Pseudo-Alexander wonders why his friend Apollonius didn't ask him earlier to write a book

I was recently moving to a new city, and I had promised myself that before I did I would finish a chapter I owed for a book (very late). This is basically the conversation that was going on in my head (I’m both people in this story):

“You asked me, Apollonius, best of Asclepiads, to give you a written version of my recent class lectures on fevers. That way, if you wanted to do some studying on fevers, you would have as it were a reminder of my lesson, especially now that I’ve decided to go abroad and will be far away from you, and you might not find anyone else who would so eagerly explain to you the secrets of medicine. I’m happy to do what you ask. In fact, I was prepared to produce a lesson for you had you asked for one, both lecture and notes, and not only on fevers, but on any other medical subject—just not now, when the other things I have to do before my trip are stressing me out and making it impossible to work on these kinds of things. But I would have done it before, namely when it was possible and I had time to write up the theory after your requested it. The study of fevers is, as you know, complex and difficult to study. Lots of time is required to get a hold on it and to write it down. And you agree that the work must be worthy of both you and me, otherwise it would be pointless for me to choose to write it up and you to choose to read it.

“In fact, in the end I had let go of the idea of doing it for these reasons, except that a certain saying of ancient men—a nice one—occurred to me and persuaded me that ‘one must do right by one’s friends, even if one must debase one’s art to meet their demands, and not hold back from this very thing.’ It then seemed right to me to put the present book together as a kind of introduction, and since I promise there will be another book on the whole theory of fevers at a suitable time later on, I offer you a reminder of true friendship by means of this discussion as deposit. And so let us comply with your request and say whatever the time allows us to say, not using the breadth of the art and our facility in discourse (if ever it existed), but making use rather of the brief time we have. But let’s be lenient with one another: you for <not> already asking me ages ago when it would have been easier to receive not an introduction but a long book on fevers; and me for not ever wanting to go against friends in any way.”

 ἤιτησας ἡμᾶς, Ἀσκληπιαδῶν ἄριστε, Ἀπολλώνιε, περὶ πυρετῶν σοι τοσαῦτα διὰ γραφῆς παραδοῦναι, ὅσα σχεδὸν πὰρ ἡμῖν φοιτῶντι διὰ γλώττης παρεδηλώσαμεν, ἵν' ὥσπερ ὑπόμνημα τῆς ἡμῶν εἴη σοι διδασκαλίας, βουλομένῳ περὶ πυρετῶν θεωρεῖν, καὶ μάλιστα νυνί, ὅτε καὶ ἀποδημεῖν ἡμεῖς ἐβουλευσάμεθα, καὶ μακρὰν ἀφ' ὑμῶν γενέσθαι, σὺ δὲ οὐκέτ' ἴσως ἕξεις τὸν οὕτω σοι προθύμως τὰ τῆς ἰατρικῆς διασαφήσοντα ὄργια. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ἕπεσθαί σοι ῥᾴδιος, ἐφ' ἃ κελεύεις αὐτός. καὶ μὴ ὅτι περὶ πυρετῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ παντὸς ἄλλου θεωρήματος ἰατρικοῦ ἕτοιμος ἂν ἦν, σοῦ χάριν καὶ γλώττῃ καὶ γράμμασι διδασκαλίαν ποιήσασθαι, εἴγε μὴ νῦν, ὅτε πρὸς ἀλλ' ἄττα, τῆς ἐξόδου βιαζομένης, ἡμεῖς ἐπειγόμεθα, μὴ συγχωροῦντα τὴν περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα σπουδήν, ἀλλὰ πρὸ καιροῦ, ὅτε δηλονότι οἷόν τε ἦν καὶ χρόνον ἡμῖν ἐγγενέσθαι μετὰ τὴν αἴτησιν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ θεωρήματος ξυγγραφήν, τὸ περὶ τούτων ὤφθης αἰτούμενος. πολυσχιδὴς γάρ, ὡς οἶδας, καὶ δυσθεώρητος ἡ περὶ πυρετῶν θεωρία καὶ πολλοῦ δεομένη χρόνου πρὸς κατάληψίν τε καὶ ξυγγραφήν· δεῖν δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ἂν ξυμφαίης σαυτοῦ τε καὶ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν ἄξιον εἶναι τὸ σπουδαζόμενον, εἰ μὴ μάτην αὐτὸς μὲν γράφειν, σὺ δὲ ἀναγινώσκειν αἱρούμεθα.

