The Hebrew Book of Medicines Attributed to Asaf the Physician

Elinor LIEBER (Oxford, England)

B 2 9

This very long H e b r e w w o r k has never ye t b e e n pub l i shed in full, a n d I a m n o w p r e p a r i n g the f i rs t c r i t ica l ed i t ion of t h e text , f rom all t h e m a n u s c r i p t s , t o g e t h e r w i t h a t r a n s l a t i o n a n d no t e s *. I n v iew of t h e m a n y difficult ies involved in th i s t ask , s o m e of w h i c h I shal l b e d i scuss ing he re , any conc lus ions I shal l p r e s e n t a r e only t en ta t ive , a n d I w o u l d w e l c o m e any c o m m e n t s , sugges t ions or ques t i ons w h i c h m i g h t he lp m e to deal w i t h t h e m a n y p r o b l e m s wh ich stil l r e m a i n to b e solved.

« T h e Book of Medic ines » is a mi s l ead ing n a m e , s ince it impl ies t h a t t h e w o r k is s imply a col lect ion of p r e s c r i p t i o n s . I t is in fact a n encyc lopaed ia , cover ing a l m o s t every a spec t of anc ien t med ic ine , o t h e r t h a n su rge ry a n d obs t e t r i c s . As such it t a k e s i ts p lace in t h e g r e a t t r a d i t i o n of med ica l encyc lopaed ic w o r k s , in Greek, Lat in , Sansc r i t , Syr iac , Chinese , T i b e t a n a n d Arab ic , wh ich w e r e compi l ed f rom the very beg inn ing of th i s e r a u p t o t h e e n d of t h e Midd le Ages, a n d w e r e a lways b a s e d on m u c h ear l i e r m a t e r i a l .

Accord ing t o i ts I n t r o d u c t i o n t h e « B o o k of M e d i c i n e s » w a s copied b y anc ien t sages f rom t h e « Book of S h e m , son of N o a h » , w h i c h w a s t a k e n d o w n by N o a h af te r t h e F lood f rom the w o r d s of t h e Angel Raphae l , God 's hea l ing angel . The sages of Ind ia , « Macedon ia », E g y p t a n d M e s o p o t a m i a a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y specified, b u t only four of t h e m a r e ac tua l ly n a m e d : H i p p o c r a t e s , «Asaf t h e J e w » , Dioscor ides a n d Galen. Apa r t f rom Asaf, of w h o m w e k n o w no th ing , t hese a r e t h e g r e a t e s t n a m e s in Greek med ic ine . If they have b e e n in ten t iona l ly p l aced in chronolog ica l o rde r , it w o u l d deno te t h a t Asaf l ived b e t w e e n t h e t i m e of « H i p p o c r a t e s » a n d t h a t of D i o s c o r i d e s ; t h a t is, a t s o m e p e r i o d b e t w e e n t h e 5th cen tu ry B.C. a n d t h e 1st c e n t u r y A.D. Howeve r , no phys ic ian , J e w i s h o r o the rwi se , is k n o w n by th i s n a m e , a l t h o u g h severa l m i n o r Bibl ical f igures a r e cal led Asaf ; a n d in M u s l i m legend Asaf w a s indeed a sage, a s t h e vizier of King So lomon .

I n the m a i n the w o r k c l a ims to r e p r e s e n t t he med ica l t each ings of Asaf, as t a k e n p r e s u m a b l y f rom t h e l egendary « Book of Medic ines ». Howeve r , s o m e of t h e sec t ions a r e p r e s e n t e d in t h e n a m e of a s imi la r ly u n k n o w n Y o h a n a n , o r J o h n . I n b o t h cases t h e s e « t each ings » a r e r e p o r t e d as if they h a d b e e n t r a n s m i t t ­ed by w o r d of m o u t h , a n d h a d t h e n b e e n t a k e n d o w n in w r i t i n g by t h e h e a r e r , poss ib ly a pup i l .

