THE DIATRITUS AND THERAPY IN GRAECO-ROMAN MEDICINE.

IF 0.2 3区 历史学 Q1 Arts and Humanities CLASSICAL QUARTERLY Pub Date : 2008-12-01 DOI:10.1017/S0009838808000657
David Leith
{"title":"THE DIATRITUS AND THERAPY IN GRAECO-ROMAN MEDICINE.","authors":"David Leith","doi":"10.1017/S0009838808000657","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The so-called diatritus in Graeco-Roman medicine represents a therapeutic system which was designed to provide a chronological framework for the regulation of regimen in disease. Developed in the mid-first century A.D. within the Methodist school of medicine, it appears thereafter to have been a cornerstone of this school’s therapeutics, as represented in the three major Methodist treatises to have survived. In the therapeutic prescriptions recorded in the Gynaecia, Soranus (fl. late first/early second century A.D.) mentions the diatritus specifically on four occasions,2 while Caelius Aurelianus (fifth century A.D.), drawing to some extent on Soranus’ earlier work, makes constant use of it throughout his Celeres Passiones and Tardae Passiones. Galen, too, universally hostile to the diatritus, associates it almost exclusively with Methodist physicians. There is strong evidence, however, that it was employed as a therapeutic tool also outside Methodist circles. It surfaces intermittently, but without criticism, in the treatments laid down in medical treatises with no apparent links to this school, and over a considerable period of time.3 In particular, the unknown author of the treatise On Acute and Chronic Diseases, often referred to as the Anonymus Parisinus, relies on it extensively, though not systematically, in the therapeutic sections of his work.4 Yet the diatritus has for the most part received only passing reference in scholarship, largely with regard to the doctrines of Thessalus or Methodism generally, and with little or no detailed inquiry into its exact meaning or uses.5 Given its significance not only for our understanding of the development of Methodist therapeutics, but also as an example of the broader influence which Methodism may have had over ancient therapy, a more systematic study of the diatritus is warranted. In this paper I shall examine the diatritus’ origins, its precise meaning, and what it represented in its practical therapeutic contexts, both in the hands of Methodist and non-Methodist physicians. I shall also attempt to offer some suggestions as to why the chronological framework which it describes was thought to be appropriate in the treatment of disease.","PeriodicalId":47185,"journal":{"name":"CLASSICAL QUARTERLY","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2000,"publicationDate":"2008-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1017/S0009838808000657","citationCount":"7","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"CLASSICAL QUARTERLY","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009838808000657","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Arts and Humanities","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 7

Abstract

The so-called diatritus in Graeco-Roman medicine represents a therapeutic system which was designed to provide a chronological framework for the regulation of regimen in disease. Developed in the mid-first century A.D. within the Methodist school of medicine, it appears thereafter to have been a cornerstone of this school’s therapeutics, as represented in the three major Methodist treatises to have survived. In the therapeutic prescriptions recorded in the Gynaecia, Soranus (fl. late first/early second century A.D.) mentions the diatritus specifically on four occasions,2 while Caelius Aurelianus (fifth century A.D.), drawing to some extent on Soranus’ earlier work, makes constant use of it throughout his Celeres Passiones and Tardae Passiones. Galen, too, universally hostile to the diatritus, associates it almost exclusively with Methodist physicians. There is strong evidence, however, that it was employed as a therapeutic tool also outside Methodist circles. It surfaces intermittently, but without criticism, in the treatments laid down in medical treatises with no apparent links to this school, and over a considerable period of time.3 In particular, the unknown author of the treatise On Acute and Chronic Diseases, often referred to as the Anonymus Parisinus, relies on it extensively, though not systematically, in the therapeutic sections of his work.4 Yet the diatritus has for the most part received only passing reference in scholarship, largely with regard to the doctrines of Thessalus or Methodism generally, and with little or no detailed inquiry into its exact meaning or uses.5 Given its significance not only for our understanding of the development of Methodist therapeutics, but also as an example of the broader influence which Methodism may have had over ancient therapy, a more systematic study of the diatritus is warranted. In this paper I shall examine the diatritus’ origins, its precise meaning, and what it represented in its practical therapeutic contexts, both in the hands of Methodist and non-Methodist physicians. I shall also attempt to offer some suggestions as to why the chronological framework which it describes was thought to be appropriate in the treatment of disease.
查看原文
分享 分享
微信好友 朋友圈 QQ好友 复制链接
本刊更多论文
古希腊罗马医学中的直突及其治疗。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 去求助
来源期刊
CiteScore
0.40
自引率
0.00%
发文量
39
期刊介绍: The Classical Quarterly has a reputation for publishing the highest quality classical scholarship for nearly 100 years. It publishes research papers and short notes in the fields of language, literature, history and philosophy. Two substantial issues (around 300 pages each) of The Classical Quarterly appear each year, in May and December. Given the quality and depth of the articles published in The Classical Quarterly, any serious classical library needs to have a copy on its shelves. Published for the The Classical Association
期刊最新文献
GREAT EXPECTATIONS: WORDPLAY AS WARFARE IN CAESAR'S BELLVM CIVILE HELLENISTIC WAR-ELEPHANTS AND THE USE OF ALCOHOL BEFORE BATTLE NE SPADONES FIANT: DOMITIAN'S EMASCULATION BAN THREE PASSAGES OF ANCIENT PROLEGOMENA TO ARATUS THE SUPPRESSION OF THE DRUIDS IN CAESAR'S GALLIC WAR
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
现在去查看 取消
×
提示
确定
0
微信
客服QQ
Book学术公众号 扫码关注我们
反馈
×
意见反馈
请填写您的意见或建议
请填写您的手机或邮箱
已复制链接
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
×
扫码分享
扫码分享
Book学术官方微信
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术
文献互助 智能选刊 最新文献 互助须知 联系我们:info@booksci.cn
Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。
Copyright © 2023 Book学术 All rights reserved.
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号 京ICP备2023020795号-1