(Aulus?) Cornelius Celsus (fl. early 1st century CE) was the author of an encyclopaedic work, The Arts (Artes), of which only the eight books on medicine (De Medicina) have been transmitted. The Artes also included five books on agriculture, seven on rhetoric, six on philosophy, and one on military strategy, of which we only have quotations or allusions in other authors’ works. In this compilation Celsus is following an established Roman model, begun by the collection of accumulated data by Cato (234-149 BCE) and later Varro (116-27 BCE) in their books on agriculture, and Vitruvius (late 1st century BCE) in his De Architectura. This genre proved to be popular among contemporary a…
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Citation: Cilliers, Louise. "De Medicina". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 August 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=25864, accessed 07 November 2024.]