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Avicenna (980-1037 CE) Canon Medicinae [Hebrew], a Substantial Fragment.
Naples: Azriel ben Joseph Ashkenazi Gunzenhauser, 9 Nov. 1491 [-1492?].
Folio, 179 of 480 leaves, all missing leaves provided in photocopy facsimile and bound in; genuine leaves supplied from different copies, leaf size varies; translated from Arabic to Hebrew by Joseph ben Joshua Lorki and Nathan ben Eliezer Hameati; text in Hebrew throughout; bound in full modern leather and housed in custom chemise and slipcase; leaves variously stained, some with worming and other damage, some repaired with non-archival paper, others with marginalia, some trimmed closely, largest extant run of leaves amounts to 142 continuous leaves of text; lacking leaves at beginning and end, 10 3/8 x 7 5/8 in.
Persian physician-philosopher Avicenna compiled his Canon of Medicine in 1025. It stands as one of the most influential books of any kind in the field, translated from Arabic to Latin in the Middle Ages and used widely throughout Europe and the Islamic world. Translator Jerónimo de Santa Fe, born Yehosúa ben Yosef, identified himself as "al Lorqui" to indicate that he was either born or resided in Lorca, Spain. He was a physician who converted to the Catholic faith from Judaism.
Avicenna's understanding of psychology comes from an Aristotelian source informed by Neoplatonism. Fear of death is universal in humans, an anxiety that stems from ignorance about its nature and experience. In this way, religious belief can soothe the anxiety by promoting the idea of an immortal soul. "The human or rational soul, which is also called 'intellect,' is likewise of two sorts: the practical and the theoretical intellect. As an image to help grasp the relation between the practical and theoretical intellects, Avicenna likens them to two faces of the human soul: the one worldly, the other, as it were, other-worldly. For the practical intellect is turned downward toward the management of the body, being influenced by the body and material needs and desires, while the theoretical intellect is turned upward toward the higher principles and causes, which are the source of all knowledge and understanding." (Quoted from Avicenna, by Jon McGinnis, Oxford University Press, 2010.)
Goff Heb-4; H 2212; BMC XIII 63 & pl. p.209; GW 3113; ISTC ia01417300.
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