ANON - MANUSCRIPT: Medicinae rationalis practica - 1709

Here is an opportunity to acquire a complete manuscript, dated 1709. It runs to 452 + 440 Pages, and offers a continuous survey of all the expected topics at the forefront of medicine at the period. The full title is

Medicinae rationalis practica, juxta miram Hypp ac Gal doctrinam descripta die 19 8bris 1709.

I.e. Medicinae rationalis practica, juxta miram Hippocratis ac Galeni doctrinam descripta, die 19 Octobris 1709.

== “The practical part of rational medicine, written according to the remarkable doctrine of Hippocrates and Galen, on the 19th day of October 1709.”

This appears to be a very traditional account, most likely French, derived from Hippocrates and Galen. We find the four humours: blood (sanguis), phlegm (phlegma), yellow bile (cholera), and black bile (melancholia). And we find that medical treatment here aims to restore equilibrium, following the principle contraria contrariis curantur (“opposites are cured by opposites”).

The manuscript also treats discuss human temperaments or complexions, which were thought to reflect a person’s natural humoral balance. Individuals might be described as sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, or melancholic, each type having characteristic bodily traits, behaviours, and susceptibilities to certain illnesses. Practical medical advice is organised around the six “non-naturals,” lifestyle factors believed to influence health: air and environment, food and drink, sleep and waking, motion and rest, excretions and retentions, and the passions or emotions of the mind.

The manuscript includes sections on diagnosis and treatment according to Galenic practice. Diagnosis here relies on the observation of the pulse, examination of urine (uroscopy), and attention to symptoms such as fever patterns or bodily discharges.

A detailed index is provided at the start of the second volume.

The handwriting, though small, is exceptionally clear and on dark and unfaded black ink. The pages are numbered throughout and there are sections and subsections to make referencing easy. Of exceptional interest is the structure, which sets out diagnoses, prognoses and cures throughout.

A book plate appears in both volumes. The bindings are solid brown calf, with wear but very servicable. Blanks appear at the start of volume one.