CHAPTER IX. MEDICINE IN ANCIENT MEXICO AND PERU.

 Hospitals in Mexico.—Anatomy¹ and Human Sacrifices.—Midwives as Spiritual Mothers.—Circumcision.—Peru.—Discovery of Cinchona Bark.

 

Little or nothing is known of the ancient history of Mexico and Peru. Mexico, anciently called Anahuac, was probably conquered by the Aztecs, who founded the city of Mexico about 1325. It was discovered in 1517. Peru was long governed by the Incas, said to be descended² from Manco Capac, who ruled in the eleventh century. It was explored and conquered by Pizarro, 1524-1533.

 

For the purposes of this work the history of these countries dates from the time of their discovery, as the Spaniards in their blind fanaticism³ destroyed most of their literature. Don Juan de Zumarraga was one of the darkeners of human intelligence; he diligently⁴ collected all the Mexican manuscripts, especially from Tezcuco, the literary capital of the Mexican empire, and burned them in one great bonfire in the market-place of Tlatelolco.825

 

Las Casas says that there were public hospitals in the cities of Mexico, Tlascala, and Cholula, expressly endowed for the relief of the sick. As surgeons attended the Mexican armies, it is evident that they had attained⁵ some skill in medicine and surgery. They used the temazcalli, or vapour-bath, practised bleeding, and knew the medicinal properties of many herbs. They professed⁶ to have learned this wisdom from their ancestors, the Tultecas, whose knowledge of chemistry they likewise extolled⁷. As human sacrifices were of daily occurrence in the city of Mexico, they must have acquired some knowledge of anatomy, which would assist them in the practice of surgery.826

 

Midwives were treated by the ancient Mexicans with great deference⁸. They were termed “spiritual mothers,” and were believed to be under the immediate⁹ inspiration of the god Tezcatlipoca. Aglio says that the treatment of lying-in women was very similar to that among the Jews.827

 

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The ancient Mexicans practised circumcision, and venerated¹⁰ the Tequepatl, or flint knife, with which the rite¹¹ was performed.828

 

Among the many vegetable products which America introduced to Europe were maize¹², potatoes, chocolate, tobacco, ipecacuanha, and Peruvian bark, from which we obtain quinine. The discovery of this valuable medicine was due to the Jesuit missionaries¹³. The second wife of the viceroy, the Count of Chinchon, accompanied him to Peru. In 1628 she was attacked by a tertian fever. Her physician was unable to cure her. At about the same time an Indian of Uritusinga, near Loxa, in the government of Quito, had given some fever-curing bark to a Jesuit missionary¹⁴. He sent some of it to Torres Vasquez, who was rector of the Jesuit College at Lima and confessor to the viceroy. Torres Vasquez cured the vice-queen by administering doses of the bark.... The remedy was long known as Countess’s Bark and Jesuit’s Bark, and Linn?us gave the name Chinchona [after the viceroy Chinchon] to the genus of plants which produces it.... Various species of this precious tree are found throughout the eastern cordillera of the Andes for a distance of 2,000 miles. We owe guaiacum, sarsaparilla, sassafras, logwood, jalap, seneka, serpentaria, and many other valuable drugs to the same part of the world.

 

Frezier, in his voyage to the South Sea and along the coasts of Chili¹⁵ and Peru in the years 1712, 1713, and 1714, says concerning Lima: “There is an herb called Carapullo, which grows like a tuft of grass, and yields an ear, the decoction of which makes such as drink it delirious¹⁶ for some days. The Indians make use of it to discover the natural disposition¹⁷ of their children. All the time when it has its operation, they place by them the tools of all such trades as they may follow—as by a maiden¹⁸, a spindle, wool, scissors, cloth, kitchen furniture, etc.; and by a youth, accoutrements for a horse, awls, hammers, etc.; and that tool they take most fancy to in their delirium¹⁹, is a certain indication of the trade they are fittest for, as I was assured by a French surgeon, who was an eye-witness to this verity²⁰.”

1 anatomy   

n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织

参考例句：

• He found out a great deal about the anatomy of animals.在动物解剖学方面，他有过许多发现。
• The hurricane's anatomy was powerful and complex.对飓风的剖析是一项庞大而复杂的工作。

2 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

3 fanaticism   

n.狂热，盲信

参考例句：

• Your fanaticism followed the girl is wrong. 你对那个女孩的狂热是错误的。
• All of Goebbels's speeches sounded the note of stereotyped fanaticism. 戈培尔的演讲，千篇一律，无非狂热二字。

4 diligently   

ad.industriously;carefully

参考例句：

• He applied himself diligently to learning French. 他孜孜不倦地学法语。
• He had studied diligently at college. 他在大学里勤奋学习。

5 attained   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
• Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。

6 professed   

公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的

参考例句：

• These, at least, were their professed reasons for pulling out of the deal. 至少这些是他们自称退出这宗交易的理由。
• Her manner professed a gaiety that she did not feel. 她的神态显出一种她并未实际感受到的快乐。

7 extolled   

v.赞颂，赞扬，赞美( extol的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school. 他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Tessenow decried the metropolis and extolled the peasant virtues. 特森诺夫痛诋大都市，颂扬农民的美德。 来自辞典例句

8 deference   

n.尊重，顺从；敬意

参考例句：

• Do you treat your parents and teachers with deference?你对父母师长尊敬吗？
• The major defect of their work was deference to authority.他们的主要缺陷是趋从权威。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 venerated   

敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My father venerated General Eisenhower. 我父亲十分敬仰艾森豪威尔将军。
• He used the sacraments and venerated the saints. 他行使圣事，崇拜圣人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

11 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

12 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

13 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

15 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。

16 delirious   

adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的

参考例句：

• He was delirious,murmuring about that matter.他精神恍惚，低声叨念着那件事。
• She knew that he had become delirious,and tried to pacify him.她知道他已经神志昏迷起来了，极力想使他镇静下来。

17 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

18 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

19 delirium   

n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋

参考例句：

• In her delirium, she had fallen to the floor several times. 她在神志不清的状态下几次摔倒在地上。
• For the next nine months, Job was in constant delirium.接下来的九个月，约伯处于持续精神错乱的状态。

20 verity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• Human's mission lies in exploring verity bravely.人的天职在勇于探索真理。
• How to guarantee the verity of the financial information disclosed by listed companies? 如何保证上市公司财务信息披露真实性?