T h e a c t u a l concep t s exp re s sed in t h e w o r k a r e ove rwhe lming ly Greek, a n d largely H i p p o c r a t i c in or igin. However , as h i n t e d in t h e I n t r o d u c t i o n , t h e r e a r e

(*) I a m m o s t grateful to the Wel lcome Trust , London, for their support of this work .

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THE HEBREW « BOOK OF MEDECINES » ATTRIBUTED TO SAF THE PHYSICIAN :

an early mediaeval encyclopaedia of Greek médecine, based on an Indian model.

t r a ce s of Ind i an , anc i en t E g y p t i a n a n d Pe r s i an inf luence of va r i ous k inds . The I n t r o d u c t i o n says n o t h i n g of A r a b med ic ine wh ich , indeed , pays only a m i n o r ro le in t h e w o r k , a n d is m a i n l y exp re s sed in c e r t a i n t echn ica l t e r m s , w h i c h m a y even h a v e b e e n a d d e d la te r . Th i s p e r h a p s a c c o u n t s for t h a t even m o r e u n e x p e c t e d f inding : t h e re la t ive lack of Galenic concep t s .

As in c e r t a i n o t h e r anc ien encyc lopaed ias , s u c h a s the Greek w o r k of Pau l of Aegina, o r t h e Arab ic Canon of Avicenna, i t e m s obviously t a k e n f rom o t h e r s a r e p r e s e n t e d w i t h o u t a n y re fe rence t o t h e t r u e a u t h o r . I n o u r Book, m o r e o v e r , s o m e of t hese b o r r o w e d i t e m s a r e a t t r i b u t e d t o Asaf o r t o Y o h a n a n . I n e i t he r case , t h e t a sk of ident i fying t h e source , w h e n e v e r poss ib le , a d d s grea t ly t o t h e difficulty of ed i t ing th i s w o r k .

So far 18 m a n u s c r i p t s con t a in ing g r e a t e r o r lesser p a r t s of t h e Book h a v e b e e n found in va r ious E u r o p e a n l i b ra r i e s . The longes t e x t e n d s t o s o m e 250 folios. Yet n o m a n u s c r i p t p rov ides any scr iba l i n f o r m a t i o n r e g a r d i n g t h e a u t h o r s h i p , p r o v e n a n c e o r da t i ng of t h e work , o r even of t h e m a n u s c r i p t itself. On pa l aeog raph i c evidence , however , t h e da t e s of t h e m a n u s c r i p t s r ange f rom t h e 12th to t h e 15th o r 16th cen tu r i e s , a n d all a r e a p p a r e n t l y of E u r o p e a n or igin , m a i n l y f rom I ta ly . They all va ry in t h e ex t en t a n d o r d e r of t he i r sub j ec t -ma t t e r a n d n o n e posses ses any t ab le of c o n t e n t s . Moreover , un l ike m o s t o t h e r anc i en t encyc lopaed ias , they lack any f o r m a l b ib l iog raph ica l divis ion i n t o « b o o k s » , c h a p t e r s a n d so on. I t is t h u s a l m o s t imposs ib l e to d e t e r m i n e t h e ac tua l e x t e n t of t h e work , even in i ts p r e s e n t fo rm, let a lone i ts or ig ina l nuc l eus . I t a l m o s t ce r ta in ly g r e w by acc re t ion over t h e ye a r s — o r even t h e cen tu r i e s — a n d a p p e a r e d in a n u m b e r of different ve r s ions .

