a history of science-1-第8章

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ed　to　practical　medicine　in　the　Egypt　of　an　early　day；　the　names　of　several　physicians　have　come　down　to　us　from　an　age　which　has　preserved　very　few　names　indeed；　save　those　of　kings。　In　reference　to　this　Erman　says＇6＇：　〃We　still　know　the　names　of　some　of　the　early　body　physicians　of　this　time；　Sechmetna'eonch；　'chief　physician　of　the　Pharaoh；'　and　Nesmenan　his　chief；　the　'superintendent　of　the　physicians　of　the　Pharaoh。'　The　priests　also　of　the　lioness…headed　goddess　Sechmet　seem　to　have　been　famed　for　their　medical　wisdom；　whilst　the　son　of　this　goddess；　the　demi…god　Imhotep；　was　in　later　times　considered　to　be　the　creator　of　medical　knowledge。　These　ancient　doctors　of　the　New　Empire　do　not　seem　to　have　improved　upon　the　older　conceptions　about　the　construction　of　the　human　body。〃　As　to　the　actual　scientific　attainments　of　the　Egyptian　physician；　it　is　difficult　to　speak　with　precision。　Despite　the　cumbersome　formulae　and　the　grotesque　incantations；　we　need　not　doubt　that　a　certain　practical　value　attended　his　therapeutics。　He　practised　almost　pure　empiricism；　however；　and　certainly　it　must　have　been　almost　impossible　to　determine　which　ones；　if　any；　of　the　numerous　ingredients　of　the　prescription　had　real　efficacy。　The　practical　anatomical　knowledge　of　the　physician；　there　is　every　reason　to　believe；　was　extremely　limited。　At　first　thought　it　might　seem　that　the　practice　of　embalming　would　have　led　to　the　custom　of　dissecting　human　bodies；　and　that　the　Egyptians；　as　a　result　of　this；　would　have　excelled　in　the　knowledge　of　anatomy。　But　the　actual　results　were　rather　the　reverse　of　this。　Embalming　the　dead；　it　must　be　recalled；　was　a　purely　religious　observance。　It　took　place　under　the　superintendence　of　the　priests；　but　so　great　was　the　reverence　for　the　human　body　that　the　priests　themselves　were　not　permitted　to　make　the　abdominal　incision　which　was　a　necessary　preliminary　of　the　process。　This　incision；　as　we　are　informed　by　both　Herodotus＇7＇　and　Diodorus＇8＇；　was　made　by　a　special　officer；　whose　status；　if　we　may　believe　the　explicit　statement　of　Diodorus；　was　quite　comparable　to　that　of　the　modern　hangman。　The　paraschistas；　as　he　was　called；　having　performed　his　necessary　but　obnoxious　function；　with　the　aid　of　a　sharp　Ethiopian　stone；　retired　hastily；　leaving　the　remaining　processes　to　the　priests。　These；　however；　confined　their　observations　to　the　abdominal　viscera；　under　no　consideration　did　they　make　other　incisions　in　the　body。　It　follows；　therefore；　that　their　opportunity　for　anatomical　observations　was　most　limited。　Since　even　the　necessary　mutilation　inflicted　on　the　corpse　was　regarded　with　such　horror；　it　follows　that　anything　in　the　way　of　dissection　for　a　less　sacred　purpose　was　absolutely　prohibited。　Probably　the　same　prohibition　extended　to　a　large　number　of　animals；　since　most　of　these　were　held　sacred　in　one　part　of　Egypt　or　another。　Moreover；　there　is　nothing　in　what　we　know　of　the　Egyptian　mind　to　suggest　the　probability　that　any　Egyptian　physician　would　make　extensive　anatomical　observations　for　the　love　of　pure　knowledge。　All　Egyptian　science　is　eminently　practical。　If　we　think　of　the　Egyptian　as　mysterious；　it　is　because　of　the　superstitious　observances　that　we　everywhere　associate　with　his　daily　acts；　but　these；　as　we　have　already　tried　to　make　clear；　were　really　based　on　scientific　observations　of　a　kind；　and　the　attempt　at　true　inferences　from　these　observations。　But　whether　or　not　the　Egyptian　physician　desired　anatomical　knowledge；　the　results　of　his　inquiries　were　certainly　most　meagre。　The　essentials　of　his　system　had　to　do　with　a　series　of　vessels；　alleged　to　be　twenty…two　or　twenty…four　in　number；　which　penetrated　the　head　and　were　distributed　in　pairs　to　the　various　members　of　the　body；　and　which　were　vaguely　thought　of　as　carriers　of　water；　air；　excretory　fluids；　etc。　