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Manuscript/Mixed Material Kitāb sharḥ Fusūl Ibuqrāṭ كتاب شرح بصول إبرقراط /

About this Item

Title

  • Kitāb sharḥ Fusūl Ibuqrāṭ

Other Title

  • كتاب شرح بصول إبرقراط /

Summary

  • Text is a commentary on the Aphorisms by Hippocrates.
  • The Greek medical tradition survived long after the decline of the Hellenistic world, thanks to the work of Arabic translators and commentators, who preserved the theoretical and practical discoveries of Greek physicians in Arabic translations. The translation of Greek medical texts into Arabic was mainly conducted under the 'Abbasid caliphs and, in particular, in the circle of intellectuals linked to the name of Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq (circa 809-73). Among the Greek physicians, Hippocrates has always been considered an exemplary character, the symbol of the true and scrupulous physician, thanks mainly to the high regard for this founding figure shown in works by Galen and other physicians. The Aphorisms (sayings) of Hippocrates were widely commented upon in both the Greek and Islamic worlds. The present manuscript is a clear example of this tradition, as it consists of a fragmentary 14th-century copy of an 11th-century commentary on Hippocrates' Fuṣul (Sayings) by the Persian physician Ibn Abī Ṣādiq al-Nīsābūrī. The Arabic translations of Hippocrates' aphorisms are underlined in red ink, while a remnant of the text preserves al-Nīsābūrī's commentary. An interesting ownership note in English, found in the opening folio of the manuscript, indicates that it was given as a present to the American surgeon Valentine Mott by Dr. Franz Pruner, who worked as the head physician of Cairo hospital after 1838. The title page records several previous owners from the 15th century to the 18th, and the manuscript may date back to the 14th century. World Digital Library.

Names

  • Ibn Abī Ṣādiq al-Nīsābūrī, Abū al-Qāsim ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʻAlī, -after 1068
  • Baghdadī, Abū Bakr, associated name
  • Kar, ʻĪsá, active 1485, former owner
  • Masʻūd, al-Sayyid Muṣṭafá, former owner
  • Mott, Valentine, 1785-1865, former owner
  • Pruner, Franz Ignaz, 1808-1882, former owner
  • Rafīʻ, Muḥammad, former owner
  • Ṭanṭāwī, Muḥammad ʻAyyād, 1810-1861, expert

Created / Published

  • [13--?]

Headings

  • -  Hippocrates.--Aphorisms
  • -  Manuscripts, Arabic--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Medicine, Arab
  • -  Medicine, Greek and Roman

Notes

  • -  Binding: beautiful old leather (original binding recut and rebacked) with blind tooling and gold design on front and back covers.
  • -  Fol. 1a-120b.
  • -  Library of Congress. Arabic manuscripts, SM-9.
  • -  Ms.
  • -  Naskhī script; 21 lines in written area, 20 x 17 cm.
  • -  Note on pastedown: "The Aphorisms of Hippocrates com̄ented by an Arabic physician Abderrahman the son of Ali--the son of Abi Saadek. The manuscript is judjed by the famous Sheikh Moham̄ed Aiād e Thanthoui to be old 3-4 hundred years. Cairo the 1 June 1838 Dr Pruner. Presented to the most honourable Doctor Mr Mott by his most humble servant Dr Pruner head-physician of the central hospital at Cairo."
  • -  Paper: thick yellowed cream, no visible watermarks, in poor condition, particularly the first three or four folia and last leaf (cuttings, torn edges, repairs, etc.). Some termite damage. The leaf prior to the last one is misplaced, and the last three leaves indicate that some leaves are missing. Fol. 1a records that the manuscript was examined by Abū Bakr al-Baghdadī. Traces of humidity on outer edges of paper. Black ink throughout the text; some later red underlining and some marginal notes. Catchwords on rectos.
  • -  Title on container: Sharḥ fuṣūl Abiqrāṭ.
  • -  Title page records former owners: Muḥammad Rafīʻ, Kātib Zādah (not apparent), ʻĪsá al-Kar (dated 890 H [1485]), al-Sayid Muṣṭafá Masʻūd (dated 1224 H [1809]); other ownership signatures/stamps erased or illegible. A note attached to the front pastedown records that in 1838 Muḥammad ʻAyyād al-Ṭantāwī examined the book and judged it to be 300-400 years old. The note also records the presentation of the manuscript to Dr. [Valentine] Mott by Dr. [Franz] Pruner, the head physician of Cairo hospital (after 1838).
  • -  Fihris al-makhṭūṭāt al-ʻArabīyah fi Maktabat al-Kūnghris, 13.
  • -  Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.
  • -  Arabic.
  • -  Incipit: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم كما إنعمت فزد قال عبد الرحمن بن علي بن أبى صادق ... إن العناية التي تبعث الخلق على اقتناء باب من أبواب العلوم من أشرف الفضايل الإنسانية سيما ما كان الناس كافة أمس حاجه إليه من غيره كعلم الطب.

Medium

  • 120 leaves (21 lines), bound : paper : 26 x 17 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • R126.H6 A844 1300z

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2008427062

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Ibn Abī Ṣādiq Al-Nīsābūrī, Abū Al-Qāsim ʻAbd Al-Raḥmān Ibn ʻAlī, -After 1068, Abū Bakr Baghdadī, ʻīsá Kar, Al-Sayyid Muṣṭafá Masʻūd, Valentine Mott, Franz Ignaz Pruner, Muḥammad Rafīʻ, and Muḥammad ʻAyyād Ṭanṭāwī. Kitāb sharḥ Fusūl Ibuqrāṭ. [13--?] Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2008427062/.

APA citation style:

Ibn Abī Ṣādiq Al-Nīsābūrī, A. A. ʻ. A. I. ʻ., Baghdadī, A. B., Kar, ʻ., Masʻūd, A. M., Mott, V., Pruner, F. I. [...] Ṭanṭāwī, M. ʻ. Kitāb sharḥ Fusūl Ibuqrāṭ. [13--?] [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2008427062/.

MLA citation style:

Ibn Abī Ṣādiq Al-Nīsābūrī, Abū Al-Qāsim ʻAbd Al-Raḥmān Ibn ʻAlī, -After 1068, et al. Kitāb sharḥ Fusūl Ibuqrāṭ. [13--?] Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2008427062/>.