καὶ εἴασα ἂν τελέως τοὐγχείρημα διὰ ταῦτα, εἰ μή τις λόγος παλαιῶν ἀνδρῶν καὶ καλῶς ἔχων ἐπῆλθε πείθων με, ὡς ἀνάγκη φιλίαις εἴκειν, κἂν δέῃ συγκατιέναι τὴν τέχνην, ἐπὶ ταῖς ἀξιώσεσι, μηδ' αὐτοῦ δὴ τούτου γε φείδεσθαι. ἀμέλει καὶ ἔδοξέ μοι, ὥσπερ ἐν εἰσαγωγῆς τρόπῳ, τὸ παρὸν συντάξασθαι σύγγραμμα, καὶ ἄλλο ἐπαγγελλόμενον περὶ τῆς ὅλης τῶν πυρετῶν θεωρίας, ἐν ἁρμόζοντι δῆθεν ἐσόμενον χρόνῳ, νυνὶ τουτί σοι ὡς ἐν ὑποθήκης ἐκδοῦναι λόγῳ, ἀκριβοῦς φιλίας ὑπόμνημα. καὶ δὴ λέγωμέν σοι πειθόμενοι, ἃ ἂν ὁ καιρὸς διδῷ, μὴ τῷ τῆς τέχνης πλάτει, καὶ τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ περὶ τὸ λέγειν, εἴ τίς ἐστιν, εὐπορίᾳ, τοῦ χρόνου δὲ μᾶλλον χρησάμενοι τῇ βραχύτητι. ἀμφοτέροις δὲ παρ' ἀμφοτέρων ἔσται συγγνώμη, σοὶ μὲν ἤδη πάλαι αἰτήσαντι, ὅτε μὴ εἰσαγωγήν, ἀλλὰ βίβλον μακρὰν <περὶ> πυρετῶν εἰληφέναι ῥᾴδιον ἦν, ἐμοὶ δὲ φίλοις ἐφ' ὁποιῳδηποτοῦν οὐκ ἀντιβαίνειν ἐθέλοντι.

Pseudo-Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fevers 1, 81–82 Ideler =1,1–2,12 Tassinari

“Don’t get me wrong, I respect them…” — Michael of Ephesus on his colleagues

“I don’t mean to sound divisive and contentious, and I don’t say this with any jealousy towards my colleagues—I swear on my teacher’s soul, which I esteem and worship second only to God. But, honestly, speaking from my experience with the other teachers, some of them are completely dumb. They don’t understand at all the actual words written on the page, never mind their deeper meaning. Sure, some of the slightly more clever ones have sporadic thoughts, but they are way off from establishing the text correctly, while the others just wander at random … I don’t need to get into this. Don’t get me wrong, I respect them and I am fond of them, but since Providence thought it was a good idea, my teacher flew away to heaven, while we, with Providence as our guide and helper, ought to get back to the work that lies before us.”

ταῦτα δὲ λέγω οὐ διαφορᾷ ἢ φιλονεικίᾳ ἢ φθόνῳ τῷ πρὸς τοὺς καθ' ἡμᾶς, οὐ μὰ τὴν ἐκείνου ψυχήν, ἣν ἐγὼ μετὰ θεὸν σέβομαί τε καὶ προσκυνῶ, ἀλλ' ἀληθείᾳ καὶ πείρᾳ τῇ πρὸς τούτους μοι γεγονυίᾳ. οἱ μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν παντελῶς εἰσιν ἄφωνοι μηδὲν ὅλως ἐννοοῦντες, τί ποτ' ἐστὶν ὅλως τὰ ἐν τοῖς βιβλίοις γεγραμμένα καὶ τίς ὁ τούτων νοῦς, τινὲς δὲ τῶν χαριεστέρων τῆς μὲν διανοίας ἐφάπτονται σποράδην, τοῦ δὲ τὴν λέξιν καθιστάνειν πόρρω ποι ἀποπλανῶνται, ἄλλοι δ' ἄλλως· περὶ ὧν οὐ δεῖ με λέγειν. πλὴν καὶ τούτους τιμῶ καὶ ἀσπάζομαι, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος μέν, ὡς ἔδοξε τῇ προνοίᾳ, ἡμῶν ἀπέπτη, ἡμεῖς δ' ὑπὸ ταύτης χειραγωγούμενοι καὶ βοηθούμενοι ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἐπανέλθωμεν.

