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
373.) and the “De Locis in Homine” (Of
certain Localities in the Body), edit. Kühn, II. p. 106.) incapacity
for generation is represented as a consequence of blood-letting from
these vessels. We leave to others the task of drawing the necessary
conclusions in view of the unanimity of the Authors of the books named,
and merely observe further that _Dr. Paris_ (Roux Journ. de Med., Vol.
XLIV. p. 355., _Murray_, Med. Pract. Bibliothek., Vol. III. p. 293.)
while giving some observations on the diseases of the Turks, relates as
following: Almost every Armenian, Greek, Jew, Turk, has a seton, and
they abuse cupping to an equal extent. For a simple head-ache, they
allow the first barber they come across to put a bandage round their
throat, in order to retain the blood, and then with a razor make sundry
cuts round about the ears, for then as much blood flows away, and
without risk, as would fill a phial.
[398] In the text of Froesius it stands: καὶ μᾶλλον τοῖσιν ὀλίγα
κεκτημένοισιν, _οὐ τιμωμένοισιν ἤδη_, εἰ χαίρουσιν οἱ θεοὶ καὶ
θαυμαζόμενοι ὑπ’ ἀνθρώπων, κ. τ. λ. (to a greater extent those who
possess little and therefore fail to make offerings; if that is to say
the gods take pleasure in being venerated by men, etc). _Coray_ has
emended this into εἰ δὴ τιμώμενοι χαίρουσι (if that is to say the gods
take pleasure in being honoured and venerated), on the grounds that
τιμᾶν and θαυμάζειν (to honour, to venerate) are frequently used in
conjunction with one another to express the veneration of the gods,
which fact he confirms by passages from _Euripides_ and _Aristophanes_.
Yet this emendation can scarcely be right, even though _de Mercy_
has also adopted it. The latest editor, Prof. Petersen of Hamburg, a
professed Philologist, has undoubtedly maintained not without weighty
reasons the old reading, noting Coray’s conjecture in the notes. Indeed
neither is the old reading altogether correct, but can be easily
restored, we think, if the words, as has already been done in our
translation above, are read in the following way: οὐ τιμωμένοισιν· εἰ
δὴ χαίρουσιν οἱ θεοὶ θαυμαζόμενοι,—a way of taking it that _Coray_ had
already seen to be possible, only that he preferred to read instead of
οὐ τιμωμένοισιν,—ἢ τοῖσι τιμωμένοισιν, because he does not think that
the words can refer at all to the poorer Scythians, as did _Cornarius_
before him, though he translates quite correctly: “It affected to a
greater extent poorer men, as being more negligent concerning the
worship of the gods.” _Foesius_ translates: “and they do not pay
honour.” In fact Coray’s chief difficulty was as to the active meaning
of τιμωμένοισι (i.e. “paying honour”, not “being honoured”); but this
use is by no means so rare, and exactly in this sense of veneration
paid to the gods by men is found in _Homer_, Od. XIX. 280, where we
read of the Phaeacians on the occasion of Odysseus’ landing:
οἳ δή μιν περὶ κῆρι θεὸν ὣς τιμήσαντο.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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