Mythology and materia medica
It is recorded that the profession of medicine originated
in idolatry with pagan priests, who besought the gods to
heal the sick and designated Apollo as "the god
of medicine." He was supposed to have dic-
tated the first prescription, according to the
"History of Four Thousand Years of Medicine." It is
here noticeable that Apollo was also regarded as the sender
of disease, "the god of pestilence." Hippocrates turned
from image-gods to vegetable and mineral drugs for heal-
ing. This was deemed progress in medicine; but
what we need is the truth which heals both mind and
body. The future history of material medicine may
correspond with that of its material god, Apollo, who was
banished from heaven and endured great sufferings
upon earth.