As far as c a n b e j u d g e d f rom t h e ex t an t m a t e r i a l , in i t s m o s t c o m p l e t e f o r m t h e w o r k beg ins w i t h t h e I n t r o d u c t i o n , w h i c h offers a l egenda ry h i s to ry of med ic ine . This is fol lowed by long sec t ions on t h e a n a t o m y of t h e b o d y a n d on t h e anc ien t equ iva len t of physio logy, w h i c h inc ludes embryo logy , as wel l as w h a t w a s cal led b y Galen « t h e use of t h e p a r t s ». The b o d y is a lso cons ide red a s a m i c r o c o s m of the u n i v e r s e : i t s four bas ic e l e m e n t s be ing e q u a t e d to t h e c o m p o n e n t s of t he h u m o u r a l theory , in b o t h h e a l t h a n d d isease . However , these typica l med iaeva l concep t s u n d e r g o s o m e u n u s u a l modi f i ca t ions in o u r w o r k . F o r example , t h e air — one of t h e four s t a n d a r d Greek e l e m e n t s — is h e r e r ep l aced by t h e « w i n d » o r « sp i r i t » ; b o t h of w h i c h a r e e x p r e s s e d in H e b r e w by t h e s a m e w o r d : ruah. Moreover , t h e sp i r i t is b y far t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t e l e m e n t of t he four , a n d it s e e m s to c o r r e s p o n d rough ly w i t h t h e Greek pneuma as u n d e r s t o o d by the a d h e r e n t s of t h e Greek P n e u m a t i c « S c h o o l » , r a t h e r t h a n w i t h t h e t w o or m o r e types of p n e u m a desc r ibed by Galen a n d the Arab phys ic i ans .

The w o r k a l so con ta in s long sec t ions on r eg imen , in t h e w ides t sense of t h e t e r m , t h a t is, on t h e m a n a g e m e n t of the b o d y in h e a l t h a n d in d i f ferent d i s e a s e s ; as well as n u m e r o u s p r e s c r i p t i o n s a n d a long i t e m on Medicine for the Poor. T h e t w o m a i n m a n u s c r i p t s a lso inc lude a n ex t r eme ly i n t e r e s t i ng m e d i c a l oa th , s u p p o s e d to have b e e n s w o r n to Asaf a n d Y o h a n a n by t h e i r p u p i l s : t o g e t h e r w i t h a c o m m e n t a r y on t h a t oa th , p e r h a p s f rom a l a t e r h a n d . While it shows m a n y affini t ies w i t h t h e H i p p o c r a t i c Oa th , t h e H e b r e w o a t h is n e i t h e r a p a r a p h r a s e n o r a d i rec t a d a p t a t i o n of t h e Greek text . H o w e v e r , p a r a p h r a s e d ve r s ions of t h e H i p p o c r a t i c Aphorism a n d of t h e Materia medica of Dioscor ides can easily b e ident i f ied. I t s e e m s l ikely t h a t de ta i l ed s t u d y of t h e H e b r e w oa th , as of t h e s e t w o p a r a p h r a s e s , m a y shed n e w l ight on t h e i r Greek equ iva len t s , a l t h o u g h th i s t a s k is m a d e difficult b y t h e c o r r u p t s t a t e of t h e ex t an t t ex t s a n d by t h e f r e q u e n t rev is ions w h i c h they h a v e u n d e r g o n e .

A sti l l m o r e in t r igu ing a spec t of t h e w o r k is t he p r e s e n c e of a n u m b e r of i t e m s w h i c h a r e bas ica l ly Greek, b u t inc lude concep t s w h i c h I h a v e n o t

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found e l sewhere , in Greek o r non-Greek t ex t s . T w o of these a r e of p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t : one be ing a genera l desc r ip t ion of t he blood-vessels , w h i c h seems to e m b o d y the concep t of t h e c i r cu la t ion of t he b l o o d ; whi le t h e o t h e r p r e s e n t s a novel exp lana t ion of t h e m e c h a n i s m of the pu l se . They wil l b e d i scussed e l s ewhere in specia l p a p e r s , b u t in t h e l imi t ed t i m e a t m y d i sposa l I h o p e t o w h e t y o u r a p p e t i t e s by brief ly cons ide r ing t h e f irs t of t hese i t e m s a t least .

