who, after having acquired extraordinary fame as a teacher, having
been made professor at the University of Padua at the early age of
twenty-eight, received offers from many of the Italian princes to
become their physician. De Renzi in his _Storia della Medicina in
Italia_ says that he refused them all, but yielded to the solicitation
of Pope Paul III, and seems to have been tempted by the atmosphere of
intense medical science that had been created at Rome at this time.
Frigimelica is famous for his study of baths and his treatise on the
making of artificial baths with metallic salts. _De Balneis Metallicis
Artificio Parandis_ is an early classic in balneology. He also wrote a
volume "On Various Medical Questions," a _Pathologia Parva_, and a
number of his consultations were published.
Julius III (1550-55).--A very important Papal Physician is Maggi, who
had been the professor of anatomy and surgery at Bologna, the uncle
and teacher of the celebrated anatomist Aranzi. He became physician to
Pope Julius III about 1550. His book on gunshot wounds is dedicated to
Prince Giovanni Battista De Monte, nephew of Pope Julius and
General-in-Chief of the Papal Army. Gurlt, in his great History of
Surgery, declares that Maggi was the first who showed very clearly
that shot wounds neither caused burning nor poisoning. To demonstrate
this he made a series of carefully planned, most ingenious experiments
and {452} observations which were repeated hundreds of years
afterwards, but only to confirm his conclusions. His method of
handling gunshot wounds was very simple, and he laid the greatest
weight on treatment directed to permitting the free exit of pus. He
was the inventor of a series of instruments, the pictures of which we
have and some of which are here reproduced. They show his ingenuity
and anticipate a good many ideas that are supposed to be much more
modern than his time. Gurlt has devoted more than eight pages of
rather small type to a summarization of Maggi's work so that there is
no doubt about its great importance in the history of surgery.
Another of the physicians of Pope Julius III was Hippolytus Salvianus,
a doctor of medicine and of philosophy, of whom one of his
contemporaries said that it was doubtful in which of these sciences he
was the more learned and whether Hippolytus deserved more praise for
his science or his faith or his diligence in caring for the sick. He
wrote a volume in folio on fishes, illustrated by copper plate
engravings (Rome, 1555), a volume On Crises as a commentary on Galen
(Rome, 1558), and a book on aquatic animals (Venice, 1600). He has the
distinction also of having ventured successfully in literature and he
published poems and comedies which went through a number of editions.
One of his sons became a popular Roman physician, the other a poet.
One of the great Italian anatomists, a pioneer in the development of
the biological sciences, was John Baptist Cananus, who was one of the
medical attendants of Pope Julius III. His well-known work
"Illustrated Dissections of the Muscles of the Human Body,"
_Musculorum Humani Corporis, Picturata Dissectio_, Ferrara, 1572, in
quarto, is one of the precious bibliographic treasures in medicine. He
was the first to discover valves in veins, finding them in the azygos,
and he made a series of original observations on the sense organs
which gave a great stimulus to the development of the minute anatomy
of these structures at this time.
Another of the physicians of Pope Julius III was Augustin Ricchi, one
of the scholarly medical writers of the sixteenth century, whose
erudite translations enriched the medicine of that time and of
subsequent generations. Van der Linden notes that he translated a
number of the books of Galen, adding annotations. They were published
in Venice shortly after the middle of the sixteenth century. He had a
wide acquaintance and friendship with the most learned men of his
time.
{453}
Paul IV (1555-59).--One of the physicians to Pope Paul IV, of whom it
is noted that he was also an intimate friend whom the Pontiff loved
very dearly, was Jerome Cessa, doctor of medicine and philosophy, who
wrote a work on medicine and a treatise on religion, and who is said
to have refused the dignity of cardinal which was offered him because
he felt that others worthier might be chosen.
