Galen: On the Properties of Foodstuffs - Hardcover
Synopsis
This book presents a translation of and detailed commentary on Galen's De alimentorum facultatibus - his major work on the dynamics and kinetics of various foods. It is thus primarily a physiological treatise rather than a materia medica or a work on pathology. Galen commences with a short section on the epistemology of medicine, with a discussion on the attainment, through apodeixis or demonstration, of scientific truth - a discussion which reveals the Aristotelian roots of his thinking. The text then covers a wide range of foods, both common and exotic. Some, such as cereals, legumes, dairy products and the grape, receive an emphasis that reflects their importance at the time; others are treated more cursorily. Dr Powell, an expert in gastroenterology, discusses Galen's terminology and the background to his views on physiology and pathology in his introduction, while John Wilkins' foreword concentrates on the structural and cultural aspects of the work.
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Review
'... a fine translation of an intriguing treatise by Galen ... Powell has produced a very helpful book for those interested in food hygiene.' The Times Literary Supplement
'... elegantly produced ...' Medical History
'Useful and illuminating ...' Journal of the History of Medicine
'There is much of interest in this text ...' The Journal of Classics Teaching
'... rigourous but also highly engaging ... an important resource for the study of ancient science and medicine, and also for our understanding of the uses and representations of food within ancient Greek culture.' Journal of Hellenic Studies
'Powell brings to his translation the insights of a modern physician and his commentary is notably enlightening with its medical interpretations'. Bulletin of the History of Medicine
Book Description
This work lucidly describes the ways in which foods were thought to affect the body and were in turn affected by it, and contains revealing snippets of social comment. This book provides a full translation together with a detailed introduction, commentary and discussion of terminology.
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- PublisherCambridge University Press
- Publication date2003
- ISBN 10 0521812429
- ISBN 13 9780521812429
- BindingHardcover
- LanguageEnglish
- Edition number1
- Number of pages236
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Galen: On the Properties of Foodstuffs
Published by
Cambridge University Press, 2003
ISBN 10: 0521812429
ISBN 13: 9780521812429
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Condition: Good. Your purchase helps support Sri Lankan Children's Charity 'The Rainbow Centre'. Ex-library, so some stamps and wear, but in good overall condition. Our donations to The Rainbow Centre have helped provide an education and a safe haven to hundreds of children who live in appalling conditions. Seller Inventory # Z1-C-055-02054
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Galen. 'On the properties of Foodstuffs'. (De alimentorum facultatibus). Introduction, Translation and Commentary. With a foreword by J. Wilkins.
Published by
Cambridge University Press, 2003
ISBN 10: 0521812429
ISBN 13: 9780521812429
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Scrinium Classical Antiquity, Aalten, Netherlands
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Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (.), 2003. 1st ed.XXV,206p. Hardbound with dust wrps. Spine gilt titled. 'Galen's important work 'On the Properties of Foodstuffs' (De alimentorum facultatibus) dissects in rigourous but also highly engaging detail the characteristics of the commonest types of human food and their effects on the human body, combining theoretical discussion with anecdotal evidence, and covering grains and pulses, plants, and finally animals in its three separate books. This is a difficult text to deal with, not least because of the obscurity of many of the food names Galen uses, the complexity of his vision of the workings of human physiology and the confusion which arises from the lack of any standard technical vocabulary in Greek. Owen Powell's translation (and his introductory discussion on Galen's physiological theory) navigates through those difficulties with wonderful clarity. This volume is thus an important resource for the study of ancient science and mdeicine, and also for our understanding of the uses and representations of food within ancient Greek culture. In addition, it shows up the importance of Galen's writing for our understanding of the literature and culture of the Roman Empire more broadly, ofering a vivid glimpse of the riches which lie in store for those who approach Galen even from well outside the field of orthodox medical history. (.) John Wilkins' foreword (.) focuses on Galen's social and cultural background, with excellent discussion (amongst other things) of the geographical assumptions and biases underlying the work, and of the way in which Galen describes diets adopted within times of famine and poverty in order to explore the limits of normal human eating habits. (.) P.'s introduction, by contrast, is from a medical perspective (.) The juxtaposition with W.'s preface is fascinating. P. offers (.) a reconstruction of Galen's views on the working of food within the human body, while also measuring Galen's views against modern medical knowledge. (.) One of the things this volume reveals most strikingly is the way in which translating Galen necessarily involves one in many of the exercises which were central to Galen's own scholarship: not least filtering through a wide range of ancient sources in order to establish the correct meaning of the terms one is using; and interrogating the validity of the arguments one comes across in those sources (.), as an exercise which is inseparable from the difficult process of establishing meaning.' (JASON KÖNIG in The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 2004, p.203). From the library of Prof. Carl Deroux. Seller Inventory # 49790
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Galen on the Properties of Foodstuffs De Alimentorum Facultatibus : Introduction, Translation and Commentary
Published by
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Galen: On the Properties of Foodstuffs
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Galen on the Properties of Foodstuffs De Alimentorum Facultatibus : Introduction, Translation and Commentary
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Galen on the Properties of Foodstuffs De Alimentorum Facultatibus : Introduction, Translation and Commentary
Published by
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ISBN 10: 0521812429
ISBN 13: 9780521812429
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Galen on the Properties of Foodstuffs De Alimentorum Facultatibus : Introduction, Translation and Commentary
Published by
Cambridge University Press, 2003
ISBN 10: 0521812429
ISBN 13: 9780521812429
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Galen: On the Properties of Foodstuffs
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Galen: On the Properties of Foodstuffs
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ISBN 13: 9780521812429
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