hirteenth-century physicians, two men are deserving of
special mention. These are Arnald of Villanova (1235-1312) and Peter of
Abano (1250-1315). Both these men suffered persecution for expressing
their belief in natural, as against the supernatural, causes of disease,
and at one time Arnald was obliged to flee from Barcelona for declaring
that the "bulls" of popes were human works, and that "acts of charity
were dearer to God than hecatombs." He was also accused of alchemy.
Fleeing from persecution, he finally perished by shipwreck.

Arnald was the first great representative of the school of Montpellier.
He devoted much time to the study of chemicals, and was active in
attempting to re-establish the teachings of Hippocrates and Galen.
He was one of the first of a long line of alchemists who, for several
succeeding centuries, expended so much time and energy in attempting to
find the "elixir of life." The Arab discovery of alcohol first deluded
him into the belief that the "elixir" had at last been found; but later
he discarded it and made extensive experiments with brandy, employing
it in the treatment of certain diseases--the first record of the
administration of this liquor as a medicine. Arnald also revived the
search for some anaesthetic that would produce insensibility to pain in
surgical operations. This idea was not original with him, for since very
early times physicians had attempted to discover such an anaesthetic,
and even so early a writer as Herodotus tells how the Scythians,
by inhalation of the vapors of some kind of hemp, produced complete
insensibility. It may have been these writings that stimulated Arnald
to search for such an anaesthetic. In a book usually credited to him,
medicines are named and methods of administration described which will
make the patient insensible to pain, so that "he may be cut and feel
nothing, as though he were dead." For this purpose a mixture of opium,
mandragora, and henbane is to be used. This mixture was held at the
patient's nostrils much as ether and chloroform are administered by the
modern surgeon. The method was modified by Hugo of Lucca (died in 1252
or 1268), who added certain other narcotics, such as hemlock, to the
mixture, and boiled a new sponge in this decoction. After boiling for a
certain time, this sponge was dried, and when wanted for use was dipped
in hot water and applied to the nostrils.

Just how frequently patients recovered from the administration