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Celsus, Aulus Cornelius (c. 25 BCE-c. 50 CE) De Re Medica Libri Octo.
Geneva: Sumptibus Iohannis de Tournes, 1625.
16mo, woodcut printer's device to title, large device with angel to verso of last leaf; some spotting to contents, bound in full contemporary parchment over boards, 4 3/4 x 3 in.
Celsus's eight books on medicine, part of a much larger general encyclopedia which has not come down to us from antiquity, treat the history of medicine, pathology, diseases, anatomy, pharmacology, surgery, and orthopedics. He is valued for his style and clarity. In the main, he advocates for following nature rather than interfering, with advice to let a fever take its course, for example. He explains how to prepare narcotics, writes against vivisection, and weighs the pros and cons of animal and human experimentation. Celsus is also credited with identifying the cardinal signs of inflammation: calor, dolor, tumor, and rubor.
