We shall now begin our exposition of the ancient opinions regarding the plague, with a brief notice of the celebrated description of it given by Thucydides, the Greek historian. The more prominent symptoms mentioned by him are the following: Strong heat of the head; redness and inflammation of the eyes; the mouth and internal fauces turgid with blood; breath fetid; sneezing, hoarseness, and afterwards violent cough; vomiting of bile, retching, and convulsions; the heat of skin not much increased, but the internal parts glowing with heat; the skin reddish, or livid, and covered with minute phyletænæ and ulcers; despondency, restlessness, and intense thirst; and, towards the conclusion, diarrhœa, ulceration of the bowels, and various symptoms of putrefaction. Those who survived the febrile attack were subject to blindness, fatuity, and mortification of the testicles and extremities. The disease generally proved fatal on the ninth or seventh day. The historian affirms that the plague never attacked the same person more than once. This opinion, by the way, has been advocated in modern times by Massarius, Diomedes Amicus, Heurnius, and Sir William Pym, but general experience seems to be against it. Evagrius relates of the plague which prevailed in the reign of Justinian, that many persons who recovered from the first attack sunk under a second. Ficinus, Montisianus, Joubertus, and many late authorities, hold this opinion. He mentions that the disease was supposed to originate in Ethiopia, and from thence to spread to Egypt, Lybia, and the Persian empire; that in Athens it made its first appearance in the Piræus, where it was at first suspected that the Peloponnesians had poisoned the wells. He says the previous summer was remarkably healthy. Thucydides’ celebrated description of the plague is given in a poetical form by Lucretius (de Rerum Natura, _apud finem_), and by Ovid (Metamorphoseon, vii, 528.) Sophocles, the tragedian, appears also to have had the same plague in view. (Œdip. Tyran. _ap. initium_.) The Latin poet Silius Italicus evidently copies his images from it. (xiv.) See also Lucanus (Pharsal. vi), and Manilius (Astronom. i.)