Michael of Ephesus, In parva naturalia commentaria, CAG 22.1, 142,8-142,18 Wendland

Sources for the Pneumatist School

Puzzles about the Pneumatist school of medicine. Continued from here.

II. Transferring Schools

G. Galenus, De differentia pulsuum 3.2 (VIII 646K)

“For Magnus, mind you, who professes himself to come from the Pneumatist school, says the strength of the beat (of the pulse) is produced differently from the way Archigenes does.”

ὁ γάρ τοι Μάγνος, καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπὸ τῆς πνευματικῆς αἱρέσεως εἶναι προσποιούμενος, ἑτέρως τὸ ἰσχυρὸν τῆς πληγῆς γίνεσθαί φησιν ἢ ὡς Ἀρχιγένης.

H. Galenus, De differentia pulsuum 3.1 (VIII 640K)

“Magnus clearly knows that he is not arguing against the other doctors about facts, but about the proper or improper use of terms. This is made especially clear through the following example: for he asks Demetrius [the Cynic?], to whom he has dedicated these books On the Discoveries after the Time of Themison, to investigate it [sc. the pulse] with him as well, since he is a philosopher and someone who knows more precisely what is a proper term and what is not.”

οἶδεν οὖν σαφῶς ὁ Μάγνος ὅτι μὴ περὶ πράγματος, ἀλλὰ τοῦ κυρίως ὀνομάζειν, ἢ μὴ κυρίως, πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους ἰατροὺς ἀμφισβητεῖ. σαφέστατον δ' ἔτι ποιεῖ τοῦτο διὰ τῶν ἐφεξῆς· ἀξιοῖ γὰρ τὸν Δημήτριον, ᾧ ταῦτα τὰ βιβλία τὰ περὶ τῶν ἐφευρημένων μετὰ τοὺς Θεμίσωνος χρόνους ἀνέθηκε, συνεπισκέψασθαι καὶ αὐτὸν, ὡς ἂν φιλόσοφόν τε ὄντα καὶ τί τὸ κύριον ὄνομα καὶ τί τὸ μὴ τοιοῦτον ἀκριβέστερον εἰδότα.

I. Caelius Aurelianus, Celeres passiones, 2.10.58 (CML VI 1, 166,9-12 Bendz)

“But no one identified this disease [sc. catalepsy] as such until the time of the Methodists. For it was Magnus, from our [school, i.e., the Methodists], who first determined its characteristics, and he was soon followed by Agathinus and then by Archigenes [...].”

sed neque alius quisquam hanc passionem [sc. catalepsis] cognouit usque ad Methodicorum tempora. name ex nostris primus Magnus eius argumenta constituit, atque mox Agathinus, dehinc Archigenes [...].

Sources for the Pneumatist School of Medicine

For the last few years, Orly Lewis and I have been working on a project on the Pneumatist school of medicine. ‘School’ translates hairesis—the word from which we get ‘heresy’ in English. The root meaning of hairesis is ‘choice.’ It later came to mean the group who chooses to follow the same teacher or leader, or, more abstractly, people who choose to follow the same set of philosophical or moral principles.

The Pneumatists are a hairesis, we are told, because its members chose to believe that pneuma is the cause of life, health and disease (instead of, or in addition to, other things like humours, blocked pores, etc.). It is generally thought to have been founded by Athenaeus of Attalia in the late first century BCE or early first century CE. What is interesting, however, is that only three sources name this school—Galen, the author of Introduction or the Doctor (Introductio seu Medicus), and John of Alexandria—and the earliest of these sources is from the mid- to late 2nd century. That leaves about 150 years where no one mentions the Pneumatist hairesis. Furthermore, apart from Athenaeus, the doctors whom Galen and the author of the Introduction associate with the Pneumatist hairesis are said either to belong to other schools or to have founded other schools by other (and sometimes earlier) sources. Soranus / Caelius Aurelianus associates Agathinus and Magnus with the Methodists, the author of the Medical Definitions says Agathinus founded a hairesis the some people called “episynthetic”, others “eclectic”, and the author of the Introduction in one place says Archigenes was “eclectic,” in another place a Pneumatist. How many schools can one person belong to? How exclusive are they? Is membership in a school an act of self-identification, or is it applied from outside? —it’s far from clear.

