Theophrastus of Eresus: sources for his life, writings, thought and influence

century AD, and its relationships with two other tracts, the Mulomedicina Chironis, perhaps written about the same time, and the Mulomedicina of Vegetius, written in the first half of the fifth century. But there are also illuminating comments on earlier veterinary authors, including Celsus, and a long section on Greek influence on Pelagonius. Adams suggests that he himself translated one major Greek vet, Apsyrtus, and incorporated passages from him into his book. There are also here important notes on the consequences of the recent (re)discovery of a very early manuscript of Pelagonius for the reconstruction of the text and, in general, for an understanding of the ways in which medical texts were transmitted in Antiquity. At least one long section of the Ars is shown to come from a different source. From an individual's life and times we pass in chapters VI and VII to a survey of Pelagonius' (and others') names for disease and for anatomy. Adams ranges widely, especially in Latin, to show how gradually a technical vocabulary was being created and transmitted. He notes apparent changes over time in certain key words; e.g., morbus and passio, or causa taking on the meaning of "medical case". What is striking is not just the development of technical terms, but the wide range of influences that bear on this development, from popular words to more specific Greek-based formulations. Adams' methodology here can with profit be extended to all aspects of Greek medicine, not just that confined to animals. The final section, over 200 pages long, deals with the language of Pelagonius, syntax, word order, word formation, and vocabulary. Adams concentrates largely on two questions; the extent to which Pelagonius' Latin can be classed as "vulgar", or, alternatively, as "technical". His conclusion, based on a substantial revision of Fischer's Teubner edition, is that Pelagonius, far from writing vulgar Latin, carefully employs a variety of stylistic tricks, although inevitably using at times some popular terms that could be understood by his potential audience of healers and horse-lovers. Adams has some sound words about the use of metaphor in the creation of new technical terms, as well as about their fluidity. A short epilogue (perhaps too short) brings together many of the more general points argued in the rest of this long book. Adams believes that Pelagonius was, like Celsus, on the borderline between professional and layman, familiar with some technical writing and …