Oribasio / Manuzio - Synopseos ad Eustathium - 1554

Between manuscript and print: gold-illuminated miniatures in the Aldina.
This rare Aldine edition brings together in compact form the entire medical knowledge of antiquity as Oribasius wished to transmit it to his son Eustathius: not a mere scholastic compendium, but the distillation of a monumental imperial encyclopedia born at the court of Julian the Apostate. Printed in Venice in 1554, at the height of the Aldine workshop’s maturity under Paolo Manuzio, the Synopsis constitutes one of the most important gateways to the lost Greek medicine, preserving texts, doctrines, and practices that would have disappeared without Oribasius. The copy described here, on contemporary limp parchment with ancient ownership and reading notes, also restores the living dimension of the medical and humanistic use of the book in the sixteenth century. In Renaissance medical writing, and especially in high-profile humanistic editions, the initial cap functions as a visual and conceptual threshold: it introduces the reader to ancient knowledge, legitimized both by classical tradition and by the material nobility of the volume. Gold, associated with light, perfection, and incorruptibility, amplifies the value of the content, transforming the act of reading into an almost ritual experience.
Market value
The Aldine first edition of 1554 of Oribasius’s Synopsis is considered rare on the market. Complete and genuine copies, especially if in contemporary binding and with wide margins, generally fall in a range of between 2,000 and 3,000 euros, with higher sums for particularly fresh copies or those with significant provenance. Ancient reading annotations, if contained and consistent with the medical use of the work, are today positively valued by specialist collectors.

Physical description and condition
Initials illuminated and rubricated in red and gold. Contemporary binding in soft parchment with manuscript title on the spine, signs of wear. Text in Aldine italic. Aldine publisher mark on the title page. Ancient manuscript ownership note “Bernardo Selvatici” on the title page, with further contemporaneous marginal annotations across additional sheets. Gathered signature K with pale browning; P1 with small specks. In old books, with a multi-century history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 432; (2).

Full title and author
Oribasius of Sardis: the Synopsis addressed to Eustathius, son — nine books in which the whole of medicine is condensed into a compendium.
Venice, at Paul Manutius, son of Aldus, 1554.
Oribasius of Pergamon.

Context and Significance
The Synopsis ad Eustathium represents one of the most ambitious undertakings to synthesize ancient medical knowledge. Oribasius, personal physician and adviser to Emperor Julian the Apostate, had been charged with gathering and organizing the entire Greek medical tradition. From that immense corpus arose this abridged version, conceived expressly for his son, but destined to become a foundational text for medieval and Renaissance medicine. The work does not merely summarize Galen; it preserves, often in a unique form, fragments and doctrines of authors now lost, especially in the fields of surgery, pharmacology, and dietetics. The nine books systematically treat therapy, the preparation of medicines, internal diseases, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, and hygiene. Of particular note are the sections devoted to the selection of wet-nurses, nutrition during pregnancy, and pediatric diseases, which provide a direct testimony of late antique medical practice. According to modern historiography, Oribasius was instrumental in consolidating Galen’s authority in medieval Latin Europe.

Biography of the Author
Oribasius of Pergamon was born around 320 and died after 403. He was one of the most eminent physicians of late antiquity and the personal physician of Emperor Julian the Apostate. In addition to his clinical activity, he played a fundamental role as a compiler and preserver of the Greek medical tradition, collecting and organizing texts by Hippocrates, Galen, and many other authors now lost. His works were for centuries a primary source for Byzantine, Arab, and Latin medicine.

Printing history and circulation
The 1554 edition was printed in Venice by the Aldine workshop directed by Paolo Manuzio, son of Aldus Manutius, and it marks the first Latin edition of the Synopsis. The translation by Giovanni Battista Rasario, a humanist physician, stands out for its philological rigor and clear exposition. The dedication to Cosimo I de’ Medici places the work within the broader Medici cultural project, which attributed to ancient medicine a central role in shaping good governance and public health. The print run was presumably limited, and circulation was mainly academic, as evidenced by the frequent study annotations found in known copies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Choulant, Handbook of Bibliography for Early Medicine, 124 (rare).
Heirs of Hippocrates, 46.
Durling, Catalogue of Sixteenth Century Printed Books in the National Library of Medicine, 3403.
Renouard, Annals of the Alde Press, p. 159.
ICCU / OPAC SBN: Aldine edition, Venice 1554, Rasario.