Commentaries on the Six Books of Dioscorides on Medical Matter

PIETRO ANDREA MATTIOLI

to the students of medical matter,

Large ornamental woodcut initial 'S' showing a figure seated in a landscape with hills and buildings in the background.

IF I WISHED to follow the custom of those who, before they begin their work, profess first of all that nothing is of greater care or zeal to them than to consult the use and life of mortals, I could also do this ingenuously. For with that inclination of mind from my youth itself, as much leisure as I was able to obtain from the practice of the medical art and family care, I devoted all of it to unrolling the books of good authors, to attaining the knowledge of simple medicines, and finally to writing. In which matter—so that I might certainly leave it witnessed among all that I have labored with this mind and spirit, namely, that as much as I could achieve through study, labor, and industry, I might benefit human life and be considered to have deserved very well of it—I applied all my effort and diligence to Dioscorides, so that, as much as lay in me, he might be rendered more illustrious and be handled by the hands of all. For which purpose this seemed to me the most convenient method: to translate Dioscorides himself into our Italian tongue, and to add to it commentaries written by us likewise in Italian; because then a private zeal and greater care for helping the Italians came upon us, more than others. For indeed there are very few pharmacists in Italy who know the Latin language, to whom nevertheless this treatise on medical matter chiefly pertains. This work, which I had undertaken with the greatest alacrity of mind, once I had finished it, I sent forth—even at the urging of friends—so that the fruit I had previously proposed for myself from my labors, I might afterwards offer to be perceived by mortals and to be esteemed by all. But whether it was such as I had striven for it to be, I would prefer the judgment to be that of others rather than my own. This I know for certain (if yet it is permitted to us to testify to this without fault) that by many in Italy, whose judgment I prefer before all others, our writings were esteemed and commended with that same candor of mind with which we ourselves wrote them, and also that they were not useless nor unpleasant to the Italians. By whose example, indeed, and by their judgment of our commentaries, I could not but congratulate myself and all to whom we have handed them over to be read. Meanwhile, there came upon me a no less desire to deserve well of foreigners also; and that desire was increased by the fact that I understood it would be very pleasing to them if our commentaries were made Latin. Led therefore by this reason, so that I might also gain some favor from foreigners, and so that I might benefit all in general by my study, care, and industry (which I have always held as primary and chief), I undertook to render our commentaries into Latin and to illustrate them from the small amount of leisure that remains to us. What I have accomplished in this work, I plainly do not know. You, for whose sake I have spent so much labor on it, which I now send forth—having indeed completed it, but it being not yet fully refined in my view—will judge by reading. Nor would I wish anything else to be sought from all than that they esteem these commentaries of ours with that sincerity and equity of mind with which they would want their own to be esteemed and weighed by others, or with which we ourselves set out to write them. For although I have dared to refute the opinions of many learned men, and perhaps to pursue not a few things too sharply—namely, corrupt things which can never be sufficiently exploded by the stubbornness of the unlearned—I nevertheless did it with the intention that whatever I could achieve by talent, whatever I could elaborate by mind, and finally whatever judgment in medical matters I could acquire for myself from studies, labors, and night-watches, I might freely bring forth into public for the fruit and utility of humankind. But certainly in this digression our speech has gone further than I had intended; for it crept in there (I know not how) so that I might reveal some part of our plan of writing. Which, however, would not have been entirely out of place, had not the reason for that plan been set forth by us more at length elsewhere, and especially above in the dedicatory epistle, and, I believe, approved by more people than ought to have been touched upon in a few words in this place. Wherefore we must now come to that which we think the students of medical matter ought first of all to be advised of, as it seems to pertain somewhat privately to the matter of the present work. Since indeed three things are chiefly contained by it—the text of Dioscorides, our commentaries upon him, and the images of plants—some account must be rendered by us concerning each, so that it may be confessed how I have conducted myself in each, which is not dissimilar. Therefore, regarding the text of Dioscorides, which we decided should by no means be omitted for several reasons which it would be too long to relate here, someone will ask why I preferred the translation of Jean Ruel, a most learned French physician, and judged it worthy to be read above the others in our commentaries; although nevertheless two other men, equally excellent and most learned, Hermolao Barbaro and Marcello Virgilio of Florence, applied themselves diligently to the same study. I confess ingenuously that I followed Ruel’s version, but not because I have ever despised the distinguished efforts of the others; rather, I have always admired the zeal of both, since indeed each deserved the greatest praise in it. This, however, moved me more to admit Ruel: that his translation has become more common to all, and more frequ-