One of the distinguished physicians of this time was Professor
Altamare of Naples, of whom De Renzi in his _Storia della Medicina in
Italia_ tells that when he was compelled to fly from his native
country by political disturbance, he was given a refuge by Pope Paul
IV, under whose "wise and benevolent protection" he was able to
continue his medical work for a time and through whose patronage he
was restored to his professorship at Naples. As a mark of gratitude
Altamare dedicated to Pope Paul IV his book _De Medendis Humani
Corporis Malts, Ars Medica._
Pius IV (1559-65).--Alidosius, in his work on "The Foreign Doctors Who
Have Been Professors of Theology, Philosophy, Medicine and The Liberal
Arts in Bologna" (_Li Dottori Forestieri, che in Bologna hanno Letto
Teologia, Filosofia, Medicina ed Arti Liberali_), mentions John Andrew
Bianchi, a doctor of medicine and the liberal arts, famous for his
learning, who taught in the University of Bologna from 1525 to 1561
with great success and then was summoned to Rome to be the physician
to Pope Pius IV to the satisfaction of everyone, for it was felt that
he had achieved the highest place in his profession of medicine.
Simon Pasqua, a physician to Pope Pius IV, was the author of a book On
The Gout and of a description of his Embassy to Great Britain from
Genoa in the time of Queen Mary and Philip, but this, unfortunately,
was only in manuscript and seems to have been lost.
Pompeius Barba, or dalla Barba, was another of the physicians of Pope
Pius IV. He wrote a volume on "The Immortality of the Soul according
to the Peripatetic Philosophers" which was published at Florence in
1553. Two years later he wrote a commentary on some of the writings of
Pico della Mirandola and nearly twenty-five years later there appeared
at Venice a dialogue of his "On Arms and Letters." He left in
manuscript a book On Baths as well as some poems.
Still another of the physicians of Pope Pius IV was Franciscus
Gymnasius, described by a contemporary (Caesar Mezamici in his
_Notizie Istoriche_) as "so distinguished in the profession of {454}
medicine that while he was professor in Bologna many of the princes of
Italy called him in consultation when they were seriously ill and
constantly with a happy issue." Pius IV called him to Rome, honored
him with one of the principal chairs in the Papal University of the
Sapienza, providing a special stipend for him, and made him his
personal physician. Gymnasius added to his fame and obtained universal
esteem in the Curia. His tomb is in the Church of the Minerva at Rome.
A very interesting character at Rome during the later Renaissance was
Jerome Cardan, who though not a papal physician by formal appointment,
after wandering all over the world in various capacities, lived his
last years at Rome, enjoying a pension from the Pope. He is a type of
the many-sided, many-minded man of the Renaissance. In 1524 he
received his degree of doctor in medicine at Padua, practised for ten
years and then became professor of mathematics in Milan, and a few
years later taught medicine at Pavia, refused the corresponding
professorship at Copenhagen, spent nearly a year with Archbishop
Hamilton of St. Andrews, the primate of Scotland, returned to Italy to
practise once more, refusing many offers of professorships in foreign
universities, taught for some years at Pavia and then at Bologna and
spent the last five years of this varied, and at the end rather stormy
career, at Rome living on the Papal bounty. He is one of the great
geniuses of the time whose "vanity, boastfulness, childish credulity,
superstitiousness was bound up with a genius that opened up many new
paths in science" (Gurlt). His work meant more for philosophy and,
above all, for mathematics than for medicine, but he has an important
place in the history of science.
Another genius who spent some years in Rome about the same time, and
evidently found it eminently favorable for his work, was Jerome
Mercurialis, who was sent by his native city to Rome on a mission to
Pope Pius IV, when about 32, and secured opportunities for study in
Rome so much to his desires that he spent seven years in medical and
philological studies there. After this he was invited to be
Trincavella's successor at Padua and from here was summoned by the
Emperor Maximilian II on a consultation to Vienna and richly rewarded
for his services. After seven years of medical professorship at Padua
he was for some twelve years in a similar capacity at Bologna, which
was then a Papal University, and then accepted the call of the Grand
Duke Cosimo I to Pisa. The Medici were laboring at this time to make
Pisa an important rival in education of Padua and Bologna and {455}
were offering alluring salaries and special inducements to the most
distinguished teachers in every department. Mercurialis' books on skin
diseases, on women's diseases, on the diseases of children and on
gymnastics, went through many editions and now sell for good prices in
auction rooms, for he is considered one of the classics of medicine.
