Abstract
Galen In Loeb
Galen of Pergamum (129-?199/216) has too often been a minority interest among students of antiquity. His extant works account for about 10% of all Greek literature that survives from before AD 350. Known chiefly as a medical writer, his Method of Medicine is among the most influential documents in the history of both Western and Arabic medical philosophy until early modern times. It offers a systematic approach to the therapeutic part of medicine. However, its significance extends beyond the history of medical science alone, for like many medical writers, Galen conceived his task broadly to include interpreting human health in its widest philosophical and theological sense, based on a combination of reason and experience; conversely, his work helps us discern how language and ideas drawn from medical science in antiquity were often adopted by other educated authors, including those who regarded ‘Jesus’ (Iesous) as the true ‘healer’ (iaomai).
Ian Johnston and G. H. R. Horsley have prepared a splendid edition of this important work for the Loeb collection. It is only the second English translation of the document ever to have been published; its predecessor dates to the 1656. They have chiefly followed the Greek text prepared by C.-G. Kühn in the 1820s; their English version reads smoothly, and the introduction offers an extensive compendium of useful context and analysis. It includes not only an engaging synopsis of Galen’s life and influence, and an account of his medical science, but also a chronological list of the many predecessors and contemporaries whom he mentions, with notes on each of them, and a series of definitions of his key technical terms, discussing how he uses them. The third volume includes indices of both names and subjects. If there is one thing that is slightly lacking in these volumes compared with some other Loebs, it is the relative shortage of explanatory or critical notes in the presentation of the text and translation. However, the quality of the introduction compensates for this, and the books make a valuable addition to the trusted Loeb series.