HIPPO'CRATES was born at Cos, B.C. 460. His family followed the pursuit of medicine for near three hundred years, and produced seven physicians, who attained considerable celebrity, and who are supposed to have written the numerous treatises which are commonly attributed to Hippocrates alone. Before their time the knowledge of medieloe was either confined to tho priests, who employed their skill in maintaining their influence over the people, and carefully concealed the little knowledge they possessed, or was merely followed as a subordinate pursuit by the philosophers of the day. It is to the Aselepindre that the science of medicine is indebted for a separate existence, and the great progress which it made in their bands after this separation sufficiently proves the wisdom of their proceeding.
The most celebrated of the family was the subject of the present notice, Hippocrates, the son of Heraelides and Phienarete, who is supposed to have been the author of this important revolution in medicine. It would have been interesting to give some details of his personal history, but unfortunately we possess few authentic materials for this purpose, except some fragments contained in his life by Soranus. His medical studies were pursued under the superintend ence of his father and of Iferodicus ; and he is said to have had for his masters in philosophy Gargles of Leontini, the celebrated sophist, and Democritus of Abdera, whose cure he afterwards effected. We are told that he spent some time at the court of Perdiccas, king of 3Iacedonia, and visited Thrace and Scythia; and it is probable .that these statements are true, as mention is made in his writings of several towns in Thrace (Suidas, 'brroxparsis). Serum: states that he delivered Athens from the ravages of a dreadful plague which was raging in the city : but this can hardly be the one which occurred in the second year of the Peloponnesian war, of which such a graphic) description is given by Thncydides; for though Thucydides suffered from the dieeaae himself, and was a witness of its ravages, he makes no mention of the name of Hippocrates, but on the contrary declares that medical skill was of no avail against it.
We have already observed that many of the works usually attri buted to Hippocrates were in reality the productions of various members of his family. This circumstance alone would render it impossible to determine accurately the amount and value of his con tributions to the science of medicine. But this difficulty has been still further increased by the manner in which his writings were mutilated, and fresh passages interpolated by later editors. This con fusion is supposed to have been introduced into his writings at the time when the Ptolemies were forming their celebrated library at Alexandria, for the high value which was set upon ancient writings by these monarchs induced men to collect and forgo copies of ancient authors, which they passed off for the genuine works of those to whom they were attributed. It appears that in the time of Galen
they were able in some degree to distinguish the genuine writings of Hippocrates from those falsely attributed to him. All the writings assigned to Hippocrates are written in the Ionics dialect, but ho does not adhere so closely to its forms as hierodotus.
The principles of Hippocrates were those of rational empiricism. Ile did not attempt to form his theories from a priori reasoning, but ho observed the phenomena of nature and deduced from them ends conclusions as these phenomena would justify. That be adhered to this principle in all cases however is not to be supposed. lie taught that the body is composed of four primary elements—fire, water, earth, and air ; that these elements, variously combined, produce the four cardinal humours, and these again the different organs of the body. These doctrines are principally developed in the treatise 'On tho Nature of Man;' and Galen asserts that ho was the author of this theory, which was afterwards adopted and more generally promulgated by the genius of Plato. His knowledge of anatomy seems to have been very limited. The superstitious respect which was paid to the remains of the dead among the Greeks prevented him from acquiring any knowledge on this subject by dissection of the human body. He gives such descriptions of the bones as show that be had indeed studied the subject, but not acquired any very accurate knowledge. The muscles are described uuder the general term of flak (aliases), and though some explanation is given of them in the treatise 'On Art,' this is probably spuriona. The term phlehs (4A4) is applied indiscriminately to the veins and arteries, while or-feria (aeri:pis) is confined exclusively to the trachea. His description of the vessels is confined to the course of come of the larger ones, without expressing any opinion as to their origin. Ho does not 'seem to have supposed that they originate either in the heart or liver. These views were first propounded in the school of Alexandria. Under the term nerves he confounds all the white tissues of the body, the nerves, properly so called, the tendons, and ligaments. According to Hippo crates the brain is glandular and secretes the pituita, or mucus. In his pathology he confines himself principally to the investigation of the remote causes of diseases, without entering into many speculations on their nature. However he explains inflammation b7 the passage of blood into those parts which did not previously contain it. In this case we still require to be informed bow the blood passes into these parts. He paid great attention to the effects of changes in the external conditions of life, namely air, warmth, moisture, food, upon its phe nomena, and those of disease. He recommended that particular attention should be paid to the constitution of the seasons.