Source Analysis: Health and Medicine in Ancient Rome Read the sources and answer the questions that follow.
LSource 1: Pliny Unwashed wool supplies very many remedies … it is applied … with honey to old sores. Wounds it heals if dipped in wine or vinegar … yolks of eggs … are taken for dysentery with the ash of their shells, poppy juice and wine. It is recommended to bathe the eyes with a decoction of the liver and to apply the marrow to those that are painful or swollen.
LSource 2: Celsus A person should put aside some part of the day for the care of his body. He should always make sure that he gets enough exercise especially before a meal.
1. What does Pliny suggest supplies many remedies? 2. How does Pliny propose you treat a painful or swollen eye?
3. What does Celsus suggest will improve a person’s health? 4. Why does Varro say you should take care when building a house?
5. Do any of the suggestions above support medical advice given today? 6. What is the least reliable piece of evidence given in these sources? Explain your selection.
LSource 3: Marcus Varro When building a house or farm especial care should be taken to place it at the foot of a wooded hill where it is exposed to health-giving winds. Care should be taken where there are swamps in the neighbourhood, because certain tiny creatures which cannot be seen by the eyes breed there. These float through the air and enter the body by the mouth and nose and cause serious disease.