Galen

An Anthology
Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-0-19-064139-9
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 592 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 35 mm, Gewicht: 800 g

Galen of Pergamum (AD 129--c. 210), physician and philosopher, anatomist, logician, clinical and pharmacological theorist and researcher, and personal doctor to the emperor Marcus Aurelius, was the most influential and versatile medical author of the Graeco-Roman world. Galen: An Anthology provides the most comprehensive range of his medical, philosophical, and autobiographical works in English, each accompanied by a brief introduction and explanatory notes. Grouped by themes, the selected texts encompass the scope and variety of Galen's work, from the nature of his medical practice to the content of his philosophical theories.

This anthology includes revised translations of Galen's most accessible and interesting shorter works alongside fresh translations of excerpts from the most important longer ones--texts which are in many cases inaccessible or out of print. The translations rely on the latest scholarly research, and in the case of several works, on the findings of a recently discovered manuscript. The writings cover Galen's anatomical studies, physiological and philosophical theories, clinical practice, and the dramatic events of his high-profile career as physician to the imperial family at Rome. A voluminous author, Galen also reveals a variety of fascinating details on everyday life in the Roman world, including dietary practices, education, literary and intellectual culture, doctor--patient relationships, and bitterly conducted medical rivalries. A general introduction by the volume's editor gives a summary of Galen's work and intellectual contribution, discussing his position in the scientific and literary culture of his time and his immense legacy from antiquity down to today.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Singer, P. N.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie
• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Medizin, Gesundheitswesen Geschichte der Medizin
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Klassische Literaturwissenschaft

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Acknowledgments

- Translator's note

- Introduction

- Further reading

- Chronology

- Maps

- Note on texts and editions

- SECTION I. Life, Books, and Medical Career

- 1. Freedom from Distress

- 2. My Own Books

- 3. The Order of My Own Books

- 4. Prognosis (abridged)

- 5. Anatomical Procedures (excerpts)

- 6. An Exhortation to Study the Arts

- SECTION II. Scientific Theory and Methodology

- 7. My Own Doctrines

- 8. The Best Doctor is also a Philosopher

- 9. The Best Method of Instruction

- 10. Sects for Beginners

- 11. The Art of Medicine

- SECTION III. Human Bodies: Composition, Physiology, Embryology

- 12. The Elements according to Hippocrates (excerpts)

- 13. Mixtures (excerpts)

- 14. The Function of the Parts of the Human Body (excerpts)

- 15. The Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato (excerpts)

- 16. The Shaping of the Embryo

- SECTION IV. Health, Diet, and Lifestyle

- 17. Best Constitution and Good Condition

- 18. Health (excerpts)

- 19. The Thinning Diet

- 20. The Exercise with the Small Ball

- SECTION V. Diagnostic and Clinical Practice

- 21. The Pulse for Beginners

- 22. Affected Places (excerpts)

- 23. Simple Drugs (excerpts)

- SECTION VI. Soul and Body

- 24. The Soul's Dependence on the Body

- 25. The Affections and Errors of the Soul

- List of People Mentioned

- Bibliography

- Index

Über Autor(innen)

P. N. Singer is an Honorary Research Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London. His publications include several volumes in the Cambridge Galen Translations series; Time for the Ancients: Measurement, Theory, Experience; Mental Illness in Ancient Medicine: from Celsus to Paul of Aegina (co-edited with Chiara Thumiger) and The Oxford Handbook of Galen (co-edited with Ralph Rosen)