Pius V (1564-72).--One of the physicians and intimate friends of Pope
St. Pius V was Placidus Fuscus, who wrote a volume "On the Use and
Abuse of Astrology in Medicine." Fuscus, according to the inscription
on his tomb, was "distinguished for his social service, his work at
the hospital of the Santo Spirito and among the poor of Rome and
especially those in prison."
Gregory XIII (1572-85).--As might be expected, the physician of Pope
Gregory XIII, the Pope to whom we owe the correction of the calendar,
was a distinguished medical scientist who had been earlier an intimate
friend as well as physician to St. Ignatius Loyola the founder of the
Jesuits. His name was Alessandro Trajano Petronio of Castiglione, and
he is often mentioned in the medical literature of the time and wrote
a book, _De Victu Romanorum et de Sanitate Tuenda_, "On The Diet of
the Romans and the Preservation of Health," which he dedicated to Pope
Gregory XIII. He also wrote a work on "The Water of the Tiber" and a
series of dialogues on medicine as well as "Medical Aphorisms"
(Venice, 1535.)
Sixtus V (1585-90).--The principal physician of Pope Sixtus V was
Andreas Baccius, "who was famous not only as a physician but as a
philosopher and a man of erudite and polished intellect." Pope Sixtus
occupied himself with bringing fresh supplies of water into Rome and
we have a series of studies of these waters made by his physician. He
also wrote on baths and especially on those in the neighborhood of
Rome. There is also a book by him on "The Wines of Italy and The
Banquets of the Ancients." He was much more than an amateur as an
antiquary and wrote a book on "The Origin of the Old City of Cluana."
There is also a book of his on "Gems and Precious Stones," a volume on
"Poisons and their Antidotes," as well as a series of shorter
writings.
De Renzi in his _Storia della Medicina in Italia_ tells the story of
the earlier career of Baccio. As a younger man he became so deeply
interested in his scientific studies at Rome that he did not succeed
in practising medicine and was in danger even of starving because he
had not practical ways. He was rescued by Cardinal Ascanio Colonna,
who became his patron and provided him with the {456} opportunity to
devote himself to scientific studies without the necessity of thinking
about the obligation of gaining his daily bread. Baccio became
celebrated for his learning so that according to De Renzi his
"profound erudition passed into a proverb in his time." His great
opportunity came, adds De Renzi, when he was made Papal Physician to
Pope Sixtus V.
Castor Durantes, a skilled physician and poet, was another of the
medical attendants of Pope Sixtus V. In Giacobilli's catalogue the
following works are noted--"Treasure of Health," "On the Nature of
Food," which ran through many editions, the New Herbarium, and
_Theatrum Plantarum, Animalium, Piscium, et Petrarum_, Venetiis, 1636.
His Herbarium was done in verse and besides he wrote a series of poems
in Virgilian metre which attracted favorable attention from his
contemporaries.
Urban VII (1590-91).--The physician of Pope Urban VII was Demetrius
Canevarius, who was in his time, according to contemporary
authorities, the leading physician of Genoa when he was called to
Rome. He made a magnificent success at Rome, became very wealthy, but
was famous for his hospitality, his many friends and the magnificent
library which he collected, "filled with all the best books." We have
from him a book on "The Practice of Medicine," another on the
"Diagnosis, Prognosis and Cure of Fevers" and a third on "The
Procreation of Man." Like most of the physicians of his time he was a
philosopher as well as a medical scientist and so we have two
philosophic monographs from him, one on "The Origin and Destruction of
Natural Things," another on "First Principles."
Canevari, to use his more familiar Italian name, is famous as one of
the great bibliophiles of history. He had a series of the most
beautiful bindings made for his books and these have been the precious
treasures of collectors ever since. To own a Canevari binding is a
much-prized distinction in the world of rare books.
