irst translated into English in 1636.

Nemesius also wrote on religion and philosophy. In regard to his medical
writings, although he did not go far enough to anticipate the discovery
of Harvey, his contribution to medical science was remarkable.

_AEtius_ was born in Mesopotamia and lived at the end of the fifth or the
beginning of the sixth century. He studied at Alexandria, and settled at
Constantinople, where he attained to the honour of court chamberlain,
and physician to the Emperor Justinian. He was the first notable
physician to profess Christianity. In compounding medicines, he
recommended that the following prayer should be repeated in a low voice:
"May the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob deign to
bestow upon this medicament such and such virtues." To extract a piece
of bone sticking in the throat, the physician should call out loudly:
"As Jesus Christ drew Lazarus from the grave, and as Jonah came out of
the whale, thus Blasius, the martyr and servant of God, commands, 'Bone,
come up or go down.'"

AEtius wrote the "Sixteen Books on Medicine," and these contain original
matter, but are of value mainly as being a compilation of the medical
knowledge of his time. He was the first writer to mention certain
Eastern drugs, such as cloves and camphor, and had a great knowledge of
the spells and charms used in the East, more especially by the Egyptian
Christians. All the nostrums, amulets and charms that were used at the
time are enumerated, and display a gloomy picture of the superstition
and ignorance that prevailed. The surgical and gynaecological sections of
the writings of AEtius are, in most parts, excellent. He treated cut
arteries by twisting or tying, and advised the irrigation of wounds with
cold water. In the operation of lithotomy he recommended that the blade
of the knife should be guarded by a tube. He used the seton and the
cautery, which was much in vogue in his day, especially in cases of
paralysis. He quotes Archigenes, who wrote: "I should not at all
hesitate to make an eschar in the nape of the neck, where the spinal
marrow takes its rise, two on each side of it ... and if the ulcers
continue running a good while, I should not doubt of a perfect
recovery."

_Alexander of Tralles_ lived from A.D. 525 to 605. He was the son of a
physician, and one of five brothers, who were all distinguished for
scholarship. He studied philosophy as well as medicine, and travelled in
Fran