On the properties of foodstuffs =
Subtitle: De alimentorum facultatibus
By: Galen ; introduction, translation and commentary by Owen Powell ; with a foreword by John Wilkins
Contributors: Powell, O. W; Wilkins, John, 1954-
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2003
Place of publication: Cambridge, U.K; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 206
Subjects: Galen.; Nutrition -- Early works to 1800
Genres: Early works to 1800
Work titles: De alimentorum facultatibus.
Description: "This book presents a translation of and detailed commentary on Galen's De alimentorum facultatibus, his major work on the dynamics and kinetics of various foods. It is thus primarily a physiological treatise rather than a materia medica or a work on pathology. Galen commences with short section on the epistemology of medicine, with a discussion on the attainment, through apodeixis, or demonstration, of scientific truth - a discussion which reveals the Aristotelian roots of his thinking.

The text then covers a wide range of foods, both common and exotic. Some, such as cereals, legumes, diary products and the grape, receive an emphasis that reflects their importance at the time; others are treated more cursorily. Dr. Powell, a retired physician, discusses Galen's terminology and the background to his views on physiology and pathology in his introduction, while John Wilkins's foreword concentrates on the structural and cultural aspects of the work."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 195-198) and index