The highly u n u s u a l n a t u r e of t h i s a c c o u n t of t h e blood-vessels w a s f irs t r ecogn ised in 1933, h e r e in Pa r i s , b y Dr. I s i d o r e S imon . Unfo r tuna te ly h is f inding h a s s ince b e e n a l m o s t to ta l ly ignored . Dr. S i m o n m a i n t a i n e d t h a t « A s a f » p r e c e d e d Harvey , a n d all o t h e r s , in ac tua l ly p o s t u l a t i n g t h e c i rcu la t ion of t h e b lood, a l t hough . Dr S i m o n t h e n modif ies th is conc lus ion by c la iming t h a t « Asaf » cou ld n o t poss ib ly have u n d e r s t o o d the s ignif icance of h i s o w n s t a t e m e n t s (1).

According to m y o w n r e a d i n g of t h i s sect ion, however , t h e c i r cu la t ion of t h e b lood is n o t specifically expressed , t h o u g h it c an ce r ta in ly b e in fe r red f rom t h e text . Yet it s e e m s to m e t h a t to jus t i fy o u r a u t h o r ' s p r io r i ty , it is n e c e s s a r y t o sub jec t t h i s tex t t o far m o r e de ta i led analys is t h a n Dr. S i m o n w a s able t o do in his a c c o u n t of t h e « B o o k of Medic ines » as a whole .

I n fact it h a s long b e e n c l a imed t h a t ce r t a in H i p p o c r a t i c wr i t i ngs show a n a w a r e n e s s of t h e c i r cu la r m o t i o n of t he b lood , a l t h o u g h th i s view has a lso been ho t ly d i s p u t e d (2). T h e r e is no doub t , m o r e o v e r , t h a t ou r H e b r e w accoun t of t h e blood-vessels s h o w s m a n y affinit ies w i t h t h e desc r ip t ion found in c h a p t e r s 12-18 of t he H i p p o c r a t i c t r ea t i s e k n o w n as Bones. Yet, in te res t ing ly enough , i t does no t r e p r o d u c e the very p a s s a g e in Bones (chap . 11) w h i c h speaks of a s ingle m a i n vein a p p a r e n t l y t ak ing a c i r cu l a r r o u t e a r o u n d t h e body . In any case , even if s o m e H i p p o c r a t i c w r i t i n g s s eem to h i n t a t t h e c i r cu la r m o v e m e n t of t h e blood, they cer ta in ly p rov ide no i n t i m a t i o n of a c i r cu la to ry system beg inn ing a n d end ing in the h e a r t . Yet t he cen t ra l i ty of t h e h e a r t s e e m s t o have b e e n k n o w n to the anc ien t E g y p t i a n s a n d it w a s f i rmly es t ab l i shed b y P l a to a n d Ar is to t le (3). Howeve r , t h e t w o l a t t e r l ikened t h e blood-vessels t o a cent r i fugal s y s t e m of i r r iga t ion-canals , w h i c h ca r r i ed the b lood f rom the h e a r t t o the pe r iphe ry , w h e r e it w a s to ta l ly a b s o r b e d . This concep t of t h e func t ion of t h e vessels w a s a d o p t e d by Galen a n d b y m o s t of h is successors u p to t h e t i m e of Harvey , a l t h o u g h they re jec ted t h e idea of t h e cen t ra l i ty of t h e h e a r t , c l a iming t h a t it p layed only a m i n o r role : t h e l iver be ing t h e m a i n sou rce of d i s t r i b u t i o n of t he b lood (4).