Yet　back　of　this　vagueness；　as　must　not　be　overlooked；　there　was　an　all…essential　recognition　of　the　heart　as　the　central　vascular　organ。　The　heart　is　called　the　beginning　of　all　the　members。　Its　vessels；　we　are　told；　〃lead　to　all　the　members；　whether　the　doctor　lays　his　finger　on　the　forehead；　on　the　back　of　the　head；　on　the　hands；　on　the　place　of　the　stomach　（？）；　on　the　arms；　or　on　the　feet；　everywhere　he　meets　with　the　heart；　because　its　vessels　lead　to　all　the　members。〃＇9＇　This　recognition　of　the　pulse　must　be　credited　to　the　Egyptian　physician　as　a　piece　of　practical　knowledge；　in　some　measure　off…setting　the　vagueness　of　his　anatomical　theories。

ABSTRACT　SCIENCE　But；　indeed；　practical　knowledge　was；　as　has　been　said　over　and　over；　the　essential　characteristic　of　Egyptian　science。　Yet　another　illustration　of　this　is　furnished　us　if　we　turn　to　the　more　abstract　departments　of　thought　and　inquire　what　were　the　Egyptian　attempts　in　such　a　field　as　mathematics。　The　answer　does　not　tend　greatly　to　increase　our　admiration　for　the　Egyptian　mind。　We　are　led　to　see；　indeed；　that　the　Egyptian　merchant　was　able　to　perform　all　the　computations　necessary　to　his　craft；　but　we　are　forced　to　conclude　that　the　knowledge　of　numbers　scarcely　extended　beyond　this；　and　that　even　here　the　methods　of　reckoning　were　tedious　and　cumbersome。　Our　knowledge　of　the　subject　rests　largely　upon　the　so…　called　papyrus　Rhind；＇10＇　which　is　a　sort　of　mythological　hand…book　of　the　ancient　Egyptians。　Analyzing　this　document；　Professor　Erman　concludes　that　the　knowledge　of　the　Egyptians　was　adequate　to　all　practical　requirements。　Their　mathematics　taught　them　〃how　in　the　exchange　of　bread　for　beer　the　respective　value　was　to　be　determined　when　converted　into　a　quantity　of　corn；　how　to　reckon　the　size　of　a　field；　how　to　determine　how　a　given　quantity　of　corn　would　go　into　a　granary　of　a　certain　size；〃　and　like　every…day　problems。　Yet　they　were　obliged　to　make　some　of　their　simple　computations　in　a　very　roundabout　way。　It　would　appear；　for　example；　that　their　mental　arithmetic　did　not　enable　them　to　multiply　by　a　number　larger　than　two；　and　that　they　did　not　reach　a　clear　conception　of　complex　fractional　numbers。　They　did；　indeed；　recognize　that　each　part　of　an　object　divided　into　10　pieces　became　1/10　of　that　object；　they　even　grasped　the　idea　of　2/3　this　being　a　conception　easily　visualized；　but　they　apparently　did　not　visualize　such　a　conception　as　3/10　except　in　the　crude　form　of　1/10　plus　1/10　plus　1/10。　Their　entire　idea　of　division　seems　defective。　They　viewed　the　subject　from　the　more　elementary　stand…point　of　multiplication。　Thus；　in　order　to　find　out　how　many　times　7　is　contained　in　77；　an　existing　example　shows　that　the　numbers　representing　1　times　7；　2　times　7；　4　times　7；　8　times　7　were　set　down　successively　and　various　experimental　additions　made　to　find　out　which　sets　of　these　numbers　aggregated　77。　　　1　7　　　2　14　　　4　28　　　8　56　A　line　before　the　first；　second；　and　fourth　of　these　numbers　indicated　that　it　is　necessary　to　multiply　7　by　1　plus　2　plus　8that　is；　by　11；　in　order　to　obtain　77；　that　is　to　say；　7　goes　11　times　in　77。　All　this　seems　very　cumbersome　indeed；　yet　we　must　not　overlook　the　fact　that　the　process　which　goes　on　in　our　own　minds　in　performing　such　a　problem　as　this　is　precisely　similar；　except　that　we　have　learned　to　slur　over　certain　of　the　intermediate　steps　with　the　aid　of　a　memorized　multiplication　table。　In　the　last　analysis；　division　is　only　the　obverse　side　of　multiplication；　and　any　one　who　has　not　learned　his　multiplication　table　is　reduced　to　some　such　expedient　as　that　of　the　Egyptian。　