MERCURIALE, Girolamo. Artis gymnasticae apud antiquos celeberrimae nostris temporibus ignoratae libri sex. 1569.
MERCURIALE, Girolamo.
Artis gymnasticae apud antiquos celeberrimae nostris temporibus ignoratae libri sex.
Venise, Iuntas, 1569.
Large 8vo (210x155 mm), (19)-(1 bl.)-121 leaves and 1 folding plate. binding : Early XIXth century full sheep, spine with four compartments. Joints splitted. Few foxings. Head cap renewed.
First edition.
Girolamo Mercuriale (1530-1606), when the body had been somewhat neglected by the medieval culture, was inspired by the principle of Juvénal: Mens sana in corpore sano and offers us by studying the texts of antiquity the first book of gymnastic.
"[...] its knowledge interests any man who professes medicine, especially since one finds in Hippocrates, Plato and Galen the affirmation repeated over and over again according to which exercises, if one wishes to lead a healthy life, provide benefits so great and so numerous that it is scarcely that the other resources of medicine provide so many. " (translation of part of book III)
"Heir to the galenic tradition, Mercuriale draws from Greek and Latin literature, but also from his contemporaries. Using both his medical knowledge and the achievements of antiquaria, he wrote the first treatise on gymnastics in our history, the 6 books of De Arte Gymnastica "(Jean-Michel Agasse," Le De arte gymnastica de Girolamo Mercuriale: archeology and body culture in the Renaissance ", doctoral thesis)
The folding board is the proposal for a Gymnasium plan.
references: Garrison-Morton [1986.1 : "This is one of the earliest books to discuss the therapeutic value of gymnastics and sports generally for the cure of disease and disability, and an important study of gymnastics in the ancient world."], Heirs of Hippocrates [354: "It was the first complete text on gymnastics and stresses the importance that all forms of exercise have in maintaining good health. Relying heavily on ancient practices, this work is an excellent compendium of the physical therapy of earlier times. Mercuriale describes ancient gymnasia and baths and discusses mild exercises, such as dancing, as well as more strenuous pursuits such as wrestling and boxing. He also gives full consideration to the health benefits of proper exercise and concludes the book with a section of therapeutic exercises"].
provenance: An ex dono handwritten in Italian on the blank indicates that the book was donated by Dr Maloet, a Parisian doctor. It is probably Pierre Marie Maloët (1730-1810) personal doctor of Mesdames Victoire and Sophie, daughters of Louis XV. He followed his protectresses during their exile in Italy in 1791. Handwritten ex libris on the title page (Charles Gillot Docteur parisien, 1755) and the colophon (Maria Balducci).
Price : 2000 €