To es tab l i sh the concept of t he c i r cu la t ion of t h e b lood , in h o w e v e r theore t ic ­al a fashion, t h r e e e l emen t s a r e r e q u i r e d ; all t h r e e of w h i c h a r e c lear ly p r e s e n t in o u r H e b r e w w o r k , desp i t e t he c o r r u p t i o n of t he m a n u s c r i p t s . In t h e f i rs t p l ace o u r tex t specifically s t a t e t h a t t h e h e a r t is t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n po in t of t h e b lood w h i c h « g o e s a r o u n d » t h e body . Secondly , « the m a s s of t h e b l o o d » is obvious ly n o t t h r o u g h to b e a b s o r b e d a t t h e pe r iphe ry , s ince i t is sa id t o r e t u r n f rom t h e p e r i p h e r y to the h e a r t . Thi rd ly , it is c lear ly impl ied t h a t t he b lood r e a c h e s the p e r i p h e r y by one r o u t e a n d r e t u r n s f rom it by a n o t h e r : t h u s f u r t h e r imply ing m o t i o n in a circle, r a t h e r t h a n a n ebb-and flow m o v e m e n t of t h e b lood to a n d f rom the h e a r t .

As far a s I can tell o u r text is t h e f i rs t to satisfy all t h r e e of t hese c r i t e r ia . Yet it p rov ides only the c r u d e s t a n a t o m i c a l desc r ip t ion of t h e c i r cu l a r course , it does no t d i s t ingu i sh be tween the a r t e r i e s a n d veins , c i r cu l a r course , i t en t i re ly l acks any physiological a ccoun t of t h e « m o t i o n of t h e h e a r t » a n d i t gives no h i n t of a p u l m o n a r y c i rcu la t ion . However , a s r e g a r d s t h e theore t i ca l concept of t h e c i rcu la t ion of t h e blood — and in this alone — it appea r s to p recede no t only t h a t by Harvey , in h i s r e a s o n e d desc r ip t ion of t he c i r cu la t ion of t h e b l o o d a r o u n d t h e b o d y as a whole , b u t a lso i ts expos i t ion in t h e ear l ies t k n o w n accoun t of t h e

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p u l m o n a r y c i r c u l a t i o n : as given b y I b n an-Nafis , t h e 13th c e n t u r y Arab phys i c i an (5).

Yet, a s w e shal l see, t h i s p i o n n e r v iew of t h e c i r cu la t ion is unl ike ly t o b e t h e or ig ina l c o n t r i b u t i o n of o u r H e b r e w compi le r . The fact t h a t i t s t r e s ses t h e cen t r a l i t y of t h e h e a r t m a y poss ib ly b e due to anc ien t E g y p t i a n inf luence, p e r h a p s t r a n s m i t t e d t h r o u g h he l len is t ic Alexandr ia , o r else m a y be a t t r i b u t e d t o Ar is to t le . On t h e o t h e r h a n d , s ince t h e hear t -valves a r e n o t m e n t i o n e d it m a y wel l p r e c e d e the t i m e of E r a s i s t r a t o s . I t could the re fo re b e a Greek — a n d poss ib ly a Greek-Jewish — p r o d u c t of Alexandr ian med ic ine , f rom the 3rd cen t u ry B.C. o r ear l ie r . T h o u g h poss ib ly inf luenced by anc ien t E g y p t i a n concep t s , a n d cer ta in ly b a s e d on the H i p p o c r a t i c w o r k Bones, o r on a c o m m o n source , th i s u n i q u e accoun t h a s so far only c o m e to l ight in a H e b r e w vers ion .

