Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 69

IBN BUTLAN (d. ca. 1068) Tacuini sanitatis Elluchasem Elimithar . . . de sex rebus non naturalibus . . . conservandae sanitatis, recens exarati. Albengnefit De virtutibus medicinarum, & ciborum. Jac. Alkindus De rerum gradibus. Apud Joannem Schottum 1531 163 [9] pp. (last leaf blank), illus. 29.4 cm.

The Arabic manuscript from which this translation was made is not known but some authorities postulate that Gerardus Cremonensis may have been the translator. Ibn Butlan or Elluchasem Elimithar indicates that the book "is about the six things that are necessary for every man in the daily preservation of his health. The first is the treatment of air, which concerns the heart. The second is the right use of foods and drinks. The third is the correct use of movement and rest. The fourth is the problem of prohibiting excessive wakefulness. The fifth is the correct use of elimination and retention of humors. The sixth is the regulating of the person by moderating joy, anger, fear, and distress" (translated from p. 5). Unlike the illuminated manuscripts, printed editions of the book contain tables which are divided into sections containing trees, flowers, vegetables, foods, emotional states or activities of daily living, and meteorological conditions. The tables contain, in concise form, the uses, dangers, effects, and humoral properties of each item. Additional information is contained in a textual entry and, in this edition, an illustration is provided at the bottom of each page. Ibn Wafid (999-1075) or Albengnefit was a native of Toledo where he also served as vizier during part of his career. Considered to be one of Spain's greatest physicians he was noted for his rational methods of treatment. He preferred to utilize diet therapy and, when necessary to resort to drugs, utilized simple botanical remedies. De virtutibus medicinarum & ciborum, one of his best known works, is largely based on Dioscorides and Galen as well as the pharmaceutical theories of al-Kindi. He believed that the purpose of medications was to restore health and that the physician must be aware of the action of the drug he was using. He outlined eight conditions to be observed in determining drug action and discusses the role of the four humoral qualities--hot, cold, dry, moist--as they relate to medications. He concluded the book by recommending therapy for a wide variety of illnesses and conditions. His work is here translated by Gerardus Cremonensis. Gerardus spent the greater part of his life in Castile where he translated over seventy Arabic works into Latin. His work included nearly every field of knowledge with special emphasis on medicine, philosophy, astronomy, and mathematics. Al-Kindi (d. ca. 873) or Jacobus Alkindus was likely born at al-Kufah where his father was governor. Al-Kindi's father died before 809 leaving him substantial wealth and property. Al-Kindi studied at Basrah and later relocated in Baghdad where he flourished under the rulers al-Ma'mum (813-833) and al-Mu'tasim (833-846). He was politically persecuted under al-Matawakkil (847-861) and never fully regained his former status. An individual of wide learning, he enjoyed a high reputation as a philosopher, physician, astronomer, and mathematician. He was first and foremost a philosopher of Aristotelian and Neoplatonic outlook and thinking. He is considered to be the greatest philosopher of the ninth century because of his immense contributions and, for over a thousand years, was recognized as one of the most original Arabic thinkers. Al-Kindi has been credited with in excess of 200 works including nearly 30 medical treatises as well as many translations, especially of the works of Ptolemy and Aristotle. His works covered many fields including philosophy, medicine, mathematics, astrology, meteorology, physics, pharmacy, geography, and music. Especially significant was his work on vision--De espectibus--a treatise on geometrical and physiological optics. De rerum gradibus was first translated into Latin by Gerardus Cremonensis and the present work may be from his original translation. The treatise deals with the preparation and posology of medicines. Al-Kindi explained that Greek physicians delineated the degrees and qualities only of simple drugs but neglected to do so for more complex compound medicines. It was al-Kindi's aim to develop an exact method for prescribing drugs by applying the laws of geometric progression to the humoral doctrine of qualities and degrees to compound medicines. Basically, he did this by calculating the aspects of each simple drug in the mixture and then combining the results to arrive at the overall characteristics of the medicine. His methodology and several examples are given in the text.

Cited references: Cushing E44; Durling 2520; Waller 2740; Wellcome 1996

Gift of John Martin, M.D.