222 THE EISTORY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE. 



who would correctly prognosticate as to who will die or who will 

 recover, whether the disease will be of long or short duration, must 

 know well all the phenomena, and be well versed as to their re- 

 spective value." 



His manner of treatment was well considered, and he generally 

 avoided heroic means. He placed great stress upon the value of 

 dietetics, which should be adapted to the individuality of the pa- 

 tient, his constitution and habits. He was, according to his idea of 

 the cardinal elements, much addicted to the employment of local 

 means, by which the supposed centralization of a given element was 

 to be equalized or the surplus removed ; therefore, we find in his 

 writings many directions for local bleeding and applications. He 

 invented quite a number of surgical instruments ; performed tre- 

 panning of the cranium, set bones, and reduced luxations. He 

 highly prized cauterization, and his last aphorism reads : " What 

 medicine will not cure, the iron will ; what the iron will not cure, 

 fire will ; what fire can not cure, must be considered as incurable." 



But, above all Greek writers of antiquity celebrated in the field 

 of medicine, none equaled, in a knowledge of the anatomy of ani- 

 mals, that mighty intellect which has been the wonder of humanity 

 for generations, and which had not its equal in the arena of natural 

 science until long after the middle ages — Aristotle. 



"Aristotle was born at Stagyra in Macedonia, in the year 384, 

 and died 32G b. c. He was undoubtedly the greatest thinker of his 

 time, and united in himself all the knowledge which then existed. 

 His father, Nichomachus, was body-surgeon to Amyntas III, of 

 Macedon, the father of Philip. At seventeen years of age, Aris- 

 totle went to Athens to study under the immortal Plato, who recog- 

 nized his great genius, and called him the brightest spirit of his 

 school. Aristotle soon separated himself from his teacher, and be- 

 gan to oppose the doctrines which he taught ; he went to Mace- 

 don, and became the tutor of Alexander the Great. When the 

 latter went upon his conquests into Asia, Aristotle returned to 

 Athens, where he appeared in the character of teacher, Alexander 

 supporting him, and for his studies giving him the immense advan- 

 tages offered by the collections of curiosities made in his foreign 

 conquests. The results of his investigations are collected in his 

 writings and speak for themselves. On Alexander's death the ene- 

 mies of Aristotle became powerful enough to cause his banishment 

 from Athens ; he was declared a heretic, a disbeliever in the gods, 

 and so deadly was the pursuit of his enemies that he finally killed 

 himself in his sixty-third year. His body was brought to the place 