Innocent IX (1591).--Malpighi, one of the Papal Physicians of this
Pope, is one of the greatest of medical scientists. His career is
sketched earlier in this book. Another of his scarcely less
distinguished physicians was Lucas Tozzius, who succeeded Malpighi. It
would indeed have been difficult to have filled adequately the room of
so great a predecessor, but while Tozzi's powers of observation and
scientific genius were not so penetrating as those of Malpighi, his
books probably influenced his own generation of physicians almost more
than those of his great scientific predecessor. He wrote a volume on
the theory and another on the practice of {457} medicine, wrote
commentaries on the aphorisms of Hippocrates and on the medical art of
Galen, as well as some volumes on philosophy and even lighter
subjects. He was looked upon as one of the most talented men in Italy
of his time and his scholarly erudition made him the friend of learned
visitors to Italy from every country in Europe.
Clement VIII (1592).--Jerome Provenzalis, "a philosopher of
distinction, most expert physician, theologian of great name and yet a
practical genius of the highest ability who had scarcely his equal in
his generation in Italy" (Mandosius), was the medical attendant of
Pope Clement VIII. One of his books, a treatise on the senses (Rome,
1597), attracted wide attention in his time and still has a place in
the bibliography of the sensations.
Another of the physicians of Pope Clement VIII was Jerome Rubeus, who
wrote books on history as well as medicine. He is well known as the
author of a history of Ravenna and its neighborhood and people which
contains an account of the Goths, the Lombards and the Italians of the
earlier Middle Ages from the materials then at hand. He is best known
in medicine for his "Annotations on Cornelius Celsus' De Re Medica."
He wrote a treatise on Destination and a monograph on The Dietetic
Value of Melons. His book on Destination appeared in editions at
Venice, at Basel, at Ravenna and probably also at Rome. Rubeus has a
place in most of the histories written at this time.
Another of the physicians of Pope Clement VIII was Jerome Cordella.
While he is highly praised for his knowledge of philosophy and his
skill in medicine he is better known for his intimate friendship with
St. Philip Neri, of whom Cardinal Newman, in the nineteenth century,
was so proud to proclaim himself the spiritual son. Jerome was of
assistance to St. Philip particularly in the magnificent social work
which meant so much for the correction of social abuses at this time
and, above all, the occupation of youthful minds with higher thoughts.
Among Zecchius' books, who was another of the physicians to Pope
Clement VIII, is one on "The Means of Curing Especially Such Fevers as
Arise from Putrid Humors." Another is called "Medical Consultations or
The Whole Practice of Medicine Briefly Treated," a third is on "The
Use of Italian Waters," and then besides there are a series of shorter
papers on Hippocrates' Aphorisms, on Digestion, on Purgation, on The
Letting of Blood, on Critical Days and on the Morbus Gallicus.
Caesalpinus the Botanist.--Caesalpinus is mentioned in the {458} text
of the previous edition of this work as a professor at the Papal
Medical School, the Sapienza, and physician to Pope Clement VIII. In
the history of science, however, he should rather be counted among the
botanists than the physicians, though there is no doubt that he was
the first fully to describe the systemic circulation. Edward Lee
Greene, in his Landmarks of Botanical History, which is "A Study of
Certain Epochs in the Development of the Science of Botany" (part of
volume 54 of the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Washington,
1909), mentions that "The Caesalpinus system of plant arrangement
seemed incomparably superior to every one that had preceded it."
Linnaeus in the warmth of zeal for the great Caesalpino had pronounced
him "first in the order of time among real systematists." Caesalpinus
is then one of the great founders of modern botany and his work _De
Plantis_ is a foundation stone of the science. Gurlt talks of him as
the greatest botanist of his century and his work as director of the
botanical garden of Pisa did much both for medicine and botany. A
little practical work of his was a Manual of the Practice of Medicine,
which attracted much attention and is in line with the efforts of
Papal Physicians as a rule to make knowledge available for the use of
physicians generally.
Still another of the physicians of Pope Clement VIII was Michael
Mercatus, an intimate personal friend of the well-known social
reformer St. Philip Neri, whose profound influence on the social life
of Rome is a matter of history and to whom such men as Newman and
Faber and the English Oratorians turned with the loving name of Father
in the nineteenth century. Mercatus wrote a series of instructions on
the Pest and his medical volume contains also articles on antidotes
against poisons, the gout and paralysis. Like many of the physicians
of his century he was interested in Oriental problems and wrote a
volume on the obelisks of Rome which was published in 1589 and
dedicated to Pope Sixtus V. This led to a controversy with Latino
Latini during which Mercatus published another volume on the obelisks.
