GALEN. 51 



the ill effects of poison and of the bites of venomous 

 animals. 1 



With the Emperor M. Aurelius he returned to Rome, 

 and became afterwards doctor to the young Emperor 

 Commodus. He did not, however, remain for a long 

 period at Rome, and probably passed the greater part 

 of the rest of his life in his native country. 



Although the date of his death is not positively known, 

 yet it appears from a passage 2 in his writings that he 

 was living in the reign of Septimius Severus ; and Suidas 

 seems to have reason for asserting that he reached his 

 seventieth year. 



Galen's writings represent the common depository of 

 the anatomical knowledge of the day; what he had 

 learnt from many teachers, rather than the results of 

 his own personal research. Roughly speaking, they 

 deal with the following subjects : Anatomy and Physio- 

 logy, Dietetics and Hygiene, Pathology, Diagnosis and 

 Semeiology, Pharmacy and Materia Medica, Thera- 

 peutics. 



The only works of this voluminous writer at which 

 we can here glance are those dealing with Anatomy 

 and Physiology. These exhibit numerous illustrations 

 of Galen's familiarity with practical anatomy, although 

 it was most likely comparative rather than human 



1 Hence the name 6-rjpiaKat. 



2 " De Antidotis," i. 13, vol. xiv. p. 65, Kuhn. 



