Babylonian Astro-medicine, Quadruplicities and Pliny the Elder

2021 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-76
Author(s):  
Maddalena Rumor
Keyword(s):  
Pliny The Elder ◽  
Ultimate Source ◽  
Medical Theory

Abstract This article identifies the tradition of Babylonian Kalendertexte as the ultimate source for a passage in Pliny the Elder’s HN 30.95–97, thus establishing a link between Babylonian and Graeco-Roman astral medicine. Implications include the identification of the astrological square aspect (perhaps called é, bītu, “house”) in Babylonia, a connection with Hermeticism and the Greek medical theory of Critical Days, and the textual demonstration that Dreckapotheke-names did indeed refer to healing plants, in such a context.

Nature, poetry and medicine in late 18th century England: a unified perspective of Erasmus Darwin

1976 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-537
Author(s):  
M. McNEIL
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Nature Poetry ◽  
Medicine And Philosophy ◽  
Late 18Th Century ◽  
Medical Theory ◽  
Lunar Society Of Birmingham ◽  
Organizational Principles ◽  
Century Science ◽  
Erasmus Darwin

Erasmus Darwin was the focus and embodiment of provincial England in his day. Renowned as a physician, he spent much of his life at Lichfield. He instigated the founding of the Lichfield Botanic Society, which provided the first English translation of the works of Linnaeus, and established a botanic garden; the Lunar Society of Birmingham; the Derby Philosophical Society; and two provincial libraries. A list of Darwin's correspondents and associates reads like a "who's who" of eighteenth century science, industry, medicine and philosophy. His poetry was also well received by his contemporaries and he expounded the evolutionary principles of life. Darwin can be seen as an English equivalent of Lamarck, being a philosopher of nature and human society. His ideas have been linked to a multitude of movements, including the nosological movement in Western medicine, nineteenth century utilitarianism, Romanticism in both Britain and Germany, and associationist psychology. The relationships between various aspects of Darwin's interests and the organizational principles of his writings were examined. His poetical form and medical theory were not peripheral to his study of nature but intrinsically linked in providing his contemporaries with a panorama of nature. A richer, more integrated comprehension of Erasmus Darwin as one of the most significant and representative personalities of his era was presented.

Nephrology in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder (23–79 A.D.)

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natale Gaspare De Santo ◽  
Giovambattista Capasso ◽  
Dario Ranieri Giordano ◽  
Mario Aulisio ◽  
Pietro Anastasio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Pliny The Elder ◽  
History Of

The Destruction of Cultural Heritage in the Kingdoms of Pontus and Kommagene during the Roman Conquest

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-252
Author(s):  
Tomasz Polanski
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Urban Communities ◽  
Cultural Goods ◽  
Roman Army ◽  
Pliny The Elder ◽  
Military Campaign ◽  
The Temple ◽  
Literary Circles

In 72-69 B.C., L. Lucullus successively captured the most important urban centres of the kingdom of Pontus, and Tigranocerta in Armenia. His army also operated in the kingdom of Commagene und in Upper Mesopotamia. Lucullus’ military campaign was continued by Pompey. We come across incidental information about the scale of robbery and destruction committed by the Roman army (the statue of Autolycus by Sthennis in Sinope, the temple of Ma in Comana, the secret archives of Mithradates VI, the Roman library of Lucullus, the treasures of Darius the Achaemenid). Some objects of the plundered art appeared in public at the triumphal shows of wealth in Rome, which was perfunctorily documented by Pliny the Elder, Appianus of Alexandria and Plutarch (63 and 61 B.C.). Artworks were also acquired by functionaries of the occupying administration from urban communities and private persons through extortion and blackmail. The Roman lawyers and intellectuals worked out a set of skilful legal formulas to justify and legalise the plunder of cultural goods (ius belli, monumentum imperatoris, ornamentum urbis). Cicero, Livy and Plutarch never condemn the robbery of artworks and libraries if they were committed in the name of the Roman state. The fragmentary evidence testifies to the once flourishing literary circles of the kingdoms of Pontus and Commagene (Methrodorus of Scepsis, Athenion, the anonymous authors of inscriptions from Commagene, the epitaphs of the Bosporan kingdom).

Dediticii: the Source of Isidore (Etym. 9, 4, 49–50)

1921 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 267-268
Author(s):  
M. L. W. Laistner
Keyword(s):  
Short Paper ◽  
Ultimate Source

A good many years ago Dircken wrote a short paper with the object of tracing the sources in those parts of the Etymologiae in which Isidore deals with laws or legal terms. He pointed out that, while it could be shown that the ultimate source of Isidore's information was the writings of Gaius, Ulpian or Julius Paulus, it could not be maintained that Isidore himself was directly acquainted with the great jurists of the second and third centuries.

scholarly journals Reproduction in the spotted hyaena, Crocuta crocuta (erxleben)

1939 ◽  
Vol 230 (565) ◽  
pp. 1-78 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Crocuta Crocuta ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Pliny The Elder ◽  
At Will

From time immemorial it has been known that there is something peculiar about the sexual anatomy and physiology of the spotted hyaena. The writers of antiquity relate the legend that this animal is hermaphrodite, or that it can change its sex at will. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) mentions the story, but says that it is untrue. He did not, however, distinguish between the spotted and striped hyaenas: the legend relates to the spotted hyaena, but his refutation to the striped, the genital anatomy of which he correctly describes. Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23-79) repeats the legend, mentioning Aristotle’s denial of its truth. Claudius Aelianus ( ca. A.D. 160-220) also states th at the hyaena changes its sex in alternate years.

JEREMY BENTHAM'S LIST OF DATA NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN (1797)

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-447
Author(s):  
T. E. C.
Keyword(s):  
Child Development ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Jeremy Bentham ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Political Theorist ◽  
Medical Theory ◽  
Musical Sounds

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), English philosopher, jurist, political theorist, and founder of the doctrine of utilitarianism, was also influential in the field of medical theory and practice. Spector1 has called attention to the following data set down by Bentham more than a century and a half before the emergence of modern interest in child development. This list shows Bentham's prescience in conceptualizing the data that would need to be collected before one could properly understand the temporal steps in a child's development. 1. Advances independent of instruction: First indication of fear, smiling, recognizing persons Indication of a preference for a particular person Indication of a dislike for a particular person Attention to musical sounds Appearance of first tooth Appearance of each of the successive teeth; duration and degree of pain and illness in cutting teeth Giving toys or food to others Attempt to imitate sound laughter General progress in bodily or intellectual requirements whether uniform or by sudden degree 2. Advances dependent upon instruction: Standing, supported by one arm Standing, supporting itself by resting the hands Token of obedience to will of others Command of natural evacuation Walking, supporting itself by chairs Standing alone Walking alone Pointing out the seat of pain.

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