Cassius Felix (/ˈkæʃəs ˈfiːlɪks/), also Cassius Felix of Cirta, was a Roman African medical writer probably native of Constantina. He is known for having written in AD 447 a Latin treatise titled De Medicina.[1] The little we can say of the author comes from his book, that is meant to be a simple handbook for practical use in which he wants others to be able to take advantage of his experience as a physician. His work appears to draw heavily, both directly and indirectly, on Greek medical sources, as was common in the African school of medicine.[2]

A Christian by faith, he may be the person mentioned in passing in the anonymous De miraculis Sancti Stephani, a work written between 418 and 427, where a certain Felix is referred as holding the high medical dignity of archiater, or chief doctor of his community.[2]

The editio princeps of his work was first published in 1879 in a Teubner edition edited by Valentin Rose.[2]

The name Cassius Felix is sometimes also applied[3] to Cassius Iatrosophista, an earlier Greek medical writer (2nd or 3rd century AD) known only as the author of 84 or 85 Quaestiones Medicae et Problemata Naturalia (Ancient Greek: Ἰατρικαὶ Ἀπορίαι καὶ Προβλήματα Φυσικά).[4]

References

  1. ↑ Nutton, Vivian (2012). Ancient medicine. Routledge. ISBN 9780415520942. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Langslow, D. R. (2000). Medical Latin in the Roman Empire. Oxford University Press, Incorporated. ISBN 9780198152798. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  3. ↑ William Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, p. 626 Archived 2012-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ A. Garzya and R. Masullo, I problemi di Cassio Iatrosophista, Naples: Accademia Pontaniana, 2004
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