The Seven Books of Paulus Aegineta (medicine/surgery), 1844-1847
The Seven Books of Paulus Aegineta. Translated from the Greek. With a Commentary Embracing a Complete View of the Knowledge Possessed by the Greeks, Romans, and Arabians on All Subjects Connected with Medicine and Surgery. By Francis Adams. In Three volumes. London. Printed for The Sydenham Society. Vol I: MDCCCXLIV (1844); Vol II: MDCCCXLVI (1846); Vol III: MDCCCXLVII (1847)
Three volumes in original green cloth over boards, all recently rebacked. Boards blind tooled with gold heraldry. A few small stains and mild wear to boards, mostly at fore edges and coroners. Top edges gilty. Yellow end papers. Library stamps. Leaves mildly toned and foxed; mostly bright. Bindings tight. Previous dealer’s penciled notes on half title of vol I.
Vol I: 683 pages; Vol II: 511 pages; Vol III: 653 pages.
First complete English translation.
G-M 8306: Paul of Aegina (Παῦλος Αἰγινήτης; Paulus Aegineta) (circa 625 - circa 690); Translator: Adams, Francis (1796 – 1861). “Book VI is entirely devoted to operative surgery. Adams himself says that it “contains the most complete system of operative surgery which has come down to us from ancient times”. Book IV contains much information on surgical diseases. The work also includes the first clear description of lead poisoning.”
See also:
Heirs 52: “Paul of Aegina was the last of the great Byzantine physicians, the last important product of the school of Alexandria, and a compiler whose works were consulted well into the Renaissance. He was a skilled surgeon and was especially eminent in obstetrics and in surgery of the genitalia. He also devoted much attention to diseases of the heart. The present book is Paul's only remaining complete work. A Latin translation had appeared in print as early as 1489 but the present translation is based on the first Greek Aldine edition of 1528. ... Paul's work is valuable for the light it throws on medicine and surgery of the seventh century. He covers eye surgery, trephining, military surgery, obstetrics, dentistry, and numerous other subjects.”
“Paul of Aegina was also a chronicler of the writing of Rufus (of Ephesus, AD98-117, “certainly the greatest medical link between Hippocrates and Galen”). Paul was the last of the Greek Physicians who preserved the writings that had been compiled over the millennium. The description of the plague by Rufus, retold by Paul, recounts the environment in which it flourished, the symptoms and physical signs of the afflicted and the symptomatic treatment.” (Talbott, A Biographical History of Medicine, 1970, pg 11)
Thornton’s Medical Books, Libraries and Collectors, 2nd ed, 1966, states: “The last of the Greek compilators, Paul of Aegina (Paulus Aegineta), summarized all that was previously known on medicine, but his surgery was more original.” (pg 14)
Brown’s Old Masterpieces in Surgery, 1928, pg 17-21, gives:
“Paulus begins the surgery with the head, goes on to the eyes and gradually travels downward, ending with fracture and ulcer of the foot. He thus covers the entire body. One finds that he operated upon man conditions—As a rhinologist he removed polypi, as an ophthalmologist he removed pterygium and in the mouth he not only extracted teeth but also performed tonsillotomy. In general surgery he operated upon hernia, opened empyema with the actual cautery, and in urology he removed stones by lithotomy. As a ware surgeon he evidently had considerable experience in removal of foreign bodies. In this manipulation he calls attention to the technique that Pare emphasized nine centuries later in the Brissot case: that in removing a foreign body the patient must be placed in the position in which he was when the foreign body entered. He devotes also considerable attention to fractures and dislocations. His direction for reduction and immobilization are quite clear. He makes use of traction by machines for reduction and splints for immobilization.”
Of plastic surgery interest as well. See the Zeis index 139.