Indeed；　whenever　we　pass　beyond　the　range　of　our　memorized　multiplication　table…which　for　most　of　us　ends　with　the　twelvesthe　experimental　character　of　the　trial　multiplication　through　which　division　is　finally　effected　does　not　so　greatly　differ　from　the　experimental　efforts　which　the　Egyptian　was　obliged　to　apply　to　smaller　numbers。　Despite　his　defective　comprehension　of　fractions；　the　Egyptian　was　able　to　work　out　problems　of　relative　complexity；　for　example；　he　could　determine　the　answer　of　such　a　problem　as　this：　a　number　together　with　its　fifth　part　makes　21；　what　is　the　number？　The　process　by　which　the　Egyptian　solved　this　problem　seems　very　cumbersome　to　any　one　for　whom　a　rudimentary　knowledge　of　algebra　makes　it　simple；　yet　the　method　which　we　employ　differs　only　in　that　we　are　enabled；　thanks　to　our　hypothetical　x；　to　make　a　short　cut；　and　the　essential　fact　must　not　be　overlooked　that　the　Egyptian　reached　a　correct　solution　of　the　problem。　With　all　due　desire　to　give　credit；　however；　the　fact　remains　that　the　Egyptian　was　but　a　crude　mathematician。　Here；　as　elsewhere；　it　is　impossible　to　admire　him　for　any　high　development　of　theoretical　science。　First；　last；　and　all　the　time；　he　was　practical；　and　there　is　nothing　to　show　that　the　thought　of　science　for　its　own　sake；　for　the　mere　love　of　knowing；　ever　entered　his　head。　In　general；　then；　we　must　admit　that　the　Egyptian　had　not　progressed　far　in　the　hard　way　of　abstract　thinking。　He　worshipped　everything　about　him　because　he　feared　the　result　of　failing　to　do　so。　He　embalmed　the　dead　lest　the　spirit　of　the　neglected　one　might　come　to　torment　him。　Eye…minded　as　he　was；　he　came　to　have　an　artistic　sense；　to　love　decorative　effects。　But　he　let　these　always　take　precedence　over　his　sense　of　truth；　as；　for　example；　when　he　modified　his　lists　of　kings　at　Abydos　to　fit　the　space　which　the　architect　had　left　to　be　filled；　he　had　no　historical　sense　to　show　to　him　that　truth　should　take　precedence　over　mere　decoration。　And　everywhere　he　lived　in　the　same　happy…go…lucky　way。　He　loved　personal　ease；　the　pleasures　of　the　table；　the　luxuries　of　life；　games；　recreations；　festivals。　He　took　no　heed　for　the　morrow；　except　as　the　morrow　might　minister　to　his　personal　needs。　Essentially　a　sensual　being；　he　scarcely　conceived　the　meaning　of　the　intellectual　life　in　the　modern　sense　of　the　term。　He　had　perforce　learned　some　things　about　astronomy；　because　these　were　necessary　to　his　worship　of　the　gods；　about　practical　medicine；　because　this　ministered　to　his　material　needs；　about　practical　arithmetic；　because　this　aided　him　in　every…day　affairs。　The　bare　rudiments　of　an　historical　science　may　be　said　to　be　crudely　outlined　in　his　defective　lists　of　kings。　But　beyond　this　he　did　not　go。　Science　as　science；　and　for　its　own　sake；　was　unknown　to　him。　He　had　gods　for　all　material　functions；　and　festivals　in　honor　of　every　god；　but　there　was　no　goddess　of　mere　wisdom　in　his　pantheon。　The　conception　of　Minerva　was　reserved　for　the　creative　genius　of　another　people。

III。　SCIENCE　OF　BABYLONIA　AND　ASSYRIA　Throughout　classical　antiquity　Egyptian　science　was　famous。　We　know　that　Plato　spent　some　years　in　Egypt　in　the　hope　of　penetrating　the　alleged　mysteries　of　its　fabled　learning；　and　the　story　of　the　Egyptian　priest　who　patronizingly　assured　Solon　that　the　Greeks　were　but　babes　was　quoted　everywhere　without　disapproval。　Even　so　late　as　the　time　of　Augustus；　we　find　Diodorus；　the　Sicilian；　looking　back　with　veneration　upon　the　Oriental　learning；　to　which　Pliny　also　refers　with　unbounded　respect。　From　what　we　have　seen　of　Egyptian　science；　all　this　furnishes　us　with　a　somewhat　striking　commentary　upon　the　attainments　of　the　Greeks　and　Romans　themselves。　To　refer　at　length　to　this　would　be　to　anticipate　our　purpose；　what　now