A HISTORY OF SCIENCE 



or even years, notwithstanding the fact that multi- 

 tudes of God-fearing people prayed hourly that such 

 ravages might be checked. And they must have ob- 

 served also that when even very simple rules of clean- 

 liness and hygiene were followed there was a diminu- 

 tion in the ravages of the plague, even without the aid 

 of incantations. Such observations as these would 

 have a tendency to awaken a suspicion in the minds of 

 many of the physicians that disease was not a mani- 

 festation of the supernatural, but a natural phenome- 

 non, to be treated by natural methods. 



But, be the causes what they may, it is a fact that 

 the thirteenth century marks a turning-point, or the 

 beginning of an attitude of mind which resulted in 

 bringing medicine to a much more rational position. 

 Among the thirteenth-century physicians, two men 

 are deserving of special mention. These are Arnald 

 of Villanova (1235-1312) and Peter of Abano (1250- 

 1315). Both these men suffered persecution for ex- 

 pressing their belief in natural, as against the super- 

 natural, causes of disease, and at one time Arnald was 

 obliged to flee from Barcelona for declaring that the 

 " bulls" of popes were human works, and that " acts of 

 charity were dearer to God than hecatombs." He was 

 also accused of alchemy. Fleeing from persecution, 

 he finally perished by shipwreck. 



Arnald was the first great representative of the 

 school of Montpellier. He devoted much time to the 

 study of chemicals, and was active in attempting to 

 re-establish the teachings of Hippocrates and Galen. 

 He was one of the first of a long line of alchemists who, 

 for several succeeding centuries, expended so much 



34 



