On Medicine (De Re Medica)

PREFACE.

The authority of Celsus has always carried, and will always carry, great weight among physicians. For in his work shines the genuine doctrine of Hippocrates the Greek physician, often called the father of medicine, dictated in elegant language and with an eloquent voice. Since this book is handled by those who study the Asclepiadean referring to the healing art of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine art day and night, it does not seem necessary to speak of it at length. However, it would be of great importance if the life of the writer were recorded here. But those things that concern our subject are shrouded in such darkness that hardly anything certain can be brought forward. Therefore, it seemed better to omit his history than to relate things that are false, uncertain, or insufficiently reliable, or to repeat what is already known to all in an inept manner. Nevertheless, it is appropriate to inform educated men briefly as to what has been accomplished in the preparation of this edition.

Among the very numerous editions of Celsus, there is certainly none, in the judgment of learned men, that has carried every point. All those who have occupied themselves with such study, although learned, sagacious, and ingenious, and indeed not lacking in medical fame, could not escape the imputation of negligence and haste.