Astrology; Medical misconceptions; Medicine -- History
Besides, our opinion that the warming and vitalizing power of the sun
formed one of the most important factors in the origin of astrology
is confirmed by the utterances of astrologists themselves. Thus, for
instance, Ptolemy points to the sun and moon as the sources of life to
mankind, and Hermes and Almansor repeat the dictum. This is furthermore
proved by the unparalleled popularity which astrology has enjoyed in
all phases of civilization. There is no civilized people, either
of ancient or of modern times, which has not adhered to astrologic
doctrines with the fullest confidence and most unswerving faith.
Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Germans, Romanians—in short,
all nations—have professed their belief in astrology. Such a conformity
of opinion would, however, be inexplicable amid such a dissimilarity of
religious and cultural ideas as characterized the different peoples,
unless a common principle had decisively influenced all nations in the
same manner. This principle was acknowledged in the influence of the
sun. Every human being was bound to observe the animating power of the
sun on his own bodily sense and from his own observation, and would be
at once led to the conclusion that a similar power resided also in the
other celestial bodies.
This conception, which to a great extent was brought about by
conclusions from analogy, provided a method of inference concerning
various other phenomena. Man meditated, speculated, concluded, until
the required sidereal relation of each organ and each function of the
human body was determined. Thus astrology may serve as one of the
most telling examples of scientific delusions to which the ancient
diagnostico-theoretical methods were bound to lead, with their
conclusions from analogy and their deductive modes of procedure.
The above survey indicates, altho only in very general outlines,
the origin of astrology. We shall now consider more in detail the
acquisition for which the art of medicine is especially indebted to
astrology.
Babylonico-Assyrian civilization possessed in its earliest ages a
well-developed system of astrologic medicine, as is evident from
writings bequeathed to us from antiquity. Campbell-Thompson has
recently published, from the great stock of cuneiform tablets in the
collection of the British Museum, 276 inscriptions of an astrological
nature belonging to the so-called Kouyunjik collection. Sudhoff has
compiled them, so far as they refer to medicine, and has subjected them
to critical analysis. We take the liberty of repeating certain extracts
from these cuneiform tablets, which appear to be the reports which
Assyrian and Babylonian court astrologists made to the king.
Tablet 69_a_ says: “If the wind comes from the west upon appearance of
the moon, disease will prevail during this month.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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