Un i ts f u n d a m e n t a l re l iance on Greek med ic ine a n d in i ts i n t e r e s t in a n a t o m y a n d « p h y s i o l o g y » , o u r H e b r e w encyc lopaed ia b e a r s s o m e r e s e m b l a n c e to t h e Syr i ac a n d ear ly Arabic w o r k s of th is k ind . Yet no t only does it lack t h e i r p r e d o m i n a n t l y Galenic ou t look , it even shows s igns of ear ly Lat in modi f i ca t ions of Greek concep t s , w h i c h c a n n o t be d i scussed he re . Moreover , it a l so differs f r o m t h e Graeco-Arabic t r a d i t i o n in t h e fo rm of i ts p r e sen t a t i on , a n d even in m u c h of i t s sub j ec t -ma t t e r . I t inc ludes i m p o r t a n t sec t ions , such as the in t roduc ­to ry « h i s t o r y » of med ic ine a n d the med ica l oa th , wh ich a re no t found in any anc ien t med ica l encyc lopaed ia o t h e r t h a n t h e t w o o ldes t I n d i a n w o r k s of th i s k ind . The re a r e di f ferent r ecens ions of t h e s a m e bas i c I n d i a n m a t e r i a l f rom t h e ear ly cen tu r i e s B.C., o r even before . In the i r p r e s e n t fo rms , a t t r i b u t e d to C h a r a k a a n d S u s r u t a respect ively , they d a t e f rom the first c en t u ry A.D., a l t hough a good dea l of l a t e r m a t e r i a l , up to the 7th cen t u ry a t least , h a s s ince b e e n a d d e d (6).

Like these I n d i a n w o r k s o u r H e b r e w encyc lopaed ia h a r k s b a c k to the super­n a t u r a l or ig ins of med ic ine : in t he one case e m a n a t i n g f rom God t h r o u g h Noah , a n d in the o t h e r case f rom t h e I n d i a n gods . Moreover , all t h r e e w o r k s a r e en t i re ly cas t in t h e m o u l d of t h e t each ings of a n anc ien sage : a fo rm qu i t e , un l ike t h a t of any Graeco-Arabic encyc lopaedia . One is t h u s forced to the conc lus ion t h a t whi le t he c o n t e n t s of o u r w o r k a r e essent ia l ly Greek, as fa r as i t s s t r u c t u r e is c o n c e r n e d the compi l e r looked to the I n d i a n encyc lopaed ia s .

S ince o u r w o r k differs in so m a n y ways f rom o t h e r encyc lopaed ias b a s e d on Greek concep t s , it is no t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t t h e r e h a v e b e e n m a n y conf l ic t ing ideas r e g a r d i n g i ts a u t h o r s h i p , p r o v e n a n c e a n d da t ing . Well over a c en t u ry ago the g r e a t Mor i tz S t e i n s c h n e i d e r (7) a n d o t h e r s m a i n t a i n e d t h a t it w a s a pseud-ep ig raph ica l w o r k , compi l ed a r o u n d the 10th cen t u ry A.D., a n d poss ib ly b a s e d on. Syr ia t r a n s l a t i o n s of anc i en t Greek m a t e r i a l . Al though it c l a imed to r e p r e s e n t t h e t each ings of a Jewish sage cal led Asaf, such a p e r s o n w a s mere ly a p r o t o t y p e a n d h a d in fact n e v e r exis ted. Howeve r , ever s ince 1916, w h e n Vene t i ane r p roduc ­ed t h e f i rs t c o m p r e h e n s i v e s t u d y of t h e w o r k as a whole , t h e preva i l ing v iew h a s b e e n t h a t it bas ica l ly r e p r e s e n t s t h e t each ings of a J ewi sh phys ic ian n a m e d Asaf, w h o l ived in Pa les t ine o r M e s o p o t a m i a at s o m e t i m e b e t w e e n the 3rd a n d 5 th c e n t u r i e s A.D., a l t h o u g h t h e w o r k w a s l a t e r revised a n d n e w m a t e r i a l w a s a d d e d (8).

My o w n op in ion coincides w i t h the o lder view, t h a t t h e w o r k is a pseudepi -g raph i ca l compi l a t i on f rom the ear ly Middle Ages, w h i c h then con t inued to g r o w by acc re t ion . However , I a m as yet u n a b l e t o offer a c o m p r e h e n s i v e t h e o r y of w h e n , w h e r e a n d h o w it evolved, a n d due t o lack of t i m e I c an only t h r o w o u t a few sugges t ions on these po in t s . S o m e of the Greek m a t e r i a l m a y have o r ig ina ted in Alexandr ia o r in t h e Syr ian or Pe r s i an c e n t r e s of Greek lea rn ing , w h e r e t h e anc ien t Egyp t i an , Syr ian , P e r s i a n a n d finally Arabic inf luences we re acqu i red , before t h e t ex t s , indiv idual ly or as a col lect ion, found the i r way to Eu rope .

