Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 296

ANDREAS VESALIUS (1514-1564) Epistola, rationem modumque propinandi radicis Chynae decocti. [Ex officina Joannis Oporini 1546] 204 (misnumbered 404) [16] pp., port. 26.7 cm.

For more information on this author or work, see number: 280

This very rare work is actually a monograph in the form of a long letter to a physician friend, Joachim Roelants (fl. 1546). Commonly called the "China-root epistle," it was copied by Vesalius' brother, Franciscus, who felt that it was so important that it should be published and, appreciating the quality of printing in the Fabrica, took it to Oporinus for publication. The China root (Smilax china), a plant of the sarsaparilla family, had recently been brought from the West Indies and had come into vogue as a medication in decoction form for various ailments. Vesalius describes his use of it (probably of doubtful value in his own mind) in the treatment of Emperor Charles V, to whom Vesalius was personal physician at the time. But the great importance and value of this book lies in the intimate, often sad, experiences which Vesalius relates concerning the creation of the Fabrica, his defense against his critics (especially Sylvius, his old teacher in Paris) for his denial of much of the Galenic tradition, and in his seeing his works plagiarized, badly copied, and misquoted. On page 196 he tells of his rash act, later regretted, of burning many of his own works, translations and original manuscripts, and other books which he valued greatly. This book, therefore, has great biographical value. It is Vesalius in person revealing much of his life and thought.

Cited references: Cushing V111; Cushing Vesalius VII.-1; Durling 4587; Waller 9923; Wellcome 6570

Gift of John Martin, M.D.