The semester is starting in Berlin, so here are some passages about haireseis which we’ve been collecting, passages which we think emphasize why it’s time for historians of science to come up with new ways of understanding self- and other-presentation among ancient professionals (good work has been done by Heinrich von Staden, Philip van der Eijk, David Leith, and others, but there’s more to do). Part one of three.

I. What school do you go to?

A. Galenus, De causis contentiuis 2.1 (CMG Suppl. Or. II, 134,3-4 Schöne; Lyons tr., modified)

Athineum igitur Attaleum, quit spiritualem nominatam heresim in medicatiua primo cepit [...]

As for Athenaeus of Attalia, he founded the medical school known as that of the Pneumatists [...]

B. Anonymus Bambergensis, Codex Bambergensis L.iii.8 med. i (411 Sudhoff)

subsequente autem tempore facti sunt rationabiles potentes medici Diocles, Praxagoras, Herophilus, Erasistratus, Asclepiades, Athenaeus, Agathinus, Ariston, Archigenes, Herodotus, Philumenus, Antyllus.

Dicoles : Deoclex codd. | Praxagoras : Praxacoras codd. | Herophilus : Herophilos codd. | Athenaeus : Atheneus codd. | Agathinus : Agatheneus codd. | Philumenus : Philominus codd. | Antyllus : Antillus codd.

In the subsequent period, however, the Rationalist physicians became powerful: Diocles, Praxagoras, Herophilus, Erasistratus, Asclepiades, Athenaeus, Agathinus, Ariston, Archigenes, Herodotus, Philumenus, Antyllus.

C. Anonymus, Initia Medicinae (52 Firpo)

subsequenti autem tempore facti sunt rationabiles [et] potentes medici, idest Diocles, Praxagoras, Herophilus, Erasistratus, Asclepiades, Athenaeus, Agathinus, Ariston, Archigenes, Herodotus, Philumenus, Antyllus.

et] delevi | Herophilus : Erophilus codd. | Athenaeus : Atheneus codd. | Agathinus : Agathenus codd. | Philumenus : Philomenus codd. | Antyllus : Antillus codd.

In the subsequent period, however, the rationalist physicians became powerful, i.e., Diocles, Praxagoras, Herophilus, Erasistratus, Asclepiades, Athenaeus, Agathinus, Ariston, Archigenes, Herodotus, Philumenus, Antyllus.

D. Galenus, De differentia pulsuum 3.6 (VIII 673-674 Kühn)

τὸ γὰρ δὴ τρίτον τῶν σημαινομένων (sc. τοῦ κενοῦ) οὔτε Ἀρχιγένης οὔτε Ἀγαθῖνος οὔτε Μάγνος οὔτ' Ἀθήναιος οὔτε ἄλλος οὐδεὶς τῶν πνευματικῶν ἰατρῶν ἀληθὲς ὁμολογήσει.

The third meaning (sc. of 'empty'), neither Archigenes, Agathinus, Magnus, Athenaeus, nor any other of the Pneumatist doctors will agree to its truth.

E. [Galenus], Definitiones medicae 14 (IX 352-353K)

πόσον κατὰ ἰατρικῆς αἱρέσεις; ἰατρικῆς αἱρέσεις αἱ πρῶται δύο ἐμπειρικὴ καὶ λογικὴ καὶ τρίτη μεθοδική. δοκεῖ δὲ καὶ τετάρτην αἵρεσιν ἐξευρεῖν Ἀγαθῖνος ὁ Λακεδαιμόνιος, ἣν ὠνόμασεν ἐπισυνθετικὴν, ἔνιοι δὲ ἐκλεκτικήν, ἕτεροι τὴν ἑκτικήν.

How many schools of medicine are there? The main medical schools are two: the Empiricist and the Logical, and a third is the Methodist. Agathinus of Lacedaemon seems to have invented a fourth school, which is called episynthetic, but some call eclectic, others hectic.

F. [Galenus], Introductio seu Medicus 4 (XIV 684 K)

ἐγένοντο δέ τινες καὶ ἐπισυνθετικοὶ, ὡς Λεωνίδης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς. καὶ ἐκλεκτοὶ, ὡς Ἀρχιγένης ὁ Ἀπαμεὺς τῆς Συρίας.

Some were also episynthetic, like Leonides of Alexandria, and some eclectic, like Archigenes of Apamea in Syria.

