The Professor of Secrets: Mystery, Medicine, and Alchemy in Renaissance Italy Hardcover – July 20, 2010 Author: Visit Amazon's William Eamon Page | Language: English | ISBN:
142620650X | Format: PDF, EPUB
The Professor of Secrets: Mystery, Medicine, and Alchemy in Renaissance Italy – July 20, 2010 Download The Professor of Secrets: Mystery, Medicine, and Alchemy in Renaissance Italy – July 20, 2010 for everyone book with Mediafire Link Download Link
Review
In this entertaining biography of Italian physician and self-promoter Leonardo Fioravanti, Eamon gives a portrait of sixteenth century Italy that is far more realistic than that of those who follow the myth of the Renaissance. --Book News
“The author presents what medicine was like during the Renaissance with a wealth of unexpected details…and a light, accessible touch…that makes this book welcome reading not only for the summer but for any time of year.” —Los Angeles Times
“In this entertaining biography of Neapolitan physician and self-promoter Leonardo Fioravanti, Eamon gives a portrait of sixteenth century Italy that is far more realistic than that of those who follow the myth of the Renaissance.” –Book News
About the Author
William Eamon is a widely published, internationally known and respected scholar based at New Mexico State University. His first book,
Science and the Secrets of Nature: Books of Secrets in the Medieval and Early Modern Culture was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in history and won the History Book Award from the Association of American Publishers. He is co-editor of the excellently reviewed
Beyond the Black Legend: Spain and the Scientific Revolution. See all Editorial Reviews
Download latest books on mediafire and other links compilation The Professor of Secrets: Mystery, Medicine, and Alchemy in Renaissance Italy Hardcover – July 20, 2010
- Hardcover: 368 pages
- Publisher: National Geographic; 1 edition (July 20, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 142620650X
- ISBN-13: 978-1426206504
- Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 6.3 x 9.1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #707,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Imagine this: you are sitting in a hall together with many other people anxiously waiting for the show to start. All of you have paid an entry fee. At one end of the hall stage there is one famous doctor,and at the other end stands another doctor. Both physicians have different views about many medical issues. Then,when everything is ready,three cadavers are introduced to the audience. The bodies belong to criminals who were convicted either of murder or theft.
The show is about to begin. Here another doctor shows up,and he will perform an anatomical dissection live. He asks the audience to be quiet and all the jokes and chats stop.
This kind of thing actually took place in Italy during the sixteenth century,when Flemish anatomist Andreas Vesalius arrived in Bolognia to perform a series of anatomical demonstrations. Among those who attended one such show was Leonardo Fioravanti,23 years old and the subject of this fascinating volume. He was disgusted by what he saw,and the whole affair reminded him of a butcher's shop. He concluded that doctors might know a lot about the various body organs,but when it comes to knowing the reasons for so many diseases,their knowledge is almost nil.
The times were hard: devastating plagues were rampant,corsairs were abundant prowling the Mediterranean Sea,violence was everywhere in Italy,murders were committed en masse in Rome,and barbers bled their patients along with giving them a shave.
Fioravanti believed,like many others,that it was the duty of the doctor to find a miracle cure for each disease. He asserted that all diseases stem from one ot two causes: either the bad quality and indisposition of the stomach,or "the alteration and putrefaction of the blood".
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