a spasmodic kind of way, that papal physicians were appointed
and that the Church exercised control over some seats of learning may be
freely admitted. That the monasteries preserved some of the Latin
classics that they were not all corrupt, and that all monks were not
ignorant and idle, are facts beyond dispute. No doubt, too, the enemies
of Christianity have overstated their case, but when all is said, the
fact remains that the Church enjoyed great opportunities for promoting
knowledge and investigating disease, and failed to avail itself of them
to such an extent that for ages no real progress was made. This is
certainly not an extreme opinion. It would be nearer the truth to say
that not only was no progress made, but that the advances made by
Hippocrates, by the school of Alexandria, by Celsus, and by Galen, were
lost.

In conclusion, in spite of the dreadful blunders and perversions of the
Church in the Early and Middle Ages, and the partial eclipse which
Christianity suffered, the teaching of its Founder slowly but surely
ended the harsh and cruel ways of the pagans, and was the prime factor
in promoting the altruism of later times, of which medical knowledge and
medical service form a very important part.

FOOTNOTES:

[33] "Gesta Christi; or a History of Human Progress under Christianity,"
by C. Loring Brace, fourth edition, pp. 33, 34.

[34] "De Ira," i, 15.

[35] _Vide_ "Gesta Christi," Brace.

[36] _Vide_ "The Bible in Europe," Joseph McCabe.

[37] "Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquity."

[38] Origen, "Contra Celsum," lib. vii.

[39] Adams's translation "Hippoc.," vol. i, p. 216.

[40] "The Popes and Science: The History of the Papal Relations to
Science during the Middle Ages, and down to our own Time," J. J. Walsh,
M.D., 1911.

CHAPTER XII.

GYMNASIA AND BATHS.

Gymnastics--Vitruvius--Opinions of Ancient Physicians on
Gymnastics--The Athletes--The Baths--Description of Baths at
Pompeii--Thermae--Baths of Caracalla.

GYMNASTICS.

Gymnastics were held in such high repute in ancient Greece that physical
training occupied as much time in the education of boys as all their
other studies, and was continued through life with modifications to suit
the altering requirements of age and occupation. The Greeks fully
recognized that mental culture could not reach its highest perfection if
the development of the body were neglected. Lucian attributes not only
the