerc's　〃Histoire　de　la　medecine　arabe〃　（Paris；　1876）。　An　excellent　account　is　also　given　in　Freind's　well…known　〃History　of　Medicine〃　（London；　1725…1726）。　Here　I　can　only　indicate　very　briefly　the　course　of　the　stream　and　its　freightage。

With　the　rise　of　Christianity；　Alexandria　became　a　centre　of　bitter　theological　and　political　factions；　the　story　of　which　haunts　the　memory　of　anyone　who　was　so　fortunate　as　to　read　in　his　youth　Kingsley's　〃Hypatia。〃　　These　centuries；　with　their　potent　influence　of　neoplatonism　on　Christianity；　appear　to　have　been　sterile　enough　in　medicine。　I　have　already　referred　to　the　late　Greeks；　Aetius　and　Alexander　of　Tralles。　　The　last　of　the　Alexandrians　was　a　remarkable　man；　Paul　of　AEgina；　a　great　name　in　medicine　and　in　surgery；　who　lived　in　the　early　part　of　the　seventh　century。　He　also；　like　Oribasius；　was　a　great　compiler。　In　the　year　640；　the　Arabs　took　Alexandria；　and　for　the　third　time　a　great　library　was　destroyed　in　the　〃first　city　of　the　West。〃　　Shortly　after　the　conquest　of　Egypt；　Greek　works　were　translated　into　Arabic；　often　through　the　medium　of　Syriac；　particularly　certain　of　Galen's　books　on　medicine；　and　chemical　writings；　which　appear　to　have　laid　the　foundation　of　Arabian　knowledge　on　this　subject。

Through　Alexandria　then　was　one　source：　　but　the　special　development　of　the　Greek　science　and　of　medicine　took　place　in　the　ninth　century　under　the　Eastern　Caliphates。　　Let　me　quote　here　a　couple　of　sentences　from　Leclerc　（Tome　I；　pp。　91…92）：

〃The　world　has　but　once　witnessed　so　marvellous　a　spectacle　as　that　presented　by　the　Arabs　in　the　ninth　century。　This　pastoral　people；　whose　fanaticism　had　suddenly　made　them　masters　of　half　of　the　world；　having　once　founded　their　empire；　immediately　set　themselves　to　acquire　that　knowledge　of　the　sciences　which　alone　was　lacking　to　their　greatness。　Of　all　the　invaders　who　competed　for　the　last　remains　of　the　Roman　Empire　they　alone　pursued　such　studies；　while　the　Germanic　hordes；　glorying　in　their　brutality　and　ignorance；　took　a　thousand　years　to　re…unite　the　broken　chain　of　tradition；　the　Arabs　accomplished　this　in　less　than　a　century。　They　provoked　the　competition　of　the　conquered　Christians　a　healthy　competition　which　secured　the　harmony　of　the　races。

〃At　the　end　of　the　eighth　century；　their　whole　scientific　possessions　consisted　of　a　translation　of　one　medical　treatise　and　some　books　on　alchemy。　　Before　the　ninth　century　had　run　to　its　close；　the　Arabs　were　in　possession　of　all　the　science　of　the　Greeks；　they　had　produced　from　their　own　ranks　students　of　the　first　order；　and　had　raised　among　their　initiators　men　who；　without　them；　would　have　been　groping　in　the　dark；　and　they　showed　from　this　time　an　aptitude　for　the　exact　sciences；　which　was　lacking　in　their　instructors；　whom　they　henceforward　surpassed。〃

It　was　chiefly　through　the　Nestorians　that　the　Arabs　became　acquainted　with　Greek　medicine；　and　there　were　two　famous　families　of　translators；　the　Bakhtishuas　and　the　Mesues；　both　Syrians；　and　probably　not　very　thoroughly　versed　in　either　Greek　or　Arabic。　　But　the　prince　of　translators；　one　of　the　finest　figures　of　the　century；　was　Honein；　a　Christian　Arab；　born　in　809；　whose　name　was　Latinized　as　Joannitius。　　〃The　marvellous　extent　of　his　works；　their　excellence；　their　importance；　the　trials　he　bore　nobly　at　the　beginning　of　his　career；　everything　about　him　arouses　our　interest　and　sympathy。　If　he　did　not　actually　create　the　Oriental　renaissance　movement；　certainly　no　one　played　in　it　a　more　active；　decided　and　fruitful　part。〃＇10＇　His　industry　was　colossal。　　He　translated　most　of　the　works　of　Hippocrates　and　Galen；　Aristotle　and　many　others。　His　famous　〃Introduction〃　or　〃Isagoge；〃　a　very　popular　book　in　the　Middle　Ages；　is　a　translation　of　the　〃Microtegni〃　of　Galen；　a　small　hand…book；　of　which　a　translation　is　appended　to　Cholmeley's　〃John　of　Gaddesden。〃＇11＇　The　first　printed　edition　of　it　appeared　in　1475　＇see　Chapter　IV＇　at　Padua。

