INCUNABULUM - JEWISH MEDICINE - Lot 42

INCUNABULUM - JEWISH MEDICINE Liber Rasis ad almansorem ; Divisiones eiusdem ; Liber de iuncturarum egritudibus eiusdem ; Liber de egritudinibus puerorum eiusdem ; Aphorismi ipsius ; Antidotarium quoddam ipsius ; Tractatus de preservatione ad egritudine lapidis eiusdem ; Introductorium medicine eiusdem ; Liber de sectionibus et cauterijs et ventosis eiusdem ; Casus quodam qui ad manus eius per venerunt ; Sinonima eiusdem ; Tabula omnium antidotorum in operibus rasis contentorum ; De proprietatibus iuvamentis et nocumentis sexaginta animalium. Afforismi Rabi Moysi. Afforismi damasceni. Liber secretorum y[pocrates] ; Liber pronosticationis sim lunam in signis et aspectu planetarum y[pocrates] ; Liber qui dicitur capsula eburnea y[pocratres] ; Liber de elementis sive de humana natura hipocratis ; Liber de aere et aqua et regionibus y[pocrates] ; Liber de farmaciis y[pocrates] ; Liber de [in]somniis y[pocrates]. Libellus [Aven]zoar de cura lapidis. Printed in Venice in 1497 by Ottaviano Scotto and Boneto Locatelli. "Expensis nobilis viri domini Octaviani Scoti civis modoetiensis. Per Botenum Locatellum Bergomensem. 1497. die septimo mensis Octobris". In-4 printed in two columns, Gothic lettering, ornamented capitals, Signatures: a-t8, v7, 159 ff. Restored 17th-century full vellum binding. Fresh interior despite some dampstaining, corner restorations. Ff. 75 to 96 and 113 are reproduced on antique paper. Collection of medical treatises from Antiquity and the Middle Ages, including primarily the work of Rhazès (865-925), several pieces from the Hippocratic corpus translated from Greek, and above all the aphorisms of Maimonides, of which they constitute the first printed edition. Originally written in Arabic between 1187 and 1190, Maimonides' Aphorisms are a compendium of Galen's teachings, based in particular on treatises still preserved in Maimonides' time but since lost. The version printed here is an anonymous 13th-century Latin translation. This "book is based almost entirely on rational medicine, independent observation and the scientific method" (The Medical Legacy of Moses Maimonides. Fred. Rosner 1998). Maimonides, like his Arab precursors and contemporaries, considered himself one of the heirs of ancient Greek knowledge. Like some of them, for example Al-Farabi and Rhazes among the Arabs, and Rabbi Schem Tov among the Jews, Maimonides did not accept this heritage uncritically, and much space is given to demonstrating the inconsistencies in Galen's writings and advocating rational observation. The second part includes the Aphorisms of John Damascene, Mohammed Rhasis' De secretis in medicinis and the Capsula eburnea of pseudo-Hippocrates. The latter is a brief treatise on the external signs of imminent death. According to its introduction, Hippocrates asked his servants to bury with him an ivory chest in which he had placed certain medical secrets. On learning of this, Caesar ordered the tomb to be opened and the chest removed, revealing this treatise. It is printed in the Latin translation made from an Arabic version by Gerard of Cremona in the 12th century. This edition also includes the aphorisms of Johannes Damascenus or Mesue, a 9th-century Baghdad physician responsible for translating Greek medical works into Arabic. At the end of the volume, Ibn Zuhr's (Avenzohar) short treatise De curatione lapidis appears here in its first printed edition. Maimonides was born in Cordoba and was expelled from Spain for refusing to convert to Islam; he settled permanently in Cairo. His erudition and medical skills earned him an appointment as physician to the court of Saladin, Sultan of Egypt. His medical writings had a profound influence not only on Muslim and Jewish physicians, but also on Christian ones such as Henri de Mondeville and Guy de Chauliac. From 1177, Maimonides was head of the Jewish community in Egypt. This work, written towards the end of his life, was originally written in Arabic, then translated into Hebrew in the 13th century, and into Latin for publication in printed form. It is the most important and influential work by the best-known early Jewish physician.