IBN MĀSAWAYH AL-MARDINI, Yūhannā [i.e., Mesuë].

A fine copy of a charmingly illustrated Giunta edition of Mesuë’s influential work, inspired by Arabic medicine – ‘the most influential in the development of European pharmacy’ (De Vos, p.668). ‘Masawayh al-Mardini (known in the West as Mesuë the Younger) is supposed to have been a Jacobite Christian who lived in the 10th century. Since none of his writings has been found in its original language and no Arabian historian or bibliographer seems to know him, it is now believed that a Latin author (perhaps an Italian) of the early thirteenth century assumed the name of Mesuë, hoping thereby to gain ready recognition for his works under the guise of the ninth century Syrian physician who wrote in Arabic. At any rate, his writings were accepted as genuinely Arabian and held such a place of importance that they went through more than a dozen editions between their first printing in 1471 and 1500’ (Heirs of Hippocrates).

His ‘Opera’ includes three works by him. The first, ‘Canones universales’, followed by J. Costaeus’ commentary, consists of ‘a set of general rules that explained how to select purgatives and prepare them for application to the body in the way that would have the most beneficial effect’ (De Vos, p.669). The second, ‘De simplicibus’, discusses the properties of 49 purgative herbs, some handsomely illustrated. They include aloe, rhubarb, tamarind, manna, turbith, and many others. The third, ‘Compendium secretorum medicamentorum’ (‘aqrābadhīn’, known as ‘Grabadin’) is ‘an antidotarium, or apothecary’s manual, which was the most popular handbook of drugs in medieval Europe’ (Heirs of Hippocrates), here with a commentary by J. Silvius. It deals with remedies for all kinds of illnesses, head to foot, from toothache to neuralgy. There follows Part II, with a supplement to the ‘Compendium’, which includes several works. The first is a medical compendium by the C14 physician Pietro d’Abano, discussing all kind of conditions, head to foot, followed by another on general pathology, including a detailed study of fevers. The ‘Antidotarium Nicolai’ was a famous medieval pharmacopoeia, with dozens of remedies in the form of syrups, electuaria, pills, and balms. It is followed by a commentary by the C13 pharmacologist Joannes de Sancto Amando, which includes additional remedies. Gentile da Foligno’s (d.1348) ‘De Dosibus’ focuses on the composition of medicaments, especially in relation to their solubility. The ‘Liber Servitoris’ (‘Kitab al-Tasrif’), by the C10 Andalusian physician al-Zahrawi, is an encyclopaedia of medicine and surgery, also covering ophthalmology, dentistry, and midwifery. Saladino’s ‘Compendium aromatarium’ (1488) has been called ‘the first modern treatise on pharmacy’ (De Vos, p.667), which brought together the main sources for apothecaries, including all the works present in this Giunta edition. ‘Albegnefit’ (a corruption of the author’s name, the C10 Andalusian Ibn Wāfid) is a work on pharmacology, discussing methods for sedation, constriction, dilation, etc. ‘Alchindus’, by the C9 Iraqi physician al-Kindi) is a medical compendium with interesting sections on side effects, such as diarrhoea or fatigue caused by remedies. A complete, beautifully printed encyclopaedia of pre-Paracelsian pharmacology.