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CLAS/HIST3051 The Hippocratic Corpus and the Hippocratic Question
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Organizing Books You receive a new book, perhaps as a gift Where is it stored? What is the organizing principle? C. S. Lewis thought the card catalogue would be seen by Middle Ages as greatest invention
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Ancient Libraries Only 'Villa of the Papyri' here remains Busts of authors decorated the room catalogues listed authors under subject headings Public libraries began at Alexandria in late 4 th c. 500,000 scrolls
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Libraries Create Distortion Works accrue to popular authors More popular the author, more he acquires Dialectical differences? Anonymous texts, in particular Hippocrates is worst case
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Hippocratic Corpus 'Hippocratic' > 'of or pertaining to Hippocrates' corpus > body of work term that sets aside question of authorship
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Internal Evidence? Ionian dialect Lack of divine causation diverse in purpose healing defining disease diverse in origins of disease Work like 'On the Heart' probably 3 rd c. BC, much later than Hippocrates No work can be ascribed to him internally
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Hippocratic Question Who was Hippocrates? When did he live? Where did he live? How did he gain such a reputation for healing?
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External Evidence Outside the corpus The earlier the better What do we learn in Plato's Protagoras? (LIV.1) and Aristotle Politics (LIV.2)
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Period of Life Floruit = that of Socrates Socrates d. 399 BC Not alive at time of Politics' writing After his return to Athens in 335 BC? Squares nicely with our story of the progress of philosophy and medicine
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Place of Birth Island of Cos Ionian region Temple to Asclepius
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Ancient Biography Ps.-Soranus Soranus 2 nd c. AD What were his accomplishments according to biographical tradition? What is interestingly lacking?
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Hippocrates and the Asclepiadai L1V.6 What was his method here? How does this fit with, e.g., Sacred Disease?
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Temple to Asclepius at Cos
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Statements about Hippocrates' Method LIV.8-9 What does Anonymous think Aristotle thinks about Hippocrates? What does Anonymous think about Hippocrates? How does LIV.10 fit? How about LIV.11 or 12?
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Problems with Using Method to Ascribe Authorship Intellectual schools Lack of direct quotation
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Hippocratic Question Unresolved Is he “a man without a work”? Is it likely that one individual began all this? Compare tradition down to him
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