First Nuremberg edition of Erasmus' declaration in praise of medicine. His essay, which was first published in 1518, is a comprehensive summary of his beliefs about the medical profession, and one of his most articulate expressions of his views of the medical art. In it, he praises medical doctors as saviours of not only the body, but of the whole person, writing that the physician is to the body what the priest is to the soul. As Erasmus was in poor health, he placed great importance on hygiene and cleanliness. In the present edition, his essay therefore follows the famous manual on hygiene and dietetics by Paulus Aegineta (fl. 7th century), the most prominent medical writer of the Byzantine era.
With remnants of a removed ownership annotation and stamp on the title page. The work is somewhat browned throughout and has been cut somewhat short, with the loss of a few letters of the printed marginal notes on the last few leaves. Otherwise in good condition. Bezzel 897; Durling 3572; USTC 683285, Vander Haeghen I, 85; VD16 P 1035; Wellcome I, 4860; not in Adams; BM STC German; De Reuck; cf. Krivatsy, P., "Erasmus' medical milieu", in: Bulletin of the history of medicine, vol. 47 (2), 1973, pp. 113-154.