The Plague of Lust, Vol. 1 (of 2): Being a History of Venereal Disease in Classical AntiquityRosenbaum, Julius
History
The Plague of Lust, Vol. 1 (of 2): Being a History of Venereal Disease in Classical Antiquity
Rosenbaum, Julius
Sexually transmitted diseases -- History
If we review systematically and in detail these passages of _Philo_,
given by _Stark_ only in fragments, any unprejudiced reader must see
that there is not one of them that does not refer to the vice of the
Pathic. As to the second and third passages _Stark_ himself (pp. 13
and 22.) admits this, while as to the fourth we do not know what he
thought, it having been unknown to him: thus it is only in relation to
the _first_ and _fifth_ passages that we have to examine his reasons
for supposing this not to be the case. After quoting the text and
_Mangey’s_ Latin translation, _Stark_ remarks à propos of the _first_
passage,—that dealing with Diogenes:—“Quin hic verum corporis, nec
animi vitium seu morbum indicetur, quo laborantes virilitate orbarentur
et hanc suam impotentiam corporis habitu atque oris specie proderent,
nullus dubito. Nam hoc et verborum series aperte declarat et ex eo
colligi potest, quod ille, qui hoc crimine tactum se sentiret, pudore
movetur.... Si vero Pathicorum labes, quam ab interpretibus quibusdam
hic suspicari video, ita intelligenda esset, haec _neque ex vultu
coniici_ poterat _neque a Graecis tam turpi macula notabatur_, ut huic
vitio deditis causa esset, quam ab rem eius opprobrium effugerent.
Tantum enim abfuit, ut Pathici dedecus suum occultarent, ut potius
multo fastu atque pompa prae se ferrent.... Verum autem Eunuchum
genitalium exsectione redditum his verbis significari, non crediderim,
quia hi neque inter licitatores, sed potius inter vendendos reperiri,
neque ob harum partium defectum pudore tangi solerent.” (I have no
doubt whatever that a real fault of body, and not of mind, in other
words a disease, is intended here,—a disease that robbed the sufferers
of virility, who then betrayed this impotence by the condition and
appearance of body and countenance. This indeed is fully shown by the
context, from which it may also be gathered that the sufferer who felt
himself touched by this vice, has a feeling of shame.... But if it is
the taint of the pathics that is to be understood here, as I see is
conjectured to be the case by some commentators, this taint could not
be guessed at from the face; nor yet was it marked by the Greeks with
so strong a stigma of disgrace, as to cause those who were given to
it to strive to escape the opprobrium. For so far were pathics from
wishing to conceal their shame, that they actually made a point of
displaying it ostentatiously.... On the other hand I should not be
inclined to suppose that a Eunuch, an actual Eunuch by amputation of
the genitals, is meant by these words. These were hardly likely to
be found among the bidders, but rather with the slaves for sale: nor
were eunuchs accustomed to feel shame on account of the loss of these
organs.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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