Kitab al-Rahmah fi al-tibb wa-al-hikmah.

8vo (160 x 203 mm). 57 ff. Arabic manuscript on paper. Black naskh script, with titles and important words in red. Contemporary rough brown morocco. A medical manuscript opening with the first chapters of al-Suyuti's medical textbook, Kitab al-Rahman, and proceeding as a personalized compendium of medical advice, excerpting the likes of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad's "On the benefits of animals, birds, and fruits", and at least two other Arab medical sources. While the author may jump from copying selections from one medical text to the next, his work is practical, and groups sections together by subject. For example, he may first describe a disease based on one source, and then (drawing from a different author), give the best treatment for that disease. Since in most cases the two original sources have both a description of symptoms and a treatment plan for a given ailment, it is clear that the author of this compendium is choosing what he believes is best for his own students or patients. - As the work goes on, the entries become increasingly concise, and the author may simply name a simple disease or symptom and a straightforward treatment. For example, he writes, "For a migraine which is on one side of your head take some Guar gum, coriander, garlic, salt, egg yolk, and cow fat and apply to the head." - Paper repairs to final leaf, dampstaining, some marginal notes; in good condition. - With early Arabic ownership stamps on several leaves. - GAL II, 143.