Athenaeus of Attaleia ... founded the medical school known as the Pneumatists.
It suits his doctrine to speak of a containing cause in illness since he bases himself upon the Stoics and he was a pupil and disciple of Posidonius〔Taken literally (rather than as indicating an acquaintance with Posidonius through his works: Vivian Nutton, ''Ancient Medicine'', p. 203), this would place Athaenaeus in the 1st century BC instead of the 1st century AD. Galen's dating is defended by Kudlien, ''Hermes'' 90 (1962), pp. 419ff, ''RE'' Suppl. XI pp. 1097ff, cited by I.G. Kidd ''Posidonius'' vol. 3, (p. 45 ) (T51).〕 ... Athenaeus’ three types are as follows: the first consists of containing causes, the second of preceding causes, and the third of the matter of antecedent causes: for this is what they call everything external to the body which harms it and produces disease in it. If what is produced in the body belongs to the class of what causes disease, then, while it has not actually brought the disease about, it is called the preceding cause. Alterations are produced in the natural ''pneuma'' by these (preceding ) causes together with those which are external (antecedent causes ), and with the body moistened or desiccated, chilled or heated, these are said to be the containing causes of diseases. (Galen, ''On Sustaining Causes'' 2.1–4)〔trans. R.J. Hankinson, "Stoicism and Medicine," in Brad Inwood (ed.), ''The Cambridge Companion to the Stoics'', p. 303, cf. A. A. Long and David Sedley, ''The Hellenistic Philosophers'', vol. 1, pp. 334-(335 )〕