Hyppocratis - Opera - 1564

THE FATHER OF MEDICINE: HIPPOCRATES BETWEEN ANCIENT SCIENCE AND EUROPEAN HUMANISM
This elegant Lyonese edition of 1564 of Hippocrates' works bears witness to the extraordinary rebirth of classical medicine in the midst of the European Renaissance. Printed in Lyon by Antonio Vincenti, the volume belongs to that great publishing era in which medical texts from antiquity were recovered, corrected, and returned to the Western scientific community through the filter of humanistic philology. Hippocrates no longer appears merely as a scholastic medieval authority, but as the founder of a rational medicine grounded in the observation of the body, in the relationship between man and nature, and in the balance of the humors. In the sixteenth century, reading Hippocrates meant entering into contact with a conception of knowledge in which medicine, natural philosophy, and cosmology were still deeply united. Lyon, an important European commercial and cultural crossroads, played a decisive role in the diffusion of these texts destined for universities, physicians, and humanistic libraries.
MARKET VALUE
Sixteenth-century editions of Hippocratic works printed in Lyon are highly valued by collectors of the history of medicine and Renaissance science. Complete volumes in antique bindings typically range from 800 to 1,500 euros on the international antiquarian market, with higher values for annotated copies or those from historic medical libraries.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Later binding in stiff parchment overlaid with decorated paper, with a title hand-written on the spine. Binding loosened. Frontispiece woodcut with Antonio Vincenti’s printer’s mark. Text with ornate woodcut initials. Paper with typical browning and signs of use. Wormholes in the sheets. In old books with a long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 80nn; 594; (2).
FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Hyppocratis Opera.
Lugduni, apud Antonium Vincentium, 1564.
Ippocrate di Cos.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
In the sixteenth century, the direct recovery of Greek medical texts represented a genuine cultural revolution. European medicine, for centuries dominated by medieval scholastic tradition, gradually returned to classical sources thanks to the efforts of humanists, physicians, and printers. Hippocrates’ works were regarded as the very foundation of rational medicine: clinical observation, diet, climate, the balance of the humors, and empirical study of diseases formed a coherent system that profoundly influenced all Western medicine. This Lyonese edition reflects the central role of printing in spreading Renaissance scientific knowledge. The volume is not merely a medical text, but a symbol of the new humanistic culture that saw the return to the classics as the means to rejuvenate contemporary knowledge.
BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Hippocrates of Cos (c. 460–370 B.C.) is considered the father of Western medicine. Active in classical Greece, he developed a conception of medicine based on rational observation of diseases and on the relationship between environment, diet, and the health of the human body. The Corpus Hippocraticum, a collection of texts attributed to his school, profoundly influenced European medicine until modern times and constituted the foundation of Western medical ethics.
PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Lyon was in the sixteenth century one of the major European printing centers for the dissemination of medical and scientific texts. Hippocratic editions printed in the city circulated widely among universities, physicians, and humanist scholars. Antonio Vincenti contributed to the publication of classical and scientific works for an educated international audience. The Hippocrates editions of the sixteenth century were essential for the training of European medicine and for the birth of modern medicine.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Durling, Catalogue of Sixteenth Century Printed Books in the National Library of Medicine, repertori ippocratici del XVI secolo.
Adams, repertori delle edizioni ippocratiche cinquecentesche.
ICCU/OPAC SBN, records relating to Hippocrates editions printed in Lyon in the sixteenth century.
USTC, entries of Lyonese medical editions of the Cinquecento.
Wellcome Collection, historical catalogs of Hippocratic works.
Osler Library, Bibliotheca Osleriana, repertori of Renaissance medicine.
Thorndike, History of Magic and Experimental Science, sections dedicated to classical medicine.
British Library, catalogs of sixteenth-century medical editions.
BnF Gallica, repertori dei edizioni ippocratiche rinascimentali.
NLM – National Library of Medicine, historical catalogs of Hippocrates editions.