Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1164

VINCENZO CHIARUGI (1759-1820) Abhandlung über den Wahnsinn überhaupt und insbesondere, nebst einer Centurie von Beobachtungen. Bel Georg David Meyer 1795 Vol. I: xii, 211 [1] pp.; Vol. II: [2] iv [2] 217-444 pp., fold. plate.; Vol. III: viii, x [2] 447-708 pp., fold. plate. 20.4 cm.

Deriving his concepts from an array of ancient and contemporary philosophers and scientists, Chiarugi labored at a definitive classification of mental illness, never knowing that his major contribution to the field lay elsewhere. In 1788 he was placed in charge of the hospital of Bonifazio where he published a set of regulations for the hospital staff, emphasizing the moral obligation and medical duty to respect the insane individual as a person. True to his own dictum, he instituted a program of humanitarian care, recreation, and daily visitation, and he ordered that physical restraint be minimized. Because of his oblique style and lack of ardent followers, Chiarugi did not receive the recognition he deserved, and he has been overshadowed by Pinel whom he anticipated and whose ideas paralleled Chiarugi's in virtually every respect. This German translation of Chiarugi's 1793 Italian work on insanity includes his classification scheme and system of diagnosis.

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 4921 (Italian ed., 1793); Waller 1954