GREEK BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 



of the trouble, and proceeds on the principle 

 that there can be no disturbance in the function 

 without an affection of the part. After some 

 chapters of general consideration, the means 

 of making the proper local diagnosis through- 

 out all the parts of the body are considered 

 successively and in detail. 



Equally valuable are his treatises on Thera- 

 peutics and Hygiene; and large and important 

 compositions are devoted to the methods of the 

 various medical sects, — Galen was a tremen- 

 dous medical polemicist. A famous treatise is 

 that of the Use or Utility, to wit, the function 

 and purpose, oj the Parts. Through its long 

 course, with great detail, it seeks to exemplify 

 and prove the Aristotelian principle that 

 Nature makes nothing in vain. It demon- 

 strates that the parts and organs of the body 

 could not be better disposed, and that they 

 are perfectly adapted to the fulfillment of 

 their functions. It discerns and would prove 

 the perfect harmony among the different parts. 

 There are in it constant disquisitions upon final 

 causes, references to God and Nature, and 

 corresponding diatribes against those who 

 accept the action of chance and the theory of 

 the atoms. 



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