Medical Works of Moses Maimonides – serie

Maimonides, one of the most celebrated rabbis in the history of Judaism, was a prolific author of influential Arabic philosophical and medical treatises as well as two of the most important works on Jewish law. "Medical Aphorisms" is the best-known and most comprehensive of his medical works, and "Gerrit Bos" offers here a masterful English translation with detailed annotations. "Medical Aphorisms" consists of approximately 1,500 maxims compiled by Maimonides from the treatises of Galen, the renowned ancient Greek physician. Maimonides arranges the aphorisms into twenty-five treatises, organizing them by traditional medieval subspecialties such as gynecology, hygiene, and diet. He also includes a section examining unusual cases from Galen and offers a critical analysis of Galen's theories. The second of six volumes, "Medical Aphorisms: Treatises 6-9" provides tantalizing insights into the work of Galen and the world of medieval medicine. It will be a rich and valuable resource for students and scholars working in the history of medicine, Jewish studies, and medieval Arabic culture.

Written in 1199 at the request of al-Qadi al-Fadil, the famous counselor and secretary to Saladin, "On Poisons and the Protection against Lethal Drugs" is distinguished rabbi Moses Maimonides' guide to emergency first aid and readily available antidotes. This treatise - assembled from the existing medical literature as well as Maimonides' own practice - proved highly influential amongst scholars and laypersons in both Jewish and non-Jewish circles alike. Although "On Poisons" survives in several Arabic and Judeo-Arabic manuscripts, this is the first finished critical edition of the Arabic. The volume also includes critical editions of the medieval Hebrew and Latin translations and a glossary of materia medica and technical terms. It will be essential for the shelves of scholars interested in Maimonides and medieval medicine.

On Rules Regarding the Practical Part of the Medical Art had been labeled a copy of On Asthma by bio-bibliographer Moritz Steinchneider, but a closer examination of the manuscript by Gerrit Bos and Tzvi Langermann has revealed the treatise to be a previously unrecognized work of the great philosopher-physician Moses Maimonides. The publication of this translation marks the first time the Arabic manuscript with English translation has been available to a modern audience in any form. It is in Maimonides' favored aphoristic format and contains some unique advice on serious abdominal wounds, which is most likely a reflection on Maimonides' own experience with battlefield casualties.

This fourth volume of the critical edition of the medical aphorisms compiled by Maimonides (1138-1204) covers treatises sixteen to twenty-one. The central subjects of these treatises include women's diseases, physical exercise, bathing, foods, and the consumption of drugs. Most of the aphorisms featured in this volume are based on the works of Galen, but Maimonides also quotes from other ancient and medieval physicians, including some whose work does not survive in any other source. This edition provides both the Arabic text and an authoritative English translation by Gerrit Bos in parallel-column format.

Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) wrote many philosophical, legal, and medical works. Of these, Medical Aphorisms is among his best known. Consisting of approximately fifteen hundred maxims from the ancient Greek physician Galen, it is arranged as twenty-five treatises organized according to traditional medieval subspecialties such as gyoecology, hygiene, and diet. Because the source texts no longer survive, Maimonides' version provides vital clues about Galen's thought that would otherwise remain unknown. This critical edition includes both the definitive Arabic text and a masterly English translation.