GREEK BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 



immediately following the death of the two 

 masters. Soon, however, tendencies to simplify 

 principles and practice intervened; and practi- 

 tioners were ready enough to disburden them- 

 selves of useless knowledge. 



Either through legitimate descent or from 

 reaction, divergent medical attitudes became 

 apparent. One must not, however, infer such 

 opposite practices as the opposing names of 

 these medical sects might seem to indicate, for 

 they had much in common and tended to ex- 

 emplify Greek temperance and reasonableness 

 in the treatment of patients. Whatever was 

 the theoretical position of his school, " there 

 were for the wiser Greek physician three 

 factors of safety: he was free from magic; he 

 was a master of hygiene; and, whatever his 

 abstract notions, he never forgot to treat the 

 individual." (Allbutt.) 



Naturally the various phases of Greek 

 medical theory were colored, temperamentally, 

 by the current attitudes of Greek philosophy 

 toward nature and human life and man's knowl- 

 edge of the same. So completely had Greek 

 natural philosophy boxed the compass of pos- 

 sible opinion, that no medical theory could 

 avoid adopting as its ultimate base some recog- 



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