Athenaeus’ Back to School Advice

A fragment from the lost works of Athenaeus of Attalia, preserved in Oribasius, libri incerti 39:

“From six and seven-years, give your children over to gentle and benevolent elementary school teachers. Educators who teach using a combination of persuasion and compassion, and who offer lots of praise as well, are successful teachers and will encourage the children more. Also, their teaching is accompanied with joy and relaxation, and when the soul is relaxed and joyful, it contributes a good deal to the body’s thriving. But those educators who are relentless with their punishments will end up making the children miserable, fearful, and hostile to education. When they thrash their students, they are forcing them to learn and memorize things at the exact same moment they are being punished—in other words, when the children are least likely to be able to think! Also, don't oppress new students for the whole day with lessons. Instead, give over a greater portion of the day to amusement. In fact, we see among children who are pretty strong and mature for their age that, when they are always working hard at their lessons, their bodies become thoroughly corrupted.

“Twelve-year old children should go to geometry teachers as well as elementary teachers, and they should start taking gym. Also, their helpers and supervisors should be sound-minded and not completely inexperienced. This way, you know they will keep track of the proper times and portions of food, exercise, baths, sleep and everything else that has to do with being healthy. I feel I need to say this because most people spend a lot of of money hiring someone to groom their horse, making sure to choose a person who is careful and experienced; but, regarding a supervisor for their children, the same people will hire someone with no experience, or who is completely useless, and who cannot help at all in matters of life.”

ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ϛˊ καὶ ζˊ ἐτῶν τούς τε παῖδας καὶ τὰς κόρας γραμματισταῖς παραδιδόναι πραέσι καὶ φιλανθρώποις· οἱ μὲν γὰρ προσαγόμενοι τὰ παιδία καὶ πειθοῖ καὶ παρακλήσει διδάσκοντες, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ ἐπαινοῦντες, ἐπιτυγχάνουσι προτρέπονταί τε αὐτοὺς μᾶλλον καὶ μετὰ χαρᾶς καὶ ἀνέσεως διδάσκουσιν (ἡ δ’ ἄνεσις καὶ χαρὰ τῆς ψυχῆς εἰς εὐτροφίαν σώματος μεγάλα συμβάλλεται)· οἱ δ’ ἐπικείμενοι τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ καὶ πικροὶ ταῖς ἐπιπλήξεσι δουλοπρεπεῖς αὐτοὺς <καὶ> καταφόβους ποιοῦσι καὶ ἀλλοτρίους πρὸς τὰς μαθήσεις· δέροντες γὰρ μανθάνειν καὶ μνημονεύειν ἀναγκάζουσιν ἐν αὐταῖς ὄντας ταῖς πληγαῖς, ὅτε καὶ τοῦ φρονεῖν ἔξω γεγόνασιν. οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον δ’ οὐδὲ δι’ ὅλης τῆς ἡμέρας θλίβειν τοὺς ἀρτιμαθεῖς, μερίδα δὲ διδόναι παιδιᾷ αὐτῶν πλείονα· ὁρῶμεν γὰρ καὶ τῶν ἰσχυροτέρων καὶ τετελειωμένων ταῖς ἡλικίαις τοὺς ἐπιμελῶς καὶ ἀδιαλείπτως προσεδρεύοντας τοῖς μαθήμασι καταφθειρομένους τοῖς σώμασιν.

τοὺς δὲ δωδεκαετεῖς τῶν παίδων πρός τε γραμματικοὺς φοιτᾶν ἤδη καὶ γεωμέτρας καὶ τὸ σῶμα γυμνάζειν· ἀναγκαῖον δὲ νουνεχεῖς εἶναι τούς τε παιδαγωγοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς ἐπιστάτας καὶ μὴ τελείως ἀπείρους, ὅπως τούς τε καιροὺς καὶ τὰς συμμετρίας ἴδωσι τροφῆς, γυμνασίων, λουτρῶν, ὕπνου, τῶν ἄλλων τῶν κατὰ τὴν δίαιταν· οἱ γὰρ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἱπποκόμους μὲν πλείονος ὠνοῦνται τοὺς ἐπιμελεῖς καὶ ἐμπείρους ἐκλεγόμενοι, παιδαγωγοὺς δὲ τῶν τέκνων καθιστᾶσι τοὺς ἀπείρους καὶ ἀχρήστους ἤδη γεγονότας καὶ μηδὲν ἔτι δυναμένους ὑπηρετεῖν τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον.

Oribasius, libri incerti 39.3-5, CMG VI 2,2 138,28-139,15 Raeder