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F r o m i ts l anguage , w h i c h a p p e a r s t o b e a l a t e f o r m of Bibl ical -Mishnaic H e b r e w , a n d f rom o t h e r cons ide ra t i ons , s o m e or m o s t of t h e i t e m s m a y wel l have b e e n t r a n s l a t e d i n t o H e b r e w in S o u t h e r n E u r o p e , poss ib ly in Byzan t ine S o u t h e r n I ta ly , a t s o m e t i m e b e t w e e n t h e 8th a n d 10th cen tu r i e s . H e r e t o o t h e w o r k a c q u i r e d i ts Graeco-Lat in inf luences a n d i ts encyc lopaed ic f o r m . T h e s t r o n g I n d i a n b ias in i ts p r e s e n t a t i o n a lso p r o b a b l y c a m e t o E u r o p e v ia W e s t e r n Asia, s ince t h e t w o m a i n I n d i a n encyc lopaed ias h a s b e e n t r a n s l a t e d in to P e r s i a n a n d Arab ic be fore t h e 10th cen tu ry .

T h e ear ly med iaeva l p e r i o d s a w a revival of i n t e r e s t in anc i en t J e w i s h c u l t u r e , w h i c h m a y to s o m e ex ten t accoun t , for t h e p s e u d e p i g r a p h i c a l p r e s e n t a t i o n of th is w o r k . I t s anc ien t Greek « p a g a n » ba s i s cou ld t h e n b e successful ly c a m o u f l a g e d by the a d o p t i o n of t h e I n d i a n m o d e l ; a lbei t in a J u d a i s e d f o r m w h e r e b y m e d i c i n e w a s given to t h e w o r l d b y t h e J e w i s h dei ty a n d t h e w o r k a s a who le w a s a t t r i b u t e d to a n anc ien t J ewi sh « s a g e » , w h o s e pup i l s w e r e m a d e to s w e a r a J u d a i s e d oa th .

R E F E R E N C E S

1. I . S i m o n , Asaph Ha Iehoudi. Médecin et Astrologue du Moyen-Age, Paris , Lipshutz , 1933, p . 50. 2. See C.R.S. Harris , The heart and the vascular system in ancient Greek medicine, Oxford,

Clarendon Press , 1973, chapter 2. 3. Plato, Timaios 11 c-d ; Aristotle , Parts of animals 668a, 10. 4. P. de Lacey ed. , Galen on the doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato, Berl in , Akademie Verlag,

1978, Book VI passim. 5. M. Meyerhof, Ibn An-Nafis (XII I th cent . ) and h is theory of the l esser c irculat ion, Isis,

1935 , 23, 100-120. 6. J. Fil l iozat, The classical doctrine of Indian medicine, trans. D.R. Chanana, Delhi , Munshi

R.M. Lai, 1964, pp . 4, 12, 16, 20. 7. M. Ste inschne ider , Assaf Judaeus , Hebräische Bibliographie. 1879, 19, 84-9 and ibid., Die

Hebraeischen Deb er Setzungen des Mittelalters, Ber l in , 1893 (Graz, 1956), p . 650. 8. L. Venet ianer , Asaf Judaeus, der aelteste medizinische Scritftsteller in hebraeischer Sprache,

3 pts . , Budapes t , 1915-17 ; S. Muntner , The ant iquity of Asaph the Physic ian and his ed i torship of the earl iest Hebrew book of medic ine , Bull. Hist. Med., 1951, 25, 101-131 ; Asaph the Physician - the man and his book, Ann Arbor, Michigan, "University Microf i lms, Inc . , 1972.

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