＇10＇　Leclerc：　　Histoire　de　la　medecine　arabe；　Tome　I；　p。　139。

＇11＇　Oxford；　Clarendon　Press；　1912；　pp。　136…166。　The　Mesues　also　did　great　work；　and　translations　of　their　compilations；　particularly　those　of　the　younger　Mesue；　were　widely　distributed　in　manuscript　and　were　early　printed　（Venice；　1471）　and　frequently　reprinted；　even　as　late　as　the　seventeenth　century。

Leclerc　gives　the　names　of　more　than　one　hundred　known　translators　who　not　only　dealt　with　the　physicians　but　with　the　Greek　philosophers；　mathematicians　and　astronomers。　　The　writings　of　the　physicians　of　India　and　of　Persia　were　also　translated　into　Arabic。

But　close　upon　the　crowd　of　translators　who　introduced　the　learning　of　Greece　to　the　Arabians　came　original　observers　of　the　first　rank；　to　a　few　only　of　whom　time　will　allow　me　to　refer。　Rhazes；　so　called　from　the　name　of　the　town　（Rai）　in　which　he　was　born；　was　educated　at　the　great　hospital　at　Bagdad　in　the　second　half　of　the　ninth　century。　With　a　true　Hippocratic　spirit　he　made　many　careful　observations　on　disease；　and　to　him　we　owe　the　first　accurate　account　of　smallpox；　which　he　differentiated　from　measles。　　This　work　was　translated　for　the　old　Sydenham　Society　by　W。A。　Greenhill　（1848）；　and　the　description　given　of　the　disease　is　well　worth　reading。　　He　was　a　man　of　strong　powers　of　observation；　good　sense　and　excellent　judgment。　　His　works　were　very　popular；　particularly　the　gigantic　〃Continens；〃　one　of　the　bulkiest　of　incunabula。　　The　Brescia　edition；　1486；　a　magnificent　volume；　extends　over　588　pages　and　it　must　weigh　more　than　seventeen　pounds。　It　is　an　encyclopaedia　filled　with　extracts　from　the　Greek　and　other　writers；　interspersed　with　memoranda　of　his　own　experiences。　　His　〃Almansor〃　was　a　very　popular　text…book；　and　one　of　the　first　to　be　printed。　Book　IX　of　〃Almansor〃　（the　name　of　the　prince　to　whom　it　was　addressed）　with　the　title　〃De　aegritudinibus　a　capite　usque　ad　pedes；〃　was　a　very　favorite　mediaeval　text…book。　On　account　of　his　zeal　for　study　Rhazes　was　known　as　the　〃Experimentator。〃

The　first　of　the　Arabians；　known　throughout　the　Middle　Ages　as　the　Prince；　the　rival；　indeed；　of　Galen；　was　the　Persian　Ibn　Sina；　better　known　as　Avicenna；　one　of　the　greatest　names　in　the　history　of　medicine。　Born　about　980　A。　D。　in　the　province　of　Khorasan；　near　Bokhara；　he　has　left　a　brief　autobiography　from　which　we　learn　something　of　his　early　years。　He　could　repeat　the　Koran　by　heart　when　ten　years　old；　and　at　twelve　he　had　disputed　in　law　and　in　logic。　　So　that　he　found　medicine　was　an　easy　subject；　not　hard　and　thorny　like　mathematics　and　metaphysics！　He　worked　night　and　day；　and　could　solve　problems　in　his　dreams。　〃When　I　found　a　difficulty；〃　he　says；　〃I　referred　to　my　notes　and　prayed　to　the　Creator。　　At　night；　when　weak　or　sleepy；　I　strengthened　myself　with　a　glass　of　wine。〃＇12＇　He　was　a　voluminous　writer　to　whom　scores　of　books　are　attributed；　and　he　is　the　author　of　the　most　famous　medical　text…book　ever　written。　It　is　safe　to　say　that　the　〃Canon〃　was　a　medical　bible　for　a　longer　period　than　any　other　work。　It　〃stands　for　the　epitome　of　all　precedent　development；　the　final　codification　of　all　Graeco…Arabic　medicine。　　It　is　a　hierarchy　of　laws　liberally　illustrated　by　facts　which　so　ingeniously　rule　and　are　subject　to　one　another；　stay　and　uphold　one　another；　that　admiration　is　compelled　for　the　sagacity　of　the　great　organiser　who；　with　unparalleled　power　of　systematisation；　collecting　his　material　from　all　sources；　constructed　so　imposing　an　edifice　of　fallacy。　Avicenna；　according　to　his　lights；　imparted　to　contemporary　medical　science　the　appearance　of　almost　mathematical　accuracy；　whilst　the　art　of　therapeutics；　although　empiricism　did　not　wholly　lack　recognition；　was　deduced　as　a　logical　sequence　from　theoretical　（Galenic　and　Aristotelian）　premises。　　Is　it；　therefore；　matter　for　surprise　that　the　majority　of　investigators　and　practitioners　should　have　fallen　under　the　spell　of　this　consummation　of