Anonymus Londinensis
Encyclopedia
Anonymus Londinensis is the name given to an anonymous Ancient Greek author of approximately the 1st century AD whose work On Medicine is partially preserved in a papyrus in the British Library
(PBrLibr inv. 137 = P.Lit.Lond. 165). It ranks as the most important surviving medical papyrus and provides important information about the history of Greek medical thought.
, who compiled, digested, and manipulated various sources as he wrote, so that we may even observe the process of his thinking as he writes.
The text consists of three parts: a series of definitions related to the affections of the body and soul (cols. 1-4), a doxographical
part (cols. 4-20), and a physiological part (cols. 21-39).
" but usually ascribed to Aristotle's pupil Meno and identified with the title Menoneia mentioned in Plutarch
's Quaestiones convivales VIII.ix, 377c. This work would have been part of the early Peripatetic project to survey all of the most important fields of knowledge. The views of some twenty physicians are reported, with Plato
cited more than any other authority, even Hippocrates
. The authorities are classified into two groups, one holding that disease is caused by residues of food, the other by disturbances in the balance of the bodily elements.
Hermann Diels had suggested that Anonymus Londinensis knew this Peripatetic doxography through the Areskonta of Alexander Philalethes
, but there is little plausible justification for this view.
. Only the views of Aristotle and subsequent authors are considered, including Herophilus (who appears in a comparatively positive light), Erasistratus
(who is attacked together with his followers), Asclepiades of Bithynia
, and Alexander Philalethes. This interesting section contains ideas about vitality and motion, nutriment, the various emanations from the body, digestion, veins and arteries, and the invisible "pores."
in 1892. Diels produced the first edition of the Greek text, which was published in 1893 by the Prussian Academy of Sciences
as volume III, part 1, of Supplementum Aristotelicum. A German translation of Diels' text by Heinrich Beckh and Franz Spät was published in 1896 (Anonymus Londinensis: Auszüge eines Unbekannten aus Aristoteles-Menons Handbuch der Medicin und aus Werken anderer älterer Aerzte). W.H.S. Jones reprinted Diels' Greek text together with his own English translation and commentary in The Medical Writings of Anonymus Londinensis, Cambridge University Press, 1947 (repr. Amsterdam 1968; repr. Cambridge 2011, ISBN 0521170699). A new Teubner edition of the Greek text by Daniela Manetti will be published in 2011 (ISBN 3110218712). An edition by Jackie Pigeaud
has also been announced.
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
(PBrLibr inv. 137 = P.Lit.Lond. 165). It ranks as the most important surviving medical papyrus and provides important information about the history of Greek medical thought.
On Medicine
While only fragments survive of some portions of the text, the papyrus containing the work of Anonymus Londinensis is exceptionally well preserved, with 3.5 meters of the roll largely intact, containing almost 2,000 lines of text in 39 columns. It seems to be an unfinished draft (breaking off in mid-column) in the hand of the authorAutograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
, who compiled, digested, and manipulated various sources as he wrote, so that we may even observe the process of his thinking as he writes.
The text consists of three parts: a series of definitions related to the affections of the body and soul (cols. 1-4), a doxographical
Doxography
Doxography is a term used especially for the works of classical historians, describing the points of view of past philosophers and scientists. The term was coined by the German classical scholar Hermann Alexander Diels.- Classic Greek philosophy :...
part (cols. 4-20), and a physiological part (cols. 21-39).
Menoneia
The doxographical part is a survey of 5th and 4th century writers on the causes of disease, following a source called "AristotleAristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
" but usually ascribed to Aristotle's pupil Meno and identified with the title Menoneia mentioned in Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
's Quaestiones convivales VIII.ix, 377c. This work would have been part of the early Peripatetic project to survey all of the most important fields of knowledge. The views of some twenty physicians are reported, with Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
cited more than any other authority, even Hippocrates
Hippocrates
Hippocrates of Cos or Hippokrates of Kos was an ancient Greek physician of the Age of Pericles , and is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine...
. The authorities are classified into two groups, one holding that disease is caused by residues of food, the other by disturbances in the balance of the bodily elements.
Hermann Diels had suggested that Anonymus Londinensis knew this Peripatetic doxography through the Areskonta of Alexander Philalethes
Alexander Philalethes
Alexander Philalethes was an ancient Greek physician, whom Priscian called Alexander Amator Veri , and who was probably the same person quoted by Caelius Aurelianus under the name of Alexander Laodicensis. He lived probably towards the end of the 1st century, as Strabo speaks of him as a...
, but there is little plausible justification for this view.
On physiology
The final, incomplete, section of the work discusses physiology in a manner influenced by dialectical argumentDialectic
Dialectic is a method of argument for resolving disagreement that has been central to Indic and European philosophy since antiquity. The word dialectic originated in Ancient Greece, and was made popular by Plato in the Socratic dialogues...
. Only the views of Aristotle and subsequent authors are considered, including Herophilus (who appears in a comparatively positive light), Erasistratus
Erasistratus
Erasistratus was a Greek anatomist and royal physician under Seleucus I Nicator of Syria. Along with fellow physician Herophilus, he founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria, where they carried out anatomical research...
(who is attacked together with his followers), Asclepiades of Bithynia
Asclepiades of Bithynia
Asclepiades was a Greek physician born at Prusa in Bithynia in Asia Minor and flourished at Rome, where he established Greek medicine near the end of the 2nd century BCE. He attempted to build a new theory of disease, based on the flow of atoms through pores in the body...
, and Alexander Philalethes. This interesting section contains ideas about vitality and motion, nutriment, the various emanations from the body, digestion, veins and arteries, and the invisible "pores."
Editions and translations
The papyrus was first described by Frederic G. KenyonFrederic G. Kenyon
Sir Frederic George Kenyon GBE KCB TD FBA FSA was a British paleographer and biblical and classical scholar. He occupied from 1889 to 1931 a series of posts at the British Museum...
in 1892. Diels produced the first edition of the Greek text, which was published in 1893 by the Prussian Academy of Sciences
Prussian Academy of Sciences
The Prussian Academy of Sciences was an academy established in Berlin on 11 July 1700, four years after the Akademie der Künste or "Arts Academy", to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer.-Origins:...
as volume III, part 1, of Supplementum Aristotelicum. A German translation of Diels' text by Heinrich Beckh and Franz Spät was published in 1896 (Anonymus Londinensis: Auszüge eines Unbekannten aus Aristoteles-Menons Handbuch der Medicin und aus Werken anderer älterer Aerzte). W.H.S. Jones reprinted Diels' Greek text together with his own English translation and commentary in The Medical Writings of Anonymus Londinensis, Cambridge University Press, 1947 (repr. Amsterdam 1968; repr. Cambridge 2011, ISBN 0521170699). A new Teubner edition of the Greek text by Daniela Manetti will be published in 2011 (ISBN 3110218712). An edition by Jackie Pigeaud
Jackie Pigeaud
Jackie Pigeaud is a retired French professor of Latin and historian of medicine. He occupied a chair at the University of Nantes and is a member of the Institut universitaire de France....
has also been announced.
Further reading
- Markus Asper, Griechische Wissenschaftstexte: Formen, Funktionen, Differenzierungsgeschichten, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 2007, pp. 293-304
- Philip J. van der Eijk (ed.), Ancient histories of medicine: essays in medical doxography and historiography in classical antiquity, Leiden: Brill, 1999
External links
- Greek text (Diels 1893): BBAW online edition; via Google Books, c.1, c.2, c.3, c.4
- French translation