prevented any real advance in medical knowledge. Then, again, the ancient Persians appear to have taken comparatively little interest in surgery, for it is said that King Darius I. was obliged, when he needed treatment for a badly sprained ankle, to send for a Greek physician. Finally, there may be found in Herodotus the following statement, which shows that the Persians had learned something of value, in practical hygiene, from their neighbors, the Egyptians:—
The Great King (Cyrus), when he goes to the wars, is always
supplied with provisions carefully prepared at home, and with
cattle of his own. Water, too, from the river Choaspes, which flows
by Susa, is taken with him for his drink, as that is the only water
which the kings of Persia taste. Wherever he travels, he is
attended by a number of four-wheeled cars drawn by mules, in
which the Choaspes water, ready boiled for use, and stored in
flagons of silver, is moved with him from place to place.[1]
Neuburger makes the remark that the ancient Persians
are entitled to the gratitude of later generations for the
valuable service which they rendered the science of medicine,
inasmuch as, during the dynasty of the Sassanide
princes (fifth century A. D.) and at a time when European
culture was hastening to its destruction, they gave shelter
both to classical culture in general and to the medical
knowledge of the Greeks, and then afterward handed it
over to the conquering Arabs, who passed it on to our
forefathers.
The Medicine of the Old Testament.—There are no medical writings which give any information concerning the science and art of medicine as possessed by the ancient Israelites, but the Bible contains a number of passages that refer to matters which belong in the domain of medicine, and more particularly in that of social hygiene. The mosaic laws were framed with a view to the good of the Jewish people as a whole, and were directed to such matters as the prevention and suppression of epidemic diseases, the combating venereal affections and prostitution, the care
- ↑ Book I., p. 96, of George Rawlinson's translation.
