PROGRESS IN ANATOMY 



more dogmatic doctors who were not happy 

 unless they could understand the ratio of men's 

 bodies and of their disturbances. They pro- 

 fessed a rational medicine and held it neces- 

 sary to understand the antecedent and obscure, 

 as well as the palpable, causes of the disease, 

 and insisted upon a knowledge of anatomy. 

 In their opinion those who best knew the con- 

 stitution of the body and the causes of disease 

 had the best chance to effect a cure. Ex- 

 perience was important, but must always be 

 approached through the ratio of things. 



Then Celsus speaks of those who adhered 

 to the methodum, the simple but sufficient way, 

 which was in fine a rather Roman simplifi- 

 cation of Greek theory, especially of the atomic 

 theory and its application to the constitution 

 and diseases of the human body. In general 

 — and the Methodists preferred generaliza- 

 tions to the specific knowledge which was more 

 difficult — diseases are due to a condition of 

 undue tension or rigidity in the body, or on 

 the other hand to excessive relaxation. In the 

 first case, the pores between the atoms are 

 clogged, and in the second they are too loose 

 and open. The theory was elastic and the 

 treatment reasonable, consisting in warm baths 



[93] 



