Aulus Cornelius Celsus
Encyclopedia
Aulus Cornelius Celsus (ca 25 BC—ca 50) was a Roman
encyclopedist, known for his extant
medical work, De Medicina
, which is believed to be the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia
. The De Medicina is a primary source on diet
, pharmacy
, surgery
and related fields, and it is one of the best sources concerning medical knowledge in the Roman world. The lost portions of his encyclopedia likely included volumes on agriculture, law, rhetoric
, and military arts.
is uncertain; he has been called both Aurelius and Aulus, with the latter being more plausible. Some incidental expressions in his De Medicina
suggest that he lived under the reigns of Augustus
and Tiberius
; which is confirmed by his reference to Themison
as being recently in his old age. It is not known with any certainty where he lived. He has been identified as the possible dedicator of a gravestone in Rome
, but it has also been supposed that he lived in Narbonese Gaul
, because he refers to a species of vine
(marcum) which, according to Pliny
, was native to that region. It is doubtful whether he practised medicine himself, and although Celsus seems to describe and recommend his own medical observations sanctioned by experience, Quintilian
says that his volumes included all sorts of literary matters, and even agriculture
and military tactics
.
In the "Prooemium" or introduction to De Medicina there is an early discussion of the relevance of theory to medical practice and the pros and cons of both animal experimentation and human experimentation
.
In the treatment of disease, Celsus' principal method was to observe and watch over the operations of Nature
, and to regulate rather than oppose them, conceiving that fever consisted essentially in an effort of the body to throw off some morbid cause, and that, if not unduly interfered with, the process would terminate in a state of health. On occasions, however, he boldly recommends the use of the scalpel
; his rules for blood letting and purgatives are laid down with detail and precision; and many of the rules he prescribes were not very different from those still in use at the beginning of the 19th century. His work contains detailed descriptions of the symptoms and different varieties of fever
, and he is credited with recording the cardinal signs of inflammation
: calor (warmth), dolor (pain), tumor (swelling) and rubor (redness and hyperaemia
). He goes into great detail regarding the preparation of numerous ancient medicinal remedies including the preparation of opioid
s. In addition, he describes many 1st century Roman surgical procedures which included removal of a cataract
, treatment for bladder stones
, and the setting of fractures
.
Hippocrates
used the Greek word carcinos, meaning crab or crayfish, to refer to malignant tumors. It was Celsus who translated the Greek term into the Latin cancer, also meaning crab.
The first printed edition of Celsus' work was published in 1478. His style has been much admired as being equal in purity and elegance to that of the best writers of the Augustan age.
Also, Celsus wrote a technical work on agriculture, on which Columella
partly based his De Re Rustica.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
encyclopedist, known for his extant
Extant literature
Extant literature refers to texts that have survived from the past to the present time. Extant literature can be divided into extant original manuscripts, copies of original manuscripts, quotations and paraphrases of passages of non-extant texts contained in other works, translations of non-extant...
medical work, De Medicina
De Medicina
De Medicina is a 1st-century medical treatise by Aulus Cornelius Celsus, a Roman encyclopedist and possibly a practicing physician. It is the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia; only small parts still survive from sections on agriculture, military science, oratory, jurisprudence...
, which is believed to be the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
. The De Medicina is a primary source on diet
Diet (nutrition)
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. With the word diet, it is often implied the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management...
, pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
, surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
and related fields, and it is one of the best sources concerning medical knowledge in the Roman world. The lost portions of his encyclopedia likely included volumes on agriculture, law, rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
, and military arts.
Life
Nothing is known about the life of Celsus. Even his praenomenPraenomen
The praenomen was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the dies lustricus , the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy...
is uncertain; he has been called both Aurelius and Aulus, with the latter being more plausible. Some incidental expressions in his De Medicina
De Medicina
De Medicina is a 1st-century medical treatise by Aulus Cornelius Celsus, a Roman encyclopedist and possibly a practicing physician. It is the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia; only small parts still survive from sections on agriculture, military science, oratory, jurisprudence...
suggest that he lived under the reigns of Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
and Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
; which is confirmed by his reference to Themison
Themison of Laodicea
Themison of Laodicea, , 1st century BC, was the founder of the Methodic school of medicine, and one of the most eminent physicians of his time....
as being recently in his old age. It is not known with any certainty where he lived. He has been identified as the possible dedicator of a gravestone in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, but it has also been supposed that he lived in Narbonese Gaul
Gallia Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in southern France. It was also known as Gallia Transalpina , which was originally a designation for that part of Gaul lying across the Alps from Italia and it contained a western region known as Septimania...
