Philothei medici praestantissimi Commentaria in aphorismos Hippocratis. Nunc primum e graeco in Latinum sermonem conversa Ludovico Corado Mantuano interprete

8vo (155x100 mm). [8], 92 leaves. Collation: *⁸ A-L⁸ M⁴. Woodcut portrait on title page. Woodcut historiated initials. Errata on l. 92v. Contemporary flexible vellum, inked title on spine and front panel (stained and rubbed, lacking ties). On the title page manuscript ownership entry “titulo donationis Johannes Paulus Gennaiolus”. Occasional marginal annotations and reading marks in a contemporary hand by a competent reader, presumably a physician. Title page soiled, marginal dampstains, occasional browning and foxing, a modest but genuine copy.

Rare first edition of Theophilus Protospatharius' commentary on Hippocrates' aphorisms in the Latin translation by the Mantua physician Ludovico Corrado (a second edition appeared in Speyer in 1581).

Theophilus Protospatharius was a physician in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius (610-641). His written work is very extensive. He continued the work of the famous Greek physicians like Hippocrates and Galen and is considered as one of the forerunners of modern urology. As it was not unusual in  Byzantium, Theophilus was given two surnames Philotheus and Philaretus, a fact that made scholars believe until the end of the 18^th century that there were different physicians operating in Byzantium during the seventh century under those names, when in fact they were just one person.

Edit 16, CNCE24677.

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