Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 761

GEORGE CHEYNE (1671-1743) An essay of health and long life. Printed for George Strahan and J. Leake 1724 xx [24] 232 pp. 19.3 cm.

A Scottish physician and mathematician, Cheyne lived in Scotland for the first three decades of his life before moving to London in the early 1700s. His medical treatises on fevers and gout did not contribute appreciably to the advancement of science but were popular largely because Cheyne possessed a superior literary style. With the exception of his book on geometry, his works appear to have been prepared primarily for the lay reader. Much of the commonplace advice he gives in these works was based upon his own hypochondria, gouty arthritis, and continual struggle with obesity--at one time he weighed over 440 pounds. In this book, he sets forth his philosophy and rules for those who desire to live a long and healthy life.

Cited references: Cushing C211; Osler 2303 (1725 ed.); Wellcome II, p. 338

Copy 2: Gift of William B. Bean, M.D