Thomas Aquinas insisted that the forces of the body are
independent of its physical organization, and that therefore
these forces are to be studied by the scholastic philosophy and
the theological method, instead of by researches into the
structure of the body; as a result of this, mingled with
survivals of various pagan superstitions, we have in anatomy and
physiology such doctrines as the increase and decrease of the
brain with the phases of the moon, the ebb and flow of human
vitality with the tides of the ocean, the use of the lungs to fan
the heart, the function of the liver as the seat of love, and
that of the spleen as the centre of wit.
Closely connected with these methods of thought was the
doctrine of _signatures_. It was reasoned that the Almighty must
have set his sign upon the various means of curing disease which
he has provided: hence it was held that bloodroot, on account of
its red juice, is good for the blood; liverwort, having a leaf
like the liver, cures diseases of the liver; eyebright, being
marked with a spot like an eye, cures diseases of the eyes;
celandine, having a yellow juice, cures jaundice; bugloss,
resembling a snake's head, cures snakebite; red flannel, looking
like blood, cures blood-taints, and therefore rheumatism; bear's
grease, being taken from an animal thickly covered with hair, is
recommended to persons fearing baldness.
Pages:
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807