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On Medicine, Volume II, Books 5-6
A. Cornelius Celsus was author, probably during the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius (1437 CE), of a general encyclopaedia of agriculture, medicine, military arts, rhetoric, philosophy, and jurisprudence, in that order of subjects. Of all this great work there survives only the 8 books on medicine ("De Medicina"). Book I: after an excellent survey of Greek schools (Dogmatic, Methodic, Empiric) of medicine come sensible dietetics or health preservation which will always be applicable. Book II: deals with prognosis, diagnosis of symptoms (which he stresses strongly), and general therapeutics. Book III: internal ailments: fevers and general diseases. Book IV: local bodily diseases. Next come two pharmacological books, Book V: treatment by drugs of general diseases; and Book VI: of local diseases. Book VII and Book VIII deal with surgery; these books contain accounts of many operations, including amputation.
Celsus was not a professional doctor of medicine or a surgeon, but a practical layman whose "On Medicine," written in a clear and neat style, for lay readers, is partly a result of his medical treatment of his household (slaves included) and partly a presentation of information gained from many Greek authorities. From no other source can we learn so much of the condition of medical science up to his own time.
The Loeb Classical Library edition of Celsus is in three volumes.
Celsus was not a professional doctor of medicine or a surgeon, but a practical layman whose "On Medicine," written in a clear and neat style, for lay readers, is partly a result of his medical treatment of his household (slaves included) and partly a presentation of information gained from many Greek authorities. From no other source can we learn so much of the condition of medical science up to his own time.
The Loeb Classical Library edition of Celsus is in three volumes.
- GenresMedicine
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1938
About the author
Aulus Cornelius Celsus
105 books5 followersAulus Cornelius Celsus (ca 25 BC—ca 50) was a Roman encyclopaedist, known for his extant medical work, De Medicina, which is believed to be the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia. The De Medicina is a primary source on diet, pharmacy, surgery and related fields, and it is one of the best sources concerning medical knowledge in the Roman world. The lost portions of his encyclopedia likely included volumes on agriculture, law, rhetoric, and military arts.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 8, 2020
I used Celsus when I spoke on Renaissance Chronobiology at Kalamazoo Medieval Convention (1990), but another volume not on my shelf (rather, at Brown's Rockefeller Library). I had studied 17C chronobiology at Cornell in Ithaca, Sander Gilman's NEH seminar on Medicine and Humanities; my paper on circa vigintum lunar cycles he recommended to the Cornell Medical School chronobologists in NYC. Lunar studies in Italy and France resulted in Richard Mead, English physician in 1704, "The Moon influences watery bodies; the human body, and the brain, are watery bodies: Q.E.D., the Moon influences the mind."
Book V concerns drugs and illness, including bleeding--which of course, Celsus supports, as it was considered a cure until the 19C; Book VI addresses local illnesses, like lumps treated by drugs, say lentils and honey.* Great warning in his advice on bleeding, that some quacks ("histrionis," actors) may exaggerate an illness to be thought better in curing it. Celsus lists many patients that cannot be cured, "Servari non potest, cui basis cerebri, cui cor..."
like problems of the brain or the heart. Or when bleeding comes from the neck, "cuive circa fauces grandes venae vel arteriae precisae sunt"(V.xxvi, p. 68). We call that the carotid artery.
As for bleeding, in cases of inflammation, "sanguinem mature subprimere non oportebit, sed pati fluere, dum tutum erit" ; do not suppress the flow, but let it flow, as long as it's safe (p.82).
* A swelling or "condyloma" can be treated by "lenticulum cum exigua parte mellis,"lentils and a little honey. (282)
My rating is based on Celsus's not being a physician, but an encyclopedist, a good one. This, a great collection of early medical ideas. Celsus read Greek sources, and included current practice, probably under Tiberius. This volume on my shelf I bought 19 March 1991 on way from the memorial for my wife's Minnesota grandmother, Ruth B Larson Kling, from whom we learned too little Swedish.
Book V concerns drugs and illness, including bleeding--which of course, Celsus supports, as it was considered a cure until the 19C; Book VI addresses local illnesses, like lumps treated by drugs, say lentils and honey.* Great warning in his advice on bleeding, that some quacks ("histrionis," actors) may exaggerate an illness to be thought better in curing it. Celsus lists many patients that cannot be cured, "Servari non potest, cui basis cerebri, cui cor..."
like problems of the brain or the heart. Or when bleeding comes from the neck, "cuive circa fauces grandes venae vel arteriae precisae sunt"(V.xxvi, p. 68). We call that the carotid artery.
As for bleeding, in cases of inflammation, "sanguinem mature subprimere non oportebit, sed pati fluere, dum tutum erit" ; do not suppress the flow, but let it flow, as long as it's safe (p.82).
* A swelling or "condyloma" can be treated by "lenticulum cum exigua parte mellis,"lentils and a little honey. (282)
My rating is based on Celsus's not being a physician, but an encyclopedist, a good one. This, a great collection of early medical ideas. Celsus read Greek sources, and included current practice, probably under Tiberius. This volume on my shelf I bought 19 March 1991 on way from the memorial for my wife's Minnesota grandmother, Ruth B Larson Kling, from whom we learned too little Swedish.
October 29, 2013
Since it's more or less a continuous list of conditions and treatment, I don't know why it's so readable, until the end when it rather graphically deals with diseases to the penis but without mentioning discharges and such, so ...lucky Romans.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews