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CHAPTK R VII.

THE ROMANS.

For manv centuries the Romans, according to the saying of i^lin\-,
lived entireh' "without doctors, altliough not without medicine;"' that
is, there existed without doubt a popular medicine and also a sacerdotal
medicine, but still there were no persons whose exclusive occupation it
was to cure disease.
The medical art, properlv so called, was introduced into Rome h\ the
Greeks. The first Greek doctor who went to Rome was Archagathus
(in the year 535 after the foundation of the city, that is, 218 years before
Christ). His arrival was at first welcomed, so much so that he was
made a Roman citizen and a shop bought for him in the Acilian square,
at the expense of the State. However, his popularity was of brief dura-
tion. Being an intrepid operator, the use and abuse he made of steel
and fire gained for him the not ver\ honorable qualification of the butcher,
and he soon became the horror of all the population.
But it appears that dentistr\' had begun to be practised in Rome prior
to the coming of Archagathus, that is, long before the medical profession
existed. We have the clear proof of this in the Law of the Twelve Tables,
wherein we find mention made of teeth bound with gold. The Law of
the Twelve Tables was written in Rome 450 \ears before Christ, by a
body of ten magistrates {decemviri) expressly named for that purpose,
as up to that time no written law had existed.
As gold was at that time somewhat scarce, and fears were entertained
that it would become still scarcer (to the great damage of the State)
by reason of the custom that prevailed among the wealthy of burning
or burying gold articles with the corpses to honor the memor\' of the
deceased, or, rather, to satisfy the pride of the survivors, it was thought
necessary to prohibit this abuse by a special disposition of the law referring
to funeral pomps. This disposition was thus formulated: "Neve
auriim addito^ ast quoi auro denies luncti esciint (sunt) im cum illo sepelirei
vrive sine frande esto;"'- that is, "Neither shall gold be added thereto

' Plinius, lib. xxix, cap. v.
- This article forms part of the tenth table. The Law of the Twelve Tables was lost,
but citations and passages are to be found in Cicero and in the works of other Roman juris-
consults, and by the aid of these it has been possible to reconstruct, at least in part, this
very ancient code of laws. See Dionvsii Gothofredi, Corpus juris civilis. Amstelodami,
1663; and also Thesaurus juris romani cum prefat. Ottonis, Tome iii, Trajecti ad Rhenum,
1733-