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Cutting Words - Polemical Dimensions of Galen's Anatomical Experiments

This excellent book covers a great deal of territory chronologically, epistemologically as well as in terms of cultural theory and ancient history in the best sense of the expression – a rounded understanding of ancient intellectual and social life at the time of Galen and in the preceding centuries. It is committed to an idea of deep embedment of scientific cultures and practices into context (intellectual, socio-economical, heuristic, scientific) and makes an important effort to uncover the dialogue between Galenic scientific doctrines and philosophical arguments, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the written tradition – past, present and future – qua written, into which the famous physician carefully crafts a position for himself. These aims are pursued by analysing three intertwined areas: the sociology and rhetoric of sharing knowledge in the early Roman empire and at the time of Galen; Galen’s anatomical experiments as practice, as narrative and as polemical interface with great authorities of the past and present rivals; through an appendix (Chapter 8) on reception and its mechanisms and on the legacy of these Galenic strategies in the early modern era. In the introduction, as well as in Chapters 1–3, S. illustrates the structure and scope of the book, thematically and methodologically, and his approach to the topic of anatomy and experiment on the living in classical antiquity (I was surprised not to find a reference to M. Grmek, Medea’s Cauldron [2004] – the book is otherwise praiseworthy for its engagement with bibliography). The story then begins with an instance of the competitive dimension of medicine, in line with the well-known and much discussed agonistic quality of ancient cultures: the epigraphical evidence about the firstto second-century medical competitions held at Ephesus, where participants rivalled to display their skills and erudition in a variety of medical fields. An even stronger piece of evidence is offered by Galen’s epideixes or public dissections, which take centre stage in S.’s book, as part of such an ‘exhibitionist-agonistic’ culture. The epideixes have attracted interest for their socio-cultural implications, but never before has the topic been treated at such length; in particular, not through a thorough interpretation of the textual account of anatomical discussions and argumentative experiments as part of a ‘licensing’ strategy, where the ability to ‘cut words’ is as vital and as skill-demanding as cutting through the skin of living beings. These first pages also constitute a great excursus on early imperial socio-cultural life and intellectual milieus to frame the understanding of medical practices and ‘markets’. Chapter 1 further explores the topics of self-conscious textuality (the awareness of one’s own thought and work as a ‘written datum’ to be copied and disseminated, and of the demands of varying readership) and, conversely, the illustrative, visual, even perspicuity-driven quality of medical research as public enterprise, economic event within a market, self-promotional occasion, visual performance, affirmation of status and concrete, sheer occasion for expenditure, sometimes to the point of extravagance. This chapter is too rich in detail to summarise, but makes excellent reading for any scholar interested in this period of ancient history and succeeds in bringing together an aspect of material life – the medical show, debate, agon, and its worded, ‘bookish’ correspondent, doxographical polemics as textual phenomenon. THE CLASSICAL REVIEW 113