Patience for the Little Patient: The Infant in Soranus' Gynaecia.

Abstract

Despite advocating perpetual virginity and viewing childbirth as inherently injurious to female health, Soranus' attitude towards the infant in Book 2 of the Gynaecia is remarkably positive. In fact, it is only towards the infant that Soranus displays such consistently positive attitude. This compassionate approach is evident both in the content and the language employed, which is characterised by a striking occurrence of diminutives. His preference here for authorities such as Thracians and Scythians rather than illustrious ones, along with his 'language of the nursery', points to an oral, rather than literary, tradition. Soranus seems to have been the first to write so extensively on childcare; freed from the influence of any earlier tradition, he engaged in a more nuanced vision of childhood, seeing it as a 'blank slate' both physically and mentally, untouched by the faults of adulthood. While the content of Book 2 has been mined for information concerning the practicalities of child-care, it has not been evaluated in terms of its differences from the rest of the Gynaecia, which are significant.