Mercatus came of a well-known scholarly family, for his grandfather
had been a close friend of Marsilio Ficino and a member of the famous
Platonic Academy.
Another of the physicians of Pope Clement VIII, at least he received
the honor of the appointment as Papal Physician, though he could not
come to Rome to fulfil its duties because of the approach of age, was
Nicholas Masinus. He is well known for his work on "The Abuse of Cold
Drinks," which was published in {459} 1587. The custom of gathering
snow on the mountains and using it in their wine and other drinks
during the summer time, which had been practised by the ancient
Romans, was revived at the time of the Renaissance and Masinus was
sure that it was productive of harm to the digestive system.
Still another of the physicians of Pope Clement VIII who deserves
mention was Jacobus Bonaventura, to whom Athenius of Brussels
dedicated his edition of the "Medical Consultations of Jerome
Mercurialis," calling him "a very distinguished man." He was a
particular friend of Mercurialis, who expressed his opinion of him in
the highest terms. He made a great many friends among the nobility of
Italy and was very dear to the Sovereign Pontiff.
Still another of the physicians of Pope Clement VIII was Julius De
Angelis, who came of a well-known academic family with many members
distinguished in law and medicine. He was professor at Padua for years
and afterwards at the Sapienza in Rome and was chosen by the Pope to
give special lessons for the benefit of physicians and medical
attendants at the Santo Spirito Hospital in Saxia as it was called. He
is mentioned in a number of medical works of the time, and in the book
of the Statutes of the College of Physicians of the City of Rome.
Paul V (1605-21).--One of the physicians of Pope Paul V, though at
first he had refused the honor because it is said that as an
astrologer he had found the stars unfavorable to his acceptance of it,
was Pompeius Caimus, from whom we have a number of medical writings.
Van der Linden, in _De Scriptis Medicis_, and others furnish the list
of them. He wrote "On Congenital Heat," on "The Indications of Putrid
Fevers," on "The Recognition and Cure of Melancholia," on "The Nature
of Science and Its Acquisition," "On Grief," a "Treatise on Human
Longevity and the Climacteric Years," as well as "Dissertations on the
Aphorisms of Hippocrates, Galen and Avicenna," which had been
delivered as lectures at Padua, on "The Nature and Differences of
Winds," and on "The Early Recognition and the Lengthening of Old Age,"
besides translating and annotating a number of the works of the old
Greek philosophers and physicians in Latin. It may seem strange that a
man of such wide erudition and scholarship should still cling to the
delusion of astrology, but about this same time Galileo and Kepler
were drawing up horoscopes, and in the middle of the eighteenth
century Mesmer's astrological essay was accepted for the degree of
Doctor of Medicine at the University of Vienna. Caimus, after refusing
the chair of {460} medicine at the University of Pisa, to which a
magnificent salary was attached, became the physician to Pope Gregory
XV.
Gregory XV (1621-23).--Vincentius Crucius was another of the
physicians of Pope Gregory XV. He had been a professor at Bologna and
we have from him his lectures at Bologna on "Epilepsy or The Comitial
Disease," published at Venice in 1603. Books of his "On Catarrh,"
published at Ravenna, on "The More Frequent Diseases of The Head;
Catarrh, Phrenitis, Lethargy and Epilepsy," published at Rome, 1617,
and "The More Frequent Diseases of the Chest; Phthisis, Haemoptysis,
Asthma, Peri-pneumonia, and Pluritis," issued also at Rome, a volume
on "The Diseases of The Stomach" and a series of volumes of
Consultations on Medicine, were well known to his contemporaries and
to succeeding generations. He wrote besides a commentary on Lucretius,
another on Hippocrates, a book on Prophylaxis, a volume on Vesuvius
and a popular work in Italian, all his other works having been in
Latin, meant to be of assistance to ordinary people in avoiding
disease and especially the infectious diseases.