The Evolution of Modern Medicine | Page 9

him is a statue
of one of his priests, Amasis (No. 14765 in the British Museum).
Ptolemy V dedicated to him a temple on the island of Philae. His cult
increased much in later days, and a special temple was dedicated to him
near Memphis Sethe suggests that the cult of Imhotep gave the
inspiration to the Hermetic literature. The association of Imhotep with
the famous temple at Edfu is of special interest.
[3] Breasted: A History of the Ancient Egyptians, Scribner, New York,
1908, p. 104.
[4] K. Sethe: Imhotep, der Asklepios der Aegypter, Leipzig, 1909

(Untersuchungen, etc., ed. Sethe, Vol. II, No. 4).
Egypt became a centre from which civilization spread to the other
peoples of the Mediterranean. For long centuries, to be learned in all
the wisdom of the Egyptians meant the possession of all knowledge.
We must come to the land of the Nile for the origin of many of man's
most distinctive and highly cherished beliefs. Not only is there a
magnificent material civilization, but in records so marvellously
preserved in stone we may see, as in a glass, here clearly, there darkly,
the picture of man's search after righteousness, the earliest impressions
of his moral awakening, the beginnings of the strife in which he has
always been engaged for social justice and for the recognition of the
rights of the individual. But above all, earlier and more strongly than in
any other people, was developed the faith that looked through death, to
which, to this day, the noblest of their monuments bear an enduring
testimony. With all this, it is not surprising to find a growth in the
knowledge of practical medicine; but Egyptian civilization illustrates
how crude and primitive may remain a knowledge of disease when
conditioned by erroneous views of its nature. At first, the priest and
physician were identified, and medicine never became fully dissociated
from religion. Only in the later periods did a special group of
physicians arise who were not members of priestly colleges.[6]
Maspero states that the Egyptians believed that disease and death were
not natural and inevitable, but caused by some malign influence which
could use any agency, natural or invisible, and very often belonged to
the invisible world. "Often, though, it belongs to the invisible world,
and only reveals itself by the malignity of its attacks: it is a god, a spirit,
the soul of a dead man, that has cunningly entered a living person, or
that throws itself upon him with irresistible violence. Once in
possession of the body, the evil influence breaks the bones, sucks out
the marrow, drinks the blood, gnaws the intestines and the heart and
devours the flesh. The invalid perishes according to the progress of this
destructive work; and death speedily ensues, unless the evil genius can
be driven out of it before it has committed irreparable damage.
Whoever treats a sick person has therefore two equally important duties
to perform. He must first discover the nature of the spirit in possession,
and, if necessary, its name, and then attack it, drive it out, or even

destroy it. He can only succeed by powerful magic, so he must be an
expert in reciting incantations, and skilful in making amulets. He must
then use medicine [drugs and diet] to contend with the disorders which
the presence of the strange being has produced in the body."[6]
[5] Maspero: Life in Ancient Egypt and Assyria, London, 1891, p. 119.
[6] Maspero: Life in Ancient Egypt and Assyria, London, 1891, p. 118.
[7] W. Wreszinski: Die Medizin der alten Aegypter, Leipzig, J. C.
Hinrichs, 1909-1912.
In this way it came about that diseases were believed to be due to
hostile spirits, or caused by the anger of a god, so that medicines, no
matter how powerful, could only be expected to assuage the pain; but
magic alone, incantations, spells and prayers, could remove the disease.
Experience brought much of the wisdom we call empirical, and the
records, extending for thousands of years, show that the Egyptians
employed emetics, purgatives, enemata, diuretics, diaphoretics and
even bleeding. They had a rich pharmacopoeia derived from the animal,
vegetable and mineral kingdoms. In the later periods, specialism
reached a remarkable development, and Herodotus remarks that the
country was full of physicians;--"One treats only the diseases of the eye,
another those of the head, the teeth, the abdomen, or the internal
organs."
Our knowledge of Egyptian medicine is derived largely from the
remarkable papyri dealing specially with this subject. Of these, six or
seven are of the first importance. The most famous is that discovered
by Ebers, dating from about 1500 B.C. A superb document, one of the
great treasures of the Leipzig Library, it is 20.23 metres long and 30
centimetres high and in a state of wonderful preservation. Others