The Hippocratic treatise De humoribus (On the Humors) has provided scholars from antiquity to the modern era with major interpretive problems. In particular, its general appearance as a series of medical terms and phrases has raised questions about its authorship and purpose. More detailed study has now shown it to be the work of a doctor from circa 400 BC, who created it from different sources and individual notes, which were preliminary work toward a larger treatise. This book presents the first critical edition of De humoribus based upon all known textual witnesses in both Greek and Arabic. It provides a German translation of the Greek Text with detailed notes to facilitate the interpretation of this often difficult text. The Introduction surveys information about the textual tradition and interpretive history of this work and discusses its structure, purpose, author, and date.

Oliver Overwien, Humboldt University, Berlin.