, because he refers to a species of vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
(marcum) which, according to Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
, was native to that region. It is doubtful whether he practised medicine himself, and although Celsus seems to describe and recommend his own medical observations sanctioned by experience, Quintilian
Quintilian
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus was a Roman rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing...
says that his volumes included all sorts of literary matters, and even agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and military tactics
Military tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
.
Works
Of the numerous volumes of his encyclopedia, only one remains intact, his celebrated treatise On Medicine (De Medicina), which is divided into eight books.- Book 1 the History of Medicine,
- Book 2 General Pathology,
- Book 3 Specific Diseases,
- Book 4 Parts of the Body,
- Book 5 and 6 Pharmacology,
- Book 7 Surgery and
- Book 8 Orthopedics
In the "Prooemium" or introduction to De Medicina there is an early discussion of the relevance of theory to medical practice and the pros and cons of both animal experimentation and human experimentation
Human experimentation
Human subject research includes experiments and observational studies. Human subjects are commonly participants in research on basic biology, clinical medicine, nursing, psychology, and all other social sciences. Humans have been participants in research since the earliest studies...
.
In the treatment of disease, Celsus' principal method was to observe and watch over the operations of Nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
, and to regulate rather than oppose them, conceiving that fever consisted essentially in an effort of the body to throw off some morbid cause, and that, if not unduly interfered with, the process would terminate in a state of health. On occasions, however, he boldly recommends the use of the scalpel
Scalpel
A scalpel, or lancet, is a small and extremely sharp bladed instrument used for surgery, anatomical dissection, and various arts and crafts . Scalpels may be single-use disposable or re-usable. Re-usable scalpels can have attached, resharpenable blades or, more commonly, non-attached, replaceable...
; his rules for blood letting and purgatives are laid down with detail and precision; and many of the rules he prescribes were not very different from those still in use at the beginning of the 19th century. His work contains detailed descriptions of the symptoms and different varieties of fever
Fever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
, and he is credited with recording the cardinal signs of inflammation
Inflammation
Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Inflammation is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli and to initiate the healing process...
: calor (warmth), dolor (pain), tumor (swelling) and rubor (redness and hyperaemia
Hyperaemia
Hyperaemia or hyperemia describes the increase of blood flow to different tissues in the body. It can have medical implications, but is also a regulatory response, allowing change in blood supply to different tissues through vasodilation. Clinically, hyperaemia in tissues manifest as erythema,...
). He goes into great detail regarding the preparation of numerous ancient medicinal remedies including the preparation of opioid
Opioid
An opioid is a psychoactive chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central and peripheral nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract...
s. In addition, he describes many 1st century Roman surgical procedures which included removal of a cataract
Cataract
A cataract is a clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its envelope, varying in degree from slight to complete opacity and obstructing the passage of light...
, treatment for bladder stones
Urolithiasis
A bladder stone is a solid concretion or crystal aggregation found in the urinary bladder...
, and the setting of fractures
Bone fracture
A bone fracture is a medical condition in which there is a break in the continuity of the bone...
.
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...
used the Greek word carcinos, meaning crab or crayfish, to refer to malignant tumors. It was Celsus who translated the Greek term into the Latin cancer, also meaning crab.
The first printed edition of Celsus' work was published in 1478. His style has been much admired as being equal in purity and elegance to that of the best writers of the Augustan age.
Also, Celsus wrote a technical work on agriculture, on which Columella
Columella
Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella is the most important writer on agriculture of the Roman empire. Little is known of his life. He was probably born in Gades , possibly of Roman parents. After a career in the army , he took up farming...
partly based his De Re Rustica.
External links
- De Medicina at LacusCurtius (Latin original and English translation)