The Canon of Medicine

He wished to have eight enemas administered to him in one day. From their heat and frequent administration, an ulceration of the intestines arose. Afterward, when he was returning with the most illustrious King, he fell into the falling sickness original: "morbum comitialem", meaning epilepsy, for this disease followed the colic pains. Therefore, he treated the intestinal ulceration with cooling enemas, but for the colic pains, he added hot medicines to the enemas; for he had ordered that two drachms of celery seeds be placed in the enemas to dispel the wind that was the cause of the pain. But the servants who were attending him put in five drachms. Because of this greater quantity, which was heating too much, the ulceration was aggravated. Indeed, he aided the falling sickness with the confection of Mithridates original: "mithridaticæ confectione", a traditional complex antidote, but the servants secretly mixed a notable quantity of opium into the confection of Mithridates. Since Avicenna had threatened the servants harshly—as they had not conducted themselves rightly in his affairs—they pursued him with hatred and treachery, such that they procured his death for that reason, and thus accelerated it with these medicines.

And when Avicenna was in such a bad state, they took him to Ispahan original: "Isphechã Aspeã" by litter with pack animals added, and there, after a regimen was prescribed, he began to feel better. Sometimes he would visit King Semsaledule. But since he did not abstain from sexual activities at all, he would slide now into a better state, now into a worse one. And when he was summoned by the King again, he fell into the same disease. Therefore, he came to Hamadan original: "Medenam", where, when he realized his strength was now failing, he resigned himself from all medicinal treatment. For he said that the governing power had clearly abandoned him, so that he could not hope that anything would profit him toward salvation. Therefore, Avicenna first commended his soul to God, then ordered his goods to be distributed to the poor, and granted freedom to the servants who were present. He passed away on his day, on Friday, in the evening, in the month of Ramadan of the Muhammadans, in the year from the flight of Muhammad 428. Since he had been born in the year 370 after the flight of Muhammad, he lived fifty-eight years. They buried him in the city of Hamadan, and his monument stands there to this day.

Sorsanus has testified that he was present at all these things and also heard Avicenna when he was at Sorsanus's place and was reading about the true and the false, and was also studying dialectics. If you wish to collect these briefly, they are nearly these: First, the name of Avicenna, the names of his parents, his fatherland, education, teachers, discipline, method of learning, his immense business, under what law he lived, what kind of religion he held. Also his wisdom and doctrine, his disciples, and his friendliness, affability, and honest pleasures with them and others, his disputations. Furthermore, that besides completing medicine, he also practiced healing successfully and not without the greatest honors and gifts. His traveling through diverse cities and regions, his familiarity with princes and kings, and also with what dignities the kings honored him. What volumes he wrote, in what places, and at what time. And his wonderful, or rather divine, facility in composing in every kind of science. With what sicknesses he labored, and what remedies he used, in what place he died, and at what time, and also in what place he was buried, and to whom he left his goods after the course of his life.

I have written all these things in honor of this most wise man, and also to excite the spirits of those who are delighted by the knowledge of things, doctrine, and wisdom; and I have wished to commit this to Latin letters, and add it to the books of the Canon, especially under your name, most excellent and learned Thomas Cademustus, since I have always known you to be not only a lover of wisdom, but a most keen supporter and amplifier of the most learned ancients. May your Excellency be happy, as you desire. Venice, Kalends of March, 1544.

The Printer to the Reader.

But since Hieronymus Rhamnusius, a celebrated physician who accurately translated a great part of Avicenna's books from Arabic into the Latin language at Damascus in previous years, seems to differ greatly concerning the birth of Avicenna from Sorsanus the Arab, a disciple of Avicenna himself who compiled his life—which Nicolaus Massa afterward wrote in Latin, having translated it from the Arabic—we have judged that this calculation of Rhamnusius should be briefly described here for the sake of the learned, and especially for those who might like to make this calculation up to this present time according to the years of the Hegira, which according to the Arabs is the flight of Muhammad.

He, in his own codex of Avicenna which he first described in Arabic from a very ancient copy, translated into Latin, and which still survives today at his heirs in VENICE, reports almost these very words.

The text features an Arabic symbol: ش, which signifies 373, for ش signifies 300, ع 70, and ر 3. Therefore Abuhali, whom we call Avicenna, was born 373 years after the flight of Muhammad. For they now have 890 years from the flight of Muhammad for their own millennium, but we have 1484 from the birth of Christ. Their year consists of twelve courses of the moon, whence it happens that their year is shorter than ours by about nine days.