On the Sidereal Origin of Syphilis and the Development of Syphological Thought

Ludwig Fleck, while writing about the "life cycle of a scientific fact", reminds us of the way we used to tackle the origin of an illness:

Citing Iwan Bloch, in Der Ursprung der Syphilis (Origin of Syphilis), 1901, Fleck copies:

"Most authors assume that the conjunction Saturn and Jupiter under the sign of Scorpio and the house of Mars on 25.XI.1484 was the cause of the carnal scourge. ... The sign of Scorpio, which rules the genitals, explains why the genitals were the first place to be attacked by the new disease."

Of course! Scorpio, duh.

Notes
Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact. Ludwig Fleck, 1935 (Switzerland).
Edited by Thaddeus J. Trenn and Robert K. Merton
Translated by Fred Bradley and Thaddeus J. Trenn
Foreword by Thomas S. Kuhn
Published by University of Chicago, 1979